《Kill the Sun》


 Chapter 1 - 1 – Nick

    <h4>Chapter 1: ¨C Nick</h4>


    "You should kill yourself."


    Inside a dirty alleyway filled with oily pipes, electrical wires, and broken walls, a young man sat on the ground with his back to the wall.


    His head was lowered as he lifelessly stared at the ground visible between his legs.


    The sun was positioned in the middle of the sky, perfectly above this boy. Because of that, the alleyway was brightly lit.


    "I know that ites as a bit of a shock, but I genuinely think the best course of action for you in this situation would be to kill yourself."


    The boy didn''t lift his head as he heard these words.


    At this moment, a dirty and disheveled rat was sitting on top of a small rusty box made of metal. The rat was lightly scratching its snout as it looked with widely opened eyes at the boy, trying to establish eye contact.


    "Listen," the rat said as it jumped down from the box and slowly walked towards the boy. "We all know what happened. It''s not like I''m suggesting suicide without a logical basis, you know?"


    As the rat came closer, the boy''s eyes suddenly gained life, and he looked at the rat with intensity.


    The rat''s eyes widened, and it went on its hind legs as it slowly retreated. "Calm down, Nick. I''m not going to hurt you," it said with a nervous smile as it stopped retreating. "Look at me. I''m just a rat. How am I supposed to hurt someone that managed to get through the Zephyx Extractor Exam?"


    The boy, Nick, looked back at the ground.


    When Nick just lifelessly looked at the ground like that, he looked like a frail homeless person, but when he just looked at the rat, his entire demeanor changed.


    In fact, Nick''s body was anything but frail. While he wasn''t very bulky, his muscles were pretty defined, which wasn''t surprising, considering that he had trained for thest four years in hopes of finally getting out of the Dregs.


    "Hey, Nick," the rat said, not daring to get any closer. "I know that you''re still holding onto some hope, but we both know that believing in this fickle light of hope is just delusional."


    The rat slowly moved around Nick''s body, but it didn''t dare to get too close to his body. "Over thest four years, you worked so hard on yourself. You trained every day, and you evenmitted some terrible acts just to avoid paying the Blood Tax."


    "You didn''t want to do these things, but you still did them. Why? Because you saw a way out of the Dregs."


    "And you did it! You managed to get a spot in the Zephyx Extractor Exam for Ghosty''s Lab, and you even managed to pass it!" the rat said with a lot of enthusiasm.


    And then, the rat just sighed. "But your Zephyx Synchronizer was already attuned to a Specter. You managed to pass the exam, but Ghosty''s Lab can''t use a Zephyx Extractor with an already synchronized Zephyx Synchronizer."


    "And you know that they are not the only ones," the rat said as it stopped on Nick''s right side. "No Zephyx Manufacturer will hire you like this. You know as well as I that all thepanies have specific Specters for their Extractors. Without the abilities from these Specters, you will either die very quickly or will cost thepany more money than you bring in."


    "So, what now?" the rat asked, looking at Nick with a sympathetic expression. "What''s the n now?"


    "You don''t have an education."


    "You don''t have contacts."


    "You don''t have a ce to live."


    "You don''t even remember anything from before you were ten."


    "You can''t even join the gangs or any of their businesses since you vehemently refused to pay them their fees."


    "There''s no way out."


    "Are you willing to continue living like this?" the rat asked with a sad and pained voice.


    "I don''t want to see you go through so much pain every day."


    "Just stop."


    The rat was carefully and slowly moving toward Nick.


    As the rat moved closer to Nick, several pairs of eyes appeared behind the dark sewer grates in the alley.


    They were watching everything with excitement.


    Nick just continued looking at the ground.


    "Don''t you just want to rest?" the rat asked as it very carefully moved forward. "Every day, you sleep with one eye open, fearing that something or someone will attack you."


    "You don''t even have a single friend or family member."


    "What''s the point of fighting?"


    "What''s the point of living like this?"


    "And now, even yourst hope is gone."


    The rat looked with a sympathetic gaze at Nick.


    "Trust me. I''ve talked to millions of people, and I know a hopeless situation when I see one."


    "I can make it quick and painless. If you want, I can even pay special attention to some people you dislike."


    "At least, like this, you can go out on your own terms instead of just starving to death."


    "Your death would actually have a purpose."


    The rat managed to get so close to Nick that it could even touch his leg.


    The rats behind the sewer grates slowly and carefully stepped out, but they still remained at a great distance.


    It was important not to induce a fight or flight response in their target. Adrenaline can bring momentary life to the ck hole inside the chest of a suffering person.


    This had to be done methodically, slowly, and carefully.


    "Justy down, okay?" the rat said slowly. "I am going to lightly touch your leg now. Don''t be afraid. I won''t do anything."


    The rat slowly extended its w to touch Nick''s leg.


    BANG!


    A powerful fist hit the rat, turning it into a bloody paste.


    An instantter, all the other rats fled back into the sewer.


    Silence.


    The fist unclenched and took hold of the smashed rat.


    Then, he took out a filthy, old, and disgusting brown sack and put the rat into it.


    A momentter, Nick straightened his back and took a deep breath.


    "This sucks," he said, his voice a bit deeper than the average man''s.


    But then, a small smile formed on his lips as he lifted the dirty brown sack.


    "But at least dinner is secured."


    Suddenly, Nick''s eyes narrowed as he shot up to his feet.


    He red down one of the alleyway''s exits.


    Just now, a muscr man wearing a ck coat and ck hat had appeared near that exit.


    At this moment, Nick could see a mysterious smirk adorning the man''s lips as he looked at Nick with amusement.


    "What do you want?" Nick asked with a harsh and threatening voice.


    Nick had seen many people, and he knew that someone that was acting like this wasn''t up to anything good.


    "I don''t buy drugs, miracle cures, Specters, Zephyx, or whatever you have to sell," Nick said.


    A momentter, Nick''s eyes widened a bit, and he put the brown sack behind him. "I''m also not selling you the rat!"


    The man looked slightly taken aback, but he started chuckling in amusement.


    "Your rat? You think I''m after your rat?" he asked with a smirk.


    Nick eyed the man suspiciously. "I''m not buying anything! Also, it''s rude to enter someone''s home unannounced."


    "Home?" the man repeated in confusion as he looked around the alleyway.


    After looking for a bit, the man saw a small shack made of bits and pieces of discarded and rusty metal.


    The man took a deep breath and sighed before his ck hat vanished, revealing his handsome face.


    There were a couple of covert wrinkles on the man''s forehead, and Nick could also see a couple of individual grey hairs among his usual ck hair.


    The man just chuckled a bit. "You asked me what I wanted," he repeated.


    "Well, you could call me a schr," the man said with a smile as he looked at Nick. "I study Specters. More specifically, the powers Specters can bestow to humans."


    "I said I''m not buying anything!" Nick shouted.


    The man took another deep breath and released a sigh.


    "I am a consultant to many Zephyx Manufacturers, and Ghosty''s Lab is one of them," the man said as he slowly lifted his right index finger.


    The next moment, a ball of bloody tools made of metal materialized above his finger. The tools were rapidly circling above the man''s finger.


    When Nick saw that, his jaw nearly hit the floor, and his eyes shone.


    "You''re a Zephyx Extractor?!" he asked in shock.


    The man chuckled. "In the past," he said as the tools vanished again. "Nowadays, I am just a researcher."


    Nick still looked with wonder at the man.


    A Zephyx Extractor!


    Nick gulped.


    "Okay," he slowly said. "So, what do you have to sell?"


    The man snorted in amusement. "I''m not here to sell anything."


    "I''m here because my friend at Ghosty''s Lab contacted me. They don''t know what kind of power you''ve attained or from which Specter ites. My friend knows that I am interested in these things, which was why he told me about you."


    Nick became nervous when he heard that.


    That sounded like some evil experimentation stuff!


    When the man saw Nick''s apprehensive expression, he nearly groaned.


    "I''m not here to hurt you!" the man half-shouted with annoyance. "I''m just here to look at how your powers work. I will even refer you to some Zephyx Manufacturers if your power proves to be useful!"


    "This is a good thing for you!"


    Nick was taken aback, but his expression quickly morphed into one of skepticism.


    Help?


    A good thing?


    In the Dregs?


    Not even children would believe that!


    "And what do you want in exchange?" Nick asked.


    "In exchange?" the man repeated. "Do you even have anything that can interest me?"


    Nick struggled to think of something.


    "Nothing in this world is free," Nick said with suspicion. "Something advertised as free will very quickly turn into something that''s not free after some time."


    The man''s expression turned deadpan. "Oh my fucking god," he said in exasperation.


    Suddenly, the man appeared in front of Nick.


    BANG!


    The man hit Nick''s head, and Nick fell to the side, unconscious.


    "Is it so hard to ept that someone just wants to help you?!"


    Silence.


    The man took another deep breath and sighed.


    SHING!


    The bloody tools from earlier appeared in front of him.


    "Now, let''s see what kind of power you have."

 Chapter 2 - 2 – The Sign

    <h4>Chapter 2: ¨C The Sign</h4>


    A young man walked through the streets of a lively but dirty city.


    At this moment, it was 2:00 am, but the sun was still shining.


    It was always shining.


    There was not a single moment where it wasn''t shining.


    This was how it had been for thousands of years and how it would continue to be for thousands more years.


    The sun was directly in the middle of the sky, seemingly perfectly above the walking young man.


    Surprisingly, even though the sun was in the middle of the sky, its light wasn''t very bright and overwhelming but subdued and more orange-yellowish in color.


    For the citizens of Crimson Fungus City, it was currently nighttime. Although, when one talked about night, they were referring to the time between 10 pm and 6 am. This had nothing to do with the state or location of the sun since that was always static.


    Most people slept during the night time. No one really knew why, but most people followed that social norm since their parents, grandparents, and everyone else had done the same.


    Some crazy people said that people slept during the night because, somehow, the sun used to do something called setting in the past.


    Naturally, that was idiotic.


    How fast would the sun need to move to go around the Earth?


    How would it even move?


    It made no sense.


    As the young man continued walking, he saw several dirty, grimy, and rusty pipesing out of the ground, which then slithered up the damaged and dirty walls of buildings.


    The floor of the city was uneven, with half of it made of craggy rock and the other half made of rusty grates that led deep underground.


    The smell of gas and oil nketed the "streets", but the people living here had already gotten used to it.


    CRACK!


    Suddenly, one of the grates below the young man''s legs broke, and the young man began to fall.


    However, the young man just reflexively spread his arms and grabbed the grates to his side, stopping his fall.


    The young man took a deep breath and released it before he pulled himself up.


    After pulling himself up, he looked around the street for something.


    He saw a couple of thin people that were sitting at the side of the road, talking with each other. Since it was nighttime, not many people were here.


    "Hey, do you know where I can get a big sheet of metal?" the young man, Nick, asked the group.


    It had been two years since Nick had met the "schr," and Nick was now 16 years old.


    The schr had told Nick about his power, and he even taught him a couple of things over the next couple of days.


    Right now, Nick was about 180cm tall, which was enormous for someone living in the Dregs. The avable food was horrible, which made it difficult for people to grow tall.


    Nick''s body was also still quite muscr, giving him quite an intimidating appearance.


    The group collectively furrowed their brows as they looked at him. Nick''s bulky figure intimidated them a bit. "What do you want?" an olderdy among them said with a tone of threat in her voice.


    "I just told you what I want," Nick said as he scratched the side of his head. "I just want a sheet of metal."


    "Why?" the olderdy asked with annoyance.


    Nick just pointed at the hole in the grates with his thumb.


    The group just threw a couple of nces at each other.


    "You want to repair the hole?" the olderdy asked with skepticism.


    Nick nodded. "I''m strong enough to stop my fall and pull myself out. Others aren''t," he answered.


    Thedy''s expression became even more skeptical. "And you care about that?"


    Nick just scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I broke it. I should also fix it," he said with a shrug.


    The group looked at each other again.


    Then, the olderdy pointed at one of the houses at the edge of the street.


    The house was basically a ruin. A third of it was already missing, and all the metal of the house had already rusted.


    The city had an overabundance of metal, and all the metal that the wealthy parts of the city didn''t need anymore ended up in the Dregs.


    This was also why nearly all houses here were made of rusty metal.


    "The upant of it said it two days ago," the olderdy said, her voice neutral.


    Nick nodded. He knew what it meant to "say it".


    It basically meant that the person hadmitted suicide via a specific method.


    "Thanks," Nick said as he walked over to the derelict house.


    After a bit of searching, Nick saw a two-meter wide and long te of metal and began to pull.


    Sadly, the builder of the house seemed to have had a phobia of his house copsing, which was why he welded everything together.


    Nick tried for a while, but the metal te only shuddered and made creaking noises.


    Nick just sighed and looked around.


    Then, he walked into the house, away from all prying eyes.


    BANG!


    A dent appeared in the metal te.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    After four hits, the metal te broke away from the house and fell to the ground outside as Nick exited through the new hole.


    The eyes of the earlier group widened in shock.


    They knew that this young man was strong based on his stature, but wasn''t this a bit too much?!


    How much power would one need to dent such a big metal te?!


    Sure, it wasn''t super thick, but this was still metal!


    Nick pulled the metal te across the street with quite some difficulties, confusing the group even more.


    The guy had just dented the te, but now he had issues carrying it?!


    This made no sense!


    A couple of secondster, Nick put the te over the hole in the grate that he had created earlier and rubbed the sweat off his forehead.


    He walked on top of the te and jumped a bit. The metal was creaking, but it didn''t move.


    If the metal could withstand Nick jumping on it, no one would have issues walking over it.


    Nick nodded with satisfaction and continued walking through the streets.


    He waved a bit at the group as he left.


    "Oh! Now, I know who that is!" one of the younger people in the group shouted a couple of secondster.


    The others looked at him. "You know him?"


    The younger guy nodded. "He''s that weird guy at the marketce."


    "The weird guy?" another person from the group repeated with uncertainty. "Oh, you mean the one that just sits there with a sign all day?"


    "Yes, that guy," the other guy said with a nod. "I didn''t recognize him since he looks much smaller when he''s sitting."


    The other people raised their eyebrows in understanding.


    Some of them looked at the derelict house again with newfound realization.


    That exined how he was strong enough to break the metal.


    "This means he has an attuned Zephyx Synchronizer, right?"


    The others just nodded. "ording to his sign, yes."


    The olderdy in the group looked at the sheet of metal in the middle of the street.


    "You know, if others actually followed his example and fixed what they broke, the Dregs wouldn''t be nearly as bad," shemented.


    Nick continued walking down the street, and a couple of minutester, he arrived at a big za.


    Inparison to the streets, the za was mostly made of stone, and the walls weren''t too dirty.


    Nick could see a couple of merchants stationed around their wagons filled with wares.


    Since it was night, only the poorest and the richest merchants sold their wares.


    The poorest sold their wares at night since there was far lesspetition, and the richest did the same since they could just hire someone to keep their shop open all the time.


    The other 80% of shops were only open between 6 am and 10 pm.


    Nick walked across the za until he arrived at the widest road in the Dregs.


    The road led to one of the exits of Crimson Fungus City.


    At the spot where the road and the za met, Nick stopped and walked to the side.


    After sitting down, Nick pulled out a roll of cardboard and unrolled it before putting it on a metal rod he had brought with him.


    Lastly, Nick just lifted his new sign and waited.


    "Zephyx Extractor looking for work!"


    And then, he waited.

 Chapter 3 - 3 – Protecting Oneself

    <h4>Chapter 3: ¨C Protecting Oneself</h4>


    People slowly woke up and exited from their derelict houses.


    It was early in the morning, but just like always, the sun was high up in the sky, illuminating the streets.


    Nick was still holding his sign as he watched the people with boredom.


    Over 50% of the people were malnourished, and the remainder could still be called skinny. Only the richest merchants had some visible fat on their bellies.


    Even though the sun was shining all day, nearly everyone had pale skin, and a couple of them even had ck rings around their eyes as they slowly walked through the streets.


    As Nick saw the people, he could tell that most of them were very fidgety and anxious.


    Nick knew that this day would be the most dangerous day of the month since people became desperate.


    Today was the worst day of the month.


    The day everyone dreaded.


    Nevertheless, Nick continued holding up his sign as he waited.


    Albert, Nick''s mentor, told him he would soon find work as a Zephyx Extractor in the Dregs. He only needed to be visible.


    Albert was the powerful Zephyx Extractor that Nick had met two years ago. After Nick had woken up from Albert''s p, the two of them had gotten to know each other.


    Due to the circumstances of how Nick had gained his mysterious power, Albert decided to mentor Nick for a couple of months since he saw a lot of potential in him.


    Albert had left around a year ago, and he told Nick that he just needed to remain visible to find work. Apparently, someone would soon appear that would be interested in finding Zephyx Extractors.


    This was why Nick was sitting in the marketce with his sign.


    Even though everyone dreaded today, to Nick, this was just like any other day.


    Many people passed by Nick, and he also noticed that nearly everyone was throwing evaluating nces at him.


    However, no one actually did anything to him.


    Many people were scared and looked around nervously, but others seemed calm and rxed.


    All of the calm ones had small pins on their chest in the image of two crossed spears.


    These pins represented the Insurance Gang, one of the most powerful gangs that were running the Dregs from the underground.


    The people wearing these pins were not gang members but normal citizens that had paid the Insurance Gang to deal with all the matters today.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, a man with blonde hair got punched, and a group of three men jumped the guy that got punched.


    The man curled into a shrimp and held tightly onto something.


    The three attackers continued wailing at the helpless man, but they were careful not to break any bones.


    "Hand over your credits!" one of them shouted.


    The blonde man on the ground didn''t answer and kept holding onto his credits.


    The three gritted their teeth.


    Killing someone was forbidden, and they were also not allowed to shed any blood.


    However, the city wouldn''t bat an eye if they broke some bones.


    But despite how things looked, the three men were not psychopaths that wanted the guy to die.


    If they stole his credits and broke the blonde man''s bones, they would essentially kill him in the long run.


    One of the men grabbed the blonde guy''s hair and pulled back with all his power, but the man on the ground didn''t let go of his wealth.


    Even when his blonde hair was torn out, he didn''t let go.


    Two of the attackers looked at theirst friend with frustrated and angry expressions.


    Thest one took a deep breath and took hold of his victim''s head.


    BANG!


    He shoved the man''s head into the pavement, and he lost consciousness.


    Surprisingly, there was no blood, and the blonde man was still alive.


    This had been insanely risky.


    If anything went wrong, the attacking man would be killed by the city for killing another person or wasting valuable blood.


    A different guy bent down and wrestled a small stack of paper notes out of the blonde man''s hands.


    After counting the paper notes, he looked at his two friends and nodded.


    Then, he handed all the notes to one of his friends, who broke into tears.


    The crying man hugged his two friends and bowed several times in gratitude in front of them.


    His two friends only assured him that it was fine.


    The crying man quickly ran away from the middle of the marketce and into the arms of a woman by the side.


    The woman was also crying a lot.


    A momentter, the man let go and kneeled down as he beckoned forward.


    Two young girls, not older than eight, came out from behind the woman and hugged the man.


    "I have enough for you," the man said with a quivering voice.


    Only a couple of people were watching the event. Most people were used to seeing something like this and didn''t care.


    All the people in the marketce just walked around the unconscious man lying in the middle of the street, treating him like just another piece of rubble.


    Nick had watched what had happened, but he didn''t get involved.


    What was the point?


    There wasn''t enough money to go around, and it was the duty of everyone to protect themselves.


    As more time passed, more assaults happened, but Nick just waited.


    And then, it was time.


    Everything calmed down at about 2:00 pm, and the people became very quiet.


    By now, the entire marketce was filled to the brim with people.


    No one was buying or selling anything at this moment.


    They all were waiting for the same thing.


    Two minutester, the sound of a gigantic swarm of insects came from one of the streets leading to the marketce, and the sound became louder with time.


    Eventually, five people appeared in one of the streets, and they were apanied by swarms of huge mosquitos.


    The five people wore red uniforms with the symbol of Crimson Fungus City on them, showing their identities as people working for the city itself. Each of them carried a couple of big sacks with them, and they wore ck gasmasks, keeping their identities anonymous.


    As the five city agents walked down the streets, several mosquitos split off and entered the houses they passed.


    They were searching for people that were trying to hide.


    After a while, the mosquitos came out of the house again and returned to the five people as other mosquitos entered other houses.


    Suddenly, an entire swarm of mosquitos charged into one of the houses.


    "AAAAAHHHH!"


    A terrifying scream came out of the house, but it rapidly became quieter until it vanished.


    The swarm of mosquitos came out of the house a couple of secondster, and some of them flew into the sky and retreated.


    But just a couple of secondster, new mosquitos reced the ones that had just left.


    After around five minutes, the five people arrived at the entrance of the marketce.


    The five people didn''t say anything for a while.

 Chapter 4 - 4 – Zephyx

    <h4>Chapter 4: ¨C Zephyx</h4>


    A bitter, three people walked out of the crowd.


    All three of them were tall men with muscr bodies, and they were all wearing the same uniform.


    It looked like a military uniform painted in ck with grey sleeves.


    This was the uniform of the Insurance Gang.


    "Wee," the leader of the Insurance Gang said with a polite smile.


    One of the five city agents just extended a hand like they were asking for something.


    "Of course," the leader said.


    A momentter, he took out a suitcase, opened it, and handed it to the man.


    Inside the suitcase were stacks upon stacks of credits in paper form.


    The city agent counted the money, which took several minutes.


    "474," he spoke with a distorted voice.


    When the leader of the Insurance Gang heard that, he became nervous, and his smile seemed more strained.


    "Excuse me, but it should be 482," he said. "Could you recount, please?"


    "474," the city agent repeated.


    Silence.


    The leader of the Insurance Gang looked at the person to the right of him and gestured with his head.


    The guy quickly took out a couple more bills and handed them over.


    The city agent counted them and nodded.


    "482."


    The leader of the Insurance Gang also nodded.


    A momentter, the three people walked to the side.


    "One by one,e forward. You better not try to cheat us," the leader of the Insurance Gang shouted.


    A momentter, all the people with the ck pins walked forward and passed by the three men from the Insurance Gang.


    The Insurance Gang inspected all of them and collected the ck pins from everyone that passed by.


    By the end, 479 people had walked past them.


    Then, the three people from the Insurance Gang followed them, making the total 482.


    After that, four of the five city agents walked towards the less-crowded marketce andmanded everyone toe forward one by one. Thest of them waited in the back, making sure that no one was trying to sneak by them.


    Next, all the people in the marketce walked forward, handing over a stack of credits each.


    Nick stood up and passed through the crowd.


    A momentter, he stood in front of one of the people with the gasmasks.


    Nick handed over a stack of bills and walked past them just like any other person in the marketce.


    After several minutes, only around 800 people were left in the marketce.


    When no one else stepped forward for several seconds, the fifth city agent stepped forward.


    "Last call," they shouted with a distorted voice. "Anyone noting forward now will be considered as not able to pay."


    No one moved.


    "Alright," the man shouted. "As always, do not make any sudden movements, and don''t show any aggression. The mosquitos are all minions of the Blood Mosquito Specter, and they will not drink more than what you owe."


    The crowd of people became scared and nervous.


    A momentter, the buzzing of the mosquitos intensified, and they flew forward.


    The mosquitos scattered across the crowd and started to suck the blood of the people.


    As time passed, mosquitos that had filled up flew away as new ones joined.


    People were crying, hyperventting, gritting their teeth, and praying.


    Others had already grown used to it.


    After around two minutes, all the mosquitos flew back to the five people in gasmasks.


    The crowd of people had all be noticeably thinner and whiter.


    Lastly, the mosquitos entered all the houses in the marketce to make sure that no one was trying to hide.


    And finally, the five people turned around and left the marketce behind as they walked down another street.


    It was over.


    This happened every month on thest day.


    Once a month, every citizen of Crimson Fungus City had to pay 100 credits to the city as tax.


    One could only pay the tax in full or not at all. Partial payments were not permitted.


    If one paid the tax, nothing would happen, but if one failed to pay the tax, they would need to pay with their blood.


    A group of people apanied byrge swarms of sizable mosquitos walked through the Dregs once a month, and if a citizen wasn''t able to pay the tax, the swarm of mosquitos would fall onto the citizen.


    The swarm of mosquitos would gather blood until a collective two liters had been gathered from adults.


    Children below the age of 14 only needed to pay 50 credits or one liter of blood.


    Children below the age of six didn''t need to pay taxes.


    Naturally, losing two liters of blood wasn''t lethal, and the mosquitos were excellent at not inflicting injuries on the people while gathering blood.


    However, recovering from something like that usually took six to eight weeks.


    So, if a citizen didn''t manage to pay the tax next month as well, things would be dangerous.


    Getting 100 credits in one month was nearly impossible for normal people living in the Dregs, but getting 100 credits over two months was manageable.


    Because of that, around 50% of people paid blood one month, credits the next, and then blood again.


    Of course, countless people had tried to fight their way out of paying taxes, but it always ended the same way.


    With the person turning into a bloodless corpse.


    In fact, the mosquitos weren''t apanying the tax collectors, but the tax collectors were apanying the mosquitos.


    The tax collectors only came for two reasons.


    They dealt with the money.


    And they stopped people from panicking in front of the mosquitos.


    If the mosquitos wanted, they could kill every living person in the Dregs in less than 10 minutes.


    One had to know that there were over 2,000 people living in the Dregs.


    It wasn''t that the mosquitos were very powerful but that there were literally millions of them, and every mosquito was bigger than a giant ho.


    Naturally, not all of the mosquitos apanied the tax collectors. There were only around 100 following each tax collector, but if things became serious, millions of them would appear.


    Even more, the mosquitos were the minions of a very powerful Specter, the Blood Mosquito.


    The rat Nick had talked to two years ago was also a minion of a very powerful Specter called the Parasite.


    Some Specters could control animals or create their own animals and control them. Their minions would share the perception of the Specter, and the Specter could also talk and act through the minions.


    While nearly all Specters were the enemies of humanity, there were some Specters that cooperated and helped humanity.


    The Blood Mosquito was one of them.


    The Parasite was not.


    The Blood Mosquito gained power by consuming human blood. Naturally, it could send some isted mosquitos to gather blood from sleeping people, but if it overdid things, the truly powerful Zephyx Manufacturers would notice it and kill it.


    So, the Blood Mosquito had decided to help humanity instead, and Crimson Fungus City was the perfect ce.


    Crimson Fungus City was named after the strongest Specter that was being confined inside the most prestigious Zephyx Manufacturer, the Crimson Fungus.


    In contrast to nearly all powerful Specters, the Crimson Fungus was not intelligent.


    As the name implied, the Crimson Fungus was just a huge fungus living inside a containment unit.


    Just like the Blood Mosquito, the Crimson Fungus gained power by absorbing human blood.


    But in return, the Crimson Fungus was creating electricity and, most importantly, Zephyx.


    Zephyx could be used for basically everything.


    It could be transformed into electricity, heat, movement, and so on, and it was extremely efficient at it.


    Even more, Zephyx could also be used to increase the powers of Zephyx Extractors, and it could also be used to create powerful weapons that could deal with Specters.


    The Crimson Fungus was the reason why the Blood Mosquito had chosen this city.


    The Blood Mosquito would help the Zephyx Manufacturer in collecting the blood, and it would get to keep some of the blood in exchange.


    The remaining blood would be sprinkled onto the Crimson Fungus, which would then produce Zephyx.


    The Zephyx Extractors would collect the Zephyx, and they would be allowed to keep a bit of it as payment.


    The Zephyx Manufacturer would then use the harvested Zephyx to increase the power of theirpany or sell it to other cities.


    But if the Zephyx Manufacturer wanted to get bigger and earn even more money, they needed even stronger Specters.


    And to get these even stronger Specters, they needed stronger Zephyx Extractors.


    This was what Nick wanted to be.


    Being a Zephyx Extractor meant being able to be powerful and having a better life.


    Nick wanted to get out of the Dregs and finally live a better life.

 Chapter 5 - 5 – Young Man

    <h4>Chapter 5: ¨C Young Man</h4>


    After the tax collectors left, things returned to normal in the marketce.


    The anxiety of most people had been reced with either relief or eptance.


    Sadly, even though many people lost two liters of blood today, they couldn''t go home and rest.


    They needed to work and earn money. Otherwise, they would need to pay with their blood again in a month.


    Nick returned to his usual ce and continued holding up his sign.


    Nick trusted Albert, and he was sure that Albert wouldn''t have told him to make himself noticeable if there were no point to it.


    Sadly, no one of note talked to Nick, and he had to go home after a while since he was getting hungry.


    By now, Nick was no longer living in a small cube made of metal but in an actual house¡­ which was also made of rusty metal.


    One of the richer people died recently, and his house had be avable.


    Well, avable might not be the correct word.


    The man died, and his son was actually now the owner of the house.


    The problem was that the son was only eleven years old.


    Naturally, the gangs wanted to take the house from the kid, but Nick went between the two sides and protected the kid.


    Nick would protect the kid and his inheritance, but in exchange, Nick was allowed to use their money to eat and pay his tax.


    Of course, the kid didn''t have any other choice and epted.


    After a couple of fights, the gangs decided that it wasn''t worth the trouble.


    If Nick were just a normal guy, they would just send in like ten guys to beat him up, but Nick actually had an active Zephyx Synchronizer.


    No one was heavily injured or dead yet, but if they escted things, things might change quickly.


    They were certain they could take Nick down, but they were not willing to pay the price. The house wasn''t worth enough since it was just a bit above average. Also, the kid had a im on it, and the gangs couldn''t get too overbearing.


    Smart, organized criminals knew that leading a flock of willing and happy sheep was easier than leading a flock of terrified sheep.


    That was also why the leader of the Insurance Gang had been willing to pay the difference in the taxes out of pocket.


    Some of his people had obviously siphoned some funds out of the collected taxes, and they would hold an internal investigation.


    If the leader had decided to simply hand over the eight people with the missing cash, his Insurance Gang wouldn''t be as trustworthy anymore, and next month, they might only get like 70% of their previous customers.


    The Insurance Gang asked for 10% of the taxes as a protection and processing fee, which meant that adults would pay them ten credits to protect their 100 credits.


    With about 480 customers, that came to 4,800 credits. Even when the leader paid 800 credits out of pocket, they still made a profit of 4,000 credits.


    If he had refused to hand over the 800 credits, they would have saved 800 credits today, but they might pay 1,500 credits in lost profits for every following month for a long time.


    Even though they were criminals and this was the Dregs, it was still important that people were satisfied with the services provided.


    And waging war against someone that was protecting a vulnerable child was bad.


    It wasn''t worth it.


    Of course, everything had its advantages and disadvantages.


    While Nick got a nice home and had no money problems anymore, he had permanently destroyed any opportunity to work for any of the gangs.


    For two weeks, Nick kept going to the marketce to wait with his sign raised.


    One particr day that didn''t seem different from any other, someone approached Nick in the marketce.


    It was a young but tall man with light-brown hair. His hair was chaotic, but it was clean. His brown shirt and trousers were torn but just as clean.


    As someone that had lived in the Dregs for his entire life, Nick could immediately tell that the guy in front of him was trying to act poor when he obviously wasn''t.


    The guy probably hadn''t even seen a poor person up to today. Otherwise, his disguise wouldn''t be so superficial.


    The man walked up to Nick with a friendly smile, but Nick could see that the guy was very nervous deep inside.


    "Hey, you''re a Zephyx Extractor?" the man asked as he looked at Nick''s sign.


    "I got through the entrance exam for Ghosty''s Lab, but I never worked as one since my Zephyx Synchronizer is already attuned," Nick answered as he looked with suspicion at the guy.


    A small glimmer appeared in the guy''s eyes when he heard that. "Your Zephyx Synchronizer is already attuned?"


    Nick nodded.


    Silence.


    The guy seemed uncertain about how to proceed with the conversation, and Nick could practically read his thoughts with how expressive his face was.


    Nick was quite certain that the guy was trying to find a way to get Nick to tell him more about himself without seeming like a shady person that wanted to scam him.


    "You know Albert?" Nick asked.


    The guy''s eyes widened for just an instant before he smiled ufortably. "There are many people called Albert," he said awkwardly.


    ''Bullshit,'' Nick thought. ''Nobody here is called Albert except for that one guy.''


    "ck and grey hair, and he summoned a couple of things that can hover. Maybe you can fill out thest detail to make sure that we are talking about the same person," Nick said with a suspicious expression.


    The man blinked a couple of times. "He is fond of tools," the man added after a while.


    When Nick heard that, he smiled brightly. "Finally," he said as he stood up, making the man move backward. "Albert told me that someone woulde with a job in the near future. I guess you''re the guy?"


    The man also became excited. Apparently, he had also expected to meet someone.


    But then, his expression fell, and he became suspicious.


    "I know him, but I don''t think I have the capital to hire you. I also live in the Dregs," he said carefully.


    At that moment, the surrounding people threw incredulous looks at him as they stopped walking.


    The man noticed, and he felt like he had said something wrong.


    "Dude," Nick said, making the man turn to him, "you just said capital. Also, your disguise is horrible. Nobody will believe you. If they did, they would have already shaken you down for everything you have, based on how uncertain and fearful you look."


    The man''s smile turned more ufortable. "I''m not sure-"


    "Come with me," Nick said as he grabbed the guy''s arm to pull him away.


    The guy looked with shock at the ce where Nick was grabbing him, and for just an instant, his eyes turned pure white.


    But he quickly calmed down again, and his eyes turned back to normal instantaneously.


    He had never seen anyone that just grabbed a stranger and pulled them away.


    "Hey, I can walk on my own," the guy said as he pulled his arm out of Nick''s grip.


    "Then,e," Nick said, gesturing with his head to the distance.


    The man took out a handkerchief and cleaned the spot where Nick had touched him, and followed after him.


    After a couple of minutes, they arrived in front of Nick''s temporary home.


    The man became a bit uncertain again, but he just took a deep breath and entered.

 Chapter 6 - 6 – Wyntor Melfion

    <h4>Chapter 6: ¨C Wyntor Melfion</h4>


    When the man entered the house, he became more ufortable.


    There was dirt everywhere, and there were even several holes in the walls. If he became careless, he might even cut himself on the sharp edges of the walls.


    "Hey,e over!" Nick shouted from one of the rooms.


    The man walked over and saw Nick sitting on the ground in the middle of a bigger room.


    There were no tables or chairs.


    Then, he just looked at the ce in front of Nick with a questioning gaze. "Should I sit down?"


    "Well, duh," Nick answered with a roll of his eyes.


    The man took a deep breath and sat down.


    "Do you have anything to drink?" he asked.


    "The water barrel is in the back." Nick gestured to his back.


    "Oh, okay," the man said. "Do you have a ss or a mug?"


    Nick blinked slowly.


    "A what?" he asked.


    "You know, a mug," he repeated, gesturing with his hands. "A small container for liquids."


    Nick blinked slowly again.


    "Why? Just drink," he said with a deadpan expression and voice.


    The man looked with an ufortable expression at Nick.


    "Never mind. I''m not thirsty," he said.


    Silence.


    "I''m Wyntor," the man said, stretching his hand forward for a handshake.


    Nick looked at the hand.


    "What do you want?" he asked, looking at it.


    "A handshake and an introduction?" Wyntor asked awkwardly, keeping his arm outstretched.


    Nick furrowed his brows and moved his own hand forward.


    Then, Nick grabbed Wyntor''s fingers and looked him in the eyes. "I''m Nick."


    Wynter smiled ufortably and moved his hand up and down for a handshake while Nick looked back at the shaking hands.


    "Could you please let go?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick frowned, confused why Wyntor wanted them to hold hands and then suddenly not, but he still let go of Wyntor''s fingers.


    "Sorry, Nick, I still need to get used to how people down here act," Wyntor said with an apologetic expression.


    ''Sure enough, he isn''t from here,'' Nick thought.


    The fact that Wyntor had said "down here" meant that he came from the inner city.


    Crimson Fungus City wasprised of two parts, the inner city, and the outer city.


    If one were to look at Crimson Fungus City from a ne, one would see a huge city, which surrounded an absolutely enormous structure in the middle of it.


    The structure was a humongous curvy pyramid in the shape of a hyperb. It was made of reflective metal and was nearly two kilometers high and five kilometers wide.


    Around this huge structure were many tall and expensive buildings, but the further one got away from the center, the smaller and uglier the buildings got.


    About three kilometers away from the edge of the structure was the Dregs, the outermost part of the city.


    In the Dregs were the poorest people who could barely survive. Between the Dregs and the inner city was the actual outer city.


    Ghosty''s Lab was in the inner city, but the location for the exam had been in the outer city.


    Nick had heard legends about the inner city, but he had never been there, and he had only met two people that had been there.


    Albert and Wyntor.


    "You''re from the inner city, right?" Nick asked.


    "Yes, but from the lower levels," Wyntor answered. "It''s my first time in the Dregs."


    "I can tell," Nick said as Wyntor only smiled ufortably.


    "So, why are you here?" Nick asked.


    "Before I tell you, I need you to sign something," Wyntor said as he took some sheets of paper from a small sack hanging from his belt.


    Nick looked at the first sheet of paper and furrowed his brows.


    "No¡­ Noon¡­ disc-low-sure agree¡­ ment? Noon disclowsure agreement? What''s that?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor looked with shock at Nick. "You can''t read?"


    Nick furrowed his brows. "I can read! I learned it from Albert! I''m just out of practice!"


    "Okay, okay!" Wyntor answered quickly. "That''s a non-disclosure agreement. It means that you are not allowed to talk about any of the things I''m about to tell you to anyone else, or the city wille for you. Essentially, if you talk about my secrets, you will be a criminal."


    "Okay," Nick said absentmindedly as he tried to read the first sentence of the NDA, but it was far beyond difficult.


    Reading and understanding a legal document was already difficult for adults with a lot of money, and Nick''s readingprehension was on the level of an elementary school student.


    After a couple of minutes, Wyntor offered to just read out everything for Nick, but Nick said he didn''t trust him and that he would read it himself.


    Two hours and many questions about what words meantter, Nick had finally finished reading everything.


    After some more instructions from Wyntor, Nick awkwardly signed the bottom of the page.


    Nick was so confused about all of this. He knew what he had signed, but it was still so alien and strange.


    "Okay," Wyntor said with a relieved sigh. "Everything we talk about from now on is subject to the NDA, which means you are not allowed to tell the contents to a third person without my consent. Do you understand?"


    Nick nodded.


    "My full name is Wyntor Melfion, and I am the third heir to the Melfion family," Wyntor said.


    Nick blinked a couple of times.


    Silence.


    "Okay," Nickmented.


    Wyntor took a deep breath. He had never gotten such a dismissive reaction to the revtion of his family name.


    "My father is on the board of directors of Kugelblitz," Wyntor added.


    Nick blinked once slowly.


    "Okay?" he said.


    Wyntor ruffled his hair in frustration.


    "He partially runs the city!" Wyntor shouted. "Kugelblitz is the Zephyx Manufacturer that has the Crimson Fungus, and my father owns 20% of Kugelblitz!"


    "Oh," Nick said in surprise. "That''s cool, I guess?"


    Wyntor massaged the bridge of his nose in annoyance and sighed.


    "It''s not important anyway," he said. "What''s important is that my father doesn''t want his heirs to grow up to be useless good-for-nothings. He worked hard to get where he is now, and he wants us to do the same thing."


    "Because of that, he instructed all of his children to build a Zephyx Manufacturer Company and earn enough to buy 0.05% of Kugelblitz. Otherwise, we don''t get to use our family''s resources," Wyntor exined.


    "0.05%?" Nick asked. "How much is that? Like a thousand credits?"


    Wyntor snorted. "More like 50 million."


    Nick''s eyes shot open in shock.


    50 million credits?!


    Wait, and Wyntor''s father owned 20% of thatpany?!


    How much money was that?!


    Wyntor smirked when he saw that Nick was finally surprised by his background.


    "Anyway," he said, "Inparison to my siblings, I refuse to get taken advantage of by the Zephyx Manufacturers in the inner city and came out here where there is basically zeropetition."


    "I need a Zephyx Extractor to get my business off the ground, and since I don''t have a Specter, I can''t just recruit normal people. I need someone that already has an attuned Zephyx Synchronizer."


    "Albert told me that I would find someone meeting my criteria in the central marketce of the Dregs, and that''s why we are here now."


    By now, Wyntor''s anxiety and uncertainty in his demeanor hadpletely vanished, reced by apetent, direct, and charismatic businessman.


    "I want to employ you as my Chief Zephyx Extractor."


    "And the first thing we need is to capture a Specter!"

 Chapter 7 - 7 – Specters

    <h4>Chapter 7: ¨C Specters</h4>


    "I''m in!" Nick immediately answered.


    Wyntor was a bit taken aback.


    "That was quick," he said with a couple of blinks. "Don''t you want to know anything about your job? Sry? Duties?"


    "Is it worse than my current situation?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nced around the broken and dirty home. Even though this was one of the bigger houses in the Dregs, it was still in horrendous condition.


    "The chances of death are rather high," Wyntormented. "After all, you have to interact with Specters."


    Nick nodded. "So, I gotta beat some Specters up. No big deal."


    Wyntor furrowed his brows in skepticism. "Do you even know what a Specter is?"


    "Powerful animals or humans with some abilities, right?" Nick asked casually. "As long as I can punch them, they can die, right?"


    Wyntor took a deep breath and sighed.


    "That''s true for some of them, but that is not the majority," he answered. "Do you know what Zephyx is?"


    "Stuff we get from Specters," Nick answered with a confident nod.


    "Yes, but what is it?" Wyntor asked with another sigh.


    Silence.


    "Energy?" Nick asked with uncertainty.


    Wyntor just snorted. "That''s a copout answer. You can say everything is energy, and you wouldn''t be wrong."


    "Have you ever heard of Prephyx?"


    "Prefix? The stuff you put before words?" Nick asked.


    "No, Prephyx, spelled P-R-E-P-H-Y-X, not P-R-E-F-I-X. It''s like Zephyx but with pre- instead of ze-."


    Nick shook his head.


    "Alright," Wyntor said with a bit of annoyance. "Lemme just give you a quick rundown of how the world actually works."


    Nick nodded and listened to Wyntor.


    "Prephyx is an invisible force of energy that exists all over the world. It can only be detected by very advanced equipment and by very powerful Extractors. Prephyx has an incredible amount of energy stored inside of it."


    "Sadly, we can''t ess the Prephyx in the atmosphere. We simply don''t have any means to actually make use of the energy stored inside the Prephyx."


    "When the Prephyx in the atmosphere gains a certain level of density, it can create a Specter. A Specter is something that can transform Prephyx into Zephyx, which is a usable form of Prephyx."


    "A Specter is not necessarily alive, and it is not necessarily intelligent. Additionally, Specters are unique, which means that there is only one Specter of any kind in the world. There are never two or more Specters that are identical. In general, Specters appear in one of three different forms, but there can be exceptions.


    "One, a Force Specter. A Force Specter can be an intelligent or non-intelligent being that consists of forms of energy. For example, the Specter we call The Fog is a formless cloud of something that mimics fog."


    "It is unintelligent and only follows its basic instinct. From time to time, it wanders through some parts of the city and engulfs someone. That person will then wander aimlessly in the fog until they die of starvation."


    "You can''t feel The Fog. You can''t punch The Fog. You can''t run out of The Fog. If it catches you, you will die unless you are a strong Zephyx Extractor that has equipment and abilities based on Zephyx."


    "Is The Fog still around?" Nick asked.


    Wyntorughed bitterly. "Have you forgotten what I said earlier? When Prephyx reaches a certain density, a Specter can appear."


    "Something like The Fog is extremely difficult to contain. Additionally, it only consumes about one human every month. The Fog is a level two Specter, which makes it stronger than the mostmon Specters, but it only consumes one human every month."


    "Now, if we were to kill it, its energy would disperse into the atmosphere again, and we would quickly find a couple more level one Specters in the world, and chances are that they will cost more human lives than The Fog."


    "Wait!" Nick shouted. "But can''t we just store all the Zephyx of The Fog after killing it?"


    Surprisingly, Wyntor nodded. "We can."


    "But it doesn''t change anything."


    "What?" Nick asked in surprise.


    Wyntor nodded again. "Naturally, when we kill a Specter, we store all their energy, but it doesn''t change anything. If we ignore all the energy and let it disperse, a couple of level one Specters will appear. If we store all the energy and don''t let it disperse, a couple of level one Specters will still appear."


    "No matter what we do, killing a Specter will always result in the creation of more, weaker Specters."


    Nick looked at the ground with a worried expression.


    That was¡­ troublesome.


    This meant that they couldn''t possibly get rid of the Specters.


    Wyntor noticed Nick''s crestfallen expression. "It''s not as hopeless as you think."


    Nick looked at Wyntor.


    "Humanity''s ultimate n for survival is to contain every single Specter in the world without killing them. If we can do that, all the Specters would essentially be irrelevant since they wouldn''t be a danger anymore," Wyntor exined.


    Nick furrowed his brows again. "That sounds difficult. There are probably a lot of Specters."


    "Oh, the numbers aren''t the problem," Wyntor said casually. "You have no idea how powerful Extractors can be. The issue isn''t the number, but the power of the Specters."


    "Please remember that everything we are talking about is subject to the NDA. If you tell anyone else about it, your life will essentially be forfeit."


    Nick nodded.


    Wyntor nodded back. "Specters are categorized into different levels of power. Every new Specter starts at level one. This makes them more powerful than every normal human, but people with an attuned Zephyx Synchronizer can fight them."


    "Specters and Extractors can both be more powerful. The strongest Zephyx Extractors that exist are level eight, and we have a single-digit number of them."


    "However, there is a two-digit number of level eight Specters in the world."


    Nick looked with shock at Wyntor.


    And then, Nick remembered something he had witnessed several times by now.


    "What about Nurse Alice?" he asked.


    Everyone knew about Nurse Alice.


    Everyone in the Dregs had seen Nurse Alice.


    And everyone knew that Nurse Alice was a Specter.


    Wyntor sighed. "Nurse Alice is one of the five level nine Specters."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "There are exactly five level nine Specters in the world, and even if all of humanity banded together, we wouldn''t be able to stop even a single one of them."


    "Nurse Alice is probably the most damaging Specter in the entire world. She kills hundreds and sometimes even thousands of humans every single day."


    "But her power is so great that nobody can do anything against her."


    "She does whatever she wants, and we can do nothing but watch."


    "And there are four more like her."

 Chapter 8 - 8 – Kill The Sun

    <h4>Chapter 8: ¨C Kill The Sun</h4>


    Nick thought back to thest time he had seen Nurse Alice.


    It was a bit more than two months ago.


    The people had gathered in the marketce to pay their Blood Tax, and a man had just stolen all the credits of a frail young woman.


    It had been quite obvious that she had already paid with her blood for thest or even thest two times.


    After she had lost her credits, she just looked at the ground with a dead expression.


    And then, she had uttered The Sentence.


    "I wish I were dead."


    At that moment, the marketce fell silent.


    Everyone knew what it meant to say The Sentence.


    A minuteter, a girl with a bright and kind smile walked into the marketce. She looked like she was in herte teens, and she wore a clean pink nurse''s outfit.


    No one dared to stand in her way, and even though the marketce was filled to the brim, the people still managed to make a wide road for the kindly smiling nurse.


    The nurse walked over to the woman, who was still kneeling in the middle of the marketce.


    The woman looked up when the nurse stopped in front of her.


    The nurse just kindly smiled at her. "I''m Nurse Alice, and I''m here because you called me," she said with a kind and empathetic tone. "Just calm down. It will be over soon, and you won''t feel any pain or difort."


    The woman looked at the ground again.


    A momentter, Nurse Alice kneeled down beside her and slowly moved her right palm over the woman''s eyes, like someone that was closing the opened eyes of a corpse.


    When she had closed her eyes, the woman had already died.


    Nurse Alice gentlyid the corpse on the ground and stood up with a kind smile.


    A momentter, she vanished from the marketce.


    If anyone in the world uttered something akin to "I wish I were dead," "I want to die," "Just kill me," "I don''t want to live anymore," or anything simr to that, Nurse Alice would appear and grant that wish.


    It didn''t matter whether the person wanted it or not. After uttering The Sentence, Nurse Alice would kill them.


    Even if The Sentence were said as a joke, it didn''t matter.


    If anyone, for any reason, uttered something akin to The Sentence, Nurse Alice would arrive and end their life.


    Have you ever said anything like that in your life?


    Maybe when a loved one died.


    Maybe when your head was hanging in the toilet after too much drinking.


    Maybe when something really embarrassing happened.


    The asion didn''t matter.


    As long as anyone said it, Nurse Alice would arrive.


    "And she''s only one of the five level nine Specters?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "Three of the level nine Specters are unmissable. I can guarantee you that almost everyone has seen the three of them in their life before. Do you know the other two?"


    Nick quickly nodded. "I know one of them. It''s the one that resides in the darkness."


    "Correct," Wyntor said. "The Nightmare is one of the five level nine Specters, and it is omnipresent in all the dark ces in the world. The darker the ce, the stronger its influence."


    Nick remembered one of the many times he had encountered The Nightmare.


    Nick had once been searching for food, which was why he had walked into the sewers. Luckily, the ceiling of the sewers was mostly made of grates, which meant that the omnipresent sun could also illuminate them.


    However, there had been some dark corridors in the sewers as well, and whenever Nick walked through them, he heard the whispers.


    Human voices appeared in the darkness, telling Nick that everyone was trying to kill him and that nobody cared whether he lived or died.


    The whispers were trying to fill Nick''s mind with paranoia, depression, self-doubt, hatred, anger, and every other kind of negative emotion.


    They wanted to warp Nick into a different person.


    Luckily, the dark corridors hadn''t been that dark and long, which made it possible for him to quickly get through them and find a rat to eat.


    The existence of The Nightmare was also the reason why many newly built "houses" in the Dregs purposefully created several holes in the ceiling and walls.


    Being in the darkness was extremely dangerous, which was why everyone avoided being in dark ces.


    The Nightmare and Nurse Alice were so powerful that it didn''t matter where someone was.


    Their influence extended across the entire world.


    "Do you also know of the third one?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick thought about the question for a while, but eventually, he just shook his head.


    "Surprisingly," Wyntor said, "the third one is the most conspicuous of all."


    Then, Wyntor pointed up.


    Nick looked up and saw that Wyntor was pointing at a hole in the ceiling, and Nick could see the Sun through that hole.


    "It''s The Sun," Wyntor said.


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    The Sun?


    Wait, the Sun is a Specter?!


    "Surprising, right?" Wyntormented.


    Nick just nodded.


    "We have managed to somewhat calcte and understand the powers of the other four level nine Specters, but when ites to The Sun, we are essentially still blind."


    "It is everywhere all the time. Anyone that flies above a certain height immediately ceases to exist. Everyone sees The Sun exactly above them at all times. It doesn''t matter on which side of the you are. The Sun is always at the same spot for everyone individually."


    "And most shocking of all, its light is real. The entire world is illuminated by its light. It has the power to illuminate the entire world at the same time without having to take a break."


    "The sheer amount of energy that requires is iprehensible."


    "All of humanity agrees that The Sun is the most powerful Specter that exists in the world, and it is the biggest obstacle standing between humanity and freedom."


    "If humanity ever wants to achieve freedom, there''s only a single thing we need to do."


    "Kill The Sun."

 Chapter 9 - 9 – Null

    <h4>Chapter 9: ¨C Null</h4>


    Nick just looked with shock at Wyntor.


    Kill The Sun?


    How?!


    How could a human destroy something as powerful as the sun?!


    What would even happen after it was destroyed?!


    "Of course," Wyntor added, "all of that is far in the future, and we might not witness it in our lifetime."


    Nick looked at the hole in the ceiling again.


    In thest couple of minutes, the world had be much bigger to him.


    Until now, Nick had just wanted to get a good job to live a better life, but now he had heard about so many grand things.


    Humanity was several times weaker than the collective Specters.


    Nick only sighed.


    Nick had seen horrible things in the Dregs, and he wanted to change the world.


    Surprisingly, Nick''s issue wasn''t with the gangs or the robbers but with the system.


    The people simply did what they could to survive.


    If there were enough to go around, people might not kill each other as much.


    Sure, greed would always be present, but it wouldn''t be so overwhelming.


    Sadly, Nick knew that he was just one man.


    He couldn''t change anything.


    So, the next best thing was to live a good life without having topromise his moralpass.


    If he had the power to change things, he would, but he didn''t, and he most likely never will.


    After a couple of seconds of silence, Nick sighed. "What about the other two?"


    "The fourth one is The Maw," Wyntor exined. "The Maw is not something that the majority of people will evere into contact with since it exclusively interacts with Zephyx Extractors."


    "From time to time, it grabs a group of Extractors and forces them to fight each other until only a single one survives, who is then allowed to leave."


    Nick sighed. "And there''s nothing we can do?"


    Wyntor just shook his head.


    "What about thest one?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor looked a bit troubled and furrowed his brows. "Thest one is difficult to talk about since it is rather special."


    "No one knows what it looks like, and no one knows where it is, but the effects of its existence are indisputable."


    Wyntor looked up at The Sun through the hole. "In a way, it''s the opposite of The Sun."


    "Everyone''s attention is fixed on The Sun, almost like it is afraid of not being seen by everyone in the world. The fifth level nine Specter is the opposite."


    "It''s like it doesn''t dare to show itself."


    "No one is allowed to know what it looks, sounds, tastes, smells, or feels like. There have been cases in which some powerful Extractors analyzed all the scattered clues of its existence."


    Wyntor looked at the ground with a troubled expression. "One day, that group died, and all their findings were destroyed along with them."


    Then, Wyntor looked at Nick. "But interestingly enough, nothing else was damaged. Only the things relevant to it had been destroyed."


    "Due to the manner of its existence, we call it Null."


    "Null¡­" Nick repeated with a shocked voice.


    Wyntor just raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so surprised? Specters have strange abilities."


    Nick looked at the ground.


    After a bit, he looked at his hands with an unsure expression.


    "I think I understand now," he said. "That''s why Albert was so interested in me."


    Wyntor looked with quite some interest at Nick. "Do tell."


    Nick looked at Wyntor.


    "I think I''ve seen Null before."


    For just an instant, Wyntor was taken aback, but he quickly became skeptical. "If you did, you would be dead."


    Nick slowly shook his head. "I think I have seen it before, but I do not know what it looks, smells, tastes, sounds, or feels like."


    Wyntor blinked several times. "What?" he asked in confusion.


    "I have amnesia," Nick said. "I don''t remember anything from before I was ten. My earliest memory is waking up in a room in a random house in the Dregs. I lived in the house for a couple of days, but some people came in and threw me onto the streets."


    Wyntor looked with intensity at Nick. "And what makes you believe that you have seen Null?"


    "My attuned Zephyx Synchronizer," Nick said. "It has been attuned ever since I remember."


    "Speaking of," Wyntor said. "I need to know what kind of ability you have. Can you show me?"


    Nickughed helplessly. "That''s the thing."


    "It''s impossible."


    "I can''t show you my ability."


    Wyntor''s expression became skeptical. "Then, how am I supposed to believe that you even have one?"


    "I have one, but I can''t show you," Nick said.


    "Exin," Wyntor said.


    "I can only use my ability when no one can see me," Nick exined. "When no one can see me, I can move about five times faster, and my body is several times stronger."


    Wyntor rubbed his chin in thought. "That is a very substantial increase in power. Can you prove your ability in some way?"


    Nick remembered the time he had fixed the hole in the ground by breaking part of a house and nodded.


    "Follow me," Nick said as he walked out of the house.


    Wyntor followed Nick, and the two of them stopped beside a ruin of a house.


    After a bit of testing, Nick found an iron te that had been bolted onto two stable beams.


    No normal human could get the iron te off the beams without tools.


    "Wait on this side," Nick said as he walked to the other side.


    Wyntor waited with raised eyebrows.


    BOOOM!


    Wyntor''s eyes shot open in shock as he saw a big dent appear on the iron te!


    BOOOM!


    Another huge dent appeared after an explosive sound!


    "That enough?" Nick asked as he walked out from behind the te.


    Wyntor still had difficulties believing Nick.


    What if Nick had prepared some kind of contraption that he could quickly hide after using it?


    Wyntor wanted to test Nick some more, but after several minutes of different kinds of tests, Wyntor could only ept that what Nick was iming was the truth.


    As they returned to the house, Wyntor thought about Nick''s ability, and when they sat down again, Wyntor had only one question.


    "How can you use that ability against an opponent? As soon as you enter a fight with anyone, you effectively lose all your power."


    Nick smiled ufortably.


    "I have no idea."

 Chapter 10 - 10 – Everything Prepared

    <h4>Chapter 10: ¨C Everything Prepared</h4>


    Inside the house, the two of them returned to talking.


    Wyntor and Nick talked about Nick''s duties and the ns of development for their Zephyx Manufacturing Company.


    Wyntor also told Nick about the two remaining categories of Specters since they had gotten sidetracked earlier.


    The first one was a Force Specter, which represented a Specter in the form of something untouchable. The Fog had been used as an example.


    The second kind of Specter was a Physical Specter. As the name suggested, a Physical Specter had a physical body. The body could be an animal, a human, a nt, an item, and so on.


    For example, the Crimson Fungus was a Physical Specter. It could be touched, and it could be injured by a strong physical force, while something like The Fog couldn''t be injured by a physical force, even though The Fog was vastly inferior to the Crimson Fungus.


    Lastly, there were Possession Specters. These were Specters that did not have their own bodies. Instead, they took control over a living or non-living entity.


    For example, Ghosty''s Lab had once essentially won the lottery by finding The sses, which was a Possession Specter.


    The sses was a level two Specter, and it simply looked like a pair of sses. If anyone put on the sses, their reality would slightly warp in very inconspicuous ways. Over a long-enough period of time, the wearer would be insane.


    But that was it.


    As long as one knew what was going on, it wouldn''t be a big issue, and to top it all off, The sses produced Zephyx as long as someone wore them.


    It didn''t endanger anyone.


    It didn''t attempt to escape.


    It was easy to get Zephyx from it.


    It was the perfect Specter for Zephyx Manufacturers.


    Naturally, Wyntor and Nick wanted to get a Possession Specter for their business, but finding one depended on luck and resources.


    The two of them wouldn''t even be able to do anything against a Force Specter since they didn''t have any Zephyx Equipment yet. Without equipment made of Zephyx, it was impossible to interact with Force Specters.


    Even worse, Force Specters were notorious for being hard to contain since most of them could just pass through walls.


    Containing a Force Specter needed a highly advanced containment unit made of many different materials made of Zephyx.


    In the end, they were left with going after a Physical Specter, but that came with its own challenges.


    First, even a level one Specter was something that every Zephyx Manufacturer wanted. Even the really big ones.


    Specters were very rare, and all the big Zephyx Manufacturers had people dedicated to finding clues about possible Specters.


    Then, Nick also had to contain them, andstly, he could only attempt to get a level one Specter.


    A level two Specter was too powerful for a new Zephyx Extractor like Nick.


    The rat that had tried to convince Nick to kill himself had once said that Nick had met two Specters.


    Yet, Nick hadn''t been able to see the Specters.


    To Nick, it had been like he had never seen any Specters, which meant that the Specters had been either invisible or mixed among the crowd of people.


    Surprisingly, Nick didn''t doubt the rat''s words. After all, he knew who the rat was.


    In fact, everyone knew about the rats.


    The rats were the minions of a very powerful Specter called The Parasite.


    The Parasite was located somewhere in the wilderness, and nobody had seen it before.


    In order to get human corpses, The Parasite took control of a huge swarm of rats and sent them into the city. Through its minions, it could interact with and sense the entire city.


    And when someone was suicidal or depressed, one of the rats would walk out and try to convince that person to kill themselves.


    While The Parasite was very powerful, its rats weren''t very powerful, and forcefully attacking someone with a swarm of rats had proven to be very inefficient. Because of that, The Parasite tried to convince people to kill themselves without uttering The Sentence.


    Despite everything, Nurse Alice wasn''t the biggest fan of having the corpses of her clients defiled, which was why The Parasite didn''t dare to consume the corpse of someone that had uttered The Sentence.


    Nevertheless, The Parasite was very powerful, and it could probably find all kinds of Specters in the city.


    Sadly, it was impossible to work with The Parasite. Otherwise, it would already be working with one of the bigger Zephyx Manufacturers.


    Eventually, Wyntor and Nick ironed out all the details, and their working rtionship was set in stone.


    Wyntor was the owner, CEO, clerk, recruiter, and administrator of thepany. Essentially, he was dealing with everything that wasn''t rted to interacting with Specters.


    Nick was the Chief Zephyx Extractor, information gatherer, and security officer.


    In short, Wyntor was the brains, and Nick was the muscles.


    Wyntor also showed Nick the ce he had bought for theirpany.


    In the western edge of the Dregs, just a little bit before the actual city, Wyntor had bought a big warehouse.


    Inparison to all the buildings in the Dregs, the warehouse actually wasn''t made of rusty metal. Instead, it just looked in.


    Inside, the warehouse had beenpletely emptied except for one thing.


    In the center of the warehouse was a steel cuboid, 5x5x3 meters big.


    This was one of the cheapest containment units avable, but it already cost a ridiculous sum to get one.


    ording to Wyntor, this Containment Unit had cost him over 200,000 credits.


    It was made of extremely hard steel, and the walls were over 30 centimeters thick.


    Nick even wanted to try if he could escape from it, but the walls were so hard that even he was helpless.


    This kind of cheap Containment Unit could safely contain a level one Physical and Possession Specter, but it wouldn''t work against Force Specters.


    Even more, level two Physical Specters would have enough power to slowly chip away at the containment unit until it broke.


    When Nick heard that, he realized how powerful a level two Specter actually was.


    A level two Specter could break through this insanely solid room of metal?!


    Eventually, everything had been prepared.


    They had a Containment Unit.


    They had an administrator.


    They had a Zephyx Extractor.


    Now, they were only missing thest piece.


    A Specter.


    As Nick walked back onto the streets, he just awkwardly scratched the back of his head.


    "I have no idea where I can find one."

 Chapter 11 - 11 – Where to Start?

    <h4>Chapter 11: ¨C Where to Start?</h4>


    Nick had no idea where to start.


    Everything had been prepared, and now, they only needed a Specter.


    But where could they even get a Specter from?


    The big Zephyx Manufacturers had several people searching for Specters at any given time while Nick was basically alone.


    Sure, there was also Wyntor, but it wasn''t his job to find and capture Specters.


    ''Should I search for a Specter with minions? I mean, I know about the Blood Mosquito and the Parasite, but both of them are too powerful.''


    ''Wait, do weak Specters even have minions, or does that require a lot more power?''


    Nick just scratched the back of his head as he stood in front of the warehouse.


    ''There are three kinds of Specters, and I can''t even attempt to get any Force Specters. That only leaves Possession Specters and Physical Specters.''


    ''I really doubt that I would easily find a Possession Specter since the Zephyx Manufacturers love those. At least, that was what Wyntor said.''


    ''That means I have to find a Physical Specter.''


    ''But where?''


    Nick scratched the side of his head.


    ''I mean, I heard the outside is basically filled with Specters, but everybody knows that the outside is extremely dangerous. Level two Specters are already able to damage the walls of the Containment Unit, while I can''t even make a dent in them. Obviously, level three Specters would be even more powerful.''


    ''I don''t think going outside of the city would be a smart idea.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''Guess that means I''m stuck searching for a Physical Specter inside the city.''


    Nick still scratched the side of his head.


    The next moment, he turned towards the direction of the Dregs.


    ''Maybe I should just start asking around?''


    After a couple of seconds, Nick just shrugged and walked towards the Dregs.


    ''Sure, why not?''


    Wyntor looked through one of the windows at Nick, who was walking away.


    ''I hope he finds one,'' Wyntor thought with furrowed brows.


    ''And I also hope the one he finds isn''t too strong.''


    After a while, Nick''s surroundings became dirtier and dirtier, making him feel like he hade back home.


    The Outer City had been a bit too clean for Nick.


    It almost felt unnatural.


    Eventually, Nick reached the marketce where he had sat for months with his sign.


    Today was not tax day, which meant that the marketce was quite normal.


    People were talking with each other but still keeping a safe distance.


    After all, everyone could potentially be dangerous in the Dregs.


    Nick scratched the side of his head again.


    Eventually, someone just so happened to meet Nick''s eyes, and Nick walked towards them.


    The person Nick was walking to was a thin adult man who seemed like he regretted identally meeting Nick''s eyes right now.


    "Hey!" Nick said with a friendly tone. "I''m searching for a Specter."


    Near the beginning, the man seemed annoyed and uninterested, but when he heard the word Specter, he became nervous.


    "A Specter? Which one?!" he asked with worry.


    "Ehm, I don''t really know?" Nick said with uncertainty.


    This confused the man. "What? But you just said you were searching for one!"


    "I mean, yeah," Nick answered with an awkwardugh. "You see, I am a new Zephyx Extractor, and I''m searching for my first Specter, you know?"


    When the man heard that, he calmed down a bit, but then, he became angry.


    "Then stop talking like you lost a Specter! I thought I was in danger or something!" he shouted.


    "Yes, yes, sorry and stuff," Nick said as he tried to sound nice. "So, you got any hints?"


    "No," the man answered with annoyance, "and even if I had any, why would I give them to you? I would just tell the Investigators. At least they would give me enough money for the next couple of payments."


    Nick could only sigh.


    The Investigators were people who worked for Zephyx Manufacturers, and their job was to find clues about Specters.


    Naturally, a couple of Zephyx Manufacturers had already opened some kind of service point where the residents of the city could give them clues regarding Specters.


    And Nick?


    What did Nick have to offer?


    Literally nothing.


    "Thanks anyway," Nick said with a sigh.


    The man snorted when he heard Nick. Apparently, he was still a bit angry about the scare Nick had given him.


    Nick left the man behind and went to a clerk from one of the stalls.


    That clerk basically said the same thing.


    He was annoyed that Nick was wasting his time with useless talk and told Nick that he would just go to the Investigators if he had some clues.


    After asking a couple more people, Nick realized that there was really basically nothing he could gain from talking to the people.


    They would all just contact the Investigators because of the money.


    Sure, Nick could probably ask Wyntor for some money to pay the people, but how many people would actually trust Nick''s words, and more importantly, how many of the clues would actually lead to Specters?


    After over two hours of asking around, Nick still hadn''t found a clue regarding a Specter.


    Eventually, Nick just decided to patrol.


    The people were of no help anyway.


    Nick walked through several small and remote alleyways, and the floor became more and more unstable.


    The Dregs were way too big for the number of people that lived here.


    The issue was the amount of money in cirction and the avable food.


    Theoretically, if two people lived in one house, just this part of the Dregs could hold over 10,000 people.


    Yet, there were barely 2,000.


    Because of that, there were plenty of abandoned ces in the Dregs.


    Usually, there was no point in going there.


    Everything worthwhile had already been looted and stolen, while Specters hunted humans, which meant that they were also more likely to be amongst humans.


    And the abandoned Dregs basically didn''t have any humans.


    Yet, Nick was already out of options, and this was the best thing he could do right now.


    Maybe a Specter had its nest and hiding ce in the abandoned parts and only went amongst humans when they were hungry?


    "Hey."


    When Nick heard that voice, his brows furrowed.


    "What do you want?" Nick asked in annoyance as he looked at one of the broken tes of rusty metal.


    A momentter, the small head of a rat poked out of a hole in the te.


    "I heard you were searching for a weak Specter," the rat said with a grin.


    "I am," Nick said.


    Naturally, Nick knew exactly who he was talking to right now.


    The Parasite.


    The Specter that tried to convince him to kill himself.


    "I know of a couple," the rat said with a chuckle. "Interested?"


    Nick raised one of his eyebrows.


    "I am," he said after some hesitation.


    "Alright," the rat said with a grin.


    "I want five bodies."


    "Bring me five bodies that have not been killed by Nurse Alice, and I will tell you where you can find a fitting one."

 Chapter 12 - 12 – Morals

    <h4>Chapter 12: ¨C Morals</h4>


    Nick scratched his chin for a bit.


    The rat looked with interest at Nick.


    "Not interested," Nick said after a bit.


    "Oh,e on," the rat shouted, but it still didn''t dare to leave its little hole. "It''s just five bodies! You don''t even need to kill them yourself!"


    "No, killing is forbidden," Nick answered.


    "So?" the rat asked. "Who cares?"


    "I do," Nick said. "I am a real Zephyx Extractor now. I can''t do such shady stuff."


    The rat blinked very slowly.


    "What?" it asked in a disbelieving and deadpan voice. "Extractors kill the most people. They can basically kill whoever they want. They just need to pay a fine for it."


    Nick scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I get it, but I don''t like it."


    "It feels dirty."


    The rat looked like it couldn''t believe what Nick was saying.


    "What are you talking about? I literally saw you kill that guy from the Insurance Gang and dump his body in the ruins!" the rat shouted.


    "Ruins?" Nick asked.


    "The sewers! The stuff below the grates you''re walking on!" the rat shouted with annoyance.


    "Oh, that," Nick said. "Yeah, I killed him, but that was because he was trying to collect information on me. It was self-defense."


    "Self-defense? The guy was just looking at your house! You punched his face in before he could even do anything!"


    "Yeah, like I said, self-defense!" Nick answered with annoyance. "He went against me, and I answered in kind."


    The rat scratched on the grate below it with annoyance. "Okay, fine! It was self-defense! Then, go out and make some enemies and self-defend yourself into five corpses!"


    "No," Nick answered.


    Silence.


    "Why?" the rat asked.


    "I don''t want to kill people that haven''t done anything to me."


    "I have morals, you know!" Nick shouted with a serious tone.


    "Morals," the rat repeated with annoyance.


    "Yes, morals," Nick answered.


    "Okay," the rat said. "Then go purchase five corpses or something. Your employer looks like he has money."


    "Can''t," Nick answered. "We are not allowed to keep the corpses."


    "Also, I heard that the entire city is basically looking for you, and if anyone found out that I purchased some corpses to hand them to you, the city would probably kill me."


    The rat took a deep breath.


    "Okay, okay," it said. "Anyway, my offer still stands. If you are ever interested in some information, just give me some corpses. I don''t care where theye from. As long as they are human and have not been killed by Nurse Alice, I am fine with any."


    "Anyway, good luck finding a Specter without me," the rat said with a snort before it vanished back into its hole.


    When Nick heard that, he furrowed his brows again and scratched the back of his head.


    He really didn''t like his current situation.


    Just now, the Parasite had given him a chance to find a Specter, but he had declined.


    In the end, Nick could only sigh and ept his circumstances.


    Of course, as someone who had lived in the Dregs for his entire life, Nick was a very practical person.


    Naturally, he had considered the Parasite''s offer seriously.


    However, no matter how he reasoned with himself, Nick just couldn''t ept helping the Parasite.


    The Parasite was a Specter that killed a great number of humans.


    Essentially, it was preying on the weak.


    Over the years, Nick had looked at the huge pyramid that symbolized the Inner City countless times, and whenever he saw the difference between it and the Dregs, he felt very simr.


    Just based on how the tax system worked, Nick could tell that the rich Zephyx Manufacturers in the Inner City were preying on the weak and poor people of the Dregs.


    This created a certain hatred for people who preyed on weaker ones.


    If everyone could just give a little of their belongings, there wouldn''t be so many dying people in the Dregs.


    Naturally, Nick knew that this was a very na?ve ideology. Something like this would never happen.


    Yet, even if the ideology was na?ve, it was still what Nick wished for.


    Nick couldn''t change the world, but he could live his own life after his own standards, at least.


    And Nick wouldn''t take advantage of the weak people.


    Taking advantage of the ones in power, like the Gangs, sure, but not of the weak ones.


    Would it be easier to just ept how the world was and go with the flow?


    Of course.


    ''But I don''t need things to be easy,'' Nick thought. ''I''m strong enough to have morals.''


    Nevertheless, Nick threw onest nce at the hole where the rat had just been.


    He felt a bit of regret.


    Someone with Nick''s knowledge and strength could probably find five corpses without being found.


    But in the end, Nick just couldn''t do it.


    So, Nick just continued walking through the alleyways.


    Eventually, the metal below Nick''s feet became so unstable that he had to stop.


    By now, Nick was pretty close to the huge wall around the city.


    Rows upon rows of silver cameras lined the top of the walls, and they were looking in and out of the city.


    Naturally, several cameras were also pointing at Nick at the moment.


    However, that wasn''t anything unusual.


    After a bit, Nick just turned around and left this part of the Dregs again.


    Nick looked for a different abandoned part and continued his search there.


    Hours passed.


    Still nothing.


    Nick returned home, ate something, and went to bed.


    The next day, he continued searching.


    Nothing.


    The next day, he went and talked to different people all day.


    Nobody had anything of value to say.


    Nick also met an Investigator that day, who onlyughed at Nick.


    The Investigators had already found out that Nick was searching for Specters, and apparently, Nick had be a joke within their ranks.


    They found it quite hrious that some unknown guy from the Dregs was searching for Specters while he was up against several hugepanies with hundreds of employees.


    Nick didn''t talk to the Investigator.


    Another day passed.


    Another day passed.


    Another day passed.


    Nothing.


    Nick found absolutely nothing.


    Yet, Nick didn''t give up.


    He still continued searching.


    There had to be something, somewhere!


    If Nick didn''t find something, his future would be grey and empty again!


    Nick wanted to make something of his life, and for that to happen, he needed to find something.


    He wouldn''t give up!


    No matter how long it took!

 Chapter 13 - 13 – Job Offer

    <h4>Chapter 13: ¨C Job Offer</h4>


    Nick kept going to the marketce and asking people for several days.


    By now, many people were already telling him that they knew nothing before he could even ask his questions.


    Constantly getting rejected by everyone didn''t feel great, but Nick knew that he had to keep at it.


    There had to be some weak Specters somewhere in the city.


    Of course, the Inspectors also kept ridiculing Nick.


    Yet, Nick never truly reacted to the ridicule.


    He just kept on asking around and searching.


    Ten days after Nick had started searching, some small things started to change.


    The people had assumed a more neutral stance instead of directly telling Nick to go away.


    On top of that, the Inspectors actually stopped making fun of Nick.


    The reason for that was that the Inspectors were actually a bit impressed by Nick''s grit.


    Not many people could continue doing something after getting shut down by literally everyone around them.


    Another two dayster, one of the Inspectors actually stopped in front of Nick.


    It was a middle-aged man with ck hair and a goatee.


    His build could be described as athletic. He wasn''t thin, but he also wasn''t fat.


    "Nick, right?" the Inspector asked.


    Nick just furrowed his brows and walked past the Inspector.


    "Hey, wait a minute! I''m not here to ridicule you," the Inspector shouted.


    Nick turned around and looked at the Inspector with a raised eyebrow.


    "I''ve heard from my people that you have been searching for a Specter for about two weeks," the Inspector said. "They are talking quite a lot about you. Near the beginning, it was mostly jokes and ridicule, but by now, quite a few of them actually admire your tenacity."


    Nick just nodded. "Thanks. Is there anything else?"


    The eyebrows of the Inspector rose, but the next second, he just chuckled a bit in amusement. "So curt and off-putting. Well, you are from the Dregs, after all."


    Nick didn''t like the condescending tone of the Inspector and just turned around to walk away.


    The Inspector just chuckled a bit.


    "Want a job?"


    Nick stopped walking, and his brows furrowed as he turned back to look at the Inspector. "A job?"


    "Yes, as an Inspector," the Inspector said. "Even though you don''t know the nuances of finding clues of Specters, your tenacity and grit aremendable."


    "Teaching someone how to do something isn''t difficult. Teaching them how to gain tenacity and grit is."


    "I''m offering you a position as an Inspector in my team," the man said. "Interested?"


    Naturally, Nick was interested.


    Sure, he had already signed a contract with Wyntor Melfion, but his rtionship with Wyntor was strictly business.


    "I already have an attuned Zephyx Synchronizer. Is there a way for me to be a Zephyx Extractor in the future?" Nick asked.


    The Inspector''s eyes rose, and he looked at Nick again.


    Only now did the Inspector take conscious note of Nick''s formidable muscles.


    He had heard that Nick was a new Zephyx Extractor, but after looking more closely at the business Nick was in, the Inspector could just shake his head.


    There were only two people in there, and one of them was Nick.


    They didn''t even have a Specter.


    In essence, Nick wasn''t even an official Zephyx Extractor at this point. After all, he hadn''t extracted even one unit of Zephyx.


    There were several people in the Dregs with attuned Zephyx Synchronizers. There were not many, but there were definitely over ten.


    It wasn''t unusual for someone toe into contact with a Specter.


    Yet, none of these people could be actual Zephyx Extractors.


    It took way more than just that.


    So, the Inspector hadn''t considered Nick special.


    But after meeting Nick face to face, the Inspector realized that Nick actually didn''t seem weak.


    He had tenacity, a strong body, guts, and willpower.


    He could actually be a Zephyx Extractor.


    Sadly¡­


    The Inspector could only sigh. "While it happens asionally, Inspectors don''t often be Extractors, and the few ones that do don''t have attuned Synchronizers."


    "I can''t make the decision on that, but based on my personal experience, I would say the chances are very low."


    "Sorry."


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked at the ground.


    Even though Nick had just essentially heard that he wouldn''t be a Zephyx Extractor, he was still a bit tempted to ept the offer.


    What was Nick''s goal in life?


    Right now, Nick only wanted to have a nice future.


    He didn''t want to worry about money.


    He didn''t want to constantly be on guard because somebody might break into his house to kill him.


    Nick just wanted an easier and more colorful life.


    Nick knew that an Inspector didn''te close to an Extractor in terms of payment and status, but it was a solid job, at least.


    That was something that no one living in the Dregs could im to have.


    While the lowest-ranking Inspectors didn''t live in the Inner City, they definitely could live in the actual Outer City.


    Normal houses.


    Normal food.


    Normal work.


    It was already a major step up from living in the Dregs.


    And yet¡­


    "I''m sorry," Nick said with a sigh. "I can''t ept."


    "Can you tell me why?" the Inspector asked.


    "I don''t exactly know why," Nick answered. "I only know that I want to give life my best shot."


    "I actually want to see if I can capture a Specter and be a real Zephyx Extractor."


    "If I don''t try, I will forever regret it."


    "And if I fail, I can still ept, right? It''s not like this is only a one-time offer," Nick exined.


    The Inspector sighed. "No, it isn''t. Naturally, if you want the position, just tell any of the local Inspectors."


    Nick nodded. "Then, thank you for the offer and for understanding. I''m genuinely sorry that I can''t ept at this moment."


    The Inspector nodded. "No problem," he said.


    "Then, have a good one," Nick said as he turned around to walk away.


    As the Inspector watched Nick turn around, he seemed to struggle with something.


    It was like an inner conflict was currently taking ce in the Inspector''s mind.


    For a while, the Inspector just looked at Nick.


    When he saw Nick walk up to a person he had already asked twice in thest ten days, the Inspector sighed again.


    "Nick,e over here," he said, waving Nick over.


    Nick stopped and looked back at the Inspector.


    After a bit, Nick turned around and walked up to the Inspector.


    "Yes?" he asked.


    The Inspector scratched the side of his head with a bitter smile.


    "How important is this to you?" the Inspector asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Pretty important. It''s my life, you know?"


    "How good are you in dark ces?" the Inspector asked.


    Nick looked to the side.


    The Nightmare, one of the five level nine Specters, was omnipresent, and whenever anyone entered a dark ce, the Nightmare would start to poison their minds with doubt, hatred, anger, and all manners of negative emotions.


    Everyone avoided the dark.


    "It''s difficult to resist," Nick answered.


    "Can you survive for an hour without any major trauma?" the Inspector asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows again.


    He didn''t answer for a while.


    "Not sure."


    The Inspector looked at Nick with concern for a couple of seconds.


    But then, he sighed.


    "I know where you can find a Specter."


    "And it shouldn''t be that powerful."

 Chapter 14 - 14 – The Dreamer

    <h4>Chapter 14: ¨C The Dreamer</h4>


    Nick and the Inspector walked to the side into an abandoned alleyway.


    Nick was highly interested in what the Inspector had to say.


    After nearly two weeks, Nick had finally found a clue!


    When they arrived in the alleyway, Nick just nodded at the Inspector.


    The Inspector looked around.


    "I''m not supposed to tell you about this," the Inspector said. "Information regarding Specters is top secret."


    "Why are you telling me?" Nick asked.


    "Well, there are a couple of reasons."


    "First, I feel like I should help you a bit. I kind of feel bad for you when I see you try this desperately to find a Specter."


    "Two, the Specter isn''t being hunted by the Manufacturers anyway. This means that nobody would really miss it."


    "And third, I don''t fully agree with my employer''s goal," the Inspector exined.


    "Their goal?" Nick asked.


    The Inspector nodded. "There are many Specters that we know about but don''t capture. There are multiple reasons for that."


    "Sometimes, it''s incredibly difficult to find the actual location of the Specters. The Parasite is a good example. The entire city is after the Parasite, but nobody managed to track it down."


    "Another reason is that some of the Specters are incredibly difficult to contain, and it''s even more difficult to keep them contained. While there are Containment Units that can keep some Force Specters contained, there are still some of them that can''t be contained."


    "For example, outside the city is a Specter we call the Swallowing Swamp. It''s just a huge swamp that''s several kilometers wide. In order to contain that, we would need tomit monumental amounts of resources to it, which wouldn''t be worth it."


    "Some Specters are also just too powerful. Nurse Alice is a great example."


    "And then, there are Specters that are living in ces that are too difficult to get to. The one I''m going to tell you about is part of that category."


    Nick became quite interested. "Where is it?"


    The Inspector pointed at the floor, or more specifically, at the darkness beyond the metal grates everyone was walking on.


    "The sewers," the Inspector said.


    Nick also looked at the ground.


    Since the floor was essentially made of metallic grates, everyone could see and smell the sewers.


    In a way, the sewers didn''t really look like sewers.


    In truth, just a couple of meters below the grates, there was just a sea of horrible and dirty water.


    If anyone broke a grate and fell through, they would fall for about ten meters and then plummet into a deep pile of water filled with piss, shit, waste, garbage, and so on.


    There were cases where some of the victims were rescued, but most of them died quickly.


    In general, the people started to puke violently, which often made them identally swallow more of the water. This increased their panic, and they started to rapidly ssh around.


    Oftentimes, they hit some kind of old and rusty nail, which then cut them open.


    Additionally, the Parasite''s minions, the rats, often piled onto the victim.


    Falling into the sewers was a terrifying death.


    Even more, not all of the floor was made of grates. There were also plenty of ces with tes instead of grates.


    If one had exceptionally bad luck, one might fall into a dark part of the sewers.


    At that point, the Nightmare''s influence also attacked them.


    "In the sewers?" Nick asked.


    The Inspector nodded.


    Nick''s heart rate increased, and he had to take a deep breath.


    "Where is it exactly?" Nick asked.


    "Are you really willing to jump into the sewers?" the Inspector asked with concern.


    Nick took another deep breath.


    Nick imagined himself standing in front of a hole, looking at the murky and dark liquid below.


    Just the stench would make a normal person retch.


    Jumping into that¡­


    The mental image was horrifying.


    To be honest, Nick hesitated a while.


    It wasn''t easy to jump into something like that.


    The only good thing was that nobody would be seeing Nick down there, which would allow him to keep his unique ability active.


    This meant that drowning or getting pricked by a sharp piece of metal was no real concern.


    Nick''s body became five times as powerful when no one was looking. That also meant that the durability of his skin and muscles increased.


    As long as he didn''t ram into a metallic spike jutting out of a solid wall with all his force, Nick wouldn''t get wounded.


    The rats also weren''t that big of a problem.


    Yes, the Parasite had a lot of rats, but every rat was valuable.


    The rats would be able to overwhelm Nick, but Nick would take many of them with him.


    Nick was quite sure that it wouldn''t be worth the trade.


    So, while the sewers were incredibly disgusting and horrifying, they were not actually a danger to Nick.


    However, two other things would still prove to be very dangerous.


    One, the Specter itself, whatever it was.


    No Specter was weak, and Nick needed to overwhelm the Specter, catch it, and bring it back to the surface.


    Two, the darkness.


    The sewers were dimly lit at best, and there were also many ces that werepletely dark.


    The darker the ce, the greater the Nightmare''s influence.


    The Nightmare''s powers affected every single human in the world.


    It didn''t matter how strong someone was.


    Whether they were a normal person or one of the most powerful Extractors in the world.


    All of them were affected by the Nightmare equally.


    Power didn''t matter.


    Only mental fortitude mattered.


    Nick would need to resist the Nightmare''s influence for a prolonged period of time while also actively searching for the Specter.


    Nick only looked to the side.


    ''He said that the Specter should be on my level, which means it''s a level one Specter.''


    ''For a level one Specter, someone has to jump into the sewers and resist the Nightmare''s influence. I can imagine that it wouldn''t be worth the effort.''


    Nick remained silent for several seconds.


    "You know," the Inspector said.


    Nick looked back.


    "Maybe I misrepresented my reasons for helping you a bit," the Inspector added.


    "The reasons I mentioned earlier still hold true, but the order might not be the most urate."


    "The thing I''m actually most concerned about is thest reason."


    Nick only looked at the Inspector.


    "When we find such a Specter," the Inspector exined, "my employer makes a risk assessment. Is it worth to go after it? What are the dangers? What is the potential profit?"


    "Since this is only a level one Specter, it obviously isn''t worth it. Because of that, we are just going to ignore the Specter."


    "That is until it bes a level three Specter."


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    "You''re saying that they want the Specter to feed on the poption of the Dregs until it bes a level three Specter?" Nick asked.


    The Inspector looked to the side.


    "Well, my employer is a business, and all businesses are made for profit. When there is no profit to be gained, we don''t get involved."


    "My employer isn''t letting the Specter live just so that it can be more powerful."


    "My employer just doesn''t get involved since it''s not worth it."


    "My employer is not responsible for keeping the city safe. It''s a business, not a charity. It''s not my employer''s job to protect the people."


    Nick''s demeanor didn''t improve. "And if your employer told the city about the Specter?"


    The Inspector didn''t immediately answer.


    "The city might do something about it," the Inspector added.


    "But they would need to pay quite a hefty sum in return."


    "Also, maybe one day, the Specter might be profitable enough to catch."


    Nick didn''t need to hear more.


    Naturally, the Inspector wasn''t allowed to speak ill of his employer, which was why he was wording it this vaguely, but Nick basically got the gist.


    The Inspector''s employer was willing to feed people to the Specter until it grew more powerful.


    And the Inspector didn''t like that.


    Which was why he was telling Nick about it.


    Earlier, Nick had still been on the fence, but now, not anymore.


    "I''m doing it," Nick said.


    The Inspector looked into Nick''s eyes for a while.


    The Inspector saw that they were filled with a bit of fear but also a lot of conviction.


    The Inspector took a deep breath.


    "It''s called the Dreamer."

 Chapter 15 - 15 – Jumping In

    <h4>Chapter 15: ¨C Jumping In</h4>


    Nick and Wyntor stood in front of a destroyed street.


    The Inspector had told Nick everything he knew about the Dreamer already, and Nick had also informed Wyntor.


    As always, the sun was in the middle of the sky, and yet, the sea of toxic waste still seemed dark.


    This part of the Dregs was abandoned, and the road had broken into many pieces, creating a sort of ramp towards the sewers.


    Nick chose this spot since he also needed a ce from where he could return.


    At this moment, Wyntor was holding his nose with a white handkerchief, and he looked with disgust and concern at the dirty and grimy water.


    The two of them looked at the disgusting water washing across the broken and lowered metal tes and grates for several seconds.


    "And you''re sure you want to apany me?" Nick asked as he looked at Wyntor.


    Wyntor didn''t immediately answer.


    "You really don''t have to," Nick added. "As the Chief Zephyx Extractor, this is my job, not yours."


    Wyntor just kept looking at the disgusting water.


    He took several deep breaths.


    Then, he started to retch and cough.


    Yet, Wyntor kept looking at the dirty water.


    A momentter, his legs shook a bit.


    And finally, he sighed.


    "I''m sorry," he said.


    "It''s fine," Nick said with a nod. "It''s not your job."


    "Nick, I''m really genuinely sorry," Wyntor added. "I honestly want to go with you, but I just can''t."


    "I don''t have the courage."


    "Sorry."


    "It''s fine, dude," Nick said with a bit of annoyance. "You can just stay here until I return. If I am apanied by something that''s attacking me, you can help me with that."


    "I will," Wyntor answered with a nod.


    After Nick had signed the NDA, Wyntor had also told Nick about his ability.


    As one of the heirs to the Melfion family, Wyntor had received something to protect himself.


    Wyntor''s Zephyx Synchronizer was also already attuned to a Specter.


    However, the ability the Specter gave people was not something that was very useful for a Zephyx Extractor.


    It was basically only good for running away from someone.


    Nevertheless, it was still very good at what it did.


    While Wyntor couldn''t capture any Specter on his own, he could still debilitate and weaken it.


    Naturally, Wyntor had received that ability for two reasons.


    First, his parents wanted Wyntor to have something that could protect him.


    Second, they didn''t want Wyntor to be a Zephyx Extractor, and the best way was for Wyntor''s Synchronizer to already be upied with a rtively useless ability for Extractors.


    "If I see anything attacking you, I will immediately support you," Wyntor said with conviction.


    Nick just nodded.


    "Also, since I''m not apanying you, I might as well give you these," Wyntor said as he took out three long tubes of ss.


    Nick looked at them with furrowed brows. "What''s that?"


    "Arclight," Wyntor answered.


    "And how will that help me?" Nick asked. "Everyone knows that artificial light sources don''t help against the Nightmare."


    "This is different," Wyntor said as he pointed at the three long tubes. "Each one is harvested from a level three Specter. They actually help against the Nightmare."


    This surprised Nick quite a bit.


    "Be careful with them," Wyntor added. "Each one costs around 10,000 credits, and they only work for a minute each."


    "If you feel like you can''t handle the Nightmare''s influence anymore, just break one of them. An area of light will appear around you, but it will dissipate after around a minute."


    "The Containment Unit and building already consumed most of my budget, and I can''t afford more of these Arclights without jeopardizing our daily operations. Use them when necessary."


    Nick looked at the three ss tubes with newfound appreciation and bound them to his thigh.


    "Thanks," Nick said.


    "Good," Wyntor said with a nod. "I hope everything turns out well for you."


    "Thanks," Nick repeated.


    Then, Nick took a deep breath.


    At the same time, Wyntor turned around.


    In order for Nick''s powers to activate, Wyntor also wasn''t allowed to see him.


    For the next couple of seconds, Nick took several deep breaths.


    Finally, Nick put on some diving goggles that Wyntor had bought him and jumped forward.


    Nick could have just walked into the murky pool of water, but he feared that he would turn around if he came into contact with a bit of the liquid.


    So, he decided to directly jump in.


    SPLASH!


    The ssh was noticeably more lethargic and subduedpared to the typical ssh of water.


    It was just too viscous.


    Thanks to his ability, Nick easily jumped forward for over five meters without needing a running start.


    As soon as Nick touched the murky liquid, all his senses fired at the same time.


    Nick felt several small pieces of cloth touch his skin.


    He had also hit two small but solid objects, which were quickly pushed away by his body.


    The next moment, Nick felt how incredibly sticky the liquid was.


    In a way, it felt like the liquid was trying to trap him in ce.


    Some of the liquid went into Nick''s ears and nose, and he had to do his best to resist the urge to vomit.


    Disgusting.


    All of Nick''s body shouted at him that this was disgusting.


    It was so bad.


    However, instead of immediately panicking, Nick remained motionless in the liquid first.


    He knew that he had to get limated.


    Nick had already pulled his knees to his chest to make the surface area of his body as small as possible, but his body was still violently shaking.


    He wanted to throw up so badly.


    He just wanted to push his head above the surface and scream.


    Yet, Nick just remained stationary.


    For several seconds, Nick didn''t move.


    During these seconds, he felt several small pieces of cloth get caught by his body.


    Finally, Nick slowly extended his body.


    As he felt his chest and thighse into contact with the liquid, his body shuddered again.


    And then, Nick slowly swam upwards.


    Ssh!


    Nick''s head broke the surface, but he didn''t immediately open his eyes. He knew that he was wearing diving goggles, but he had still closed his eyes.


    Over the next seconds, Nick slowly opened his eyes as he looked upward.


    Brown and green liquid was sparkling as the light of the sun shone through them.


    Nick saw small pieces of bandages, and he even saw a couple of small pieces of bone on his diving goggles.


    Piss, shit, bandages, bones, teeth, blood, rotten meat, insects, poisons, splinters, rusty metal, puke.


    Together with water, all of that was creating the pool of liquid Nick was currently in.


    A momentter, Nick slowly wiped his goggles, mouth, and nose clean.


    Or, at least, as clean as he could.


    Finally, Nick took a deep breath.


    Surprisingly, the smell didn''t feel as bad as before.


    But that was the only positive thing.


    "Nick, is everything alright?" Wyntor shouted, still turned away from Nick.


    Nick took another deep breath.


    "I''m fine," he answered.


    "Good," Wyntor shouted back.


    "I''m going to search now," Nick shouted.


    "Good luck!" Wyntor shouted back.


    The next moment, Nick took another deep breath.


    And then, he swam forward, towards the endless depths of the sewers.

 Chapter 16 - 16 – Ruins

    <h4>Chapter 16: ¨C Ruins</h4>


    Nick swam forward in silence.


    From time to time, he could hear the sound of someone walking on the road above him, but that was about it.


    All the other sounds were just the liquid sloshing around Nick''s body and face.


    CRK!


    Nick''s shin suddenly hit something solid, but thanks to his ability, his shin didn''t receive any real damage.


    The next moment, Nick stopped and used his feet to see what was below him. After all, the liquid was so murky that he couldn''t even see further than ten centimeters.


    Nick''s feet found something big and stable beneath him.


    In fact, Nick could even stand on it, allowing his torso to rise above the murky liquid.


    ''Wonder what that is,'' Nick thought as he continued wading across the stable foothold.


    Ssh!


    But after some seconds, Nick lost his footing and fell forward.


    A momentter, Nick shot upward and scrambled back onto the stable foothold.


    ''It''s in my mouth!''


    Nick immediately started retching uncontrobly, and it only stopped over two minutester.


    ''Note to self, don''t breathe in while walking forward,'' Nick thought.


    ''Anyway, seems like my foothold ended after about ten meters.''


    ''I guess that''s the size of a house.''


    A momentter, Nick decided to walk along the edge of the perceived building he was walking on, and within a minute, Nick had mapped out what he was standing on.


    ''Sure enough, it''s a house,'' Nick thought.


    But then, Nick furrowed his brows. ''However, the form is unusual, and it''s made of stone or brick instead of metal.''


    ''Almost all houses have a nted roof because of the rainwater, but the roof of this one is perfectly t.''


    ''Even more, all the houses above me are made of metal.''


    ''A house made of something as luxurious as stone would be far too expensive for the people living in the Dregs. Even the houses in the actual Outer City are mostly made of metal, albeit rust-free.''


    That was when Nick remembered what the Parasite had said.


    The Parasite had called the sewers ruins at some point.


    ''Ruins,'' Nick thought. ''I guess this stone house is part of the ruins then.''


    ''But why are there buildings down here?''


    ''Obviously, no one is living down here. Yet, there are still valuable and functional houses.''


    ''Even more, the sewers wouldn''t have swallowed everything if we had just lived in the houses to begin with.''


    ''Why did someone build a metallic city above this one?''


    ''I don''t know,'' Nick thought after some seconds, ''but one thing is clear.''


    ''Humans have lived here before.''


    Nick looked around a bit.


    ''I want to know how big the house is.''


    The next moment, Nick went to the edge of the house, took a deep breath, and dove down.


    Nick''s hands grabbed the rough stone of the house and pulled him downward.


    Since no one was watching him, Nick easily managed to pull himself downward.


    After descending for around ten meters, Nick reached the bottom, but when he felt it, he furrowed his brows in surprise.


    ''Metal?''


    ''The ground is made of metal here as well?''


    The Dregs were buildings made of rusty metal sitting on top of grates and tes of rusty metal.


    Below that, Nick imagined a stone house sitting on top of more metal.


    ''Then, is there even more?''


    Nick pulled back and kicked the floor with all his power.


    BOOOM!


    The ground vibrated, but Nick suddenly felt pain in his leg.


    He knew all too well where that pain came from.


    He had hit something that was way too hard.


    ''This feels just as hard as the metal that Wyntor''s Containment Unit is made of! I think he called it steel.''


    ''A house made of stone on top of a floor made of steel. This sounds way better than the rusty metal of the Dregs.''


    Nick thought about this for a while.


    ''There''s not enough information.''


    A momentter, Nick shot towards the surface to get a "fresh" breath of air before returning underground.


    Over the next few minutes, Nick mapped out the building. He even found the door and some windows.


    ''Sure enough, it''s a residential house,'' Nick thought.


    By now, Nick had limated to the disgusting liquid, and as long as it didn''t get into his mouth, he could keep his disgust in check.


    As Nick looked down at the house below him, he suddenly got the urge to investigate further.


    ''Maybe there is some treasure inside?''


    ''Maybe there are some secrets to uncover?''


    But then, Nick felt a bit of crackling from beneath his feet.


    The house wasn''t breaking apart, but it definitely wasn''t stable.


    That was when Nick realized something crucial.


    ''That''s dumb!''


    ''There''s no way anything valuable would be left! After all, the people who moved here to build the city must have cleared everything out already!''


    The next moment, Nick narrowed his eyes.


    Then, he remembered when this feeling had actually urred.


    While Nick had been deep below the surface, he had already had the urge to investigate the house.


    In fact, the urge had been the strongest when Nick had found the door.


    ''It''s already started.''


    The liquid was so incredibly murky that no light reached a depth of even just two meters.


    This meant that Nick had been in pure darkness down there.


    ''The Nightmare.''


    The Nightmare''s influence could be subtle or noticeable, whichever was more useful.


    Naturally, the Nightmare had influenced Nick in a very subtle manner down there, slowly nting ideas into his head of riches and secrets.


    If Nick had followed these urges, he would have been in quite a lot of danger.


    The house was not stable, and even more, the Nightmare could also warp someone''s perception and create illusions.


    It could have made Nick move in a different direction than he wanted, and without being able to see or hear down there, Nick wouldn''t be able to find his way out.


    In the end, he might be panicked and break through the wall, but then, the house might copse on top of him.


    ''The Nightmare has already influenced me.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''I have to be careful.''


    The next moment, Nick decided to stop investigating the ruins below him.


    Without a constant source of light, investigating the ruins was far too dangerous.


    ''I can look at them at some other time.''


    ''For now, I should look for the Dreamer.''

 Chapter 17 - 17 – Rules of the Sewer

    <h4>Chapter 17: ¨C Rules of the Sewer</h4>


    Nick focused on searching for the Dreamer.


    ''The Investigator doesn''t know what the Dreamer looks like exactly, but he said that he knows it can fly.''


    ''Physical and Possession Specters of the first level are not nearly powerful enough to fly without wings, which means that the Specter is most likely a winged creature of some sort.''


    As Nick swam forward, he kept looking upward.


    Naturally, the Dreamer most likely didn''t reside inside the actual murky liquid.


    ''It''s probably living inside some of these structures.''


    Naturally, there had to be some support for all the metallic tes and grates that made up the floor of the Outer City.


    These supports came in the form of long and wide pirs of rusty metal, but they were not the only kinds of support.


    Nick had already found a couple of other ruins jutting out of the liquid.


    For example, there was a wide building made of stone that seemed to touch or fuse into the metallic tes above it.


    There were also several other sizable buildings made of metal and stone jutting out of the pool.


    While most of the normal pirs ended in a part of the street with a couple of tes, the sizable ruins that supported the city often ended in big areas of tes.


    There were no grates for over ten meters around these big structures.


    Additionally, most floors below the actual buildings in the dregs were also made of tes instead of grates.


    In a way, since the sun was directly above Nick at all times, the map of the Dregs was reflected on the murky liquid in the form of shadows and big areas of darkness.


    While Nick was swimming through the sewers, he was essentially following the roads of the Dregs above him.


    It had a kind of bizarre sense of order.


    Sadly, this meant that Nick couldn''t fully investigate every part of the sewers without having to enter the darkness.


    Many buildings were often clumped together, and since the people wanted to avoid the rising smell of the sewers as much as possible, they also reced their floors with tes.


    This created areas of pure darkness over a hundred meters wide.


    Naturally, there were also ruins and supports in these areas, and Nick couldn''t see much from a distance.


    Nick was in the light, and if he wanted to look into the darkness, his eyes had to limate to darkness first.


    This meant that he had to enter the darkness if he wanted to see in the darkness.


    But for now, Nick avoided the darkness.


    He would only enter when it was necessary.


    Nick remained on the "streets" as he continued to search for any movement above him.


    The good thing about the sewers was that they were so incredibly toxic and disgusting that not even insects came here.


    The only movement Nick saw came from the rats scuttling across the ceiling of the sewers.


    Surprisingly, not even the rats were swimming in the liquid.


    Instead, they were scuttling across the metallic grates with their ws.


    In fact, there were quite a lot of them.


    In a certain way, these rats were the pedestrians of the sewers since they also followed the roads.


    While Specters were not being hunted by the Nightmare, most of their minions were.


    So, even the minions of a powerful Specter, like the Parasite, had to avoid the dark ces.


    Luckily, none of the rats were looking at Nick, keeping his ability active.


    In the beginning, some of them had looked at him out of curiosity, but after Nick had thrown them a re, they turned around.


    If the Parasite annoyed Nick too much, Nick might decide to hunt its rats.


    So, out of politeness, the Parasite tried to ignore Nick.


    As long as it didn''t antagonize Nick, Nick wouldn''t antagonize it.


    That was their unspoken agreement.


    For several hours, Nick continued searching for the Dreamer.


    The sewers were kilometers upon kilometers long, but luckily, not all the flooring was made of grates.


    The Dregs didn''t surround the city. After all, no city would want every single visitor to travel through the absolute worst ce they had.


    So, while the sewers covered most of the underground of the city, the Dregs were only about two kilometers wide and three kilometers long.


    Nick was quite certain that the Dreamer didn''t go outside the sewers below the Dregs.


    First of all, the other parts of the cities had far more Zephyx Extractors, and if any of them found a level one Specter appearing near them, they would hunt it down.


    Every Specter represented an incredible amount of wealth!


    Additionally, the nicer parts of the town had the sewerspletely isted, making it impossible for the Dreamer to surface.


    This meant that the Dreamer had to focus on the Dregs.


    ''By now, it should bete evening,'' Nick thought.


    The sun didn''t move, but Nick''s inner clock was telling him that it was gettingte.


    ''ording to the Inspector, the Dreamer has received its name due to the method it uses to hunt and feed.''


    ''Once a night, it leaves its nest and visits a sleeping person.''


    ''While they are asleep, the Dreamer creates terrifying nightmares for them but doesn''t allow them to wake up.''


    ''For several hours, the person is stuck inside a terrifying nightmare.''


    ''The next day, the person wakes up again, but they feel even more tired than before they went to bed. Naturally, they also need a long time to recover from the mental stress.''


    ''Since it''s alreadyte in the evening, the first people should already be going to bed.''


    ''In at most a couple of hours, the Dreamer should leave its nest to feed.''


    ''That''s when I can find it.''


    ''Sadly, I also need to reach it and sneak up on it.''


    ''That won''t be easy.''


    ''But for now, I should wait.''


    Nick went to one of the ruins that were below some grates and grabbed the edge.


    Then, Nick slightly pulled himself down so that only his nose and eyes poked out.


    He didn''t want the Dreamer to see him when it searched for its food.


    And like this, Nick waited.

 Chapter 18 - 18 – Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 18: ¨C Nightmare</h4>


    Nick waited for several hours in the horrible liquid.


    During this time, he had a lot of time to think.


    For example, he had thought about how he had ended up in this ce.


    Naturally, after being inside such a disgusting ce for so long, Nick had questioned his life choices.


    But in the end, Nick thought that it actually wasn''t so bad. After all, he was currently trying to turn his life for the better.


    The worse it was, the fewer regrets he would have in the future in case he decided to ept the Investigator job.


    At least, he could say that he had even swam through a pool of piss and shit in an effort to be a Zephyx Extractor.


    By now, it was deep in the night, but the sun still shone brightly in the sky.


    Way fewer people were walking around above the grates, and Nick had also seen a drop in streams of piss and nuggets of shiting down through the grates into the pool.


    Yet, Nick still hadn''t seen the Dreamer.


    He constantly kept a lookout for its whereabouts, but Nick just couldn''t find it anywhere.


    ''It should be 12 a.m. already,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''Most people should be asleep already, and there should be plenty of victims to choose from for the Dreamer.''


    ''Yet, I haven''t seen anything fly around.''


    ''From this position, I can basically look at everything below the Dregs, but I still can''t see anything flying around.''


    Naturally, Nick grew worried.


    Just to be safe, Nick waited for another two hours.


    But still, nothing.


    ''It should be 2 a.m. now, but I still don''t see anything.''


    By now, even Nick''s powerful and strengthened skin started to get itchy all over.


    The liquid was a bit acidic, and Nick had been in it for over eight hours by now.


    In the end, Nick surfaced with a helpless sigh.


    ''Since it''s not flying around, this can basically mean only one thing.''


    ''Its nest is directly below its victim''s home.''


    ''That means it doesn''t need to fly around to feed.''


    Nick looked around and focused on the several big and dark spots in his surroundings.


    The direct beams of lighting from above Nick created shadowy squares when blocked by the houses of the Dregs.


    In a way, they created shadows of the houses themselves.


    But instead of being two-dimensional, it was like the shadows took up the entire space below the houses, creating a sort of ck domain.


    However, there were also a few houses with a couple of small grates, representing small spots of light.


    These grates were mostly left in the houses as toilets.


    ''For now, I should focus on the houses with toilets.''


    Nick created a map inside his head of theyout and started from the edge of the Dregs.


    After swimming for a while, Nick stopped in front of the first dark ce.


    In front of Nick was a shadowy area, around twenty meters wide and fifty meters long.


    There were two grates in that area of darkness.


    Naturally, houses in the Dregs didn''t get that big. This was simply a small block of houses with two toilets.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    And then, he swam forward.


    Nick directly swam towards the beam of light in front of him, but he also kept looking around for the Dreamer.


    He saw several pirs and even a ruin jotting out of the pool around him, and he looked at all of them.


    The Dreamer probably wasn''t very big, and it could probably even live on the sides of one of the rusty pirs.


    Nick inspected all the pirs.


    Suddenly, Nick''s body shook, and he stopped moving forward.


    In front of him, the pirs seemed to distort and morph into each other.


    Just a couple of momentster, a terrifying grimace with teeth had been created, and it looked down at Nick with rage.


    Nick''s heart rate rose.


    ''That''s the Nightmare! This is only an illusion!''


    Yet, knowing that it was an illusion didn''t help a lot.


    Nick''s terror was still very present and visible.


    Someone with a phobia of spiders also knew that almost all the spiders weren''t even dangerous.


    Yet, their fear was still overpowering.


    Nick was in a simr situation now.


    He knew that the huge grimace floating above him was not real, but he still genuinely felt like he was about to die.


    Nick''s speed increased.


    It was almost like his disgust for the liquid had vanished as he desperately tried to get away as quickly as possible.


    "You''re going to die!"


    The darkest voice Nick had ever heard had just spoken that sentence, and Nick felt his mind shiver.


    Yet, Nick just looked forward at the safe beam of light that was the toilet of the house.


    "You''re never going to reach it."


    The next moment, Nick saw the beam of light slowly going away from him.


    Nick''s breathing quickened, and he didn''t even care that some of the liquid entered his mouth at that moment.


    He needed light!


    Nick kept swimming.


    And swimming.


    And swimming.


    Why hadn''t he reached it yet?!


    From the start, the toilet was barely ten meters away from him!


    That took some seconds, but that was it!


    Nick was quite sure that he had been swimming for over half a minute by now!


    Where was the light?!


    "Hahahahaha!"


    The dark voiceughed as the light traveled further and further away from Nick until eventually¡­


    It was gone.


    There was no more light.


    There was only darkness.


    An endless forest of tall and rusty spires rose from the pool around Nick.


    But that was it.


    No matter in which direction Nick looked, he only saw an endless forest of rusty spires.


    There was no escape.


    The next moment, the grimace of spires slowly descended, its expression morphed into a malicious smile.


    And then, it slowly moved towards Nick.


    Nick knew all of this wasn''t real, but he also knew that he would die if he stayed in the darkness.


    The longer the Nightmare influenced people, the worse it got.


    Nick turned around and swam away from the grimace.


    He had to flee!


    He was going to die!


    "Hahahaha!"


    The grimaceughed as it came closer.


    No matter what Nick did, it wasing closer.


    Nick closed his eyes in terror.


    He would die!


    ''I''m sorry, Wyntor.''


    ''But I have to use it!''


    Then, Nick grabbed one of the tubes of ss and broke it over his knee.

 Chapter 19 - 19 – The Second Swim

    <h4>Chapter 19: ¨C The Second Swim</h4>


    The next moment, Nick was bathed in light.


    From ck, everything transformed into white.


    Nick''s eyes burned due to the sudden influx of light, but they quickly adapted.


    The next moment, the light became less bright, and Nick could finally look around.


    ''How did I end up here?'' Nick thought with surprise.


    Right now, Nick was between the two toilets when he had not even reached the first one.


    ''The Nightmare must have created more illusions that made me change my trajectory.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''As long as I enter a sizable area of darkness, the Nightmare can actually keep me perpetually trapped in it.''


    ''No wonder no one wanted to search for the Dreamer down here.''


    ''The danger is not the Dreamer.''


    ''The danger is the Nightmare.''


    Nick noticed that the light was getting dimmer, and he was preparing to move forward again.


    ''I need to find a way to get to the toilet.''


    A bitter, the light was nearly gone, and Nick shot forward again.


    The pirs were transforming into the forest of rusty spires again.


    However, Nick just kept swimming forward with all of his power.


    The next moment, Nick saw something dark slowly rise out of the pool in front of him.


    It was like a whale had just put its breathing hole a bit above the surface before submerging again.


    Something was in the water, and it was big!


    A secondter, it rose again, but this time, it was angled towards Nick!


    It was swimming towards him!


    Nick gritted his teeth, ignoring the liquid that poured through his lips.


    And then, he tightly shut his eyes.


    But he continued swimming!


    Everything became silent.


    It was deathly silent.


    The only thing moving was Nick.


    He almost felt like he was in an endless void of nothingness.


    Ding.


    Nick''s right knee hit something solid, but the object was pushed away.


    However, Nick knew exactly what he had just hit.


    It felt a bit soft but with a hard core.


    It was a head!


    A human head!


    The next moment, Nick hit something again.


    This time, it was an arm.


    However, Nick just kept moving forward.


    More and more body parts appeared in Nick''s way, but he just batted them to the side.


    "I''m sorry," the crying voice of a kid said quietly.


    The next moment, a small arm grabbed Nick''s ankle.


    "I''m so sorry!" the kid shouted.


    "Please, forgive me!"


    The next moment, several other arms grabbed Nick.


    They wanted to pull him into the depths!


    "I''m sorry!"


    "I''m sorry!"


    "I''m sorry!"


    A chorus of different but desperate voices shouted from all around Nick as the grips of the arms tightened.


    Nick couldn''t move anymore.


    He had beenpletely immobilized!


    Nick''s terror reached new heights, but he only kept trying to swim forward.


    That was the only thing that could save him!


    Ssh!


    Nick was suddenly pulled under!


    The arms tightened around him and continued pulling.


    And then, Nick suddenly felt it.


    Teeth!


    Huge teeth!


    Nick''s legs hit a couple of teeth, and the teeth were almost a meter long!


    Even more, Nick''s body wasn''t nearly strong enough to resist these teeth, and his legs started to bleed.


    In his panic, Nick desperately tried to swim away, but the arms kept pulling him back.


    Even more, the arms seemed toe out of this thing''s mouth!


    The arms were pulling him into the maw!


    Nick felt the maw advance.


    A deep shadow appeared around Nick as he was engulfed.


    There was another Specter in here!


    And this was not a level one Specter!


    He would die!


    He would die!


    Nick felt himself get pulled further and further down into the maw.


    And then¡­


    Everything stopped.


    Nick didn''t move for several seconds.


    But nothing happened.


    Slowly, Nick opened his eyes.


    And he saw light!


    He was below one of the toilets!


    ''I did it!'' Nick thought in shock.


    ''I actually did it!''


    For several seconds, Nick just looked at the light above him.


    He was safe!


    There was no second Specter!


    Ssh!


    Suddenly, something sshed in the liquid in front of Nick, and all his anxiety returned!


    Nick looked down.


    And then, he saw it.


    A floater.


    A turd.


    The person in the house above him had just taken a shit.


    Nick grimaced in disgust.


    ''Really? Now?''


    And with that, all of Nick''s tion was gone and reced by annoyance.


    ''Anyway, I can look for the Dreamer now.''


    Due to the extreme darkness, Nick couldn''t see all parts of the ceiling from any one spot.


    Because of that, he went to the little safe spots to search the ceiling.


    The next moment, Nick poked his head into the darkness, but his body remained in the light.


    The Nightmare''s influence returned, but it was far weaker than before.


    By moving his head out of the light like this, Nick could look at the 100 square meters above him with quite a lot of confidence.


    However, since 100 square meters were only ten by ten meters, Nick needed to do this from several locations to check everything.


    After he looked at the ceiling above him, Nick readied himself to swim towards the next toilet.


    Obviously, the Dreamer wasn''t here.


    Nick took a deep breath and readied himself.


    ''I''ve done this before. Now, I just need to do it again!''


    Then, Nick shot forward.


    The terrors returned.


    Nick closed his eyes.


    CRKSH!


    Nick stopped breathing as he felt some teeth tear a part out of his arm!


    The pain was brutal and sharp.


    Nick opened his eyes and looked at his right elbow.


    His flesh had been torn off!


    Only the bloody bone of his elbow was left!


    ''Is¡­ is this real?'' Nick thought.


    ''I''ve never heard that the Nightmare could do something like this before!''


    ''Right! The teeth of the maw also tore my legs open, but when I reached the light, there was nothing!''


    ''I have to keep swimming!''


    Even though a huge part of Nick''s arm had just vanished, he still continued swimming as he closed his eyes.


    He had to reach the toilet!


    The next moment, something tore Nick''s leg off, and Nick was nearly pulled under by the force.


    Nick wanted to scream due to the pain, but he just kept swimming forward.


    He had to reach the light!


    He had to reach it!


    More and more of Nick''s body was torn apart, and Nick wasn''t even sure what he was anymore.


    His being was so overwhelmed with pain that his mind even cked out for some seconds.


    He was dying.


    He wanted to die.


    But he wanted to live.


    It was so bad.


    It was so horrible.


    Just move forward.


    Just a bit.


    Please.


    Just a bit!


    And then, everything stopped again.


    Nick opened his eyes.


    He had reached the second toilet.

 Chapter 20 - 20 – Too Much

    <h4>Chapter 20: ¨C Too Much</h4>


    Silence.


    Nick just looked at the ceiling in silence.


    He had expected that things wouldn''t be as bad the second time.


    He had been wrong.


    Things had been even worse the second time.


    Back when Nick had been underwater, the Nightmare had used subtle influences.


    The next time, it had used horrors to stop Nick from moving to where he wanted.


    Then, it created illusions of Nick losing control and being swallowed.


    And now, it had just directly inflicted an unending amount of pain on him.


    The Nightmare had lost all its subtlety.


    It had transformed from horror into terror.


    Nick just looked at the light at the ceiling.


    He wasn''t sure what he was feeling.


    Fear, apprehension, relief, anxiety.


    This wasn''t like thest time.


    Thest time, Nick had been happy that he had managed to do it.


    But this time, Nick was not happy.


    The pain had been bad.


    Real bad.


    For several minutes, Nick didn''t do anything.


    He just looked at the ceiling with a worried expression.


    He didn''t want to feel such pain again.


    He never wanted to feel something like that again.


    Just now, his body had been torn apart one piece at a time.


    This was a pain that should have killed someone.


    But he was still alive.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Nick gulped in worry.


    ''I don''t want to do this again.''


    ''How many times do I have to do this?''


    ''What will happen next?''


    ''I can barely swim for a bit more than ten meters in pure darkness, and it''s already this bad.''


    ''This is one of the smaller blocks of houses.''


    ''There are blocks with no toilets, which means I have to look at the ceiling while under illusions.''


    ''And then, I need to go back.''


    ''Also, what about when I actually find the Dreamer at the ceiling in one of those?''


    ''At that point, I need to climb one of the pirs in pure darkness and catch it.''


    ''The Nightmare could easily show me illusions and make me move in the wrong direction.''


    Nick just floated on the liquid as he looked up.


    Silence.


    ''I don''t know.''


    ''I have no idea how to find and catch the Dreamer.''


    For over ten minutes, Nick didn''t do anything.


    Naturally, Nick knew that he couldn''t spend the rest of his life in the light of this little toilet.


    He had to leave at some point.


    Yet, he just couldn''t.


    The terror he had felt just now was too much.


    The pain was too much.


    He was only 16 years old.


    He had never undergone something this painful or terrifying.


    This was not the work of some random weak Specter.


    No, this was the Nightmare.


    One of the only five level nine Specters.


    Even the strongest Zephyx Extractors couldn''t remain in the darkness for an extended period of time.


    The Nightmare''s power was absolute.


    It had killed tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people just by mentally breaking them.


    It had killed people far more experienced and tenacious than Nick.


    ''I can''t do it.''


    Silence.


    ''I just can''t do it.''


    ''I have to do this one more time to get out, but I don''t think I can enter another block of houses.''


    Nick felt his chest shiver and hurt.


    Regret, frustration, self-loathing.


    ''I''m not strong enough to do this again.''


    ''I want to turn my life around, not end it.''


    ''If I go through something like this again, I don''t know if I will ever recover.''


    ''What then?''


    ''I want to try my best, but if I fail, I fail.''


    ''It''s fine.''


    ''I can be an Inspector.''


    ''It''s not like I have some lofty and idealistic goal that requires me to be the strongest person in the world.''


    ''No, I just want to live a good life.''


    ''But what''s the point of living a good life when I wake up in a cold sweat because I keep re-experiencing the things I have seen and felt here every night for the remainder of my life?''


    Nick looked to the side at the block of darkness waiting for him.


    And then, some tears appeared in Nick''s eyes.


    ''I''m sorry.''


    ''I just can''t do it.''


    ''I''m not strong enough.''


    Silence.


    The only sounds down here came from the quiet scratching of the rats'' ws and Nick''s crying.


    It was just too much for him.


    Nick had just started his journey as a Zephyx Extractor, and he had already confronted one of the five strongest Specters several times.


    This wasn''t something that he could deal with.


    This was far beyond his current level.


    He gave up.


    For the next couple of minutes, Nick looked at the darkness around him.


    Then, he moved his head into the darkness and did a routine scan of the ceiling.


    Maybe he was lucky, and the Dreamer was actually here.


    It wasn''t.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He only felt fear right now.


    He didn''t want to enter the darkness again.


    But he had to.


    He couldn''t remain here for the remainder of his life.


    Nick took another deep breath.


    It took a couple minutes for him to gather his courage, but eventually, he shot into the darkness again.


    As soon as Nick entered¡­


    Nothing happened.


    However, Nick didn''t let down his guard and just kept swimming forward.


    Silence.


    Nick just kept rapidly swimming forward in silence.


    After a bit, Nick opened his eyes.


    He saw the light of the "street" of the Dregs in front of him.


    He was almost there.


    Nick continued swimming.


    And then¡­


    He entered the street.


    Nick was now in the light of the streets of the Dregs.


    Nothing had happened in the darkness.


    Nick turned around to look at the block of houses behind him with suspicion.


    Had the Nightmare given up?


    He doubted it.


    Yet, Nick was back in the light again.


    The Nightmare had no influence over Nick here.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, something hit Nick''s head!


    Ssh! Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!


    Nick quickly shook his head and looked around him.


    Rats!


    "Don''t wanna give me bodies, huh?" one of the rats spoke.


    "How about you give me your body then!"


    And then, the rats all charged at Nick.

 Chapter 21 - 21 – Target

    <h4>Chapter 21: ¨C Target</h4>


    As soon as the rats fell on him and attacked him, Nick gritted his teeth in fury.


    They had an unspoken agreement!


    "You''ll regret this!" Nick shouted.


    This was different from the Nightmare.


    The Parasite only had a limited number of rats, and Nick could cause real damage to the Parasite by killing them.


    However, the rats could also cause real damage to Nick. After all, they were real.


    Five rats immediately jumped on Nick.


    Nick''s right hand grabbed one of them and squeezed.


    CRKSH!


    The rat was squeezed into a thin sock of wet meat.


    At the same time, Nick''s left hand turned into a fist and punched a second rat.


    BOOM!


    The rat shot into the distance and hit the water over 50 meters away from Nick, skipping twice on the surface.


    However, the other three rats reached Nick and immediately bit into his body.


    One of them bit his right biceps, and the other two bit his chest.


    At the same time, Nick saw several more ratsing out from the water around him.


    Nick gritted his teeth in pain and hatred.


    Nick grabbed one of the rats and pulled.


    CRKSH!


    The rat''s body was torn off, but the head remained stuck in Nick''s biceps.


    BANG!


    Another rat was turned into paste by another one of Nick''s punches.


    Thest one let go and dove into the water while the other rats came closer.


    Just a secondter, three more rats were jumping at Nick.


    Nick released several more attacks, but the rats just kept going after him without pause.


    Even more, the rats even started to attack him from below the surface.


    Nick''s rage grew as he kept tearing the rats into pieces.


    It was never-ending!


    Some secondster, Nick had already killed over 15 rats.


    Yet, they just kept oning!


    The Parasite really went all in!


    ''I would already be dead without my ability!''


    And then, Nick''s eyes widened.


    ''My ability?''


    Nick stopped resisting the rats.


    ''My ability shouldn''t be working right now.''


    ''Yet, I am tearing these rats apart like they are paper.''


    ''My ability is still active!''


    ''This can only mean one thing.''


    The realization had positive and negative aspects to it.


    On one hand, Nick wasn''t being attacked by the real Parasite, which meant that he had not actually been injured.


    But on the other hand, Nick had spun around so many times during the battle that he didn''t even know which direction he was facing.


    In the end, Nick could only grit his teeth as he took one of the tubes from his thigh and broke it.


    CRKSH!


    All the rats vanished as Nick was swallowed by light.


    Just now, Nick had been in the "street" of the sewers, but as soon as the light appeared around him, Nick saw that he was still about two meters away from the real street.


    Nick had still been in the darkness.


    ''The Nightmare had made it seem like I had already reached the end when I actually hadn''t.''


    Nick immediately swam over to the street, which wasn''t difficult with only two meters between him and it.


    Now, Nick was actually back in the street of light.


    ''The Nightmare can even create illusions of light,'' Nick thought with anxiety and fear.


    ''This is not something I canpete with.''


    Nick looked back at the dark domain he had just left behind.


    ''At least I''m out now.''


    The next moment, he looked around the sewers.


    There were over a hundred simrly big domains.


    Nick had gone through hell and had used two Arclights after going just through one of them.


    ''This is beyond my level.''


    Silence.


    Nick had been down here for several hours now, and he had be quite familiar with the sewers.


    But in the end, he had to leave without any gains.


    Even worse, Nick had even used two Arclights.


    ''Guess I''m going to be an Inspector now.''


    ''It''s probably not a bad job.''


    ''I get to leave the Dregs, and I can probably also get a normal home.''


    ''Maybe I can even build a family.''


    Yet, no matter how enticing the position as an Inspector seemed to Nick, he still felt regret.


    For a while, Nick just looked at the ceiling of the sewers.


    This would be hisst excursion as a Zephyx Extractor.


    Wyntor had already used up all the money he had ess to.


    He had bet everything on Nick.


    Sadly, Nick would only disappoint him.


    Silence.


    Nick just watched the ceiling in silence.


    A bird flew past him.


    Suddenly, Nick''s eyes widened.


    A bird?


    Nick''s eyes immediately locked onto the bird as it entered a ck domain representing a block of houses.


    Just now, Nick had been set on giving up.


    But now, he was hesitating again.


    ''A bird!''


    ''That must have been the Dreamer!''


    Nick''s heart rate rose rapidly as adrenaline shot through his body.


    ''After hours, its old target must have woken up or died, and it had to go to a new one!''


    Nick''s eyes locked onto the ck domain where the Dreamer had to be in right now.


    There were no toilets in this block, and the block was about fifty by fifty meters.


    In the center of the block was the ruin of a stony tower, which supported the block of houses above it in the middle.


    As Nick looked at the domain, images of what had happened to him earlier reappeared in his mind.


    Pain, deceit, horror, death.


    Nick was finally free!


    He could finally leave the sewers!


    He no longer needed to go through the darkness again!


    But the Dreamer was right there!


    Just once more!


    Just one more time!


    But what if he didn''t seed?


    He might be risking his life for nothing.


    After all, the Dreamer was obviously at the ceiling of the sewers.


    Nick would need to swim for about twenty meters in pure darkness, climb ten meters of the structure, and then catch the Dreamer.


    And he had to do that all in pure silence so that the Dreamer wouldn''t notice him and in the Nightmare''s illusionary hell.


    He couldn''t even use thest Arclight since that would immediately draw the Dreamer''s focus to Nick, which would deactivate his ability.


    At that point, Nick wouldn''t be any stronger than a normal human.


    In such a state, the Dreamer could probably just kill Nick without relying on the Nightmare or the environment.


    If the Dreamer noticed him, he would die.


    No matter how Nick thought about it¡­


    It was impossible.

 Chapter 22 - 22 – The Climb

    <h4>Chapter 22: ¨C The Climb</h4>


    It was impossible.


    No matter how long he thought about it.


    It was just impossible.


    Yet, Nick just couldn''t stop getting excited.


    He wanted to do it.


    He wanted to try it!


    ¡­


    But he would likely die¡­


    Nick clenched his fists.


    ''I know it''s a shit idea.''


    ''I know I will most likely die.''


    ''But I have to give it a go!''


    ''I just have to give it a shot!''


    ''Otherwise, I will never be happy!''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Then, Nick silently swam over to the ck domain.


    Nick tried his best to move as silently as possible as he moved in a circle around the domain.


    He poked his head into the darkness and looked at the ceiling from different angles.


    Since Nick now knew what the Dreamer looked like, he could search arger area of the ceiling.


    However, even after searching for over 15 minutes near the edge, Nick still couldn''t find the Dreamer.


    ''This means it has to be at the center.''


    ''It''s probably even sitting on a part of the broken tower.''


    The tower in the middle had several holes in it and a very uneven surface. Half of it had copsed, while the other half supported the block of houses above it.


    The Dreamer had to either be in one of the higher windows or on top of one of the two walls leading up to the ceiling.


    Nick took a deep breath and looked for a good way upward.


    ''I have to move silently. This means I can''t just jump from wall to wall.''


    ''I have to climb constantly and consistently.''


    After a bit of looking around, Nick found a fitting spot.


    ''I can only climb the small windows at the tall front of the ruin. I think the tower is just one big spiral staircase in the middle, but I doubt that the spiral staircase is still intact.''


    ''I could attempt to walk up the staircase, but the Nightmare''s illusions won''t allow me to actually see where I''m going, and if I''m not careful, I might actually fall through a broken or missing step.''


    ''That would alert the Dreamer to my location.''


    Nick just looked at the broken tower.


    It was so enticing.


    He could just use the stairs.


    Nick sighed.


    Nick couldn''t trust his eyes in the darkness, and since he couldn''t inspect the staircase from here, he couldn''t risk climbing it.


    He had to navigate blindly, and he preferred taking the difficult route he could see instead of the potentially easy route that he couldn''t see.


    ''Luckily, there are quite a lot of windows.''


    ''Right to left for about three windows. Jump to the top right to grab the lowest one of the next floor of stairs and climb another three.''


    ''After that, two more windows will be above me and one more window above those.''


    ''There''s a small chance that the Dreamer is in the two lower ones but a rtively high one that it''s in the highest one.''


    Nick went over this n a couple more times.


    And finally, he was done.


    The n was set.


    Nick slowly swam to his starting position, which was facing the highest part of the ruined tower.


    Silence.


    Nick couldn''t see the Dreamer right now, but he knew that it was there.


    He knew that the likelihood of death was very high, but he had to do it.


    Nick took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.


    Silence.


    Seconds passed.


    Nick''s eyes shot open, and he swam forward.


    As soon as Nick entered the darkness, he closed his eyes again.


    Then, he suddenly submerged!


    Swimming on the surface was way too loud, which was why Nick decided to move forward while being about a meter below the surface.


    Almost immediately, Nick felt several small fish glide across his body.


    It was like Nick had been submerged in a thick vat of small fish.


    The bodies of the fish disoriented Nick''s senses, and he couldn''t even feel the liquid around him anymore.


    Was he swimming forward or downward?


    He had already lost all sense of direction.


    ''The only thing I can rely on is my muscle memory!''


    ''As long as I order my body to continue swimming forward, no matter what, I will reach the tower!''


    However, just two secondster, Nick felt things around him change.


    The mouths of the fish opened, and they started to tear into his body.


    Right now, Nick was surrounded by a pile of swimming maws with terrifying teeth.


    They were tearing at Nick''s muscles, bones, and tendons.


    The pain was horrible.


    Nick''s body kept shaking, but he just kept moving forward.


    ''This isn''t real! This isn''t real! This isn''t real!''


    ''The pain isn''t real!''


    ''It isn''t real!''


    Nevertheless, Nick felt like a dark void of hopelessness had opened in his chest.


    ''Just continue!''


    Nick''s flesh and blood were scattering across his surroundings.


    He was dying!


    But he continued!


    He had to continue!


    BANG!


    Suddenly, Nick hit something solid!


    ''Did I reach it?!''


    But then, Nick found an issue.


    Was this actually the end?


    Or was this another illusion by the Nightmare?


    At this moment, Nick''s emotions were going crazy.


    Was he?


    Wasn''t he?!


    In a state of panic, Nick did the first thing that came to his mind.


    BANG!


    Nick rammed his face against the wall!


    Nick immediately felt his eyes water as his nose broke in several ces.


    ''This feels real!''


    The Nightmare''s illusions were terrifyingly urate, but when Nickpared the Nightmare''s sense of pain with actual pain, there was something different.


    Yes, the pain the Nightmare created was real, but there were some apanying sensations missing.


    For example, Nick had felt his entire head and mind vibrate when he had headbutted the wall.


    Additionally, Nick had felt like he was about to lose consciousness for just a moment.


    While the pain was the same, these sensations didn''t exist when the Nightmare created an illusion.


    ''Luckily, the ruin is massive. The Dreamer shouldn''t have felt that vibration.''


    The next moment, Nick surfaced and grabbed the wall in front of him with his hands.


    ''I have to find the first window!''


    In Nick''s mind, he was rubbing against a huge wall as he desperately tried to find an invisible hole in it.


    ''Where is it?!''


    ''There!''


    Nick felt something and pulled himself up with one arm.


    ''This proves that my ability is still active, which means the Dreamer hasn''t noticed me yet!''


    CRKSH!


    The hole Nick had put his hand into suddenly sprouted teeth and was grinding it into a meaty paste.


    Nick''s eyes became bloodshot beneath his eyelids as he tried to ignore the pain.


    After pulling himself up, Nick moved his hand to the left and jumped.


    He knew where the window should be, but he didn''t know where it was exactly.


    CRK!


    Nick''s hand entered a hole, but his fingers hit the other side of the window, splitting the nails of two of his fingers.


    Nick just gritted his teeth as he grabbed the window with his hand.


    The fact that he could stop his jump with one hand meant that the Dreamer still hadn''t noticed him!


    The next moment, the wall seemed to split open, and Nick felt like he was falling through it.


    ''It''s not real!''


    Nick moved his bleeding fingertips to the left side and felt the scratching feeling traveling over his body.


    He was still in the window!


    Even though Nick felt like he was falling into a never-ending abyss of pain, he jumped once more to the left.


    CRK!


    One of Nick''s nails exploded off his body as it hit the wall of the window again.


    But when Nick felt that he could still pull himself upward with one arm, he became more excited.


    ''I''m doing it!''


    Nick hadn''t opened his eyes yet.


    He had done all of this blind.


    ''Now, for the most difficult jump!''


    After amending his n a bit, Nick decided to jump to the second window in the second row.


    The jump was a bit higher vertically but not as long horizontally.


    Nick''s knees bent down, and he gathered all his power.


    The next moment, Nick jumped upward.


    In Nick''s illusory reality, he felt like he was jumping upward hundreds of meters.


    It was impossible to tell how high he had actually jumped.


    Nick felt the wall in front of him rapidly move as he desperately tried to find the window.


    Fear and terror reached new heights.


    CRACK!


    When Nick felt the tips of the fingers of his left arm getting crushed, he felt ted.


    The window!


    Nick fell a bit, but he managed to grab the bottom of the window with both of his hands.


    By now, Nick''s left hand had be severely injured, with a couple of broken bones and destroyed nails.


    He pulled himself into the window easily, which meant the Dreamer hadn''t noticed him yet.


    He was so close!


    Nick quickly jumped to the left again as razors appeared on the wall in front of him, cutting his chest into pieces.


    CRACK!


    Nick felt the impact of his broken bones rubbing against each other and grabbed the window.


    After pulling himself into the window, Nick''s excitement reached new heights.


    He was so close!


    He could do it!


    Instead of jumping towards the next window, Nick grabbed thest tube of Arclight.


    The next moment, Nick opened his eyes.


    A red hellscape of flesh and des epassed his reality.


    Everything was being consumed by the Nightmare.


    However, Nick''s eyes only looked forward with determination.


    Then, he threw the tube of Arclight upwards with all of his power.


    BANG!


    The tube broke, and the Arclight exploded at the ceiling of the dark domain.


    For an instant, all the darkness vanished as a shining star seemingly appeared in the dark sky.


    The hellscape vanished, and Nick found himself in the third window of the second row.


    However, Nick''s eyes immediately moved across the ruins above him.


    ''There!''


    In the highest window, Nick saw a ck owl with ck eyes.


    It was quite big, over half a meter tall.


    At this moment, the owl was looking at the Arclight shining on the ceiling.


    This was why Nick had thrown the Arclight instead of breaking it directly.


    The Dreamer''s attention would remain fully on the Arclight, and Nick would get a bit of time to reach the Dreamer with his ability.


    As long as he managed to grab it without it noticing him, he could break several of its bones, turning it almost helpless!


    When Nick saw his target, his eyes narrowed, and he immediately jumped upward with all of his power.


    Nick easily and quickly grabbed the window directly above him, but instead of pulling himself into the window, Nick continued.


    The Dreamer was now paying attention to its surroundings, and pulling into the window would take too long.


    Because of that, Nick immediately pulled himself upward and threw himself at the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer was still looking at the Arclight.


    Nick was only a meter away from the Dreamer!


    But then, he noticed that his jump hadn''t been strong enough, and he found himself dropping.


    Nick gritted his teeth and rammed his feet into the broken stone of the tower.


    Some of his toes broke, but Nick managed to create a hole in the wall, making a foothold.


    Naturally, that was extremely loud, and the Dreamer''s head turned towards Nick.


    But Nick had already jumped again.


    Nick was flying at the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer was turning to Nick.


    Nick''s hand came closer.


    And then¡­


    Their eyes met.


    Nick managed to grab the wing of the Dreamer.


    He pulled with all of his strength.


    The Dreamer pulled its wing upward.


    CRKSH!


    Nick tore out a couple of feathers.


    His ability no longer worked.


    He didn''t have enough strength to break the wing.


    Nick''s expression turned into shock and horror as he felt himself fall.


    The Dreamer''s ck eyes looked into Nick''s eyes.


    ''No!''

 Chapter 23 - 23 – Run!

    <h4>Chapter 23: ¨C Run!</h4>


    ''No!''


    ''I was so close!''


    Nick''s ability no longer worked, which meant he was only a bit stronger than an average human right now.


    At this moment, Nick was falling from about eight meters of height into a pool of toxic waste with several sharp pieces of metal.


    While Nick''s ability was working, this wasn''t an issue.


    But now¡­


    Nick''s thoughts stopped.


    Time seemed to freeze.


    And then, time resumed as the Dreamer got further and further away from Nick.


    SPLASH!


    Nick hit the liquid shoulder first.


    CRKSH! CRKSH!


    Several pieces of metal created cuts in Nick''s skin, and he started to bleed.


    On top of that, Nick''s destroyed fingers also came into contact with the toxic liquid.


    In an instant, Nick felt like his body was being drowned in acid.


    The force of the fall also made it difficult for Nick to move, but his adrenaline pushed him to immediately go to the surface.


    As soon as Nick broke the surface again, he took a deep breath.


    But then, Nick saw the owl just a meter in front of him, its ws stretched towards Nick.


    The Dreamer was attacking, and without his ability, Nick was helpless!


    BANG!


    Nick immediately pulled his head down into the water, and the next moment, two long ws tore through the water above him.


    The Dreamer was not going to flee.


    No, it was going to kill Nick!


    Nick immediately dove further and further down, several pieces of metal scraping his skin.


    But then, Nick suddenly elerated, and he stopped getting injured.


    Nick had reached a depth where the light couldn''t reach him, which meant that the Dreamer couldn''t see him anymore.


    Nick''s ability activated again.


    ''I have to flee!'' Nick thought. ''As long as it pays attention to me, I can''t fight it!''


    Aftering to a decision, he immediately shot towards the direction of the sewer''s exit.


    But then, a huge ck eye opened in front of Nick, and he became paralyzed.


    Nick''s thoughts stopped as he looked at the terrifying ck eye.


    The next moment, a maw filled with teeth opened in front of him and swallowed him.


    Nick felt his body getting torn apart, but then he realized that this wasn''t real.


    Since he was now in a ce with no light, the Nightmare''s influence had returned.


    ''The Dreamer above.''


    ''The Nightmare below.''


    ''I can''t move like this! The Nightmare could lead me in any random direction!''


    ''I have to surface to assess the direction I''m facing!''


    Nick gnashed his teeth and shot upward.


    The eyes and maws around him slowly vanished.


    The Arclight was still active, and it illuminated the surroundings.


    Shortly before Nick broke the surface, he suddenly felt the acid of the liquid be stronger.


    This meant the Dreamer was seeing him.


    Nick broke past the surface and took a breath as he quickly looked around.


    ''There!''


    Nick found the way he had to go towards and immediately dove into the water again.


    CRRRSH!


    Nick clenched his teeth even more as he felt a big gash opening up on his back.


    Just now, the Dreamer had created three huge gashes as it tore Nick''s skin and a bit of muscle apart.


    This was a Specter, not a random bird!


    If it got hold of Nick, it could probably stab one of its ws through his entire torso!


    A normal human couldn''t possibly fight something like this.


    As Nick descended, the intensity of the acid subsided.


    He closed his eyes and immediately started to swim forward.


    A momentter, the heat of the water rose sharply, and it felt like Nick was swimming through a boiling pot of oil!


    Nick''s entire body turned red, and he wanted to do nothing but scream in pain.


    He was burning!


    He was dying!


    ''It''s not real!''


    ''It''s not real!''


    ''It''s not real!''


    BANG!


    Suddenly, Nick''s right hand hit something solid, and Nick''s head quickly followed.


    ''A house?! Now?!''


    Nick had hit one of the ruins.


    He had to quickly make a decision.


    Immediately, he shot up.


    The house wasn''t that tall, and there was still about a meter between its ceiling and the surface.


    At this moment, Nick felt a bit of light, but his ability hadn''t deactivated yet.


    This meant that the Dreamer hadn''t seen him.


    Nick swam forward in silence, his chest almost sliding against the house''s roof.


    Suddenly, the water started to severely burn him again, and Nick''s body shook.


    His ability had deactivated!


    At that moment, a n formed in Nick''s mind, and he slowly spun onto his back.


    Nick was betting on the fact that the Dreamer could see him but not perfectly see him.


    Right now, since Nick was still about a meter below the surface, the Dreamer could probably only see a vague silhouette or shadow.


    Meanwhile, the Dreamer was illuminated by the light behind it, allowing Nick to perfectly see it.


    At this moment, the Dreamer was diving towards him with its outstretched ws.


    Nick''s anxiety reached new heights.


    The Dreamer reached him.


    BANG!


    Nick shoved himself to the side as the Dreamer''s ws reached into the water.


    Due to Nick''s depth, the Dreamer also had to fully enter the liquid, slowing it down significantly.


    The Dreamer''s ws barely passed by Nick, and Nick immediately grabbed them with his two hands.


    The Dreamer''s wings pped to get out of the liquid again, and Nick felt himself getting pulled up.


    Ssh!


    The two of them left the liquid behind, the Dreamer pulling Nick into the sky.


    Right now, the Dreamer didn''t have the luxury to look at Nick, but Nick''s ability still didn''t reactivate.


    Hearing and feeling someone also counted as perceiving someone.


    After gaining a couple of meters, the Dreamer looked at Nick, and its beak opened.


    But by now, Nick had repositioned himself.


    He had pulled himself upward and had angled his body.


    And then¡­


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the Dreamer''s head!


    While the Dreamer was much more powerful than Nick without his ability, a kick to the head still hurt quite a lot.


    At the same time, Nick let go of the Dreamer''s ws and threw himself towards the exit of the sewers.


    His kick and the force of the jumppletely disoriented the Dreamer, and it fell into the water a couple of meters away.


    However, it wasn''t significantly injured, and Nick was sure that it would return to flying above him in a matter of seconds.


    ''Only about 200 meters or so left to the exit! I refuse to believe that it will follow me to the surface!''


    Nick immediately swam forward, and since the Dreamer was still in the water, his ability had reactivated, and he swam with all of his power.


    Ssh!


    Some secondster, Nick heard the loud sound of something leaving the water about 30 meters behind him.


    Five seconds after the sound, Nick''s ability deactivated again.


    Nick gritted his teeth and dove into the water.


    More scratches appeared across his body.


    BANG!


    But the Dreamer''s attack missed, and Nick''s ability reactivated.


    Sadly, just momentster, an army of maws tore at Nick''s body again, and Nick felt like he was swimming downward instead of forward.


    Yet, Nick just kept swimming.


    He ignored the pain.


    He ignored the horrors.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick hit something solid again.


    ''This is that one house I investigated!''


    ''I''m just about 50 meters away from the exit!''


    By now, Nick''s lungs were screaming at him to surface.


    ''I have to run across it!''


    Nick surfaced again.


    However, his ability deactivated before he even breached the surface!


    The Dreamer wasn''t stupid.


    It had seen where Nick had swam towards, and it was constantly looking in that direction.


    Nevertheless, Nick rapidly moved forward as he did his best to run in waist-high water.


    He turned back to look at where the Dreamer was.


    The next moment, he saw the Dreamer dive towards him.


    Nick couldn''t evade!


    There were still several meters left!


    The Dreamer would get him!

 Chapter 24 - 24 – Struggle

    <h4>Chapter 24: ¨C Struggle</h4>


    Nick readied himself.


    He had to do something!


    At that moment, Nick''s back began to burn, or at least, it felt like it.


    Light appeared around Nick.


    And then, something shocking happened.


    The Dreamer''s eyes burst into mes!


    "SCREEEEE!"


    The Dreamer screeched, and it did its best to stop its dive.


    Nick had no idea what was happening.


    "Nick!" someone shouted between coughs.


    Nick looked back.


    Wyntor!


    Wyntor was standing just behind him, his expensive suit drenched in sewer water!


    At this moment, a bright fire was burning around Wyntor, and his eyes had turnedpletely white.


    "Get it!" Wyntor shouted before heaving and looking away from Nick.


    Immediately, Nick felt his ability be active again.


    When the Dreamer''s eyes had caught fire, its sight had been robbed from it, which meant that it couldn''t perceive Nick anymore!


    Nick immediately turned towards the Dreamer, which was about to pass about two meters above him.


    Rage appeared in Nick''s eyes.


    BANG!


    Nick jumped with all of his power, the water around him exploding.


    And then, he punched.


    CRACK!


    Nick''s fist hit the center of the Dreamer''s chest, and Nick swore he felt something break!


    And this time, it was not one of his bones!


    The Dreamer''s body spun in the air, and its pping became very disorderly.


    Nicknded first, and he immediately rushed toward the ce where the Dreamer wouldnd.


    Ssh!


    The Dreamer hit the water, and Nick jumped on it.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked one of the Dreamer''s wings, easily breaking it.


    The next moment, Nick grabbed the Dreamer''s thick neck with both of his arms and squeezed.


    Nick''s ability deactivated again, but that didn''t matter.


    Squeezing someone''s neck didn''t need a huge difference in power.


    Right now, Nick and the Dreamer were tumbling in the horrible liquid of the sewers as he tried to strangle it.


    Yet, some secondster, the Dreamer''s head spun by 180¡ã.


    ''Right, it''s a fucking owl!'' Nick thought in horror.


    The Dreamer''s beak opened as it tried to tear Nick''s neck apart.


    Nick quickly let go of the Dreamer''s neck.


    His left arm pushed the Dreamer away from his neck as his right arm shot towards its head.


    The next moment, the Dreamer just saw two fingers be bigger and bigger in its vision.


    CRKSH!


    The Dreamer screeched as Nick''s fingers crushed its eyes.


    The Dreamer''s screech was cut off as the liquid from the sewers entered its throat.


    Nick gnashed his teeth in rage as his two fingers dug deep into the Dreamer''s eye sockets.


    Nick''s thumb grabbed the bottom of the Dreamer''s beak, and he grabbed it with all of his power.


    The next moment, Nick wrestled with the Dreamer awkwardly until he eventually managed to get behind its back with his fingers still in its eye sockets.


    Ssh!


    A ssh appeared beside Nick, and Wyntor appeared beside Nick.


    "Keep it like this!" Wyntor shouted.


    By now, Nick''s legs had also grabbed the Dreamer''s body, and he was doing his best not to drown in the sewers.


    The Dreamer was still iling around in panic, and Nick had to do everything in his power to keep it suppressed.


    The next moment, Wyntor took out some kind of flexible metallic cable and wrapped it around the Dreamer''s neck.


    The cable quickly started to shine red, and the Dreamer''s struggles intensified.


    However, Nick kept it stable.


    After around ten seconds, the Dreamer''s struggles became weaker, and half a minuteter, itpletely stopped moving.


    "Can I let go?" Nick asked.


    "You, huuurgh, can," Wyntor said with a heave.


    Nick slowly took his hand out of the Dreamer''s eye sockets but still kept hold of the Dreamer.


    "Put it in the sack on the shore," Wyntor said quickly before he had to heave again.


    Nick nodded and pulled the Dreamer towards the exit.


    About a minuteter, Nick reached the exit of the sewers, and he pulled the Dreamer onto thend.


    Now, Nick could actually take a good look at the Dreamer.


    Its chest was caved in.


    Both of its wings were broken, the second one having gotten broken in the scuffle.


    ck blood was flowing out of its empty eyes.


    One of its legs was bent at an unnatural angle.


    Many feathers were missing.


    Luckily, this was a Specter.


    These wounds were not enough to kill a Specter, and it would recover within a week at most.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    And then, pain assaulted him.


    Two of Nick''s fingernails were missing on his left hand.


    Three of Nick''s fingers were broken.


    Nick had several cuts on his body.


    He had three huge gashes going across his back.


    Nick even felt some intense paining from his ribs.


    He guessed they had gotten bruised or broken during the scuffle in the water.


    And to top it all off, his nose was also broken.


    Nick was in a world of pain, and he also knew that the wounds were bound to get horribly infected since they had all been washed quite thoroughly in the disgusting liquid of the sewers.


    He only hoped that Wyntor had some way to help him recover.


    Nick knew if he had to rely on the medicine avable in the Dregs, he would die.


    His ability gave him some resistance to infections and poisons, but he wasn''t sure if that was enough in this case.


    "Huuuuurgh!"


    Nick heard Wyntor heave as he came out of the sewers.


    Nick turned to Wyntor and looked at him.


    Right now, Wyntor was on his knees and hands as he coughed and heaved like he was about to die.


    ''He wasn''t able to follow me into the sewers earlier, but when he saw me in danger, he actually jumped in.''


    Nick''s trust in Wyntor reached new heights.


    Wyntor, the fancy heir of the Melfion family, a guy that constantly wiped his hands whenever he touched anything even slightly dirty, had jumped into the sewers to save him.


    ''Maybe he isn''t as stuck up as I had initially thought.''


    ''When ites down to it, he is actually trustworthy.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Right now, he felt ted.


    The risk had paid off!


    He had done it!


    "Wyntor," Nick said.


    Nick only heard another heave.


    "We did it!"

 Chapter 25 - 25 – Walking Back

    <h4>Chapter 25: ¨C Walking Back</h4>


    It took Wyntor a while to recover, but eventually, he managed to stop puking his heart out.


    While Wyntor had been puking, Nick had shoved the Dreamer into the sack they had brought with them.


    The sack was just a normal sack.


    When Wyntor stood up and saw the sack, all his unhappiness and disgust seemed to vanish.


    A Specter!


    They had a Specter in their grasp!


    They actually had one!


    Then, Wyntor saw Nick, and he had to take a deep breath.


    Nick looked really worn out.


    Blood was flowing from several parts of his body, and Wyntor already knew that all these wounds would get infected very soon.


    "Are you okay?" Wyntor asked.


    "Do I look like I''m okay?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor winced, but Nick justughed.


    "Rx, I''m okay. I''m just joking," Nick said.


    Wyntor sighed. "You look really messed up, you know."


    "I know," Nick answered. "So, got anything that I can use to deal with these wounds? I kind of don''t want to die, you know?"


    Wyntor just nodded. "We can visit a hospital in the Outer City. Since we now have a Specter, the money is going to flow in soon. Additionally, I need you to be at your best."


    "After all, you are the Chief Extractor, which means that you not only have to work with the Dreamer but also find out how to work with it."


    "Every Specter is unique, and every Specter needs to be treated differently to get the most Zephyx out of them."


    Nick just nodded before he grabbed the sack with the Dreamer.


    A momentter, Nick noticed how light the sack actually was with surprise.


    "Huh, that''s lighter than expected," Nick said.


    "Specters have a lot of power, but they are using Zephyx converted from Prephyx as their main source of power," Wyntor exined. "Specters are actually pretty light. They are not made of a lot of Zephyx, but the Zephyx is so potent that they still manage to unleash incredible powers."


    "That tall bird probably barely weighs five kilos."


    Nick nodded.


    The next moment, he slung the sack over his shoulders.


    The cable that Wyntor had put around the Dreamer was something that Nick had already heard about.


    It was a Zephyx Blocker, something that was used to stop the flow of Zephyx.


    At this moment, the Zephyx Blocker was using up its stored energy to stop the Dreamer''s Zephyx from flowing.


    Since this was the lowest grade, it would only work for about five hours when put on a level one Specter.


    This meant that Wyntor and Nick had to deliver the Dreamer to their headquarters within the next five hours, but that was plenty of time.


    Wyntor and Nick walked out of the entrance to the sewers and emerged in an abandoned part of the Dregs.


    Wyntor immediately took a deep breath of the Dregs.


    He had never imagined that he would one day find the air in the Dregs to be refreshing and enjoyable.


    As the two of them walked through the Dregs, they saw all the people look at them with disgust while avoiding them.


    These two smelled absolutely abhorrent, even by the Dregs'' standards.


    However, the two of them didn''t pay a lot of attention to the onlookers.


    They were far too excited about finally having caught their first Specter.


    After about half an hour, they finally left the densest part of the Dregs behind, and they entered the outskirts.


    The streets transitioned from being made of rusty metal into being made of polished metal, and the houses also started to be more uniform and orderly.


    Naturally, the people on the streets also seemed more well-dressed, and their reactions to the two of them were even more disgusted.


    "Stop!"


    The two stopped as their brows furrowed.


    The next moment, two people wearing ckbat uniforms walked up to them. The two men looked with disgust at them while they were holding their noses.


    "People like you are not wee here! Leave the Outer City, or we''ll make you!" one of them shouted.


    Naturally, the two of them were city guards, and it was part of their duty to keep the Outer City clean from unsavory people.


    Two people stinking of piss and shit could be seen as unsavory.


    Wyntor put his hand in this pocket.


    One of the two guards narrowed his eyes and shot forward, grabbing Wyntor''s arm before he could get it back out of his pocket.


    The guard thought that Wyntor was about to pull a weapon on them.


    "Stop resisting!" the guard shouted as he pulled Wyntor''s arm violently out of his pocket.


    CRK!


    The next moment, Wyntor''s wrist seemed to give, and it extended a bit further than it should.


    His wrist had been dislocated by the guard.


    While Wyntor had an ability from a Specter, he was not an athletic person, while the guards were very athletic and strong.


    Wyntor gritted his teeth as the guard pulled his arm to the side to lock it behind his back.


    The next moment, the guard wrestled Wyntor to the ground.


    While all of this was happening, Nick locked eyes with the other guard.


    Then, Nick looked down for a small moment before looking at the guard again.


    Naturally, the guard realized that Nick had essentially told him to look down.


    The guard nced down, and he saw a small card, which had just fallen out of Wyntor''s hand.


    The guard furrowed his brows as he looked at Nick, who only stared back without saying anything.


    In the end, the second guard kneeled down to retrieve the card.


    After looking at the card, the guard''s face turned white in horror as he looked at Wyntor, who was held on the ground by the other guard.


    The second guard immediately jumped over to the first guard and pulled him off. "James, stop!"


    The first guard shoved the second guard away with annoyance. "What''s your problem?!" he shouted.


    The second guard shoved the card into the first guard''s hands with urgency.


    The second guard looked at the card with annoyance.


    But then, his eyes widened, and he turned to look at the person below him with terror.


    At this moment, Wyntor red at the guard with venom.


    The guard froze.


    In his hand, the guard currently held a Residency Card for the highest floor of the Inner City, and the name on the card was Wyntor Melfion.


    Naturally, the guards knew exactly who they were currently looking at.

 Chapter 26 - 26 – Contained

    <h4>Chapter 26: ¨C Contained</h4>


    "Wait here," Wyntor ordered with a curt and annoyed voice as he and Nick entered their warehouse.


    The two guards waited in front of the building like two children who had just been yelled at, which wasn''t inurate.


    Naturally, after they had realized that they had just shoved one of the heirs of the Melfion family to the ground, they had immediately apologized profusely.


    Wyntor had just acted very calmly but coldly and told them that they were going to be following them for a bit.


    The two guards didn''t protest.


    As the door of the warehouse closed in front of them, the anxiety of the two guards exploded.


    If Wyntor decided to get his family''swyers involved, they could very well lose their jobs, if not worse!


    Meanwhile, Nick and Wyntor walked over to the only Containment Unit they owned.


    Nick waited in front of the entrance while Wyntor operated a console with many buttons to the side of the Containment Unit.


    A momentter, a loud rm came from the Containment Unit as red lights lit up everywhere.


    The two of them weren''t surprised.


    This was the rm of a Containment Unit being fully opened.


    The cheapest Containment Units only had three ways to open them.


    First, opening a tiny door to put handheld objects into it.


    Second, opening a door for a human to get through.


    Third, opening the big gate to put a Specter in.


    But wait, the Dreamer was quite small.


    Why couldn''t Nick just carry it through the normal door?


    Well, a Containment Unit was more than just a big cube of steel.


    There were also several sensors, rms, barriers, and defenses on it.


    When a human passed through the door, the Containment Unit wouldn''t care, but if a Specter tried to pass through it, all the defenses would activate.


    Otherwise, small and sneaky Specters would be able to sneak out of the Containment Unit when people walked in and out of it.


    So, when a Specter was put into a Containment Unit, one had to open the main gate, which also deactivated all of the defenses.


    Naturally, more expensive Containment Units had more ways to open them, but this was just the cheapest variant.


    After the big gate fully opened, Nick walked into the Containment Unit.


    The gate slowly closed behind him again.


    When it was fully closed, the artificial light appeared in the Containment Unit.


    Normal artificial light didn''t help against the Nightmare''s influence, but Containment Units could use Zephyx to illuminate the inside.


    More expensive Containment Units had special tunnels made of reflective ss, which would safely deliver sunlight into the Containment Unit, cutting down on the cost of lighting.


    Sadly, their shitty Containment Unit didn''t have such luxury.


    They had to make do with using Zephyx to light the inside.


    Luckily, they only needed to light the inside when a human was in there since Specters didn''t need light.


    When the light turned on, Nick dumped the Dreamer into the middle of the Containment Unit.


    Due to the Zephyx Blocker, the Dreamer didn''t move.


    Nick looked at the motionless Dreamer for a couple of seconds until the normal door of the Containment Unit opened behind him.


    Nick bent forward and grabbed the Zephyx Blocker.


    After untangling it, Nick ran out of the Containment Unit, and Wyntor immediately closed the door.


    Silence.


    They had done it.


    The Dreamer was inside of the Containment Unit!


    Wyntor looked at the console beside the Containment Unit and checked its operating status.


    A couple of minutester, Wyntor nodded with a sigh of relief.


    "Everything is operating normally."


    "The Dreamer has been detected, and the defenses are ready to engage if it tries anything," Wyntor said. "We don''t have to worry about it escaping."


    Nick nodded while releasing a sigh of relief.


    Finally, they had the Dreamer securely contained.


    "Now," Wyntor said as his voice turned darker while turning to the exit of the warehouse. "Let''s deal with those two."


    "What do you have in mind?" Nick asked.


    "An exchange," Wyntor said. "The guards are afraid of my background, and they are going to do anything to get mywyers off their backs."


    "Come," Wyntor said as he walked to the exit.


    Nick just followed him.


    The two of them found the two guards quickly, and Wyntor told them to follow him.


    The guards just followed Wyntor while trying to apologize some more.


    Eventually, the four of them reached a tall building with the symbol of a green carriage on it.


    This was one of the biggest hospital chains in the world, and they operated in many cities.


    Thepany owning these hospitals was a Zephyx Manufacturer primarily, but they had one of the few contained level six Specters.


    The Contained Specter was a carriage that was called the Merchant.


    When one threw corpses into the carriage, healing potions came out of the carriage, and a bit of Zephyx would be given off by the carriage.


    Naturally, thepany made use of the healing medicine and created hospitals everywhere.


    For profit, of course.


    "One recovery bath and I will forget what happened. After all, I need one," Wyntor said as he shook his dislocated wrist a bit.


    The two guards took deep breaths and looked at each other in horror.


    "Sir Melfion, I''m not sure-"


    "It''s either you or your district that will pay for my treatment," Wyntor said, interrupting the guard. "Which one is it?"


    The two guards retreated a bit and talked with each other in whispers.


    They seemed to argue intensely.


    It took nearly three minutes for them to return.


    "We''ll pay," one of them said with a sigh.


    Wyntor nodded, and the four of them walked into the hospital.


    When they walked to the receptionist, the receptionist tried her best to remain somewhat professional under the immense stench that assaulted her.


    If she hadn''t seen the two guards behind the two dirty visitors, she would have already called security to throw them out.


    "Yes, how can I help you?" she asked with a forced smile.


    "One full-body recovery bath and one cleansing bath. The two baths are paid separately," Wyntor said.


    "Of course," the receptionist said, her professionalism now genuine.


    After all, these were actual customers, apparently.


    "That is 150 credits for the cleansing bath," she said.


    The next moment, Wyntor took out a couple of notes and put them on the table.


    The receptionist collected them with a polite smile and gave Wyntor a small orange token.


    "And that will be 4,800 credits for the full-body recovery bath," she said.


    Wyntor gestured to the guards.


    One of the guards walked over and handed the receptionist a card.


    The receptionist thanked him and put the card onto a te of steel.


    Then, she grabbed a small piece of something that looked like y and wrote the number 4,800 on it.


    The next moment, she put a small signature below the number, and she handed the piece of y to the guard.


    The guard released a shaky breath and signed it.


    "Thank you," the receptionist said as she put the card on top of the piece of y and put everything into a metal box.


    A green light came out of the box.


    A momentter, the receptionist took the card out and handed it to the guard.


    At the same time, she took out the piece of y, which had now been hardened, and put it under her table.


    Sadly, there was no easy way tomunicate with the bank directly.


    Every week, the business would deliver the small pieces of y to the banks and get the money.


    The receptionist handed Wyntor a green ticket with severalplicated ck lines.


    Wyntor looked at the two guards.


    "We''re done. You can leave."


    "Thank you, sir," one of the guards said.


    Then, the two guards left the hospital.


    The next moment, Wyntor held out his ticket for the full-body recovery path to Nick.


    "Have fun."

 Chapter 27 - 27 – A Bath

    <h4>Chapter 27: ¨C A Bath</h4>


    Nick looked with surprise at Wyntor.


    He had thought that Wyntor would maybe give his ticket to him, but when it actually happened, Nick was still surprised.


    Nick felt bad epting something so expensive.


    "You just earned us a ton of money," Wyntor said, not looking at Nick. "Just take it."


    Nick hesitated, but in the end, he just epted it.


    After all, he also didn''t really want to die from his injuries, and despite his current demeanor, he was in quite a lot of pain.


    When Nick took the ticket, Wyntor nodded. "Just follow the signs. I''ll wait for you in three hours. That''s usually how long these baths take. I''ve had my fair share of them in the past."


    ''He had his fair share of them?'' Nick thought.


    Nick doubted that Wyntor had taken a three-hour bath for every minor injury he had ever received, which meant that Wyntor had probably been heavily injured multiple times before.


    "Sure, thank you, Wyntor," Nick said.


    The next moment, a smile appeared on Wyntor''s face. "Have fun," he said again as he walked through one of the doors.


    Nick looked at the ticket in his hand with anxiety.


    4,800 credits.


    He held 4,800 credits in his hand right now.


    The most money Nick had ever held in his hands had been 500 after he had finished a quite unsavory job.


    4,800 credits was a lot!


    Eventually, Nick looked around and found some signs hanging from the ceiling.


    Nick''s readingprehension was still weak, but with enough time, he could understand what he was reading.


    After wandering around for about three minutes, Nick finally found the entrance to the full-body recovery baths.


    Nick slowly opened the door and looked into the room.


    It had a couple of lockers and racks for clothing.


    "Come in!" a woman shouted with a friendly tone.


    Nick awkwardly walked into the room.


    He had never been in such a ce before.


    When the woman in the room noticed Nick''s appearance, a pained and apprehensive smile appeared on her face.


    Nick just showed her his ticket.


    "Right this way, sir," she said with a forced smile as she gestured to one of the doors. "Do you prefer to undertake the cleansing bath with or without clothing?"


    "Cleansing bath?" Nick asked. "I thought this is a full-body recovery bath."


    The woman just smiled awkwardly. "Sir, it is customary to take a cleansing bath before undertaking a recovery bath. We need you to be clean for the recovery bath to work properly."


    "Oh," Nick said. "I''d like to keep my clothing on, then."


    "Of course, sir," the woman said as she opened one of the doors to the side. "Please, step inside."


    Nick felt out of ce, but he followed the woman''s instructions.


    The room Nick entered was quite small, and he could see five light blue baths.


    "Please," the woman said as she gestured towards one of the baths.


    Nick awkwardly stepped forward and slowly lowered his body into the bath.


    The blue liquid, which didn''t feel like water, got pushed out of the bath but was quickly drained.


    SSSSSSSS!


    The next moment, the water around Nick started to bubble and released sounds akin to boiling water.


    It was quite loud.


    At the side, the woman''s eyes opened widely in shock.


    "Wow," she involuntarilymented.


    "Oh?" Nick uttered.


    "Oh, I''m sorry. I''m just surprised," the woman said. "I''ve never heard the cleansing bath be this loud before."


    "This isn''t normal?" Nick asked.


    "No, it isn''t," the woman said. "The cleansing bath is filled with a liquid that gets used up when ites into contact with dangerous impurities. The more impurities ites into contact with, the more liquid gets used up, and when the liquid gets used up, it makes this hissing noise."


    "But it''s never been this loud before."


    "If I may ask, what happened?" she asked.


    "I fell into the sewers," Nick said.


    "Fell into¡­" the woman said before she trailed off.


    She couldn''t imagine falling into the sewers.


    How would that even happen?


    She had never even seen the sewers in her life.


    Naturally, since the normal Outer City didn''t have rusty metal grates as their flooring, the woman had never seen or smelled the sewers.


    Because of that, she also had no idea just how dirty the sewers were.


    However, when she saw Nick rxing, she decided to stop asking questions.


    Right now, except for his heavy injuries, Nick felt great.


    "Your body has been cleansed," the woman said. "Do you prefer a quick cleansing shower for your head, or are you fine with taking a quick dive in the bath?"


    "I''ll take a quick dive," Nick said.


    The woman nodded. "About a minute in total should be enough. You can take multiple dives, of course."


    Nick nodded back, took a breath, and went underwater.


    For the first time, he was actually happy to be submerged in liquid.


    Nick couldn''t describe just how great this felt.


    After a minute, Nick surfaced again.


    "Please, step out," the woman said.


    Nick did just that, and when he could finally take a good look at his appearance, his eyes widened.


    He had never been so clean before in his entire life!


    All the stains in his clothing were gone, and his skin felt so smooth!


    However, not everything was great.


    Nick saw that his skin had started to swell in multiple ces.


    Apparently, his wounds were already starting to get infected and swollen.


    A momentter, Nick heard a shocked gasp, and he turned to the woman.


    "I''m sorry," she said with genuine worry and pity. "I''m so sorry."


    Nick wasn''t sure what she meant.


    Since Nick was now clean, the woman could actually see Nick''s injuries properly.


    Broken bones, destroyed nails, and bleeding cuts all across his body.


    It was like Nick had fallen down a staircase made of swords.


    "Please, follow me," she said with a slightly urgent voice as she opened the next door.


    Nick did just that.


    In the next room, he saw 15 green baths, butpared to the previous baths, there were also several pieces of external equipment.


    For example, there were breathing masks beside a couple of the baths.


    Nick also saw that people were in four of the baths.


    "Please, in here," the woman said as she gestured to one of the baths.


    Nick walked over and slowly entered the bath.


    As soon as he was fully submerged, he started to feel warm.


    The next moment, a breathing mask was put on his face, and a hand gently pushed him into the bath.


    It took some getting used to, but eventually, Nick managed to limate to staying below the surface.


    The feeling the bath gave him was so great and warm that Nick felt himself drift away.


    And just a couple of minutester, Nick fell asleep.

 Chapter 28 - 28 – Uniform

    <h4>Chapter 28: ¨C Uniform</h4>


    Eventually, Nick woke up.


    While everything had felt great, it was not so great that he would finish a whole night''s sleep in the bath.


    Nick wanted to scratch his nose but identally hit the breathing mask.


    After that, he remembered where he was, and he quickly sat up in the bath.


    The bath was filled with a liquid denser than water, which was why Nick didn''t swim in it.


    When Nick poked his head out, he saw one other person in the baths, but he didn''t remember that one.


    ''The others probably already left.''


    The next moment, Nick''s eyes met with one of the employees, and the employee walked over.


    It was a woman in a green uniform, but a different one from before.


    After a bit, the employee reached Nick''s bath. "Please, take off the mask."


    Nick did just that, and the woman looked at Nick''s face.


    A momentter, she wrote something down on a clipboard. "Do you feel pain anywhere?" she asked neutrally.


    Nick moved his shoulders and legs around a bit.


    "No, everything feels great," Nick said with surprise.


    "And your nose?" the woman asked.


    Nick''s eyes widened, and he quickly touched his nose.


    When he noticed that his nose was also fully healed, he was quite surprised. "It''s healed?" he asked in confusion.


    The employee nodded. "The healing liquid doesn''t need to be in direct contact with the injured area. It also seeps through your skin and travels across your body."


    She wrote a bit more on the clipboard before turning the clipboard around and holding it to Nick. "Sign here, and you can go."


    Nick slowly and carefully stood up.


    Surprisingly, the liquid was falling off him without leaving any stains or making him wet.


    The next moment, Nick took the clipboard into his hand and started to read.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "Are there any problems?" the employee asked with a slightly impatient tone after over two minutes.


    "Oh, no," Nick answered quickly. "I''m just not very good at reading."


    The employee just rolled her eyes. "It basically just says that you feel healthy and that you want to leave."


    Nick nodded. "Okay, but I still want to read it."


    The employee got even more annoyed, but she didn''t say anything.


    After around three more minutes, Nick was finally done.


    Luckily, there wasn''t a lot written on the clipboard, and it wasn''t nearly as hard to understand as the NDA Nick signed.


    Eventually, Nick grabbed the pen on the clipboard and awkwardly signed.


    He still wasn''t used to writing.


    Nick handed the clipboard back, and the employee quickly grabbed it.


    "Have a nice day. You can go," she said curtly before walking away.


    Nick just nodded and walked to the exit.


    Luckily, there was a second door, which meant that he didn''t need to pass through the room with the cleansing baths again.


    Since Nick hadn''t put any of his belongings away, he could directly leave.


    While Nick was walking through the hospital, he looked around with interest.


    His life was no longer in danger, which allowed him to appreciate the look of the hospital.


    Everything seemed so¡­ clean.


    Nick had never seen anything this clean before.


    It felt so alien to him.


    Nick had lived in the Dregs for his entire life, and the Dregs were not the cleanest ce.


    When Nick reached the lobby, he only saw two people.


    The receptionist and a boy.


    The boy was standing at the side of the lobby with a stack of clothes in his hands, and he awkwardly looked around.


    The boy was maybe 14 years old or something like that.


    For a second, the eyes of Nick and the boy met.


    The boy looked at Nick with anxiety and looked at his clothing.


    Then, he looked towards the direction of the baths again.


    "You searching for someone?" Nick asked.


    The boy was surprised when Nick started a conversation.


    "Yes, yes!" the boy answered nervously. "I''m supposed to deliver these clothes to someone called Nick."


    Nick blinked twice. "That''s me."


    "Oh?" the boy uttered as he looked at Nick with surprise.


    But then, his brows furrowed as he looked at Nick''s clothing again.


    "But your clothing isn''t dirty," he said.


    "I bathed in my clothing," Nick said. "I presume these clothes are from Wyntor?"


    When the boy heard Nick say Wyntor''s name, he sighed in relief. "Yes," he said.


    The next moment, he held the clothes forward, and Nick took them.


    Nick couldn''t see all of the clothes since they were folded, but he could see quite a bit of red and ck.


    That was when Nick''s eyes widened, and he subconsciously gripped the clothes tighter.


    "Is that¡­ Crimson Fungus City''s official Zephyx Extractor uniform?" Nick asked in surprise.


    The boy nodded with a smile. "Yes, sir."


    At this moment, it really hit Nick.


    He was a Zephyx Extractor!


    Nick had seen a couple of Extractors walking around, and they had worn a uniform just like this one.


    Crimson Fungus City required all Zephyx Extractors to wear this uniform, no matter to whichpany they belonged.


    Extractors had to wear the uniform when they were on duty, but they were also encouraged to wear it in their spare time.


    While it wasn''t mandatory for Extractors to wear their uniforms in their free time, it had be the norm after manywsuits.


    What if an Extractor uses their ability? Would they be on duty or not?


    What if someone tried to steal from them and got incinerated by the Extractor''s ability?


    Of course, the city didn''t care about the fate of criminals, but they very much cared about the criminals'' bodies and blood.


    Even criminals brought in blood and money.


    Zephyx Extractors are allowed to kill people from the Dregs with a good reason. Otherwise, they would need to pay a fine of about 5,000 credits.


    Extractors are also allowed to kill people of the Outer City, but only when the person tried to physically assault them first.


    Because of the many unnecessary deaths, the city encouraged the Extractors to wear their uniform when going out.


    Even in their spare time.


    ''And now, I finally have my very own uniform,'' Nick thought as he looked at the uniform in his hand.


    ''I''m now officially a Zephyx Extractor!''

 Chapter 29 - 29 – Acquaintance

    <h4>Chapter 29: ¨C Acquaintance</h4>


    "Thanks," Nick said as he looked at the boy again.


    "No problem!" the boy said with a polite smile. "I will be working under you for the foreseeable future, sir."


    Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise. "You''re working for me?"


    The boy nodded. "Yes. I''m a steward apprentice in sir Wyntor''s family, sir. I''m going to be working for the two of you for the next couple of months to gain experience. If there is anything you need, just tell me. Please, also tell me if there is anything I can improve."


    Nick felt a bit strange being superior to someone else.


    He hadn''t led anyone before.


    "Sure, what''s your name?" Nick asked.


    "Oh, excuse me!" the boy shouted nervously. "I forgot to introduce myself!"


    "My name''s Pator Tailor, sir. Please, refer to me as Pator."


    Nick nodded. "Alright, Pator. You can call me Nick."


    Pator looked quite surprised.


    Calling the Chief Zephyx Extractor of a Zephyx Manufacturer by their first name?


    "Okay, sure. Thank you," Pator said, not daring to call Nick by his name.


    Nick nodded with a smile and walked out of the hospital, Pator following him.


    "Where''s Wyntor?" Nick asked as they walked towards the warehouse.


    "Sir is currently in the family''s estate. He told me that you do not need to work for a couple of days," Pator exined.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Why?" he asked.


    "I don''t know, sir," Pator said. "If I am not told the reason, it means it is not of my concern. However, sir has also said that someone will be telling you all the necessary things in the headquarters."


    ''Someone''s going to tell me these things?'' Nick thought with a raised eyebrow.


    After walking for a bit, Nick arrived in front of the warehouse.


    Whenever Nick saw the warehouse, he had to take a short moment to look at it.


    It wasn''t anything big or majestic, but it represented his future.


    Nick just loved looking at it.


    Eventually, Nick walked into the warehouse with Pator in tow.


    As soon as Nick entered the warehouse, he immediately became wary.


    At this moment, a cloaked figure was closely inspecting the console beside the Containment Unit of the Dreamer.


    However, since Wyntor said that someone was waiting for Nick, he didn''t immediately attack.


    "Please, wait outside, Pator," the cloaked person said without turning around.


    When he heard the voice, Pator realized who it was, and he quickly nodded. "Of course, sir."


    The next moment, Pator walked out of the warehouse.


    Meanwhile, Nick looked at the cloaked person with furrowed brows.


    The voice was familiar, but he couldn''t quite ce it.


    The cloaked person turned to Nick.


    "How''s reading practice going?" the person asked.


    And then, Nick suddenly remembered where he had heard that voice from.


    "Albert?" Nick asked in surprise.


    The cloaked person, Albert, chuckled and removed the cloak, revealing his grey and ck hair.


    When Nick saw Albert''s face, he smiled brightly.


    "What are you doing here?" Nick asked as he walked closer.


    "Wyntor told me what happened," Albert said. "He thought you might need a bit of guidance since this is your first Specter."


    When Nick heard that, he released a sigh of relief.


    Naturally, Nick had been quite nervous about the Dreamer.


    How was he supposed to get Zephyx out of the Dreamer?


    Nick had no idea.


    Luckily, Albert was now here, making things much easier.


    "Yes, I think I could use some help," Nick said.


    Albert chuckled a bit and turned to the console.


    "Everything looks fine," he said. "Prephyx levels are elevated, but that''s to be expected since it is currently recovering. Zephyx levels are at zero, but that''s also expected. The Dreamer is not a Specter that passively gives off Zephyx."


    "I already took a look at it earlier, and I have to say, you really went to town on this one," Albert said with a chuckle. "The poor thing is so beat up that it doesn''t even want to move right now. It didn''t even move when I poked it."


    Nick looked with a worried look at Albert. "It''s not dying, right?"


    "Oh, nah, you don''t need to worry about that. It''s quite hard to kill a Specter. To kill it, you would need to destroy the core in its head or shred its torso to pieces. Injuries that would kill humans just put Specters in a sort of stasis or hibernation, and as long as they are not isted from Prephyx, they will recover quite rapidly," Albert exined.


    Nick nodded in relief.


    He didn''t know what he would have done if the Dreamer died after all that had happened.


    "Everything looks good," Albert said once more as he lightly pped the console.


    Then, he turned to Nick. "Wanna go get Zephyx out of it right now?"


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "Wyntor said that the Dreamer is too injured to be worked with and that it will take a couple of days."


    Albert''s smile widened. "He''s right."


    Then, Albert took a small bottle out of one of his pockets and waved it around a bit. "But he doesn''t know I have this."


    "What''s that?" Nick asked as he looked at the bottle with interest.


    "The stuff you''ve been bathing in," Albert said, "Just a lot stronger."


    Nick remembered the green bath as he looked at the green liquid.


    "Wait, you''re using that on the Dreamer?" Nick asked.


    "Why not?" Albert asked with a grin.


    "Well, what if something happens?" Nick asked.


    Albert just snorted. "What''s supposed to happen? Nick, I''m a level four Extractor. I can kill the Dreamer with a casual kick."


    Nick scratched the back of his head.


    Sure, Albert was powerful, but Nick still felt that it was a bit weird to heal a Specter with expensive medicine.


    "I mean, sure, if you want to," Nick said with a shrug.


    Albert''s smile widened, and he mischievously moved his eyebrows up and down.


    Then, Albert pressed a button on the console, and a momentter, the personnel door to the Containment Unit opened.


    Albert walked in without hesitation, and Nick followed him nervously.

 Chapter 30 - 30 – Negotiation

    <h4>Chapter 30: ¨C Negotiation</h4>


    The lights in the Containment Unit had already been turned on.


    Every second the lights were on was expensive, but it was a necessary expenditure.


    After all, they couldn''t work with the Specter in the dark.


    When Nick entered the Containment Unit, he saw a ck shadow in the corner of the room.


    The Dreamer was lying in the most distant corner, unmoving.


    "Alright, princess," Albert said loudly as he walked towards the Dreamer. "Enough moping around."


    The Dreamer didn''t move.


    Albert opened the small bottle and very carefully removed one drop of liquid with his finger.


    Then, he just wiped his finger on the Dreamer''s head and moved back a bit.


    A momentter, the Dreamer''s body twitched, and then, its body began to smoke.


    Nick saw how the Dreamer''s eyes were regrowing at a visible speed.


    On top of that, its broken wings and ribs were moving back into ce with cracking sounds.


    Around a minuteter, the Dreamer had fully recovered.


    Even though Nick knew that he was safe behind Albert, he still felt a bit nervous.


    After all, this was a Specter.


    The Dreamer slowly opened its eyes and looked around the Containment Unit.


    Then, its eyes fell on Nick.


    DING! DING! DING! DING!


    Suddenly, a loud rm sounded in the room.


    Nick knew what this rm meant.


    The rm sounded when a sharp spike in Prephyx levels inside the Containment Unit was measured.


    A sudden spike in Prephyx levels meant that the Specter was preparing an attack.


    Apparently, the Dreamer wasn''t the biggest fan of Nick.


    An instantter, the Dreamer shot to its feet and charged at Nick.


    "Hol'' up, missy!"


    BANG!


    Albert''s left hand opened and grabbed the Dreamer''s head in a fluid motion.


    The Dreamer pped around and used its talons to stab Albert''s torso.


    DING!


    Yet, when the Dreamer''s talons hit Albert''s torso, a metallic sound reverberated throughout the room, and Albert wasn''t injured in the slightest.


    DING! DING! DING!


    The Dreamer used several more attacks, but no matter what it did, Albert wasn''t injured in the slightest.


    Albert didn''t even move.


    After about 30 seconds, the Dreamer gave up.


    Obviously, this man right in front of it was far more powerful than it was.


    "There we go," Albert said as he put the Dreamer down again. "Now, can we have a normal conversation?"


    The Dreamer just red at the distant Nick.


    It really didn''t like Nick.


    "Just ignore him for now," Albert said, moving to stand between the Dreamer and Nick.


    The next moment, Albert squatted to be at eye level with the Dreamer.


    Surprisingly, the Dreamer also looked into Albert''s eyes.


    There was no fear in its eyes.


    "You''re a Specter that feeds on mentality," Albert said. "You''re not a Specter that feeds off blood, organs, bodies, death, or unfortunate circumstances."


    "You feed on mentality, which means that you have gone through enough memories to understand what I am saying. I''m quite sure of it."


    The Dreamer didn''t show any reaction.


    "I''m not sure if you realize your current circumstances. So, let me enlighten you."


    "You have been captured, and you are inside a Containment Unit from a Zephyx Manufacturer."


    The Dreamer showed no reaction.


    "You are not going to break out. That''s not going to happen. This is your new home indefinitely."


    "However, if you manage to gain the trust of thepany, we might be able to enter a cooperation in the future."


    "At that point, you can leave the Containment Unit."


    "But until then, you are stuck here, and I''m also quite sure that you know why we humans catch Specters, right?"


    The Dreamer showed no reaction.


    "We want Zephyx. The stuff you produce when you absorb all that energy from the atmosphere," Albert exined.


    "As long as you give us Zephyx, your life won''t be bad. We will even help you in bing stronger."


    "The stronger you be, the more Prephyx and Zephyx you contain, which leaves less Prephyx and Zephyx for all the Specters that are still roaming free. Increasing your power is also in our interest."


    "Because of that, we will not be stealing all of your Zephyx. Only the majority. The precise amount is not up to me, but that''s how it usually works."


    "We give you food. You give us Zephyx. You be stronger. We get money."


    "Understand?"


    The Dreamer showed no reaction.


    It just kept on looking forward.


    "Alright," Albert said as he stood up again. "Let me give you a couple of hours to think. Now, my little friend over here will be doing most of the work. So, I don''t want you to attack him."


    The Dreamer moved slightly to the side so that it could look at Nick again.


    Nick just looked back emotionlessly.


    The next moment, Albert took out a little gadget from one of his pockets and looked at it.


    "Man, it really doesn''t like you," Albert said to Nick with a chuckle. "Specters aren''t usually that angry when they get captured, you know?"


    The gadget Albert had in his hand was a mobile Prephyx scanner. It had the same function as the rm from earlier, but it was portable and had a higher sensitivity.


    Just now, the Prephyx levels had been going up and down, almost like the Dreamer debated attacking Nick again.


    "Now, listen here. One more thing," Albert said, pushing the Dreamer''s head to look at him again.


    "If you don''t cooperate, we''ll have to do the bargain bin method, and you don''t want that."


    Nick raised an eyebrow. ''Bargain bin method?''


    The Dreamer looked at Albert again.


    "Most Specters cooperate to some degree. Not all of them cooperate fully, but they, at least, consume stuff to continue growing, which produces Zephyx."


    "But there are also the Specters thatpletely refuse to do anything. They believe that they can simply use up our money by forcing us to spend resources on keeping them contained without gaining anything from them."


    "These Specters are not very popr with the Manufacturers, but there is still a way to get money out of them."


    The next moment, Albert grabbed the tip of the Dreamer''s right wing.


    RIIIIP!


    And tore it off.


    The Dreamer pulled its wing back, but it didn''t seem like it was in pain.


    Albert showed the Dreamer the part of the wing he had torn off.


    Then, Albert took out a small box with a shredder on top.


    Albert put the part of the Dreamer he had torn off onto the shredder, and the shredder immediately turned the part into tiny particles.


    After that, the wires all over the box started to electrify, and a minuteter, the particles in the box vanished.


    Albert opened the box and showed it to the Dreamer.


    "You get it?" Albert asked.


    The Dreamer looked into the box.


    Just now, it had felt a bit of Zephyxing out of the box.


    "That''s the bargain bin method," Albert said. "We can tear about 70% of your body off without killing you. We shove that body into the mixer, get our Zephyx, and give you a week to recover."


    Albert slowly stood up.


    "Either you cooperate, or that''s your future."


    "It''s your decision."


    "We''ll be back in about three hours."


    After that, Albert walked out of the Containment Unit.


    The Dreamer just looked at Nick.


    Nick looked back, but he also left a couple of secondster.


    The Dreamer just kept looking at the door.

 Chapter 31 - 31 – Old Lady

    <h4>Chapter 31: ¨C Old Lady</h4>


    After Albert and Nick left the Containment Unit, Nick just looked at Albert with a raised eyebrow. "So, you just talk to them?"


    Albert justughed. "At least that''s the first thing we try generally. It doesn''t take a lot of resources, and it''s rather quick. Might as well try this before we invest lives and energy."


    "Does it actually work?" Nick asked.


    "Sometimes. Not always, though," Albert said. "The thing is, the Dreamer is a Specter that feeds on mentality, which means it actually understands humans to a certain degree. It might not be able to articte itself or learn how to speak, but it should be able to understand most of what we say."


    "Working with a Specter that feeds on mentality can be a blessing and a curse at the same time."


    "It''s a blessing since you can almost alwaysmunicate directly with them, making most things very smooth."


    "But it can also be a curse since Specters that feed on mentality are generally much more intelligent than other kinds of Specters."


    "Specters like these breach almost as much as Force Specters."


    "Like, there is this one Specter called the Old Lady. She is constantly in agony and pain, but she is still extremely friendly. Extractors can extract Zephyx simply by talking with her."


    "I worked with her a couple of times. She''s actually very easy to work with, and it is even fun at times. She is a great conversationalist, and she always shows real care towards my problems. At least when she''s not wincing in pain orining about the darkness or her loneliness."


    Nick looked sympathetic when he heard Albert''s description.


    But the next moment, Albert suddenly pointed at Nick''s face. "That! That''s what she''s after. Pity!"


    "The Old Lady feeds on pity."


    "On pity?" Nick asked.


    Albert nodded. "Yep. She grows more powerful by eliciting pity from people. By being nice to them and making them like you, they are far more likely to feel bad for your circumstances. That''s why it''s such a great time to talk to her."


    "In like the first year of her being in the Containment Unit, she breached three times. Just for your info, that''s a lot!" Albert said.


    "The first one was when one of the clerks got to know her and decided to free her. Of course, a rational human being wouldn''t do something like that since they would essentially forfeit their life, but Specters that feed on mentality have many subtle mental influences that can cloud your judgment."


    "Naturally, when the Old Lady came out, she immediately killed the clerk to make sure that she didn''t call anyone."


    "After that, she tried to get out of the building, but she ran across an off-duty Extractor, who rapidly suppressed her and put her back in the Containment Unit."


    "The second time was after she had worked and talked with the same Extractor for around a month."


    "Back then, we saw no issues, but it turned out that the more you talked to her, the closer your attachment to her."


    "So, after working with her for over a month, the Extractor essentially became her eternal servant but never showed any signs on the outside."


    "Naturally, the Extractor busted her out, and the two of them ran away."


    "Five people died on their escape."


    "It took several days to catch them, and funnily enough, a different Manufacturer captured them, which meant that the Old Lady now belonged to apletely differentpany."


    The next moment, Albertughed loudly.


    "And then she broke out again within a week by getting a clerk to free her again, and the first Manufacturer recaptured her."


    "She hasn''t broken out since then. They constantly rotate clerks and Extractors, making sure that everyone only gets to talk to her once a week."


    Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise.


    He had expected that, as soon as the Specters were in the Containment Units, they would remain there.


    But now, he had heard of a Specter that had breached three times in a year via multiple ways.


    "So, yeah," Albert said, looking at Nick. "They are easy to work with, but if you are careless even once, they will breach and cause you massive trouble."


    Nick could only nod.


    "And the Dreamer is one of those," Nickmented.


    "Yep," Albert said. "I''m pretty certain that the Dreamer will agree to work with us, but if you are careless in any way, it will not hesitate to kill anyone to get out."


    "Nick, I''m going to tell you something that my old mentor has told me. Back then, I didn''t believe him, but after decades of working with Specters, I can tell you that he spoke the truth."


    Albert put his hands on Nick''s shoulders and looked him deep in the eyes.


    "Specters can not feel happiness,panionship, or pity," Albert said solemnly.


    "After decades of research performed by thousands of Extractors, we have found not even a single Specter that can feel any of these things."


    "Whenever you see them being in pain or being supportive, it is only an act. They want to get closer to you in some way for some sort of gain."


    "Never believe them."


    "Never be their friend."


    "Never try to ally with them unless you know that working for you is more beneficial for the Specter than being free. Specters will always do what is most beneficial to them."


    "And even then, there are Specters that act chaotically, against their own interests."


    "Every Specter is unique, and every Specter needs to be treated differently."


    "Even the Blood Mosquito is contained inside a special Containment Unit. It has worked together with Crimson Fungus City for decades, but they still don''t dare to let its main body out of their sight."


    "Kugelblitz always has at least two level four Extractors or a level five Extractor stationed near the Blood Mosquito, even though there has been no issue with it for decades."


    "That''s how careful you have to be of them."


    "Do you understand?" Albert asked with a serious tone.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Then, he nodded with conviction.


    "I will never feel empathy for a Specter!"

 Chapter 32 - 32 – Stages

    <h4>Chapter 32: ¨C Stages</h4>


    "Good," Albert said with a sigh. "Anyway, how about I tell you about some general things regarding working with other Specters?"


    "Sounds good," Nick said.


    The next moment, Nick and Albert walked over to the side of the warehouse and sat in some chairs.


    For the next three hours, Albert taught Nick about general techniques for working with different Specters.


    The more Nick heard, the gloomier he felt.


    Apparently, there were quite a great number of Specters that simply gained power by killing people, and they only produced Zephyx that way.


    These kinds of Specters were either amazing or almost worthless.


    It all depended on the moral flexibility of the Manufacturer and their standing in themunity.


    As the de-facto owner of the city, Kugelblitz didn''t use any unsavory methods like this, but there were a couple of Manufacturers that did just that.


    Naturally, Kugelblitz acted like the righteous authority and tried to uncover the obvious practices of the Manufacturers, but behind closed curtains, they were most likely paid off to look the other way.


    These other Manufacturers mostly got their Zephyx from dying people.


    An old person has a horrible disease that will eventually lead to their death?


    Hey, want to earn a ton of money for the family you''re leaving behind? You just gotta die a bit earlier.


    And apparently, there were always enough sick people, even though Albert said that the hygiene and cleanliness in the Inner City was brutally high.


    Albert even went as far as to say that getting sick in the Inner City without outside influence was nearly impossible.


    Albert didn''t directly say it, but he suspected that the Manufacturers were using shady methods to spread these diseases, but none of that had been proven yet.


    Naturally, Nick was not really worried about all of that but about what he would do if he captured such a Specter.


    Killing someone just for a bit of money?


    That felt uneptable to him.


    Sadly, the only other option to get Zephyx out of these kinds of Specters was to use the bargain bin method, and when Albert mentioned the bargain bin method again, he actually chuckled in embarrassment.


    Under Nick''s stunned gaze, Albert told him that Wyntor actually didn''t own a shredder like the one Albert had shown him.


    Apparently, the cheapest method to shred parts of Specters was buying a huge shredder that cost Zephyx to operate.


    Its prize was two million credits, over four times as much as the Containment Unit the Dreamer was currently in.


    Wyntor didn''t have the finances to purchase something like that.


    When Albert had said that they would just grind the Dreamer down, he had lied.


    "So, if the Dreamer refuses, we are essentially stuck?" Nick asked.


    "Well," Albert said as he scratched his chin. "Not exactly."


    "If, for some reason, the Dreamerpletely refuses to work with you, you can still sell it."


    "The Dreamer is not a newborn Specter. I think it is in the Mid, if not Late, Hatchling Stage. That''s worth quite a bit."


    "Hatchling Stage?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Oh yeah," Albert said. "That''s what we Extractors call the different levels of the Specters. The official designation is simply level-based. Level one, two, three, and so on, but we Extractors decided toe up with an unofficial one."


    "Hatchlings are level one Specters."


    "Adolescents are level two Specters."


    "Adults are level three Specters."


    "Elders are level four Specters."


    "Fanatics are level five Specters."


    "Wow, wait," Nick said. "Why are they suddenly called Fanatics? Everything up to this point seemed to follow an age progression."


    Albert chuckled a bit. "Mainly because level five Specters and stronger have this thing where some people start worshipping them due to their power and influence. For example, the Parasite has a secret cult, and all the Manufacturers are trying their best to get rid of it since the cult kills people and delivers corpses to the Parasite."


    "Anyway, level six Specters are Demons. We call them like this due to their extreme power and danger."


    "Level seven Specters are Fallen."


    "Level eight Specters are called Adversaries. Mainly because they pose the biggest problem to humanity as a whole."


    "Really?" Nick asked. "What about the level nine Specters?"


    "First of all, there are fewer level nine Specters than level eight Specters."


    "Second, the five level nine Specters are already an integral part of our lives, which we can''t escape from. Their existence determines the baseline of humanity as a whole."


    "So, in a bizarre way, the level nine Specters are not humanity''s enemies but the judges of humanity''s prosperity."


    "In contrast, we can still somewhat resist the level eight Specters, and the level eight Specters are doing their very best to suppress humanity."


    "If you view humanity as a bigpany, you could view the level eight Specters as the chief executives and the level nine Specters as the owners. The owners very rarelye into contact with the employees, and they are rarely noticed by the employees, but when they arrive, even the chief executives have to be beyond respectful."


    "Inparison, the chief executives are the ones making all the decisions and dictating how everyone feels. So, while the level nine Specters are more powerful, they do whatever they want, which means, in a way, they are not the collective enemy of humanity."


    "It''s a bit weird to exin."


    "It''s like, one is a huge monster, and the other is a natural catastrophe. You can''t really view a natural catastrophe as an enemy or fight it, you know?"


    Nick scratched his chin.


    "Oh, by the way, what are level nine Specters called?"


    "Eternal," Albert answered. "They are just called Eternals."


    Nick nodded. "Is there something simr for Extractors?"


    Albert nodded.


    "Level one Extractors are called Newbies."


    "Level two are called Johns."


    "John?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Albertughed. "Yes, John. Level two Extractors are the most numerous and most average. They used to be called John Doe, but it was shortened to just Johns. The mostmon and generic Extractors get the mostmon and generic name."


    "Johns," Nick repeated. "You''re serious?"


    "I''m absolutely serious," Albert said with a suppressed chuckle.


    "If everything works out, you will also be a John one day."


    Nick just blinked once.

 Chapter 33 - 33 – Charge

    <h4>Chapter 33: ¨C Charge</h4>


    After a while, Nick just sighed.


    It seemed like Extractors were quite casual.


    "What about level three Extractors?" Nick asked.


    "Veterans," Albert answered. "They already worked a lot with Specters, which is why they are called Veterans."


    "Level four Extractors are called Experts. I''m an Expert," Albert said with a smile.


    "level five Extractors are called Specialists. Crimson Fungus City has fewer than 30 of those."


    "Level six Extractors are called Heroes."


    "Heroes?" Nick asked.


    "Yep, because if there is something threatening the city, they are the ones saving us, and without them, this city wouldn''t even exist," Albert exined. "Without the Heroes, all of us wouldn''t be alive right now. Heroes represent the strongest existences we can get into contact with."


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "But what about the level seven and level eight Extractors?"


    "They''re special," Albert said. "Normal cities only have Extractors up to level six."


    "Level seven Extractors count as legends, and they have dedicated their lives to helping humanity against the Specters."


    "Level seven Extractors are the ones keeping humanity safe from the Fallen, the level seven Specters."


    "There are less than a hundred level seven Extractors."


    "They are called the Protectors."


    "And as for level eight Extractors¡­" Albert said before trailing off.


    Then, he released a deep sigh.


    "We are forever stuck with only having seven of them."


    "We will never be able to have more than seven."


    "Why?" Nick asked with furrowed brows.


    "The Maw," Albert answered. "The Maw just loves pitting simrly powerful Extractors against each other, and it always takes eight."


    "So, if we ever get an eighth level eight Extractor, the Maw will take all of them."


    "In the end, only one wille out."


    "Meanwhile, there are over 40 level eight Specters."


    Nick became silent when he heard that.


    Seven versus over forty.


    The level eight Extractors were fighting a hopeless battle.


    "And what are they called?" Nick asked.


    "Well, for all intents and purposes, they should be called Heroes, but since normal people keep referring to level six Extractors as Heroes, we had to choose a different name."


    "So, we decided to name them after what they are doing."


    "They are unable to injure our enemy, but at least they are able to shield us from the worst our enemy can throw at us."


    "That''s why we call them Shields."


    Nick remained silent for a while.


    He could feel how noble and selfless the seven Shields were.


    Without them, the Adversaries, the level eight Specters, would have already run rampant.


    "Is there a name for a potential level nine Extractor?" Nick asked.


    Albert remained silent for a while.


    "Well, a level nine Extractor would be able to resist the Eternals, and they would have the power to actually win against the Specters as a whole."


    "Someone like that could only be called our Savior."


    Nick just nodded without saying anything.


    Level seven and level eight Extractors seemed to be very different from all the other Extractors, ording to what Albert had said.


    The weaker Extractors were still working for the different cities and effectively running them, but level seven and level eight Extractors were focusing on protecting humanity from the Specters.


    However, Nick wasn''t na?ve. He knew exactly that it wasn''t possible that every single level seven Extractor was some kind of selfless saint who dedicated their life to fighting for humanity.


    This meant that there were either more level seven Extractors or every level seven Extractor was forced to fight for humanity.


    Nick wished that the second option was true, but he guessed that the first one was more likely to be true.


    ''The truly powerful people have a chance at actually changing the world for the better.''


    ''Someone that has the power to change something should have a duty to change things.''


    ''So many people want to change the world for the better butck the power. Because of that, I believe that when you have the power, you have a duty to make the world a better ce.''


    ''I wouldn''t be opposed to forcing the strong humans to fight for humanity.''


    ''They don''t need to sacrifice their lives, but they need to put in a real effort.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''However, all of that doesn''t matter. I am weak, and my opinion and actions have nearly no effect on the world as a whole.''


    ''For now, I should focus on what''s in front of me.''


    "Should we go back to the Dreamer?" Nick asked.


    "Oh, has it been three hours already?" Albert asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "Alright, then, go in."


    Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise. "You''re noting with me?"


    "Nope," Albert said. "This is your Specter. I showed you how to work with it and helped you a bit, but that was it."


    "You''re the Chief Zephyx Extractor. You''re the one in charge of all Specters and Extractors. It is your duty to manage the facility. If you can''t keep the Specters in check, you won''t be able to get any Zephyx from them, at which point you have to sell them," Albert exined.


    Nick took a deep breath. "I understand."


    Naturally, Nick knew that he was the one in charge, but it was still difficult toe to terms with it.


    Nick had never led anyone, and he was still only 16 years old.


    Having the fate of an entire corporation hanging on his actions alone made his chest feel tight and his shoulders heavy.


    Usually, one could almost always ask someone more powerful or more experienced.


    A child could ask an adult about what to do.


    An employee could ask their supervisor.


    A supervisor could ask a manager.


    A soldier could ask an officer.


    And Nick?


    He was the one in charge.


    Well, technically, Wyntor was in charge, but Wyntor didn''t have much to do with the Specters themselves.


    ''I guess I have to learn to take control and to lead people,'' Nick thought with a sigh.


    ''It just feels so weird.''


    ''I''m not entirely sure what I should do.''


    Nick took a deep breath and stood up.


    ''Well, I won''t get an answer by just thinking about it.''


    Then, he walked towards the Containment Unit of the Dreamer.

 Chapter 34 - 34 – Work

    <h4>Chapter 34: ¨C Work</h4>


    Nick operated the console and opened the entrance for the employees.


    The light in the Containment Unit sprang on, and Nick immediately saw the Dreamer after opening the door.


    The Dreamer was standing near one of the walls.


    Nick wasn''t sure if he preferred this position over the one where the Dreamer justy in the corner.


    Nick stepped into the Containment Unit with confidence, and the door closed behind him.


    Nick looked at the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer looked at Nick.


    Silence.


    Nick''s heart began to race.


    At this moment, Nick''s ability obviously didn''t work, and the employee door took a couple of seconds to open.


    This meant that if the Dreamer decided to attack, Nick would have to fight it for a couple of seconds before Albert could get in or Nick out.


    ''I can''t rely on Albert,'' Nick thought as he looked at the Dreamer with narrowed eyes. ''Albert is only here for today. Even if he saves me now, he won''t be able to save me tomorrow.''


    ''Remember, Albert said that Specters always do what''s most beneficial to them.''


    ''The Dreamer is not powerful enough to escape from the Containment Unit. Even if it kills me, it won''t be able to get out, and I''m certain it knows that.''


    ''Because of that, attacking me would only antagonize the Manufacturer it now belongs to, reducing our trust in it and making its life more difficult.''


    ''If I were in its position, I would want to y the good boy until I get enough Zephyx to be a level two Specter, an Adolescent, before breaking out of the Containment Unit.''


    The Dreamer and Nick were still silently looking at each other.


    The Dreamer had no expression whatsoever, and Nick had no idea what it was thinking or feeling right now.


    It just kept staring at him like a statue.


    "I presume you are willing to work with us," Nick said. "I think you would have attacked me if you didn''t agree."


    "Smart decision."


    The Dreamer just kept looking at Nick.


    "We both know my power, and we both know that you are superior to me in every way as long as you can see me."


    "However, we also know that I can still avoid your attacks for a while, andpared to before, we are now on my home turf."


    "I only need to survive until the door is open."


    The Dreamer didn''t do anything.


    Naturally, the Dreamer''sck of reaction increased Nick''s heart rate.


    It was just too creepy to look at something that was alive but deliberately acted like it was not.


    "Of course, you still have a genuine chance to kill me."


    The Dreamer didn''t do anything.


    "But you have also noticed the rms earlier, and I''m pretty sure you already figured out when the rm gets triggered."


    "If you decide to attack me, I will know before you actually attack."


    The Dreamer just kept staring emotionlessly and silently.


    DING! DING! DING!


    The next moment, the rm rang, and Nick immediately put his hand on the console of the door behind him.


    However, he didn''t press it.


    Instead, he only red at the Dreamer.


    Surprisingly, the Dreamer just kept standing there.


    It was almost like it hadn''t done anything.


    "You get it now?" Nick asked.


    Naturally, the Dreamer had tested out the rm.


    It wanted to know if the past activations had just been coincidences or not.


    And it didn''t like what it saw.


    Whenever it was thinking aboutunching an attack, the rm rang.


    The rm activated so fast that the Dreamer wasn''t even sure whether or not it had actually wanted to attack.


    It felt very bizarre.


    It was almost like the rm could tell the future.


    "Okay," Nick said as he walked away from the door.


    Then, he slowly walked towards the Dreamer.


    Since the Dreamer currently stood on the ground, it seemed almost harmless.


    After all, it was just a barely 50-centimeter-tall owl.


    Sure, it was quite a big bird, but that was it.


    However, Nick knew how powerful the Dreamer actually was.


    Step by step, Nick closed in on the Dreamer.


    Eventually, only a single meter separated them.


    The entire time, the two of them only looked into each other''s eyes.


    Silence.


    The Dreamer didn''t attack.


    Naturally, Nick''s heart rate was quite elevated at this moment, and adrenaline was coursing through his body.


    However, he also knew that he had to get through this.


    If he didn''t manage to work with the Dreamer, he couldn''t call himself the Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    He had to be able to work with the most powerful Specters of thepany.


    "Good," Nick said. "Then, let''s start working."


    The next moment, Nick turned around and walked to one of the walls.


    Then, he sat down with his back to the wall.


    "You gain power by giving people nightmares, right?"


    The Dreamer didn''t answer.


    "When you gain power, you give off the stuff we want."


    "Albert!" Nick shouted as he looked towards one of the walls. "Set the conversion rate to 90% for now."


    Some seconds passed.


    "Done!" Albert''s voice came from one of the speakers in the corner.


    Nick nodded and looked back at the Dreamer.


    "For now, we will take 90%, and you get to keep 10%. Naturally, that is very much in our favor, but for now, that''s your only option."


    "If you prove to be trustworthy, we will allow you to retain more Zephyx. After all, if you manage to be an Adolescent, we will also get more Zephyx."


    "You growing stronger is also in our interest."


    "But for now, we have to be careful of you."


    The next moment, Nick took a deep breath.


    "I will try to fall asleep in here, and you do your thing."


    "However, keep in mind that I am currently the only person willing to work with you using this method. If I identally die, we will only have the bargain bin method left, and we might not trust you anymore, which means you stay a Hatchling forever."


    "Don''t do anything stupid."


    And then, Nick closed his eyes.

 Chapter 35 - 35 – Falling Asleep

    <h4>Chapter 35: ¨C Falling Asleep</h4>


    Nick''s eyes remained closed.


    On the inside, Nick''s heart was still racing, and he felt very nervous, but on the outside, he seemed calm.


    He wanted to open his eyes several times, but he forced them closed.


    Time passed.


    Clink.


    Nick''s eyes slowly opened.


    Just now, the Dreamer took a step forward, its ck eyes fully focused on Nick''s eyes.


    It was still as expressionless as earlier.


    Nick covertly took a very deep breath and closed his eyes.


    Clink.


    Nick''s eyes remained closed.


    Clink.


    Clink.


    Clink.


    Clink!


    Clink!


    CLINK CLINK!


    Thest two steps hade within a short moment from Nick''s right side.


    He knew that the Dreamer was currently standing directly beside him.


    Nick slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to the side.


    ck eyes!


    Nick''s body shuddered as his vision was almostpletely taken up by two ck eyes.


    While sitting, Nick could almost see eye to eye with the Dreamer, and right now, the Dreamer''s eyes were just 20 centimeters away from Nick''s eyes.


    If the Dreamer just used its beak to peck him, Nick would probably lose one eye before he could react.


    The more Nick looked into those eyes, the more he felt like they were empty.


    Usually, when someone got more familiar with something, they managed to see subtle signs that told them more about the thing they were familiar with.


    Not here.


    The more Nick learned about the Dreamer, the more he felt like he was just looking into an emotionless ghost or something simr.


    There was no disregard, hunger, rage, hatred, or whatever in its eyes.


    It was almost like it wasn''t even conscious.


    It was like it was just a dead statue.


    But it wasn''t.


    And that was why Nick felt so nervous right now.


    It felt wrong.


    Nick felt like the Dreamer wasn''t supposed to exist.


    It was not dead, but it didn''t act like it was alive.


    Nevertheless, Nick took a deep breath and closed his eyes again.


    Time passed.


    Minutes passed.


    The Dreamer had not moved ever since it had stepped beside Nick.


    After 30 minutes had passed, Nick wasn''t even sure whether or not the Dreamer was actually beside him.


    Usually, one could feel when someone was right beside them.


    Breathing, slight movements, the change in the wind, the smell, some noise.


    None of that was here.


    The Dreamer didn''t breathe, smell, or move, and since there was also no wind in here, it also couldn''t block it.


    It was like Nick was alone.


    Usually, Nick would prefer this feeling.


    After all, most people wanted to sleep alone.


    But the fact that he knew that the Dreamer, a Specter, was right beside him made it impossible for him to calm down.


    Nevertheless, Nick did his best to calm down.


    However, Nick knew that this state of affairs would continue for a long time.


    ''How am I supposed to fall asleep with that thing right beside me?''


    It was difficult enough to sleep under normal circumstances, but it was even more difficult when something you didn''t trust was looking right at you.


    But Nick tried.


    "Nick," came the quiet voice of Albert from one of the speakers.


    "Yes?" Nick asked quietly.


    "The Prephyx levels are slowly rising, but my scanner says that they are not in preparation for an attack. You should inform the next person of this urrence lest they make a miscall and rush in."


    "Tell me if you feel a change."


    Nick nodded slowly. "I will."


    Nick hadn''t opened his eyes yet.


    Some momentster, Nick''s mind was getting woozy.


    Images from what happened that day weaved in and out of his consciousness, and Nick felt like he was losing focus.


    The next moment, Nick yawned deeply.


    He was about to fall asleep.


    That was when Nick noticed it.


    He had just expected that he would be sitting here for hours, but now, he felt very tired and was about to fall asleep?


    "I am getting very tired, and I think I will fall asleep soon, Albert," Nick said. "I think the Dreamer is helping me fall asleep."


    "Noted," Albert said. "Just fall asleep. I''m here if anything happens."


    "If you are still asleep after eight hours, I wille in and wake you up."


    Nick yawned deeply again. "Sounds great."


    "Good night," Nick said in a sleepy voice.


    Outside, Albert was looking at the console with aplex expression.


    "Yes¡­ good night," he answered awkwardly.


    Albert just threw a nce out of the window as if to confirm whether or not it was night.


    ''Why am I even looking outside? I can only see the sun through the upper windows, and the sun isn''t rted to the time of day,'' Albert thought as he shook his head.


    Inside the Containment Unit, Nick felt his mind melt into different scenes.


    Today had been a very busy day.


    After waking up in the early morning, Nick and Wyntor had prepared themselves for their excursion.


    At noon, Nick had jumped into the sewers, and he had continually been swimming in them for over ten hours.


    Then, Nick had been tortured by the Nightmare, which had significantly drained his mind.


    After that, Nick had fought the Dreamer in a life-and-death battle before finally subduing it.


    And then, they even needed to walk several kilometers into the actual Outer City, at which point they had a short scuffle with some guards.


    At least Nick had been able to take a short nap in the healing bath, but after that, he had spent another three hours in thepany itself.


    The fact that he had still been able to pay attention to Albert''s teachings after that much had happened was surprising.


    And now, Nick had been over half an hour in the presence of the Dreamer while trying not to open his eyes.


    It was so much.


    So much shit had happened today.


    But now, Nick felt calm.


    He could finally let go and get a good night''s sleep.


    At this moment, for whatever reason, Nick hadpletely forgotten the presence of the Dreamer right beside him.


    Some secondster, Nick''s back and legs became weak, and his body slumped.


    The Dreamer kept looking at the sleeping Nick.


    On the outside, Albert looked at the different graphs on the console, and he took a deep breath when one of the graphs showed a curve traveling upward.


    This was the graph for Zephyx production.


    At this moment, the Dreamer was producing Zephyx.


    Nick was sessfully working with it!

 Chapter 36 - 36 – Bad Dream

    <h4>Chapter 36: ¨C Bad Dream</h4>


    "I''m sorry! Please! I won''t do it again!"


    Nick shouted in absolute terror as he did his best to beg for his life on his broken legs.


    BANG!


    The next moment, Nick''s face was kicked in by a metallic boot.


    "Plehs, ahm surry," Nick cried through his crushed face.


    "You are the reason why Young Master Wyntor is dead," one of the three armored people in front of him spoke. "Your carelessness is why the Lord is now grieving."


    "I didn''t mean to! I''m sorry!" Nick said through his crushed teeth.


    BANG!


    The metallic boot crushed Nick''s forearm, and Nick began to scream even more.


    Nick tried to get his crushed forearm out from under the boot, which was grinding Nick''s forearm into a crunchy paste of meat and bone.


    "You think saying sorry will help you?" the person spoke calmly and coldly through his ck gas mask.


    "But don''t worry, you won''t die today."


    The ck gasmask wasing closer to Nick''s face.


    "You will stay alive for as long as the Lordmands it."


    "He has many ways to keep you alive when your body begs to die."


    "No! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! Please!"


    Nick just kept shouting garbled words through the crushed mess that had once been his face.


    "Take him away," the man said as he turned around to walk away.


    "No! No!"


    Nick just kept shouting as the two other people grabbed him.


    The next moment, Nick found himself impaled onto a wooden cross with three spikes.


    Two were going through Nick''s wrists, and one was going through both his legs.


    "Interesting, isn''t it?" the disfigured and small man in front of Nick said with a loud but awkward chuckle.


    "This is the most popr and famous torture method from the old world!" the torturer said. "We found many depictions of this torture method in the ruins."


    "You should consider yourself lucky! After all, not everyone gets to reenact such a monumental piece of history with their own body."


    After deciding for a while, the disfigured man took hold of a thin and small knife.


    Nick didn''t show any reactions.


    "Alright, you know how this goes. Just don''t move too much, okay?" the man shouted with an awkwardugh.


    The next moment, the torturer stepped on a smalldder behind the cross and put the knife on the underside of Nick''s right big toe.


    And then, he cut into it.


    The knife methodically moved towards the center of Nick''s foot.


    While this was happening, Nick''s body was shuddering, but he wasn''t saying anything.


    "Alright, that''s the first one. Keep holding still. If you do a good job, you get a couple of days of peace in the drowning cage."


    Then, the torturer slowly cut down from the second toe.


    Then, the third, and so on.


    Eventually, all the cuts met in the middle of the underside of Nick''s feet.


    "Now, let''s see¡­"


    The next moment, the torturer grabbed both sides of one of the cuts and pulled to the side.


    RIIIIIP!


    After ripping them to the side a bit, the torturer took hold of the knife again while the other hand kept Nick''s skin off from his flesh.


    The next moment, the torturer slowly and carefully cut the connective tissue between Nick''s skin and his flesh.


    Nick gritted his teeth, but they had already been filed into thin needles that weren''t aligned with each other, essentially forcing them to dig into the opposite gums when he closed his mouth.


    Nevertheless, this was all Nick could do.


    "Now, look at this beautiful toe," the torturer said as the skin of Nick''s big toey on top of Nick''s toe like wrapping paper for a present.


    "Alright, let''s do the second one."


    As Nick felt a sharp and intense paine from his second toe, he just opened his eyes lifelessly.


    What greeted Nick was the sight of a human''s skin hanging from the ceiling a couple of meters in front of him.


    Besides that piece of skin were several more.


    There were over ten sets of skins, all having different levels of quality.


    They had all belonged to Nick at one point.


    He had gone through this torture many, many times before.


    Whenever the torturer wanted another set, he would pull out Nick''s skin and then bathe him in healing liquid.


    After that, Nick would get to rx in a cage that was almostpletely underwater.


    Only by pursing his lips on the top could Nick get a bit of air, and only when the water was calm.


    And worst of all, they had cut out Nick''s tongue and vocal cords to stop him from saying The Sentence.


    This was his life.


    This was what his life would be.


    It was hopeless.


    It was eternal.


    The torture was never-ending.


    Nick just closed his eyes again.


    "Nick?"


    Nick felt the reality shake.


    "Hey, Nick!"


    The next moment, Nick''s mind began to swim, and he felt himself getting transported somewhere else.


    Nick opened his eyes, and he saw a white light shining onto him.


    "Huh?" Nick said in confusion.


    Nick''s left arm moved upward and touched his head as he grimaced a bit.


    "Everything alright?" Albert asked.


    "Yeah, I think so," Nick said as he slowly righted himself. "I feel a bit confused and groggy."


    "Also, I think I had a really bad dream, but I don''t really remember. It''s all foggy."


    "Right!" Nick said louder as he looked around the white room.


    He spotted the Dreamer standing in one of the corners, looking at him.


    Then, Nick to his left.


    Albert was standing left of him.


    "Are eight hours already up?" Nick asked in a bit of confusion.


    "Yep," Albert said. "You slept very calmly. No one would think that you were going through a nightmare."


    "You did go through one, right?"


    Nick''s brows furrowed. "I think so. I feel all exhausted, and I feel like I cried and went through hell."


    "But I can''t remember. I know that something horrible has happened, but I just don''t know what exactly."


    "It''s a strange feeling."


    Albert nodded. "Well, whatever you went through worked. You produced a lot of Zephyx. Want to see?"


    Nick slowly stood up and shook his head again.


    He was still tired.


    "Yeah, sure."

 Chapter 37 - 37 – Finances

    <h4>Chapter 37: ¨C Finances</h4>


    Nick threw another nce at the Dreamer, which was still looking at him with its emotionless eyes.


    Nick had no idea what the Dreamer was feeling or thinking about.


    It was like a nk canvas.


    Then, Nick left the Containment Unit and followed Albert to the console.


    Albert pointed at a small monitor to the side of the console and pped Nick''s shoulders quite roughly. "You seein this?" he shouted with excitement.


    Nick looked at the small monitor and saw the gauge of a tank.


    This was the Zephyx tank of the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    The gauge had a maximum volume of 50, and right now, it was at a bit over five.


    "You managed to get five grams of Zephyx on your first time! That''s amazing!" Albert shouted with augh.


    Nick just looked at the gauge with confusion since he didn''t know how much five grams of Zephyx was, but Albert''s enthusiasm also made him a bit excited.


    "How much is five grams of Zephyx?" Nick asked.


    "About 5,000 credits," Albert said with a smirk.


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    How much?!


    5,000 credits?!


    "But the full-body Healing Bath only cost 4,800 credits," Nick said in a dumbfounded manner.


    Nick hadn''t had issues withing up with the taxes each month, but he had never owned more than 500 credits at a time.


    500 credits had essentially counted as his life savings.


    And now, he had made 5,000 just by sleeping a bit?


    If he just kept sleeping in there every single day, wouldn''t he make over 100,000 credits per month?


    "How much of that will I get?" Nick asked.


    "Depends on Wyntor," Albert said. "You have to remember that these 5,000 credits represent an entire day of operations for yourpany. 5,000 credits are quite a bit, but it''s not that much if you want to run a smallpany."


    "For example, just keeping the lights on in the Containment Unit for that long cost you around 650 credits."


    Nick''s eyes widened. "650 credits for the lights? That''s over 10%!"


    Albert nodded. "That''s why this Containment Unit is so cheap. Almost all other Containment Units use shafts of mirrors to get natural light in them. Over a long period of time, the more expensive Containment Units are more cost-effective."


    "Of course, after paying for the lights, you also have to pay the rent of the warehouse."


    "Wait, rent?" Nick asked in shock. "I thought this warehouse belonged to us!"


    Albert justughed. "Nick, do you have any idea how expensive such a big house is outside the Dregs? If you want to buy the warehouse, you probably need more than 300,000 credits."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Lighten up," Albert said. "Compared to the light, the rent shouldn''t be that bad."


    "Based on the location and size, I would guess that Wyntor pays somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 credits per month."


    ''That''s less than a hundred credits per day. It really isn''t that bad,'' Nick thought.


    "Then, you have to pay Pator. After all, he''s an employee. Based on his profile, he probably also earns about 2,000 to 3,000 credits per month."


    ''That''s also a bit less than 100 credits per day.''


    "After that, we need to consider expansion costs," Albert said. "When you run apany, you keep thepany''s assets and finances separate from your personal ones. And since you guys want to expand at some point, you will probably save about 50% of the profit."


    "The remainder will probably be split between the two of you."


    "All in all, I expect that you get around 1,000 credits per day of work for yourself," Albert exined.


    Nick slowly nodded.


    1,000 credits per day wasn''t as much as 5,000 credits per day, but it was still an insane amount to Nick.


    "A thousand credits per day," Nick repeated with a distracted voice.


    Then, Nick remembered something. "What about the Dreamer? Can it actually produce Zephyx once a day?"


    Albert snorted. "Nick, the Dreamer is a Specter that feeds on mentality. Compared to a Specter that feeds on something physical, it doesn''t need to digest its food."


    "On top of that, Specters don''t need to sleep, breathe, or eat."


    "The Dreamer can probably go forever."


    Then, Albert pointed at Nick. "But you can''t."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Why not? I just slept for eight hours, but I feel like I can continue sleeping. You shouldn''t underestimate my ability to sleep. If I really want to, I can sleep a looooong time."


    Albert slowly shook his head. "That''s the issue. You just slept for eight hours, but you feel like you can immediately continue sleeping. That doesn''t sound very rested to me."


    "Are you tired right now? Do you feel like you''ve had a good night''s sleep?"


    Nick looked at the ground with a thoughtful expression.


    His mind felt strained. It was almost like he had been awake for over 24 hours.


    Even more, Nick still felt like it was the same day he had entered the sewers, which felt strange.


    "It''s strange," Nick said. "I feel like I haven''t slept."


    Albert nodded. "That''s what I thought."


    "Nick, sleeping is a natural process where the body cleans and organizes the mind while your body enters a resting state."


    "The Dreamer is changing that process by giving you nightmares. So, instead of your mind reorganizing, it has to experience more things and store more memories. This means that your mind is not essentially sleeping."


    Nick furrowed his brows with a frown. "So, I have to sleep again?" he asked as he scratched the back of his head.


    Albert nodded. "Yep. You have to actually go to sleep. Working with the Dreamer is just that, work. It is not rest nor sleep."


    Nick could only sigh and nod.


    He could tell that Albert was right, and he epted his exnation.


    At that moment, the door of the warehouse suddenly opened, and Nick looked over.


    The next moment, he saw Wyntor standing beside Pator.


    "Oh yeah," Albert said, like he just remembered something. "I sent Pator to get Wyntor about an hour ago or something like that. I thought he would want to know how things went."


    The distant Wyntor turned to Pator, nodded, and told him something.


    Pator performed a short and polite bow and walked away from the warehouse.


    The next moment, Wyntor walked into the warehouse, and the door ominously closed behind him.


    Wyntor walked over and stopped in front of Albert and Nick.


    "You''re not wearing your uniform?" Wyntor asked Nick.

 Chapter 38 - 38 – Murder

    <h4>Chapter 38: ¨C Murder</h4>


    Nick''s eyes widened. "Right! I totally forgot!"


    Then, Nick went over to the side of the warehouse. He had dumped his uniform in this ce earlier. After all, it would be a bit awkward to enter the Dreamer''s Containment Unit with a stack of clothing in his hands.


    "I''ll go put it on," Nick shouted as he ran behind the Containment Unit.


    Wyntor just shook his head with a sigh.


    "He''s so different," Wyntor said.


    "To whom?" Albert asked.


    "The people in the Inner City," Wyntor answered.


    Albert chuckled a bit. "Yes, but he''s not that much different to how people in the Dregs are. Well, he''s a bit more altruistic than the average person, but I''ve seen my fair share of interesting events while teaching him in the Dregs."


    Wyntor didn''t seem convinced as he continued looking at the Containment Unit.


    "Are you sure? I thought, since resources are so scarce, the people in the Dregs are even more greedy and possessive than the people in the Inner City," Wyntor said.


    Albert hummed a bit. "I wouldn''t say so."


    Wyntor raised an eyebrow as he looked at Albert.


    "I think they are more open with their desires than the people of the Inner City. It has a much greater impact when a friendly and nice person suddenly turns out to be a greedy asshole than when an asshole suddenly turns into a greedy asshole."


    Wyntor blinked a couple of times.


    "Strange metaphor," he stated.


    "I mean, I think about the same number of people are selfish assholes in the Inner City than in the Dregs, but the selfish assholes that do exist are much easier to see in the Dregs, making it seem like there are more."


    "Makes sense," Wyntor answered.


    "However, there are also a lot of people like Nick," Albert added.


    "In what way?"


    "People that are unhappy with the world butck the power to change it," Albert said. "Someone that still manages to retain humanity and empathy in a ce where having these things is a luxury."


    "There is nock of bad people in this world, but in severe poverty, even the good people are forced to do bad things."


    "Naturally, people with a lot of empathy can still see when someone doesn''t want to hurt someone else but is forced to in order to survive. That''s a tragedy in and of itself."


    "If things were different, these people wouldn''t be forced into a dark path, and many victims would have never be victims."


    "Nick has such a belief," Albert said. "I know for a fact that he has already killed at least one person on purpose, but I also know that it will be very difficult for him to hurt someone who tries to hurt him but doesn''t actually want to hurt him, if you get what I mean."


    Wyntor raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Nick has killed someone?" he asked.


    Nick seemed like a very nice and idealistic teenager to him.


    Wyntor couldn''t connect this nice teenager to a murder.


    Albert nodded. "Nick managed to survive on his own in the Dregs for six years, and he even managed to build quite an impressive and athletic body. If you want such a body, you can''t afford to lose two liters of blood per month."


    "80% of the people in the Dregs can''t pay their taxes every month. Even more, Nick managed to make the gangs his enemies, which would make it even more difficult for him to earn money."


    "And yet, he always managed to do it."


    "Even more, you can''t overlook his enmity with the gangs. The gangs are organized and powerful. Killing a single man is not difficult at all for them."


    "But for some reason, they are not willing to kill Nick, even though they don''t like him."


    "That can only mean that it isn''t worth the price in their eyes, which means that they are certain that they will lose people to him, which, in turn, means they are certain that he can and will kill them."


    "If the local rulers of the Dregs are sure that Nick has killed someone, I am inclined to believe them."


    Wyntor just looked at the Containment Unit with a concerned expression.


    Silence.


    Eventually, Wyntor just sighed. "Pator said that you have something important to report," he said, changing the subject.


    Albert grinned and took out a green sk, which he moved from side to side for a bit.


    Wyntor just looked at the sk, not understanding what Albert was trying to convey.


    "You don''t get it?" Albert asked.


    Wyntor looked at the bottle for a couple more seconds.


    "Sorry, no, I don''t," Wyntor said.


    Albert just chuckled a bit. "I used that on the Dreamer about eleven hours ago."


    At that moment, Wyntor''s eyes shot open in shock.


    "I''m not paying for that!" he immediately said.


    "I know, I know," Albert said.


    Wyntor still looked warily at Albert.


    "Why would you use a grade four healing potion on a level one Specter?" Wyntor asked.


    "I didn''t use the entire thing," Albert said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I only used a drop."


    "Also, because I got bored, and I wanted to teach Nick by actually showing him what to do instead of just telling him."


    Wyntor''s eyebrows rose in positive surprise. "Oh? So, can we earn money with the Dreamer now?"


    Albert just grinned and pointed at the gauge of the Zephyx tank.


    Wyntor looked at the gauge, and when he saw it, his eyes widened.


    "Five grams?!" he shouted.


    "Yep, five whole grams," Albert said with augh.


    Wyntor looked at the Containment Unit with wonder.


    "And I basically had nothing to do with it," Albert said before pointing at the edge of the Containment Unit. "It was all him."


    Wyntor followed Albert''s finger and looked over, and the next moment, Nick walked around the corner of the Containment Unit.


    When Wyntor saw, he was taken aback by Nick''s appearance.


    Meanwhile, Albert just smiled. "Now, he looks just like a real Extractor."

 Chapter 39 - 39 – Card

    <h4>Chapter 39: ¨C Card</h4>


    Nick wore a red and ck shirt with several pockets, and his pants were formfitting and ck.


    All in all, Nick looked quite sharp andpetent.


    It was quite difficult to connect the current Nick to a person from the Dregs.


    He basically looked like all the other Zephyx Extractors, which was a good thing since almost all Zephyx Extractors exhibited this aura of authority, status, and power.


    The only thing pulling down was his chaotic haircut.


    "You look great!" Albert shouted with a thumbs-up.


    Wyntor also nodded. "Please keep the uniform clean and wear it when you have to work. Every Zephyx Extractor only gets one set."


    "How am I supposed to keep it clean?" Nick asked as he walked closer.


    "You wash it," Albert said.


    "With water?" Nick asked.


    Meanwhile, Wyntor raised an eyebrow in confusion.


    "Yes, with water," Albert said.


    "But water is for drinking. Why would I waste a good barrel of water just to keep my clothing clean?" Nick asked like he had just heard the dumbest thing.


    "Nick," Albert said with a deadpan voice. "You earned something like a thousand credits just now. A barrel of water doesn''t even cost you five credits, and you can even wash your clothes several times with one."


    "Albert," Wyntor said before Nick could answer. "Why wash it with water? I thought Extractor uniforms are made to be washed with Cleanser."


    "The guy doesn''t even want to waste water," Albert said, pointing at Nick with his thumb. "You want to try to convince him to use something a hundred times as expensive as water to wash his clothes?"


    "Also, it doesn''t really matter. When you get a cleansing shower in here, the problem will resolve itself anyway."


    "Hm, I guess it makes sense," Wyntor said.


    "What''s a Cleanser and a cleansing shower?" Nick asked.


    "The blue bath before you take the green bath," Wyntor answered. "That''s filled with Cleanser. It''s the blue liquid. A cleansing shower is a small room that pours Cleanser all over you. Every Manufacturer has a couple of those since some Specters can be stronger bying into contact with matter from the outside."


    "Since Cleanser isn''t very expensive for Manufacturers due to their insane profits, they just force everyone that enters or exits a Containment Unit to take a cleansing shower beforehand as a precaution."


    "We won''t be any different since it''s a negligible expense for an increase in security."


    Nick nodded a couple of times. "Oh, okay. Sounds fancy."


    "Anyway," Wyntor said as he walked closer to Nick with a smile. "I just saw the five grams of Zephyx you produced. That''s a lot!"


    Nick smiled brightly when he heard that. "Are we able to remain in operation indefinitely now?"


    Wyntor furrowed his brows as he evaluated some things. "Kinda."


    "Kinda?" Nick asked.


    "Well, if we were to remain on this level, we could continue indefinitely, but that''s not our goal, is it?"


    Nick raised his eyebrows in unsure concern. "I guess not?"


    "No, it isn''t," Wyntor said with a firm tone. "The bare minimum we want to achieve is to earn 50 to 100 million credits so that I can buy a small part of Kugelblitz. If we were to operate in this manner indefinitely, that would take decades."


    "We need more profit. We need to optimize Zephyx production with the Dreamer and expand our scope of operations."


    "Catching Specters, containing Specters, employing people, paying rent, buying Containment Units, and so on all costs money, and one Dreamer just isn''t enough to pay for all of this."


    Nick raised an eyebrow in concern.


    He understood that Wyntor wanted to be an heir to his family, but he also couldn''t understand why someone would need that much money.


    They were already earning a thousand credits per day.


    Nick could literally do everything he wanted with that much money.


    "Okay, we can do that," Nick said after a bit.


    "Good," Wyntor answered with a smile. "Now, you''ve had a long day behind you, and I think you deserve a break."


    "Naturally, I want to produce more money with the Dreamer, but I think it''s important that you get a couple of days to yourself."


    "Why don''t you take the next three days off to recover?"


    "Maybe go look around for some houses in the Outer City?"


    "Maybe meet some friends?"


    "Maybe go buy something?"


    "In short, rx," Wyntor said, putting his hand on Nick''s shoulder.


    The next moment, Wyntor took out a small card and pushed it into Nick''s hands.


    Nick looked at the card and noticed that it looked very simr to the card that the guard had used to pay for Nick''s bath.


    "It''s yours," Wyntor said.


    Nick looked at the card with wonder.


    "If you want to buy something, just hand it to the seller, but be careful which shops you frequent. Some of the sleazier shops might decide to exchange your card for a counterfeit."


    Nick Just continued looking at the card. "How much is it worth?"


    "10,000 credits. See it as a hiring bonus," Wyntor said.


    Nick''s eyes shot open.


    10,000 credits!


    What was he supposed to do with that much money?!


    Nick reflexively tried to hand the card back to Wyntor, but Wyntor just shoved it back into Nick''s hands.


    "It''s yours, Nick," Wyntor said. "You''re my Chief Zephyx Extractor, and today, you made 5,000 credits for thepany. Within two weeks, my and your personal wealth will increase by another 10,000 credits as long as you keep working diligently."


    Nick looked with uncertainty at Wyntor and then looked at his card.


    Yes, what Wyntor said made a lot of sense, but Nick still felt strange about just epting 10,000 credits.


    Logically, he knew that he would earn thepany much more, but emotionally, he felt like he didn''t deserve that much money.


    "Well, it seems like everything''s going well here," Albert said from behind them. "I think it''s time for me to leave."


    Wyntor turned to Albert and gave him a respectful handshake. "Thank you again for your help today."


    "No problem," Albert said.


    Then, Albert turned to Nick. "See you at some point, Nick."


    Nick was taken out of his thoughts and looked at Albert. "Oh, yeah, thanks again, Albert! Without you, this wouldn''t have been as easy."


    "I know," Albert said with a smile. "See ya!"


    Then, Albert walked out of the warehouse.


    A couple minutester, Nick also left the warehouse.


    Wyntor had essentially thrown him out of the warehouse, telling him that he should rx for the next three days.


    Nick just absentmindedly walked away from the warehouse.


    He just kept looking at his card.

 Chapter 40 - 40 – Horua

    <h4>Chapter 40: ¨C Horua</h4>


    Nick just aimlessly walked back to the Dregs with a disoriented expression.


    10,000 credits.


    Three days of nothing to do.


    Nick had achieved his dream.


    He had be a Zephyx Extractor.


    He was earning a lot of money.


    He didn''t need to fear for his life anymore. Well, outside of being in the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    And yet, there was a certain emptiness in Nick''s chest.


    It was almost like all of this wasn''t real.


    Literally just two days ago, Nick had been poor and had spent all of his life in the Dregs.


    Now, Nick was wearing nice clothes, and he had even taken a fancy bath.


    Even more, he was rich.


    Eventually, Nick just stopped walking.


    By now, he had already reached the Dregs again, and he had stopped in the middle of a random road.


    Nick just looked around the area.


    He saw a couple of people, but they all avoided him.


    None of them dared to look at him, and the few that had to travel past him either waited for him to leave or passed him with a wide berth.


    There was fear and nervousness in their faces.


    Nick felt the distance between him and the people around him widen.


    In a way, Nick felt like he had been thrown out of his home.


    Just a couple days ago, no one had batted an eye when he had been walking through the Dregs.


    But now, everyone was looking at him from a distance with fear.


    ''I guess this is what happens,'' he thought with a sigh. ''I look like a Zephyx Extractor now, and all Zephyx Extractors get such looks.''


    ''What am I saying? I don''t look like a Zephyx Extractor. I AM a Zephyx Extractor!''


    ''This is what I have always dreamed of!''


    Nick looked around the area with newfound motivation, but the more he looked at the people, the more isted he felt.


    Eventually, Nick sighed again before continuing to walk.


    After a couple of minutes, Nick reached his goal.


    In front of Nick was a sizable house made of rusty metal, butpared to most houses, this one was quite a lot bigger.


    It was almost a mansion.


    It was Nick''s current home.


    Nick opened the door and walked inside.


    The house smelled just like the Dregs outside, but Nick didn''t mind.


    He was used to the smell of rust, shit, piss, and toxic waste.


    "Nick?" came the voice of a young boy from upstairs.


    A boy, about eleven years old, walked down the steps, but as soon as he saw the person standing at the entrance of the house, the boy stopped in shock.


    "S-sir? How can I help y-you?" the boy asked with a fearful voice.


    "It''s me, Horua," Nick said.


    "N-Nick?" Horua, the boy, asked in shock.


    Horua was the actual owner of the big house.


    Horua was the only child of a quite rich man in the Dregs, which meant that he was earning about as much as the average person in the Outer City.


    He had only needed to save enough money to move out of the Dregs, but before he could do so, he vanished.


    After some weeks, the gangs started to covet the man''s old house and closed in on it.


    Naturally, Horua couldn''t resist them.


    But then, Nick intervened, and he defended Horua.


    However, while Nick was a nice person, he was also a practical one.


    To say that Nick only helped the little boy out of the goodness of his heart would be a lie.


    Nick saw Horua''s troubles as a good way to earn some money without having tomit horrible acts.


    In exchange for a ce to live and his tax money, Nick made sure that no one dared to take anything from the house or hurt Horua.


    For the past months, Nick had been living here.


    "Is that really you?" Horua asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yep," he said as a smile appeared on his face. "I''m officially a Zephyx Extractor now! Cool, huh?"


    Horua looked with shock at Nick as he slowly walked closer.


    For several seconds, Horua just looked at the uniform like it was a valuable gem.


    "Wow," Horua eventually let out. "That''s amazing!"


    But then, the little boy realized something. "Wait, so does that mean that you won''t be living here anymore?"


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    He didn''t answer.


    Nick had often thought about moving out of the Dregs, but when it finally became a reality, it felt like it had happened way too soon and quickly.


    "I guess so," Nick said after a while.


    Horua became a bit worried, and he looked at the ground.


    With Nick gone, the gangs would return, and he would lose his house.


    Even more, maybe the gangs would even take revenge on Horua for all the troubles Nick had caused them due to him!


    Horua was just an eleven-year-old boy, and he was very scared of the gangs.


    Horua felt like he would soon die.


    But he also knew that Nick actually had no obligation to help him.


    "And will happen to me?" Horua asked. "What about dad''s house?"


    Nick sighed.


    "I don''t know about the house, but I can make sure that the gangs won''t hurt you. I can probably also store your credits somewhere."


    Horua''s eyes widened in fear.


    He knew how much everyone coveted his father''s money, and after bing a Zephyx Extractor, Nick was suddenly willing to store Horua''s money?


    Horua became suspicious, but he still trusted Nick. After all, Nick had been protecting him for months.


    For the next couple of minutes, Nick and Horua talked about what to do.


    In the end, Horua could only sigh and ept that he wasn''t strong enough to protect his own money.


    "If I remain on my own, I will lose my money with certainty. If I trust you, there''s still a chance," Horua said.


    Nick wasn''t offended that Horua didn''t fully trust him. After all, they were both living in the Dregs.


    "If only there were a way for me to also be a Zephyx Extractor and get an ability that makes me powerful."


    When Nick heard that, he got an idea, and he scratched his chin in thought.

 Chapter 41 - 41 – Quest for Food

    <h4>Chapter 41: ¨C Quest for Food</h4>


    "I might have a way to help you, but it won''t be easy," Nick said with a thoughtful expression.


    Horua opened his eyes widely in surprise. "You do?" he asked.


    Nick nodded. "I mean, I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor in apany, and we still need to optimize the Zephyx production of one of our Specters."


    "Horua, would you be interested in bing a Zephyx Extractor?" Nick asked.


    Horua''s eyes opened even more, but this time, with wonder.


    "Me? A Zephyx Extractor?"


    Nick nodded with a smile. "Why not?"


    "But I just turned eleven," Horua said with a bit of nervousness.


    Nick justughed. "So? Why not start early? Even more, it''s not even difficult to work with that Specter. You basically just have to fall asleep in its presence! Additionally, since your Zephyx Synchronizer hasn''t been attuned yet, you should also get a nice ability from it."


    "As long as you don''t die, nothing bad can happen."


    Horua looked at Nick like he couldn''t believe what he had just heard. "Are you sure? Can I really be a Zephyx Extractor?"


    "Of course," Nick said with a chuckle. "You will gain an ability, a stable job, and lots of money. You might not earn as much as me, but you will still earn more than everyone in the Dregs."


    Horua started to jump up and down in excitement. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You''re the best, Nick!"


    Nick justughed some more. He always enjoyed it when Horua was excited.


    Due to Horua''s bad situation, he was rarely happy.


    Whenever Nick wasn''t present, Horua was worried and stressed. He even had trouble sleeping due to all the pressure.


    "Anyway, I apparently have three days of vacation for now, which means I can''t take you there right now, but after my vacation is over, I''ll take you to your future workce."


    "You''re going to see a real Specter, Horua," Nick said with augh.


    "Wow, a real Specter," Horua echoed in wonder.


    The two of them talked some more, but a couple of minutester, Nick left the house again.


    Earlier, Nick had felt aimless. He hadn''t known what he should do with his newfound freedom.


    But now, that problem had been solved.


    Nick could use his position to help one of his friends out.


    ''It feels good to do good deeds.''


    ''Now, since the problem with Horua has been solved, I should take a look at some houses in the Outer City!'' Nick thought with excitement.


    But before long, Nick stopped.


    Grumble.


    ''You know, I''m actually quite hungry. I think I haven''t eaten anything in like a day or so,'' Nick thought.


    ''What do I want to eat today?''


    ''Rat?''


    ''Fly?''


    ''Some veggie cubes from the market? I can now buy a lot of them with my money!''


    ''I could also go with rust mushroom, but I don''t really want to. It tastes a bit too acidic for me.''


    ''Although, the house does have a ripe colony of rust mushrooms, and if I don''t eat it soon, it will turn toxic and start releasing toxic spores.''


    Nick scratched the back of his neck.


    ''I should just check out the market,'' he thought with a shrug.


    Nick changed direction and walked towards the market of the Dregs.


    As soon as he arrived, most people turned to him.


    Why was a Zephyx Extractor here?!


    Nick tried his best to ignore the stares, but they still pulled his mood down a bit.


    In the end, Nick entered one of the shops at the side of the market.


    He had only gone into some of them due to a job, but he had never bought anything there.


    The things in these shops were just too expensive.


    The shop Nick had entered had many different pieces of food lying around.


    There was rat, cat, dog, fly, and bird, and they even had several different kinds of veggie cubes!


    The selection was amazing.


    "H-How can I help you, sir?" the owner of the shop asked Nick as soon as he entered.


    "Hey, I''m hungry. Do you have anything good to eat?" he asked.


    The owner of the shop looked with confusion and suspicion at Nick. "Ye-yes, but I''m not sure if my wares have the quality your tongue desires, sir," he said with a bitter smile.


    Nick just waved his hand to signal that it wasn''t a big deal. "Just tell me what tastes good in here."


    The owner of the shop became more nervous. "Well, I made a new cauldron of veggie cube soup. I''m not sure if sir is interested in veggie cubes, though. Sir is probably more familiar with real vegetables."


    "Real vegetables?" Nick repeated with surprise. "Oh, right! I totally forgot that there are supposed to be real vegetables somewhere! Do you have any?"


    The shop owner became more nervous.


    This Zephyx Extractor was acting very strangely.


    Was this some kind of scheme or technique to get some information out of the shop owner?


    The Extractor''s conduct made no sense.


    Nevertheless, the shop owner had no chance but to go along with it.


    "Sadly, no, sir," the shop owner said. "No one in the Dregs would buy them due to the price."


    "Oh, okay," Nick said. "Then, give me some of that veggie cube soup."


    "Of course, sir," the shop owner said as he quickly walked over to a cauldron.


    The owner took the lid off, and Nick could smell the aroma.


    It smelled absolutely amazing!


    The next moment, the owner took out a bowl made of rusty metal and scooped some of the soup out of the cauldron.


    "That will be ten credits, sir," the owner said nervously as he put the bowl down on the counter.


    Ten credits were 10% of the monthly tax.


    Only rich people in the Dregs could afford to eat something this luxurious.


    The majority of the shop''s customers probably came from the gangs.


    Nick took out the card he had received from Wyntor and ced it on the counter.


    When the shop owner saw the card, he smiled bitterly.


    "Sir, we can''t trade with bank cards in the Dregs."


    "I''m not allowed to collect the outstanding bnce from the banks since I am living in the Dregs."

 Chapter 42 - 42 – Sightseeing

    <h4>Chapter 42: ¨C Sightseeing</h4>


    Nick exited the shop with a bowl of veggie cube soup in his hands.


    When Nick had canceled the order after realizing that he couldn''t pay, the owner said that the bowl was on the house.


    As a practical person, Nick saw no problem with that and simply epted happily.


    Nick also told the owner that he could ask Nick for help if there was anything he needed.


    After leaving the marketce quite quickly, Nick looked at the bowl of veggie cube soup in his hands with wonder.


    In the Dregs, the people mostly ate meat.


    Rat, cat, dog, insects, and so on.


    However, it was also necessary to eat some veggie cubes every now and then.


    Veggie cubes were green cubes made of different vegetables, which could no longer be sold in the Outer City.


    When vegetables started to go bad, the shops sold them to one of the gangs, which then collected them all, threw them into some kind of furnace, and cooked them until there was zero water left in them.


    One cube weighed about a hundred grams and cost a credit.


    It was expensive!


    Because of that, the people in the Dregs only ate them once a week or so.


    If they didn''t, they would start to show various signs of malnourishment.


    The bowl of veggie cube soup was beige in color, and there was some kind of oilyyer on top, which seemed to have separated from the soup.


    The cubes had turned into slimy and mushy bits that swam in the beige broth.


    Nick could also see a couple of mosquitorvae swimming in the broth.


    These were not thervae of normal mosquitos but thervae of the mosquitos that belonged to the Specter, the Mosquito.


    The mosquitos of the Specter continually reproduced, and apparently, the Specter didn''t mind if anyone ate thervae.


    In fact, they mostly could be found in the Dregs, and they were very healthy.


    But they were also expensive.


    Thervae from these mosquitos were much bigger than the ones from normal mosquitos.


    Each one was around five centimeters long!


    When Nick saw the soup, he knew that he was holding something of extremely high ss in his hands.


    ''No wonder this thing is so expensive!'' Nick thought with wonder.


    ''It has four or fivervae and probably over 300 grams of veggie cubes!''


    ''That''s enough food for two to three days!''


    Nick slowly pushed the bowl to his mouth and drank the warm broth.


    The fat had separated from the water, and thervae had a bitter and metallic taste to them.


    The distant taste of vegetables could also be slightly discerned.


    Nick closed his eyes in bliss.


    It was amazing.


    He had never eaten anything this good in his entire life.


    ''Also, what is this strong taste? I can''t put my finger on it?''


    ''Wait, is that rust lick?!''


    In Nick''s mind appeared the image of a big rock standing near the edge of the city.


    That rock was made from a magical mineral that could treat some special conditions that caused dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.


    The people just needed to lick the rock for a bit, and they would feel better.


    Nick had heard some people refer to it as salt, but it wasmonly known as rust lick since people licked it off a dirty stone.


    ''Putting rust lick into a soup. That''s genius!'' Nick thought.


    ''It tastes so amazing!''


    Over the next hour, Nick slowly consumed the broth, and after he was done, he felt so incredibly good.


    Nick felt like his body was telling him how happy it was.


    ''This is the life,'' Nick thought in satisfaction. ''If I could eat this soup every day, I could die happy.''


    A momentter, Nick yawned.


    ''Man, now I''m getting tired. Guess I should go back home and get some sleep.''


    Nick stretched and turned to walk home.


    After he arrived, Nick entered his room and fell onto hisfy te of rust-free metal.


    His entire body rxed as he felt thefortable embrace of sleep take him.


    Several hourster, Nick woke up again, and this time, he felt awake and refreshed.


    He slept amazingly!


    After he woke up, he slowly scratched the back of his head in rxation.


    ''Man, I feel great,'' he thought with a yawn.


    ''So, what do I do today?''


    After some time of thinking, Nick decided to look at the Outer City.


    For the entire day, Nick went sightseeing in the Outer City, and he learned many things.


    For example, he had learned how many different kinds of shops there were.


    There were actually shops that sold expensive stones that had no other purpose but to look nice!


    It was insanity!


    Why would anyone pay money to carry a stone with them?


    Nick had also learned that there were ces where he could sleep without making them his home.


    These ces were called hotels.


    Hotels didn''t exist in the Dregs since there were more houses than people, but the same thing wasn''t true for the Outer City.


    After finding out about the hotels, Nick decided to rent a room for a couple of days and got Horua toe with him.


    Nick didn''t want to spend all his time alone, and he also wanted to have someone with him that he was familiar with.


    Nick even visited several restaurants, but he didn''t eat at any of them.


    The prices were ridiculous for only a little bit of food!


    Ten credits for 150 grams of meat?!


    He could get that for free by just stomping on a couple of bugs!


    The soup he had eaten the day before had weighed nearly a kilo, including the broth, and the ingredients had weighed over 400 grams!


    Eventually, Nick got some physical credits from a bank, and he ate more of the veggie cube soup with Horua.


    The day after that, Nick and Horua looked around the Outer City some more.


    And finally, it was time to return to work!


    It was time for Horua to work with the Dreamer!

 Chapter 43 - 43 – I Want

    <h4>Chapter 43: ¨C I Want</h4>


    "It''s great, isn''t it?" Nick asked.


    Horua just stood in front of the huge warehouse, his eyes filled with wonder.


    A Zephyx Manufacturer!


    He was in front of a Zephyx Manufacturer, and he was about to be an employee of one!


    "Let''s go in," Nick said with an encouraging smile.


    Right now, it was early in the morning. Nick had decided toe during the afternoon because of Horua''s sleep schedule.


    It was better for Horua to sleep during the night, which was why they had arrived this early.


    Working with the Dreamer might seem like rest, but it isn''t actually rest.


    Because of that, Nick wanted to get one session of work in before they went home to sleep.


    The two of them entered the warehouse, and Horua looked at the huge wall of metal in front of him.


    "Is that where it is?" he asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yep. Sadly, I can''t tell you any specifics without Wyntor."


    Horua just nodded, showing that he understood.


    A momentter, Horua noticed a tall man with light-brown hair sitting in front of a desk. Right now, there were many different sheets of paper on the desk, and the man was looking at them with furrowed brows.


    "You''re a bit early," Wyntor said with a smile, not looking up from the sheets of paper.


    "Yep," Nick answered with a chuckle. "Also, I brought someone that I want to make into one of my Zephyx Extractors."


    "Oh?" Wyntor said as he looked up from his papers.


    Yet, when he saw the small boy, he furrowed his brows. "Are you talking about him?"


    "Yep!" Nick said with a nod.


    Nick pushed Horua forward a little bit, and Horua looked at Wyntor with respect and fear.


    "Hello, sir, I want to be a Zephyx Extractor," Horua said, managing not to stutter.


    Wyntor looked with an unsatisfied gaze at Horua.


    "How old are you?"


    "Eleven, sir," Horua said politely.


    "Do you have any family?"


    Horua was a bit surprised by the question, and even Nick raised an eyebrow in confusion.


    "N-no, sir," Horua answered.


    "I assume you are from the Dregs?" Wyntor asked.


    Horua nodded. "Yes, sir."


    "Are you a member of any organization or gang?"


    "No, sir," Horua said.


    "What''s this all about?" Nick asked. "Why are you asking all of these questions."


    "These questions have a purpose, Nick," Wyntor said without looking at him.


    "Would anyonee searching for me if you died in here?" Wyntor asked.


    This question made Horua quite nervous, and even Nick furrowed his brows.


    However, Nick remained quiet.


    "No, sir," Horua said with a bit of fear and sadness.


    Wyntor continued looking at Horua with an unhappy expression.


    "Nick, I need to speak with you privately," Wyntor said before standing up and walking behind the Containment Unit.


    Nick looked suspicious and unhappy, but he just followed.


    Horua was left alone in front of the Containment Unit.


    "Nick, do you actually know what you''re doing?" Wyntor asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Please borate," Nick said.


    "He''s a kid, Nick," Wyntor exined. "Just because you managed to withstand the Dreamer doesn''t mean that everyone can. There are many cases of Extractors dying while working with a Specter that feeds on mentality when they actually shouldn''t have."


    "Too much stress can stop your heart or shut your brain down."


    "I asked all these questions earlier because I wanted to make sure that no one would be searching for us in case the Dreamer killed him."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "So, we can''t employ him?" he asked.


    "Technically, that''s not my decision," Wyntor said.


    "Not your decision?" Nick asked with a raised brow.


    "I am the president and CEO. I don''t deal with personnel issues unless they are directly rted to me," Wyntor said. "You are the Chief Zephyx Extractor. It is your duty to build a team of capable Zephyx Extractors and assign the Specters to them."


    "If you want to employ this boy, you are free to do so."


    "However, if something happens, that''s on you."


    "If the Dreamer identally kills him, it is your fault, and you have to take responsibility and deal with the aftermath."


    When Nick heard that, he felt his chest tighten.


    Just now, the image of a dead Horua shot through his mind.


    "I need to talk to him again," Nick said.


    "Alright," Wyntor answered neutrally. "If you decide to employ him, tell me, and I will give you our standard contract."


    "Does he know anything about the Dreamer or how we obtained it?"


    Nick shook his head. "No."


    For some reason, Wyntor''s eyes seemed to show some relief.


    "Good."


    The next moment, the two of them walked to the front of the Containment Unit again.


    Wyntor went back to his desk while Nick went over to Horua.


    Horua looked with anxiety at Nick.


    "Listen, Horua," Nick said. "I want you to know that bing a Zephyx Extractor is not without its dangers."


    "If you decide to be a Zephyx Extractor, you might undergo a short period of horrifying pain."


    "The pain might be so bad that you could die."


    Horua took a deep breath when he heard that.


    "Your survival is not guaranteed, Horua," Nick said with a serious expression. "But if you manage to survive, you will be a Zephyx Extractor here."


    "But you might also die."


    "Are you sure you want to be a Zephyx Extractor here? It is not toote to turn around," Nick said solemnly.


    Horua seemed quite worried as he looked at the ground.


    Naturally, he was very scared.


    "I will do it!" Horua said as he looked into Nick''s eyes with desperation.


    "There''s nothing left for me in the Dregs."


    "My parents are dead!"


    "I''ve never had siblings!"


    "I don''t have a family!"


    "I don''t have friends except for you!"


    "It''s now or never!"


    "Nick, I want to make something of my life!"


    Nick kept looking at Horua with a serious expression.


    "Are you sure?" he asked again.


    "I am sure!" Horua answered. "I am strong, and I have a lot of willpower! I can deal with pain!"


    Some seconds passed.


    And then, Nick nodded.


    "Wyntor, give me the contract."

 Chapter 44 - 44 – Horua and the Dreamer

    <h4>Chapter 44: ¨C Horua and the Dreamer</h4>


    Wyntor looked at Horua, sighed, and handed Nick two sheets of paper.


    One of them was an NDA, which made sure that Horua wouldn''t tell anyone about thepany''s secrets, and the other one was the employee contract.


    Nick took the NDA and started to read it to Horua.


    "Nick, you don''t have to read it to me. I can read myself," Horua said.


    Nick''s eyes widened in surprise. "You can read?" he asked in shock.


    Horua nodded. "Father taught me when I was young."


    "Well, okay," Nick said as he handed the NDA over.


    Horua read through everything in just a couple of minutes and nodded.


    A momentter, he signed it.


    "You have no questions?" Nick asked in surprise.


    "I just can''t tell anyone about anything specific, right?" Horua asked.


    "Eh, yeah, sure. That''s about it," Nick said.


    Horua nodded and grabbed the actual contract.


    After reading through it, Horua became shocked.


    "I get to keep 10% of what I produce?!" he asked. "Isn''t that a lot of money?"


    Nick also looked at the contract since it was different from his own.


    Sure enough, Horua got to keep 10% of what he produced.


    This meant that he would get 500 credits per session with the Dreamer.


    Nick asked Wyntor about the specific split of revenue.


    "As the CEO and president, I get 20%," Wyntor said.


    "10% go to you."


    "10% go to the specific Extractor that produced everything."


    "60% go to thepany as funds."


    Initially, Nick was a bit confused.


    If Horua got 10% and Nick got 10%, then wouldn''t Nick earn just as much as Horua?


    Wasn''t he the Chief Zephyx Extractor?


    But then, Nick realized that he would get the money without actually doing anything.


    And if he himself worked with the Dreamer, he would get just as much as Wyntor.


    ''So, if I get more Extractors, I get even more money. It''s like other people are doing my work!''


    However, Nick also wasn''t superfortable with that.


    ''I am essentially taking money from someone without doing anything. Isn''t that like stealing? I mean, I didn''t do anything.''


    Nick looked at the Containment Unit.


    ''Although, I came up with the way to work with the Dreamer, and I was also the one that negotiated with it.''


    ''So, I guess, in a way, I actually did do something?'' Nick thought with uncertainty.


    ''I dunno. I mean, okay, but it still feels a bit weird,'' he thought as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.


    Eventually, Nick stopped thinking about all of the moral ramifications and just watched Horua sign the employee contract.


    "Good," Nick said with a bright smile as he handed the signed contract to Wyntor, who wordlessly put it into a briefcase beside his chair.


    "You''re now officially one of my employees!" Nick said with a bright smile.


    "Happy to meet you, boss!" Horua shouted with a bright voice as he performed a cute salute.


    Nick put his hand on Horua''s head and ruffled his hair a bit.


    "Alright, then, let me tell you about what we do here and what your job will be."


    Horua nodded and listened with excitement.


    Over the next minutes, Nick told Horua everything he knew about the Dreamer.


    "So, I just have to sleep beside it?" Horua asked in surprise.


    Horua had thought that his work would be much more difficult than just sleeping.


    "Yep," Nick said with a smirk. "The Dreamer will even help you fall asleep!"


    "Although, you still have to be careful! After all, it is a Specter."


    Horua blinked. "Nick, what am I supposed to do if it decides to attack me?"


    Nick didn''t answer for a while.


    Right, what was Horua supposed to do?


    Even Nick could die if the Dreamer decided to attack.


    What could the little Horua do?


    "Eh, it probably won''t happen," Nick said with a nervous chuckle. "It knows exactly that it can''t just kill you. It wouldn''t be in its best interest."


    Horua looked worried again.


    "Anyway, I think I should introduce you," Nick said as he walked towards the Containment Unit.


    "To whom?" Horua asked.


    "Whom?" Nick asked. "You mean who, right?"


    "No, it''s whom," Horua answered. "To whom will you introduce me to."


    "What, why? What even is whom?" Nick asked.


    "I don''t know, but my father always corrected me," Horua said. "Anyway, to whom?"


    "The Dreamer," Nick said.


    "Wait, what?! Now?!" Horua asked nervously.


    Nick nodded. "Yep."


    Horua looked around nervously, but he eventually followed Nick. "Well, you''re the boss."


    Nick nodded and opened the employee door to the Containment Unit.


    A couple secondster, Nick and Horua entered the Containment Unit.


    Horua was standing a bit behind Nick, but as he looked past Nick''s torso, he could see the Dreamer.


    The ck owl was standing in the corner of the room, looking into Nick''s eyes.


    Nick had narrowed his eyes and was looking back at the Dreamer.


    A bitter, the Dreamer turned its head and looked at Horua.


    When Horua saw the Dreamer look at him, a cold shudder of terror shook his body.


    These eyes!


    For some reason, Horua felt like he was about to die!


    This thing was dangerous!


    He had to leave!


    He had to run!


    Nick noticed Horua''s reaction and grabbed his arm before he could run away.


    Horua just kept looking at the Dreamer as his body leaned back, ready to run away as soon as he could.


    The Dreamer didn''t show any reaction.


    "Horua!" Nick shouted aggressively.


    Horua''s body shook, and his terrified eyes looked at Nick.


    "You are now a Zephyx Extractor! You have to be brave and meet the danger head-on!"


    Horua took a deep breath and tried to calm down.


    However, when he looked at the Dreamer again, his fear exploded once more, and he tried to pull himself out of Nick''s grip.


    "Horua, what''s going on with- Argh!"


    Nick''s question was interrupted by Horua biting Nick''s hand.


    Naturally, Nick let go of Horua, and Horua ran out of the Containment Unit in terror.


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked at his slightly bleeding hand.


    ''What the hell is wrong with him?'' Nick thought.


    Nick looked at the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer looked back.


    "I''ll be back soon."


    Then, Nick walked out of the Containment Unit.

 Chapter 45 - 45 – Liability

    <h4>Chapter 45: ¨C Liability</h4>


    Nick left the Containment Unit and saw Horua trying to open the door of the warehouse.


    "Horua!" Nick shouted with anger as he ran over.


    When Horua heard Nick''s angry voice, his entire body shuddered before freezing.


    Nick quickly arrived behind Horua and forcefully turned him around to face him.


    Horua looked into Nick''s eyes with terror.


    "What''s wrong with you?!" Nick shouted.


    "I-I-I," Horua stuttered. "N-No. No! I can''t!"


    "Horua!" Nick shouted again. "Get a grip! It''s just the Dreamer! It didn''t even do anything! It just looked at you!"


    The Dreamer''s dead eyes shot through Horua''s mind again, and his body shuddered.


    "Horua!" Nick shouted again.


    Horua was forcefully pulled out of his terror by Nick''s shout. "Nick, I changed my mind! I don''t want to be a Zephyx Extractor anymore! I want to go home!"


    Nick looked with shock at Horua. "What? Why? You said you were willing to face the danger head-on! You said you have willpower and want a chance to make something of your life."


    Horua just shook his head wildly. "No, I can''t! I will die! I can feel it! I will die!"


    "I don''t want to see this monster again!"


    "It will kill me, Nick!"


    "I can feel it!"


    "It will kill me!"


    "Horua!" Nick shouted again as he shook Horua''s little body a little. "Calm down! You have to calm down!"


    Surprisingly, shouting at Horua to calm down actually seemed to work, and Horua took a couple of deep breaths.


    "Nick, I can''t go back in there! I will die! I know it! I feel it!" Horua pleaded.


    Nick looked with furrowed brows at Horua.


    "Come on, Horua," Nick said with a calmer voice. "It''s just a big owl. You will go to sleep, have a little nightmare, and you will wake up rich."


    "Even more, you also get an ability since your Zephyx Synchronizer will get attuned to the Dreamer," Nick exined.


    "Just one little session with the Dreamer would forever change your life for the positive! Don''t throw this opportunity away!"


    Horua didn''t immediately answer, and he just looked at the ground in front of him.


    Silence.


    As the seconds passed, Horua''s breathing quickened, and his body began to shudder again.


    "No!" Horua said with conviction as he looked into Nick''s eyes. "I''m not going back in there!"


    Nick looked at Horua with a concerned expression. "Are you sure?"


    "Yes, I''m sure!" Horua shouted.


    The next moment, Horua looked back at the ground.


    "Can''t we just go back home, Nick?"


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "I have to talk to Wyntor," Nick said.


    "Thank you," Horua said quietly as he only looked at the ground in fear and shame.


    Even though Horua felt fearful, he also felt like he had disappointed Nick.


    Horua wanted to face the Dreamer, but whenever he thought of the Dreamer''s eyes, his body and soul refused to interact with it in any way.


    Nick walked over to Wyntor and sighed. "Sorry, but Horua resigns."


    Wyntor put the sheets of paper down and looked at Nick with a serious expression.


    "The kid is a liability," Wyntor said.


    Nick sighed. "I know. Sorry for wasting your time. I''ve always seen how brave he was, and I thought that he could work with the Dreamer. After all, the Dreamer is basically just a big owl."


    Wyntor wordlessly looked into Nick''s eyes with an emotionless expression.


    "I thought he could handle it," Nick added. "But in the end, he is just a child."


    Nick sighed. "I should have known."


    "This is my fault."


    "Sorry."


    Wyntor kept looking at Nick.


    A couple of seconds of silence passed, and Nick became a bit ufortable under Wyntor''s emotionless gaze.


    "I think you didn''t understand what I meant, Nick," Wyntor said.


    Nick looked with a bit of confusion and worry at Wyntor.


    "What do you mean?" he asked.


    "Nick, why do you think I asked the boy about his family, friends, and social circle?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick''s heart rate increased, but he didn''t say anything.


    "Because of you," Wyntor exined. "If things went sour, I want the consequences to be as little and unimportant as possible."


    "I have no issues with letting an experienced Extractor resign. They have experience and are an adult. They know what it means to break an NDA."


    "But he''s just a kid. You saw what happened when he saw the Dreamer."


    "Kids don''t know what they feel or think most of the time. They don''t have enough experience to evaluate themselves objectively."


    "You saw how motivated and excited he was when he told you that he would change his life and work with the Dreamer, but as soon as he met him, he ran away in fear."


    "The same might happen with the NDA."


    "Of course, the punishment for breaking the NDA is death, but the boy isn''t an adult yet. He might believe that he will get away with it as long as he makes the other person promise that they won''t tell anyone else."


    "At that point, the damage is already done."


    Nick''s chest tightened in anxiety, but he did his best to seem calm.


    "So, what''s your n?" Nick asked. "How can we solve this issue?"


    Wyntor wordlessly looked into Nick''s eyes again for a while.


    Nick''s heart rate increased even more.


    "How about making him sign another contract?" Nick asked. "One that makes it even more difficult to break the NDA."


    "What about sending Pator to keep an eye on Horua? I will even pay for it with my own money!"


    "What if I just continue living with him until he bes ready to face the Dreamer for real?"


    Wyntor didn''t answer.


    He just kept looking at Nick emotionlessly.


    "Nick, the boy is a liability."


    "His continued existence is a danger to thepany."


    "There are only two ways this will go."


    "One, he does not leave this warehouse and bes an official Zephyx Extractor by working with the Dreamer."


    "Two, I will make Pator escort him home, and on the way home¡­"


    "The boy will identally fall through the grates in the Dregs."


    "But he will be dead before he hits the water."


    "I will not put mypany in the hands of an eleven-year-old child''s ability to keep a secret."

 Chapter 46 - 46 – Responsibility

    <h4>Chapter 46: ¨C Responsibility</h4>


    Nick''s mind nearly stopped.


    Horua would get killed?!


    What?!


    "Tell me you''re joking," Nick said evenly.


    "I''m not joking," Wyntor said.


    "Are you insane?!" Nick shouted.


    In the distance, Horua heard Nick and became anxious again.


    "No, I''m not insane," Wyntor said calmly but forcefully. "I am doing the best thing for thepany."


    "It is my job to make thispany flourish and profitable."


    "In fact, dealing with these things isn''t even directly my job."


    "It''s yours."


    "The fact that I am willing to send Pator to deal with the issue is a favor to you."


    "It''s me being lenient because you don''t know how Zephyx Manufacturers and the world of business work."


    Nick gritted his teeth. "You''re willing to just fucking kill a kid?!"


    "Now, he''s a kid?" Wyntor asked with annoyance. "Earlier, you hired him like he was a proper adult."


    "You treated him like an adult. So, he has to take responsibility for his actions like an adult."


    "He fulfills his contract or bears the consequences," Wyntor said.


    "He''s fucking eleven, Wyntor!" Nick almost shouted. "You are willing to kill an eleven-year-old kid for your business?!"


    "Our business, Nick," Wyntor said. "Also, you are not much better. You were willing to make a kid work with a Specter, the natural enemy of humanity and the most dangerous existence in the world."


    "I warned you!" Wyntor shouted slightly. "I told you that this is your responsibility! But as soon as anything goes wrong, you don''t have the maturity to deal with it!"


    "I''m the one that has to deal with this issue now!"


    "Because you were unable to do your job properly, I now have to give the order to kill a kid!"


    "Do you think this is easy for me?!"


    "Do you think I''m some kind of cold machine that can''t feel anything?!"


    "I don''t want to fucking kill the kid as well, but I fucking have to!"


    "If I don''t, everything I have sacrificed for this business will be for nothing!"


    "Even more, how do you think Pator will feel?!"


    "Pator has been trained to deal with these things, but he has never killed a mere kid before!"


    "This will also mess him up for a long time!"


    "Because you can''t deal with your own mistakes, two other people have to suffer!"


    "Your stupidity, indecisiveness, and mental weakness are why Pator and I have to go through shit now!"


    "Even more, if you had simply decided against hiring him after I warned you, he also wouldn''t need to die!" Wyntor shouted.


    "Then why didn''t you stop me?!" Nick shouted back.


    "Because it''s your responsibility!" Wyntor said with an aggressive tone.


    "You are my Chief Zephyx Extractor! You are a leader! You are a manager!"


    "This is the difference between a Zephyx Extractor and a Chief Zephyx Extractor!"


    "Responsibility!"


    "If an Extractor dies, it''s your fault!"


    "Your processes were not good enough, or you chose the wrong person, or you have forced someone to work at the wrong time!"


    "If something happens to an Extractor or a Specter, you are always, at least, partially responsible!"


    "You make the decisions!"


    "You have all the freedom!"


    "But if something goes wrong, it''s on you!"


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    He acknowledged that what Wyntor said made sense and that he was right¡­


    But Horua was just a child!


    No matter how responsible Nick felt, it simply felt wrong to kill a child!


    Nick clenched his fists with all of his power, the pain making it a bit easier to think.


    "Deal with the issue," Wyntormanded as he sat down again.


    "If you need Pator to take action, tell me."


    "I gave you this position because I felt like I could trust you and because I felt like you have the talent and mentality for it."


    "Don''t betray my trust in you," Wyntor said.


    Nick didn''t answer and just gnashed his teeth as he gazed fixedly at the desk.


    At this moment, Nick was overwhelmed by a tsunami of rage, frustration, guilt, fear, uncertainty, and helplessness.


    ''I was the one that hired him,'' Nick thought with pain.


    ''I was the one that made the decision.''


    ''However¡­'' Nick thought as he looked at Wyntor again.


    "Wyntor," Nick slowly said.


    Wyntor didn''t answer.


    "Yes, it is my responsibility," Nick said. "However, why didn''t you tell me what would happen if Horua decided to resign?"


    "I know you didn''t need to, but I feel like this could have been avoided if you had just told me."


    Wyntor didn''t answer for several seconds.


    "I needed you to learn," Wyntor said.


    "I had to show you what kind of power you have, and I needed to show you what would happen if you used it irresponsibly."


    "Right now, thepany is still new, and our survival is not yet intrinsically connected to the sess."


    "If anything goes wrong now, I can still rectify it."


    After that, Wyntor turned silent.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''In the end, it''s my fault,'' Nick thought.


    ''I should have known that Horua wasn''t able to make such a big choice.''


    ''I should have never told him that he would be a Zephyx Extractor.''


    Nick took another deep breath as he turned to look at the distant Horua.


    The next moment, Nick gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes.


    ''And it is my responsibility to deal with the issue.''


    ''I''m so sorry, Horua!''


    Nick walked over to Horua.


    When Horua saw Nick''s expression, he became terrified and froze.


    Nick grabbed Horua''s arm and pulled him towards the Containment Unit.


    Horua''s face immediately turned white, and his body began to shake.


    "No!"


    "No, Nick!"


    "What are you doing!"


    Nick gritted his teeth more.


    "I''m sorry, Horua, but you have to work with the Dreamer!" Nick said with a dark tone.


    "No! No! Nick, I don''t want to! Please!" Horua screamed as he tried his best to free himself from Nick''s grip.


    "I''m sorry," Nick repeated. "I also don''t want to do this."


    "But I''m only doing this for your own good!"


    "You can hate me if you want, but right now, I need you to work with the Dreamer!"


    "No! Please! No!" Horua shouted as he started to bite Nick''s hand.


    Nick began to bleed, but he just kept pulling Horua.


    Nick opened the door to the Dreamer.


    And when it opened fully, Nick pushed Horua in before walking in himself.


    The next second, the door closed behind him.

 Chapter 47 - 47 – Bad Guy

    <h4>Chapter 47: ¨C Bad Guy</h4>


    "No! Nick! I''m sorry! Please, let me go!" Horua shouted in panic as he tried to get past Nick.


    Nick just shoved Horua forward, making him fall on his ass.


    "This is for your own good, Horua," Nick said with a serious tone. "You have to work with the Dreamer! You have to!"


    Horua could feel the dead eyes of the Dreamer on his back, causing his mind to spiral further into panic.


    "I can''t! No!" Horua shouted as he tried to leave again.


    Nick gritted his teeth and pushed Horua away again.


    "I don''t want to do this either, but you have to!" Nick said.


    "Why?! Why do I have to?!" Horua asked in a mix of betrayal, rage, and terror. "What did I ever do to you?! I thought we were friends!"


    Nick didn''t immediately answer.


    ''I can''t tell Horua that Wyntor would have killed him if he left. If he knows, he will be enraged and do something stupid! He might try to cause Wyntor as much damage as possible, which would be spreading all secrets that Horua knows.''


    ''I can''t let him do that!''


    ''Not because it will hurt Wyntor but because it will mean that Horua will die.''


    ''Horua is a kid, and it''s my fault that I didn''t see that sooner!''


    ''If he gets too angry, all of this suffering will be for nothing, and he will die anyway!''


    ''I can''t allow Horua to die!''


    ''And for that, I have to be the bad guy.''


    ''It''s my responsibility anyway. It''s only right that I also pay the price.''


    "This is for your future, Horua!" Nick shouted. "You do not know how lucky you have been in the Dregs until now!"


    "If you don''t take the plunge now, you will forever remain in the Dregs!"


    "You''re lying!" Horua shouted back. "You were willing to let me go, but then, you talked to that other guy!"


    "And now, you''re suddenly forcing me to do this!"


    "It''s him, isn''t it?! He''s the one that forces you to force me!"


    Nick grew more anxious and gritted his teeth even more.


    BANG!


    Horua felt like the world was turning.


    The next moment, he felt himself hitting the ground.


    Horua''s world spun, and it took a while for him to think clearly again.


    That''s when he saw it.


    Blood.


    Teeth.


    Nick had backhanded Horua, breaking three of his teeth in the process.


    Luckily, the three teeth were still baby teeth, which meant that the real teeth were still there.


    Yet, Horua still felt an incredible amount of pain at this moment.


    But stronger than the pain was the shock.


    Nick had hit him.


    Nick had never hit him before.


    Even more, this wasn''t just an innocent p.


    No, this was a strong backhand that caused Horua to bleed.


    "You will thank meter," Nick coldly said.


    Yet, contrary to how Nick appeared on the outside, he actually felt absolutely disgusted with what he was saying and portraying.


    ''Thank meter? As if!'' Nick thought with gritted teeth. ''If I were him, I would hate me for the rest of my life!''


    ''I''m not his family, and I''ve only been his friend for a couple of months.''


    ''I have no right to force him to do any of this.''


    Nick took a deep breath, but he made it seem like he was breathing in deeply out of frustration and anger.


    ''I''m so sorry, Horua.''


    Nick slowly walked forward.


    BANG!


    And Nick kicked Horua towards the middle of the Containment Unit.


    ''I''m sorry.''


    Horua rolled into the middle of the Containment Unit as he looked with pure shock at Nick.


    It was like Nick had transformed into someone he had never seen before.


    ''Is this who he really is?'' Horua thought in fear, shock, and betrayal.


    ''Was everything else just an act?''


    ''Did he just want me to sign the contract so that he can force me to do things?''


    ''Is this who you really are?''


    Yet, Horua didn''t say anything.


    Silence.


    "Go work with the Dreamer," Nick said coldly. "I will stay here until you''re done."


    At that moment, Horua remembered that he was in the Containment Unit of the Dreamer and slowly turned around.


    Just two meters behind Horua was the Dreamer.


    It hadn''t moved until now, and it was still looking at Horua with its dead eyes.


    Horua''s mind froze.


    His heart rate shot past 200 beats per minute, and his world began to swim.


    Horua started to breathe very rapidly, which only increased his dizziness.


    And then, he fell over.


    Horua had lost consciousness due to his overwhelming shock and fear.


    When the Dreamer saw that, it slowly turned to look at Nick.


    "He will be working with us from now on," Nick said slowly.


    "You are allowed to feed off him for the next eight hours, and if he survives, he will continue to work with you."


    "If he doesn''t, I will be the only one working with you from now on."


    "If everything goes well, I will also search for a third person to work with you."


    "Don''t do anything stupid," Nick said coldly.


    The Dreamer slowly turned to look at Horua again.


    Then, it slowly walked towards Horua''s head.


    And it stopped.


    The Dreamer simply stood beside Horua''s head and looked fixedly at his closed eyes.


    A momentter, Horua''s eyelids twitched, but at that moment, Nick noticed that the Prephyx in the Containment Unit increased.


    Nick only hoped that this increase didn''t mean that the Dreamer wanted to attack.


    Luckily, the increase of the Prephyx didn''t sound the rm, and Horua''s eyelids calmed down two secondster.


    Horua''s breathing changed, and his body involuntarily moved into a morefortable position.


    He was asleep.


    When Nick saw that, he sighed and sat down in front of the door.


    For a while, Nick just took some shaky breaths, and he slowly put his head in his hands.


    The Dreamer started to feed.


    The Zephyx container was being filled.


    Yet, Nick wasn''t happy.


    Not even one bit.

 Chapter 48 - 48 – Contemplation

    <h4>Chapter 48: ¨C Contemtion</h4>


    In the Containment Unit, Nick simply sat on the ground, unmoving.


    He didn''t say anything.


    ''I''m so sorry, Horua.''


    Nick didn''t move.


    ''I''m sorry!''


    ''I should have known that things wouldn''t be so easy!''


    ''Even though the Dreamer is not very scary for a Specter, it is still a Specter!''


    ''And you''re a kid!''


    ''How could I ever think that a child would be able to work with a Specter?!''


    ''I''m stupid!''


    ''I''m fucking retarded!''


    ''I''m so sorry!''


    ''I was the one that fucked up, and now you have to pay the price!''


    ''This is all my fault, Horua!''


    Nick''s limbs shook in frustration, guilt, and rage.


    ''I feel so horrible.''


    ''Please, Horua, when you wake up, don''t do anything stupid.''


    ''You can hate me.''


    ''You can ignore me.''


    ''You can try to ruin me.''


    ''I''m fine with everything.''


    ''But please, don''t try to ruin the business or Wyntor.''


    ''Because if you do that, you will die!''


    As Nick continued to think about everything, his own reality also finally set in.


    ''Actually, I think I''m in a simr position to Horua.''


    ''Wyntor made me his Chief Zephyx Extractor.''


    ''If I were to betray him, I would also be killed off.''


    Nick''s fists clenched.


    ''Wyntor is a cold and calcting businessman. He eliminates everyone that goes against him.''


    ''If I were to tell anyone anything confidential, I would be dead within the day.''


    Slowly, rage and fear also joined Nick''s emotions.


    ''Wyntor!''


    ''I know that this is my responsibility, but you knew that this would happen!''


    ''You might have even wanted this to happen!''


    ''After all, you said that you wanted me to learn!''


    Nick gritted his teeth in anger.


    But then, a scene appeared in Nick''s mind.


    The scene depicted Wyntor standing behind Nick as he blinded the Dreamer.


    In that scene, Wyntor waspletely drenched in sewer water.


    Nick remembered how difficult it had been for Wyntor to jump in, and he also remembered how much Wyntor had suffered after he had left the sewer again.


    ''He only did that because he wanted to catch the Dreamer!'' Nick thought with hatred.


    Yet, the more time passed, the more Nick felt like he didn''t truly believe that.


    Did Wyntor truly only do this because of the Dreamer?


    ''Actually, probably not.''


    ''It wasn''t certain that I would die.''


    ''There was a good chance that I would manage to swim towards the entrance of the sewers, where Wyntor was standing.''


    ''Then, Wyntor would have been able to help me without jumping into the sewers.''


    There had been a good thirty meters between the ce where Nick had been and the entrance of the sewers.


    For Wyntor to swim that far, he must have jumped into the sewers nearly half a minute before he had arrived at Nick''s side.


    Nick put his hands on his knees and violently grabbed them in frustration.


    ''He''s not cold,'' Nick thought.


    ''He might appear cold now, but people only show their true faces when they are in a stressful or dangerous situation.''


    ''When it was important, Wyntor was willing to jump into the sewers to save me. It might have also been in his own best interest, but it still must have been very difficult.''


    ''Right now, he''s only cold because he needs to be.''


    ''This is his job.''


    ''Like he said, deciding to kill Horua probably also heavily weighs on his mind.''


    ''And yet, he still talked normally with me, and he didn''t say anything out of line.''


    ''I fucked up, and Wyntor has to suffer because of it.''


    ''But he only reprimanded me.''


    ''Horua suffers because of me.''


    ''Wyntor suffers because of me.''


    ''If things go badly, even Pator will suffer because of me.''


    ''I was the one that made the decision to get Horua.''


    ''Wyntor warned me, but I didn''t listen.''


    ''This is all because of me.''


    At this moment, most of Nick''s emotions vanished, reced by only two emotions.


    Guilt and determination.


    ''This is my fault.''


    ''And it is my job to rectify these issues.''


    ''No matter what I have to do or what it will cost!''


    Nick looked forward again.


    The Dreamer was still standing beside the sleeping Horua.


    At this moment, Horua looked like he was peacefully sleeping.


    ''It''s not that bad, Horua. You will just have some bad dreams and wake up.''


    ''It won''t be as bad as you imagined it to be.''


    ''And when you wake up, you will officially be a Zephyx Extractor.''


    ''You will have an actual future, and you will gain powerful abilities.''


    ''I know things will only improve for you.''


    ''Sadly, I won''t be part of that future.''


    ''I know you hate me.''


    Nick took a shaky breath.


    ''And I''m fine with it.''


    ''That''s the price I must pay.''


    ''I don''t deserve forgiveness for what I''ve done.''


    Nick just continued looking at Horua.


    The memories of what Nick had done to Horua became hazier and hazier.


    It was almost like all of this hadn''t happened.


    It was like nothing had changed.


    Yet, whenever Nick looked at Horua and the Dreamer, he was reminded of reality.


    It had happened.


    But it didn''t feel like it had happened.


    After a while, Nick put his head in his hands again.


    Silence.


    Nick didn''t move.


    Time passed.


    Nick had plenty of time and opportunity to think about what he had done.


    In this Containment Unit, there was nothing for Nick to do.


    And he had to remain here for eight hours.


    Paradoxically, it felt like the longest and the shortest eight hours of Nick''s life.


    On one hand, Nick felt like time was dragging on forever, but on the other hand, Nick despaired at the rapid passage of time.


    He didn''t want to see how Horua would react when he woke up.


    It was torture.


    However, it wouldn''t be eight hours until things changed.


    After just five hours, something happened.


    Crk! Crk!


    Nick heard something and looked over.


    He saw the Dreamer take a couple of steps back as it retreated back into its corner.


    For just a moment, Nick was confused.


    But the next moment, Horua''s body suddenly started to shake violently.


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    ''He''s having a seizure!''

 Chapter 49 - 49 – Worry

    <h4>Chapter 49: ¨C Worry</h4>


    When Nick saw the seizure, he realized why the Dreamer had retreated.


    The Dreamer was showing that it wasn''t trying to kill Horua!


    It was just that Horua wasn''t strong enough to resist whatever the Dreamer was showing him.


    When he had still been here, Albert had told Nick about some potential dangers.


    Albert had said that working with the Dreamer could be dangerous, but it shouldn''t be.


    Since the Dreamer was only feeding on mentality, actual injuries were not a thing, and since everyone would forget the dreams they had, mental problems also shouldn''t be a thing.


    The only dangerous part was during the dreams.


    If someone was pushed too far in a dream, their mind might actually shut down.


    At that point, their bodily functions might stop working.


    ''But Albert said that it would be difficult to notice someone dying like that!'' Nick thought. ''He said that they would die quietly!''


    ''Yet, Horua is definitely not dying quietly!''


    ''That means I still have a chance to save him!''


    Nick shot to his feet and jumped to Horua''s side.


    The Dreamer just looked at Nick from its corner with its dead eyes.


    Horua started to froth at the mouth, and his body was making sounds as it pped against the ground.


    "Horua!" Nick shouted as he lightly pped his cheeks.


    Nick had seen seizures in the Dregs, but he had no idea how to deal with them.


    What was he supposed to do?!


    Was he supposed to keep him steady so that he didn''t injure himself?


    Was he supposed to p him awake?


    "Horua, hold on!" Nick shouted in fear. "You''re still alive!"


    "Horua, you''re awake!"


    "It was all a dream, Horua!"


    "Please!"


    But Horua just continued seizing.


    The next moment, a disgusting greenish-brown liquid appeared in Horua''s throat.


    ''Puke?'' Nick thought.


    Nick watched as the puke bubbled in Horua''s throat.


    At the same time, Nick heard the sound of Horua desperately trying to breathe.


    ''He''s asphyxiating on his puke!''


    Nick immediately grabbed Horua and lifted him up by his legs.


    Then, Nick began to shake Horua to get all the puke toe out.


    The puke was leaving Horua''s mouth and nose.


    "Please, Horua!"


    "Wake up!"


    Nick was in a panic as he put Horua down again.


    The shaking had gotten weaker.


    Nick just hoped that this was a sign of recovery, not death.


    After some seconds, Horua''s half-closed eyes just quietly looked at the ceiling of the Containment Unit.


    They didn''t move.


    Nick looked with terror at Horua.


    ''Please be alive! Please be alive! Please be alive!'' Nick repeated in his mind.


    "Horua! Horua, are you okay?" Nick asked with a worried voice as he lightly tapped Horua''s cheek.


    "Please, don''t die!"


    "Please!"


    Nick just looked at Horua.


    Horua didn''t do anything for several seconds.


    Slowly, Nick moved forward and put his head on Horua''s chest.


    ''His heart is still beating,'' Nick thought with relief.


    The next moment, Nick held his hand in front of Horua''s mouth.


    ''He''s also breathing.''


    Nick released a sigh of relief.


    ''He''s still alive!''


    At this moment, Nick''s taught emotions finally rxed, but he still felt a bit nervous about Horua''s state.


    Nick gently lifted Horua and left the Containment Unit.


    The Dreamer was just watching Nick silently.


    When Nick went out of the Containment Unit, he saw Wyntor looking up from his desk and walking over.


    When Wyntor saw the limp Horua, he knew that something must have gone wrong.


    "What happened?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick took a deep breath and rted everything that had happened to Wyntor.


    Wyntor''s expression became darker the more he heard.


    "It sounds like he has suffered severe mental damage," Wyntor said.


    "What will happen to him?" Nick asked.


    "We don''t know," Wyntor said.


    "You don''t know?" Nick asked with an anxious voice.


    "Everyone reacts differently to severe mental stress," Wyntor added. "My teacher only went over a couple of oues back then."


    "However, one thing is certain."


    "He needs to see a doctor," Wyntor exined.


    "Then, let''s go to one!" Nick said urgently.


    Wyntor put his hand on Nick''s shoulder, stopping him from leaving. "Nick, calm down!"


    "Wyntor, I need-"


    "Calm down!" Wyntor shouted.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Yes, what?" he asked.


    "Nick, we are not going out to get a doctor."


    "The doctorse to us."


    First, Nick wanted to shout in aggression, but then, his eyes widened.


    "Theye to us?" he asked.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "Pator!" Wyntor shouted.


    "Coming!" Pator shouted from a distant spot where he was cleaning the floor.


    "Yes, sir?" Pator asked.


    "Get a physician from the closest clinic toe here," Wyntor ordered. "This boy has received heavy mental damage from a Specter."


    When Pator heard that, he took in a deep breath.


    He looked at Horua in shock and then looked at Wyntor.


    Pator was amazing at keeping a poker face, but Wyntor had still noticed that Pator''s expression had be colder as he looked at Wyntor.


    "Of course, sir," Pator said before dashing out of the warehouse.


    Wyntor turned to Nick. "Put him to the side," he said as he pointed to one of the walls.


    Nick nodded. "Thank you, Wyntor," he said quietly as he walked to one of the walls with Horua.


    Wyntor just sighed. ''What''s there to thank for?''


    Nick didn''t put Horua down but simply sat down with him still in his arms.


    Several minutes passed before Pator returned with someone.


    It was a rtively young woman with green hair who was wearing a white coat.


    Pator led the woman to Nick.


    When Nick saw her, his breathing quickened.


    He hoped Horua was okay.


    "Please, help him," Nick said in fear.


    The doctor looked at Horua, and her eyes became visibly cold and distant.


    Such a young boy.


    She was disgusted by thispany.


    After all, how could a child enter a Containment Unit on their own?


    Yet, the expression of the man in front of her spoke of genuine worry and fear.


    This told the doctor basically what had happened.


    Stupidity had happened.


    "Put him down," shemanded coldly.

 Chapter 50 - 50 – Diagnosis

    <h4>Chapter 50: ¨C Diagnosis</h4>


    Nick quickly put Horua down and stepped back.


    Right now, Nick only hoped that Horua would survive.


    The doctor took out a small bag with different medical equipment and slowly took out some kind of tool that she put on Horua''s chest.


    Half a minuteter, she put the tool away again and put some other tool around Horua''s arm for a while.


    After that, she used a light to look into Horua''s vacant eyes.


    The more time passed, the stronger her frown became.


    "What''s his name?" she asked.


    "Horua," Nick answered.


    "Horua, can you hear me?" she asked in a friendly manner as she looked into Horua''s eyes.


    Horua didn''t answer.


    A momentter, she shined her light into Horua''s eyes again.


    "I know you''re awake, Horua," she said. "Your pupils are constricting when I shine my light into them. That only happens when you are conscious."


    Horua didn''t do anything.


    For several minutes, the doctor kept talking to Horua as she touched different parts of his body.


    Yet, Horua never showed any reaction.


    A bitter, the doctor actually slowly lifted Horua''s arm and let go.


    Nick''s eyes widened when he saw that the arm didn''t fall.


    The arm actually remained in the air!


    "Horua?!" Nick asked with hope.


    However, the doctor just furrowed her brows.


    The next moment, she snapped her fingers a couple of times in front of Horua''s face, and she even acted like she was about to snip Horua''s eyes.


    No reaction.


    Eventually, she only sighed and slowly lifted Horua into a sitting position and leaned him against the wall.


    "I need to talk to the two of you," the doctor said as she stood up.


    Nick knew that she was referring to Wyntor and him.


    "Of course," Nick said.


    Nick walked over to Wyntor, and the doctor followed him.


    Wyntor looked at the doctor with a neutral expression. "What''s the diagnosis?"


    "First, I need to know what happened," the doctor answered. "I know that Zephyx Manufacturers are very secretive, which is why I only need a rough exnation."


    Wyntor nodded. "Of course."


    "Wait," Nick said, interrupting Wyntor.


    The two of them looked at Nick.


    "I will tell her," Nick said with a deep breath. "After all, all of this is my fault."


    Wyntor looked at Nick for a bit but nodded.


    Then, Nick told the doctor about his idea to make Horua a Zephyx Extractor so that he would have a future outside of the Dregs.


    The doctor was disgusted by Nick, but she kept a professional demeanor.


    ''At least he feels guilty,'' she thought with a snort.


    When it came to the Dreamer, Nick only said that Horua had a nightmare.


    "A nightmare?" the doctor asked. "A nightmare or the Nightmare?"


    "A nightmare," Nick answered. "You know, a bad dream."


    The doctor frowned and became quiet.


    "That exins some things," she said. "With all of this information, I can be more certain in my diagnosis."


    Nick and even Wyntor listened intently.


    "The boy, Horua, is awake currently," the doctor exined. "His reflexes and autonomous bodily functions are working fine. This means he won''t just die suddenly or stop breathing."


    When Nick heard that, he released a sigh of relief.


    At least Horua wouldn''t die.


    "But?" Wyntor asked.


    "But," the doctor continued, "his mind has be isted. His actual consciousness does not interact with the outside world anymore. That means his mind doesn''t get new information and also can''t share information with others."


    "You could say he is conscious but sleeping, in a way. Although, this is a strong simplification of what is actually happening."


    Nick looked with worry at the doctor as Wyntor frowned.


    "What does that mean?" he asked.


    "It means he will continue being in this state for an indeterminate amount of time," the doctor said.


    "He won''t move on his own. This means he can''t eat, drink, or go to the toilet on his own. The only thing he can do is sleep."


    Nick took a deep breath. "Can we do anything about this?" he asked.


    "It''s difficult," the doctor said. "Since we can''t really interact with his consciousness, we can''t solve the issue. This is a mental problem, and if we want to save him, we need to somehow wake his mind up."


    The doctor sighed. "Sadly, that''s very difficult. After all, information can only enter a mind when the owner of the mind actively absorbs it."


    "We can''t just force his mind to listen."


    Nick felt his chest tighten. "Is there anything I can do to save him? Maybe one of the recovery baths?"


    "No," the doctor said. "Things like recovery baths work on injuries, and Horua technically isn''t injured. In a certain way, nothing is wrong with his body."


    "The only thing you can do is to keep him alive, talk to him, and hope that he wakes up on his own."


    "He might wake up tomorrow."


    "He might wake up in a week."


    "He might wake up in a year."


    "Maybe in ten years."


    "Maybe never."


    Nick looked at the ground with a horrified expression.


    This was difficult toe to terms with.


    Horua had turned into this, and it was Nick''s fault.


    "What if hees into contact with the Specter again?" Wyntor asked.


    The doctor''s expression became strict and chilly. "If it''s a Specter that feeds on mentality, it can probably change things in Horua''s mind, but Specters that help people are not verymon."


    "But could it help?" Wyntor asked.


    The doctor didn''t answer for a couple of seconds. "Yes, but the chances are higher that his mental state will worsen or that he will die," the doctor said coldly.


    Wyntor nodded. "Thank you. You can send the bill to uster."


    The doctor tried her best not to snort.


    "Doctor, how can I keep Horua alive?" Nick asked.


    The doctor nced at Nick with a neutral expression.


    "Three meals a day that are easy to digest and swallow. Two liters of water a day. Regr change of clothes. His bodily waste needs to be cleaned regrly. Once every two days, you have to wash him. Thrice a day, you have to massage his legs and arms, or he will die of a thrombus."


    "A thrombus?" Nick asked in confusion.


    Even Wyntor didn''t know what that was.


    "If you don''t move your extremities for a long time, your blood vessels get constricted, and a clot can form in one of them. When the extremity gets moved, the clot travels through the vessels and can get stuck in your heart, lungs, or anywhere else."


    "That part will essentially not get any air and die off, killing you with it."


    "If you want to keep him alive, you need to do all of that."

 Chapter 51 - 51 – Guilt

    <h4>Chapter 51: ¨C Guilt</h4>


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Thank you. I will do just that," he said.


    The doctor nodded.


    After a bit more talking, the doctor left the warehouse.


    "What''s your n?" Wyntor asked.


    "What I said," Nick said. "I will support Horua until he wakes up."


    Wyntor furrowed his brows. "Nick, I need you as my Chief Zephyx Extractor. I can''t have you take care of the boy if you can''t do your job properly."


    "I have to," Nick said with a tone filled with conviction. "This is my responsibility, and I am the one that has to pay the price."


    "If Horua dies now, everything would have been for nothing."


    "I have already hurt Horua immensely, and I can''t even imagine hurting him even more."


    "This is all my fault, and I am going to deal with it."


    Wyntor frowned.


    However, he wasn''t actually mad at Nick.


    The entire incident with Horua had given Nick something that he hadcked.


    A sense of responsibility.


    A Chief Zephyx Extractor needed a strong sense of responsibility, or the entire Manufacturer might go out of business.


    If something happened, Nick had to deal with these things and take responsibility.


    "As long as your work does not suffer, it doesn''t matter what you do in your free time," Wyntor said.


    "Thank you, Wyntor," Nick said with a sigh.


    "However," Wyntor added, "I don''t want him here. I will rent a room somewhere, and he can stay in the bed there. The room will be pretty close to thepany, which should make it easy for you to take care of him."


    Nick wasn''t the biggest fan of Wyntor''s help, but he knew that he needed to ept some help if he wanted to deal with this issue.


    "Okay," Nick said. "Thank you, Wyntor."


    Wyntor nodded. "For now, you should work. Pator will deal with Horua for the next eight hours."


    Nick felt guilty that Pator had to do more work because of his mistake.


    But Nick also knew that he didn''t have any other choice.


    He couldn''t let Horua stay alone for eight full hours.


    So, Nick just nodded.


    He threw onest nce at Horua.


    Whenever he saw Horua like this, Nick felt an intense pain in his chest, and breathing became more difficult.


    Guilt.


    Such heavy guilt.


    Nick released another sigh and entered the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    As always, the Dreamer just stood in its corner as it looked into Nick''s eyes.


    "He''s still alive," Nick said.


    The Dreamer showed no reaction.


    Nick snorted. "I guess you don''t really care."


    "For now, I will be mainly working with you, but in the future, I will bring in more people. However, these people will be more resilient than thest person you worked with," Nick said.


    The Dreamer showed no reaction.


    A momentter, Nick sat down near one of the walls and closed his eyes.


    "Let''s get to it," he said.


    nk. nk. nk.


    Nick heard the Dreamer''s footsteps, and he knew that it now stood just beside him again.


    The Prephyx in the room became denser, and Nick started to feel sleepy.


    A minuteter, Nick fell asleep.


    In his dreams, Horua was dying in increasingly more painful ways as he screamed for Nick''s help.


    Naturally, it was always Nick''s fault that Horua was dying.


    Eventually, the Horuas even started toe alive again and told Nick that he was at fault.


    Even the world turned into living bodies of Horua, and whenever Nick walked, the Horua he stepped on screamed in pain and died.


    The world was screaming at him, telling him that he was the reason why suffering filled all of reality.


    Nick broke down again and again.


    Nick had uttered The Sentence so many times, but Nurse Alice had nevere.


    Nick tried to kill himself, but he couldn''t.


    No matter what he did, he survived.


    His suffering was infinite and eternal.


    And then, Nick woke up.


    All the memories of Nick''s dream became hazier and hazier by the second.


    Just a momentter, Nick had forgotten nearly everything.


    He only knew that his dreams had been rted to Horua and that he felt very guilty.


    That was all he knew.


    Nick looked around in the Containment Unit and saw the Dreamer looking at him from its corner.


    Nick sighed and stood up.


    After leaving the Containment Unit, Nick was intercepted by Wyntor.


    "Nick, we need to talk," Wyntor said with a serious expression.


    As soon as he heard that, Nick felt anxiety and fear rise in his chest. "Did something happen to Horua?" he asked.


    "No," Wyntor said. "This is more of a good thing."


    "Oh, okay," Nick said with a sigh of relief.


    "Look at this," Wyntor said as he pointed at the Zephyx gauge.


    Right now, the gauge was at ten grams of Zephyx.


    "What about it?" Nick asked.


    "Every day, the Zephyx tank gets emptied," Wyntor said, "which means that it was at zero before you and the boy arrived."


    "Okay?" Nick asked.


    "Nick, the boy only produced three grams of Zephyx."


    "That means you produced seven grams just now, 40% more than thest time you worked with it."


    Nick''s eyes widened. "How?"


    "That''s what I am asking you," Wyntor asked. "What has changed?"


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    He had no idea.


    "I don''t know," Nick said.


    Wyntor nodded. "Then, find out. It''s your job."


    "Well, okay," Nick said with uncertainty.


    How was he supposed to find out why the amount of Zephyx had changed?


    "The boy is in the house across the street," Wyntor said as he took out a key. "This is one of three keys. The owner of the hotel has one. Pator has one. You have one."


    Nick took hold of the key and looked at it.


    "Thanks, Wyntor," he said.


    Wyntor nodded. "See you tomorrow," he said before he grabbed his suitcase and left the building.


    Apparently, Wyntor had remained here just to talk with Nick.


    Now, Nick was alone.


    After some seconds, Nick took a deep breath and left the warehouse.


    It was time to visit Horua.

 Chapter 52 - 52 – Caregiver

    <h4>Chapter 52: ¨C Caregiver</h4>


    Nick entered the house opposite the warehouse.


    It was quite a big building with five floors.


    By now, Nick had gotten used to seeing these big and clean houses, and he wasn''t currently in the mood to go sightseeing.


    He only wanted to see Horua.


    Nick had already seen on the key that Horua would be on the second floor, and in just a couple of seconds, he finally arrived.


    He put the key in the lock and unlocked it. It took a bit of getting used to since keys basically didn''t exist in the Dregs.


    The room was silent.


    It was almost like there was no life in this room.


    However, Nick quickly saw Horua on the bed.


    Right now, Horua was sitting on the bed, looking forward with dead eyes.


    In a certain way, Horua''s current appearance reminded Nick of the Dreamer.


    They both had dead eyes.


    Horua was wearingfortable pajamas, and if it weren''t for his impure skin due to living in the Dregs, he would look like any other child from the Outer City.


    In the pajamas, Horua looked even more like a child than normal.


    Nick took a deep breath and walked over.


    "Hey, Horua. Everything alright?" Nick asked, not expecting an answer.


    Naturally, he didn''t get one.


    Nick walked over and put his right arm on Horua''s shoulder as he looked at him.


    "Horua, I just wanted to say that all of this is my fault and that I am genuinely sorry," Nick said. "I should have known that not everyone can resist a Specter just like this."


    "Maybe I should have moved slower?"


    "Maybe I should have introduced the Dreamer to you when you were older?"


    "I mean, I didn''t need you to immediately be a Zephyx Extractor."


    Nick was just looking into Horua''s dead eyes with a sigh.


    "I''m sorry. I wish I had been smarter."


    "Sadly, I can''t change the past."


    "So, the next best thing is to make a bright future for you."


    Nick remained silent for a couple of seconds.


    "Hey, how about I give you a massage?" Nick asked.


    Then, Nick slowly moved Horua onto his stomach.


    "The doctor said that we have to regrly move your body, or your health will suffer. Don''t worry, I''ll make sure that nothing like that will happen."


    A momentter, Nick started to massage Horua''s body.


    For someone who wasn''t technically conscious, Horua''s muscles were quite strained.


    "How does this feel?" Nick asked.


    Naturally, Horua didn''t answer.


    For around 30 minutes, Nick kept massaging Horua''s body while talking to him.


    After some time, Nick just started telling Horua about his day at work and what their ns were.


    Nick wasn''t worried about keeping secrets since Horua officially belonged to theirpany.


    When the massage was done, Nick grabbed a bowl and filled it with water.


    Nick put the bowl to Horua''s mouth, and surprisingly, Horua swallowed when water entered his mouth.


    For just a moment, Nick became hopeful.


    Yet, Horua showed no other reaction.


    "Alright, that should be enough," Nick said.


    "Do you want some food next?"


    Silence.


    "I''ll get you some food, okay?"


    Nick silently walked out of the room and entered the street.


    After looking around for a bit, Nick found a nice ce that sold soup.


    Even though the price was outrageous, Nick didn''tin.


    This was for Horua, which made the price seem unimportant.


    Nick returned and slowly fed the soup to Horua.


    After a bit of talking, Nick noticed that the room started to smell.


    He quickly found the source.


    Horua had just wet his clothing and the bed.


    Nick could only sigh.


    ''The doctor said he couldn''t go to the toilet on his own.''


    Over the next few minutes, Nick also dealt with that mess.


    Nick even went out to buy Horua several new sets of pajamas.


    For the next couple of hours, Nick just remained in the room with Horua to talk.


    Eventually, Nick became tired, and he reluctantly left Horua.


    "I will be back in four hours to check on you, okay?" Nick said before leaving the room.


    Nick went to the reception of the hotel and rented a room on the same floor as Horua.


    The room wasn''t anything special.


    It was made of clean metal, and it looked quite nice. Just like Horua''s bed, Nick''s bed was made of a thick sheet of fabric that made it much easier to sleep.


    A couple minutester, Nick went to bed.


    Yet, no matter what he did, Nick couldn''t fall asleep.


    Nick was definitely tired, but for some reason, sleep just wouldn''te to him.


    Even more, Nick felt more and more nervous.


    ''I hope Horua is okay. No one is checking up on him.''


    ''What if he wet the bed again and has to sleep in his own urine?''


    ''What if he is thirsty?''


    ''What if his breathing stopped?''


    After over half an hour of trying, Nick left his room and went back into Horua''s room.


    Horua was lying in bed, just as Nick had left him.


    Nothing had changed.


    Nick took a deep breath and went back to his room.


    Yet, he still couldn''t fall asleep, and he became nervous again.


    An hourter, he returned to Horua''s room again.


    Nothing had changed.


    Nick wanted to leave again, but he just didn''t feelfortable with leaving Horua alone.


    So, Nick just remained in Horua''s room.


    He was tired, but he didn''t try to sleep.


    However, since Horua might be asleep, Nick also didn''t talk to him.


    He just remained in the room in silence without doing anything.


    As more time passed, Nick felt a tightness in his chest.


    "I''m sorry," Nick whispered.


    "I didn''t want this to happen."


    Silence.


    Nick just looked at Horua, different memories of him shooting through his mind.


    "I''m so sorry," Nick repeated.


    Slowly, Nick''s eyes started to get wet, and eventually, tears started to flow down his face.


    "Horua, I''m so sorry. I was such an idiot."


    "I just want you to recover."


    "It''s fine if you hate me forever."


    "I just want you to recover."


    Nick''s crying intensified.


    "I''m so sorry."

 Chapter 53 - 53 – Interview

    <h4>Chapter 53: ¨C Interview</h4>


    "So, how are you with bad situations?" Nick asked the person in front of him.


    In front of Nick was a woman in her early twenties.


    She had brown hair and wore dirty clothes.


    Obviously, she was from the Dregs.


    Right now, Nick was interviewing her inside his room in the hotel.


    The woman had originally been quite nervous about having a meeting for a job inside someone''s room, but by now, she had realized that Nick wasn''t trying to hurt her.


    "I think I can react in a very calm and deliberate manner," the woman said casually.


    Nick nodded. "Have you ever met a Specter?"


    "I don''t have an ability if that''s your question," the woman said.


    "Alright, but have you met a Specter before?" Nick repeated.


    The woman frowned. "I think so, but I''m not sure," she said.


    "Oh? Please borate," Nick said.


    "Well," the woman started, "legend has it that the leader of the Riker Strikers is a Specter, and I met him before."


    "Oh? That''s a new one," Nick said. "What makes you think he''s a Specter?"


    "It''s just a legend," the woman said. "People say that Riker has to be a Specter. After all, the Riker Strikers are the only gang that brings nothing positive to the Dregs."


    "The Insurance Gang might have some very direct methods, but they protect the people''s tax money."


    "The Peddlers might charge exorbitant prices and don''t allow anypetition, but they have the ability to get all these important goods to the Dregs. Without them, so many more people would die."


    "The Hub might not care about morals when they ept a mission, but they also give many jobs to a lot of people. Even more, they keep the different gangs in check since the Hub can essentially be bought out by them."


    "But the Riker Strikers?"


    The woman shook her head.


    "The Riker Strikers just steal, rape, and assassinate."


    "They want money without offering protection."


    "They secretly kill people for seemingly no reason."


    "There''s nothing good about them."


    "Not even a little bit."


    "What human would create something like that? Isn''t it easier to lead a group of willing humans than forcefully take their belongings every day?"


    "At least, that''s the exnation," the woman exined. "If Riker is a Specter, these things would make sense."


    Nick scratched his chin in interest as he looked at the woman. "That''s a very interesting theory. I never met Riker personally since I worked for The Hub most of the time. You said you did?"


    The woman nodded. "It was when three men stalked me to my house. I wasn''t sure if they just wanted my money or if they also wanted to rape me, but luckily, I never found out."


    When the woman had talked about the possibility of getting sexually assaulted, she had seemed quite calm, cold, and indifferent, even though something like that probably terrified most people.


    "During that time, I was on a long-term mission for The Hub, and I showed them my symbol as proof."


    "Based on their expressions, the three of them didn''t like that, but they decided to leave me be."


    "That was until Riker appeared."


    "I don''t know why he was here, but based on how the three men acted and how they addressed Riker, I knew it was the leader of the Riker Strikers."


    "When he saw what happened, he just put on a friendly smile and asked since when the Riker Strikers cared about what the other gangs thought of them."


    "The three of them turned back to me and started to advance."


    "Meanwhile, I turned around and ran away."


    "Luckily, one of The Hub''s outposts was very close, and I managed to enter and get help."


    "The three men fled, but a group from The Hub ran after them."


    "I never saw them again after that, and I also didn''t hear anything about Riker again," the woman exined.


    Nick nodded a couple of times. "How was the infamous Riker?"


    "How was he?" the woman repeated as she furrowed her brows. "It''s difficult to describe."


    "He looked quite charming and beautiful. Back then, I thought he looked abhorrent, but after so many weeks, I can admit that he is very attractive from a general perspective."


    "He has this entire yboy vibe to him, but there is also deep confidence in his gaze."


    The woman seemed ufortable for a couple of seconds.


    "I''m not sure if this is relevant," she said eventually, "but I felt like his eyes were strange."


    "They looked just like any other pair of eyes, but when I looked into them, I felt like I was looking at some kind of natural predator of mine."


    "He felt very, very dangerous."


    "I felt like I had to run away from him, no matter what."


    The next moment, she snorted.


    "Ironically enough, this feeling of having to run away was what allowed me to react this quickly to his men''s renewed advance."


    Nick looked very intrigued.


    "What if you met him again?" Nick asked.


    "In what sense?" the woman asked.


    "Alone," Nick answered. "Just you two."


    A sneer of disgust appeared on the woman''s face.


    "I would love nothing more than to say that I would kill him, but I probably don''t have the strength to do that. I don''t think a gang leader is weak," she said.


    When Nick heard that, a bright smile appeared on his face.


    "Alright, that sounds good," he said.


    The woman looked at Nick with newfound anxiety. "So, did everything go well? I feel like it went well."


    Nick chuckled and nodded. "Yep. Everything sounds great."


    "So, does that mean¡­?" the woman asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yes, I think you are the right person for the job."


    The woman''s eyes widened in shock.


    A Zephyx Extractor?


    She was about to be a Zephyx Extractor?!


    She almost couldn''t believe it.


    "Your name was Jennifer, right?" Nick asked.


    "Yes," Jennifer asked. "Please, call me Jenny."


    "Of course," Nick said.


    The next moment, Nick stood up. "Would you mind waiting outside the hotel for around 15 minutes? I have to deal with something first."


    "After that, I will show you where you will be working from now on."


    "Of course! Thank you so much!" Jenny said with a grateful voice.


    The two of them left Nick''s room.


    While Jenny left the hotel, Nick went to Horua''s room.


    Nick had to check up on Horua before leaving for work.

 Chapter 54 - 54 – Dark Dream

    <h4>Chapter 54: ¨C Dark Dream</h4>


    Nick arrived in Horua''s room and saw that it was time to change Horua''s clothing again.


    By now, Nick had taken care of Horua for over two weeks, and he had gotten pretty good at it.


    Over the past two weeks, Nick had searched for someone who could join as another Zephyx Extractor.


    This time, Nick was very careful when it came to choosing someone.


    After all, he didn''t want to make the same mistake again.


    Nick had painfully learned why all the Zephyx Manufacturers had such stringent and difficult tests before anyone could join as a Zephyx Extractor.


    Just because Nick could interact with a Specter didn''t mean that everyone could.


    In fact, interacting with a Specter was one of the scariest things in existence.


    Humans instinctually felt that the thing in front of them preyed on them.


    After the incident with Horua, Nick decided to use the entrance exam he had undertaken in Ghosty''s Lab as a guide for creating his own exams.


    Except, Nick didn''t have all the facilities for the tests.


    So, the next best thing was to just hold an interview with someone while trying to gauge their abilities in a conversation.


    Nick had interviewed over 20 people from the Dregs by now, but he hadn''t been happy with any of them.


    There always was some kind of problem.


    Sometimes, Nick felt like they were lying to him, and Nick didn''t like liars.


    Sometimes, Nick felt like what the people were saying sounded unrealistic.


    For example, someone once said that they would simply beat up a Specter if they ever saw one.


    Luckily, Nick didn''t find any of these problems with Jenny.


    Jenny was very honest and easy to work with, but when she talked about someone she didn''t like, she seemed very cold and distant.


    The best thing was that she didn''t show any fear, but Nick also didn''t feel like she was simply putting on a front.


    In a sense, Nick felt like Jenny had no fight-or-flight instinct but just a fight instinct.


    Even more, Jenny had honestly said that she ran away from the Riker Strikers without any shame.


    She was confident in her choice.


    "Hey, Horua," Nick said with a smile as he grabbed a freshly cleaned pair of pajamas. "I finally found someone for the position."


    Horua didn''t answer.


    "Her name is Jenny, and she seems to have quite a character."


    Nick told Horua about Jenny while he cleaned up Horua''s mess and changed his clothing.


    When he was done, he also gave Horua a quick massage.


    "Anyway, I told her it would only be 15 minutes, and I''ve been here for nearly 20. Sorry, Horua, but I gotta go. See youter!" Nick said.


    After quietly closing the door, Nick left the hotel.


    Jenny was waiting in front of the hotel, and when she saw that Nick hade out, she released a sigh of relief.


    Apparently, she had been worried that Nick had stood her up.


    "Sorry, took a bit longer than expected," Nick said with a helpless smile.


    "Oh, it''s fine," Jenny said with a polite smile.


    "Anyway, let me show you where you will be working."


    When Jenny saw that Nick simply entered the warehouse on the other side of the street, she became quite shocked.


    Who held an interview in front of theirpany''s building?!


    But when Jenny saw the sturdy walls of the Containment Unit, she realized that this was not just a simple warehouse.


    Compared to the walls of the warehouse, the walls of the Containment Unit had an incredible feeling of power to them.


    Even more, there were many cables and contraptions scattered around the Containment Unit.


    After two weeks, thepany had also slightly redecorated its interior.


    By now, there were a couple of pieces of art made of metal strewn around, and there were also far more desks and chairs.


    On top of that, things had been cleaned up, and a couple of walls made of thin metal separated parts of the warehouse into a couple of rooms.


    Basically all of this had been done by Pator at Wyntor''s request.


    Nick led Jenny to the door of one of the isted rooms and loudly knocked on it. "Hey, Wyntor! I got someone!"


    "Come in!" Wyntor shouted from behind the door.


    Jenny looked nervously at the door.


    Nick opened the door and led Jenny in.


    The inside of Wyntor''s office looked different from the rest of thepany.


    For example, his chair and desk looked much better than all the other ones, and he also had a huge bookshelf with many different books on it.


    Almost all of the books were about Specters.


    When Wyntor saw Jenny, a small gleam appeared in his eyes, and he stood up.


    "Wee," Wyntor said with a smile. "My name is Wyntor Melfion, and I am the president and CEO of Dark Dream."


    Jenny blinked a couple of times. "Dark Dream?"


    "Hasn''t Nick told you about the name of ourpany?" Wyntor asked with a smile.


    "No, I didn''t," Nick said. "The NDA thing, you know?"


    Wyntor just chuckled politely. "Of course."


    Then, Wyntor turned to Jenny again. "So, you will be joining Dark Dream as a new Zephyx Extractor, right?"


    "Y-yes, sir," Jenny said with nervousness.


    For some reason, Wyntor felt much more imposing and powerful than Nick to her.


    "Perfect!" Wyntor said before pointing at a chair. "Please, sit down. I want to ask you a couple of things and tell you a bit more about Dark Dream."


    While Jenny sat down, Nick walked out of the door. "I''ll get to work then. Tell Pator to take care of Horua."


    "Of course," Wyntor said.


    "Thanks," Nick said. "Should I leave the door open or closed?"


    "Close it," Wyntor said.


    Nick nodded and closed the door.


    While Nick walked over to the Dreamer''s Containment Unit, Wyntor looked at Jenny with a friendly smile.


    For several minutes, Wyntor asked Jenny questions, and the more he heard about her, the more fitting she seemed to be for Dark Dream.


    ''Nick actually got a good one this time,'' Wyntor thought.


    While Nick was sleeping in the Containment Unit, Wyntor took out several sheets of paper for Jenny to sign.


    After signing all of them, Wyntor smiled again.


    "Thank you, and wee to Dark Dream!"

 Chapter 55 - 55 – Jenny and the Dreamer

    <h4>Chapter 55: ¨C Jenny and the Dreamer</h4>


    By now, Nick had gotten pretty good at working with the Dreamer, and working with it no longer required special preparations.


    While Nick was working with the Dreamer, Wyntor was telling Jenny everything relevant about Dark Dream, her future workce.


    From what Wyntor told her, theirpany was named Dark Dream due to their first Specter, the Dreamer.


    When Nick had captured the Specter, he needed to brave the darkness and the Dreamer.


    So, Wyntor hade up with the name Dark Dream.


    When Jenny heard about how Nick had captured the Dreamer, her respect for him had grown even more.


    Jenny had already respected Nick, but it was still difficult to feel true respect for someone who was still a teenager.


    Naturally, Jenny also knew how impressive it was to fall under the Nightmare''s influence so many times.


    The more often it happened in a short timeframe, the more brutal the visions became.


    Eight hourster, Nick walked out of the Containment Unit as he yawned a bit.


    Even though he had just slept for eight hours, he felt very exhausted and tired.


    The first thing Nick did aftering out of the Containment Unit was to check on the amount of Zephyx he had produced.


    ''Still seven grams. Except for that one change two weeks ago, nothing else changed. It''s still seven grams,'' Nick thought as he rubbed his chin in thought.


    ''With Jenny, I should be able to glean some more information.''


    Nick looked around and quickly found Jenny.


    Right now, Pator was showing her a couple of things in the warehouse.


    "Hey, Jenny," Nick shouted as he came closer.


    Pator and Jenny turned to Nick.


    "Good work today, Nick," Pator said with a friendly smile.


    "Wee back, sir," Jenny said with a bit of nervousness.


    "Sir?" Nick repeated with a chuckle. "Just call me Nick."


    Jenny seemed a bit unsure. "Sure thing¡­ Nick," she said with a bit of difort.


    Nick just nodded with a smile. "Jenny, do you have somewhere to be in the next eight hours?"


    "No," Jenny answered.


    Nick nodded. "Today is your first day, but if you feel up to it, you can work with the Dreamer right now."


    Nick didn''t care that Pator was present. By now, Pator was also under an NDA, and he had already heard a lot about Dark Dream''s secrets.


    Jenny looked with a bit of excitement at Nick. "This means I would also get my first payment, right?"


    "Sure. That''s not an issue," Nick said.


    "Then, I would like to work with the Dreamer right now," Jenny said. "Although, I need to inform my partner at home first. She hasn''t heard from me the entire day, and she will be very worried if I stay until deep into the night."


    "Pator can do that," Nick said before turning to Pator. "Right?"


    "Naturally," Pator said with a smile. "I''ll deal with it after visiting Horua again."


    "Thanks, Pator," Nick said. "If everything goes as nned, I can take over in about an hour or so."


    "Sure thing, Nick," Pator said before turning to Jenny. "Where''s your home?"


    Jenny gave Pator instructions on what to say and where to go, and Pator quickly left the building.


    The next moment, Nick smiled at Jenny. "Then, let''s go."


    Jenny nodded and followed after Nick.


    Both of them looked to be calm, but in truth, both of them were quite nervous.


    Jenny had never truly interacted with a Specter. She wanted to seem fearless, but deep inside, she was still worried that the Specter''s presence would be too much for her to handle.


    Nick wanted to seem confident, but he was just as nervous as Jenny. Thest time he had introduced someone to the Dreamer, that person had be catatonic.


    Nick hoped that Jenny could resist the Dreamer better.


    After opening the employee door, both of them walked into the Containment Unit.


    As always, the Dreamer stood in its corner, looking at Nick expressionlessly.


    Jenny stood diagonally behind Nick, and when she saw the Dreamer, her heart rate increased by quite a bit.


    Jenny took a deep breath as her chest shook, but she managed to keep herposure.


    Just as expected, the Dreamer''s Aura was hard to bear for Jenny.


    She felt like she was in contact with her natural predator.


    Remaining here spelled nothing but death, and her emotions were telling her to run away.


    However, Jenny''s rationality kept her emotions in check, stopping them from dictating her actions.


    She had already been informed about the Dreamer, and she knew what she had to do.


    ''Nothing will happen to me,'' Jenny thought while taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. ''I will not die. The only thing to fear is fear itself.''


    The next moment, the Dreamer looked away from Nick and looked into Jenny''s eyes.


    Jenny''s heart rate increased even more as she started to sweat coldly.


    However, she just gritted her teeth and looked back.


    When Nick saw her reaction, he smiled.


    "Alright," Nick said, looking at the Dreamer. "This is Jenny. You will be working for eight hours after our sessions every day."


    The Dreamer didn''t react.


    Silence.


    "Well, seems like there are no issues," Nick said with a casual shrug.


    Jenny wasn''t put at ease by Nick''s casual demeanor.


    "Alright," Nick said, turning to Jenny. "Where do you want to sleep? I usually sleep with my back against the wall, but you don''t have to do that."


    Jenny took a deep breath. "I''d like to sit in a corner."


    "Sure," Nick said.


    The next moment, Jenny went to one of the corners and awkwardly sat down.


    Nick nodded. "The Dreamer will nowe to you and put you to sleep. Don''t resist its influence. After all, we want you to sleep."


    Jenny nervously nodded.


    Nick looked over at the Dreamer. "You can start."


    The Dreamer slowly turned to look at Jenny.


    Clink. Clink. Clink.


    And slowly walked up to her.


    All of Jenny''s being was telling her to run as far away as she could.


    She was about to die!


    However, Jenny managed to keep her emotions in check and kept forcing her eyes closed.


    After a couple of seconds, Jenny started to feel tired.


    She wanted to resist the influence, but once again, she managed to keep her emotions in check.


    Eventually, she got too tired to even think about resisting.


    And then, she fell asleep.

 Chapter 56 - 56 – Successful Session

    <h4>Chapter 56: ¨C Sessful Session</h4>


    When Nick saw Jenny fall asleep, he nodded with pride.


    ''That went quite smoothly,'' he thought.


    For the next 30 minutes, Nick waited in the Containment Unit to make sure that nothing was happening.


    Nothing happened.


    "I will be back in a bit," Nick told the Dreamer as he left the Containment Unit.


    Naturally, the Dreamer didn''t answer.


    "How did it go?" Wyntor asked, standing in front of the exit of the Containment Unit.


    "Perfect," Nick said with a grin. "She was obviously scared, but she didn''t run away and voluntarily sat down to sleep."


    Wyntor also smiled. "You found a good one this time, Nick."


    Nick nodded. "Yep! If everything works out, she will take the shift after mine, which should be from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. I will arrive at 6 a.m. now every morning since I''m not the only one working with the Dreamer anymore."


    "Sounds great," Wyntor said. "Now, we only need one more person."


    Nick sighed. "I''m not looking forward to more of these interviews, but that''s why I''m getting paid more."


    Wyntor chuckled a bit. "That''s how it works, yes."


    "Is Pator back?" Nick asked.


    "He''s outside," Wyntor said.


    Nick nodded and walked out of the door.


    Nick quickly found Pator and talked to him a bit before going back to the hotel.


    After entering Horua''s room, a bitter smile appeared on Nick''s face, and he sat on the bed beside Horua.


    As always during the day, Horua sat on his bed, just looking into empty space without doing anything.


    "Hey, Horua. You remember the new employee I told you about this morning?"


    Nick talked to Horua for a while, telling him everything about his day.


    After that, Nick got Horua some soup and some water.


    "I''ll be right back. I also have to check up on Jenny," Nick said before going back to the warehouse.


    Nick entered the Containment Unit and saw that nothing had changed.


    For the next eight hours, Nick went back and forth between the warehouse and Horua''s room.


    Finally, the eight hours were up, and it was time for Nick to wake up Jenny.


    "Hey, eight hours are over," Nick said to the Dreamer, still standing over Jenny.


    The Dreamer had been focused on Jenny''s closed eyes, but a momentter, its head slowly moved back.


    It slowly turned to look at Nick before going back to its corner.


    Nick just nodded before walking up to Jenny.


    After gently nudging her for a while, Jenny slowly opened her eyes.


    But then, her eyes suddenly shot open, and she immediately pulled her arms up like she was trying to protect herself from an attacker.


    "Wow, wow, calm down, Jenny!" Nick shouted.


    Jenny froze. "Nick?" she asked in confusion.


    Then, she slowly lowered her arms and looked around.


    "Oh, right!" she shouted before her eyes fixed on the Dreamer.


    She still felt scared looking at it, but it was not as bad as before.


    "Is it over?" Jenny asked.


    "Yep," Nick answered. "Eight hours are up. You sessfully finished your first session with a Specter! Congrattions!"


    Jenny almost couldn''t believe it.


    She had done it!


    She had actually worked with a Specter!


    So, did this mean that she was a real Zephyx Extractor now?


    She didn''t feel any different, though.


    "Come, let''s go out," Nick said.


    Jenny looked more at the Dreamer as she followed Nick out of the Containment Unit.


    When the door closed behind her, she felt like a huge pressure had vanished from her shoulder.


    "Want to see how much Zephyx you made?" Nick asked with a smile.


    Jenny''s eyes opened wide with intrigue, and she nodded.


    Nick led her to the console and looked at the gauge.


    Yet, when Nick saw the results, he was surprised.


    "Four grams," he said with interest.


    "Is that a lot?" Jenny asked.


    "For thepany, four grams represent 4,000 credits," Nick said. "For you, it represents 400 credits."


    Jenny just looked with shock and surprise at the gauge.


    400 credits.


    She had just earned 400 credits.


    For just eight hours of work.


    For just this bit of work, Jenny had secured two months of taxes for her and her partner.


    It was ridiculous!


    "Want your money?" Nick asked.


    Jenny felt a bit put on the spot, but she still nodded sheepishly. "Sorry, but I really need it."


    "Of course," Nick said with a chuckle. "Wyntor already went home. So, let me get your money."


    Nick walked over to Wyntor''s office and opened it with a key.


    Inside Wyntor''s office, Nick took out a thin sheet of malleable metal and put it on the desk.


    The next moment, Nick grabbed a couple of different metallic stamps and heated them on some kind of hot te.


    Lastly, Nick stamped the number 400 into the malleable piece of metal and then stamped Dark Dream''s official stamp on the bottom.


    After waiting for a bit, Nick grabbed the bottom of the piece of metal and pulled.


    A second piece of metal with a different color was pulled out of the first piece of metal.


    The second piece of metal also had the number 400 and thepany''s stamp on it.


    Naturally, the first piece of metal was some kind of document that allowed the owner to take 400 credits out of Dark Dream''s ount, and the second piece of metal was a copy.


    Nick left the copy on Wyntor''s desk and left with the first piece of metal.


    "Here you go," Nick said, handing the first piece of metal to Jenny.


    Jenny just looked at it with confusion.


    "Hand this to this bank," Nick said, pointing at a symbol at the corner of the piece of metal. "They will keep the te and give you 400 credits in exchange."


    Jenny looked with wonder at the te.


    "By the way," Nick said, remembering something. "You should have an ability now."


    Jenny looked at Nick with a bit of confusion.


    "You know, an ability from a Specter," Nick said. "The very thing that makes Zephyx Extractors Zephyx Extractors."


    Jenny realized what Nick meant and looked at her hands with wonder.


    "What kind of ability?" she asked.


    "I dunno."

 Chapter 57 - 57 – Ability

    <h4>Chapter 57: ¨C Ability</h4>


    Jenny just looked at Nick with dumbfound confusion.


    "I have no idea," Nick repeated. "My Zephyx Synchronizer was already attuned when I came into contact with the Dreamer, which was why I didn''t get its ability, and the only other person who worked with it is in some sort ofa."


    "Coma?" Jenny asked in shock.


    "Yeah, I didn''t want to tell you before you worked with the Dreamer since it would make you more nervous without a good reason," Nick said. "Let''s just say that I messed up with thest person. I took someone that obviously didn''t have the mental fortitude to work with a Specter."


    "But I believed in you, and my trust was not misced."


    Jenny became a bit more nervous when she heard that someone had been put into aa because of the Dreamer.


    "What happened?" Jenny asked.


    Nick sighed. "After five hours, the Dreamer walked away from him, and he started to have a seizure. He hasn''t really woken up since then. That was about two weeks ago."


    "You, on the other hand, finished the full eight hours, which means that you''re not in danger," Nick added.


    Jenny was still a bit uncertain, but she didn''tin.


    She had just earned 400 credits, which was insane.


    "Anyway," Nick said. "You should really try to find out what kind of ability you unlocked. If you feel ufortable trying alone, we can try tomorrow."


    "Tomorrow, I need you here at 2 pm. 2 pm, on the dot, enter the Containment Unit and tell the Dreamer to wake me up. I''ll show you how to operate this thing," Nick said as he pointed at the console of the Containment Unit.


    For the next ten minutes, Nick showed Jenny how to operate the console, and eventually, Jenny left to go to the bank and home.


    After Jenny left, Nick went to one part of the Containment Unit, which he then unlocked with a key.


    Inside, Nick found a small tube with something that looked like white powder.


    This was Zephyx.


    Nick carefully took out the tube and put an empty one in before closing the metal te again.


    After that, Nick entered Wyntor''s office and put the tube of Zephyx on top of the copy of Jenny''s payment.


    When he was done, Nick nodded once in satisfaction and left the warehouse.


    Nick checked up on Horua, slept for four hours, checked up on Horua again, and slept for another three hours.


    Nick grabbed a quick bite to eat and entered the warehouse.


    Pator was already here.


    Pator always had toe early since Nick was working with the Dreamer during this time.


    After some small talk, Nick entered the Dreamer''s Containment Unit and fell asleep.


    About eight hourster, Nick opened his eyes and saw Jenny standing beside him.


    "Already time to stand up?" Nick asked with a yawn.


    Jenny nodded with a smile. "Yep."


    Nick nodded, stood up, and walked out of the Containment Unit.


    Jenny followed him.


    "I know what kind of ability I have," Jenny said.


    "Oh?" Nick asked with interest. "Tell me."


    "I''ll show you!" Jenny said with some excitement. "Don''t worry. It won''t hurt."


    Nick nodded.


    Jenny walked over and put her hands on Nick''s head.


    Nick just looked with confusion at her.


    Then, Nick yawned again and started to get drowsy.


    Nick''s eyes closed by themselves, and he felt weakness enter his limbs.


    Jenny slowly removed her hands from Nick''s head, and the drowsiness became weaker.


    Nick opened his eyes again and realized what had happened.


    "You can make people fall asleep?" Nick asked.


    Jenny nodded. "Just like the Dreamer!"


    Nick was excited to find out, but he also had to furrow his brows.


    "That''s not very useful forbat," he said.


    "I thought that too initially, but I''m not so sure anymore," Jenny said.


    Nick looked at her with a raised eyebrow.


    "If my opponent doesn''t know that I''m their opponent, I can get close to them and¡­ well¡­" Jenny exined as she started to feel a bit awkward.


    Nick just scratched the back of his head in confusion. "And what?" he asked.


    "Well, you know," Jenny said. "Tell them toe to my ce, hug them, and¡­ you know¡­"


    "Oh! That!" Nick said. "You mean seduce them and covertly use your ability while hugging their head or something, right?"


    "Yes, that," Jenny said with a bit of embarrassment. "While I use my ability, my opponent falls into a very deep sleep. They won''t easily wake up, even if I make a lot of noise. While they are asleep, I can probably copse the entire house, and they would only notice when the ceiling hits them."


    Nick nodded with interest.


    "Also, that''s not everything," Jenny said.


    "Oh?" Nick uttered.


    "I can also somewhat look into dreams," Jenny said.


    "Look into dreams?" Nick asked. "Can you control them like the Dreamer?"


    Jenny shook her head. "No, I can''t do that, but I can somewhat feel what''s happening in their dreams. I tried it a bit with my partnerst night. I didn''t find out a lot, but I think that''s because I''m simply not used to this ability yet. With more practice, I can probably find out more."


    "That''s very interesting," Nick said with a nod. "Have you told Wyntor already?"


    Jenny nodded. "Yes. He told me that there might be other uses for my ability. When there is an opportunity, he might give me some other tasks."


    "Makes sense," Nick said.


    "By the way," Jenny added. "Wyntor wants to talk to you."


    "Sure thing," Nick said. "I''ll talk to him while you''re sleeping."


    Jenny and Nick talked for a bit more before they entered the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    This time, falling asleep was even easier for Jenny.


    Eventually, Nick left the Containment Unit and went into Wyntor''s office.


    He saw Wyntor looking at several sheets of paper.


    "Hey, Wyntor. You wanted to see me?" Nick asked.


    "Yes, Nick," Wyntor said. "Please, sit down."


    Wyntor gestured to a chair in front of his desk.


    Nick felt a bit ufortable.

 Chapter 58 - 58 – Growth

    <h4>Chapter 58: ¨C Growth</h4>


    Nick nervously sat down.


    He knew that something was up since Wyntor was taking on a very distant and professional tone.


    "What''s up?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor took hold of the copy of the metal te Nick had made the day before and showed it to Nick. "This."


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "I know that yesterday was a special day and all since Jenny needed the money quickly, but you can''t just forge my signature. If I wanted to, I could sue you and get all of your money," Wyntor said.


    "But everything was correct, right?" Nick asked. "So, there are no issues."


    Wyntor slightly shook his head. "Yes, the amount was correct, but you went too far and meddled with my job. I never meddle with your job since it''s your job."


    "Nick, you cannot hand out money to people in the name of thepany. You do not have the right or the power to do that," Wyntor said with a serious voice.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Then, what should I have done? She needed the money."


    "Call me," Wyntor said. "I told you how you can reach me. Just call me. I would have arrived within 30 minutes and would have given her the money."


    Nick looked a bit ufortable. "You''ve worked for nearly 16 hours yesterday. I didn''t want to waste another hour of your time."


    "I get where you areing from," Wyntor said, "but you can''t just hand out money. If there is an emergency like the one yesterday, call me. It doesn''t matter what happened before that. If there is a genuine emergency, you always need to call me."


    Nick sighed. "Fine. I won''t meddle in your tasks anymore, Wyntor."


    Wyntor smiled and nodded. "Then, there are no issues, Nick."


    The next moment, Wyntor took out a metal te and handed it to Nick. "I will give Jenny her money at the same time as you. In general, I look at the revenue from yesterday and hand you two the money at about 2 p.m. When you''re both here."


    Nick nodded and took the metal te.


    He could see the number 1,800 on it.


    Since Nick produced seven grams of Zephyx, he got 1,400 credits for his own work, and since he was the Chief Zephyx Extractor, he also got 10% of what Jenny produced, which was another 400 credits.


    1,800 credits in a day.


    That was a lot, even for the people in the Outer City.


    Usually, people in the Outer City earned between 1,500 and 4,000 credits per month.


    Nick was making 1,800 per day.


    Sure enough, being a Zephyx Extractor was extremely lucrative.


    Nick took the metal te and pocketed it.


    "Everything going well with Jenny?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick nodded. "Nothing toin about."


    "Good," Wyntor answered with a smile.


    After some more small talk, Nick left Wyntor''s office and went to Horua.


    When Nick entered Horua''s room, he saw Pator cleaning up.


    After greeting each other, Pator told Nick about the next candidates.


    Nick told Pator to send them to his room in 30 minutes one by one, as always.


    30 minutester, a person walked into Nick''s room, and the two of them talked about many things over the next hour.


    Sadly, the candidate seemed quite fidgety and nervous, which meant that he most likely wasn''t a fit for the position of Zephyx Extractor.


    The second person wasn''t any better.


    The third person seemed a bit weird. Just to be careful, Nick refused them.


    After dealing with Horua again and eating some things, Nick went to wake up Jenny, and the two of them went home.


    This was how a normal day for Nick went.


    He woke up, worked with the Dreamer, talked a bit with Jenny, got his money, dealt with Horua, interviewed a couple of people, talked with Jenny again, dealt with Horua one more time, and went to sleep.


    One day.


    About two weekster, Nick finally found a third candidate.


    His name was Trevor, and he also came from the Dregs.


    Trevor seemed to be quite a confident individual who smirked a lot.


    He was pretty good at socializing and seemed to be the center of every gathering.


    Some people perceived him to be annoying, but others found him to be charming and amusing.


    When he met the Dreamer for the first time, he mostly smiled bitterly and cracked several jokes.


    Apparently, that was his method of coping with intense fear and stressful situations. He was justughing and trying to lighten the spirits of everyone.


    Luckily, Trevor managed to work with the Dreamer without issues, and eight hourster, he woke up with his new ability.


    Just like Jenny, Trevor could put people to sleep and observe part of their dreams.


    When Wyntor met Trevor, he thought that the Dreamer''s ability fit him very well.


    Jenny was very straightforward and honest, which meant that deception was not in her blood.


    However, Trevor was different.


    Trevor had a very loud and direct personality, and he was good at masking his intentions.


    If Wyntor ever needed some kind of secret agent, Trevor would be a much better fit than Jenny.


    From now on, Trevor would take the shift from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.


    This meant that the Dreamer''s output had reached its maximum potential.


    Per day, Nick produced seven grams of Zephyx, Jenny produced four grams of Zephyx, and Trevor produced five grams of Zephyx for a total of 16 grams of Zephyx.


    That meant Dark Dream was bringing in 16,000 credits per day!


    For one more month, everyone worked with the Dreamer.


    That was when Wyntor wanted to talk to Nick again.


    With the money now flowing in and the Dreamer being worked with at full efficiency, it was now time to expand.


    They needed a second Specter.


    Sadly, since thepany wasn''t earning enough to create a full team of Investigators, it was once more up to Nick to find the next Specter.


    But this time, it wouldn''t be as easy.


    At least, that was what Nick thought.

 Chapter 59 59 – Levels

    <h4>Chapter 59 Chapter 59 ¨C Levels</h4>


    "We currently have liquid funds of a bit over 400,000 credits. That means we can purchase another Containment Unit," Wyntor said as he sat in front of Nick in his office.


    "400,000 credits?" Nick asked. "I thought we only had something like 250,000 credits."


    "There are a couple of tricks that can increase the value of our Zephyx," Wyntor said. "My job is not only for show, after all. If I don''t do a good job, the money thates in doesn''t reach its full potential."


    Nick just nodded.


    Nick had never suspected that Wyntor wasn''t working.


    Even though Nick didn''t know what Wyntor was doing all day, he still trusted in him.


    There were probably many things that Wyntor was doing that Nick and his two employees didn''t even notice.


    "So, we can get a new Containment Unit and get a second Specter?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "I''ve been in talks with a manufacturer for Containment Units, and I managed to get quite a good deal. Under normal circumstances, the next level of Containment Unit costs about 1.5 million credits, but in exchange for exclusively buying their products, I managed to snag one of those for the price of a cheap one at around 450,000 credits."


    Nick''s eyes widened in surprise and wonder.


    As someone who had never worked in apany before, Wyntor''s work always seemed so nebulous to Nick.


    While Nick trusted that Wyntor was working, he had never really felt the impact.


    But now, Nick actually saw what impact Wyntor had on the business.


    The entire business had only brought in something like 250,000 credits of Zephyx for its savings ount.


    Yet, due to Wyntor, all of that increased to 400,000 credits.


    And now, Wyntor had essentially brought in another million credits in goods.


    Just by cleverly negotiating with some people, Wyntor had essentially brought in four times as much money as the remaining employeesbined!


    Naturally, without the employees, Wyntor wouldn''t be able to get that much money, but still, Wyntor was increasing the wealth of Dark Dream a lot!


    "The Containment Unit I am going to purchase has a light tunnel, which means we don''t need to light it with artificial light anymore," Wyntor exined. "Additionally, it can withstand Adolescent Specters, which should also secure our future with the Dreamer."


    "Due to the Dreamer''s rapid growth and since we constantly need to light its Containment Unit, I will put the Dreamer into the new Containment Unit. We can use its current Containment Unit for a new Specter."


    Nick nodded.


    Nick had noticed that the Dreamer''s output of Zephyx had increased a couple of days before.


    By now, Nick was producing ten grams of Zephyx, Jenny was producing six, and Trevor was producing eight.


    Since the Zephyx production for all employees increased at the same time, it meant that the reason for that was with the Specter.


    Nick hadn''t been sure what had happened, but Wyntor had known.


    The Dreamer was growing more powerful.


    Every Specter needed to feed to be stronger, and the Dreamer was no exception.


    Naturally, the Dreamer''s power increased by giving people nightmares, and by constantly working with it for two months, it had gotten a lot of food.


    ording to Wyntor''s calctions, the Dreamer had reached the Peak of the Hatchling Stage.


    In every stage, there were five levels.


    Initial, Early, Mid, Late, Peak.


    Each level had an increase of power of about 1.5 to the previous level.


    So, if an Initial Hatchling had a power of 1, an Early Hatchling would have 1.5, a Mid Hatchling would have about 2.3, a Late Hatchling would have about 3.4, and a Peak Hatchling would have about 5.


    This meant that a Peak Hatchling was about five times as powerful as an Initial Hatchling.


    Surprisingly, that was also about equal to Nick''s strength increase when his ability was activated.


    Whenever a Specter advanced a level, the power of its ability increased, as well as its physical strength.


    Back when Nick had caught the Dreamer, the Dreamer had been a Mid Hatchling, close to bing a Late Hatchling.


    This meant its physical power had been about 2.3 times stronger than the power of an Initial Hatchling.


    Based on the body and the type of Specter, an Initial Hatchling was about as strong as an average adult male or stronger.


    In the Dreamer''s case, it would have been about as strong as an average adult male since it was not a physical fighter.


    Naturally, without his ability, Nick''s power had also been about as strong as an average adult male, but he still counted as much stronger than average in the Dregs since everyone was malnourished.


    That had been why the Dreamer had been so much more powerful than Nick.


    But when Nick''s ability activated, he had been much more powerful than the Dreamer.


    Yet, if the Dreamer had been as powerful back then as it was now, Nick wouldn''t have been able to put up a fight.


    It would have simply torn Nick apart.


    Right now, the Dreamer was just as powerful as Nick had been when he had captured it with his ability active.


    However, one had to remember that Zephyx Extractors could also be more powerful.


    When the Dreamer produced Zephyx, Nick also absorbed part of the Zephyx, but it was important to note that Nick''s increase in power wasn''tpromising the Zephyx production.


    When a Zephyx Extractor worked with a Specter, both of them produced Zephyx, but only the Zephyx produced by the Specter would be harvested.


    The Zephyx produced by the Zephyx Extractor would never leave the Extractor''s body and would immediately get absorbed, increasing the Extractor''s power.


    In general, the Zephyx the Extractor produced was about 20% of what the Specter produced, but this ratio could vary.


    This meant if Nick made the Dreamer produce ten grams of Zephyx, Nick would gain about two grams of Zephyx for himself.


    Under normal circumstances, this would mean that the Dreamer would grow five times as quickly as Nick.


    However, one had to remember that the Containment Unit harvested 90% of the Zephyx, which meant that, from the ten grams produced, the Dreamer could only keep one gram.


    But then, one also had to keep in mind that three different people were working with the Dreamer for a total of about 24 grams of Zephyx every day.


    This meant, per day, the Dreamer was growing by about 2.4 grams of Zephyx, and Nick was growing by about two grams.


    Yet, due to the difference in level, Nick didn''t need as much Zephyx as the Dreamer to advance, which meant that he was growing quicker.


    So, what did this mean for Nick''s actual power?


    Well, just yesterday, Nick had managed to advance another level, and right now¡­


    Nick was at the Late First Stage.


    Or Late Newbie, if one used the unofficial denotion.

 Chapter 60 60 – Adolescent

    <h4>Chapter 60 Chapter 60 ¨C Adolescent</h4>


    In essence, this meant that Nick was about 3.4 times as powerful as he had been when he had caught the Dreamer.


    Since the Dreamer didn''t have an ability useful forbat, Nick could have probably caught the Dreamer even without his ability if he had been that powerful back then.


    But that didn''t mean that Specters were no longer dangerous.


    The physical bodies of the Specters were only a small part of their strength.


    The truly threatening and terrifying part was their ability.


    For example, due to his family, Wyntor had gained a very powerful ability from a Specter.


    The ability wasn''t very useful for capturing Specters, but it was incredibly useful for staying alive.


    The ability hade from the Specter called The Blinding Light.


    The Blinding Light was a level three Specter that looked like a floating ball of light.


    The Specter belonged to Kugelblitz, which was how Wyntor had been able to gain its ability.


    While The Blinding Light could theoretically smash into someone with its body, that was not why it was dangerous.


    Its true power was its ability to burn people.


    The Blinding Light could burn any living being in its vicinity¡­


    Unless they directly looked at it.


    However, if they directly looked at The Blinding Light, their eyes would burn away.


    In essence, one was exchanging their sight for survival.


    If one lost their eyes, they would be immune to the burning effect of The Blinding Light.


    This effectively meant that one had to fight The Blinding Light without eyes.


    If The Blinding Light were a Hatchling and if Nick had tried to catch it, things would have turned out very differently.


    The Blinding Light''s ability was actually useful forbat,pared to the Dreamer''s ability.


    Nick wouldn''t be sure how to capture The Blinding Light if it were a Hatchling, and he also wouldn''t be sure if he could survive.


    Luckily, the Dreamer didn''t have a useful ability forbat.


    When Wyntor told Nick about The Blinding Light, he also told him how much he hated it.


    Wyntor had its ability, and to gain its ability, Wyntor had needed to lose his eyes five times.


    He said that this had been the most painful experience of his life.


    Wyntor even told Nick that it usually wouldn''t take that many times to gain The Blinding Light''s ability.


    Usually, people only needed to have their eyes burned thrice.


    Some even got it after only two times.


    But Wyntor needed five times.


    Of course, Nick asked why, and Wyntor''s answer was pretty simple.


    "It means I''m not talented in producing Zephyx. It means I have no talent for bing a Zephyx Extractor."


    Naturally, being a Zephyx Extractor was one of the most prestigious professions in the world, and it was more than enough to be an heir to the Melfion family.


    Yet, since Wyntor had no talent, he had to go the administrative route and be an amazing businessman.


    But for that, he needed money, which was why they were now talking about getting a second Specter.


    "Don''t forget that, even though you''ve grown much more powerful, a Specter, even a Hatchling, can still prove to be your death," Wyntor said with a warning tone.


    "Naturally, I don''t expect you to go after an Adolescent Specter. The Dreamer will be an Adolescent Specter soon enough, and it will upy the new Containment Unit. This means we need another Hatchling."


    Nick nodded.


    "Anyway," Wyntor continued. "I followed up on Jenny''s clue regarding the Riker Strikers."


    "Oh?" Nick uttered, looking at Wyntor with interest.


    "I found out quite some interesting pieces of information," Wyntor said. "For example, the Riker Strikers have only appeared in the Dregs about five years ago."


    "Before that, there had been no Riker Strikers."


    Nick nodded. He remembered that no one had talked about the Riker Strikers back then, but they very quickly appeared.


    It was almost like they became extremely powerful overnight.


    Back then, Nick had barely been eleven years old, and he had been busy getting his own life on track, which was why he had barely noticed anything.


    "Their leader, Riker, had also seemingly appeared out of nowhere," Wyntor continued. "Well, seemingly. After a lot of digging, I actually found some sightings of him before he became the leader of the Riker Strikers."


    "Based on witness ounts, Riker was someone that worked for The Hub, and he epted basically every single dirty mission that gave a lot of money."


    "He mostly did assassinations, beating people up, extorting money, threatening people, and so on."


    "He amassed quite a bit of wealth for the Dregs'' standards."


    "Now, if this were everything, he wouldn''t seem strange, but there are two things that rubbed me the wrong way when I heard them," Wyntor said.


    Nick leaned forward with interest.


    "First," Wyntor said as he lifted his right index finger, "he didn''t always ept the job with the biggest paycheck."


    "Of course, under normal circumstances, that doesn''t seem strange. After all, jobs that pay very well often require you to do horrible things or very dangerous things."


    "But in his case, the opposite was true."


    "He didn''t actually aim for the best-paying jobs, but for the jobs that needed him tomit the most horrible acts."


    Nick''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "People just think that he went for the jobs with the biggest reward since those jobs were also the most horrifying ones, most of the time."


    "I understand that some people want a lot of money, but it is very strange that he specifically ignores money just so he canmit more horrible deeds," Wyntor said.


    Nick furrowed his brows and nodded. "Yes, that doesn''t seem normal."


    Wyntor also nodded. "The second thing is even more surprising."


    Wyntor leaned forward.


    "Not even a single merchant that sells food recalls ever selling food to Riker."


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    Now, that was very suspicious!


    "That means Jenny was right, right?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "Most likely."


    "I think Riker is a Specter."


    Nick became excited when he heard that.


    "Don''t get excited just yet," Wyntor said with a serious expression.


    Nick looked with a raised eyebrow at Wyntor.


    "Based on how long he has operated in the Dregs and how far his social power has grown, I''m quite certain of one thing."


    "Riker is not a Hatchling."


    "He''s an Adolescent."


    "That means we can''t go after him just yet."

 Chapter 61 61 – Ability Advancement

    <h4>Chapter 61 Chapter 61 ¨C Ability Advancement</h4>


    "An Adolescent?" Nick repeated.


    Wyntor nodded. "I am not entirely sure how he gains more power, but based on his behavior in the past, I would say that he bes stronger by causing others fear or by just doing horrible things. I''m not sure about the specifics."


    "Riker has been in the Dregs for quite a while, and by now, he has amassed a gang with over 50 members. He has probably caused an incredible amount of grief, which should have given him a lot of power. I doubt very much that he''s a Hatchling."


    Nick looked with worry at Wyntor. "Could he be an Adult Specter?" he asked.


    Wyntor shook his head. "Very unlikely. It takes a lot for a Specter to grow."


    "We have been feeding the Dreamer 24/7, and after months, it still only advanced by 1.5 levels. If we keep going at this rate, it will probably take three years or so to turn the Dreamer into an Adult Specter."


    "And that''s considering that we keep feeding him with powerful Zephyx Extractors. Nick, you have to keep in mind that something stronger also produces much more Zephyx. For example, if we keep sending in Newbie Extractors while the Dreamer is an Adolescent, it would take over 15 years for it to be an Adult."


    "While Riker has a great reach, a lot of his terror is spread over his gang, and I don''t think that suffering by proxy gives as much Zephyx as directly inflicting the suffering."


    "At most, Riker is a Late Adolescent, and I''m already very generous with that evaluation. Most likely, he''s an Early or Mid Adolescent," Wyntor exined.


    Nick just furrowed his brows. "And we don''t have a shot at taking him?"


    Wyntor shook his head. "Since the difference between Realms is a twofold increase in power and since Riker is most likely an Early Adolescent, his physical power would be about five times as much as you, and that''s only considering his physical power."


    "He most likely also has an ability that is very useful inbat, which would make it extremely difficult to deal with him. Even if you could keep your ability perpetually active, you would most likely lose."


    Nick could only sigh when he heard that.


    "So, we don''t go after Riker just yet," Nick said.


    "We don''t," Wyntor repeated.


    "But then what?" Nick asked. "We are out of ideas now."


    "That''s how all the Zephyx Manufacturers feel," Wyntor told Nick. "Getting the Specters is always the most difficult part."


    Nick could only sigh.


    "Guess that means that I have to go out and find a Specter again."


    "Sadly, yes," Wyntor said. "We are stillcking the funds to create a full team of Investigators."


    Nick sighed once again. "Okay," he said. "I''ll do my best and look for a Specter, but I''m honestly not sure where I can find one."


    Wyntor nodded. "This time, our survival isn''t dependent on your rapid sess. Even if you don''t find one immediately, we are still earning money with the Dreamer."


    "If there is a deadline, it will most likely be when you are about to be a level two Extractor, but that should still take a bit more than a year or two," Wyntor said.


    "You mean the Ability Advancement?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "I guess you''re right," Nick said. "I don''t think the Dreamer would advance my ability in a very useful or meaningful way."


    What made the advancements between Stages different from advancements between levels?


    Why was a Peak level one Zephyx Extractor bing an Initial level two Zephyx Extractor far more meaningful than an Initial level two Zephyx Extractor bing an Early level two Zephyx Extractor?


    Two reasons.


    First, the increase in power was twofold instead of 1.5-fold.


    But more importantly, the ability of the person also advanced.


    By absorbing Zephyx, the Extractor''s Zephyx Synchronizer would also be bigger, and eventually, it would be big enough to support a stronger ability.


    When one was ready to reach the next Stage, one''s Zephyx Synchronizer would regain the ability to synchronize with a Specter, but this new synchronization was different from the first one.


    During the initial synchronization, the Extractor''s Zephyx Synchronizer would try to fully copy the Specter''s ability.


    But during the second synchronization, the Zephyx Synchronizer wouldbine the new ability with the old one, creating a new one.


    For example, Wyntor had the ability of The Blinding Light, and if he were to advance by attuning his Zephyx Synchronizer with the Dreamer, Wyntor''s ability would transform.


    Maybe Wyntor''s light would also cause hallucinations?


    Maybe Wyntor''s light would make its targets tired?


    Maybe Wyntor would gain the ability to read the thoughts of his enemy while his ability was active?


    No matter what case were true, Wyntor''s initial ability would remain the dominant one, and the Dreamer''s ability would need to somehow fit into Wyntor''s initial ability.


    Naturally, there were verypatible abilities and very ipatible ones.


    For example, Wyntor''s ability and the Dreamer''s ability were notpatible at all.


    One of them dealt with bright light and very noticeable attacks, while the other one was a very covert ability that relied on the element of surprise.


    So, what if Nick used the Dreamer to advance his ability?


    Well, in a certain way, the Dreamer''s ability was quitepatible with Nick''s ability since both of them used the element of surprise.


    However, they differed very much in how they were used.


    Nick''s ability wanted to kill the enemy, while the Dreamer''s ability wanted to manipte or spy on them.


    Even more, both abilities would only be able to unleash their powers with the element of surprise but became useless after that.


    That was not what Nick wanted.


    The Ability Advancement was the best way to transform Nick''s ability into one that could be used more than once in a battle.


    And the Dreamer''s ability wouldn''t help Nick in achieving that.


    Because of that, Nick needed another Specter.


    And that was why the deadline for capturing the next Specter was Nick''s advancement to the second level, which would take one to two years.

 Chapter 62 62 – Competition

    <h4>Chapter 62 Chapter 62 ¨C Competition</h4>


    After talking with Wyntor for a bit more, Nick left the warehouse.


    Nick had already finished his session with the Dreamer today, and since he didn''t need to interview any new applicants, he decided to fully focus on finding the next Specter.


    However, that was easier said than done.


    Just like thest time, Nick had no idea where to find one.


    And this time, he probably wouldn''t get saved by an Inspector who wanted to help the general public.


    At least he had a lot of time.


    For the first time in quite a while, Nick returned to the Dregs.


    He hadn''t been here ever since he had gotten some food for Horua after Nick had caught the Dreamer.


    As Nick entered the Dregs, everyone threw nces at him.


    Naturally, Nick was required to wear his Zephyx Extractor uniform, which was why everyone was looking at him.


    The red and ck colors on the high-quality uniform made him stick out like a sore thumb among the poor denizens of the Dregs.


    "Did anything unnatural happentely?" Nick asked one of the people looking at him from the side of the road.


    The young man with ck hair just looked back at Nick with surprise.


    "You mean besides the appearance of a Zephyx Extractor?" the man asked. "No, not really."


    Nick nodded. "I belong to Dark Dream, a new Zephyx Manufacturer, and I have already dealt with a Specter that was living in the Dregs that was too troublesome for the other Manufacturers. Please, tell me if there is anything suspicious that the Inspectors told you not to worry about."


    The man blinked a couple of times in surprise and started to scratch the back of his head in thought.


    For about five seconds, he remained silent.


    "I don''t think I got anything of importance," the man said with an uncertain expression.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Are you sure? You don''t seem sure."


    The man looked a bit ufortable. "Well, there''s something, but I really don''t think it''s the doing of a Specter."


    Nick''s gaze became solemn. "Tell me."


    The man looked even more ufortable. "You sure?" he asked.


    "I''m sure," Nick said seriously.


    "Well," the man said.


    "I''ve had diarrhea for thest week, but I didn''t change my diet."


    Silence.


    "And?" Nick asked.


    "That''s it," the man said.


    Nick''s excitement vanished, and he just looked at the man with a deadpan expression.


    "Have you tried the rust lick?" Nick asked.


    The man scratched the back of his head.


    "Yeah, I think that might solve the issue. Thanks," he said.


    Nick released a sigh but nodded nevertheless.


    "If anything pops up, tell me," he said.


    "Of course!" the man answered.


    Nick just turned around and walked away.


    He wasn''t very bothered or angry.


    Back when he had been searching for the Dreamer, he had had conversations like this all the time.


    Life in the Dregs was horrendous, and many times, people just took a Specter''s doing as natural.


    A Specter''s actions were horrible, and the life in the Dregs was horrible.


    So, what was the difference?


    That was why people in the Dregs often overlooked signs of Specters.


    Since life was so shit here, people expected to have nightmares, which was why no one noticed the Dreamer.


    Since there were cruel criminals everywhere, people expected there to be horrible people, which was why no one noticed that Riker was most likely a Specter.


    The Specters perfectly blended into the Dregs, which was why it was so difficult to find them here.


    Sadly, the Outer City and Inner City werepletely free of Specters since all the powerful Manufacturers paid special attention to these ces.


    Whether he liked it or not, Nick needed to find a Specter in the Dregs.


    Nick kept talking to more people, but just like thest time, he found no clues.


    At least, this time, the Inspectors weren''t making fun of him.


    Instead, the Inspectors refused to talk to Nick besides superfluous and polite small talk.


    Nick now officially belonged to thepetition.


    Every two hours, Nick went back to the hotel to check up on Horua, but these were his only breaks.


    For the remaining time, Nick kept wandering through the Dregs while talking to people.


    When the day was over, Nick went to bed.


    The next day, he worked with the Dreamer again, talked to Wyntor a bit, and went back to searching.


    This was how the next week passed.


    For over a week, Nick had been searching for a clue, but he just couldn''t find one.


    By now, Nick had heard about all the mundane issues of the people, but none of them pointed towards a Specter.


    Another week passed.


    BANG!


    As Nick walked through the Dregs, he suddenly heard the sound of a loud explosion followed by the sound of something big copsing.


    Nick noticed that a big building in the distance had copsed, and he immediately charged into a small alley at the side.


    As soon as Nick entered the alley, his ability activated, and with one swift jump, Nicknded on top of a house.


    BANG!


    The metal below Nick''s feet bent as he charged forward with all of his power.


    Within 20 seconds, Nick reached the building.


    Yet, he didn''t like what he was seeing at this moment.


    Right now, there were three people standing in front of a big pile of metallic rubble.


    The person at the front was currently holding something in his hand that looked like a small worm with several tentacles growing from its mouth.


    Nick was 95% sure that this thing was a Specter.


    However, Nick was also sure that he wouldn''t get it.


    After all, the three people in front of the pile of rubble wore Zephyx Extractor uniforms.


    Nick could only sigh.


    "You''rete," the leader said, turning to Nick, who was still on the roof of a building.


    Nick was quite surprised that the Extractor had noticed him.


    "Good luck next time!" the leader said with augh.


    Then, he left with his two colleagues and the Specter.

 Chapter 63 63 – Sound

    <h4>Chapter 63 Chapter 63 ¨C Sound</h4>


    Nick sighed.


    ''That''s one less Specter I can catch,'' he thought.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t the only person searching for Specters in the Dregs, which made things that much more difficult for him.


    More days passed.


    Eventually, Nick found a clue.


    A small family told Nick that there were scary things happening in their house.


    From time to time, stuff moved around, and they even heard stuff shaking in other rooms.


    Some of them even imed that they heard voicesing from below them, which couldn''t be possible since the sewers were directly below them.


    Nick followed up on the clue and entered their house.


    After staying in their house for a while, Nick suddenly felt his ability deactivate, even though no one was in the room with him.


    But then, his ability activated again a couple of secondster.


    Nick furrowed his brows and took a step forward in the empty room.


    His ability deactivated again.


    Three secondster, it reactivated.


    Nick knew what that meant.


    ''Someone is hearing me but can''t see me,'' he thought.


    Since Nick''s ability deactivated if anyone sensed him, it also meant that it deactivated when someone heard him make a sound.


    At that moment, the person or Specter knew where Nick was since they knew where the sound came from.


    But if they didn''t see Nick and if Nick didn''t give off more sounds, they wouldn''t be able to perceive him again.


    After all, Nick could have already walked away from the spot where the sound had been made, making it uncertain for the listener whether he was there or not.


    ''They can hear me but not see me,'' Nick thought. ''This either means that the Specter is blind or that it is not inside the room.''


    Nick very silently took a step to the side.


    His ability didn''t deactivate.


    Then, Nick quietly opened a door.


    Usually, houses in the Dregs didn''t have any doors, but this one did.


    When Nick was slowly opening the door, his ability didn''t deactivate.


    ''That means the Specter is also not in that room,'' Nick thought, looking at the door he was opening.


    The next moment, Nick took a couple of normal steps.


    His ability deactivated again.


    Three secondster, it reactivated.


    After that, Nick silently crept over to another door and quietly opened it.


    His ability didn''t deactivate.


    ''Means it is also not in that room,'' Nick thought.


    Nick scratched his chin. ''These are the only two adjacent rooms.''


    The next moment, Nick grabbed an uneven spot on one of the metallic walls and pulled himself up.


    Ding. Ding.


    Nick quietly knocked on the ceiling of the room.


    His ability didn''t deactivate.


    Ding! Ding!


    Nick used some more power.


    His ability didn''t deactivate.


    DING!


    Now, it deactivated.


    ''Means the Specter is not above me as well. That knock was so loud that every adjacent room heard it,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick walked to one of the walls and quietly knocked at it.


    The same thing happened, and Nick''s ability only deactivated after a pretty strong knock.


    After that, Nick tried the other wall.


    Same thing.


    ''That only leaves one spot,'' Nick thought as he looked at the floor.


    Slowly, Nick went to his knees.


    And then, he quietly knocked on the floor.


    Ding.


    Nick''s ability immediately deactivated.


    Nick narrowed his eyes. ''In the sewers, huh?''


    The next moment, Nick went to the rusty wall again and climbed it a bit.


    After that, Nick put his feet on the wall and looked at the ground.


    His ability had be active again.


    BOOOOOM!


    Nick shot at the ground, and as soon as he hit it, the metallic tes broke apart.


    The rusty tes couldn''t possibly resist such a tremendous shockwave.


    As the entire floor copsed, Nick''s ability didn''t deactivate, surprisingly.


    Although, that was actually logical. After all, with sounds of copsing metal tesing from everywhere, no one could tell where Nick was just based on sound.


    As the floor was copsing, Nick rapidly took out a tube and destroyed it.


    WHOOOM!


    A bright domain of Arclight appeared, epassing the falling metallic tes.


    The dark sewer lit up, and Nick quickly found something that wasn''t supposed to be there.


    Just two meters below where the old floor had been was some kind of scaffolding made of pieces of rusty metal.


    And then, Nick saw something else.


    There was someone on the piece of scaffolding.


    It was a middle-aged man, and he was in the process of ducking, which was quite understandable since the ceiling above him had just exploded.


    BANG!


    One of Nick''s legs kicked one of the falling metal tes, shooting him towards the guy.


    CRACK!


    Nick''s elbow hit the guy''s chest and pushed him toward the scaffolding, which broke apart as well.


    When Nick''s elbow had hit the guy, he had felt many of his bones break, which told him one thing.


    ''That''s a human,'' Nick thought.


    Sure, Nick had shot at the guy with quite a bit of power, but a Specter wouldn''t get injured this heavily as long as it wasn''t an Initial Hatchling.


    Nick had just caused a genuinely life-threatening injury, which wouldn''t have happened if this were a Specter.


    Nick gritted his teeth in frustration.


    ''You idiot!'' Nick thought as he jumped away from the breaking scaffolding.


    The fact that Nick''s ability hadn''t deactivated meant that the guy was not able to perceive any other person right now.


    The guy probably couldn''t muster the mental capacity for proper spatial awareness after having his chest caved in, which meant that he didn''t know where Nick was.


    Nick grabbed one of the pieces of scaffolding that didn''t break and threw himself back into the room at the top.


    Not all the tes had copsed.


    As soon as Nicknded, he looked into the sewers.


    Ssh!


    Several metal tes fell into the sewers, as well as the guy.


    ''Yeah, that guy is not surviving,'' Nick thought.


    The next moment, Nick just snorted in annoyance.


    ''What the fuck were you even doing down there? There are enough houses for everyone! Why would you live below someone else''s house?!''


    Nick just kept looking into the sewers, which had calmed down by now.


    Ten seconds passed.


    ''Guess he lost consciousness.''


    ''I am not a fan of killing people, but I''m not going to mourn a dumbfuck like that.''

 Chapter 64 64 – Profiting?

    <h4>Chapter 64 Chapter 64 ¨C Profiting?</h4>


    ''Why was he even here? Like, did he live here?'' Nick thought.


    ''Probably not. That scaffolding was quite rickety and not very big.''


    ''But then, what the fuck was that guy doing below this house?''


    ''I mean, the tenants said that spooky things were happening in their house, which was most likely his doing.''


    ''But why? I mean, did he do it on purpose? Based on what the tenants said, it had to have been on purpose.''


    ''This means this guy was down here for a reason, and I don''t think it''s a very honest and nice one.''


    In the end, Nick could only sigh.


    ''I guess the answer died with him.''


    Ssh, ssh, ssh.


    The next moment, Nick saw and heard several things entering the water.


    Nick raised an eyebrow when he saw a couple of rats swimming towards the ce where the guy had fallen into the sewers.


    "Thanks, Nick!"


    Nick moved his head over the edge and looked at where the voice hade from.


    A rat was clinging to the ceiling, looking at him from about two meters away.


    "Nine more of those, and I''ll tell you where you can find a weak Specter," the rat said with a smirk.


    Nick furrowed his brows and didn''t answer.


    "Oh,e on," the rat said. "You''ve killed for less."


    A memory shot through Nick''s mind, and an annoyed expression appeared on his face.


    Under normal circumstances, Nick would say that he would never consider the Parasite''s offer.


    However, he had been searching for a Specter for three weeks now, and thetest clue had turned out to be just some random dude.


    Nick was quite frustrated and annoyed.


    For about ten seconds, he didn''t say anything.


    Meanwhile, the color of the sewers below Nick had turned a bit redder.


    "I''ll consider it," Nick said.


    "Great!" the rat said, excitedly pping its little hands while keeping itself clinging to the ceiling with its hindlegs. "I''m looking forward to it! Just throw them in the sewers!"


    Nick snorted.


    "Why was that guy even here?" Nick asked.


    "He was a stalker," the rat said.


    "A stalker?" Nick repeated.


    "Yep. He kept rambling on and on about the love of his life and how he would make everyone leave the house so that he could be with her," the rat said. "Total nutjob."


    "Huh," Nick uttered in something that was and wasn''t surprise at the same time.


    The next moment, Nick pulled his head out of the sewers again and stood up.


    Nick exited the room and walked out of the house.


    After exiting, Nick saw two people waiting for him.


    One of them was a middle-aged man, and the other was a 14-year-old girl.


    The man was quite muscr and burly, and based on the things he was wearing, Nick could tell that he was someone working for the Peddlers, one of the four big gangs.


    Those two were the inhabitants of the house.


    Nick''s eyes fell on the young girl.


    ''I guess that was his target,'' Nick thought.


    The next moment, Nick looked at the man. ''And with her father present, the stalker didn''t dare to directly do anything to her.''


    ''Guess killing someone isn''t always bad.''


    The burly man quickly came up to Nick with a nervous and scared expression.


    Surprisingly, his daughter didn''t seem as anxious as her father.


    "We just heard a loud bang!" the father said. "Did you find the Specter?"


    "Daddy, it''s not a Specter," the daughter said with a groan. "If it were, we would already be dead."


    "Let daddy talk with the Extractor, honey," the father said as he lightly patted his daughter''s head.


    The daughter just snorted and looked to the side, but she didn''t escape from her father''s head pats.


    "So?" the father asked, looking at Nick.


    "It was a guy," Nick said.


    "A guy?" the father repeated in shock.


    "Told you it wasn''t a Specter," the daughter said with a prideful smirk.


    Nick nodded. "Some guy built some kind of scaffolding in the sewers below your house. When I knew that someone or something was below your house, I broke through your floor and found him."


    Many memories shot through the father''s mind, and his fear and anxiety were very quickly reced with pure rage.


    Some random guy was living below his house and causing him so much worry?!


    "Where is he?" the father asked with a dark tone.


    "His scaffolding broke, and he fell into the sewers," Nick said. "The Parasite quickly took care of him."


    The man snorted with aggression. "Lucky bastard," he grumbled.


    "Anyway, I have to thank you, sir," the man said with a respectful tone. "Without you, I would have probably lost my home."


    Nick nodded with a neutral expression. "If you ever find any information regarding any possible Specters, please contact us. If you actually find one, you will have helped us far more than I have helped you today."


    "Of course," the man said, hitting his chest once to emphasize that he was serious. "I will tell my men to keep an eye out!"


    Nick nodded again. "Good. By the way, you should fix the floor in one of your living rooms."


    "That''s not a problem, sir," the man said with augh. "Thank you again."


    The next moment, the man pushed his daughter forward a bit. "Say thanks to the nice man, honey."


    The girl furrowed her brows, but her expression quickly turned into a friendly smile before politely bowing to Nick. "Thank you so much, sir!"


    Nick nodded onest time and walked away.


    Some secondster, Nick just sighed.


    ''And the search continues,'' he thought with annoyance.


    ''Three weeks.''


    ''Three fucking weeks.''


    ''How long until I can finally get some clues for a Specter?!''


    As Nick walked, his short conversation with the Parasite shot through his mind.


    Nick walked in silence.


    ''Nine more corpses, huh?''


    Nick looked at the sky with a thoughtful expression.


    ''Is it really that bad?''


    ''I mean, there are plenty of people that deserve to die, right?''


    ''Is it so bad that I profit from these deaths?''


    Nick wasn''t sure.

 Chapter 65 65 – So Difficult

    <h4>Chapter 65 Chapter 65 ¨C So Difficult</h4>


    Another two weeks passed.


    By now, Nick had been searching for a Specter for around six weeks.


    And still, he had not gotten a single clue.


    There had been a couple of leads, but none of them actually led to a real Specter.


    It was always just humans.


    ''Sure enough, thest time I was lucky,'' Nick thought with a sigh while taking a break in the marketce.


    ''Even more, there was this second group of Extractors that found a Specter in the Dregs.''


    ''I feel like the other Manufacturers find so many more Specters than me.''


    ''Although, I get it. They have Investigators, while we don''t have anything.''


    ''How are we supposed to keep up with that? In fact, I didn''t even find the Specter myselfst time. An Inspector actually told me about the Dreamer.''


    ''Can I even find any Specter on my own?''


    Nick sighed again.


    ''Six weeks with no leads.''


    Nick looked at the people that were passing by him.


    By now, the people no longer avoided him.


    They had grown used to Nick''s presence.


    ''At least I''ve gotten plenty of experience in how to find Specters.''


    ''I know which clues will most likely not produce any result, and I know how to get people to talk.''


    ''On top of that, I learned a lot about what other people in the Dregs do when nobody''s around, and I even learned how the gangs operate internally.''


    ''If there were any clues, I would probably be able to get them.''


    Nick sighed once more.


    ''However, barely a day passes before one of the Inspectors already finds the clue, and with their manpower, they can get to the bottom of the clue in no time.''


    ''All the Inspectors meet every day and gather their relevant information, making it much easier to create a full image of the Dregs.''


    ''Meanwhile, I can only look at a small part of the Dregs every day since I am alone.''


    ''I really need a team of Inspectors.''


    Nick just kept thinking about his current situation in frustration and hopelessness.


    He had no idea how to get another Specter.


    "Stop! Please!"


    Nick''s eyes slowly moved to the marketce.


    "You don''t want to have some fun? Come on, don''t be such a prude."


    "No, go away! Please! You can have my money!"


    "You can keep your money. I want something else."


    Nick just sighed.


    Another rape.


    In the Outer City, sexual assault was illegal, but nobody really cared about this in the Dregs.


    In a certain way, it might even secretly be encouraged since it produced more children, which produced more blood for Kugelblitz.


    Of course, nobody actually said that it was encouraged, but the absence of prosecutions for rapists still counted as a statement from the city.


    Rapes happened almost every day.


    It was a verymon sight in the Dregs.


    Everyone had gotten used to them, and the people just avoided the situation in the center of the marketce.


    Right now, a younger woman was being beset by two guys. One of the guys was holding the woman''s shoulder while the other one was grabbing his dick through his pants with a smirk.


    Nick had witnessed quite a lot of these events.


    "Stop! This is myst warning! I will bite your dick off!" the woman shouted as the guy was unbuttoning his pants.


    "Oh, we got a feisty one, eh?" the other guy said, his pants apparently having gotten a bit tighter around the waist.


    "Do you dare?" the first guy said as he pulled the woman''s head down. "If you make me bleed, you will lose two liters of your blood. Can you afford that?"


    The woman wrestled against her captors'' hands, but she wasn''t strong enough.


    "You already look anemic," the other guy said, slowly moving his finger across the woman''s very white skin.


    "If you lose another two liters of blood, you will most likely die. Are you so against having a bit of fun with us? We are even willing to pay you five credits each."


    The woman gritted her teeth in anger, frustration, hatred, and helplessness.


    The people in the marketce avoided her.


    If these two men were just random people, some of the others might have gotten involved.


    However, these two guys had the insignia of the Riker Strikers.


    While some of the bystanders were willing to put themselves in a bit of danger for their morals, they were not willing tomit suicide for them.


    After a bit more persuasion, the sexual assaultmenced.


    Nick had grown so cold and apathetic to these events that he just absentmindedly watched the woman''s head bop back and forth on the guy''s crotch in the middle of the marketce.


    As Nick watched, a memory shot through his mind.


    He remembered his conversation with that one Investigator who told Nick about the Dreamer.


    Back then, Nick had been furious with the Zephyx Manufacturer because they didn''t do anything against the Dreamer, even though they had the power and knew about it.


    They were willing to just sit by and let the people suffer.


    Nick had been absolutely furious with them back then.


    Wasn''t he doing something very simr just now?


    ''I have the power to stop this,'' Nick thought, watching the crying woman.


    ''But would that change anything? They are the Riker Strikers, and they are known for going against absolutely everyone that resists them.''


    ''Sure, I don''t need to fear them, but that just means that they will focus their anger all on that girl.''


    ''At that point, they will probably steal all her belongings and rape her a couple more times before dooming her to die during the next tax day.''


    ''Intervening now would only make things worse for her.''


    ''If I am going to interfere, her life is my responsibility since I would have indirectly killed her.''


    The next moment, Nick looked at the guy who was pushing his cock into the crying girl''s face.


    ''And if I kill them, I have to pay 5,000 credits per person. Sure, they wouldn''t seek revenge on the girl anymore, but 5,000 credits is still a lot.''


    ''I would have lost 10,000 credits just to save someone I don''t even know.''


    ''Even more, I wouldn''t even get to keep the corpses, or I would need to pay another 10,000 credits per person, which means I also can''t give them to the Parasite.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''Why is being a good guy so difficult?''

 Chapter 66 66 – Exchange

    <h4>Chapter 66 Chapter 66 ¨C Exchange</h4>


    Nick kept watching the event in the middle of the marketce.


    Usually, Nick didn''t like watching something like this, but since Nick''s current moral dilemma was rted to this event, he just kept absentmindedly watching.


    One of the two guys had noticed that Nick kept watching like a creep and became a bit embarrassed.


    ''Is he a voyeur?'' the guy that was currently in the process of having intercourse in public thought.


    Usually, one of them would charge at Nick and kick him a couple of times, but Nick''s uniform stopped these thoughts from even urring.


    Zephyx Extractors were the absolutely worst people one could attack.


    Not only did they have an incredibly high status, but they could also tear humans apart like paper.


    ''30,000 credits if I want to keep the two corpses,'' Nick thought as he looked at the two men.


    The guy on the side felt a cold shudder go down his neck as his dick became limp. ''Don''t tell me that guy is gay!''


    Nick just kept looking, deep in thought.


    ''Nine corpses woulde to 135,000 credits,'' Nick thought.


    ''For 135,000 credits, I can find the location of a Specter immediately.''


    ''That''s all I have to pay.''


    Nick didn''t even see killing these two men as part of the deal since that didn''t have any relevance to him.


    Sure, Nick wasn''t a big fan of killing, but if Nick really didn''t like someone, that someone lost all their value in Nick''s eyes.


    He had seen too much shit in the Dregs to care about these people.


    "Ah, there we go!" the other guy shouted with a satisfied voice as he pulled himself out of the girl''s mouth.


    By now, the girl was full-on crying and fell backward with closed eyes.


    "I think this isn''t her first time," the guy said to his friend. "She''s surprisingly good at this. She does this amazing thing with her tongue-"


    "Yeah, I''m not interested," the other guy said as he looked at Nick with a concerned expression. "I''m not in the mood."


    "Not in the mood?" the first guy asked in surprise. "But you said you are into this sort of thing. I made you my rape buddy exactly because you were so into this shit. Don''t tell me you''ve gotten soft."


    The other guy snorted. "I got soft, but not in that department," the guy said.


    The next moment, he gestured to Nick with a movement of his head. "He''s watching, and it kind of ruined the mood for me."


    The first guy looked at Nick, and when he saw Nick''s uniform, he also became a bit concerned.


    "Why does he keep looking at us?" he asked quietly.


    "I don''t know," the other guy answered.


    "Think he''s gay?"


    "No idea, dude."


    "How long has he been looking?"


    "Since the start."


    The guy felt himself be a bit red in the face when he thought that a Zephyx Extractor had been watching him rape a girl.


    He didn''t mind the other people since he was very much into being perceived as powerful.


    When these weak people watched him without doing anything, he felt like he was establishing his dominance over all of the Dregs.


    But when it was a Zephyx Extractor, things were very different since he knew very well that he couldn''t possiblypete with one of those.


    Because of that, he became quite a bit embarrassed.


    "I get it," the guy said, understanding why the other one wasn''t in the mood.


    "Give me my money."


    The two of them looked at the crying girl.


    By now, she had opened her eyes, and she was ring with hatred at the guy that had just raped her.


    When the guy saw the girl''s aggressive expression, he became a bit angry and annoyed.


    He didn''t like it when his prey bit back.


    Nevertheless, he took out five credits and threw them at the girl without saying anything.


    To the two of them, it was important to keep the good prey alive so that they could be reused, which was why they were paying them.


    At least the really good ones.


    The bad ones didn''t get paid.


    The next moment, the two of them walked away from the marketce.


    Nick just kept sitting at the side of the marketce, still thinking about his options.


    ''How much longer? How much longer do I have to search for a Specter?''


    ''Also, just because I can''t go against Riker himself yet doesn''t mean that I can''t get rid of some of his people. After all, I''m a Zephyx Extractor, and Riker won''t risk exposing himself by trying to take revenge on me.''


    ''The death of a Zephyx Extractor is a huge deal.''


    ''In a way, I can make the Dregs a better ce while also profiting from it.''


    ''135,000 credits in exchange for the location of a Specter and a better world.''


    Nick nodded and stood up.


    Then, he left the marketce and walked towards the Outer City.


    For the next hour, Nick talked to Wyntor inside his office.


    Some hourster, Nick went to sleep.


    When he woke up, he dealt with Horua and worked with the Dreamer.


    After that, Nick left Dark Dream and entered a station where the guards of Crimson Fungus City worked.


    It was a ck building with a huge symbol of Crimson Fungus City on it.


    As soon as he entered, the guards turned to Nick, and when they saw his uniform, they became interested.


    One of the officers walked over to Nick. "Wee! Is there anything we can help you with?"


    Nick nodded.


    "My Zephyx Manufacturer requires some specific corpses from the Dregs. I will be the one doing the killing and collecting. You just need to officiate the proceedings and help me transport the corpses," Nick said.


    Surprisingly, the guard just smiled politely.


    He wasn''t surprised or shocked at all.


    "Of course," the officer said. "Please, leave yourpany''s card here for reference."


    Nick nodded and took out Dark Dream''s official bank card.


    The officer smiled politely, put the card away, and called a team of three guards.


    Two of the guards came over to Nick and introduced themselves politely, while thest one walked to the back.


    Some secondster, the guy came back out, pulling a hearse.


    "Where to?" the guy asked.


    "The Dregs," Nick answered.

 Chapter 67 67 – Scary

    <h4>Chapter 67 Chapter 67 ¨C Scary</h4>


    Nick walked towards the Dregs while three of the guards kept following him.


    Two of the guards were rather tall and wore ck uniforms, simr to the uniforms of the tax collectors, but without the gas masks.


    The entire gas mask thing for the tax collectors mainly existed to keep their identities secret and so that they didn''t need to smell the disgusting Dregs.


    Normal guards didn''t wear gas masks.


    But right now, they wish they did.


    As soon as they walked into the Dregs, the faces of the two guards behind Nick scrunched up while the third guard far behind them just sneered in disgust.


    The Outer City had a solid wall of metal between itself and the sewers, but the Dregs were mostly built on rusty grates.


    One could imagine how bad it smelled to walk over something like the sewers of Crimson Fungus City.


    As soon as they entered, the eyes of the people opened widely in horror.


    If there were simply a couple of guards with a Zephyx Extractor, they wouldn''t care.


    However, the hearse was what scared them.


    The people immediately scattered, not even entering the houses but just running as far away as possible.


    The guards just casually watched the people scatter.


    The Zephyx Extractor had said that he would be the one creating the corpses.


    "Want us to stop them?" one of the guards asked as a formality.


    "No," Nick answered neutrally.


    "As you wish," the guard answered before bing quiet again.


    As Nick walked through the Dregs, he felt strange.


    At this moment, he no longer felt like a member of the Dregs.


    In fact, he felt like one of the tax collectors.


    For some reason, Nick felt like he was not looking at humans running from him but at animals.


    This feeling scared him.


    He felt like he was losing something important, and he quickly shook his head.


    ''Stop thinking about these things!'' Nick thought with frustration. ''You''re about to make this a better ce! You''re about to take care of some people from the Riker Strikers!''


    ''The people are running from you only because they don''t trust you and don''t know if you will kill them! If they knew what you were doing, they would look at you with thankful eyes.''


    However, it wasn''t easy to get rid of this strange feeling.


    Even though Nick knew that what he was doing was for the good of the Dregs, he still felt like some kind of monster.


    Eventually, the four of them reached the marketce.


    It was empty.


    Naturally, everyone had already heard about the group of peopleing, and they had already scattered like roaches.


    It didn''t matter what power one had in the Dregs.


    Children, adults, merchants, rapists, murderers, gang members, or whatever.


    Everyone was equally helpless when the guards or Zephyx Extractors came.


    Nick led the three guards past the marketce into a rtively small alleyway.


    The alleyway was so small that the hearse didn''t even fit into it.


    "You can leave it here," Nick said, turning to the guy pulling the hearse.


    The guard just nodded and waited at the entrance of the alleyway with his hearse.


    A momentter, he took out a small azure bottle.


    "Really, Johnny?" one of the guards asked with annoyance. "We''re working right now!"


    The guard gritted his teeth and put the bottle into his pockets again. "Sorry, boss."


    "Johnny, you really need to keep this addiction under control. I don''t want your performance to suffer."


    "Don''t worry, boss. I know. Sorry," the guard said.


    The other guard sighed and turned to Nick. "Sorry for this."


    "It''s fine," Nick said as he led the two guards deeper into the alleyway.


    When they were gone, Johnny took out the azure bottle again and unplugged it.


    The next moment, he bit down on a part of his lower lip so hard that it started bleeding.


    Then, he put one of his fingers into the bottle and carefully took out some blue dust, which he then ced on the bleeding part of his lip.


    His body started to shake in ce, and a pained expression appeared on Johnny''s face.


    Yet, there was also deep happiness visible on his face.


    A minuteter, he stopped shaking.


    CRKSH!


    He bit his lip again and put another bit of blue dust on it.


    Meanwhile, Nick led the two guards behind him to an unnoticeable wall of a seemingly random building.


    Nick pushed on it a bit, but it didn''t move.


    This was the entrance to the Riker Striker''s headquarters.


    Naturally, after gathering information in the Dregs for over six weeks, Nick had learned where the headquarters of all the different gangs were.


    ''Locked,'' Nick thought emotionlessly.


    "Step back," Nick said.


    The two guards took a couple of steps back.


    "Turn around. I don''t want to show you my ability," Nick added.


    The two guards looked at each other but turned around after.


    There was no reason for Nick to kill them.


    After staying silent for a couple of seconds, Nick felt his ability activate.


    Since Nick was a Late Newbie, his body was about 3.4 times as powerful as the average human male, and with his ability active, it was around 17 times as powerful.


    If he wanted, Nick could lift a stone that weighed over a ton over his head.


    But instead, Nick grabbed the side of the te and pulled with all his power.


    CRRRRK!


    The screws and nails exploded off the te, and the te was thrown to the side.


    The sound was extremely violent and loud, and when the guards heard it, their entire bodies jerked in shock.


    It sounded like something huge had just broken through a metallic wall!


    The two of them quickly turned around, but they just saw Nick standing in front of an open corridor.


    When the two of them saw the many small holes in the wall and the bent metallic te on the side, they took deep breaths through their teeth.


    They couldn''t do something like that!


    Even though they were guards, they were still just humans.


    Once more, they were reminded of how scary Zephyx Extractors were.

 Chapter 68 68 – Creating Corpses

    <h4>Chapter 68 Chapter 68 ¨C Creating Corpses</h4>


    Nick just gestured towards the open corridor with his head and entered.


    The two guards took another deep breath and followed him.


    Luckily, the Zephyx Extractor was not their enemy.


    Shortly after entering, two tall men walked out of one of the doors at the side of the corridor.


    Based on theirck of clothing, Nick could tell that they had probably been asleep until now.


    "What the f-"


    BANG!


    Before the first guy could finish speaking, Nick casually extended his hand to his face and shoved his head into the metallic wall.


    CRACK!


    The loud sound of something hard cracking echoed throughout the corridor, and the other guy''s eyes widened in terror.


    He immediately took out a long metallic pipe and lifted it in front of him in terror.


    Nick quickly arrived in front of him and grabbed the pipe.


    The man felt like a giant was pushing the pipe to the side.


    The next moment, Nick grabbed the guy''s shoulder and shoved him to the ground.


    The man couldn''t even resist.


    The man was quite big and powerful by the Dregs'' standards, which meant he was about 85 kilos with a low body fat percentage.


    That put him at a bit above average for normal human standards.


    And Nick?


    Well, if one were to use the guy as a reference, Nick would be a man weighing about 240 kilos with a low body fat percentage.


    That was an amount of muscle that nearly no normal human had ever aplished in their life.


    Maybe after a lifetime of brutal training while being over 210 centimeters tall.


    And yet, all of that power was condensed into a frame that was barely 175 centimeters tall.


    Without thinking much about it, being 3.4 times as powerful as an average man didn''t seem that impressive, but when put into actual numbers, it was actually a terrifying amount of power.


    As soon as the man was pushed to the ground, Nick grabbed the man''s head and twisted it until he heard several violent cracks.


    Nick wasn''t used to killing people, but he knew that he just needed to create enough cracks at important ces to kill someone.


    Nick grabbed one of the guys and casually threw the body towards the entrance.


    The two guards sidestepped the body as they looked at it with lifted eyebrows.


    "Keep an eye on them," Nick said.


    "Eh¡­ sure," one of them said absentmindedly as he kept looking at the body beside his feet.


    Nick nodded and went into one of the rooms where one of the guys hade out.


    Inside, Nick saw a couple of bunk beds.


    On one of the beds, Nick saw a guy rubbing his head in annoyance before looking towards the door.


    Nick walked towards the bunk bed as the eyes of the guy followed him in confusion.


    With a jump, Nick jumped on top of the bunk bed, his two hands surrounding the guy''s neck.


    Then, Nick squeezed.


    Nick felt several pops with his hands as the man''s expression became terrified.


    The man''s hands and feet tried to punch and kick Nick, but the man felt like he was hitting a wall.


    In ast-ditch effort, the man tried to reach for Nick''s eyes, but Nick just moved his head out of the way until the guy went limp.


    Just to make sure, Nick twisted the head of the guy until there was nearly no resistance anymore.


    Killing someone wasn''t difficult if one had a lot of physical strength.


    Then, Nick heard some moring and saw someone jump out of one of the beds, bolting for the door.


    BANG!


    The bunkbed Nick was kneeling on exploded as he shot toward the person.


    The man barely managed to get out of the door before Nick managed to grab his arm, at which point the guy was pulled back into the room.


    Again, Nick just bent the guy''s head until it lost its connection to the neck.


    Since there was no one else running away, Nick threw the two bodies to the entrance under the interested gazes of the two guards.


    Next, Nick went back into the room and looked at it more closely.


    "NO PLEASE!"


    BANG!


    When Nick opened one of the closets, he found a man cowering and screaming in it.


    A kick to the face silenced him quickly.


    To make sure, Nick cracked the neck of the guy a bit.


    That had been thest person in the room.


    After throwing that corpse onto the other corpses, Nick entered another room.


    This room also had three bunkbeds, but Nick saw nobody in them.


    He looked around a bit and didn''t see any other exit out of the room.


    CRACK!


    Nick closed the door and bent the door hinge until the door couldn''t be opened anymore.


    Then, he began to search the room.


    "AAAAAAHHHH!"


    He found a guy under a bed.


    A kick and a crack silenced him.


    When Nick opened one of the closets again, he saw a terrified man cowering on the ground.


    Surprisingly, the man neither moved nor screamed.


    He was just looking at Nick with widely opened eyes.


    Nick slowly moved his hand towards the guy''s head as he watched Nick in terror.


    BANG!


    After ramming the guy''s head on the side of the closet, Nick separated the neck from its skull again to make sure.


    A minuteter, Nick finished looking through the room.


    There was nobody else.


    But then, Nick furrowed his brows.


    Right now, Nick silently stood in the middle of the room.


    Yet, his ability hadn''t reactivated.


    Nick moved around the room a bit and stopped for three seconds at seemingly random locations.


    Sometimes, Nick''s ability reactivated before deactivating again.


    Eventually, Nick looked up.


    There was a rusty grate above him.


    Nick jumped up, grabbed the grate, and pulled it out of the ceiling.


    Immediately, Nick heard frantic soundsing from above him.


    When Nick''s head entered the new hole in the ceiling, he saw a guy trying to crawl away in some kind of venttion shaft.


    After going into the shaft, Nick grabbed the man''s feet and pulled him back.


    "AAAAHHHH! HELP ME!"


    The man''s nails broke off as he desperately tried to stop himself from getting pulled backward, leaving bloody lines on the walls.


    Some secondster, the door to the room exploded, and Nick threw the corpses into the corridor.


    The guards looked at the corpses with neutral expressions and pulled them to the other ones.


    "I need one more," Nick said neutrally before going deeper into the hideout.

 Chapter 69 69 – Right Thing

    <h4>Chapter 69 Chapter 69 ¨C Right Thing</h4>


    A minuteter, the body of a young man was thrown onto the corpse pile by Nick.


    "Alright, I''m done," Nick said as he released a sigh.


    The leading guard nodded. "You want to keep the corpses, right?" he asked.


    Nick wordlessly nodded.


    "Alright, we''ll put them on the hearse and calcte the price back in the outpost," he said.


    Nick nodded again as he walked past them.


    When Nick exited the corridor, he looked back.


    He saw one of the guards putting one of the corpses on the shoulders of the other guard, but Nick wasn''t consciously taking note of that.


    Right now, Nick''s thoughts werepletely elsewhere.


    ''I did the right thing, right?'' Nick thought.


    ''The Riker Strikers are a horrible gang that rape and kill people all the time without contributing anything.''


    ''The Hub brings a lot of jobs and keeps the gangs in check.''


    ''The Peddlers are the reason why there are so many people in the Dregs in the first ce since they bring in a huge portion of the food.''


    ''The Insurance Gang gives people a way to protect their belongings from others.''


    ''All of them contribute to the Dregs.''


    ''But the Riker Strikers don''t contribute anything.''


    ''They just steal, rob, rape, and murder.''


    At that moment, one of the guards walked past Nick with one of the corpses on his shoulders.


    Nick didn''t look at the corpse, but he felt like the corpse was looking at him with its widely opened and dead eyes.


    Nick''s mind reyed the things he had seen inside the corridor.


    Screaming people.


    Terrified people.


    And yet, Nick only felt like he had gotten rid of some pests.


    They obviously were people, but Nick only viewed them as roaches or rats.


    In a way, these "people" were even worse than rats and roaches since those could actually be eaten.


    Nick felt like he was supposed to feel more.


    They were still humans, right?


    Wasn''t he supposed to feel something while killing humans?


    At that point, Nick was reminded of the first time he had killed someone.


    When Nick was just 13, he had been close to starving, and due to sheer luck, he somehow managed to kill a rat.


    When Nick had just taken his first bite, a gruff and tall woman pushed him away and grabbed the rat.


    At that moment, Nick had been filled with panic, and he had used all his power to push the woman when she had turned her back to him.


    Surprisingly, the woman had been sent flying, and shended on a very rusty grate, which broke.


    A momentter, she screamed in terror as she fell into the sewers.


    The young Nick just looked with terror at the hole in the ground.


    He didn''t dare to look into it.


    He only heard the sounds of many smaller things also falling into the water and the woman''s screams bing shriller and hoarser.


    Soon, the screams vanished, and a minuteter, a rat walked out of the hole.


    "Thanks," the rat said with a smirk as it stopped in front of Nick. "You can have this body as a reward. If you ever need food, you can just throw another person into the sewers."


    And then, the rat just copsed.


    The following days had been the most horrible of Nick''s life.


    Sleeping had be extremely difficult.


    Eating had be difficult.


    Working had be difficult.


    Living had be difficult.


    Nick had been haunted by his memories of that day for weeks.


    Yet, in a certain way, the memories had helped him.


    Nick had feared confronting the memories so much that he had be active during every waking moment.


    He feared the silence that allowed him to think and did everything to avoid it.


    This resulted in Nick''s body bing stronger and in him getting more money by working more.


    And eventually, Nick had learned to live with everything.


    Finally, when Nick had finished his third assassination mission from the Hub, he had made his peace with that event.


    Nick had never been a fan of killing, but he needed money to survive and to build a future, which was why he had epted these missions.


    It was something that he simply had to do and get through.


    Beggars literally couldn''t be choosers.


    "Sir, we''re done."


    Nick was pulled out of his memories as one of the guards called him.


    He turned to the entrance of the alleyway and saw the hearsepletely filled.


    The next moment, Nick threw onest nce at the entrance of the corridor.


    ''I did the right thing,'' he told himself in his mind.


    After shaking his head to regain his bearings, Nick went to the hearse.


    "Let''s return," he said.


    "Of course, sir," the leading guard said.


    By now, the second guard had joined the third guard in pulling the hearse since it had be quite a bit heavier.


    The four of them traveled through the Dregs in absolute silence.


    They didn''t speak, and nothing in their vicinity made any noise.


    It was almost like they were traveling through a ruin.


    Eventually, they entered the Outer City.


    More people appeared on the streets, but when they saw the hearse, they just held their noses and avoided walking near the hearse.


    A couple minutester, the four of them arrived at the outpost of the guards.


    The hearse was parked outside the entrance while the four of them entered.


    Nick was led into a separate office, and the leading guard took out several sheets of paper.


    After reading all the sheets of paper and exining them to Nick, the guard gave Nick a couple of them to sign.


    Nick signed all of them, and the guard put them away.


    "And that''s all. Thank you, sir," the guard said with a polite smile.


    Nick nodded and stood up. "Thank you as well."


    "No thanks necessary. Just doing my job."


    Nick nodded again and left the office.


    "Please, bring back the hearse by tomorrow," the leading guard shouted before Nick closed the door.


    After exiting the outpost, Nick looked at the hearse filled with bodies.


    Some secondster, he wordlessly took hold of the hearse and began to pull.

 Chapter 70 70 – Sustainable Help

    <h4>Chapter 70 Chapter 70 ¨C Sustainable Help</h4>


    As Nick traveled through the Outer City, people kept avoiding him due to the hearse he was pulling.


    A couple of minutester, Nick arrived in front of Dark Dream''s warehouse and entered through one of the big gates.


    The sound of the rusty wheels echoed throughout the entire warehouse.


    Just when Nick put the hearse down, the door to Wyntor''s office opened.


    It was barely five p.m., and Wyntor was still here.


    When Wyntor saw the hearse with the leaking blood, he took a deep breath, but he didn''t let Nick see it.


    Even though Wyntor had been raised to be a ruthless businessman, seeing a small hill of corpses was still shocking to him.


    Wyntor slowly walked over and stopped two meters away from the hearse as Nick stepped to the side.


    "They are all members of the Riker Strikers?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick nodded. "They were all staying in the headquarters, and they are all pretty muscr and big."


    Wyntor absentmindedly nodded as he kept looking at the hill. "And you''re sure Riker won''t take revenge?"


    "You were the one that assured me he wouldn''t," Nick answered.


    Wyntor took another deep breath.


    "Right, sorry," he answered absentmindedly before looking away from the hearse.


    "This is a good thing," Nick said, looking at Wyntor. "The Riker Strikers are a gue upon the Dregs."


    "Nick," Wyntor said with a slightly annoyed tone. "Don''t be disingenuous."


    "We killed them for money. Nothing more and nothing less."


    When Nick heard that, he narrowed his eyes. "Maybe that''s true for you, but I genuinely care about the Dregs. If the Riker Strikers weren''t such a massive nuisance, I would have never killed them."


    "And then what?" Wyntor asked. "Yes, you wouldn''t have killed anyone else, but that''s only because not enough time has passed."


    Nick wanted to protest, but he didn''t interrupt Wyntor.


    "You''ve searched for six weeks with no results, and you grew desperate. If the Riker Strikers didn''t exist, you wouldn''t have killed anyone."


    "But what after another four weeks or another ten weeks?"


    "When would you have be desperate and frustrated enough to kill people from another gang?" Wyntor asked.


    "Wyntor, you''re evaluating me with your standards," Nick answered. "I have killed people before, but only when it was necessary or when there was a good reason."


    "I am richer than 95% of all people living in the Outer City, and I am well on my way as a Zephyx Extractor."


    "Acting like I need to kill someone to survive while having this much wealth is something I can never ept," Nick exined.


    "And yet, you just killed nine people," Wyntor countered.


    "Because I finally have the power to make a difference," Nick answered with a dark voice. "I am finally rich and powerful enough to change the lives of others for the better."


    "Wyntor, my goal is not to just be fat and rich but to improve the lives of the people around me," Nick argued.


    "Since when?"


    Nick furrowed his brows. "What do you mean since when?"


    "Since when?" Wyntor repeated. "When we were on the search for the Dreamer, you told me that you just wanted to have a better life."


    "You never said you wanted to improve the lives of the people around you."


    Silence.


    Surprisingly, Nick didn''t immediately answer.


    "Since when, huh?" Nick repeated as he looked up with furrowed brows.


    Wyntor didn''t interrupt Nick''s thoughts.


    Nick thought back to his three days of vacation with Horua.


    Back then, Nick''s goal hadn''t been to improve the lives of other people.


    When Nick had worked with the Dreamer, he also hadn''t thought about the lives of others.


    When Nick had been searching for the next Specter, he also hadn''t thought about others.


    ''And yet, I feel like I want to change things,'' Nick thought.


    ''I feel like I should do something to improve the general quality of life of the people in the Dregs.''


    ''When did that happen?''


    Silence.


    Eventually, Nick reached an answer, but he didn''t like it.


    ''When I decided to kill the Riker Strikers,'' Nick thought. ''That was when I made my choice.''


    Nick looked down.


    ''Is Wyntor right? Am I just saying this because I want a justification?''


    ''I was growing frustrated, and when the frustration hit a high point, I suddenly found a solution to my frustration while also conveniently finding a moral justification.''


    ''What if I wouldn''t have gained anything out of this? What if I weren''t allowed to keep the corpses?''


    ''Would I still have done this?''


    Silence.


    Nick kept thinking.


    ''As things are now, no.''


    ''However, that''s because of the price for killing them.''


    ''I want to help the people, but 5,000 credits to kill a person is just too high of a price.''


    ''If I wouldn''t need to pay 5,000 credits for every person I kill, I genuinely believe I would kill the Riker Strikers to improve the Dregs.''


    ''Yes, I want to improve the lives of others!''


    ''I alwaysmented that so many powerful people didn''t give a shit about improving the world and just kept consuming more and more to be fatter and fatter while we poor people suffered.''


    ''I always wanted to change things, but I never felt like I had the power.''


    ''But now, I am slowly attaining this power.''


    ''I refuse to be one of these people who forget their past struggles!''


    ''I refuse to have this mindset that, since I am now the one in power, I have a moral justification to do the same thing that has been done to me in the past to others!''


    ''I will improve the lives of others!''


    The next moment, Nick narrowed his eyes and looked at the hearse.


    ''But it has to be sustainable. If I can''t keep my power, I lose the power to help others.''


    ''The stronger I get, the more people I can help.''


    ''But it''s important that I never lose this mindset!''


    The next moment, Nick turned to Wyntor.


    "Thanks, I needed that."


    Wyntor just raised an eyebrow.


    He wasn''t quite sure what Nick meant.

 Chapter 71 71 – Silent Work

    <h4>Chapter 71 Chapter 71 ¨C Silent Work</h4>


    Nick exined what he had been thinking about to Wyntor, who just looked at Nick with a skeptical expression.


    "So, you''re actually serious?" Wyntor asked. "You actually want to improve the lives of the people of the Dregs?"


    Nick nodded without hesitation.


    "Why?" Wyntor asked. "They''ve never done anything for you. From what I''ve heard, all of them didn''t care about you, and many of them even wanted to steal your things. Why would you want to sacrifice the stuff you earned to help people like them?"


    "It''s the system, not the individual person," Nick said. "If there were no taxes, the number of violent crimes would drop significantly. If the people had ess to better food, they wouldn''t need to fight others for valuable nutrients."


    "Yes, there are many people that are unnecessarily cruel and extremely selfish. Naturally, these people don''t deserve to get a better life."


    "But I can''t judge all of the poor people because some of them are monsters."


    "Just like how I can''t call all the rich people monsters because they are not helping us."


    "Right now, the people in the Dregs suffer, and some of them can improve their lives."


    "However, I want it the other way around."


    "I want everyone to have a good life, and if they do bad stuff, their lives will worsen."


    "I think everyone deserves a chance, and I want to do my best to make this possible."


    Wyntor still looked at Nick with a skeptical expression. "That''s a tall order, you know?"


    Nick nodded. "I know. If I want to help everyone in the Dregs on such a fundamental level, I probably need to be as powerful as Albert, at least. Maybe even more powerful."


    "But, at least then, my power has actual value and meaning."


    Wyntor rubbed his chin as he looked at Nick.


    "So, in short, you want to be much stronger. Power is the source that allows you to realize your dreams, right?" he asked.


    "I guess you could put it like that," Nick said with a nod.


    "Alright," Wyntor said.


    The next moment, Wyntor sighed.


    "I''m happy to hear that, you know?"


    This time, it was Nick who looked at Wyntor with skepticism. "Why?"


    "I was afraid that you would becent," Wyntor said with augh. "You always told me that you just want a better life. I was afraid that you would take it easy as soon as your livelihood became secure."


    "But since you now have such a grand goal, you probably have no reason to becent."


    Nick scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess so."


    Wyntor nodded. "Alright. Then, let''s deal with the corpses."


    Nick nodded with a smile.


    "I''ve sent Pator home for today, Jenny is currently working, and Trevor won''t be here for several hours," Wyntor said. "They have also not been informed about our decision to give the Parasite a couple of corpses, and I want to keep it that way."


    "Working with the Parasite is illegal, and if we are found out, Crimson Fungus City will crack down on us. I will be able to get through this thanks to my family, but you won''t survive. I hope you understand how important this is," Wyntor said.


    Nick nodded solemnly. "I fully understand. I also don''t want to die."


    Wyntor nodded back in mutual understanding.


    "Bring them over," Wyntor said as he walked around the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    Nick pulled the hearse behind him and followed Wyntor.


    Near the back of the warehouse, Wyntor stopped.


    Wyntor kneeled down and pointed at one of the shiny metal tes on the ground. "Since we want to keep this a secret, I can''tmission someone to create easy ess to the sewers, which means you have to do it."


    "I''ve already looked at the blueprints of the warehouse, and I''ve seen where all the important pipes and cables go through. There should be nothing important below this ce, which is why I want to make this the entrance to the sewers."


    Nick nodded and walked over to the te.


    "To make the warehouse stable, the screws have been welded onto the metal tes, making it effectively impossible to remove them," Wyntor said as he pointed at one of the screws.


    "I want you to tear them out without breaking them. I don''t want there to be any signs."


    Nick nodded. "Of course."


    Wyntor also nodded and left Nick to work.


    Nick needed his ability active for this.


    Over the next 30 minutes, Nick removed the screws carefully.


    It was extremely difficult to remove them without destroying the welding covering their edges.


    Nevertheless, by carefully rotating them, Nick managed to keep the welding on the screws while removing it from the te itself.


    When he was done, he called Wyntor back, who nodded in appreciation.


    "Good work," Wyntor said. "Now, slowly remove it."


    Nick removed all the screws one by one and carefully put them to the side.


    Then, he slowly lifted the te.


    The te wasn''t that heavy, which was why Nick didn''t need his ability.


    After removing the te, Nick saw a small and dark crawlspace with another set of tes.


    Luckily, the second set of tes was not welded shut, but the tes were far bigger and heavier.


    Each te weighed over 400 kilos.


    Wyntor left so that Nick''s ability could reactivate, and over the next ten minutes, Nick managed to take one of the massive tes off.


    As soon as the te was pushed to the side, the horrible stench of the sewers entered the warehouse.


    ''We''ll have to deal with the stench,'' Nick thought. ''Luckily, nobody''s here right now.''


    Nick called Wyntor back, and when Wyntor saw the disgusting ck abyss, he took a deep breath.


    Since they were not in the Dregs, there were no grates that let light enter the sewers, which meant that the sewers below the warehouse were pitch ck.


    Luckily, since the warehouse had many small holes in its ceiling, the light from the warehouse also reached the sewers, creating an isted beam of light in a seemingly eternity of darkness.


    "Call him," Wyntor said.


    Nick nodded.

 Chapter 72 72 – Trade Negotiations

    <h4>Chapter 72 Chapter 72 ¨C Trade Negotiations</h4>


    "Hey, Parasite," Nick half-shouted. "I''m here for our trade."


    Silence.


    Nothing.


    No answer came.


    Nick looked at Wyntor with furrowed brows.


    Ssh!


    Finally, a ssh came from below them, and the two of them saw the head of a rat poking out of the water below them.


    "This better be worth it," the rat said. "It takes a lot of energy to get a body through the Eternal''s domain."


    While Specters weren''t targeted by the Nightmare, their minions were.


    However, someone as powerful as the Parasite had some ways to get his minion through a corridor of darkness.


    "I got the nine corpses," Nick said.


    The rat seemed quite surprised when it heard that. "You do?" it asked in surprise.


    Nick nodded. "Yes, I do, but I want the location of a useful Specter that I can actually handle."


    "Sure, sure!" the rat said quickly. "I already know exactly which one to give you, and I am absolutely certain that you will like this one."


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked at Wyntor.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "Good," Nick said. "Then, do we just dump the corpses in here?"


    "Hmmm, can you send them down somewhere else?" the rat asked. "Getting that many of my minions here costs a lot of energy."


    "No, we can''t," Wyntor said from the side. "You know better than anyone else that nobody is allowed to help you. I can justify taking the corpses here because we are a Zephyx Manufacturer, and many Specters need corpses, but I can''t justify taking them somewhere else."


    "I''m not going to risk my business unnecessarily."


    The rat didn''t seem happy at all.


    "If I get enough of my minions here to consume the corpse, I need to expend over 30% of the resources I would get from them. That means I would only get six instead of nine corpses, which means I need another four or five corpses to make this a fair trade," the rat said.


    "How you transport the corpses is not our problem," Wyntor said. "You told my employee, when you made the offer, that he only needs to dump the corpses into the sewers. You did not specify where and at what time to do it."


    "Based on your offer, we can dump the corpses, all at once, without informing you, into a pit of pure darkness as long as it is within the sewer''s domain."


    "Frankly, your logistical issues are not relevant to this negotiation," Wyntor said.


    The rat really didn''t like what it was hearing.


    "Are you going to miss out on a Specter just because you don''t want to get four more corpses real quick?" the rat asked.


    "Are you?" Wyntor answered. "You''re the one going back on your word."


    "I''m not going back on my word!" the Parasite shouted in anger. "You are effectively only giving me six corpses instead of nine! You''re scamming me!"


    "No, we are not," Wyntor answered calmly but firmly. "We are the procurers of the corpses, and we are selling them at wholesale. There''s a reason why the actual merchants generally ask for 30% more. If you sell the corpses to your customers, you will get the worth of nine corpses out of them."


    "What are you even talking about?!" the rat shouted. "I''m not a fucking merchant!"


    "So?" Wyntor answered. "We are the producers of said corpses. If you are not willing to sell them for more, that''s not our problem. The trade agreement stands. Now, do you want the corpses right now?"


    The rat seemed like it was about to die of anger. "Fine!" it shouted. "But I will remember this for the future."


    "You are free to make us a new offer after fulfilling this one," Wyntor calmly answered. "You might be our best option for obtaining information regarding Specters right now, but if your offer is too disadvantageous for us, you will lose this position."


    "At some point, creating an Investigator team or buying Specters from other Manufacturers might be more cost-effective than epting your offers."


    "In the end, it''s up to you," Wyntor said evenly.


    The rat just red at Wyntor without saying anything for several seconds.


    "Like father like son," the rat grumbled. "Fine!"


    "Give me some minutes."


    "Of course," Wyntor answered before looking away from the dark hole.


    While they were waiting, Nick saw Wyntor leaning away from the hole and sighing in relief.


    Nick was quite surprised when he saw that.


    Just now, Wyntor had seemed extremely confident and in control, but as soon as he was outside the Parasite''s perception, he lost all that confidence.


    "Ready the corpses," Wyntor said as he casually motioned for Nick to bring the hearse.


    "Of course," Nick answered as he pulled over the hearse.


    Then, a couple of minutes of silence passed.


    "I''m ready."


    Nick and Wyntor looked into the hole again.


    Even though they had been prepared, a cold shudder still ran down their backs when they saw the heads of over a hundred rats poking out of the water.


    "Alright," Nick answered. "Want them one by one or all at once?"


    "One by one," one of the rats said.


    Nick stood up, grabbed one of the corpses, and hurled it into the hole.


    SPLASH!


    When the corpse hit the water, Nick saw the rats all jumping onto it with fervor.


    Nick didn''t notice it, but the Parasite''s anger nearly vanished at this moment.


    The Parasite had only asked for corpses, which meant that Nick could have also thrown in a malnourished little girl, which wouldn''t have given the Parasite a lot of energy.


    However, the corpse that Nick had thrown in was of a big and muscr man.


    That was a high-quality corpse for the Parasite.


    And when Nick dumped the other corpses, the Parasite actually felt like he was lucky.


    All of these corpses were high-quality corpses!


    The Parasite even had to get over more rats since the corpses were so big.


    Eventually, all but one of the rats left.


    "Well?" Wyntor asked.


    The rat looked at Wyntor with a wide grin.


    "I''ll keep my word."


    "I''ll tell you. You''re going to love this one!"

 Chapter 73 73 – Possession Specter

    <h4>Chapter 73 Chapter 73 ¨C Possession Specter</h4>


    Nick and Wyntor were listening to the Parasite intently.


    "You''re going to love this," the Parasite said. "This Specter is easy to capture, easy to find, and easy to work with."


    Wyntor looked at the Parasite with furrowed brows. "That sounds a bit too good to be true."


    "And it would be," the rat shouted, "but you guys are in luck."


    "The Specter I''m going to tell you about is mypetition, and I want to get rid of him. If he weren''t eating so many of my corpses, I would never give his location to anyone for just ten corpses."


    Wyntor just gestured for the Parasite to continue.


    "I''m calling him the Screaming Coffin," the Parasite said.


    "Screaming Coffin?" Wyntor repeated. "Does this mean what I think it means?"


    "Yep!" the rat said with a smile. "It''s a Possession Specter, the very thing all of you Zephyx Manufacturers want."


    Wyntor looked at the rat with a suspicious expression. "And you''re going to hand that Specter to us just like that?"


    "Well," the Parasite slowly said. "Why not view it as a nice favor from me for our future negotiations?"


    "Sure," Wyntor slowly said with an uncertain tone. "So, where is this Screaming Coffin, and what does it do?"


    "Right here," the rat said. "In fact, you''re not even 30 meters away from it."


    This surprised Nick and Wyntor, and they looked around.


    Sadly, since the sewers were so dark, they couldn''t see much.


    "This guy eats the same stuff as me, human corpses," the rat said, "but he takes way longer to digest them, and he isn''t very fast."


    "The Screaming Coffin is moving around the bottom of the sewers, and whenever he finds a corpse, he swims toward it and consumes it."


    "While the guy is just a Hatchling, I can''t overwhelm him with just my minions, which is why I have to give him corpses from time to time. In fact, I had to protect the corpses you guys gave me quite fiercely just now since he wanted them very badly."


    When Nick heard about the Screaming Coffin, he furrowed his brows.


    Sure, a Possession Specter was the best Specter possible for Zephyx extraction.


    They didn''t run away.


    They didn''t fight back.


    They were easy to work with.


    A Possession Specter essentially represented free money for a Zephyx Manufacturer.


    However, there was one bad thing.


    One couldn''t attune one''s Zephyx Synchronizer to a Possession Specter.


    This meant that Nick''s issue still wasn''t solved.


    He still needed a Specter that had a highpatibility with his ability.


    "How powerful is it?" Wyntor asked while Nick was thinking about the issue with his ability.


    "Not at all," the Parasite said with a dismissing tone. "He has a couple of grabby tendrils, but Nick should easily be strong enough to resist it. Especially since he doesn''t technically have a perception since he''s just an object."


    "In fact, if Nick isn''t careful, he might identally rip the poor guy into two."


    All of this sounded too good to be true, and Nick still felt suspicious.


    Was the Parasite nning something?


    "Thank you," Wyntor said from the side. "We will be capturing the Screaming Coffin in a couple of days."


    "In a couple of days?" the Parasite repeated. "Why not now? The guy is literally below me."


    "You said the Screaming Coffin consumes corpses, correct?" Wyntor asked.


    The rat nodded.


    "And we just procured nine corpses. However, we don''t have these corpses anymore."


    "If we capture the Screaming Coffin right now, it needs corpses to stay cated, but if we go out and immediately get even more corpses after getting so many just hours ago, the guards might suspect us."


    "So, we have to act like we already have the Screaming Coffin and that the nine corpses went to it."


    "Because of that, I want to wait for three to five days before capturing it."


    The rat didn''t seem happy, but the Parasite understood Wyntor''s decision.


    "Fine," the Parasite answered. "Just call me when you need his location, but don''t call me just to chat. Getting one of my minions to this isted location wastes too much energy, and if I''m getting called for some dumb reasons, I might start charging you for my consultations."


    "Of course," Wyntor said. "Thank you for the trade, and we will be calling for you when it''s time to capture the Screaming Coffin."


    "Sure," the rat said before diving into the water and vanishing.


    The next moment, Wyntor turned to Nick. "Close everything up. No one must know what happened."


    Nick was pulled out of his thoughts and nodded.


    After a couple of minutes, everything had been put back, and Nick looked at Wyntor again.


    "I still need a proper Specter for my Ability Advancement," Nick said.


    "I know," Wyntor said, "but it''s actually extremely good that we got a Possession Specter this time."


    A smile appeared on Wyntor''s face. "The Screaming Coffin probably produces a lot of Zephyx since it is consuming human corpses. Specters that consume humans tend to produce a lot of Zephyx in very little time."


    "With it and the Dreamer, we will be producing a great amount of Zephyx every day, which will allow us to buy more advanced things."


    "Your advancement is still over a year away, and we have plenty of time to umte wealth during that time," Wyntor said. "Don''t forget that there are not only Specters roaming around that we humans haven''t found yet but that there are also ones that are simply too troublesome to capture and contain."


    "With enough money, we might even be able to get a Containment Unit for a Force Specter," Wyntor said with a smirk.


    Nick''s eyebrows rose in positive surprise.


    If Nick could also choose from some Force Specters, his number of choices would improve tremendously.


    In the end, Nick epted that getting a Possession Specter was a good thing.


    Best of all, Nick probably didn''t even need to hire more Zephyx Extractors for the new Specter.

 Chapter 74 74 – One More

    <h4>Chapter 74 Chapter 74 ¨C One More</h4>


    After getting rid of all the different signs that pointed towards a trade with the Parasite, Nick left the warehouse again and dealt with Horua.


    By now, Nick had bepletely used to dealing with Horua, and he had found his rhythm.


    Since it had been three months, Horua had grown by quite a bit. Nick even needed to buy him some new clothes.


    Sadly, Horua had not yet shown any signs of getting better.


    A couple of days ago, Nick had taken Jenny to Horua to see if she could do something with the ability she had gotten from the Dreamer.


    When Jenny had seen how old Horua was, she had been extremely shocked.


    Nick had always seemed like an extremelypetent and friendly boss.


    But now, she was confronted with the fact that Nick had essentially thrown a child in front of the Dreamer.


    This didn''t fit Jenny''s image of Nick at all.


    Nevertheless, she couldn''t ignore the proof right in front of her.


    After Horua went to sleep, Jenny tried to view his dreams.


    But there weren''t any.


    ording to Jenny, Horua simply wasn''t dreaming at all.


    The two of them asked Wyntor about this the next day. After all, Wyntor had been taught a lot by the tutors his family had hired.


    Wyntor said that, normally, dreaming was simply the brain of a person reorganizing the memories they had written down that day, which was also why almost all dreams were somehow rted to some thoughts one had had during that day.


    The fact that Horua wasn''t dreaming actually wasn''t very surprising.


    After all, Horua didn''t perceive anything, which meant that he most likely didn''t create new memories.


    So, he also didn''t dream.


    There was simply nothing to dream about.


    When Nick heard that, he could only sigh.


    He wanted to help Horua.


    Horua had been in this state for a quarter of a year, and Nick knew that this wasn''t a life worth living.


    Would he wake up on his own?


    The doctor said it was possible.


    But what if he wouldn''t?


    Should he simply ask the Dreamer to wake Horua up?


    But what if that caused even more pain to Horua?


    What if Horua would have simply woken up a weekter?


    For now, Nick decided against using the Dreamer and continued caring for Horua.


    Over the next couple of days, Nick only traveled between Horua and the warehouse.


    He didn''t return to the Dregs to search for another Specter.


    Nick had to act like they had already caught a Specter.


    Four days after the trade with the Parasite, it was time.


    During thete hours, Nick went into the warehouse.


    Even though the sun always shone, most people still slept during the night.


    Horua had also already gone to sleep, which meant that Nick could stay outside for around four hours before he had to check up on Horua again.


    After entering the warehouse, Nick waited for Wyntor, who showed up just a couple of minutester.


    At this moment, it was shortly after midnight.


    "You ready?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "Get the corpse," he said before handing Nick a token.


    It was a special token that gave Nick permission to "create and collect" one corpse in the Dregs.


    Nick took the token and left the warehouse.


    During these hours, there were not many people on the streets, and the city felt almost dead.


    After some minutes, Nick entered the Dregs.


    As soon as he arrived, he jumped on top of one building and quietly moved from rooftop to rooftop.


    Nick didn''t want to be perceived while also having a good vantage point.


    He was searching for a fitting corpse.


    For the next couple of minutes, Nick saw a couple of groups of people walking around, but he didn''t pay them any mind.


    They weren''t doing anything shady.


    Nick also saw a couple of gatherings, but that was also quite normal.


    Many of the people of the Dregs didn''t feel safe at night, which was why some of them created small groups, and some of these people kept watch over the houses during the night.


    After a couple more minutes, Nick saw a small group of men covertly moving through the alleys.


    When he saw them, Nick paid special attention to them.


    The way they were sneaking around was suspicious.


    But after a bit of watching, Nick realized that they were just a small squad from the Insurance Gang.


    The Insurance Gang regrly walked through the Dregs to advertise their services.


    These groups often held hundreds, if not thousands, of credits in their palms, which was why they were sneaking around like this.


    When he found out that they were from the Insurance Gang, Nick ignored them again.


    Some minutester, Nick saw a woman breaking into a house.


    Nick didn''t care.


    Then, he saw a couple of men having sex with a woman in an alleyway.


    The woman didn''t seem into it, but she also didn''t seem too opposed, which was why Nick also ignored that.


    Finally, 30 minutes after arriving in the Dregs, Nick found something interesting.


    There was a tall 25-year-old woman walking through some alleyways.


    Usually, Nick wouldn''t care, but something made this very relevant to him.


    The woman was wearing the badge of the Riker Strikers.


    When Nick saw her with the badge, he hesitated for a bit.


    But in the end, he knew that someone who chose to be part of the Riker Strikers couldn''t possibly be a good person.


    So, Nick jumped down from one of the rooftops andnded on her head with his knee.


    Her brains sttered across the streets and dirtied Nick''s clothing.


    However, Nick just grabbed the corpse and jumped onto one of the rooftops again.


    Some minutester, Nick arrived in the Outer City, and when a guard looked at him, Nick simply threw the token he had received to him.


    The guard looked at it, nodded, and followed Nick.


    When they arrived at the warehouse, the guard left.


    Inside the warehouse, Nick and Wyntor looked at each other.


    And then, they nodded in understanding.

 Chapter 75 75 – Screaming Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 75 Chapter 75 ¨C Screaming Coffin</h4>


    Nick slowly opened the tes again, and a couple minutester, they once more looked into the sewers.


    Just like thest time, the sun illuminated a big spot on the surface.


    "Parasite, we''re ready!" Wyntor shouted.


    The two of them waited for nearly half a minute.


    "You''re ready?" a rat asked after popping its head out of the water.


    Wyntor and Nick nodded.


    "We prepared a corpse to lure it out as well," Wyntor said.


    The rat just snorted when it heard that. "Onest meal in freedom, eh?" the ratmented to itself.


    "Sure, that should work," the rat shouted. "The guy is currently roaming around the Dregs below the surface. If he feels a corpse, he will quicklye here."


    "Good," Wyntor answered before turning to Nick. "Are you ready?"


    Nick nodded and threw a rope down.


    The rope unfurled until its end touched the liquid of the sewers.


    Naturally, Nick needed a way back into the warehouse, and this rope would be his way out.


    Then, Nick and Wyntor looked at the Parasite.


    Silence.


    "What?" the Parasite asked.


    "With you here, I can''t use my ability," Nick said. "You know that."


    "Pfft, you don''t need it," the rat said with augh. "The guy is a Possession Specter without a useful ability. Even more, the guy is only an Early Hatchling. Fighting him is like fighting an angry table. Trust me, I''m not going to ruin my future rtionship with Dark Dream just to see you die."


    Nick furrowed his brows and nced at Wyntor.


    Wyntor just shrugged casually.


    "Alright," Nick said carefully.


    The next moment, Nick went away from the hole and grabbed the corpse.


    Ssh!


    Nick hurled it into the water, and just a bitter, he saw it float on the surface.


    Silence.


    20 seconds passed.


    "Is iting?" Nick asked.


    "No idea," the rat said. "I tend to keep my minions outside of the water. It''s not very healthy for them. But he should be on his way. Give it a minute."


    Silence.


    The three of them just looked at the floating corpse.


    "Oh, there he is!" the rat suddenly said.


    The next moment, something white slowly rose out of the sewers beside the corpse.


    It was a pristine white bandage!


    A momentter, several more strings of bandages rose out from the sewers.


    Slowly, they wound themselves around the corpse, and just a bitter, the corpse began to submerge.


    Nick took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes.


    Then, Nick jumped into the hole.


    SPLASH!


    Nick hit the water beside one of the bandages, and he immediately grabbed it.


    As soon as Nick held it, he felt a strong pull, and he immediately got pulled below the surface.


    Naturally, the water was just as disgusting as thest time, but Nick didn''t have the luxury of feeling disgusted right now.


    He had to capture the Screaming Coffin!


    Nick didn''t let go of the bandage, and he quickly got pulled more and more into the depths.


    Suddenly, several more white bandages appeared, and they started toe towards him slowly.


    Luckily, the bandages were very slow. It was almost like the Screaming Coffin didn''t feel any urgency or anger.


    Which was actually the case.


    As a Possession Specter that possessed an object, the Screaming Coffin didn''t even really have a consciousness.


    It had the same level of consciousness as a cell.


    It just followed the most basic instincts.


    RIIIP!


    Suddenly, one of the bandages was ripped off as Nick pulled on it.


    ''What?'' Nick thought in shock. ''I ripped it already?!''


    That was when Nick realized that he was a couple of meters below the surface, which meant that neither Wyntor nor the Parasite could perceive him.


    At this moment, Nick''s body was over 15 times as powerful as the body of an average adult male, and the Screaming Coffin was only an Early Hatchling.


    As soon as Nick ripped the bandage off, the other bandages started to slowly retreat.


    Even though the Screaming Coffin had a very basic consciousness, when one of its bandages was ripped off, it still decided to stop its attempt to consume Nick.


    ''That''s problematic,'' Nick thought. ''I don''t know where it is!''


    Nick moved forward and grabbed two of the retreating bandages, but he didn''t pull on them.


    Instead, he simply kept them in his grasp.


    The bandages wanted to slowly retreat, but after a couple of seconds, they started to slowly epass Nick''s arms.


    Nick didn''t do anything.


    Soon, more bandages appeared around his body, and they also started to epass him.


    To make sure that Nick wasn''t bound in a problematic position, he kept his arms and legs apart while also keeping all of his muscles flexed.


    Even if the Screaming Coffin managed to wrap him in several bandages, all the bandages were still attached at one end, and with a single pull, Nick could tear them off.


    Some secondster, ten different bandages had grabbed Nick''s body, and he felt himself get pulled downward.


    Luckily, Nick was carrying a bit of Arclight on his waist, which meant that the Nightmare wasn''t an issue right now.


    10,000 credits was no longer something extremely expensive to Dark Dream.


    After getting pulled down for a couple more meters, something appeared.


    It was a luxurious ck coffin.


    At this moment, the coffin was closed, and twelve white bandages came out of the tiny gaps between the body and the lid of the coffin.


    Nick looked at the coffin with narrowed eyes.


    As Nick got closer, the coffin slowly slid open.


    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!


    Immediately, Nick felt like he was looking at an eternal ocean of hate-filled ghosts!


    It was like an army of furious and unwilling corpses was screaming at Nick to join them.


    They hated being doomed to this eternal existence of suffering, and they had long since lost all of their rationality.


    All of them were filled with nothing but pure hatred for anything that didn''t share their pain.


    Nick''s body shook when he heard the hate-filled screams, but he quickly calmed down, and only one thought shot through his mind.


    ''So, that''s why it''s called the Screaming Coffin!''

 Chapter 76 76 – The Second Specter

    <h4>Chapter 76 Chapter 76 ¨C The Second Specter</h4>


    The Screaming Coffin opened fully, and Nick saw a ck void inside.


    As soon as Nick saw the ck void, he knew that he couldn''t enter the coffin or he would die.


    Power seemed to be irrelevant when epassed by the Screaming Coffin.


    Anything living would be turned into nourishment for the coffin.


    Nick slightly moved his arms and felt that he could still use a lot of power.


    For a bit, Nick let himself get pulled closer, and when they were only a bit less than two meters apart, Nick became active.


    RIIIPP!


    Nick immediately ripped his left and right arms free, followed by his legs.


    Immediately, the other bandages loosened, and shockingly, they even cut themselves off!


    The Screaming Coffin immediately let go of Nick, leaving several parts of Nick''s body encased in white bandages.


    The Screaming Coffin quickly closed its lid, and when it was fully closed, Nick shot forward.


    In an instant, Nick surrounded the closed coffin with his arms. Luckily, it wasn''t too big.


    The next moment, Nick surrounded the coffin with his legs so that it couldn''t run away.


    RIIIIPPP!


    After that, Nick methodically ripped out all of the white bandages that came out of the gaps.


    When thest bandage was cut, the coffin stopped moving. The only bit of life or movement Nick could feel was that it was shaking a bit.


    By removing all of the bandages, Nick had turned the Screaming Coffin into something akin to a spider with all of its legs ripped out.


    It was alive, but it couldn''t move.


    Nick carefully switched his hold and looked at it for a bit.


    The coffin only lightly shook in ce, which meant that it couldn''t move anymore.


    ''I guess that''s it?'' Nick asked himself doubtfully in his mind.


    ''That was easy.''


    Of course, Nick still realized that this coffin could essentially kill and prey on any normal human.


    If it caught one of the members of the Riker Strikers, the man would be helpless.


    A normal adult male simply didn''t have the power to rip the bandages apart.


    But on the other hand, the Screaming Coffin was also very slow.


    If the human noticed the coffin before it reached him, they could probably just run away.


    However, things were different in the sewers.


    No human would be able to feel the Screaming Coffining.


    In short, it was an ambush predator.


    ''I guess we have a second Specter now,'' Nick thought as he grabbed the bottom of the coffin before lifting it.


    Next, Nick swam upward while holding the coffin, and a couple of secondster, he reached the surface.


    First, Nick felt like the coffin had be many times heavier, but that was just Nick''s ability deactivating.


    When Nick lifted the coffin out of the water, he had to wildly paddle with his legs to keep his head above the water.


    "I got it!" Nick shouted, but he immediately regretted shouting as some of the liquid entered his mouth.


    "Great work! Bring it up!" Wyntor shouted.


    "Nicely done, kid," the rat shouted.


    Nick slowly pushed the coffin to the rope and tied a rope around it.


    Sadly, there was not a lot of rope, which meant that he couldn''t really secure itpletely.


    "Wyntor, I need you down here to keep the coffin in the loop. I don''t think you have the power to pull both of us up," Nick shouted.


    Wyntor looked at the sewers with disgust and anxiety, but he just gritted his teeth before nodding.


    Wyntor slowly slid down the rope until he reached the coffin.


    A disgusted and almost fearful expression appeared on Wyntor''s face as he got submerged up to his chest in the sewers.


    "Thanks," Nick said before grabbing the rope above Wyntor and easily pulling himself up.


    When Nick reached the top, he walked a bit away from the edge and pulled.


    Since no one could perceive Nick''s exact location right now, his ability reactivated.


    On the top, Nick pulled the rope to himself like there was almost nothing connected to it.


    In the sewers, Wyntor felt an extremely powerful pull and was immediately lifted out of the sewers.


    The coffin wobbled below Wyntor''s ass, but he quickly shifted his weight to keep it in the loop.


    Some secondster, Wyntor grabbed the ceiling of the sewers and pulled himself carefully up while still grabbing the coffin with his legs.


    Luckily, Wyntor wasn''t weak.


    In fact, he was a Mid Newbie since he had worked quite a bit with his father''s Specters when he was young.


    Nick quickly went forward and pulled Wyntor and the Screaming Coffin out.


    Without waiting, Nick grabbed the Screaming Coffin and walked over to the Containment Unit in the middle of the warehouse.


    They had already moved the Dreamer to its new Containment Unit a couple of days ago.


    With Nick, Wyntor, and Jenny present, the Dreamer didn''t even attempt to escape.


    The Dreamer was now in a smaller Containment Unit, but a far more expensive and advanced one.


    And the Screaming Coffin would now inhabit the Dreamer''s old Containment Unit.


    The rm rang through the warehouse as the main gate of the Containment Unit was slowly opened.


    Nick just walked into the Containment Unit, put the Screaming Coffin on the ground, and walked out again.


    After closing the gate, he was done.


    The Screaming Coffin was contained, andpared to the Dreamer, this thing was way easier to keep contained.


    As long as it had something to eat, it probably wouldn''t even move.


    "Speaking of," Nick said before going to the hole.


    When he looked down, he saw the rat sniffing the corpse they had thrown in earlier to lure out the Screaming Coffin.


    "No!" Nick shouted. "I''m still using that!"


    "Yeah, sure," the rat said absentmindedly as it retreated from the corpse.


    Nick looked at the rope and saw that it was still bound to one of the Containment Units.


    The next moment, Nick grabbed the rope and jumped back into the sewers.


    Nick held the rope in one hand and grabbed the corpse with the other.


    After a bit of shifting his weight, Nick managed to climb the rope with the corpse.


    "Thanks!" Nick shouted into the hole.


    "Just business!" the rat shouted back.


    Then, Nick closed the hole to the sewers.


    Finally, they got their second Specter, the Screaming Coffin!

 Chapter 77 77 – Watching the Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 77 Chapter 77 ¨C Watching the Coffin</h4>


    After closing the hole to the sewers, Nick walked over to Wyntor.


    At this moment, Wyntor was standing near the edge of the warehouse below something that looked like a shower.


    The shower head was spewing Cleansing Liquid onto Wyntor, getting rid of all the impurities and the stench.


    Such a cleansing shower cost a couple thousand credits, and taking a shower cost around 50 credits, which made the shower quite expensive for normal people.


    But as a Zephyx Manufacturer, Dark Dream easily had enough funds for something like this.


    A cleansing shower counted amongst the most basic equipment for a Zephyx Manufacturer since it was rtively cheap while also dealing with many risks.


    A clean environment was important.


    Wyntor deactivated the shower and walked out. Fortunately, one didn''t need to take off their clothing for the cleansing shower.


    Nick walked past Wyntor and went under the shower himself.


    About two minutester, Nick came out again, and he quickly saw Wyntor dumping a tank of Cleansing Liquid onto the ground.


    In an instant, everything began to sizzle, but about 20 secondster, it stopped.


    All the impurities of the ground had been cleaned, but there was still Cleansing Liquid left.


    "I''ll deal with this," Wyntor said as he grabbed a broom, pushing the remaining Cleansing Liquid towards dirty spots on the ground. "You go deal with the Screaming Coffin."


    "Sure," Nick answered, not surprised that Wyntor was essentially cleaning the floor of the warehouse as the CEO.


    Usually, this would be Pator''s job, but since nobody was allowed to know about what was going on, Wyntor did it himself.


    Nick walked over to the corpse he had retrieved and lifted it.


    The corpse was leaving some trails of blood and grime, but Nick didn''t mind.


    Wyntor would deal with it.


    A momentter, Nick opened the door to the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit and walked in with the corpse.


    After entering, Nick saw the Screaming Coffin shaking a bit while tiny pieces of white bandages came out of its edges.


    ''It has already started recovering,'' Nick thought as he looked at the Screaming Coffin.


    Nick slowly walked up to the Screaming Coffin and dumped the corpse beside it.


    ''Now, time to wait,'' Nick thought as he looked at the Screaming Coffin.


    The next moment, Nick sat down at the far corner, watching.


    Nick wanted to see how the Screaming Coffin would consume the corpse.


    Additionally, Nick wanted to know how long it would take for the Screaming Coffin to digest the corpse and be active again.


    Time passed.


    Over the next hour, the bandages grew by about ten centimeters, and the Screaming Coffin was almost able to move again.


    An hourter, the Screaming Coffin could finally move again, but it was very slow.


    It moved using its bandage-like legs.


    In the water, it would probably just slide across the ground, but onnd, it had to be careful.


    The first thing the Screaming Coffin did was to look around the Containment Unit.


    It was almost like an ant under a small ss, trying to climb up all the walls but failing.


    Nick was just watching.


    Based on what he was seeing, the Screaming Coffin didn''t have any kind of perception since it was slowly crawling towards him while also trying to climb the walls.


    When the Screaming Coffin''s bandage touched Nick''s hand, it retreated rtively quickly.


    Quickly for the Screaming Coffin, which wasn''t very fast by human standards.


    While retreating, it still tried to climb the walls, and eventually, it ran around the entire room, reaching Nick''s other side.


    This time, it didn''t immediately retreat.


    Its bandages slowly touched Nick''s hand and flowed over them.


    The next moment, the Screaming Coffin used its white bandages to do something surprising.


    With a lot of difficulties, it managed to actually stand up.


    At that moment, Nick noticed that the Screaming Coffin was actually quite huge.


    It was over two meters tall and over 80 centimeters wide.


    The next moment¡­


    AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!


    The lid slowly slid open and fell to the side as the screams of the damned filled the Containment Unit.


    Since it wasn''t underwater this time, the screams were many times louder.


    Nick actually felt pressure appear in his head due to the extremely loud screams.


    Then, the coffin fell forward.


    BANG!


    And hit the ground.


    Nick simply stepped to the side.


    Obviously, the Screaming Coffin had tried to eat Nick just now, but since it didn''t have its long bandages, it just tried to fall on top of him with its open maw.


    When the opening of the coffin hit the ground, the screams immediately vanished.


    The next moment, the Screaming Coffin pushed itself onto its back, and the loud screams returned.


    Surprisingly, the first thing the Screaming Coffin did after that was to very quickly go to its lid to put it back on.


    ''Interesting,'' Nick thought. ''It went faster to its lid than when it fled from me the first time it touched me in here. I guess the lid is extremely important to it.''


    ''Maybe it uses up a considerable amount of Zephyx while its lid is off?'' Nick thought as he scratched his chin in thought.


    The Screaming Coffin quickly put the lid back on, after which it slowed down considerably.


    Then, it started to slowly crawl around the Containment Unit again.


    When Nick saw that, he sighed in annoyance and stood up.


    Nick walked over to the corpse in the middle of the Containment Unit and grabbed the corpse.


    Then, he dumped the corpse into the Screaming Coffin''s path.


    After a bit, the Screaming Coffin touched the corpse.


    Its white bandages touched it in many ces, and eventually, the Screaming Coffin''s lid opened again.


    ''It''s not standing up this time,'' Nick thought. ''That probably means it can tell that this human is actually dead.''


    Sure enough, its short white bandages wound around the corpse as best as they could, and a couple of secondster, the corpse was pulled into the open coffin.


    With interest, Nick saw the corpsepletely vanish.


    It was like the corpse had entered apletely separate, dark dimension.


    Another surprising thing was that the screams became very distant and quiet with the corpse inside.


    The Screaming Coffin quickly put its lid back on.


    And then¡­


    Nothing.


    It justy there.


    Doing nothing.

 Chapter 78 78 – Trevor

    <h4>Chapter 78 Chapter 78 ¨C Trevor</h4>


    For a couple of hours, Nick just watched the motionless coffin.


    It was almost like it was just a normal coffin.


    "Nick, time to work."


    Wyntor''s voice came out of the speakers inside the Containment Unit.


    "Is it already six a.m.?" Nick asked.


    "About to," Wyntor answered.


    "Sure," Nick said. "Would be nice if you could keep a watch over the Screaming Coffin. It doesn''t seem to do anything while it has a corpse inside of it, but I want to know when it actually starts to move around again. Don''t worry, it is very slow, and you can easily retreat from it if it tries anything."


    "Should be fine as long as you take a look inside every hour."


    "Sure," Wyntor said. "I can do that."


    By now, Nick had already opened the door and walked outside.


    "By the way," Nick said, looking at Wyntor. "Can you also tell the others about the Screaming Coffin? They don''t need to work with it, but they should know that we have a second Specter."


    Wyntor furrowed his brows. "I don''t want to tell everyone about every Specter."


    "Why not?" Nick asked.


    "Zephyx Manufacturers often send spies into other Zephyx Manufacturers, and after knowing everything about all the Specters, they often steal them."


    "I will tell them that we have a second Specter, but I won''t tell them any information about it. After all, they don''t need to work with it, and it won''t break out."


    "Since it is a Possession Specter, it''s very easy to take care of the Screaming Coffin. We just have to get corpses and dump them in here when it''s done eating," Wyntor said.


    Nick also furrowed his brows.


    Jenny and Trevor were Nick''s employees, and he trusted them.


    He didn''t like it that Wyntor wasn''t telling them everything.


    "If you think so," Nick said with a shrug, moving past him.


    Obviously, Nick wasn''t happy, but he wouldn''t go against Wyntor''s orders.


    "Thanks," Wyntor said with a nod.


    "Sure," Nick said absentmindedly as he walked over to the Dreamer''s new Containment Unit.


    The Dreamer''s new Containment Unit was 3x3x3 meters big, which was a bit smaller than its old Containment Unit.


    However, just by looking at it, one could tell that this one was way more expensive.


    First of all, there were no visible wires or pipes.


    Second of all, the Containment Unit was just a solid, clean, even, and ck cube.


    It almost looked like a cube of obsidian.


    Well, except for the top.


    The ceiling of the Containment Unit was made of a mysterious material that had some properties of ss.


    From above the Containment Unit, one could see through the ceiling clearly, but when inside, one couldn''t look out.


    If this were a simple one-way mirror, it would be the other way around.


    With a one-way mirror, the side that let the light enter would not be able to see through it, while the side that received the light could see through it.


    This ss-like surface was also one of the biggest reasons why this Containment Unit was so expensive.


    First of all, the people outside could see what was going on in the Containment Unit.


    Second of all, the surface was extremely hard.


    Third, the Zephyx Manufacturer didn''t need to waste money on artificial light anymore.


    Sadly, there was one problem with that part of the Containment Unit.


    It couldn''t iste Force Specters.


    But that was a small price to pay for all the conveniences.


    This model was probably the one that was used and sold the most amongst Zephyx Manufacturers.


    It was pretty cheap for a Containment Unit, could contain an Adolescent Specter, and was pretty small and sturdy.


    This model was used to basically contain every Hatchling and Adolescent Specter that wasn''t a Force Specter.


    When Nick reached the ck cube, he jumped up andnded on top of the Containment Unit.


    Naturally, when Nicknded, it made quite a loud sound, but the Dreamer didn''t seem to care as it continued to look at Trevor.


    In front of the Dreamery a man with long ck hair.


    The man was around 185 centimeters tall and quite muscr with a chiseled jawline.


    The Extractor uniform he was wearing made him seem even more impressive.


    In a way, the man looked like someone who hade out of a fantasy.


    That was Trevor.


    Naturally, with his looks, Trevor had it extremely easy to make friends and pick up girls, which was also why Wyntor had chosen him over Jenny for any sensitive mission.


    In a way, Trevor was a perfect spy or secret agent since he could get close to anyone easily.


    Men wanted to be his friend, while women wanted to be his girlfriend.


    When Nick saw that everything looked fine in the Containment Unit, he jumped down from the roof and walked in.


    "Time to swap," Nick said.


    The Dreamer slowly turned its head to look at Nick.


    Even though Nick was used to working with the Dreamer, he still felt nervous in front of it.


    Compared to the Screaming Coffin, the Dreamer was many times worse since it was actually dangerous to Nick.


    Sure, the Screaming Coffin looked real scary and spooky when it screamed and crawled around with its white bandages, but the Dreamer could actually really kill Nick.


    The Dreamer took some steps back, and Nick walked up to Trevor.


    "Hey, time to wake up," Nick said.


    However, Nick didn''t touch or move Trevor.


    Trevor had said that he hated touching other people or getting touched by them.


    After a bit, Trevor slowly opened his eyes with a groan.


    "Is it time already?" his deep voice said as he slowly sat up.


    "Yep," Nick said. "Good work."


    "Easy as pie, boss," Trevor said as he slowly stood up.


    Then, Trevor stretched without any hurry and waved at the Dreamer. "Good work today," he told it.


    The Dreamer didn''t show any reaction.


    "Can you answer me at least once?" Trevor asked with annoyance.


    The Dreamer didn''t do anything.


    "Anyway, time for me to head home. Have fun, boss!" Trevor said, passing Nick.


    "Trevor, go talk to Wyntor," Nick said.


    Trevor stopped and turned to Nick with a worried look. "Am I in trouble?"


    "No," Nick said with augh. "I caught a new Specter yesterday. The other Containment Unit is now upied."


    Trevor looked with surprise at Nick. "You caught another Specter?"


    Nick nodded. "Wyntor is going to tell you everything you need to know."


    "Oh, wow. Sure, I''ll head there right now," Trevor said.


    While Trevor walked out of the Containment Unit, Nick sat down in one of the corners and closed his eyes.


    As always, the Dreamer slowly walked up to him.


    And a minuteter, Nick fell asleep.

 Chapter 79 79 – Big Profits

    <h4>Chapter 79 Chapter 79 ¨C Big Profits</h4>


    When Nick woke up again, he directly went to Wyntor to ask him about the Screaming Coffin.


    Apparently, the Screaming Coffin still hadn''t moved.


    By now, it had been consuming that one corpse for over twelve hours.


    After a bit of talking, Nick went back to the hotel and checked up on Horua.


    Luckily, Pator had dealt with Horua while Nick was working, which made things easier.


    Every couple of hours, Nick returned to look at the Screaming Coffin, and after some time, Nick''s times when he checked up on Horua perfectly matched the times he checked up on the Screaming Coffin.


    After sleeping for four hours, Nick checked up on Horua and the Screaming Coffin again.


    Nothing had changed.


    When it was time for Nick''s shift to start, he checked up on the Screaming Coffin again.


    It still hadn''t moved.


    ''It''s been over 28 hours by now. If it were hungry, it would probably move around the Containment Unit and search for some food,'' Nick thought. ''Does this mean that it takes more than 24 hours to consume a corpse?''


    Before starting his next shift with the Dreamer, Nick told Wyntor to check on the coffin again.


    When Nick came out again, he asked Wyntor, and Wyntor had something interesting to tell him.


    "About six hours into your shift, it started to move around the Containment Unit," Wyntor said. "Right now, it''s walking around, trying to escape to find some food. Luckily, it is very weak, and it doesn''t even try to break the walls. It simply tries to find a way around the walls."


    ''Six hours after the start of my shift?'' Nick thought. ''That should be about one-and-a-half days after I fed the corpse to it.''


    Nick nodded. "Got it. Let me check up on it."


    Wyntor nodded back and went into his office.


    While Jenny was working with the Dreamer, Nick checked up on the Screaming Coffin.


    But before he did, he checked up on the amount of Zephyx it produced.


    ''30 grams!'' Nick thought in shock.


    30 grams was a lot.


    ''Is that like one gram per hour?'' Nick thought.


    30 grams was about as much as the Dreamer produced daily.


    Sure, the Screaming Coffin produced that in about 32 to 34 hours, but one also had to consider that it was only an Early Hatchling.


    If the Screaming Coffin managed to be a Mid Hatchling, it might produce just as much as the Dreamer or even more.


    And best of all, it didn''t need anyone that was working with it.


    It just needed a corpse.


    Before entering, Nick took out the Zephyx storage of the Containment Unit and brought it into Wyntor''s office.


    As the Chief Zephyx Extractor, it was Nick''s job to record all the produced Zephyx and to bring it to the sales department, which was just Wyntor at the moment.


    Then, Nick entered the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit again.


    Sure enough, it was currently crawling around the Containment Unit like a spider with thirteen long white legs.


    ''It looks quite creepy,'' Nick thought.


    Nick imagined the Screaming Coffin silently walking around the forsaken parts of the Dregs on the hunt for some food.


    But then, Nick had another thought.


    After weighing his options for a bit, Nick decided to try it out.


    He walked closer, and when he reached the Screaming Coffin, it started to use its long white bandages to epass him.


    But before it could do so, Nick kicked it.


    The coffin lurched away but didn''t get damaged since Nick hadn''t used all of his power.


    Nevertheless, Nick''s kick was enough to tell the coffin that it didn''t have the power to eat him.


    Nick walked closer to the coffin.


    And then, he jumped.


    Donk!


    Andnded on top of the Screaming Coffin!


    The Screaming Coffin immediately fell to the floor and pulled its bandages inward.


    After that, Nick just sat down on the coffin.


    Silence.


    Nothing was happening.


    "Come on!" Nick said with annoyance. "Move around a bit. I wanna ride you!"


    However, the Specter just didn''t move.


    After a couple of minutes, Nick just sighed and walked away from the Screaming Coffin.


    Another minuteter, the Screaming Coffin slowly pulled out its white bandages again and started to circle the Containment Unit again.


    ''I don''t think I can domesticate it. I think it''s a bit too dumb to be a useful mount,'' he thought with disappointment.


    ''Anyway, I should get some food for it.''


    Nick left the Containment Unit and saw Pator.


    "Hey, can you work a bit longer for today? I have somewhere to be, and I need someone to look out for Horua for the next two hours or so. Naturally, you will get paid for the extra time," Nick said.


    "Sure, no problem!" Pator said. "Thanks for the extra money!"


    "Thanks, Pator," Nick said with a smile before walking out of the warehouse.


    ''30 grams of Zephyx is about 30,000 credits in total. However, every corpse costs around 15,000 credits, and with the other costs, the Screaming Coffin only produces a profit of about 12,000 credits per corpse.''


    ''Luckily, none of my Zephyx Extractors need to work with it, which means there''s more remaining for me!'' Nick thought with a smile.


    ''That''s about 2,000 credits more per day with only a little extra work!''


    ''Although, I have no idea what I should buy with all of this.''


    ''I''m earning so many credits, but they are just sitting in my bank ount, collecting dust.''


    As Nick reached the guard outpost, he stopped and scratched his head.


    ''Isn''t that kind of what I''ve hated in other people in the past?''


    ''Just months ago, I thought that it would be great if everyone could just give a little of their overabundant wealth to help others.''


    Slowly, Nick started to feel bad about having so many credits.


    But he also felt like he deserved to have all these credits.


    It was aplex mix of contrasting emotions.


    Nick absentmindedly talked with the guards, and about a minuteter, he came out with a token for a corpse.


    ''I don''t even need the money to help the Dregs since I am paying for the corpses with thepany''s card,'' Nick thought as he looked at the token.


    ''I really need something to do with my money.''

 Chapter 80 80 – Investing

    <h4>Chapter 80 Chapter 80 ¨C Investing</h4>


    After searching in the Dregs for about an hour, Nick found a guy belonging to the Riker Strikers.


    Just likest time, Nick just killed the guy and pulled him back to Dark Dream.


    On his way, he handed the token back to the guards, who just thanked him for his patronage.


    Nick threw the corpse into the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit and watched it consume the corpse.


    As always, the terrifying screams hurt Nick''s ears quite a bit.


    After Nick left the Containment Unit, he looked at the clock.


    ''About 3 p.m. That means it should be done between 10 p.m. tomorrow and 2 a.m. the day after tomorrow.''


    Nick nodded and walked into Wyntor''s office.


    "Anything you need?" Wyntor asked without looking up from the sheet of paper he was writing on.


    "Hey, Wyntor," Nick said. "What do I do with my money?"


    "Invest it," Wyntor answered.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Like, in thepany?"


    Wyntor snorted. "No. I don''t need your money right now, and I don''t want to lose ownership of Dark Dream."


    As the sole shareholder, Wyntor owned 100% of Dark Dream.


    Even though Nick was the Chief Zephyx Extractor, he only held a very high management position. He was not an owner or director of thepany.


    Technically, if Wyntor wanted, he could throw Nick out without any issues, but that would be beyond stupid.


    "You want to help the people of the Dregs, right?" Wyntor asked, putting the sheet of paper down.


    Nick nodded.


    "In that case, I would invest in your own power," Wyntor suggested.


    "Into my power?" Nick repeated.


    "Yep," Wyntor added. "Get some equipment. You are still fighting with your bare hands, and you''re only using the official uniform of the city as your armor. Even more, if a Force Specter attacks you, you can''t even do anything to it since you have no weapons to use against it."


    "By getting a good weapon and armor, you can increase your own power by a lot," Wyntor said.


    Nick''s eyes widened in realization as he thought about all the things he could buy with the money he had already gathered.


    But then, Nick became a bit confused. "And what does that have to do with me wanting to help the people of the Dregs?"


    Wyntor chuckled a bit. "If you die, who will help the people of the Dregs? Even more, if you use 10% of your current ie to help the people in the Dregs, that''s about 300 credits per day, but if you use 10% of your ie two yearster when you''re a level two Extractor, that might turn into 3,000 credits per day."


    "The stronger you are, the more money you earn, and the more you help the people of the Dregs. The longer you live, the more payments the Dregs will receive."


    "Because of that, I suggest investing about 80% of your ie in your own power, keep 10% as a safety, and use the remaining 10% to help the people," Wyntor exined.


    Nick almost couldn''t believe how easily Wyntor had fixed the very thing that Nick couldn''t fix after thinking about it for a long time.


    It was actually so easy and logical.


    "Sounds great," Nick said with a bright smile. "So, where can I find equipment? What should I get first?"


    "The most important thing for a Zephyx Extractor."


    "A Barrier."


    "A Barrier?" Nick asked in confusion.


    "A Barrier is something you can put into your official uniform. If anything dangerouses near you, the device will shield you from it."


    "Since we are not Specters, we humans can''t use our Zephyx without equipment, and a Barrier was one such piece of equipment."


    "The Barrier uses your internal Zephyx storage to block any and all attacks. The stronger the attack it blocks, the more Zephyx it uses."


    "While you can deal with punches, ws, and kicks without issues, you would be helpless if someone throws a vat of burning oil at you. Additionally, Force Specters almost always have attacks that are almost impossible to block with anything physical, and even other kinds of Specters can have these attacks."


    "A Barrier will allow you to deal with attacks that normal humans can''t deal with."


    Nick listened to Wyntor intently. "That sounds very useful! How strong is such a barrier?"


    "Depends on its price and your level," Wyntor said as he leaned back in the chair.


    The next moment, Wyntor opened a big pocket on his chest and pulled something out.


    It was a silver te with a beautiful blue gem in the middle that seemed to shine like the ocean.


    "That''s mine," Wyntor said. "It can block all manners of attacks, deploys intelligently and automatically, has a malleable surface, is invisible while active, and blocks attacks at a ratio of five to one Zephyx. That means it uses one unit of my Zephyx to block five units of an enemy''s Zephyx."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "That sounds very expensive," hemented.


    Wyntor chuckled. "Yeah, I can''t buy something like that on my own. It was a gift from my father before I left to build Dark Dream. It costs like 100 million credits, but my father probably got it for half the price."


    Nick sucked in a violent breath through his teeth.


    100 million credits!


    That was nearly a thousand times more than what Nick had earned so far!


    "Yours will not be as good, but it will still help you a lot," Wyntor said. "For starters, I would suggest getting one that has a two-to-one conversion rate that can block most kinds of attacks."


    "You should have just enough money to get a decent one, but don''t spend everything on it. You also need a couple of one-time-use items and actual weapons. Try to keep what you spend on the Barrier at about 80% of the 80% you use to buy equipment."


    Nick nodded. "Will do. Where can I buy something like that?"


    "Well, usually you would need to enter the Inner City to get this stuff, but level one Zephyx Extractors are not allowed in the Inner City without a permit. You have to be a level two Zephyx Extractor first."


    "But, of course, since there is a big market for equipment for Newbies, there is money to be made."


    "Once a week, there''s an open market in the Outer City for Newbies."


    "Lucky for you, it''s tomorrow."

 Chapter 81 81 – Marketplace

    <h4>Chapter 81 Chapter 81 ¨C Marketce</h4>


    "Everyone ready?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick, Jenny, and Trevor nodded.


    After talking with Nick some more, Wyntor had decided that the others also needed some equipment.


    While they didn''t have the money for the really good equipment, Wyntor was willing to give them an advance for their equipment. After all, it was important that his people stayed alive.


    Because of that, no one was working with the Dreamer.


    Right now, it was eight a.m., which meant it would be Nick''s time to work with the Dreamer.


    For the next couple of hours, Dark Dream would take a corporate trip to the Extractor market. After that, the normal shifts would start again.


    At this moment, Wyntor stood in front of his employees, and Nick stood in front of Trevor and Jenny, facing Wyntor.


    "Good! Then, let''s go," Wyntor said with a friendly smile as he walked towards the exit of the warehouse.


    The other three followed him with excited expressions.


    Naturally, all three of them had already gathered quite a bit of wealth, and they were more than willing to buy something useful with that wealth.


    As the four of them stepped onto the streets, they drew the gazes of all the present people.


    Seeing three Zephyx Extractors walking around with their uniforms was quite eye-catching, but even more noticeable was Wyntor.


    Wyntor wore a form-fitting suit with a mixture of grey, red, and dark purple colors.


    Not everyone knew what this suit signified, but the few that did were shocked and surprised.


    Naturally, as the CEO in a public ce, Wyntor had to look the part, which was why he had put on his official suit for negotiations betweenpanies.


    The very few people who knew what this suit meant felt themselves lucky to see Wyntor.


    Usually, people of the Outer City didn''t have the luck to see one of the Melfion family''s progeny.


    The suit Wyntor was wearing showed everyone that he was part of the Melfion family, and the color scheme indicated his status.


    The grey color of the suit represented the Melfion family personally.


    The red color represented Kugelblitz, the biggest Zephyx Manufacturer of Crimson Fungus City.


    And the darker purple represented Dark Dream.


    This suit showed everyone that Wyntor was a possible heir to the Melfion family and that he had already made his own business.


    Compared to Wyntor, the three Zephyx Extractors walking behind him only seemed like his bodyguards or servants.


    Jenny and Trevor knew that Wyntor was part of the Melfion family, and right now, they felt a bit proud that they were one of the few people working for someone with such a high status.


    Nick didn''t pay a lot of attention to the people looking at them. His mind was fully upied with thinking about all the things he would soon buy!


    After a couple of minutes of walking, the group arrived in front of a big warehouse, even bigger than the one Dark Dream owned.


    This warehouse was probably over a hundred meters long and nearly as wide.


    In front of the warehouse stood a group of guards who inspected everyone who passed by them.


    "This is the ce," Wyntor said to his employees.


    The three people looked at the warehouse with interest.


    It seemed quite big but unassuming.


    Wyntor walked forward, and his three employees followed him.


    When the guards saw Wyntor''s suit, they performed a short but respectful bow.


    Wyntor answered with a nod.


    One of them opened a small sliding door and gestured for the group to enter.


    The other three gave a short "hi" before they also entered the warehouse.


    The door closed behind them, and the group could finally see what the marketce for Zephyx Extractors looked like.


    It was busy!


    "Wow," Nick uttered in surprise, "there are probably nearly a hundred people in here!"


    "Yep," Wyntor said with a smile as he looked at the group. "Since Newbies are not allowed in the Inner City without explicit permission, they all have to buy their things here."


    "But Wyntor, there are still so many people here," Nick said. "This is just one of the marketces, right? If there are already so many Extractors here, how many are there in the entire Outer City?"


    Wyntor smirked. "In truth, this is the only marketce for Extractors outside the Inner City."


    The three looked with surprise at Wyntor.


    The only one?


    They had assumed that it was only one of several marketces since they hadn''t even walked for two kilometers to get there.


    Wyntor chuckled a bit. "It just so happens that the marketce is very close to Dark Dream. It''s just a coincidence."


    "So, this is everyone?" Jenny asked from behind Nick.


    Jenny and Trevor were not veryfortable in Wyntor''s presence.


    The first time they had met Wyntor, he had taught them about Dark Dream and gave them orders, and that single meeting already represented the majority of their time spent talking to Wyntor.


    As the CEO, Wyntor had no official direct line ofmunication with the Zephyx Extractors.


    He only talked to them as an HR representative, but even that way ofmunicating with them would vanish when they got an actual HR person.


    If the two of them needed something from thepany, they just had to talk to Nick, and Nick would talk to Wyntor if necessary.


    "It''s not everyone," Wyntor said. "It''s about a third of all Newbies. Not all of the Newbiese here every week. Even more, Kugelblitz and Anatomy have permission to house their Newbies in the Inner City, and there are much better marketces there."


    Naturally, all three of the Extractors knew Kugelblitz and Anatomy.


    Kugelblitz was the biggest Zephyx Manufacturer of Crimson Fungus City, and their most famous Specter was the Crimson Fungus, which the city was named after.


    The Crimson Fungus was the only level six Specter that had been captured and contained in Crimson Fungus City.


    As the only Zephyx Manufacturer with a level six Specter, Kugelblitz naturally was the de-facto leader of Crimson Fungus City.


    However, there was also another very powerful and big Zephyx Manufacturer.


    Anatomy.

 Chapter 82 82 – The Manufacturers

    <h4>Chapter 82 Chapter 82 ¨C The Manufacturers</h4>


    Anatomy didn''t have a level six Specter, but they had a couple of level five Specters.


    Even more, Anatomy was led by one of the former level six Zephyx Extractors of Kugelblitz.


    For some reason, one of the five level six Zephyx Extractors had left Kugelblitz to join a talented and rapidly developing Zephyx Manufacturer and had be the Chief Zephyx Extractor there.


    With Anatomy having a level six Zephyx Extractor of their own, they could attempt to capture a level six Specter, a Demon.


    This gave them a shot at reaching Kugelblitz''s level, but only if they actually managed to get one.


    People from Kugelblitz or Anatomy didn''t walk outside the Inner City, and they wouldn''t find any of them in this marketce.


    "Although, they ount for only 10% of Newbies," Wyntor said.


    "Only 10%?" Nick asked. "But aren''t they the two biggest Manufacturers?"


    "They are the two most powerful, not the two biggest," Wyntor exined. "While size is an indicator of power, you also have to look at the quality of the Specters and the Extractors."


    "For example, Kugelblitz barely has 130 Extractors, but only 30 of those are in the first and second level. The other 100 are level three, four, and five Extractors."


    "Kugelblitz has almost 80% of all level four and five Extractors but less than 5% of all level one and two Extractors," Wyntor exined.


    "Sounds like there is no way to topple Kugelblitz," Trevormented with a chuckle.


    "It''s difficult," Wyntor said, "but if Anatomy manages to get a Demon, things might change."


    The next moment, Wyntor looked at Trevor with a smirk, and Trevor felt a bit nervous. "Who knows?" Wyntor said. "If Anatomy gets a level six Specter, we might have a war on our hands."


    The three of them felt quite nervous.


    A war between Manufacturers?


    What would that even look like?


    Would one of the Manufacturers free the Specters of another one to cause damage to them?


    That would be horrifying!


    "Anyway," Wyntor said, turning to the marketce again. "We won''t be meeting anyone from Kugelblitz or Anatomy here."


    "You see the Extractors in the turquoise and red uniforms?" Wyntor asked.


    "Speaking of," Nick said. "I was going to ask about that. Why do they not wear the official uniform for Zephyx Extractors?"


    "It is the official one," Wyntor said. "It''s the official one for their Manufacturer."


    "Almost all Zephyx Manufacturers have uniforms of their own, which also count as the official ones for the city."


    "If you want one, we need a level three Zephyx Extractor in Dark Dream. Then, I canmission one. Until then, you have to deal with the standard one."


    Nick looked at his uniform.


    Suddenly, the uniform didn''t seem that impressive anymore.


    "Anyway, the ones in the turquoise and red uniform are from Ghosty''s Lab, which is the third biggest Zephyx Manufacturer in the city," Wyntor said. "They also have over 30% of all level one and level two Zephyx Extractors."


    "In terms of quantity of Specters, they are number one in the city. They have a lot of Hatchlings, Adolescents, and Adults, but they also have a couple of Elders and even one Fanatic."


    "Try not to antagonize the Extractors from Ghosty''s Lab. If we have a conflict with them, we will go bankrupt before we know it," Wyntor said.


    The three of them nodded as they looked at the Extractors with the turquoise and red uniforms.


    There were about ten of them in here, which was lower than expected.


    ording to what Wyntor said, there should be over 30 of them here.


    However, it also wasn''t that surprising. Ghosty''s Lab probably bought the majority of their gear in the Inner City and traded it between their people. They were big enough that they could do that easily.


    "What about the others?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor pointed to someone wearing a silver and red outfit.


    "The people in the silver and red uniform belong to Gemini. Gemini used to be a rtive nobody, but they recently managed to capture their first Elder, which officially puts them just behind Ghosty''s Lab."


    "However, the difference in power between Ghosty''s Lab and Gemini is still massive. Ghosty''s Lab has over three times as many employees, which even extends to level three and level four Extractors."


    "Gemini is nothingpared to Ghosty''s Lab, but they are still a Manufacturer with a level four Specter. So, don''t try to start trouble with them."


    The three of them nodded and waited for Wyntor to continue.


    Next, Wyntor pointed to one of the Zephyx Extractors wearing a yellow and red uniform.


    "These people are from Sce. They used to be Gemini''s rivals, but they can no longerpete with Gemini since they don''t have a level four Specter."


    "I would also ask you not to antagonize them. Sce provides over 90% of all the artificial light that works against the Nightmare. Their most famous Specter, the Bright Candle, is the thing that illuminates our cheap Containment Unit, and it also provides the Arclights that we use from time to time."


    "They also sell the more modest versions of the Containment Units. The two we own have both been built by them."


    "If we suddenly have trouble with them, it will cost us a lot."


    Next, Wyntor pointed at a group of people wearing grey and red uniforms.


    "They are from the Spartans. It''s a rtively new start-up Manufacturer made by three unhappy level three Extractors that used to work for Gemini. While they have three level three Extractors, they haven''t managed to catch an Adult yet, but they definitely have the resources to do so."


    "Most likely, they won''t stay in business for much longer. If they manage to survive for a year, I would be very surprised," Wyntor exined neutrally.


    Nick looked with surprise at Wyntor. "Why do you think so?"


    Wyntor just smiled.


    "They don''t have someone that protects them from the bigger Manufacturers."


    "Naturally, every additional Manufacturer means morepetition and less money for the bigger Manufacturers. Because of that, the bigger Manufacturers put a lot of pressure on the smaller ones in an effort to drain them of resources."


    "But you don''t need to worry about Dark Dream," Wyntor said.


    "Kugelblitz, Anatomy, Ghosty''s Lab, Gemini, and Sce won''t touch us as long as we don''t initiate the hostilities."


    The three of them could take a good guess as to why.


    Wyntor''s suit showed exactly why.

 Chapter 83 83 – Start-ups

    <h4>Chapter 83 Chapter 83 ¨C Start-ups</h4>


    After talking a bit more, the four of them walked further into the marketce.


    Wyntor knew the most about what Zephyx Extractors needed, and the three of them deferred to his judgment when it came to buying something.


    As the three of them looked around, they noticed that most of the Extractors in the marketce were from Gemini, Sce, and the Spartans.


    Those three made up over 80% of all the Extractors that were present.


    There were also a couple of Extractors from Ghosty''s Lab, but most of them were, in fact, manning stalls instead of walking around and buying stuff.


    Naturally, most of the sellers were also from the Manufacturers.


    Creating equipment useful against Specters needed different kinds of specific Zephyx, and to get Zephyx, one needed a Specter. Because of that, most of the equipment was created by the different Manufacturers, and the equipment they didn''t need, they sold in ces like this.


    With so many people in theirpany, Ghosty''s Lab had an abundance of wares useful for Newbies and Johns.


    However, there were also a couple of people with the standard uniform.


    "What about the ones with the standard uniforms?" Jenny asked.


    "Start-ups," Wyntor said emotionlessly. "They are like Dark Dream, except for one important difference."


    "They don''t have a Specter."


    The three of them knew what Wyntor meant with that.


    He meant that thesepanies were essentially worthless.


    These Zephyx Extractors might have advanced in their levels and had even attained abilities, but they were Zephyx Extractors in name only.


    After all, they weren''t extracting Zephyx.


    Without a Specter, a Zephyx Manufacturer practically didn''t even exist.


    There was no ie.


    There was no power gain.


    There was nothing but a small group of people with a dream.


    "Do none of them have a Specter?" Nick asked.


    "Almost all," Wyntor answered. "If they actually manage to get one, the carrot and the stick will arrive."


    "What''s a carrot?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor was taken out of his flow when he heard that question and slowly turned to Nick. "It''s a vegetable. Something you want to eat."


    "I know what a vegetable is," Nick said with a bit of annoyance.


    Wyntor took a deep breath through his nose. "Anyway, it''s a form of speech. It means giving someone a very enticing reward or offer while also threatening them with something horrifying if they don''t follow and ept."


    "If one of thesepanies manages to get a Specter, the first bigger Manufacturer that finds out will offer to purchase the Specter at a high premium while also offering all of the Zephyx Extractors jobs."


    "The businessmen get the mountain of cash they were after, and the Extractors get the future they so desperately wanted."


    "But if they don''t ept, the Manufacturer will tell all the other Manufacturers that they are not willing to sell, at which point they will get suppressed into nothingness."


    "Artificial light suddenly costs five times more. Containment Units cost an arm and a leg. Bigger businesses are not willing to do business with them. The guards start to watch all of their steps very, very closely. The banks have issues making payments. Their Zephyx only sells for very little money."


    "Working with the Specter will essentially be more expensive than not working with it, making the Specter a liability and essentially worthless to them. They will slowly be bleeding money until they either sell their Specter or go bankrupt."


    When the three of them heard that, they took some deep breaths.


    That made it impossible to make any money!


    "Even if the leadership persists, the employees, including the Extractors, most likely won''t. Even more, those Extractors will quickly receive several offers from the big Manufacturers."


    "In the end, the leaders are left with a Specter and no people to work with it."


    The three just thought about Wyntor''s words for a bit.


    Sure enough, creating a new Manufacturer was extremely difficult.


    Luckily, they had Wyntor, who had the backing of the Melfion family, and the Melfion family owned a big part of Kugelblitz.


    Nobody would want to offend someone like that without an incentive.


    "Wyntor, you said most earlier," Nick said.


    "Most what?" Wyntor asked.


    "That most of the people with the normal uniform don''t have a Specter. What about the others?"


    "Well," Wyntor slowly said as his eyesnded on a small group of four people who were currently looking at a couple of items. "There is one other new Zephyx Manufacturer, but they are not that important."


    The three of them noticed that Wyntor was purposefully being vague, but they could tell that they shouldn''t ask him.


    "In short," Wyntor added, "don''t be rude to the people here, and they will also not be rude to you, most likely. There are always exceptions, but we will deal with those on a case-by-case basis."


    "Of course!" Nick said with a nod.


    The other two also nodded in affirmation.


    Wyntor let out a little smile and turned forward. "Let''s get to the Barriers first. Extractors without Barriers are essentially naked."


    The three of them nodded and followed after Wyntor.


    The four of them passed by a couple of stalls, which offered various items.


    Nick saw many different magical items, and he also saw a couple of weapons.


    There were only about 15 stalls in the entire marketce, and over half of them were staffed by Extractors from Ghosty''s Lab.


    Most of the people who looked at the three Zephyx Extractors seemed apathetic and uncaring, but when they saw Wyntor in front of them, their attitude changed.


    Instead of seeming cold, they seemed more neutral.


    In practicality, there was no difference between the two attitudes. In both cases, the other person wouldn''t interact with the group.


    The only difference was the opinion the other person had of the group.


    After a bit of walking, the four of them stopped in front of a rather big stall near the end of the marketce.


    Just like most of them, this one was manned by a girl wearing a turquoise and red uniform, showing that she was a Zephyx Extractor from Ghosty''s Lab.


    Surprisingly, there was an emblem with three small ghosts embroidered on her uniform.


    This meant that she was a Veteran, a level three Extractor!

 Chapter 84 84 – Low Margins

    <h4>Chapter 84 Chapter 84 ¨C Low Margins</h4>


    There were four other people standing in front of the stall, and they were looking at the different round objects for sale.


    Naturally, these round objects were Barriers.


    Yet, the atmosphere in this stall was also a bit tense.


    After all, who wouldn''t be respectful in front of a Veteran?


    One had to remember that Veterans already belonged to the top 20% of Extractors.


    There were not even 200 Veterans in the entirety of Crimson Fungus City.


    Every single Veteran was at least a hundred times as powerful as a normal person.


    This meant that even the weakest Veteran could lift something weighing over eight tons above their head!


    This young woman could grab any random person in here and literally tear them in two like they were a piece of paper!


    She was also the only Veteran in the marketce.


    The other stalls from Ghosty''s Lab were all manned by Johns, and most of the other stalls were manned by Newbies.


    As for the customers, there were maybe one or two Johns present, and they were only here to help their younger colleagues find something good for their money.


    This meant that this person was, by far, the most powerful one in the entire marketce.


    But that was to be expected.


    After all, Barriers were the priciest items here since they represented a Zephyx Extractor''s life.


    The Veteran was probably carrying over ten million credits worth of wares with her.


    The three Extractors from Dark Dream felt some pressure emanating from the young woman.


    The Veteran wasn''t aggressive or anything. It was simply the feeling someone weaker felt when they were in front of someone much stronger.


    Wyntor just put on a friendly smile and walked up to the Veteran.


    "Good morning, we''re from Dark Dream, and we''re interested in purchasing Barriers for our three Zephyx Extractors," Wyntor said.


    "Dark Dream?" the Veteran repeated in confusion as she turned to Wyntor.


    She had never heard of Dark Dream before.


    But when she saw Wyntor''s suit, her eyes lit up, and she understood.


    ''There might be some money here,'' she thought.


    "Of course," she answered with a polite smile. "If I may be so rude, what is your budget?"


    Wyntor just chuckled. "No worries, we already know what we are looking for, and it should just be within our budget."


    Nick and Trevor didn''t notice it, but the Veteran''s eyes very slightly hardened for just a split-second.


    However, Jenny and Wyntor noticed.


    "Great!" the Veteran said with a friendly tone. "What do you have in mind?"


    "First, we want a Barrier with a two-to-one conversion rate that can block all physical attacks and almost all force attacks," Wyntor said.


    The Veteran nodded. "What about mental attacks?"


    "Not necessary," Wyntor answered.


    "What about the form and color?" she asked.


    "Color is not important, and I''m fine with a sphere or spheroid for form."


    "What about the activation mechanism?" she asked.


    "Manual," Wyntor answered.


    The Veteran sighed unnoticeably.


    The guy in front of her had perfectly dodged all the pitfalls and all the items that put a premium on the Barrier.


    He was searching for something ugly and cumbersome but cheap and effective.


    "Based on the specifications, I think 250,000 credits should be just right," Wyntor said before the Veteran could say anything.


    The Veteran looked deeply into Wyntor''s eyes.


    About two seconds passed.


    "Sure, we have just the perfect model for your specifications and budget," she said with a forced, polite smile.


    Wyntor smiled back.


    The next moment, the Veteran crouched to look under the stall, and a couple of secondster, she put a grey and round te on the counter.


    In the center was a tiny gem with grey and bronze colors swirling inside of it.


    The te itself seemed basic and unnoticeable.


    Compared to all the Barriers on disy, it looked like junk.


    Yet, when Nick saw it, he immediately fell in love.


    It looked sturdy and reliable!


    The next moment, Nick took out his bank card and took a deep breath.


    250,000 credits.


    That was around 70% of what he had saved up!


    The next moment, Nick took another deep breath and put his card on the table.


    When the Veteran saw Nick pulling out a bank card, she threw a smile at Wyntor. "It''s rare to see an Extractor pay with their own credits for equipment."


    Jenny and Trevor threw a look at Wyntor when they heard that.


    Naturally, this was the Veteran''s revenge for buying the stuff with low margins.


    Yet, Wyntor just chuckled. "They get 10% of the Zephyx they extract as payment at a wholesale rate. They can afford to pay for their own equipment," he said.


    When the Veteran heard that, her eyes widened in disbelief.


    She didn''t say anything.


    10% of the Zephyx they extracted at a wholesale rate?!


    Then, wouldn''t she be earning over a million credits a month instead of the measly 200,000 credits she was earning right now?!


    Instead of getting some satisfaction out of making Wyntor ufortable, the Veteran got annoyed.


    "Understandable," she answered in a polite voice without putting much energy into it while grabbing Nick''s card.


    When Trevor and Jenny saw the Veteran''s reaction, they realized that they were being paid very well.


    If even a Veteran looked that surprised, they probably earned a lot of money!


    This only increased their loyalty towards Wyntor and their thankfulness.


    "Here you go," the Veteran said as she handed the card and the Barrier to Nick.


    Nick just looked at the Barrier in wonder while Wyntor started to request another Barrier.


    This one only had a one-to-one ratio, but it could also block most attacks.


    In the end, the price was only 50,000 credits for that one, and it went to Jenny.


    The next one was identical to the second one and went to Trevor.


    Since Trevor was still pretty new, Wyntor paid for it.


    Wyntor would simply dock Trevor''s payments until he had cleared his debt.


    "Thank you," Wyntor said politely.


    "Sure," the Veteran answered, not even putting up an act of being friendly.


    Naturally, the Veteran was not very happy.


    She hadn''t even made 20,000 credits inmission from these trades.


    The three Barriers they bought had extremely low-profit margins.


    In the end, she could only sigh and continue waiting for other customers.

 Chapter 85 85 – Barriers

    <h4>Chapter 85 Chapter 85 ¨C Barriers</h4>


    After leaving the stall behind, Wyntor pulled his three employees to the side and exined to them how they could activate and configure their Barriers.


    Using these Barriers was very easy since there were only a couple of options to choose from.


    "The Barriers you bought do not have AI chips, which means that there isn''t much you can do with them," Wyntor said.


    "AI-chips?" Nick asked in confusion.


    Jenny and Trevor also didn''t know what that meant.


    "I''ll tell you in detail when it bes relevant," Wyntor said. "Advanced Barriers need AI chips, and they are the most expensive part of a Barrier. They regte the size, strength, and attribute of a Barrier while also activating and deactivating it. You can view AI chips as an autonomous mind that controls your Barrier."


    "Your Barriers don''t have AI chips, which is why we managed to get good ones for a rtively low price. The drawback is that you have to activate them yourself," Wyntor said.


    After a bit of fidgeting around, the three of them managed to activate their Barriers.


    "I can''t see it," Nick said after he put his activated Barrier into the pocket of his uniform.


    "Watch," Wyntor said.


    Then, Wyntor walked back a little¡­


    And charged right at Nick.


    Wyntor jumped and kicked forward.


    Nick''s eyes widened in wonder.


    ''Will the Barrier activate?''


    BANG!


    Sure enough, a bronze sphere appeared around Nick''s body for just a second before vanishing again.


    Wyntor was halted and fell onto his feet.


    The next moment, Wyntor moved his arm through the space where the Barrier had just been.


    But this time, it didn''t activate.


    "See that?" Wyntor asked. "The Barriers you bought are effective, but they have very simple activation triggers."


    "If an object with high heat, extreme cold, high speed, or with a lot of force is about to pass through the Barrier, it activates."


    "There are also a couple of other triggers, but those are the main ones."


    "Sadly¡­"


    The next moment, Wyntor slowly took out a silver knife.


    Then, he slowly moved the knife past Nick''s Barrier before rapidly striking forward.


    Obviously, Wyntor stopped before he hit Nick.


    Meanwhile, Nick, Trevor, and Jenny were surprised about what they had just seen.


    Nick''s Barrier hadn''t activated, even though Wyntor had essentially stabbed towards Nick with a sharp knife!


    "You see?" Wyntor asked as he pulled back. "If I slowly move past the Barrier''s activation point, I canunch an attack from within its domain."


    "If a sizable solid object upies the space of the Barrier, it can''t activate. The Barriers you guys bought don''t have the ability to cut through strong objects."


    "Of course, if you want to use a long weapon, like a spear, you also have to be careful that your spear doesn''t stretch past your barrier."


    The more the three of them heard about their Barriers, the more appalled they became.


    They had paid so much money for that?!


    "There are so many weaknesses!" Nick spoke loudly, almost shouting.


    "It can''t be helped," Wyntor said as he put his knife away. "That''s the tradeoff, and I''m not even done telling you about them."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "The standby mode of the Barrier drains a considerable amount of Zephyx," Wyntor said. "You should be feeling the drain by now."


    Nick furrowed his brows and moved his arms a bit.


    He felt a bit sluggish.


    "I do feel a bit exhausted and sluggish," Nick said.


    Wyntor nodded. "When the Barrier is on standby, it continually drains your Zephyx. Without any external help, a Zephyx Extractor needs about an hour to refill their Zephyx storage."


    "As someone who has already advanced a couple of levels, the primary energy source is slowly transforming to be Zephyx. Food and water will be less relevant the more you advance, and most of your power will starting from the Zephyx your body produces from the Prephyx in the atmosphere."


    "Sadly,pared to Specters, humans can''t split the Zephyx they produce from their bodies, making it impossible to harvest it. Trust me, humanity really, really tried."


    "Anyway, the Zephyx your body uses to move and fight will be drained by the Barrier until you deactivate it, or you are critically low."


    "Because of that, your Barrier has to stay deactivated for most of the time, and you have to activate it manually when you are about to enter battle," Wyntor exined.


    The three of them were not big fans.


    The Barriers sounded horrible.


    "But don''t underestimate the Barriers," Wyntor said. "That one Barrier you bought, Nick, should allow you to confidently win against the Dreamer."


    Nick raised an eyebrow in surprise.


    Really?


    Wyntor nodded like he had just read Nick''s thoughts. "If the Dreamer decides to attack you, your Barrier will activate, and the Dreamer will be stopped just a bit in front of you. At that point, it will simply be stationary in the air. At that point, you can just use a pipe or whatever to hit it and break some of its bones. Of course, if you had a weapon, it would be even better."


    "Being able to resist a powerful attack is extremely useful and will many times turn the tide."


    Nick thought about Wyntor''s words, and he had to agree.


    It would be like the Dreamer flew against a hard wall.


    The next moment, the wall would disappear, and Nick could just kick the Dreamer''s torso, caving in its chest.


    Even though Nick''s body was a bit weaker than the Dreamer''s, a fully powered kick to the chest was still devastating to the Dreamer.


    Additionally, the Barrier could probably block more than one attack.


    Another alternative to the battle would be Nick just jumping on top of the Dreamer and epassing it with his arms in an effort to suppress it.


    Even more, Nick could also just run out of the Dreamer''s Containment Unit without dying with the Barrier.


    Nick''s gaze moved to the pocket of his uniform that held the Barrier.


    ''That is actually way more useful than I thought.''


    "Let''s take a look at some weapons now," Wyntor said.

 Chapter 86 86 – Weapons

    <h4>Chapter 86 Chapter 86 ¨C Weapons</h4>


    The three of them grew excited when they heard Wyntor talking about weapons.


    "What do you have left in savings?" Wyntor asked as he led them to the next stall.


    "In total, about 80,000 credits," Nick said, "but I don''t want to spend more than 50,000."


    "60,000 credits," Jenny said.


    "If I don''t count the Barrier, about 30,000 credits," Trevor said with a bitter smile.


    One had to remember that Wyntor hadpletely paid for Trevor''s Barrier.


    Wyntor nodded. "Let''s try not to go above 50,000 credits per person then. Do you have any preferences for weapons?"


    Nick had an uncertain expression. "I want to see what they have to offer first."


    "I heard there is something called a gun," Jenny said.


    Wyntor nodded. "Yes, they also sell guns."


    "What are they, and how do they work?" Jenny asked.


    "A gun is a small object that uses an explosion of power to elerate a small object to such high speeds that the object gains enough force to severely injure someone," Wyntor exined.


    "The guns we are going to look at are made of durable metals, and they use Zephyx as a power source. Very expensive guns for powerful Zephyx Extractors are fully made of materials created with Zephyx that shoot other kinds of Zephyx, but these are far beyond your current ability."


    "Why do you want to know?" Wyntor asked after exining everything.


    "I heard that I can use guns from far away," Jenny said. "I don''t like to admit it, but as a woman, I tend to be physically weaker than most men. Because of that, I want to use something that doesn''t rely on my physical strength."


    Wyntor nodded. "A rational choice. What about you, Trevor?"


    "What do you suggest?" Trevor asked.


    "You''re pretty big," Wyntor said. "I''m not a fighter, but my instructor told me that when you have an advantage, you should do your best to make the advantage even bigger instead of trying to get everything else to the same level as your advantage."


    "If someone is already faster than most people, it takes a significant amount of work to get their power and defense to the same level, and then, it might not be enough to defend from someone with a simr level of power."


    "However, if that same person put the work into improving their speed even more, nearly nobody would be able to touch them, making the enemy''s speed and power almost meaningless."


    "Since you are already pretty big, I would suggest going for a weapon with a long reach. Something like a spear," Wyntor exined.


    Trevor fell into thought and nodded a couple of times. "That sounds reasonable. I think I''ll follow that advice."


    The four of them quickly reached the stall, and Wyntor introduced them to a couple of weapons on disy.


    Nick could see all manner of weapons.


    Swords, daggers, knives, sabers, spears,nces, axes, clubs, guns, bows, explosives,s, tridents, traps, ropes, chains, whips, rods, everything!


    Wyntor helped Trevor first, and the two of them looked at the spears, tridents,nces, and rods.


    Since Zephyx Extractors were much more powerful than normal humans, ranged weapons weren''t as overpowered anymore.


    A normal gun that guards used would only get through Nick''s skin, but his muscles would be able to block the bullet.


    Nick would still bleed, but it wouldn''t be a dangerous wound.


    Even more, an Initial John would only receive a red ring of blood on the spot where the bullet hit them, and Mid Johns would only get a small bruise.


    Peak Johns basically didn''t care about normal guns anymore.


    Because of that, melee weapons became quite relevant again.


    Especially when the enemy was fast enough to get to someone before they could properly aim their gun at them.


    After a bit of trying around, Trevor went for quite a peculiar weapon.


    It was a mixture of a dagger and a spear.


    In its base form, it looked like a dagger with a very wide hilt. However, the hilt was made of concentric cones of metal, and when they were extended, they would form the long hilt of a spear.


    This allowed Trevor to use it as a dagger but also as a spear.


    Sadly, it wasn''t as useful as either of them in their respective modes.


    The hilt was too heavy and thick for a dagger, and when expanded, the hilt was too thin and hollow to block a significantly powerful attack.


    But Trevor still wanted it, and his reason was pretty solid.


    Since Trevor was the chosen person for taking up the subtle missions, he needed a weapon that he could hide but also made use of his size.


    In the end, Wyntor paid 60,000 credits for the spear, putting Trevor into a debt of 110,000 credits.


    However, Wyntor believed in Trevor''s ability to repay him, and he was willing to invest in him.


    Naturally, Trevor was extremely thankful and promised Wyntor that he would repay him as soon as possible.


    Next, Wyntor looked at the guns with Jenny.


    There were many different kinds of guns.


    Handguns, shotguns, rifles, sniper rifles, assault rifles¡­


    After a lot of talking, Jenny decided to go for a sniper rifle.


    Her reasoning was simple.


    She wasn''t good at fighting, and if she actually got into a fight, she would very likely lose and die.


    Because of that, she didn''t intend to get into a battle.


    Instead, she would stay outside any conflict and support with brutal attacks from a great range.


    Jenny never intended to fight someone on her own.


    She would rely on Trevor and Nick to protect her while taking care of the most powerful enemies from afar.


    In the end, Jenny spent 50,000 credits, and Wyntor also spent 50,000 credits.


    But in exchange, Jenny got an amazing sniper rifle.


    It was around 150 centimeters long, and it was pure ck.


    "You are expected to provide for your own teachers," Wyntor told Trevor and Jenny.


    Both of them nodded without anyint.


    They had bought their weapons, but they also needed to learn how to use them.


    Then, Wyntor looked at Nick, who was looking at the weapons.


    "Made your choice yet?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick looked ufortable.


    "Yes, but¡­"


    "You will think I''m dumb."

 Chapter 87 87 – Fist Weapon

    <h4>Chapter 87 Chapter 87 ¨C Fist Weapon</h4>


    "What did you choose?" Wyntor asked.


    "Well," Nick said as he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. "I''ve always only fought with my fists and legs, you know? I feel like I''m already very used to them, and I don''t really want to use anything else."


    Wyntor raised an eyebrow.


    "So, I''m interested in fist and leg weapons," Nick said.


    "Hmm," Wyntor uttered as he thought about what Nick had just said. "I''m not sure if that''s such a good idea."


    "Why?" Nick asked.


    "Your ability," Wyntor said, ncing around to make sure that nobody could hear them.


    A momentter, Wyntor pulled Nick to the side so that nobody could listen in.


    "You can only properly use your ability when nobody sees you," Wyntor whispered. "Fist weapons are great for extreme close range and grappling, but that makes your ability useless since the opponent can easily tell where you are when you are literally touching their body all over."


    "I was thinking more along the lines of a spear or a rapier. Something that allows you to silently stab an enemy with a lot of power."


    Nick looked a bit worried. "What about a fist weapon with a deing from it? Maybe one that can also retract?"


    Wyntor frowned. "Why are you that set on a fist weapon?"


    "I''m used to it," Nick said. "Also, I need to silently reach my opponent, right? I want something small that doesn''t slow me down."


    Wyntor still wasn''t the biggest fan of Nick''s suggestion. "I feel like you are wasting your biggest advantage. You have to remember that all Zephyx Extractors design their fighting style around their ability, and if you don''t do that, you will be at a disadvantage against everyone. Additionally, Specters also focus on their abilities."


    Nick just looked at Wyntor with a worried expression, and Wyntor realized that this wasn''t an expression of someone who was thinking about changing their choice but someone who was afraid of angering someone because of something they were about to say.


    When Wyntor saw that, he only sighed.


    "Fine," he said. "It''s your decision anyway."


    Nick released a sigh of relief.


    "However," Wyntor added. "I still want you to get something else in case you change your mind in the future."


    Nick only smiled happily. "Sure!"


    Wyntor only massaged the bridge of his nose as the two of them walked back to the stall.


    "Which one do you want?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick went forward and grabbed a set of cuffs.


    There were two long metallic bracers, which were supposed to go on the shin, and two bracers for Nick''s wrists.


    However, the bracers for Nick''s wrists had an addition.


    About 30 centimeters long and very wide des came out of them.


    In a way, the des almost looked like equteral triangles.


    They were designed this way to make the des stable and also able to block attacks. After all, it was normal to block or parry an attack with the back of one''s hand.


    In order to fit the arm better, the des were also curved, epassing the back of the hands.


    When Wyntor saw the four cuffs, he raised an eyebrow. ''That''s actually not that stupid.''


    But when Wyntor saw the price, he frowned.


    "Nick, you need better ones," Wyntor said.


    Nick''s eyes widened in surprise. "But these are already so expensive!"


    "Nick, poor people can''t afford to buy cheap."


    Nick''s brain froze as it tried to understand what Wyntor meant.


    When Wyntor saw Nick''s confusion, he sighed again.


    "Think about how hard these des are, and now, think about how strong you are with your ability."


    "These des are designed for Peak Newbies, and with your ability¡­ you know¡­" Wyntor said, not revealing any sensitive information.


    Nick looked at the des, and he slowly realized what Wyntor meant.


    "Oh, now I get it!" he shouted. "Since poor people don''t have a lot of money, they have to buy cheap stuff, but the cheap stuff breaks very quickly, which forces them to buy more cheap stuff. If they had the money, they could buy something more expensive that doesn''t break, which might even cost fewer credits in the long run!"


    "Yes, Nick," Wyntor said. "That''s what the phrase means."


    "But I don''t have the money for something better," Nick said. "Also, I don''t think they sell better stuff here."


    "It''s fine," Wyntor said. "Since you now know what you want, I will get you what you need my own way. Give me one to three days, and you will get your weapons."


    "They will be of much higher quality and will hold longer, but they will also be more expensive."


    "For now, I''m going to pay for them since I trust that you will quickly pay me back," Wyntor said.


    Nick didn''t feel great epting such a gift, but he also knew that this was probably the best way to go about it.


    If Nick got into a fight with these des and punched someone with them while his ability was active, they might break into pieces.


    Nick would soon be a Peak Newbie, and when he reached that level, he would be about 25 times more powerful than a normal adult male with his ability active.


    It would be like a rhinoceros wearing the de on its horn and charging at a wall.


    Due to his ability, Nick had to use equipment created for Mid Johns and stronger.


    "Okay, thanks, Wyntor," Nick said.


    Wyntor just nodded.


    Then, Wyntor turned to Jenny and Trevor. "Do you still need something?"


    "I don''t think we have any money left," Trevor said with an embarrassed smile.


    Wyntor nodded. "It was more of a rhetorical question."


    Jenny and Trevor just chuckled politely.


    "Then, let''s go back," Wyntor said.


    Wyntor turned around to-


    "Hey, Winny."


    Wyntor came face to face with an equally tall man with light-brown hair.


    Surprisingly, the man''s face looked very simr to Wyntor''s, and his hair had the same color.


    However, there were two distinct differences.


    First, he was maybe two to five years older than Wyntor.


    And second, he wore the official uniform for Zephyx Extractors, and it had two stars on it.


    That meant he was a level two Extractor.

 Chapter 88 88 – Ardum

    <h4>Chapter 88 Chapter 88 ¨C Ardum</h4>


    When Wyntor saw the man in front of him, his expression became very neutral and apathetic.


    "What do you want, Ardum?" Wyntor asked evenly.


    Ardum just smiled brightly. "Why, I want to talk to my little bro," Ardum said with an excited voice as he stretched his arm towards Wyntor''s shoulder.


    Wyntor took a step back, and Ardum''s arm halted. "Don''t want to give your big bro a hug?"


    "No," Wyntor spoke apathetically.


    Nick furrowed his brows while Trevor and Jenny seemed a bit ufortable.


    One didn''t need to know Wyntor very closely to see that he didn''t want to talk to his big brother.


    "There are other people around, Winny," Ardum said with a nice but strained voice. "We shouldn''t make a scene."


    "Like you are doing right now?"


    Ardum frowned as he looked at the person who had just spoken up.


    It was Nick.


    "This is a family matter," Ardum said.


    "We are on apany trip, which makes this a business matter," Nick said as he stepped forward to stand beside Wyntor. "If you need to talk to your brother, please do-"


    "Who do you think you are?!" Ardum shouted, his polite demeanorpletely gone. "As I''ve said, this is a matter between two members of the Melfion family! Keep yourself out of this, peasant!"


    The power of Ardum''s voice was very dominant, but Nick only narrowed his eyes.


    "Nick, calm yourself," Wyntor said with a bit of annoyance.


    An arrogant sneer appeared on Ardum''s face.


    "Don''t talk with the garbageman," Wyntor added.


    Nick blinked a couple of seconds in surprise.


    Garbageman? That was a strange insult.


    It was an insult, right?


    It sounded more like a job.


    A momentter, Nick felt the air around him vibrate and found that the cause was Ardum.


    If looks could kill, Wyntor would have been torn into pieces already.


    "What are you referring to?" Ardum asked threateningly.


    "Don''t ask questions you don''t want the answer to," Wyntor answered coldly. "I''m referring to your great bargain, obviously."


    Ardum snorted. "Jealousy is unfit of a potential heir to the Melfion family, Winny."


    "Jealous? Of your literal pile of shit?" Wyntor asked with a snort. "You are probably barely breaking even with it. Any of my Hatchlings produce more Zephyx than your worthless Adolescent."


    "You''ve always been a dreamer, Wyntor," Ardum said. "It seems like that hasn''t changed."


    Wyntor''s eyes narrowed slightly as a gleam appeared in them.


    At the same time, Nick, Jenny, and Trevor grew shocked.


    The way Ardum had just spoken the word dreamer was very peculiar.


    He had phrased it like he was referring to something very different.


    ''He knows,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    While all the Zephyx Extractors of Dark Dream knew about the Dreamer, nobody outside of Dark Dream should know about it.


    Wyntor had not made the details about the Dreamer public.


    Nick immediately nced at Jenny and Trevor.


    When Jenny saw Nick''s narrowed eyes, she rapidly shook her head.


    Trevor just shook his head with a bitter smile.


    "So, you''ve got some ears," Wyntormented. "Maybe you should stop talking so much, or they might be deaf."


    "What''s the point?" Ardum said with a quick snort and chuckle. "I already know everything I need to know."


    "I also know about your second Specter," Ardum said. "To think that you would have the luck to get your hands on a Possession Specter."


    Immediately, the atmosphere became even tenser.


    Nick''s eyes widened, and he immediately became worried and suspicious.


    And then, Nick noticed something.


    Ardum''s hand had slightly twitched just now.


    Nick had only noticed the hand because he stood beside Wyntor.


    ''That''s a signal!'' Nick realized.


    Nick knew that the signal wasn''t for Wyntor or for him.


    There were no Extractors around Ardum, and Jenny couldn''t have seen it since Wyntor''s body was between her eyes and Ardum''s hand.


    However¡­


    Nick turned to look at Trevor¡­


    Who quickly looked away from Ardum''s hand!


    The next moment, Trevor looked into Nick''s eyes and noticed that Nick had noticed.


    Trevor''s face turned white.


    "Oops," Ardum said with a smirk.


    Then, he turned to look at Trevor openly.


    "Shouldn''t have asked for so much money," he said with an evil smirk.


    Jenny gasped and stepped away from Trevor.


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    Trevor had been a bit suspicious since the start.


    Trevor''s interview had been too smooth, and Trevor had seemed way too perfect for the role.


    It was almost like Trevor was a born Zephyx Extractor.


    He had a powerful will, was extremely good with people, was tall and powerful, and, most of all, he was intelligent and cunning.


    Trevor was just too good at everything.


    It was almost impossible not to hire him.


    Trevor looked with a shocked face at Ardum.


    It was almost like he couldn''t believe what he had just heard.


    It was like he had been thrown into a nightmare.


    "I told you," Wyntor said evenly to Ardum. "You should stop talking before your ears be deaf."


    "Expect Pator''s head in the mail tomorrow."


    Everyone immediately turned to look at Wyntor.


    Pator?


    Why Pator?


    Pator wasn''t even here!


    Ardum''s eyes also opened widely. "What?" he asked.


    "You think your schemes work against me? Please!" Wyntor said with a disgusted sneer. "You always thought yourself to be so intelligent and above everyone else, and to be fair, you are very intelligent."


    "But you are also way too arrogant and confident. Just like an adrenaline junky, you want to give your enemy hints but don''t want them to realize that the hints are actually hints."


    Ardum suddenly startedughing.


    "Oh, Winny, you''re always acting like you have the world in your pocket."


    Then, Ardum turned around, and his expression darkened.


    "I just hope, as your brother, that it doesn''t one day swallow you."


    At that moment, the atmosphere changed again, but this time, it wasn''t due to the four people of Dark Dream.


    Instead, some of the onlookers had narrowed their eyes at Ardum with displeasure.


    Apparently, what he had just said was not something they liked to hear.


    However, Wyntor didn''t answer and waited for Ardum to walk away.


    "Are you willing to do it?" Wyntor asked.


    "Huh?" Nick asked back.


    "Kill Pator," Wyntor added coldly.


    Silence.

 Chapter 89 89 – Pator

    <h4>Chapter 89 Chapter 89 ¨C Pator</h4>


    "Kill Pator?" Nick repeated in shock. "Why?"


    "Because he''s Ardum''s spy," Wyntor said coldly without turning to look at Nick.


    "How do you know?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor looked around and saw several people looking at them.


    "Let''s talk outside," he said, leading his group out of the huge warehouse.


    The three of them followed Wyntor in shock.


    After leaving the warehouse, they walked back to Dark Dream in silence.


    Nobody dared to speak up.


    Pator?


    A spy?


    The little boy?


    Pator was maybe 14 years old.


    Pator had been nice to everyone, and he had always happily supported them.


    How could he be a spy?


    Which 14-year-old actually had the guts to work as a double agent in something as sensitive as Zephyx manufacturing?


    The walk back to Dark Dream felt like it went on for an eternity.


    Eventually, the four of them walked through Dark Dream''s doors.


    "Wee back! How was shopping?" an excited Pator asked.


    "Pretty good," Wyntor answered neutrally. "We got some good deals."


    "Pator, could you deal with Horua for a bit longer? I need Nick and the others for a bit," Wyntor added.


    "No problem!" Pator answered before standing up and walking out of the warehouse.


    However, before Pator reached the door, he stopped to look at Jenny.


    "Is something wrong, Jenny?" he asked.


    "What?" Jenny answered, shocked, like she had just been woken up from a daydream. "No, nothing''s wrong!"


    Pator looked a bit worried. "Don''t let things get to your head, okay?" he said.


    "S-sure," Jenny answered.


    Pator smiled brightly, nodded, and walked out of the warehouse.


    When the door closed, Jenny released a shaky breath, and a terrified look appeared in her eyes.


    Thinking about the young and cheerful boy dying was too difficult to bear.


    "Follow me," Wyntor said evenly as he walked to the Containment Unit holding the Screaming Coffin.


    The three of them nervously followed Wyntor.


    Wyntor typed on the console of the Containment Unit a bit before opening the employee door.


    "Come in," Wyntor said as he entered the Containment Unit.


    Jenny and Trevor took deep breaths.


    They had no idea what was in there, but they knew it had to be a Specter.


    Coming face to face with a new Specter was always terrifying.


    "Don''t worry," Nick said. "It''s basically harmless. The Dreamer is way worse."


    Trevor and Jenny just looked at each other before entering.


    After the four of them entered, the employee door closed, and they all saw the Screaming Coffin.


    Trevor and Jenny just looked at it in shock.


    It was just a coffin?


    Was that it?


    Right now, the Screaming Coffin was just lying on the ground, doing nothing.


    "Jenny, what do you know about it?" Wyntor asked without looking at her.


    Jenny looked with uncertainty at Wyntor. "You said it eats corpses."


    Wyntor nodded. "Trevor, what do you know about it?"


    "That it screams a lot," he said, realization appearing in his eyes.


    Nick and Jenny hadn''t realized it yet.


    Wyntor turned to look at his three employees.


    "I told all of you different details about the Screaming Coffin," he said.


    "Nick knows everything since he caught it and works with it."


    "Trevor knows that it screams a lot."


    "Jenny knows that it eats corpses."


    "And Pator knows that it''s a Possession Specter."


    "None of you are privy to the details I told the other ones, and you also have barely any time to meet during the day to exchange information. Additionally, I told all of you to not share your information with anyone but Nick."


    "Ardum said that he knows that I have a Possession Specter, and only Pator knew that."


    "Therefore, Pator is the spy."


    Silence.


    The three of them had troubled expressions on their faces.


    However, it was just too difficult to believe that such a young kid was capable of such a massive feat of deception.


    Whether they wanted to or not, Jenny''s and Trevor''s eyesnded on Nick.


    Nick also knew everything about the Screaming Coffin.


    He could have also leaked it.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Naturally, he had noticed the others'' expressions, and he knew what they were thinking.


    "It''s not Nick," Wyntor said.


    Trevor and Jenny felt called out and ashamed.


    After all, Nick was their boss.


    Yet¡­


    "Nick is too dumb and honest to be a spy," Wyntor said.


    Nick awkwardly scratched the back of his head.


    He wasn''t that dumb.


    "Nick is either the best maniptor in the entire world or no maniptor at all," Wyntor said. "Trust me, I put Nick through so many tests that it is basically impossible for him to be a spy."


    Nick''s eyes widened. "Tests? There were no tests!"


    "Questions about things we both already know the answer to. If you keep lying and someone inquires further, you have to keep lying, and you have to keep this web ofplicated lies coherent and logical. By continually asking you about details, you would eventually slip up if you were lying."


    "Asking you to exin things while in a very emotional situation. Lying takes a lot of brainpower, and faking emotions also does. Doing both at once is extremely difficult."


    "I also kept questioning your morals and why you believe in what you believe in."


    "I''ve been testing you for months, Nick," Wyntor said. "And I am quite certain that I can trust you with my life."


    Nick felt too shocked to respond immediately.


    "That sounds unrealistic," Nick said.


    Wyntor just snorted. "These things have been drilled into my head ever since I was just five. By now, it''s unrealistic not to do it to everyone I meet."


    "But you didn''t realize that Pator was a spy?" Nick asked.


    A momentter, Nick felt bad.


    That was not an appropriatement.


    However, Wyntor just sighed.


    "The signs were there," Wyntor said before looking at the Screaming Coffin absentmindedly.


    "I guess I just ignored them since he''s been my servant for thest two years."


    "He was the only one I could openly talk to in that oppressive mansion."


    Silence.

 Chapter 90 90 – What’s One More?

    <h4>Chapter 90 Chapter 90 ¨C What''s One More?</h4>


    "Who''s going to do it?" Wyntor asked, just looking at the Screaming Coffin.


    It was almost like he was looking at an actual coffin.


    "I can do it."


    Everyone turned to look at Trevor.


    "You hired me for these kinds of missions anyway," Trevor said with a sigh.


    Naturally, as someone from the Dregs, Trevor had gone through a lot of shit in his life, but killing someone was still something he had never done before.


    But now, he was willing to actually go through with it.


    Even more, his target was a 14-year-old.


    Jenny looked at Trevor and felt quite bad.


    Jenny already felt guilty since she had suspected Trevor of being a traitor earlier, and Trevor volunteering to kill a kid definitely didn''t help.


    "That''s not your job," Nick said with a sigh.


    "Dealing with employees is my job," he added.


    Then, Nick looked at the ground with an almost apathetic expression.


    "Additionally, Pator isn''t the first person I killed," he whispered.


    Jenny took a deep breath.


    She had heard that Nick might have already killed someone, but it was still difficult tobine the concept of a murderer with her image of Nick in her mind.


    Nick was such a happy-go-lucky guy, and he was willing to go through a lot of effort for his employees.


    He was honest, friendly, nice, and almost yful.


    Yet, he had also killed several people before.


    The contrast was just too stark.


    "Are you sure?" Trevor asked with a concerned expression as he came closer to Nick.


    Nick wordlessly nodded as he raised his head to look at Trevor.


    Or, more urately, look through him.


    "Of course," Nick said with a neutral tone as his unfocused eyes stared through Trevor.


    It was almost like Nick was looking at nothing and talking to no one.


    Trevor felt a cold shudder run down his back as he saw Nick''s expression.


    When Jenny saw Nick''s expression, she could finallybine the concepts of a murderer with Nick in her mind.


    She couldn''t imagine Nick killing anyone earlier, but she could imagine Nick lifelessly strangling the life out of someone while wearing that expression.


    It was so apathetic, disjointed, and distant.


    It was almost like Nick had been reced with a puppet.


    "Okay," Trevor said, managing to keep his voice stable. "Then, I''ll leave it up to you."


    Nick just nodded.


    Near the coffin, Wyntor took a deep breath.


    He had turned to look at Nick just now, and he had also seen his expression.


    ''He doesn''t deserve this,'' Wyntor thought. ''He''spletely dissociating.''


    ''Is that really someone I want to trust my employees with?''


    Wyntor just turned away again, a thoughtful expression on his face.


    ''I don''t really have a choice. Additionally, he''s trustworthy.''


    ''Maybe dissociating like this won''t ruin his positive outlook on life.''


    Wyntor sighed again, and his head lowered.


    ''I''m pathetic,'' Wyntor thought with a bitter smile.


    ''I just wanted to test their loyalty and deal with Pator myself. After all, I was the one that brought Pator.''


    Wyntor''s fists clenched.


    ''But I can''t do it.''


    ''I just can''t do it.''


    Wyntor turned around and looked at Nick.


    Nick just mindlessly nodded towards Wyntor.


    When he saw Nick''s dissociated expression again, Wyntor felt like he was the most despicable scum on Earth.


    He saw what effect killing people had on Nick.


    And yet, he also knew that Nick could handle it.


    Nick had already killed so many people.


    What was one more?


    What difference did it make?


    Did Wyntor really need to worry so much about whether it was bad or not to send Nick to kill Pator?


    Wyntor tried to reason with his emotions, but it didn''t help.


    ''In the end, I''m running from my own weakness,'' Wyntor thought.


    Wyntor nodded toward Nick with a neutral expression, his inner conflict not visible on his face.


    ''I can''t solve this issue, which is why I send Nick to deal with it for me.''


    Nick turned around and opened the employee door of the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit.


    At that moment, Wyntor remembered the conversation he had with Nick after Horua had declined to work with the Dreamer.


    ''This is his responsibility, huh?'' Wyntor thought, feeling disgusted with his own hypocrisy.


    ''I told him to deal with his problems and his responsibilities.''


    ''But here I am, putting my responsibilities on his shoulders.''


    ''I''m sorry, Nick,'' Wyntor thought as he turned back to look at the coffin.


    ''I''ll repay you in the future.''


    Jenny and Trevor watched Nick leave with sympathetic expressions.


    Trevor wanted to do it himself, but he just couldn''t bring himself to speak up.


    Nick looked so young.


    He was just 16 years old.


    Meanwhile, Trevor was over 20.


    In Trevor''s mind, it was like one kid killing another kid.


    If something like this had to be done, then it should be done by an adult.


    And yet¡­


    Trevor sighed.


    He just couldn''t do it.


    He just couldn''t.


    Meanwhile, Jenny just felt bad for Nick.


    Nick was her boss, and things like these were his responsibility.


    She knew all of that, but she still felt sorry for him.


    After Nick left, no one said a word for a long time.


    Jenny and Trevor also didn''t want to leave.


    They felt like they should wait here for Nick''s return.


    While they couldn''t take care of Nick''s troubles, they could, at least, show that they were standing with him.


    Meanwhile, Nick left Dark Dream with a nk expression on his face.


    Like a machine, Nick crossed the road and walked into the hotel.


    "Wee back, Nick!" a receptionist shouted.


    Nick just nodded as he entered the staircase.


    After climbing the stairs, Nick walked up to Horua''s room.


    Right now, Pator should be dealing with Horua.


    Based on the time, Horua''s clothes and the bedding needed to be changed since breakfast had happened just an hour or so ago.


    For just a moment, Nick stopped in front of the door.


    Then, he put his hand on it, opened it, and walked inside.

 Chapter 91 91 – Doing the Deed

    <h4>Chapter 91 Chapter 91 ¨C Doing the Deed</h4>


    As Nick closed the door behind him, he heard Pator''s voiceing from the living room.


    Nick hadn''t entered loudly, which meant that Pator hadn''t noticed that Nick was now with him in the small apartment.


    "I just don''t know, Horua."


    Pator''s voice sounded tense and troubled.


    "I just don''t know what to do."


    "I''ve been stuck in this horrible position where I have to choose between two horrible things."


    "Do I keep reporting these things and do more damage to Master Wyntor, or do Ie clean and lose all of my qualifications?"


    Nick slowly and silently walked through the hallway.


    "If I tell Master Wyntor what''s been going on for three years, I will be severely punished, thrown out of the household, and I will get all my belongings confiscated."


    "No one would want to hire me anymore since something like this is the worst thing you can do as a servant."


    "And with no job, I will be thrown out of the Inner City."


    "And then, I will be thrown into the Dregs."


    "Even more, I will lose everyone I know!"


    By now, Pator''s voice began to tremble again.


    "I don''t want to lose everything!"


    Pator sobbed.


    By now, the door to the room had silently opened, and Nick absentmindedly stared in Pator''s direction.


    At this moment, Pator stood in front of Horua, who was sitting on the bed.


    Horua''s expression was almost identical to Nick''s.


    "I wish I never epted," Pator said through sobs as he cleaned his eyes with his sleeves.


    "But I was just eleven! How could I have known that things would turn out this way?!"


    "I always thought that it would just be a small side gig to earn a couple of credits."


    Pator took a deep and shaky breath.


    "Who could have guess-"


    CRACK!


    A ssh of blood appeared on Horua''s face.


    Pator''s body fell forward, his face hitting the edge of the bed.


    The back of his head waspletely smashed in, parts of his brain having scattered across the room.


    Nick stood behind Pator''s corpse, his right hand covered in blood and brain matter.


    Nick looked down at Pator''s body.


    Then, he slowly bowed down and grabbed Pator''s neck.


    Crk! Crk! Crk!


    When Pator''s neck stopped resisting getting pushed around, Nick stood up again.


    For just a couple of seconds, Nick looked at Pator.


    His eyes were opened wide.


    His mouth hung open.


    A pool of red was rapidly growing beneath him.


    Nick just watched for a bit.


    Then, Nick walked to the side and grabbed a roll of one of many paper towels.


    Pator had bought a bunch of these to deal with Horua''s messes. Leaving the room every single time to get something to clean was unnecessary.


    Nick unrolled the roll until he had a huge ball of paper towels in his hands.


    Then, he shoved the ball into Pator''s opened skull.


    After grabbing some more, he put them into Pator''s mouth and nose since they were also bleeding.


    A secondter, he took one of several bags and pulled it over Pator''s head, fastening it with some straps.


    Nick lifted the corpse and put it on one of the rugs inside the room.


    This was quite an expensive room, which was why they even had something as luxurious as rugs.


    Lastly, Nick rolled the rug with the body in it up before putting it to the side of the room.


    With the body dealt with, Nick went on to absentmindedly clean the floor of Horua''s room.


    It took several minutes and many, many towels, but eventually, Nick got everything.


    After inspecting the room thoroughly, Nick stood in the middle of the room.


    He nced at Horua.


    That was when he saw the big stter of blood on Horua''s face, which had dripped down on his fresh clothing by now.


    A kind smile appeared on Nick''s face.


    "Oh, let me get that for you," he said in a caring tone as he pulled more paper towels off the roll.


    After carefully cleaning Horua''s face, Nick changed his clothes as well.


    When Nick saw Horua all clean and fresh, he nodded in satisfaction.


    "Sorry, but I can''t stay right now," he said as he bowed down to lift the rug. "I have to work."


    Nick put the rug over his shoulder and slowly retreated from Horua''s room.


    After carefully closing the doors, Nick''s smile vanished again, reced by nkness.


    Absentmindedly, Nick walked down the staircase.


    When Nick exited the staircase, the clerk from earlier noticed him, and he had to blink a couple of times in shock.


    "Nick, you can''t just take our rug with you!" he shouted as he ran towards Nick.


    "Bill me for it," Nick said with a neutral voice without turning around. "I need it for something."


    The clerk was shocked and grabbed the side of his head in confusion and frustration.


    "You can''t just¡­"


    He trailed off as he saw Nick just casually walking out of the hotel, not paying the clerk any attention.


    For a couple of seconds, the clerk just watched Nick cross the road and enter the warehouse on the other side.


    In the end, the clerk went back into the hotel to ask his supervisor about what to do.


    After entering the warehouse, Nick closed the door behind him and walked up to the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit.


    He hadn''t seen anyone in the warehouse so far.


    However, he also didn''t have the brainpower or motivation to think about where everyone could be.


    He just wanted to be done with this matter and continue his life.


    Nick opened the employee door of the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit and stepped inside.


    Inside the Containment Unit, Jenny, Trevor, and Wyntor turned to look at Nick.


    Nick''s eyes regained focus as he blinked a couple of times in surprise.


    "Oh, didn''t know you guys were still in here," Nick said with a bit of surprise. "I thought you would have gone home."


    When the three of them heard Nick''s casual tone, they felt like they had been stabbed in the chest.

 Chapter 92 92 – Drinks

    <h4>Chapter 92 Chapter 92 ¨C Drinks</h4>


    For several seconds, nobody said anything.


    Nick just raised an eyebrow. "Man, the atmosphere in here is gloomy. Did someone die?"


    Jenny''s expression became more worried.


    Trevor took a deep breath.


    Wyntor looked at the ground with furrowed brows.


    "No, we''re here to support you, boss!" Trevor said with a smile as he stepped forward.


    "Support me?" Nick repeated in surprise. "With what?"


    Trevor reached Nick and grabbed hold of the carpet, lifting it off Nick''s shoulder. "With this, of course!" he said with a bright and casual smile.


    "You can leave this here. We''re going to deal with the rest of this matter. Why don''t you go back to Horua? He probably needs you right now."


    Nick just looked at Trevor with surprise.


    It felt strange.


    The way Trevor was acting felt unfamiliar to Nick.


    Trevor was acting like nothing was wrong and was talking to Nick like it was just any other day.


    For some reason, Nick felt his insides shake, and he took a deep breath.


    "Don''t worry!" Jenny spoke loudly from behind Trevor. "We''re going to take care of things here. You just go have a nice day, okay?"


    Nick also looked at Jenny with a slightly confused look.


    "You did well, Nick," Wyntor said, trying to portray a warm voice but failing. "We''ll deal with everything else. Take the rest of the day off."


    Nick looked between the three people with uncertainty.


    He was not used to being treated like this.


    Usually, he was the one that had to deal with the worst things.


    And when he felt regret and pain, nobody was usually there to talk to him.


    When he had killed that one woman, he hadn''t talked to anyone for days, if not weeks.


    When he hade into contact with the Nightmare in the sewers, he also had been alone.


    When he had thrown Horua to the Dreamer, he also hadn''t talked with anyone after.


    Nick had expected that the same thing would be true today as well.


    He would dump Pator''s corpse in front of the Screaming Coffin, leave, stay in his room for a couple of hours, deal with Horua, stay in his room for a couple more hours, and then go to sleep.


    And then, he would just return to work.


    Like always.


    But this time, Nick''s three colleagues showed their support, and they would be dealing with thetter part of this event.


    Even more, they were acting like nothing was wrong.


    ''They''re acting like I didn''t just kill a kid,'' Nick thought as his insides shook.


    ''But am I not doing the same thing?''


    Nick''s gaze drifted towards the ground.


    "Wanna go out for a drinkter?"


    Nick looked at Trevor.


    "What?" he asked.


    "Go out for a drink," Trevor said with a smirk. "I know this really good ce that sells amazing drinks, and I feel like today is a good day for a couple of them."


    Nick blinked a couple of times. "Drinks? Like water?"


    "No, alcohol," Trevor answered with augh.


    Nick had seen a couple of people drinking alcohol in the Dregs before, but it was more on the rare side since alcohol was so expensive.


    He had only heard a couple of things about it, and he felt like it wasn''t a good use of money.


    "I really don''t-"


    "Oh,e on," Trevor said as he stepped forward to lightly hit Nick''s shoulder. "Don''t knock it till you try it! If you still don''t like it after trying it, you can just stop drinking. Also, if it''s that much of an issue, just view it as being polite to me."


    "So, what do you say? You interested?" he asked with a smirk.


    Nick just looked with a mix of absentmindedness and confusion at Trevor for a while.


    Then, he just nodded without thinking about it.


    "Great stuff!" Trevor said with augh, giving Nick''s shoulder another hit. "I''ll get you at three, okay?"


    "Sure," Nick answered on instinct.


    "Sounds great! Now, get out of here! You got some rxing to do!" Trevor shouted as he pushed Nick towards the door.


    Nick didn''t resist, and before he knew it, he was outside the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit.


    The door behind him was closed, and he was alone.


    For several seconds, Nick just looked forward, not focusing on anything.


    Finally, he slowly walked forward toward his own room in the hotel.


    Meanwhile, inside the Containment Unit, Trevor released a big breath he was holding and cleaned his head of some umted sweat.


    After turning around, he saw Jenny and Wyntor looking at him.


    "What?" Trevor asked. "I couldn''t just leave the poor guy like this. He probably went through some rough shit today."


    A smile appeared on Jenny''s face. "Thank you," she said quietly.


    At this moment, Jenny felt useless.


    Nick had dealt with Pator, and Trevor had supported Nick emotionally.


    And she?


    What had she done?


    Nothing.


    She just stood on the sidelines, watching.


    Right now, Jenny wished that she could do something.


    Her eyes went to the rug.


    To her, the presence of the rug was more terrifying than the presence of the Screaming Coffin.


    She knew exactly what was in there.


    Maybe, she could¡­


    But then, Wyntor stepped forward without saying anything and unfurled the rug himself.


    Pator''s body was revealed.


    It was like a cold shudder went through the room.


    The corpse looked like Pator, but Trevor and Jenny couldn''t believe it was the actual Pator.


    A corpse looked so very different from a living human.


    "I''m a man of my word," Wyntor said, not sure whether he was talking to himself or his employees.


    Silence.


    "What do you-"


    "Let''s go," Trevor said in a quiet but urgent voice towards Jenny.


    Jenny was confused, but she walked towards Trevor.


    The two of them left the Containment Unit.


    "What''s going on?" Jenny asked Trevor.


    Trevor furrowed his brows. "Don''t you remember what he said to his brother before he left?"


    The conversation between Wyntor and Ardum shot through Jenny''s head.


    Then, her eyes widened in realization.


    Meanwhile, inside the Containment Unit, Wyntor pulled out a long and sharp knife.

 Chapter 93 93 – The Day

    <h4>Chapter 93 Chapter 93 ¨C The Day</h4>


    The next couple of hours passed by rather quickly for Nick.


    Since Nick had essentially just cleaned Horua, he didn''t need to check up on him yet.


    So, Nick just went back to his room.


    However, after just a couple of minutes, he became very agitated and left again.


    For the next couple of hours, Nick just walked around the marketce of the Outer City, buying a couple of things he was interested in.


    Nick met quite a few people and talked with them animatedly.


    Usually, Nick didn''t start conversations with random strangers, but today, things were a bit different.


    Nick was in the mood to talk to strangers and to strike up conversations everywhere.


    Of course, some of the people felt weirded out, but Nick just ended the conversation quickly when he noticed that they were not into it.


    Nick ate some great food, bought some great stuff, and had many interesting conversations.


    When it was close to the time he was supposed to go out drinking with Trevor, he walked back to the hotel.


    Nick had to check up on Horua again.


    When Nick entered the room, he did a double take when he looked at the ground.


    For just a second, he felt like he had seen Pator''s corpse lying there.


    Yet, the next instant, it was gone.


    Nick quickly shook his head to regain his bearings and looked at Horua.


    When he did, Nick had to sigh.


    "Right," he said helplessly. "I haven''t checked up on you in six hours. That''s quite a long time."


    Horua had already gone to the toilet, and some of his muscles were slightly shaking, which was a sign of his muscles cramping and straining.


    For the next 30 minutes, Nick kept cleaning Horua and giving him a bath.


    When Nick heard Horua''s stomach growling, he could only sigh.


    A momentter, Nick went to the warehouse and canceled his outing with Trevor.


    He couldn''t go like this.


    He couldn''t just leave Horua like this.


    Horua needed him.


    Trevor said that Nick could just hire someone, but Nick said that it was too troublesome and that he didn''t trust a random stranger with Horua''s health.


    Horua''s well-being was Nick''s responsibility, and he would never run from it again.


    In the end, Trevor could only relent.


    Being too pushy with Nick might result in some discord between them.


    Eventually, Nick returned to Horua with a soup and fed him.


    After that, Nick massaged Horua''s strained muscles some more.


    For the next two hours, Nick just helped Horua with various things.


    And then, he just waited.


    Horua was clean, fed, and rxed.


    But soon, there would be something to do again.


    For the next couple of hours, Nick just kept watching over Horua, making sure that he always had clean clothing, food, and rxation.


    Eventually, it was time for Horua to sleep, and Nick tucked him in.


    After that, Nick went to his own room and tried to sleep.


    It was difficult.


    For over two hours, Nick just stared at the ceiling of his room without being able to fall asleep.


    Then, he stood up and checked on Horua.


    After that, another two hours of staring at the ceiling followed.


    Eventually, Nick gave up and just walked around outside.


    There were not many people on the streets, and Nick felt quite rxed.


    It was interesting to look at the Outer City during nighttime.


    When it was five a.m., Nick woke up Horua and gave him breakfast.


    In the middle of breakfast, someone knocked on the door, and Nick opened it.


    It was a girl about Nick''s age, and she looked at Nick with a bright smile.


    "Are you sir Nick?" she asked.


    "I''m Nick," he answered in confusion.


    "My name''s Marie, and I''m Master Wyntor''s new assistant! I''m looking forward to working with you!" Marie said with a chipper voice and a polite bow.


    "Oh," Nick said in surprise. "Right. That makes sense."


    "May Ie in?" she asked.


    "Sure," Nick said, letting her in.


    Marie looked around and entered Horua''s room. "This is Horua, correct?"


    Nick nodded.


    "May you teach me about taking care of him?"


    "Eh, sure," Nick answered.


    For the next hour, Nick instructed Marie about what to do, and she listened attentively.


    After making a timetable, she read it to Nick and asked him if it was okay.


    Nick nodded.


    She checked up on Horua every two hours and perfectly did everything that needed to be done.


    "Thank you, sir," Marie said with a sweet smile. "I will take care of things for now."


    "Of course," Nick said with a smile. By now, he had gotten familiar with Marie, and he liked her quite a bit.


    Nick left Horua''s room and entered Dark Dream.


    Nick could tell that Wyntor was already there since the big lock on his office had been opened.


    Wyntor''s working times were almost identical to Nick''s.


    If he didn''t have a meeting, Wyntor was avable from about six a.m. to four p.m.


    He chose these times so that he would meet all of his employees at least once per day.


    He would meet Nick and Trevor in the morning, and he would meet Nick and Jenny in the afternoon.


    Nick didn''t have anything to talk to Wyntor about right now, which was why he walked towards the Screaming Coffin.


    ''Oh, right!'' Nick thought on his way. ''I forgot to feed the Screaming Coffin yesterday!''


    Yet, when Nick entered the Containment Unit, he saw the coffin just lying there.


    ''Someone fed it already?''


    That was when the image of Pator''s body shot through Nick''s mind.


    ''Right¡­''


    ''Not sure how long that will keep the coffin busy.''


    ''His body wasn''t very big¡­''


    Nevertheless, Nick left the Containment Unit and went to the Dreamer.


    ''Huh, seems like Trevor didn''t take a day off,'' Nick thought when he saw the sleeping Trevor in front of the Dreamer.


    After a bit of talking, Trevor left, and Nick sat down.


    Sleep didn''t take long to arrive.


    The Dreamer made sure of that.

 Chapter 94 94 – Favor

    <h4>Chapter 94 Chapter 94 ¨C Favor</h4>


    Eventually, Nick was woken up by Jenny.


    "Hey, how do you feel?" she asked.


    Nick took about a second to process the words Jenny had just uttered.


    "I dunno," he answered with slurred speech.


    Jenny''s expression became more worried.


    "Is everything alright?" she asked.


    "Yeah, sure," Nick said as he slowly stood up.


    Suddenly, Nick felt like his head was killing him.


    There was this droning and pressure in his head, and when he stood up, he felt like he was about to fall over.


    Nick felt like his eyes were forced open by some kind of force, but there was nothing there.


    Nick''s heart beat quickly, and he realized that he was covered in sweat.


    "You don''t look good," Jenny said with worry.


    "It''s fine," Nick said with an unusually loud voice.


    Jenny was taken aback by Nick''s outburst.


    "Sorry, sorry," Nick quickly said with an embarrassed smile. "That came out more aggressive than intended."


    "It''s just¡­ forget it," Nick said as he walked towards the exit.


    "You can tell me," Jenny said, looking as Nick passed by her.


    "It''s fine," Nick said with a dismissive wave.


    "No, it''s not," Jenny said with an urgent voice. "If there is anything I can do, tell me!"


    Nick stopped walking and turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.


    Right now, Jenny looked urgent and almost desperate.


    She looked like she really cared about this issue.


    The muscles in Nick''s face tensed up.


    "Okay, if you really want to know¡­" Nick said.


    Jenny listened intently.


    "I feel like you''re a bit too forward with your concern for me," Nick said neutrally. "Let my problems be my problems. We are colleagues. That''s it."


    Nick looked into Jenny''s eyes.


    Jenny felt more nervous when she heard Nick''s cold voice.


    That wasn''t what she wanted to hear.


    She wanted to help Nick with his issues.


    Trevor had managed to help Nick, and Wyntor was also helping him.


    And she?


    She hadn''t done anything!


    She just wanted to listen to Nick''s worries and help him deal with them emotionally.


    That''s how it was with her and her partner.


    Whenever one of them had issues, the other one would listen to them and help them deal with the issues.


    Maybe one of them would cry, and everything would be better after that.


    Yet, Nick had rejected Jenny''s help very clearly.


    "You seem too eager to help others," Nick said. "Sometimes, the biggest help is not helping."


    Jenny still looked uncertain.


    "Okay, sorry," she eventually said.


    Nick nodded and walked out of the room.


    In Nick''s mind, Jenny seemed like someone who was way too eager to help someone with something that didn''t need any support.


    As Nick walked out of the Containment Unit, he thought about all the things he would help Horua with today.


    He had a lot of things to do, and Horua needed help with all of them.


    "Nick, I need you real quick."


    Nick looked to the side and saw Wyntor standing at the entrance to his office.


    "Sure," Nick said, walking into Wyntor''s office.


    Wyntor sat down, and Nick closed the door.


    The next moment, Wyntor took out a briefcase.


    The briefcase was made of silver metal and wasn''t very big, but Nick could see Wyntor''s arm strain when he lifted it.


    "Open it," Wyntor said as he pushed the briefcase to Nick.


    Nick looked at the briefcase with a raised eyebrow and slowly opened it.


    When it was fully opened, a silver sheen was reflected on Nick''s face, and his eyes opened widely in shock.


    In the briefcase were four silver braces, two for Nick''s wrists and two for his legs.


    The two braces for Nick''s wrists also had long and rounded des on them.


    Except for the color, they looked almost exactly like the ones Nick had shown Wyntor yesterday.


    "These are for me?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded wordlessly.


    Nick slowly moved his hands forward and lifted one of them.


    ''Heavy!'' Nick immediately thought.


    One of the braces for his wrists weighed over 20 kilograms!


    That was absolutely insane!


    Yes, Nick was very strong, but casually carrying 20 kilograms on a wrist was still quite straining.


    "I ordered them for you to be just right when you reach the Peak of the first level," Wyntor said. "It makes no sense to give you weapons for the Late first level just for them to be obsolete in a week or two."


    "With some training, you should be able to walk around with them casually, and you can also use them rtively well."


    "However, they only show their real powers when your ability is active," Wyntor said.


    The next moment, Wyntor turned around and looked away from Nick.


    Almost immediately, the cuff in Nick''s hands became very light.


    Naturally, the cuff hadn''t changed in weight. It was just Nick''s ability activating.


    Nick moved the cuff around a bit, and he liked the weight quite a lot.


    It felt great!


    Wyntor turned around again, and the cuff returned to being quite heavy.


    "For now, you have to deal with the weight," Wyntor said, "but that should also help you get used to them."


    Nick nodded. "How strong are they?"


    "Your body will turn to ash before you have to worry about them," Wyntor said neutrally. "Your wrist will break into pieces before even a scratch appears on them."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "How expensive were they?"


    Wyntor released a sigh.


    "A favor," Wyntor said.


    "A favor?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "I didn''t buy them for money but for a favor."


    Nick gulped.


    That probably meant that they were too expensive for the current Dark Dream.


    Nick felt guilty and ashamed when he imagined how much Wyntor must have paid for his weapons.


    He just wished that he could repay Wyntor.


    Ironically, that was exactly what Wyntor thought while purchasing these weapons, but the other way around.


    He just hoped that they could serve as a small repayment for what Nick had done for him.


    "But I didn''t sell that favor for cheap!" Wyntor said with a smirk.


    Next, Wyntor stood up and grabbed something very heavy from below his desk.


    BANG!


    The entire table shook when Wyntor finally put another heavy briefcase on it.


    This one was much bigger and obviously much heavier.


    "I told you that I also want you to train in a weapon of my choosing."


    "Well, here it is," he said, shoving the briefcase forward.

 Chapter 95 95 – Burden

    <h4>Chapter 95 Chapter 95 ¨C Burden</h4>


    Nick looked at the heavy briefcase with shock.


    That looked REALLY heavy!


    Wyntor basically had to use all his power just to lift it onto the table!


    The briefcase was about 150 centimeters long and nearly half a meter wide.


    Nick wasn''t sure what kind of weapon was in there.


    A big sword?


    A club?


    A rifle?


    Nick slowly moved his hand forward and opened the briefcase.


    The next moment, Nick''s eyes widened in shock.


    Five very long and thin spears!


    "They''re throwing spears," Wyntor said.


    "Throwing spears?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "Your ability doesn''t increase the Zephyx in your body from what I have seen. It only increases your physical power."


    "There are guns that use the Zephyx of an Extractor as a power source, which means a stronger Extractor can unleash a stronger st with the gun."


    "However, such a weapon wouldn''t take advantage of your ability. The guns use Zephyx. You use muscle."


    "Since you are already set on using your arms and legs as weapons, I thought that a ranged option would be a good addition."


    "These kinds of throwing spears need a lot of power to be thrown, but their power is incredible."


    "The force of a projectile is made up of mass and eleration. Guns use little mass and lots of eleration, while your throwing spears use a lot of mass and little eleration."


    "Well, little for the standards of a gun. When you throw a spear, it will still be quite fast."


    Nick grabbed one of the spears and lifted it.


    It probably weighed about 30 kilos!


    That was extremely heavy for a throwing spear.


    However, when one took into ount that Nick would soon be a Peak Newbie and his ability, the weight made a lot of sense.


    As a Peak Newbie, Nick would be about five times as powerful as an average male adult, and with his ability, it would turn into 25 times.


    When scaled to the power of a normal male adult, one throwing spear would only weigh a bit more than one kilo.


    Throwing a spear that weighed one kilo sounded reasonable for an adult male.


    Nick could definitely throw a 30-kilo spear with quite a lot of speed.


    What would that even look like?


    It was probably akin to the shot of a harpoon!


    If a human were hit by that¡­


    Many possibilities shot through Nick''s mind when he looked at the five spears.


    "I''m not very good at aiming," Nick said.


    "Well, you have to learn," Wyntor answered. "Everyone needs to train with their weapons, and you''re not any different."


    "Naturally, I already found a teacher for you. He''s ready to start and just waits for the starting signal."


    "When do you want your training to be every day?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick''s mind nked for a bit, and Horua''s image shot through his head.


    "Can that wait for now?" Nick said.


    Wyntor frowned and looked at Nick. "Why?"


    "I need to take care of Horua," Nick said.


    "I''ll just hire a second servant," Wyntor answered.


    Nick became ufortable.


    "I don''t know," Nick said.


    Wyntor''s expression became solemn.


    "How long will this continue?" Wyntor asked with a serious voice.


    "What do you mean?" Nick asked.


    "How long until you finally let go and just ept some help," Wyntor said.


    "Yes, the boy''s current condition is your responsibility, but nothing you do now can fix that. No matter what you do, you can''t change the past."


    Nick looked like he had just been stabbed in the chest.


    "Stop trying to fix the past with actions in the present. It won''t work."


    "The boy''s safety and health is your main concern, correct? You want him to be clean and healthy, right?"


    Nick nodded.


    "And are you in any way better than a servant from my family in that?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick became more nervous. "It''s not the same."


    Wyntor snorted. "The boy can''t perceive anything anyway. It doesn''t matter who takes care of him as long as everything is done correctly."


    "You''re my Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick. I need you to be fully focused on the business. For what I''m paying you and with the future potential of Dark Dream, I could hire a Veteran."


    "Nick, I need you on board with Dark Dream. You''re not just a random employee that does their time and doesn''t have to think about work after that."


    "You''re a chief officer of thispany! Your payment and value are intrinsically connected to the business'' sess!" Wyntor exined.


    "I just want to take care of him!" Nick suddenly shouted.


    Silence.


    Wyntor looked at him.


    "Nick, it''s not like you''re not going to see him again," Wyntor said calmly. "You can visit him literally any time of the day. If you want to sit beside him while he''s being fed, go ahead."


    "I just can''t use someone whose mind is upied with taking care of a disabled person."


    Nick gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    He felt like he was losing something important.


    "I need some time to think about it," Nick said with a strained voice.


    Wyntor frowned, but he didn''t immediately answer.


    "Fine," Wyntor said. "Important decisions need time to simmer."


    "We''ll talk again tomorrow morning. Come to my office before you work with the Dreamer."


    Nick nodded before turning around.


    "I think you forgot something," Wyntor said.


    Nick turned back to look at Wyntor and saw him motioning to the two suitcases on the table.


    "Oh, right," Nick said absentmindedly.


    Nick put the weapons back into the suitcases and carried them out of Wyntor''s office.


    After the door closed, Wyntor released a sigh.


    ''Well, it could have gone better, but I managed to get my point across,'' Wyntor thought.


    Meanwhile, Nick just carried his two suitcases out of Dark Dream and entered the hotel on the other side of the street.


    After entering his room, Nick put the two suitcases to the side, left again, and entered Horua''s room.


    When Nick saw Horua perfectly clean and healthy, he felt his insides shake.


    Marie had taken good care of Horua while Nick was working.


    Nick just silently looked at Horua for a while.

 Chapter 96 96 – I’m Sorry

    <h4>Chapter 96 Chapter 96 ¨C I''m Sorry</h4>


    There was nothing for Nick to do in Horua''s room.


    Marie had taken care of everything.


    So, Nick just sat down beside Horua and started to talk.


    "When will you wake up?" Nick asked, not looking at Horua.


    Naturally, Horua didn''t answer.


    "You''ve been like that for over three months by now, and you show no sign of improvement."


    No answer.


    "You''re going to turn twelve soon."


    "Three months gone, just like that."


    Nick sighed.


    "But what am I supposed to do?"


    "I didn''t want it to end up this way."


    "I wanted to give you a future."


    "But, of course, I was an absolute idiot and forced you into something when you weren''t ready yet."


    "I can''t believe that I actually asked a child to work with the Dreamer."


    "If anyone else had done something like that, I would believe them to be cruel and stupid."


    Nick sighed again.


    "And yet, it was me."


    "I was the one that did that."


    Nick turned to look at Horua.


    "And now, you''re like this."


    "Because of me."


    Nick took a shaky breath.


    "I honestly don''t know what to do."


    "What can I do to make this right?"


    "I looked after you for three months, and I will continue looking after you until your condition turns for the better."


    "But isn''t there something else I can do?"


    "Is there anything I can do on top of that?"


    "Anything?"


    "Should I bring you something?"


    "Should I buy you something?"


    Nick remained silent for a while.


    "I don''t know what to do, Horua," he said.


    Silence.


    Nick just sat beside Horua for several minutes, lost in thought.


    Horua just kept staring forward with dead eyes.


    "It feels like regret and guilt are eating me up from the inside, Horua," Nick said with a shaky voice.


    "Whenever there is a quiet moment, the droning in my chest gets louder and louder until I get overwhelmed."


    "I just want to make this right."


    "I just want to help you."


    "I know I fucked up, Horua, but I''m going to do everything in my power to help you!" Nick said with conviction as he turned to look at Horua.


    "I''m going to make this right!"


    "No matter what it costs!"


    "No matter what it takes!"


    Yet, Horua didn''t look at Nick.


    He just kept staring forward.


    Seconds and minutes passed.


    There was nothing for Nick to do since Horua didn''t need anything right now.


    Nick didn''t have anything to do for his work as well.


    To top it all off, theck of sleep was making it harder for Nick to think clearly.


    Time seemed to pass quickly for one second, then very slowly the next.


    It was like time wasing in waves, and Nick''s perception of it was warping.


    Nick didn''t know how long he sat beside Horua, but it wasn''t long enough for Horua to need something again.


    "I''m sorry."


    "I''m sorry, Horua," Nick whispered.


    Tears formed in Nick''s eyes as his breathing quickened.


    "I''m so sorry."


    "I fucked up, Horua."


    "I''m sorry."


    "I didn''t want any of this to happen."


    "I just wanted to help you."


    "I''m so sorry."


    By now, Nick''s tears were rolling down his face.


    He didn''t dare to look at the current Horua.


    Nick only looked at the ground.


    "I''m sorry."


    "Please, wake up."


    "I''m sorry."


    Crying.


    For a long time, Nick cried, repeating that he was sorry over and over.


    He just kept looking at the ground.


    Slowly, Nick put his face in his hands, and his sobbing became more intense.


    After a while, Nick wasn''t even sure anymore what he was crying about.


    There were so many reasons to cry.


    The people he killed.


    Pator.


    Horua.


    The things he had done in the past.


    With his tired mind, all of these things just swirled together into a mass of guilt and suffering.


    Everything was shit.


    Nick had done the most horrible things.


    He was responsible for Horua''s current condition.


    He killed another kid just yesterday.


    He killed over ten people within thest week.


    Nick was practical due to his life in the Dregs, but he wasn''t a coldhearted monster.


    He didn''t want to do all of these horrible things.


    And yet, for one reason or another, these things had still happened.


    Everything was horrible.


    Yesterday was horrible.


    Today was horrible.


    Tomorrow would be horrible.


    Why was he doing all of this?


    Money?


    Fame?


    What was the point of any of this when he felt his insides consuming him in moments when he should feel calm and content?!


    Eventually, Nick was pulled out of his thoughts by Horua needing to get cleaned again.


    In contrast to how Nick felt when he entered the room, he now didn''t feel like helping Horua.


    It was like the task was so difficult, challenging, and lengthy.


    Nevertheless, Horua was his responsibility, and Nick cleaned Horua and changed his clothing.


    When Nick was done, he just absentmindedly looked at Horua.


    After crying for so long, how did Nick feel?


    Like shit.


    People said that crying helped in dealing with emotions, but Nick felt none of that right now.


    He just felt hollow and horrible.


    All the things he had to do felt like a daunting task that required a mountain of effort.


    After looking at Horua silently for a while, Nick left to buy some food for the two of them.


    When he was done feeding Horua, Nick put him to bed, even though it was still too early for Horua''s bedtime.


    ''It''s fine when he goes to bed a couple hours early one day,'' Nick thought.


    After putting Horua to sleep, Nick went to his own room and fell into his bed.


    He didn''t even change his clothing or drink anything.


    He just didn''t care anymore.


    Nothing mattered anymore.


    He just wanted his consciousness to vanish into the blissful oblivion of sleep.


    Nick didn''t move in his bed.


    And just a couple of minutester, Nick fell asleep.


    Finally, Nick didn''t have to face the world anymore.

 Chapter 97 97 – Effort

    <h4>Chapter 97 Chapter 97 ¨C Effort</h4>


    Nick woke up.


    ...


    He just stared at the ceiling.


    ¡­


    He didn''t think.


    After several minutes, his eyes moved to the side, to the clock in his room.


    Five a.m.


    Considering that he went to bed at something like six p.m., he slept for something like eleven hours.


    Nick wasn''t sure if he had ever slept for this long.


    ''I don''t want to work,'' Nick thought.


    ''I just want to keep lying here.''


    ''I just want to¡­''


    ''¡­''


    ''I don''t know.''


    ''I don''t know what I want.''


    The past day shot through Nick''s mind.


    As soon as Nick remembered what happened thest two days, his jaw clenched, and he felt a dark hole opening up in his chest.


    Nick turned over and tried to distract his mind from yesterday''s memories.


    Suddenly, Nick shot up from his bed, his eyes wide.


    "Horua!" he shouted.


    Nick stood up and quickly changed his clothing.


    After cleaning himself rapidly, Nick rushed out of his room and entered Horua''s room.


    When Nick saw Horua, his insides shook again.


    Horua''s muscles were tense, and the entire room was stinking of piss and shit.


    Flies had alreadye into the room and were flying around Horua''s shit-covered pants.


    Guilt immediately overwhelmed Nick.


    Horua was his responsibility, and once again, he had messed up.


    Nick just silently started to clean Horua before feeding him breakfast.


    "Good Morning, sir!"


    Nick turned around and saw Marie entering Horua''s room.


    "Hi," Nick said.


    Marie''s nose moved a bit as she smelled the foul odor in the room, but her smile never vanished from her face.


    "I''ll take over for today," Marie said with a warm voice.


    Nick turned away and gritted his teeth.


    He could tell that the room was still stinking to the high heavens, and he knew that Marie smelled it.


    ''She probably thinks that I neglected Horua and that I am a horrible person,'' Nick thought.


    ''And she would be right.''


    "Of course," Nick said in a quiet voice before standing up. "I''ll leave things to you."


    "Is everything alright, sir?" Marie asked as Nick walked towards the door.


    Instead of slowing down, Nick sped up a bit.


    "No, everything''s fine. Thanks for asking."


    And the door closed behind him.


    Inside Horua''s room, Marie looked at the door with a worried expression.


    After stepping out of the room, Nick took a deep breath and slowed down.


    ''Right, I need to work,'' Nick thought slowly.


    Nick stopped walking and just stood in the middle of the hallway, not doing anything.


    He just was looking at the ground with an absentminded expression.


    He really, really didn''t want to work.


    Nick never had any issues with going to work before.


    In fact, he had always been looking forward to it.


    He was earning money, bing stronger, meeting his colleagues, and advancing in life.


    But now, it just felt like a hassle.


    It felt like a waste of time.


    What was the point?


    But then, Nick remembered something and took a deep breath.


    ''If I don''t go, nobody will wake up Trevor.''


    Eventually, Nick left the hotel.


    When the clerk greeted him, Nick just wordlessly waved, not even turning to look at him.


    After entering the warehouse, Nick walked towards the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    "We were supposed to talk this morning."


    Nick stopped and turned to his side.


    Wyntor was looking at Nick from his office, the door open.


    That was when Nick remembered that he was supposed to talk with Wyntor about hiring a second assistant for Horua and his weapons.


    This memory triggered another memory, which was the existence of Nick''s weapons.


    He was probably supposed to wear them to work.


    Once more, Nick felt like a loser since he had disappointed yet another person.


    When Nick thought about Horua, he specifically remembered his appearance from when he had found him this morning.


    He had been in a horrible shape.


    A momentter, Nick remembered what he had to do for Horua every day.


    It was so much work.


    But it was his responsibility.


    Horua was like this because of him.


    Offloading his responsibility onto someone else felt like running away.


    But it was just so much work.


    Nick couldn''t even get a good night''s rest without risking Horua''s health.


    But it was his responsibility.


    But it was so much work.


    But he was at fault.


    But he was also failing at taking care of Horua.


    But¡­


    But¡­


    When Wyntor saw Nick just standing in front of the Dreamer''s Containment Unit, not paying attention to anything, he raised an eyebrow.


    Something was going on with Nick.


    Nick wasn''t usually this quiet and absentminded.


    "Nick?" Wyntor asked, standing up from his chair and leaving his office.


    Nick slowly turned to look at Wyntor.


    He still didn''t have an answer to the issue.


    When Wyntor saw that Nick still didn''t answer, he frowned.


    "Go home for today."


    "Huh?" Nick uttered as his eyes regained focus.


    "You''re obviously overwhelmed with the current situation," Wyntor said with a neutral voice. "I''ll wake Trevor. You go home for today and rx."


    "Marie is going to take care of Horua for today, and I will also get someone to take care of him for the night."


    "You need a day to rx and calm down," Wyntor said.


    Suddenly, Nick felt lost again.


    A day of rxation?


    What was he supposed to do with that?


    ''Now, I can''t even work with the Dreamer anymore.''


    ''I can''t take care of Horua.''


    ''I can''t remember the things I have to do.''


    ''I can''t work with the Dreamer.''


    ''Other people have to do my work.''


    ''Other people have to take care of Horua.''


    ''I''m a failure.''


    Nick felt like the ck hole in his chest was growing in size.


    ''I have a useless ability, don''t know how to lead my employees, and cause problems for everyone else.''


    ''I''m a failure.''


    "Sure," Nick said absentmindedly as he turned to exit the warehouse.


    Wyntor watched Nick leave with furrowed brows.


    The next moment, he started to scratch his chin as his eyes narrowed.

 Chapter 98 98 – A Long Morning

    <h4>Chapter 98 Chapter 98 ¨C A Long Morning</h4>


    Nick absentmindedly left Dark Dream and walked to the hotel.


    Without talking to anyone, Nick entered his room and fell onto his bed.


    And just stared at the ceiling.


    For several minutes.


    Nick felt like he was thinking about something, but he had no idea what he was thinking about.


    He just kept looking.


    And thinking.


    About ten minutester, Nick turned to his side and looked at the wall.


    He still wasn''t sure what he was thinking about.


    ''I didn''t want to work, and now, I don''t have to work.''


    Silence.


    ''I don''t know.''


    ''I don''t even know if I am happy that I don''t have to work or not.''


    ''Now, I''m just lying here, doing nothing.''


    Eventually, Nick closed his eyes.


    ''I don''t care anymore.''


    ''I''ll just go to sleep.''


    Time passed.


    30 minutester, Nick opened his eyes again.


    He hadn''t fallen asleep.


    He had just slept for about eleven hours, and his body didn''t need nor want sleep right now.


    Nick felt like he was wasting time by staying in bed like this.


    But his legs just felt so heavy and difficult to move.


    Also, what was the point of going out?


    After eating something or talking to someone, things would just return to this state anyway.


    All of these things were just momentary distractions between periods of pain.


    Doing any of these things wouldn''t change anything.


    Why stand up and do things?


    So, Nick just kept lying in his bed, not knowing what he was thinking about.


    Time passed.


    Nothing was happening.


    Nothing was changing.


    Nick noticed some trash on the ground.


    It was annoying him.


    But it felt like such a momentous task to clean it up.


    ''I can''t even clean up my own room,'' Nick thought.


    ''It''s bothering me, but instead of cleaning up, I just keep lying here.''


    Silence.


    ''I''m a failure.''


    ''I''m a burden.''


    ''I''m a murderer.''


    Silence.


    Nick''s back bent, and he pulled his knees to his chest as hey on the side.


    He felt like his chest was tensing up.


    ''I''m pathetic.''


    Time kept passing.


    Nick''s mood didn''t improve.


    Eventually, Nick had to go to the toilet and drank a bit of water.


    After standing up, Nick didn''t want to lie down anymore.


    Instead, he just sat on his bed.


    Minutes passed in which Nick was just looking at the ground.


    Nick kept thinking about Horua and kept remembering that he didn''t need to worry about him for the day.


    There was nothing for him to do.


    There was nothing that he wanted to do.


    As time passed, Nick''s emotions became louder, and he wanted to let them out.


    Sadly, he couldn''t let out his rage, or the entire room would break.


    And when he remembered how he felt after crying yesterday, he also didn''t dare to cry.


    If he had simply kept all of his emotions inside, he wouldn''t be feeling like shit right now.


    Crying had been a mistake, and he wouldn''tmit the same mistake again.


    So, Nick was just stuck with his current emotions.


    And they just kept festering inside of him with no way out.


    Eventually, Nick started to hear kids ying outside the hotel.


    Compared to the Dregs, the Outer City had more children, and they were also happier.


    It was normal for the kids to start ying between eight and nine a.m.


    This meant that two to three hours had already passed.


    Nick had wasted the entire morning just staring at the wall and the ceiling.


    And nothing had improved.


    He felt just as horrible as in the morning.


    As the ying of the kids grew louder, Nick''s feelings started to change.


    He became angry.


    Here he was, feeling horrible pain and guilt, and outside, kids were happily ying while adults were happily going about their lives.


    The bright light from outside seemed to burn the proverbial darkness in the room.


    Nick clenched his fists in rage.


    It was so unfair!


    He was feeling so horrible, while others felt so good!


    He hated it!


    He just wanted everyone to shut up!


    He just wanted everyone else to feel the same pain he was feeling!


    And yet, Nick knew that he wouldn''t truly do anything like this, which made him feel even worse.


    He wasn''t being a nice person right now, but he also wasn''t decisive enough to be a bad one.


    It was just a shitty middle ground.


    Being in this room sucked!


    Being outside sucked!


    Being awake sucked!


    No matter what he did or where he went, it didn''t matter!


    It was all the same anyway!


    Nick curled up on the bed as he violently grabbed his head.


    Why was everything horrible?


    Why was his job horrible?


    Why was the city horrible?


    Why was life horrible?


    Why was he horrible?


    Nick couldn''t find anything good about his life.


    Although, there was one thing.


    Sleep.


    Nick just wanted to sleep.


    During sleep, he wasn''t feeling these things.


    But he needed to wait twelve more hours, at least, until he could go to sleep again.


    Eventually, Nick felt his eyes be wet again, but as soon as he noticed, he burrowed the urge to cry.


    He had seen what had happened thest time, and he wouldn''t do that again.


    Nick pushed all the things he was feeling back, deep into the most remote corners of his mind.


    After some minutes, Nick slowly sat up.


    With an absentminded look, he stared at the wall again.


    The yinging from outside was so loud.


    He felt like his entire world was shaking.


    Nick''s heart rate and his breathing sped up.


    ''Things can''t keep on going like this.''


    Now, Nick knew what he was thinking about.


    Sweat started to break out across Nick''s body.


    His eyes focused on the wall.


    His lips trembled.


    The ying from outside was so loud but distant.


    His room felt so grey and devoid of meaning.


    Nick gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    "I¡­" Nick said slowly.


    Nick felt like his heart was banging in his ears.


    "I¡­"


    "I wish¡­"

 Chapter 99 99 – Something to Do

    <h4>Chapter 99 Chapter 99 ¨C Something to Do</h4>


    "I wish..."


    "I wish..."


    Nick''s body began to shudder as his jaw tightened.


    His breathing was rapid, and he tried his best to say the Sentence.


    "I¡­"


    "I¡­"


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    And then, Nick''s body lost all strength, and he fell back onto the bed.


    "I can''t do it!"


    At that moment, Nick began to cry loudly.


    ''I just can''t do it!''


    ''How pathetic am I that I can''t even kill myself?!''


    ''How pathetic am I that I even want to kill myself?!''


    ''I always saw the people that said the Sentence as weaklings, even if I didn''t want to admit it.''


    ''I knew that I was stronger than them.''


    ''And yet, I just want this to be over!''


    ''There''s nothing left!''


    ''What am I supposed to do with this shit stain of a life?!''


    ''What''s the point?!''


    For several minutes, Nick just cried.


    And when he was done, he just felt empty again.


    Crying hadn''t helped one bit.


    He had just felt horrible for a couple of minutes, and then, everything returned to its regr shitty self.


    ''I don''t know what to do.''


    Nick just continued looking at the ceiling as he closed his eyes.


    Surprisingly, he actually managed to fall asleep this time.


    The previous moment had been very stressful and exhausting.


    When Nick woke up, he looked at the clock again.


    ''Six p.m.''


    Silence.


    ''I don''t know what to do.''


    Nevertheless, after a couple of minutes, Nick stood up from his bed and left his room.


    He didn''t really want to leave his room, but he did it anyway and just started walking around.


    There were still many people outside, but the crowds were slowly starting to die down.


    As always, the sun shone directly onto Nick.


    It was just as hot as always.


    As he was walking around, Nick wasn''t looking at anything in particr.


    He also didn''t have any goal in mind.


    He just walked.


    ''I don''t know,'' Nick thought repeatedly as he randomly walked through the Outer City.


    Some people greeted him, but Nick just waved them off with a curt answer before leaving.


    Nick saw a couple of interesting things to buy, but he wasn''t interested.


    He saw some delicious food, but it didn''t seem very appealing to him, even though he hadn''t eaten anything for nearly 24 hours.


    He just kept walking around.


    "Sir, please wait a moment!"


    Nick stopped as two guards appeared in front of him.


    "Huh?" Nick uttered in absentminded confusion.


    "Please, show us your Inner City ID," one of the guards spoke politely.


    "Inner City ID? I don''t have one of those," he said.


    The guards frowned. "Then, we can''t let you proceed."


    "Huh?" Nick uttered again as he looked around.


    At this moment, Nick stood in front of a humongous gate that was illuminated by many small bits of Arclight.


    It was one of the gates to the Inner City.


    Nick had no idea how he had gotten here.


    ''Guess I walked.''


    "Sure," Nick said absentmindedly as he turned around to leave.


    The guards just looked at him with a bit of confusion.


    Eventually, Nick came back to his room, and a horrible night followed.


    Falling asleep was extremely difficult, but he also didn''t want to do anything.


    There was nothing to do that interested Nick, but he also couldn''t properly fall asleep.


    Nevertheless, time continued to pass, and eventually, Nick actually managed to fall asleep again.


    Sadly, the sleep wasn''t very long since he had slept so much today already.


    Nick woke up at three a.m. and left his room.


    He would need to work in three hours anyway, which was why he went directly to Dark Dream.


    Naturally, only Trevor was here during this time, but he was currently busy working with the Dreamer.


    ''I need something to do,'' Nick thought as he looked around.


    ''I can''t kill myself, and I also can''t deal with these problems.''


    ''Life is still shit, but it seems like I''m stuck living it.''


    ''Next best thing is to ignore the pointlessness of everything and just do something.''


    ''The more time passes, the closer I am to death.''


    At that point, Nick saw the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit.


    ''Right, I should check if everything is okay with it.''


    Nick walked over to the Containment Unit and checked the Zephyx storage.


    ''Only seven grams,'' Nick thought. ''I guess someone emptied it yesterday.''


    After changing the storage, Nick went into the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit.


    When Nick saw the Screaming Coffin shuffling about near the walls, he showed no reaction.


    His eyes remained as neutral and lifeless as earlier.


    "I guess Pator wasn''t a lot to eat for you," Nickmented without any amusement.


    Nick''s voice sounded harsher than anticipated, but he didn''t care enough to rectify it.


    What was he supposed to do anyway? Apologize to the Screaming Coffin?


    "Guess you need some food," Nick said.


    When Nick thought about what he had to do to feed it, he became a bit uncertain for a moment.


    He would need to go out and kill someone.


    And yet, the more Nick thought about it, the less he cared.


    Nick went through two horrible shit days, and he honestly couldn''t give less of a shit about some random rapist from the Dregs.


    ''I need something to do anyway.''


    When Nick had spoken earlier, the Screaming Coffin had felt him, and it started to walk over to him.


    When the Screaming Coffin reached Nick, it tried to bind him with its white bandages.


    Nick sneered in disgust.


    BANG!


    And kicked it with a lot of force.


    BOOOM!


    The coffin hit the wall of the Containment Unit and fell to the ground, cracks and splinters visible on it.


    Immediately, it retrieved its bandages and stopped moving.


    Now, it looked like any other coffin again.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t feel any pity for the coffin.


    Not only was it a Specter, but it didn''t even have a proper consciousness.


    After some seconds of watching, Nick left the Containment Unit to get some food for the Screaming Coffin.

 Chapter 100 100 – Distraction

    <h4>Chapter 100 Chapter 100 ¨C Distraction</h4>


    Nick came back less than an hourter and threw the corpse towards the Screaming Coffin.


    This time, he had killed a guy who had been stalking the home of a young girl.


    Nick hadn''t bothered checking what the guy was doing exactly. He had just seen him creep around the home and look at the young girl through a crack in the wall while touching himself down below.


    That was enough context for Nick, and he had killed him.


    Killing this man felt different from all the other times in the sense that Nick actually felt something.


    However, what he felt wasn''t strong.


    It was just that Nick''s chest had tightened a bit as he did the deed.


    Yet, the disgust and apathy he felt for that man outweighed the little bit of empathy he felt for him.


    After Nick fed the Screaming Coffin, he walked out of the Containment Unit and checked up on the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    Based on the Zephyx inside the storage, Wyntor had probably emptied the Zephyx sometime yesterday.


    Nevertheless, Nick emptied it again and put it into Wyntor''s office.


    While Wyntor''s office was locked when he wasn''t there, Nick had a spare key to it and was allowed to enter.


    After putting everything away, Nick looked at the clock.


    ''4:27,'' Nick thought. ''I still got about an hour before Wyntor arrives.''


    Slowly, the dark hole inside Nick''s chest seemed to intensify, and Nick became a bit nervous.


    ''I need something to do,'' he thought as he walked away from Wyntor''s office.


    That was when Nick remembered his weapons.


    ''Right, I should get those.''


    Nick left the warehouse and entered his room.


    He found the two suitcases beside his bed and opened the one with his braces.


    Nick furrowed his brows as he saw them.


    ''That''s going to be annoying,'' he thought as he took them out of the suitcase.


    Slowly, Nick put them onto his forearms and shins.


    At the moment, they were pretty easy to carry, and Nick only felt a bit of weight, but that would soon change when other people perceived him again.


    After putting them on, Nick also took out three of his five throwing spears.


    ''Huh, there''s also a belt or harness or something,'' Nick realized as he looked into the suitcase.


    Beneath the spears had been a mass of ck belts. There was one that obviously was supposed to go around someone''s waist, but there were also a couple more leading away from that one.


    After experimenting a bit, Nick found out how to put the thing on.


    One belt went around his waist.


    One went around his middle abdomen.


    One went around his middle chest.


    All of these belts were connected with many smaller ones.


    In total, there were three big belts, and all belts had a p hanging from them.


    Nick grabbed one of the spears and dropped it into one of the ps.


    It easily slid through and also went through the second p.


    When it touched the p of the lowest belt, it was halted.


    At the same time, the other ps also began to take hold.


    One had to remember that throwing spears didn''t look like normal spears.


    Normal spears had a big and long head on the end of a flexible and long hilt, which ended with either another tiny de or something t.


    Throwing spears, on the other hand, didn''t have big and noticeable heads.


    Instead, the hilt curved and narrowed until only a thin point was left.


    The other side of the throwing spear was just t.


    Just to test it, Nick put all five spears into the harness.


    In the end, all five of Nick''s spears were held on his back.


    They slightly extended from a bit below his waist to a bit over his head.


    After putting them all in, Nick could feel a bit of weight on his back.


    He moved his right arm over his right shoulder and grabbed the right-most spear.


    When he pulled, the spearfortably and easily slid out of the harness.


    Nick held the spear a bit in his hands and moved it around a bit.


    The weight felt nice.


    ''That should give me something to do,'' he thought.


    Nick grabbed another spear and pulled that one out as well.


    After putting those two spears back into the suitcase, Nick left his room.


    He now wore his braces and carried three of his five throwing spears.


    In total, Nick now carried around 170kg of extra weight.


    It was still okay when no person perceived him, but as soon as Nick entered the lobby of the hotel and saw one of the clerks look over, he had to take a deep breath.


    Walking suddenly became very difficult.


    Standing was still okay, but Nick could feel his back straining quite a bit.


    ''I overestimated my strength,'' Nick thought as he slowly turned around to walk up the stairs again.


    The clerk just looked at the retreating Nick with confusion.


    When he reached his room, Nick put two more of the throwing spears away, only carrying one with him.


    That reduced his extra weight to "only" 110 kg.


    That was still very heavy, but Nick could at least walk around.


    Without his ability active, the extra weight on Nick''s body was about equivalent to an average adult male carrying 30kg of stuff on his body.


    It was definitely quite heavy, but walking around was still feasible.


    ''I have to get used to this anyway,'' Nick thought as he slowly walked out of the hotel.


    Without noticing, Nick hadn''t thought about his problems for over ten minutes by now.


    It seemed like distracting himself worked.


    Well, until Nick arrived in the warehouse again and realized that he had to wait nearly an hour more.


    Nick became fidgety as the silence returned.


    ''Might as well start,'' Nick thought, annoyed with this constant ck hole in his chest.


    So, Nick pulled up his arms, assumed a makeshift fighting stance, and started to punch and kick the air.


    He wanted to get a feel for his new weapons.

 Chapter 101 101 – Perception

    <h4>Chapter 101 Chapter 101 ¨C Perception</h4>


    Nick wasn''t used to the extra weight on his legs and arms, but he was slowly getting used to it.


    Since nobody could see Nick right now, Nick''s speed was incredibly fast, considering that he was wearing 20kg on every limb.


    The metal was incredibly durable, which was why it weighed that much.


    Its density was no joke.


    Nick continued punching and kicking the air for a while, and slowly, his movements changed.


    Nick had been quite apathetic when he had just started, but the more he actually attacked, the angrier he got.


    After a couple of minutes, his attacks actually got quite aggressive, and he even started to breathe heavily.


    Originally, Nick just wanted to waste a bit of time until Wyntor arrived, but now, he actually wanted to see how strong his attacks could get.


    ''I wish there was something I could hit!''


    ''I haven''t been able to punch or kick something with my full power for quite some time.''


    Frustration joined Nick''s anger when he realized that there was nothing he could punch.


    Sure, he could probably punch the Dreamer''s Containment Unit, but there were two issues with that.


    First, even though the des on Nick''s wrist were very durable, stabbing them into something as unrelenting as a level two Containment Unit might actually dull them.


    Something like this wasn''t a concern for the back of the des or the braces on Nick''s shins, but a de was way more fragile near its edges.


    The other problem was the Dreamer itself.


    While the Dreamer was a prisoner, it was still important that it was treated with a certain amount of respect.


    Not because it deserved it but because working with a cooperative party was far easier than working with an annoyed or uncooperative one.


    If Nick kept banging on the Dreamer''s Containment Unit, it might decide to be less cooperative from now on.


    As for the walls of the warehouse¡­


    Nick looked at the stainless steel the warehouse was made out of.


    Steel was great and very hard, but if Nick punched it with his power and something as durable as his weapons, it would still break or dent.


    Sadly, Nick could only punch and kick the air for now.


    "Whoa!" Nick shouted as he lost control of his arms.


    The force behind his attack was so strong that he was pulled along with it,nding on the ground and sliding for a bit.


    When Nick stopped, he slowly lifted his arm, but moving his arm felt much more difficult.


    It was like the weights on his arms had multiplied.


    Naturally, Nick knew what that meant.


    He turned to the door of the warehouse.


    Since his ability had just deactivated, it meant that someone had to be watching him right now.


    Yet, surprisingly, there was nothing near the entrance of the warehouse.


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked around.


    He couldn''t see anyone.


    That was when Nick''s ability reactivated.


    Nick knew what that meant.


    ''Something has been watching me just now, but they retreated,'' Nick thought as he looked around.


    ''My ability has been deactivated for nearly ten seconds. If any of the Specters heard me, it would have reactivated way earlier since pinpointing someone''s location is only momentary if done by sound.''


    ''This means they have been seeing me.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes as he kept thinking about whoever had been watching him.


    Whoever it was, they weren''t here with nice intentions.


    ''I have to tell Wyntorter,'' Nick thought as he started to punch the air again.


    Nick didn''t want to seem like he had noticed something.


    Yes, he had just looked around like he was searching for something, but this could have been for any reason.


    Maybe Nick had been up to no good and had been looking around to make sure that nobody was watching him?


    A couple of minutester, Nick''s ability deactivated again, but this time, Nick had been careful that he didn''t use too much power.


    Because of that, Nick didn''t fall over, and his punch transformed into a slow and awkward movement of his hands.


    Of course, Nick acted like it was supposed to be this way.


    The good part about Nick''s ability was that nobody could see his true power.


    They always only saw him awkwardly shuffling around with his heavy weapons or falling over.


    Nick just kept slowly punching around, not looking around a lot.


    He was acting like he thought he was alone.


    ''Sure enough, my ability is still deactivated,'' Nick thought after 30 seconds had passed.


    This confirmed it.


    Someone was looking at Nick at this moment.


    After another couple of seconds, Nick bent forward and put his heavy arms on his knees while breathing heavily in exhaustion.


    Nick could keep going, but he acted like he couldn''t.


    For the next couple of seconds, Nick''s eyes rapidly darted around the floor of the warehouse.


    Ironically enough, Nick wasn''t searching for the watcher.


    After breathing heavily for ten seconds, Nick''s guess was confirmed.


    ''By lowering my head in exhaustion and looking around, my stalker would have immediately retreated if they were looking at me from below the floor. They would be afraid of me identally spotting them.''


    ''But since my ability is still active, it means that they don''t feel threatened by what I am currently looking at, which is the floor.''


    ''Therefore, they are not below the floor.''


    A bitter, Nick righted himself and stretched his back in rxation, looking up.


    As soon as Nick showed an inkling of stretching and looking up, his ability immediately deactivated.


    ''On the roof, maybe?'' Nick thought. ''Although, it could also be somewhere in here.''


    After that, Nick walked around and looked at the consoles of the Containment Units.


    Ten minutester, his ability deactivated again, and Nick narrowed his eyes.


    "You''re early."


    Nick''s expression rxed when he heard Wyntor''s voiceing from the entrance of the warehouse.


    After slowly turning around, Nick looked at the central clock.


    5:37 a.m.


    Wyntor looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow.


    Yet again, Nick was acting unusual.


    Yesterday, he seemed very insecure, and now, he seemed quite cold and serious.


    "We need to talk," Nick said.

 Chapter 102 102 – Spy

    <h4>Chapter 102 Chapter 102 ¨C Spy</h4>


    Wyntor was a bit surprised that Nick wanted to talk to him with such serious conviction.


    ''Guess the day off helped with his issues,'' Wyntor thought.


    "Sure,e in," Wyntor said as he walked over to his office to open it.


    After opening the office, Wyntor put down his stuff and sat down on his desk.


    Nick also sat down and looked at Wyntor with a serious expression.


    "Somebody has been watching me from the roof, most likely about 30 minutes ago," Nick said.


    When Wyntor heard that, he furrowed his brows. "Exin."


    "I came early and was bored, which was why I trained a bit with the weapons," Nick said as he shook his heavy arms a bit.


    "After training for a bit, I felt my ability deactivate, and after a bit of trying some stuff out, I came to the conclusion that someone was probably looking through one of the many holes in the ceiling for the sunlight."


    Wyntor nodded. "How did you find out they looked through the ceiling?"


    "They didn''t look away when I looked at the ground, but they immediately looked away when I looked at the ceiling," Nick said.


    Wyntor nodded with an interested expression. "I actually never thought about using your ability like that. I always saw that as a weakness of your ability, but in a way, you can actually find out if someone is looking at you and even from where."


    "There is actually a lot of potential for that kind of ability."


    Nick didn''t seem very excited, and his expression just remained even and serious.


    After what happened thest couple of days, Nick was no longer that interested in joking around andughing.


    "What about the spy?" Nick asked.


    "Right," Wyntor answered calmly. "I''m pretty sure that I know where they are from, and you probably also know."


    Nick narrowed his eyes. "Ardum?" he asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "The other Manufacturers don''t care enough about us yet to spy on us, and they also don''t want to annoy my family. I would be very surprised if the spy turned out to be from them."


    "But if it''s Ardum, I wouldn''t be surprised," Wyntor added with a sigh. "Every heir that manages to sessfully earn enough money to purchase a portion of Kugelblitz is another person that shares the inheritance of the Melfion family."


    "Three of my older siblings already managed to pass their tests and are working in Kugelblitz. They are already not big fans of me trying to get a piece of the inheritance, but they are also not the kind of people that would act against their youngest brother."


    "But Ardum¡­" Wyntor said as he trailed off. "He always acts like he''s confident and charismatic, but there''s actually nearly nothing there to back his confidence."


    "He''s arrogant and believes that everyone else is beneath him, and when he sees someone else reach his position, he puts them in their ce again. After all, they don''t deserve to be in a simr position as him."


    Nick listened with a solemn expression. "What can we expect?"


    "Depends on our actions," Wyntor answered. "If we do nothing, the spy will keep delivering information to Ardum, and Ardum will probably try to make our lives worse."


    "If we break thews, he will tell the guards. If we go to capture a Specter, he might arrive with his team of stronger Extractors."


    "However, he won''t directly attack us," Wyntor added. "Right now, it''s like we are arguing with each other. In an argument, the first person who bes violent admits that they lost the argument. After all, if you can defend yourself with words, why would you need to use your hands?"


    "But if we decide to attack the spy and kill them, it would be like punching Ardum in the face, and he will punch back just as strongly."


    "Fairness and justice don''t matter in this case. He got punched, and even if he deserves it, he will punch back."


    Nick listened to Wyntor with furrowed brows.


    Then, he thought about Jenny and Trevor.


    They had their weapons now, but they were still inexperienced in wielding them, and on top of that, their abilities were not fitting for battle.


    If they were to fight Ardum''s Extractors, they would be at a significant disadvantage.


    The only one that could really fight was Nick.


    Nick had fought a great number of people in the Dregs, and he had also killed several.


    Even more, as long as the enemy didn''t see Nick, his ability was incredibly powerful.


    One also had to remember that Ardum''s Extractors were probably in the same position.


    Ardum had one Adolescent and only two Hatchlings.


    His Extractors probably were just as inexperienced in killing humans as Dark Dream''s Extractors.


    They were all pretty new to this job.


    "What would you suggest?" Nick asked.


    "I already have somewhat of a n," Wyntor answered calmly. "I''m more interested in what you want to do. I want to know if youe to the same conclusion as me."


    "Why?" Nick asked suspiciously. Ever since Wyntor had unveiled that he had been testing Nick secretly, Nick had be more suspicious of Wyntor''s questions.


    "This is not a test," Wyntor said, seeing through Nick''s suspicion. "I just want to see if my n is the most logical one. If youe to the same conclusion, it gives more strength to my own."


    Nick raised an eyebrow, but his suspicions were alleviated.


    Then, Nick thought about the smartest thing to do.


    In a battle, they would lose.


    If they took the initiative and attacked Ardum''s people, they would also lose.


    If they didn''t do anything, they would fall into a disadvantage.


    ''The biggest problem is that nobody is used to battling other people. The others are still too new at this.''


    Nick''s gaze subconsciously went to the ceiling.


    ''But I really want to kill this guy.''


    "Do nothing until everyone gets more used to their weapons. Prepare in secret. Then, we kill the spy and look at how things will develop," Nick said.


    Wyntor nodded, and a small smile formed on his lips.


    "Simr to my n."


    "Good."

 Chapter 103 103 – Difficult Choice

    <h4>Chapter 103 Chapter 103 ¨C Difficult Choice</h4>


    "For now, we are not ready to face them," Wyntor said. "We have to get stronger first."


    "But we also can''t just do nothing about the spy. If we just ignore them, they might do something bad, like freeing the Dreamer."


    "Because of that, I will start hiring guards."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Why guards? I don''t think guards can fight a Zephyx Extractor."


    "That''s not the primary reason," Wyntor answered. "A guard only needs to survive for long enough to alert any person of Dark Dream."


    "While the spy might n to do something like free the Dreamer, they won''t dare to openly start a war with Dark Dream yet."


    "You don''t know how Manufacturers interact with each other, but directly attacking someone openly is frowned upon. Officially, attacking another Manufacturer is seen as attacking humanity since Manufacturers are responsible for containing Specters."


    "Of course, in secret, all the Manufacturers are battling each other, and if a skirmish breaks out, the detectives either act like both Manufacturers are at fault in the conflict or don''t evenment on it as long as it''s not absolutely obvious what happened."


    "If the spy gets found out and captured, the forces of Crimson Fungus City will side with us, and Ardum will have to either abandon his pawn or pay a hefty fine."


    "Because of that, Ardum won''t dare to send his forces in to mess with us as long as we have a couple of guards."


    Nick listened intently. "When will you get the guards?"


    "Today," Wyntor said. "With the increased output of Zephyx, thanks to the Screaming Coffin, I can afford to hire a couple of guards. It will cost us barely a thousand credits per day."


    Nick nodded.


    Then, Nick took a deep breath, but he didn''t say anything.


    Wyntor raised an eyebrow.


    Nick looked like he wanted to say something.


    "Yes?" Wyntor just asked with an expectant tone.


    Nick closed his eyes and took another deep breath.


    "I don''t think I can take care of Horua anymore," Nick said. "It has be so difficult, and I noticed that it has started to interfere with my duties."


    "I know that I am the one responsible and that Horua has be like this entirely due to my mistake, but I can''t just continue like this."


    "I need someone who can take care of him," Nick said with a tone filled with shame.


    Nick felt like he had given up.


    He felt like he had run away from his responsibility.


    "It''s good that you made the choice," Wyntor said. "To be honest, I would rather have someone else take care of the boy than you."


    "I need you fully focused for your position."


    Nick released a sigh, but he wasn''t happy.


    He just felt ashamed.


    "Nick," Wyntor added, making Nick look up at him again. "But I think you are still not considering the entire picture."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "How old is the boy?" Wyntor asked.


    "He will be twelve soon," Nick said.


    Wyntor nodded. "And he has been in this state for how long?"


    "Three months, give or take," Nick said.


    "Three months," Wyntor repeated. "And he was eleven when he became like this."


    "Nick, three months for an eleven-year-old is a significant amount of time."


    "He has probably grown a couple of centimeters in that time, and his muscles have also atrophied by quite a bit."


    "Just to recover from these three months would take another couple of months."


    "In total, he already lost half of a year to this."


    Nick became nervous. "What are you trying to say?"


    "I''m saying that the time for being passive is over, Nick," Wyntor said. "How long will you let the boy continue being in this state? A year? Two years? Three years?"


    "How long until the boy doesn''t even recognize who he is anymore when he looks into the mirror?"


    "Will you let him spend his entire childhood in this state?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick narrowed his eyes. "I would help him if I could!" he shouted. "Don''t act like I refuse to help him!"


    "Nick," Wyntor said. "It''s been three months. Doing nothing won''t help him. Do you want him to spend the rest of his life like this?"


    "What do you want me to do?" Nick asked with fear and annoyance.


    But in truth, Nick already knew what Wyntor wanted.


    He just didn''t want to ept doing that.


    "The Dreamer was the one that put him into this state," Wyntor said. "Maybe the Dreamer can help him get out of it."


    "The Dreamer will kill him!" Nick shouted. "Specters have no empathy, and if the Dreamer sees an opportunity to kill Horua, it will do so!"


    "Then, why did the Dreamer retreat before the boy started to have a seizure?" Wyntor asked. "You told me that the Dreamer stepped away before things were going badly."


    "It seems like the Dreamer didn''t want to kill him."


    "Nick, while it is true that Specters don''t have Empathy, it is also true that they are intelligent and do what is best for them."


    "If the Dreamer knows that awakening the boy is the best thing to do, it will do so."


    "It has worked with us for three months now, and it wouldn''t want to ruin our trust in it by killing some random kid."


    "It''s going to try its best. Even if the only reason is that we trust it more, and it might gain an opportunity to break out of its Containment Unit one day."


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    The Dreamer had caused Horua to enter this state.


    Sending Horua to the Dreamer again could only be bad.


    Nothing good coulde of this.


    However, Nick also couldn''t deny Wyntor''s words.


    Horua couldn''t live his life like this.


    ''If Horua could talk, what would he choose?'' Nick thought.


    Silence.


    Wyntor just looked at Nick, while Nick just looked at the table with an absentminded expression.


    Some secondster, Nick put his head in his hands.


    He knew what Horua would choose.

 Chapter 104 104 – Taking a Risk

    <h4>Chapter 104 Chapter 104 ¨C Taking a Risk</h4>


    ''He would want to take the risk,'' Nick thought.


    ''But if something happens¡­''


    Nick couldn''t imagine what he would feel like if Horua actually died.


    At that point, everything Nick had done would be for nothing.


    Nick had taken care of Horua for three months, but if Horua died now, all of Nick''s efforts would have been worthless.


    That would mean that fixing his past mistakes would be impossible for Nick.


    If Horua woke up, Nick might be able to somewhat right his previous wrongs.


    But if he died, that would be impossible.


    And yet, Wyntor was right.


    This was not a life Horua would want to live.


    If Horua could see himself, he would probably speak the Sentence.


    Every day, Horua was pissing and shitting his pants, and he was reliant on other people for everything.


    If Horua were conscious, he would find this eternal boredom, humiliation, and monotony to be worse than death.


    This was not a life he would want to live.


    But if Horua died, it would also fall back on Nick.


    After all, Nick was essentially making choices for Horua.


    If Nick didn''t agree, Horua wouldn''t get sent to the Dreamer.


    "Don''t do the wrong thing because you are too weak to do the right thing," Wyntor said.


    Nick''s chest shook.


    ''Right,'' Nick thought in pain. ''I know that what Wyntor said is right, and I also know what Horua would choose.''


    ''Yet, I am still hesitating.''


    ''Why? Because I can''t bear thinking about how I would feel if Horua dies.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "You''re right," he said as he looked at Wyntor.


    Nick tried to show that he had made his choice with conviction, but his nervousness and anxiety still shone through.


    Wyntor nodded. "Good," he said. "Nick, this is not a life that the boy would want to live. You made the right call."


    Nick took a deep breath and nodded again. "I just hope he won''t die."


    "And even if he does," Wyntor said, "you still made the right choice."


    "Even if the boy dies to the Dreamer, you know that you have at least tried to make his life better."


    Nick gritted his teeth, but he nodded.


    He knew that doing this was correct, but the thought of Horua dying still scared him.


    "When do you want to do it?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick took another deep breath. "It doesn''t matter. For Horua, it doesn''t matter when it happens. His life is perfectly monotone."


    "Might as well do it right now," Nick said with a shaky voice.


    "Fine," Wyntor said. "Then, get him. I''m going to wake Trevor."


    Nick nodded, gritted his teeth, and walked out of the office.


    Nick''s emotions were going crazy again, but his determination was keeping them under control for now.


    Nick felt like he was doing the wrong thing.


    What if something happened?!


    What if Horua died?!


    What if Nick had essentially killed Horua?!


    Yet, Nick''s rationality kept telling his emotions that it was the right choice, regardless of the oue.


    But that didn''t make it easier.


    Nick absentmindedly climbed the stairs and reached Horua''s room.


    Nick wished there were more stairs.


    After opening the door and walking through the hallway, Nick entered Horua''s room.


    Right now, Horua was asleep and clean.


    Whoever Wyntor had hired had taken good care of him during the night.


    When Nick saw Horua, he took a deep breath and walked forward.


    "Horua, wake up," Nick said as he shook Horua a bit.


    After moving Horua''s eyelids open a bit to wake him, Nick slowly lifted Horua''s light and weak body.


    Horua had lost a lot of weight in thest three months.


    "Today, we are going to change your life," Nick said softly. "For better or for worse."


    "Living like this is not what you want, and I know, if you could talk to me, you would also make this choice."


    "We have to take a risk. In this state, you might as well be dead. Letting you stay like this wouldn''t be much different from killing you."


    "You deserve a chance, and we are going to give you one!"


    Nick opened the door to Horua''s room as he carefully walked out with him.


    "I just hope that I can have a real conversation with you when the day is over."


    Nick took a shaky breath. "And I also hope that you will one day be able to forgive me for my stupidity."


    As Nick walked down the stairs, he felt like he was walking towards his execution.


    His feelings were screaming at him that he was doing the wrong thing, but his rationality was screaming back that it was the right thing.


    Humans were not machines, and many times, their feelings were in direct opposition to logic.


    Every human experienced battles between what their head thought was right and what their heart thought was right.


    Nick walked out of the hotel, and Horua''s body came into contact with the outside for the first time in three months.


    But just momentster, Nick entered Dark Dream with Horua.


    After entering the warehouse, Nick saw Trevor standing beside the Dreamer''s Containment Unit with a worried expression.


    Nick just walked to the Containment Unit.


    "Nick, you''re doing the right thing," Trevor said, and Nick stopped walking. "I wouldn''t want to live such a life."


    Nick''s eyebrows rxed a bit. "Thanks, Trevor."


    Trevor nodded. "No worries. It will work out. The Dreamer won''t dare to kill the kid."


    Nick nodded without saying anything and walked through the employee entrance.


    After entering, Nick saw Wyntor standing in front of the Dreamer.


    As soon as Nick entered, the Dreamer turned to look at Nick.


    And then it focused on Horua.


    Nick furrowed his brows, took a deep breath, and walked forward.


    "Dreamer," Nick said, stopping in front of it.


    The Dreamer didn''t answer, and it only kept looking at Horua.


    "I am asking for your help," Nick said.


    "This boy can''t interact with the outside anymore, and I know that you can enter his mind."


    Nick took a deep breath and put Horua down in front of the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer kept looking at Horua.


    "Please, save him," Nick said as his voice became shaky.


    "Show me that my trust in you is not misced."


    "Please, make him wake up."


    "Return him to me."


    The Dreamer just kept looking at Horua.

 Chapter 105 105 – Wake Up!

    <h4>Chapter 105 Chapter 105 ¨C Wake Up!</h4>


    Nick looked at the Dreamer with an imploring look.


    He only hoped that Horua wouldn''t die.


    If Horua died¡­


    Nick wouldn''t know what he would do.


    For thest couple of days, he had already been feeling horrible, and being the reason for Horua''s death would make things only worse.


    Nick slowly took a couple of steps back, showing the Dreamer that he didn''t intend to attack it.


    The Dreamer slowly turned to look at the boy lying in front of it.


    Then, the Dreamer slowly turned to look at Nick again.


    "Please," Nick repeated.


    After that, the Dreamer looked at Wyntor.


    "Do it," Wyntor said with a nod.


    Lastly, the Dreamer focused on the boy again.


    A momentter, it took a step forward and lowered its head to focus on Horua''s eyes.


    Right now, Horua''s eyes were half-opened and nkly staring at the ceiling.


    The Dreamer kept focusing on Horua.


    A couple of secondster, Horua''s eyes closed on their own.


    When Nick saw that, he became excited.


    Horua couldn''t close his eyes himself, but just now, he had actually closed them!


    Horua was still alive!


    The fact that he could close his eyes meant that he was still in there!


    Nick''s heart rate increased as more time passed.


    A couple of minutes of silence passed.


    Nick felt like these minutes were hours.


    "Ugh¡­"


    Nick''s eyes shot open when he heard a groaning from Horua.


    Horua''s voice sounded incredibly hoarse and coarse, but that was to be expected after not talking for over three months.


    However, the important thing was that Horua had actually said something!


    "Argh¡­" Horua groaned in pain.


    While the earlier groan had been one of difort, this had definitely been one of pain.


    It sounded like Horua had just tried to stop himself from screaming.


    Sadly¡­


    "AAAAAAHHHHH!"


    Nick''s eyes looked with fervent intensity at Horua as he screamed in absolute agony.


    In his entire life, Nick had never heard a human scream in so much agony!


    The only scream that was more intense came from the Screaming Coffin.


    Worried that Horua might die, Nick charged-


    "Nick, stop!" Wyntor shouted, holding his arm in front of Nick.


    Nick could barely hear Wyntor''s voice due to Horua''s loud and terrifying scream.


    "It knows what it''s doing!" Wyntor shouted. "Trust in the fact that it knows what the optimal course of action is for its survival!"


    Nick''s body shook.


    "AAAAAAHHHHH!"


    Horua''s scream was terrifying, and Nick felt like he wanted to either punch the Dreamer or run away.


    No matter the case, Nick felt like he had to do something!


    Suddenly, blood shot out of Horua''s mouth as his vocal cords broke apart and leaked blood.


    "STOP!" Nick shouted with all of his power.


    Nick was just about to push Wyntor to the side when the Dreamer actually turned to look at Nick by only moving its head. Its body was still hunched over Horua.


    The Dreamer''s intense but dead stare focused on Nick''s eyes as Horua kept screeching in agony and pain.


    "Nick, stop- ugh!"


    Wyntor was pushed to the side by Nick as he ran towards the Dreamer.


    When the Dreamer saw Nick approach, it jumped backward with quite a bit of speed andnded in the corner of the room.


    In an instant, Nick arrived between Horua and the Dreamer.


    Nick wanted to attack the Dreamer so badly, but since the Dreamer had already stepped away, the immediate issue was solved.


    So, he turned around and focused on Horua.


    That was when Nick saw that Horua''s eyes had shot open in terror and agony.


    Horua''s eyes werepletely red with blood, and his body entire body was rigid as all his muscles strained.


    His scream had be silent, but his mouth was still opened in an expression that perfectly reflected someone screeching in agony.


    But most shocking of all, Nick saw Horua''s pupils rapidly moving around.


    He was awake!


    "Horua!" Nick shouted as he quickly kneeled beside Horua to grab his hand. "Everything''s okay! You''re awake again!"


    However, Horua didn''t notice Nick and just focused on the ceiling as his entire body strained.


    "Horua!" Nick shouted as his grip on Horua''s hand tightened.


    That seemed to do the trick, and Horua''s pupils seemed to fight and strain as they tried to focus on Nick.


    Time seemed to stand still as Nick just looked into Horua''s eyes.


    After seemingly an eternity, Horua''s mouth slowly moved.


    No sound came out.


    However, Nick could tell what Horua was mouthing, and his heart nearly broke into pieces.


    "I''m¡­ sorry¡­"


    That was what Horua was mouthing.


    Nick knew what this meant.


    As a child, Horua believed that Nick was causing him this pain, and the only thing Horua could do to stop Nick from causing him even more pain was to submit and apologize.


    The pure terror in Horua''s eyes told Nick as much.


    "No, Horua! You''re going to get better!" Nick shouted as his grip on Horua''s arm rxed.


    Horua stopped mouthing words and looked at Nick with strained pupils.


    An eternity seemed to pass.


    "Horua!" Nick shouted again.


    And then, Horua''s pupils suddenly moved upward, losing all focus as his body lost all strength.


    "Horua!" Nick shouted once more as he started to shake Horua''s shoulders.


    Horua didn''t move.


    Next, Nick put his ear to Horua''s mouth to listen.


    Silence.


    Five seconds of silence.


    "He''s not breathing!" Nick shouted in panic. "What do I do?!"


    "Is his heart beating?" Wyntor asked urgently.


    Nick put his ear to Horua''s chest.


    Nothing.


    "It isn''t!" Nick shouted.


    "Make way!" Wyntor shouted as he pushed Nick away.


    Nick rapidly moved to the side and looked at Wyntor with hope.


    Wyntor immediately started to push on Horua''s chest in a certain rhythm.


    "Go to my office and get the Recovery Liquid in the lowest drawer!" Wyntor shouted.


    Nick nodded and immediately ran out of the Containment Unit.


    After entering Wyntor''s office, Nick immediately opened the lowest drawer and quickly found the small green bottle.


    Nick raced back with the bottle and saw Wyntor still performing CPR.


    "Give it to me," Wyntor said.


    Nick gave the bottle to Wyntor.


    Wyntor opened it and poured a couple of drops on Horua''s head and some into his throat.


    Wyntor had already stopped performing CPR and just watched Horua with Nick.


    This would decide whether Horua lived or not.

 Chapter 106 106 – It’s Over

    <h4>Chapter 106 Chapter 106 ¨C It''s Over</h4>


    Nick and Wyntor looked at Horua with bated breaths.


    The Recovery Liquid could heal all kinds of physical injuries, and if there was anything wrong with Horua physically, it would get healed very quickly.


    These Recovery Liquids were for Extractors, which meant that they were designed to work on people several times stronger than the average human.


    Using several drops on a child was a huge waste since the child couldn''t possibly absorb all of it, but Wyntor used that many anyway.


    Seconds passed.


    Nick waited with gritted teeth.


    Right now, Nick''s feelings were going crazy.


    Horua couldn''t be dead!


    It had to work!


    After around 30 seconds, Wyntor put his hand on Horua''s chest again.


    "Nothing," Wyntor said with a sigh.


    Nick became more fearful and panicked as he kept looking at Horua.


    "It can still work!" Nick said.


    "Theoretically, yes, but something like that is very rare," Wyntor said as he stood up. "I''m sorry."


    When Nick heard Wyntor''s apology, he felt like he had entered a dream.


    It was like none of this was real.


    This couldn''t be real, right?


    Nick just kept looking at Horua.


    Soon, Horua would open his eyes, right?


    His breathing would return, and his heart would start to beat again, right?


    Nick just looked at Horua.


    Right now, Horua''s eyes were still open, but his eyes had rolled into the back of his head.


    His body hadpletely rxed.


    ''He''ll wake up, right? The Recovery Liquid can still work!'' Nick thought.


    Wyntor moved to the corner of the room and leaned against it with a sad expression.


    A minute of silence passed.


    Nick kept looking at Horua.


    "Let it go," Wyntor said. "It''s over."


    "Not yet," Nick said urgently as he kept looking at Horua''s body.


    "Nick, it''s been over two minutes without a heartbeat. It''s over," Wyntor said with a sigh.


    Nick kept watching Horua''s body without answering.


    A couple more seconds passed.


    "You tried your best," Wyntor said. "Even though it ended up like this, you still did the right thing."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Maybe he would have preferred death over the state he has been in thest three months," Wyntor added.


    "Maybe it''s better this way. If he had survived, whatever he had gone through might have been too much for him to bear."


    "If he actually survived, he might have even spoken the Sentence."


    "Maybe there was actually nothing we could have done."


    Silence.


    "Maybe the boy died three months ago," Wyntor slowly said.


    "He has a name," Nick said.


    "Huh?" Wyntor repeated in confusion.


    "He has a name, you know?" Nick repeated with furrowed brows as he looked at Wyntor. "You always keep calling him the boy. Why do you refuse to call him by his name?"


    Wyntor raised an eyebrow in pity. "You want to know that now?"


    Nick gritted his teeth as his rage exploded.


    However, he quickly realized that he was actually just venting.


    Wyntor hadn''t done anything wrong.


    "I''m sorry," Nick said with a restrained voice as he looked back at Horua''s body.


    Several seconds of silence passed.


    Nick just continued looking at Horua with hope.


    Soon, he would wake up.


    Another two minutes passed.


    "You don''t need to stay here," Nick said. "You probably have something to do."


    "I''m not leaving without you," Wyntor said.


    Nick sighed. "You don''t need to worry about me."


    "I''m not," Wyntor answered.


    Nick furrowed his brows in confusion and gazed at Wyntor.


    Wyntor gestured to the Dreamer, which was still standing in the corner.


    "I''m worried about it. I don''t want you to attack it out of rage," Wyntor said. "I trust in your ability to get through this, which is why I''m not worried about you."


    When Nick heard that, he gritted his teeth as he turned to look at the Dreamer.


    Nick still remembered how the Dreamer had looked at Nick while Horua was screaming.


    It was almost like the Dreamer was taunting Nick!


    Nick clenched his fists so hard that he nearly started to bleed.


    "Nick," Wyntor said with a serious voice. "The Dreamer didn''t do anything wrong."


    "How do you know?!" Nick said in a loud voice.


    "Because there is no reason for it to kill the boy," Wyntor said. "On top of that, it didn''t show any sign of attacking Horua."


    "But didn''t you see how-"


    "Because you shouted at it!" Wyntor interrupted Nick before he could finish.


    Wyntor knew very well what Nick was about to say.


    "It taunted me!" Nick shouted in rage.


    "It looked at you in confusion!" Wyntor answered with a serious voice. "You shouted at it with all of your power. Of course it would look at you!"


    "Even more, when you charged at it aggressively, it just flew back without even preparing an attack! Otherwise, the rm would have gone off!"


    "The Dreamer has been cooperative this entire time!"


    "While we still have to be careful of it since it''s a Specter, it hasn''t done anything wrong this time!" Wyntor shouted at Nick with a reprimanding voice.


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    He felt like the Dreamer had been taunting him.


    He felt like the Dreamer had deliberately killed Horua.


    Yet, he couldn''t argue with Wyntor''s assessment.


    Wyntor was right.


    It didn''t seem like the Dreamer had killed Horua on purpose.


    Nick could only grit his teeth and look at Horua''s body with shock, rage, frustration, and hope.


    Maybe, Horua would wake up soon.


    Five more minutes of silence passed.


    Horua hadn''t moved.


    His body had turned even paler than before.


    No one said a word.


    "Let it go, Nick," Wyntor said. "There''s no reason for you to continue staying here."


    Nick''s fists clenched even more.


    He wasn''t willing to leave.


    He couldn''t believe that Horua was dead.


    After everything he had done in thest three months, Horua had still died?


    Nick had taken such good care of Horua.


    But now, he was dead.


    Nick''s rapidly moving thoughts seemed to scatter, leaving behind indiscernible but calm snippets of thoughts.


    This wasn''t real, right?


    Another minute passed as Nick just kept looking at the corpse.


    How did things end up like this?

 Chapter 107 107 – The Corpse

    <h4>Chapter 107 Chapter 107 ¨C The Corpse</h4>


    After a couple of minutes, Nick stood up.


    By now, over ten minutes had passed.


    Horua''s heartbeat hadn''t returned.


    He was dead.


    There was no denying it anymore.


    "Did he have any next-of-kin?" Wyntor asked from the corner.


    Nick slowly shook his head. "No. His parents died, and he didn''t have any friends or family¡­"


    "Except for me," Nick said quietly as he looked down.


    Silence.


    "What do you want to do with the body?" Wyntor asked.


    When Nick heard that, he felt the void in his chest return, darker than ever before.


    Right now, Nick felt like he could never be happy again.


    In one way, he felt like he had been hollowed out, but at the same time, he also felt like the entire world was putting immense pressure on him.


    Nick felt like reality wanted to crush him.


    His body?


    This question felt so surreal.


    Nick had to decide what to do with Horua''s body?


    It was so strange.


    How was any of this real?


    How had any of this actually happened?


    For a while, Nick didn''t answer.


    There were no cemeteries in the Dregs.


    If anyone died, the body had to be handed over to the officials.


    Nobody knew where the bodies ended up.


    Most likely, the bodies were fed to a Specter.


    It sounded cruel, but what alternative was there?


    There was no earth in the city, which made burying the body impossible.


    Burning the body was also not possible since none of the fires one could start with the avable materials was strong enough to actually turn the body into ash. It would just leave a charred body behind, making things even worse.


    Keeping the body was also bad since it would rot.


    Additionally, the Parasite would probably just consume the body when nobody was looking.


    Might as well feed it to a useful Specter.


    Nick wanted to keep Horua''s body, but he knew that this was not realistic.


    "Give it to the coffin," Nick said with a shaky breath.


    It sounded cruel, but it was the only thing Nick could think of.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "Do you want to say goodbye?" he asked.


    Nick looked at Horua''s corpse.


    A nearly twelve-year-old boy.


    Horua was so thin and pale.


    Nick still remembered how he had defended Horua from the gangs when his parents died and how they had been living together for almost a year.


    Even though it had only been a business rtionship at the beginning, they had quickly be friends.


    Nick also remembered how hopeful Horua had been when Nick had told him that he could turn him into a Zephyx Extractor.


    And then, tragedy happened.


    ''It''s all my fault,'' Nick thought as he looked at the corpse with pain.


    "I''m sorry," Nick said quietly as he kneeled beside the corpse.


    Nick gently held Horua''s hand.


    It was ice cold, soft, and thin.


    A child''s hand.


    "I''m sorry, Horua," Nick said with a shaky voice.


    "Wherever you are now, I hope you won''t meet someone like me."


    "This is all my fault."


    "If I hadn''t been so stupid, you would still be alive."


    "I''m sorry."


    Several seconds of silence passed.


    "Thank you for being my friend."


    "I''ll miss you, even though you probably wouldn''t want to see me."


    "I''ll leave you alone now."


    "Goodbye."


    Nick took a shaky breath and stood up.


    Wyntor stepped forward and put a hand on Nick''s shoulder.


    Nick didn''t move for a while.


    Eventually, Nick took a deep breath.


    "Thanks," he said as he gently pushed Wyntor''s hand off his shoulder. "I''ll need some time to deal with this."


    Wyntor nodded. "You can have the next three days off. I know this is difficult on you."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    Then, he turned around and quietly left the Containment Unit.


    After Nick left, Wyntor looked at the corpse for a bit before putting it over his shoulder.


    After that, Wyntor turned to look at the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer looked at Wyntor.


    Three secondster, Wyntor turned away and left the Containment Unit.


    When Wyntor came out, he saw Trevor looking at him with sadness.


    "Nick left?" Wyntor asked neutrally.


    Trevor nodded. "Yes. I''m worried about him."


    "Nick is strong," Wyntor said. "He went through worse things in the Dregs."


    "Someone that has lived in the Dregs for their entire life can handle death."


    Trevor raised an eyebrow.


    He didn''t seem like he was fully believing Wyntor.


    After all, Trevor had also lived in the Dregs.


    To Trevor, it seemed like Wyntor was making assumptions.


    However, Trevor didn''t correct Wyntor.


    After all, they were not friends.


    Trevor was an employee, and Wyntor was his employer.


    "I hope you''re right," Trevor said.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "What about the Dreamer?" Trevor asked.


    "Nick won''t be here for the next three days," Wyntor said. "I''m going to wake you up in the morning. For now, only you and Jenny will be working with it. Your shifts won''t change."


    "Okay," Trevor answered. "Do you need me for anything?"


    "No, you can leave. Good work today," Wyntor said as he walked by Trevor.


    "Alright. For all that it''s worth, I wish you a happy workday," Trevor said.


    Wyntor snorted.


    He assumed Trevor was joking.


    While Trevor left, Wyntor walked over to the other Containment Unit.


    After opening the door, Wyntor looked at the Screaming Coffin.


    Right now, it was just silently lying in the middle of the room.


    Apparently, it was currently digesting a corpse.


    By now, the Containment Unit had started to take on a slight smell of dead bodies.


    After all, the corpses were not always immediately consumed by the Screaming Coffin.


    Additionally, the venttion of the Containment Unit wasn''t the best.


    Wyntor looked at the Screaming Coffin for a bit.


    Bang!


    Then, Wyntor unceremoniously threw the corpse in front of it.


    His expression was neutral.


    For a bit, Wyntor looked at the corpse with a cold expression.


    That boy had been a burden on Nick for long enough.


    Finally, Nick could move on from it.


    Then, Wyntor turned around and left the Containment Unit.

 Chapter 108 108 – Eternal Regret

    <h4>Chapter 108 Chapter 108 ¨C Eternal Regret</h4>


    Nick walked back to the hotel absentmindedly.


    For some reason, he felt like everything that had happened today wasn''t real.


    Yet, he knew very well that it was real.


    Would he even question whether or not this was a dream if it were actually a dream?


    Probably not.


    Nevertheless, Nick felt like nothing had changed.


    He felt like he was about to go back to Horua''s room to check up on him.


    After entering the hotel and climbing up the stairs, Nick stopped in front of his room as he looked over at the door to Horua''s room.


    For a couple of seconds, he just watched.


    Then, he walked to Horua''s room and entered.


    After opening the door, he just saw an empty bed.


    The nket was still in the same position as when Nick had left.


    Yet, there was no Horua.


    For many seconds, Nick just stood in the room, looking at Horua.


    From time to time, a whiff of a bloody smell entered his nose.


    Ever since Nick had killed Pator, there had been a slightly bloody smell in the room that appeared from time to time.


    Naturally, whenever Nick smelled it, he was reminded of the day he killed Pator.


    ''Another child,'' Nick thought.


    Horua had been a child.


    Pator had been a child.


    ''I''ve killed two children,'' Nick thought.


    ''Although the other one would have died anyway.''


    Nick released a sigh.


    ''But Horua''s fate was my doing.''


    ''If I hadn''t pulled Horua into Dark Dream, he wouldn''t be dead. He would probably have continued living somewhere in the Dregs.''


    ''Sure, it wouldn''t have been an easy life without me present, but he would have survived. After all, I also managed to survive.''


    ''But I just had to get Horua to be a Zephyx Extractor, huh?''


    Nick just looked at the empty bed with an expression filled with regret.


    At the same time, Nick felt the dark void in his chest return with even more intensity.


    It was like the muscles and organs in his chest were constricting with all their power.


    Regret and guilt.


    Nick was filled with so much regret and guilt.


    Nick hadmitted horrible mistakes, and there was no way to fix them.


    He would never gain a chance to make things right.


    Horua was dead.


    And he had killed him.


    His stupidity had caused Horua''s death.


    He should have known.


    But he didn''t.


    And now, Horua had paid the price.


    ''I can''t fix it.''


    Silence.


    ''I can''t make things right.''


    Nick just kept looking at Horua''s bed.


    ''If I could, I would give so many things to get an opportunity to make things right.''


    ''But I can''t.''


    ''With the powers of the Specters, many impossible things be possible, but death is still final.''


    Nick wanted to right his wrongs so badly.


    He was willing to do everything.


    But it was impossible.


    ''I''m so sorry, Horua,'' Nick thought as he lightly moved his hand across Horua''s bed.


    ''I couldn''t fix it.''


    ''I couldn''t help you.''


    ''I''m sorry.''


    Nick''s eyes began to water, but he quickly shook his head and gritted his teeth.


    He remembered what had happened thest time he had cried.


    Thest time he had allowed his emotions to break out was when this ck void appeared in his chest, which was still haunting him.


    If he cried again, things would only get worse.


    So, Nick pushed all his sadness away, burying it deep inside.


    Yet, the ck void in his chest never left.


    It was still there and just as noticeable as ever.


    For nearly an hour, Nick stayed in Horua''s room, just looking around and remembering things.


    They had only known each other for a bit more than a year, but they had still been friends.


    Horua would never be able to find out what exactly had happened to his father, who had just vanished at one point.


    Nick was certain that Horua''s father had probably just been thrown into the sewers by somebody, but it had never truly been a certainty.


    Horua would also never be able to truly own his house.


    Yes, he was essentially the owner of the house, but as soon as Nick left, the gangs would steal it since Horua was just a kid who couldn''t protect such a valuable asset.


    Maybe in the future, Horua would have be a big and strong man who would fight against the gangs for his childhood home.


    But now, none of that would happen.


    All of Horua''s dreams died with him.


    Eventually, Nick left Horua''s room and entered his own.


    After entering, Nick put his weapons to the side and just fell into his bed.


    He had just woken up a couple of hours ago, but he already wanted to go back to sleep.


    Why was life like this?


    Why did one bad thing after the other happen to him?


    Problems, problems, problems.


    He was just so tired of all of these problems.


    ''If I weren''t that stupid, I wouldn''t have so many problems,'' Nick thought as he lifelessly looked at the ceiling above his bed.


    ''If I were strong enough to contain or iste my empathy, I wouldn''t have so many issues with Pator''s death.''


    ''If I were not such an idiot, Horua wouldn''t have died.''


    ''Maybe life isn''t actually cruel.''


    ''Maybe it''s just my ipetence and idiocy that makes it cruel.''


    ''Maybe I''m just too dumb to have a good life.''


    All of the memories that Nick associated with negative emotions shot through his mind.


    When one was surrounded by darkness, one often didn''t even try to search for light.


    At this moment, there were no happy moments in Nick''s memories.


    The intense regret and guilt colored the bright moments grey, making them seem meaningless.


    When Nick had gotten his job, it didn''t matter since his life only became worse from then on.


    When Nick caught the Dreamer, it didn''t matter since the Dreamer would end up killing Horua.


    When Nick became rich, it didn''t matter since all the money in the world couldn''t make him happy right now.


    All the good things were meaningless.


    All the bad things were painful and dominant.


    ''I wish I had the guts to say the Sentence,'' Nick thought as he lifelessly looked at the ceiling.

 Chapter 109 109 – Switched Places

    <h4>Chapter 109 Chapter 109 ¨C Switched ces</h4>


    Time passed.


    Hours passed, in which Nick just kept thinking about things.


    At some point, Nick''s stomach even started to hurt, which made him remember that he hadn''t eaten anything for quite a while.


    But it seemed so unimportant.


    He just didn''t care.


    Also, in a certain way, the pain of hunger felt justified to Nick.


    Nick was just too consumed by regret and guilt.


    Feeling happy in any way felt unfair to Horua.


    After taking away Horua''s happiness and future, Nick believed he didn''t deserve to have one of his own.


    It was only fair.


    "Man, you look like shit."


    Usually, Nick would jump up in surprise at the voice that had suddenly appeared behind him on the bed.


    Yet, Nick just didn''t care a lot, and he also quickly realized who it was based on the voice.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    A momentter, a rat entered Nick''s vision, and he saw it looking down at him with interest.


    "What happened to you?" it asked.


    "Don''t you already know?" Nick answered with a deadpan and lifeless voice.


    "No, I don''t," the Parasite said. "I might have many eyes and ears, but it''s difficult to check the Outer City. Too many guards and Extractors, you know?"


    "Why are you here?" Nick asked emotionlessly.


    "Checking up on my favorite Extractor," the rat said with a big grin. "I usually see you walking around from time to time, but you haven''t shown up in a while."


    "Why would you care?" Nick asked.


    "You''re my important business partner," the rat said with a smile as it rubbed its little ws together. "Your health is important to my business."


    Nick snorted. "You tried to convince me to kill myself more than once before."


    "Yeah, but that''s in the past," the rat said dismissively. "Things change, you know?"


    Nick just kept looking at the ceiling without answering.


    "Man, life really got you by the ass, eh, Nick?" the rat said as it leaned on Nick''s elbow.


    Nick didn''t move.


    "Oh, wow," the rat said in a bit of surprise. "You''re not even angry that I''m touching you. That''s a new one."


    The next moment, the rat jumped up on Nick''s chest and looked at his vacant and disinterested eyes.


    "Huh," the rat uttered after a bit. "To think that you would actually reach that point. After that one incident two years ago, I thought that you would never consider suicide."


    "Things change," Nick said. "You said so yourself."


    "And so they do," the rat said as it moved around Nick for a bit, looking at him with interest.


    "Can''t bring yourself to go through with it, huh?" the rat asked.


    Nick weakly nodded without looking at the rat.


    "You know, those are my favorite customers," the rat said. "Like, I don''t even have to convince them. They just let me do my thing."


    The next moment, the rat started to scratch its tiny chin with one of its ws.


    "But things are tricky in this case."


    "First, you are worth far more than just your corpse. You are a business partner that can bring me tens, if not hundreds, of corpses, you know? Having you die right now would be a huge waste."


    "Also, you''re already no longer a normal human. Look at this."


    Then, the rat suddenly bit Nick''s arm and started to tear at it while trying to scratch it with its ws.


    Nick felt like someone was pinching him.


    "Can''t get through," the rat said after stepping away. "This body is just a rat. I can kill a guy, but I can''t kill an Extractor."


    "Sure, if I w out your eyes and crawl up your skull, I would be able to do so, but you would never let me. Even the most depressed and suicidal person goes crazy when a rat tries to eat their eyes. Trust me, I tried."


    "I mean, you could try traveling to my main body¡­" the rat said as it trailed off.


    "Nah, forget it. You''ll never survive the journey," it said a bitter with a dismissive wave.


    "Also, I don''t want you to die. I still need me some corpses, you know?" the rat said with a wide grin.


    Even though Nick didn''t care a lot about anything right now, he still noticed the irony of his current situation.


    "You''re trying to convince me to stay alive," Nick stated.


    "I mean, sure," the rat said with a shrug. "Why not? Maybe you''ll donate some corpsester when you feel better?"


    "A rat''s gotta make a living, you know?"


    Nick almost felt like this wasn''t real.


    The Parasite.


    A powerful Specter.


    Someone who tried to convince as many humans as possible to let it consume them¡­


    Was trying to convince Nick not to kill himself.


    How had things turned out like this?


    "So, what''s been bugging you?" the rat said. "By the way, where''s your little statue boy? He''s usually positioned right here."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Ah, there it is," the rat said after seeing Nick''s reaction. "I get it."


    "Little statue boy broke."


    "So, you broke a statue. Big deal. Make a new one," the rat said.


    Nick''s eyes narrowed in anger.


    The rat immediately jumped away from Nick. "Oh boy, someone''s getting uppity."


    "His name was Horua!" Nick shouted at the rat after explosively sitting up. "He was a real human with a real name! He''s not a statue, and he''s not just a boy!"


    The rat blinked a couple of times in surprise. "I feel like that was only partially targeted at me."


    Nick snorted and looked to the side. "It doesn''t matter anyway. He''s dead now, and I killed him."


    "So?" the rat asked.


    Nick clenched his fists again. "He was an innocent boy, and I killed him!" he said through gritted teeth.


    "What? So if you killed him seven yearster, things would be different?" the rat asked. "Dead is dead. Who cares?"


    Nick just looked forward with furrowed brows, not facing the rat. "You wouldn''t understand. You''re a Specter."


    The rat scratched the side of its head a bit in thought.


    "I guess so?" it answered with uncertainty.

 Chapter 110 110 – Therapy

    <h4>Chapter 110 Chapter 110 ¨C Therapy</h4>


    "But so what?" the Parasite continued. "Life is life. Who cares if you understand shit or not? You just continue living and doing your thing."


    "It''s not that simple," Nick answers.


    "How is it not that simple?" the rat asked. "Everyone''s only eating and drinking to survive, and they work to eat and drink. Apart from that, people kind of just want to fuck or be rich."


    "But in the end, none of that matters," the rat added. "You die anyway."


    "Whether you have killed a million people or saved a million people. When you''re dead, none of that matters. You''re just a corpse at that point anyway."


    "Whether you are alone or surrounded by family, you are just a corpse."


    "A dead man can''t hear their family''s cries or their enemy''sughter."


    Nick furrowed his brows as he kept looking forward.


    In a way, the rat was right.


    Nick couldn''t really find a counterargument.


    "Same thing with time," the rat added. "Whether you lived for ten years or a thousand, a million years from now, both of these times seem equally as tiny and inconsequential."


    "Oh, boohoo, the little kids are dying everywhere," the rat spoke in an overdramatic voice. "They had such beautiful lives and hopes in front of them. Oh no, how tragic!"


    The rat snorted. "Who gives a shit? Dead is dead. When billions of people die, who cares about a single child?"


    "When millions of years pass, who cares about one child?"


    "When all life ceases to exist, who cares about one child?"


    "So, why should you?" the rat asks.


    Nick just kept looking forward.


    The rat''s logic was sound, but it felt wrong.


    Its ideology was so pure, basic, and sterile that it couldn''te from a human.


    ''Although, there are probably also humans that think like that,'' Nick thought.


    Nick could only sigh.


    He couldn''t get on board with that ideology.


    "That seems too bleak of an outlook," Nick said.


    "You''re the one that wants to kill himself," the rat said with a snort.


    "That''s different," Nick answered. "I have control over my life. You are talking about ending the lives of others just because their existence doesn''t matter in the grand scheme of existence."


    "Eh, dead human is dead human," the rat said with a dismissive wave. "Why are you making things soplicated? Two dead human is more than one dead human."


    "What about morals?" Nick asked.


    "There are no morals," the rat said. "Can I touch morals? Can I see morals? If morals actually exist, they don''t have power over me, in which case, why would I care about them?"


    "Something is morally wrong? So? I''ll do it anyway. Nothing will change."


    Nick thought about the rat''s words.


    Then, the Dregs appeared in Nick''s thoughts.


    With that mindset, the existence of the Dregs actually made sense.


    Was it morally correct to take advantage of the poor people like this?


    Impossible.


    And yet, that was still what happened.


    ''Morals only have an effect on people who care about them,'' Nick thought.


    This made the world appear even more deste and grey to Nick.


    Everything seemed so rotten.


    It was like the world had been created by some sadist.


    Everything Nick could see was shit.


    "So, you feel better?" the rat asked.


    Nick was pulled out of his thoughts as he looked at the rat with furrowed brows. "Why would I feel better?"


    "We talked, right?" the rat asked. "People feel better when they talk about their problems."


    Nick looked away again.


    He didn''t want to admit it, but for some reason, he actually felt a bit better.


    Instead of just lying in bed while constantly thinking about his regrets and guilt, he was actually thinking about the world.


    Even more, Nick felt more annoyed and disgusted than depressed right now.


    "It changes nothing," Nick said.


    "Why not?" the rat asked. "You humans constantly kill yourselves because you feel sad. If you don''t feel sad, you won''t kill yourself."


    Nick sighed. "But the cause of the pain is still there. Also, I feel bad about feeling good. I stole Horua''s happiness."


    "Who?" the rat asked.


    "The boy that was here."


    "Oh, statue boy, got it," the rat said. "Back to that topic, are we? I thought we already solved that issue."


    Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. "We solved no issues. I killed Horua. I killed an innocent child who trusted me."


    "You killed a guy," the rat said. "You killed many guys. What makes this one different?"


    "He was an innocent child," Nick said with a bit of aggression.


    "So? We already went over this," the rat said.


    "It''s different," Nick said.


    "Dead human is dead human!" the rat stated with conviction.


    Nick wanted to argue, but he stopped himself.


    "You won''t understand. You''re a Specter."


    The rat scratched the side of its head with annoyance. "Okay, so statue boy is different from some other dead humans."


    "Let''s presume that statement holds true," the rat carefully said. "Let''s presume that statue boy is somehow more valuable than one dead human."


    "How much more valuable? How many dead humans do we need to equal one statue boy?" the rat asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "It doesn''t work like that."


    The rat groaned in annoyance. "Would you rather kill a thousand people or one statue boy?"


    "If the thousand people are murderers and rapists, I would kill the thousand people," Nick answered.


    That surprised the rat a bit. "What if they are not?"


    Nick furrowed his brows as he looked down.


    A thousand strangers or Horua¡­


    Nick thought about the Dregs.


    In a way, Nick felt like he would rather kill the thousand people, but his mind was telling him that he wouldn''t go through with it.


    Killing Horua for a thousand innocent people¡­


    When the rat saw Nick thinking so intensely, it only had one thought.


    ''Damn, statue boy is that valuable?''


    In the end, Nick sighed.


    "I would probably kill Horua, but I would feel horrible," Nick said.


    CLAP!


    The rat pped its tiny hands. "There you go!"


    "What?" Nick asked with annoyance.


    "Go save a thousand people," the rat said. "Save a thousand people, and you will have repaid your debt."


    "Makes sense, right?"

 Chapter 111 111 – Rotten

    <h4>Chapter 111 Chapter 111 ¨C Rotten</h4>


    "Save a thousand people and repay my debt?" Nick asked with a confused voice.


    "Yeah," the rat said. "You destroyed one statue boy, and you would kill one statue boy above killing a thousand innocent people. So, if you save a thousand people, you would have saved more than one statue boy, right?"


    Nick furrowed his brows. "I don''t think it works like that."


    "Why not?" the rat asked with annoyance.


    "You can''t really cancel a bad deed out with a good deed," Nick said.


    "Why not?" the rat repeated.


    Nick sighed. "Even if I saved a thousand people, Horua would have still died unjustly."


    "But a thousand people surviving something that should kill them is not unjust?" the rat asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Nick frowned and looked at the rat. "What are you trying to say?"


    "Destiny, you know?" the rat said. "If statue boy was supposed to live longer, you changed his destiny, and changing someone''s destiny is unfair, ording to you."


    "So, if you change someone''s destiny in the opposite way by letting them live longer, that would also be unfair."


    Nick sighed. "That''s different. As humans, we are supposed to help each other. Changing someone else''s destiny for the better is kind of expected of us."


    The rat raised its eyebrows in disbelief as it looked at Nick.


    Nick just looked back.


    "What?" Nick asked with annoyance.


    "Did you hear what you just said?" the rat asked.


    "Yeah, so what?" Nick asked.


    "You said it is expected of humans to help other humans," the rat said.


    Nick just raised an eyebrow.


    "Nick, have you looked outside?" the rat asked. "I don''t know what you''re seeing when you look outside, but I see plenty of depressed people who are in a horrible situation because of other humans."


    "Like, so many Manufacturers are literally using humans as livestock for their Specters, and they are the ones in charge."


    "Howe the strongest humans are the ones that don''t act like humans, ording to you?"


    "Shouldn''t the most sessful individuals of a species be used as a standard for what this species is supposed to live up to?" The rat asked.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    The rat was right in the sense that the strongest humans tended to act as non-human as it got.


    For example, the Manufacturer that hired the Inspectors to search for Specters could have simply told the city about the Dreamer. If that had happened, the Dreamer would have long been caught and contained, and so many lives would have been saved.


    Instead, they kept the existence of the Dreamer aplete secret, allowing it to feed on the poor people of the Dregs for who knew how long.


    Even more, the Crimson Fungus itself was responsible for the horrible lives of the people in the Dregs. After all, the Crimson Fungus was the one that consumed all the blood that the tax officials harvested.


    The world seemed even darker and worse to Nick right now.


    ''Even the strong people are only interested in their own wealth.''


    ''Humanity is being besieged by Specters everywhere, and we can''t even resist the strongest of them.''


    ''Albert said that the truly powerful Extractors, the ones at level seven and eight, are trying to fight the Specters, but the level five and level six Extractors are only interested in engorging themselves.''


    At that point, rage appeared in Nick''s chest.


    ''What''s even the point of getting more Zephyx if you''re not willing to join the fight against the Specters anyway?!''


    ''What are Manufacturers like Kugelblitz and Anatomy even doing with all of that Zephyx?!''


    ''While consuming harvested Zephyx isn''t nearly as effective as generating it oneself, we could probably still produce many more level six Extractors with all the Zephyx that''s just wasting away in some warehouses!''


    ''With more level six Extractors, we could capture more level six Specters and make the lives of everyone better.''


    ''If the people of the Dregs are suffering, they should at least suffer for a good cause that improves the lives of the majority of people instead of only an elite few.''


    Nick didn''t say anything for quite a while, and the rat only looked at him with interest.


    ''Yes, I don''t deserve happiness because of what I did to Horua, but others still do!'' Nick thought.


    ''If I can improve the lives of everyone else, maybe even Horua would want me to live on.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Nick had found a goal for his life.


    Sadly, emotions and logic didn''t always get along.


    Even though Nick knew what he wanted to do, he still felt this all-consuming void in his chest.


    His thoughts didn''t matter in this case.


    Logic couldn''t help with something like this.


    In the end, Nick could only sigh.


    ''It will be difficult, but if I actually manage to improve the lives of so many people, maybe I''ll feel better.''


    ''Maybe I''ll actually deserve to live on.''


    ''I can never repay Horua, but I can do my best to improve the world around me as some form of redemption.''


    For the first time in quite a while, Nick actually stood up from his bed and walked over to one of the windows.


    Nick looked at the city outside.


    The shining sun was illuminating the grey and brown buildings.


    There were no nts anywhere.


    The air was stale and barely moved.


    The people moved around with care.


    Men were keeping an arm around their women, and the women kept an arm around their kids.


    What were these people afraid of?


    It wasn''t the Specters.


    While Specters were humanity''s enemy, the vast majority of humans never came into contact with one, except for Nurse Alice or the Nightmare maybe.


    No, these people were afraid of other people.


    People in the Dregs often secretly killed each other.


    People of the Outer City sometimes attacked people of the Dregs due to rage and frustration.


    Extractors could kill basically anyone and just pay a fine, and if the fine was smaller than what they would get from the corpse-eating Specter, it turned into a business expenditure.


    Nick knew that very well.


    After all, the Screaming Coffin was exactly such a Specter.


    With Nick''s new outlook on life, the world appeared different now as well.


    It seemed so rotten.


    What if he could fix it?

 Chapter 112 112 – A Goal

    <h4>Chapter 112 ?Chapter 112 ¨C A Goal</h4>


    For a while, Nick just looked out of the window.


    He saw so much cruelty and wasted potential.


    If the rich could give just a little bit to the people of the Dregs, the people wouldn''t need to pay with their blood.


    Then, they could be healthier and could contribute more to society.


    ''Of course, people who don''t work don''t deserve to own as much as people who do, but they deserve some dignity at least. At least, they should have enough to survive.''


    ''As long as people can have a home, food, water, and a family, it''s okay.''


    ''If I can turn this dream into a reality for this city, I can say with certainty that I would have somewhat redeemed myself.''


    ''While Horua will never get to live his life, at least his death won''t have been pointless.''


    ''Maybe he would have even given his life if it meant improving the lives of so many other people.''


    "So, you''ve been standing there for a while," the rat said awkwardly. "Got anything to tell me?"


    Nick didn''t look at the rat and only looked at the city outside.


    "I guess there''s something that I can do with my life," Nick said.


    Right now, Nick''s emotions were ratherplex.


    On one hand, he felt some righteous indignation and drive for retribution, but on the other hand, the emptiness in his chest still made Nick feel like he wanted to die.


    It was a strange mix of motivation and lethargy.


    The only thing he could do to somewhat solve or suppress the conflict was to focus on making something of his life.


    ''I might have been a stupid idiot in the past, and I might even still be one, but I might not always be one.''


    "So, you feel better?" the rat asked.


    Nick didn''t immediately answer.


    "In a way, yes," Nick said. "I know what I want to do, at least."


    "Okay, good, good," the rat said with a grin. "You don''t want to kill yourself anymore?"


    Nick released a sigh. "I guess wanting to kill myself is not really important. The fact is that I can''t."


    "There''s something I want to do, which means I can manage to survive."


    "Whether I want to or not."


    "Great!" the rat said. "Then, my job here is done."


    After that, the rat walked over to one of the windows.


    "If you need some information about Specters, you can always call me," the rat said with a grin. "The price will be higher than the first time, but that shouldn''t be a problem. After all, a Specter is worth more than just a couple of corpses, right?"


    Nick furrowed his brows and didn''t answer.


    "See you soon, Nick," the rat said before leaving through the window.


    Nick didn''t look at the rat and kept facing the city.


    ''Parasite,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes. ''You might have helped me in seeing a way forward, but we both know that you only want more corpses.''


    ''Albert said that Specters are unable to feel things like empathy, and that has proven to be correct in this conversation. The Parasite couldn''t even understand the value of human life and how killing a child is different from killing a criminal adult.''


    ''You might appear nice and helpful to me, but in the end, you still convince countless people to let you kill them.''


    ''Without you, many people would still be alive.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes further.


    ''For now, I need you, but in the future, things will change.''


    Nick turned away from the window and sat on his bed, but this time, he didn''t just nkly look at the wall.


    ''This entire city is run by monsters, and if I want to improve the lives of everyone significantly, I need to be as strong as them.''


    ''While some donations here and there won''t be an issue, giving everyone enough money so that they don''t need to pay the blood tax anymore will almost certainly put a target on my back.''


    ''It''s obvious that Kugelblitz is earning a crazy amount of credits from the blood tax. The 100 credits probably can''t even remotelypare to how much two liters of blood are worth.''


    ''I can use my wealth right now to improve the lives of everyone in the Dregs, but I will quickly turn into a target and get killed.''


    ''The only chance is to be more powerful.''


    ''If I can be a level six Extractor, I will probably be strong enough to save the people of the Dregs.''


    ''A Hero, huh?'' Nick thought as he looked forward with furrowed brows.


    ''The fact that the current leaders of the city are called Heroes is disgustingly ironic.''


    At that point, Nick took a deep breath and released a sigh.


    ''And I won''t be any different, I guess. After all, what Hero kills a kid?''


    Nick shook his head rapidly to get rid of the intruding thoughts that threatened to drag him back into lethargy.


    Instead, Nick stood up and looked at the weapons on the ground.


    ''I need power,'' he thought as he slowly put on the braces.


    ''For that, I need Zephyx.''


    ''And to get Zephyx, I need enough power to acquire and defend it.''


    At that point, Ardum''s smirking face shot through Nick''s mind.


    ''People like Ardum will try to kill me and acquire my wealth, and they probably won''t intend to use that wealth to improve other people''s lives.''


    Next, Nick grabbed one spear and put it on his back.


    ''I haven''t trained in quite a long while, and I''ve already noticed that my physical condition has somewhat deteriorated.''


    ''I should get back to training.''


    But when Nick thought of training, he already became exhausted, and he quickly realized why.


    ''Right, I haven''t properly eaten in a long while.''


    At this moment, Nick wasn''t looking at food as an indulgence anymore but as fuel.


    He needed food to survive and to be stronger.


    ''Let''s get some food with lots of protein, and then, I will run around the Dregs to improve my stamina.''


    Nick nodded once and stepped out of his room.

 Chapter 113 113 – Training

    <h4>Chapter 113 Chapter 113 ¨C Training</h4>


    For the remainder of the day, Nick focused on training and nning his future.


    Strength, money, status.


    Nick needed all of these things if he ever wanted to repay a little of the things he owed Horua.


    The more time passed, the more Nick realized how much time he actually had to dedicate to whatever he wanted.


    Horua had eaten so much of Nick''s time and focus that, without him, Nick felt like there was nothing else to do.


    For the first time in forever, Nick actually felt exhausted after working out.


    Nick had run around the Outer City several times.


    The citizens were not very surprised by a Zephyx Extractor running around. After all, there were quite a few level one Extractors in the Outer City, and they also needed to keep their fitness up.


    From time to time, there were Extractors that kept jogging and running throughout the city.


    Naturally, Nick sped up and slowed down constantly.


    Since Nick was always putting in the same amount of effort, his speed kept changing due to his ability activating and deactivating.


    And the best part was that Nick didn''t even need to try to keep his ability a secret.


    After all, if anyone saw him, it would deactivate on its own, keeping it a secret.


    In a way, Nick was forced to keep his ability a secret since he couldn''t even show it to anyone.


    When Nick was exhausted from running around, he went to grab his weapons and trained with them.


    The heavy weight of the weapons made it extremely difficult and strenuous to move around, but that was what Nick wanted.


    Training was supposed to be exhausting.


    When it was evening, Nick even bought quite expensive food.


    Meat that didn''te from rats or insects.


    Apparently, there were some kind of indoor farms where small but fat flightless birds, called chickens, were being held.


    ording to the person in the expensive-looking shop, the meat of these chickens was extremely rich in protein and almost had zero fat.


    While Nick didn''t exactly care about the fat content, he cared a lot about the protein.


    So, Nick bought two entire cooked chickens and ate them.


    After one chicken, Nick already felt like he was quite full, but he forced the second one down as well.


    One had to remember that Nick managed to build quite an impressive body while living in the Dregs on his own.


    If he didn''t know how to build such a body, he wouldn''t have had one.


    ''150 credits,'' Nick thought. ''150 credits for one meal, even though it was a lot.''


    ''If I were to eat normally, it would still be 75 credits. That''s almost a month of tax.''


    Nick had never eaten a meal this expensive.


    However, the taste was absolutely amazing, and the contents of the meat were important.


    When Nick was eating it, he almost felt like his body was screaming in euphoria.


    Sadly, the euphoria was dampened by the ck void in Nick''s chest.


    Nick had done a lot today and had eaten amazing food, but the void in his chest barely seemed weaker than in the morning.


    The guilt, regret, worthlessness, self-hatred, and pointlessness were as present as ever.


    Nick knew very well that all these things he was doing were just distractions from his emotions.


    But that was the only thing he could do.


    There was no way for Nick to deal with his emotions.


    He would need to get rid of the guilt, but he could only get rid of the guilt by repaying Horua, which was impossible.


    There was no way to fix this.


    Which meant he had to live with this.


    He wasn''t courageous enough to kill himself.


    He wouldn''t mind dying the next moment, but he also wouldn''t actively search for his death.


    It was kind of a limbo.


    ''If I can make the lives of the people in the Dregs better, I might be able to live with myself, and if I die along the way, it''s also not a loss.''


    ''It''s a win-win either way,'' Nick thought as he put his weapons to the side.


    Eventually, it was time for Nick to go to bed.


    It was difficult.


    With nothing to distract him, Nick''s mind was constantly drawn to things he had done.


    Luckily, the strong exhaustion of Nick''s battered body made him drift off to sleep rtively quickly.


    Nick slept for over ten hours, which was far more than normal.


    ''But it makes sense,'' Nick thought. ''I went through a lot yesterday, and I also trained more than I ever did before.''


    ''I never had the luxury of safety, which always stopped me frompletely exhausting my body. Additionally, food was also always an issue.''


    Nick felt a bit of weaknessing from his body, but it wasn''t as strong as he had expected.


    Obviously, Nick had trained a lot in his life, and he was very familiar with his body.


    The way Nick was feeling was like how he used to feel after having muscle soreness.


    ''I became quite a bit stronger since Ist trained,'' Nick thought. ''Thest time I properly trained was before I joined Dark Dream. Ever since then, I advanced several levels.''


    ''As a Late level one Extractor, my body is converting Prephyx into Zephyx that can''t be harvested, which is then used as fuel for my movements.''


    ''It wouldn''t be strange to think that the Zephyx also has a healing effect on my body,'' Nick thought as he moved his arm around to test its strength.


    ''Including today, I still have two more days of rest.''


    ''I should use them.''


    Nick quickly left his bed, bought a heavy breakfast, and started to run around again.


    This time, Nick decided to wear his four cuffs while running.


    That made it many times more difficult, but he kept at it.


    Whenever Nick felt like he was losing strength, he started to tell himself that he wasn''t doing all of this for himself but for Horua.


    Nick didn''t allow himself to becent.


    He had to repay Horua!

 Chapter 114 114 – Back to Work

    <h4>Chapter 114 Chapter 114 ¨C Back to Work</h4>


    Nick woke up and looked at the clock.


    ''5:35,'' Nick thought. ''The rm rings in ten minutes anyway.''


    Nick left his bed, walked over to the clock on the wall, and clicked a button at the side.


    He had learned just yesterday that the clocks in the hotel had an rm function from one of the clerks.


    This made things much easier for Nick.


    After deactivating the rm, Nick grabbed his cuffs.


    But before he put them on, he looked at his wrists.


    Nick saw some faded cuts on them, and he furrowed his brows.


    A memory from two days ago shot through Nick''s mind.


    After running around with the cuffs, Nick hade home, and when he had taken the cuffs off, he had seen that they had cut into his skin.


    While the four cuffs were quite expensive weapons, they were not designed to be worn for hours of running around.


    Naturally, Nick''s bleeding wrists hurt quite a bit, but he didn''t view the pain as bad.


    In a way, this pain was a reaffirmation of his own conviction.


    Seeing how much he had pushed himself somewhat calmed Nick''s guilt.


    He was putting in so much effort that he was even bleeding.


    Even if Horua could see him, he wouldn''t say that Nick wasn''t trying his best.


    The day after that, the cuts on Nick''s arms had somewhat healed, but there were still some scabs left.


    Nevertheless, Nick put on the cuffs again and trained for the entire day.


    In the end, he bled again, but it wasn''t as bad as the first day.


    And this morning, the cuts were nearlypletely gone.


    One would only notice them if one knew that they were supposed to be there.


    Eventually, Nick put the cuffs on and left for work.


    He hadn''t officially been to work for three days, but unofficially, Nick hadn''t worked for about five days.


    So much had happened in thest five days.


    Nick killed Pator.


    Horua died.


    Nick started to feel horrible.


    Nick found a new goal.


    Nick trained.


    To Nick, it felt like he hadn''t been at work for a month or so.


    Nick walked out of the hotel and went into a nearby shop that sold food.


    In thest couple of days, Nick had found something else that tasted amazing.


    Apparently, these things called chickens alsoid eggs, and these eggs were a great source for many different things a human needed.


    But the eggs were expensive. One egg wasn''t very big, but it cost almost ten credits!


    Nevertheless, Nick saw spending money like this as an investment.


    If eating the eggs were just a hobby or for leisure, Nick would feel like he threw his money out of the window.


    But this was for his future and his power.


    Nick needed to invest money into his power!


    Because of that, he wasn''t very bothered by the high price.


    Also, the price of the food wasn''t actually that high, considering what Nick made in a day.


    As the Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick made 10% of what Trevor, Jenny, and the Screaming Coffin produced.


    So, even if Nick didn''t work himself, he would make at least 2,000 credits a day.


    200 to 300 credits for food was barely ten percent of what Nick earned that day.


    After shoving five eggs down, Nick went to Dark Dream.


    As Nick entered, he slightly furrowed his brows.


    His ability had deactivated, but he couldn''t see anyone.


    ''The spy is back,'' Nick thought.


    ''Sadly, it''s not the time yet to confront Ardum.''


    Nick walked forward and entered the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit.


    Surprisingly, the Screaming Coffin was peacefully lying in the middle of the room.


    ''I guess Wyntor found a way to get a corpse,'' Nick thought.


    Seeing that he wasn''t needed here, Nick left the Containment Unit and stopped in front of Wyntor''s office.


    A couple minutester, Wyntor entered the warehouse.


    When Wyntor saw Nick, he was a bit surprised.


    Nick felt quite different from before.


    Three days ago, Nick seemed so fragile and vulnerable, and two days before that, Nick had seemed like he was about to say the Sentence.


    But now, Nick seemed quite¡­ sturdy and serious.


    He had always seemed like a nice and light-hearted guy, but now, he seemed like someone who wasn''t interested in hearing jokes.


    It was quite a strong transformation.


    Nevertheless, Wyntor had learned how to interact with all kinds of people, and he had also learned to discern emotions from just the slightest signs.


    And he could tell that Nick was concerned right now.


    "You noticed our new colleagues, I presume?" Wyntor asked with a smirk.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "New colleagues?" he repeated.


    Wyntor nodded and pointed at a railing at the side of the warehouse.


    Naturally, almost all warehouses in the Outer City were equipped with some kind of metallic scaffolding with cheap metallic stairs that led to a higheryer at the edge of the warehouse.


    The higheryer consisted of a corridor made of metallic grates, barely two meters wide, which led around the sides of the warehouse.


    Nick looked at the spot Wyntor was pointing to and saw a guy lifting his right hand in greeting.


    The guy was wearing a grey uniform, which almost perfectly blended into the grey of the walls.


    The guy was also carrying a couple of guns with him.


    All in all, the guy gave off a simr vibe to the city guards but a bit more subdued.


    "This is one of the members of the guard team that I hired," Wyntor said.


    Then, he pointed at another spot. "Another one should be there."


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked over.


    It took a couple of seconds, but eventually, Nick managed to discern the silhouette of another man.


    "And thest one is there," Wyntor said, pointing at yet another spot.


    Sure enough, Nick saw a third person.


    "There are always three guards here," Wyntor said. "We want to make sure that nobody tries to take them out one by one, which is why they all have each other in their vision and are on opposite sides of the warehouse."


    "They''re professionals, and they can even fight an average level one Extractor with their weapons and their tactics."


    "And the best thing: this entire team barely costs 1,500 credits per day."

 Chapter 115 115 – He Has Changed

    <h4>Chapter 115 Chapter 115 ¨C He Has Changed</h4>


    When Nick saw the three guards, he felt like Dark Dream had changed.


    Sure, they had already been an official business when they had hired Jenny, but now, Nick actually felt like Dark Dream was bing a real business.


    A CEO, a Chief Zephyx Extractor, two Zephyx Extractors, a servant, a constant presence of three guards¡­


    There were now quite a lot more people.


    ''So, when my ability deactivated earlier, it wasn''t because of the spy, but because of the guards,'' Nick thought as he looked at the three of them.


    "I should get familiar with them," Nick told Wyntor.


    "Right, we also need to talk about a couple of things," Wyntor said. "The unimportant things can wait untilter since you need to get to work on the Dreamer soon. By the way, do you feel confident in working with the Dreamer?"


    Nick nodded wordlessly.


    Wyntor looked at Nick for a bit.


    ''He seems quite confident,'' Wyntor thought.


    "Good to hear," Wyntor said with a smile. "Is there anything that you need to talk to me about that can''t wait until the afternoon?"


    Nick turned to Wyntor. "I want to start training with my weapons as soon as possible."


    Wyntor raised an eyebrow.


    Nick hadn''t seemed that eager to train with his weapons a couple of days ago, but now, he seemed like he couldn''t wait any longer.


    "Sure," Wyntor said. "When do you want the training to be?"


    "After lunch each day," Nick said. "I will be done with the Dreamer at two p.m., and lunch should barely take half an hour. I can then use another half an hour to warm up, and I should be ready to train at three p.m."


    Wyntor nodded. "How will you split your training?"


    "Three days of fists and four days of throwing spears per week," Nick said. "Three hours per day."


    Wyntor raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Seven days a week with three hours every day? Are you sure you can handle that? I don''t want to pay them for just talking to you."


    Nick nodded with conviction. "I know I can handle that much."


    Wyntor kept looking at Nick with skepticism, but after looking into Nick''s confident eyes for a couple of seconds, Wyntor just shrugged.


    "If you think so," Wyntor said, "but if I hear from them that they feel like you''re not properly training for all three hours, I will take their fees out of your sry, okay?"


    Nick nodded. "No problem."


    "Alright," Wyntor said, patting Nick on the shoulder. "Come to me when you''re done with the Dreamer."


    "Of course," Nick answered.


    Wyntor just smiled. "It''s good to have you back, Nick."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "It''s good to be back," he said.


    At this moment, Nick wasn''t sure if he was lying or not.


    In a way, he was d that he could work again, but he also felt like it didn''t matter.


    The void in his chest made all of this seem meaningless and irrelevant.


    Nick''s feelings were telling him that it made no difference where he was.


    Being in Dark Dream was the same as lying in bed.


    But Nick just ignored his feelings.


    In thest couple of days, he had be quite good at dealing with the void in his chest.


    It still appeared every evening when there was nothing to do, but during the day, he could deal with it.


    Wyntor entered his office, and Nick walked into the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    The Dreamer looked away from Trevor and focused on Nick.


    Nick looked back with an even look.


    After some seconds, the Dreamer took a couple of steps back.


    Nick woke Trevor, and the two of them talked a bit.


    When Trevor saw Nick, he felt some mixed feelings.


    On the one hand, Trevor was happy that Nick had regained his energy, but on the other hand, Nick seemed to have changed quite a bit.


    He seemed less jovial.


    Less lighthearted.


    More serious.


    ''Well, he does feel like a boss now,'' Trevor thought with a sigh.


    After talking a bit more, Trevor left, and Nick sat down in the corner.


    When the Dreamer came closer, Nick felt almost no fear.


    Usually, Nick felt at least some fear while being close to the Dreamer, but not anymore.


    Maybe it was the fact that Nick now had a Barrier and weapons.


    Or maybe it was the fact that Nick didn''t care for his survival as much anymore.


    No matter the case, the truth was that Nick felt almost no fear in front of the Dreamer.


    A minuteter, Nick fell asleep.


    "Nick, wake up," he heard an instantter.


    As Nick opened his eyes, he saw the concerned Jenny.


    "Are you okay?" Jenny asked with a worried expression.


    "Why wouldn''t I be?" Nick asked, who was surprised by how shaky his voice sounded.


    The next moment, Nick felt something wet on his face and cleaned it.


    ''Tears?'' Nick thought as he looked at the wet spots on his hand.


    ''Have I been crying in my sleep?'' Nick thought in surprise.


    That was when Nick noticed that there were also several wet spots on the ground around him.


    ''I must have been crying a lot, judging by all these stains,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    ''Yet, I feel fine. I don''t feel like I have to cry.''


    "Are you sure you''re okay?" Jenny asked.


    Nick nodded and stood up. "It''s probably an effect of the nightmare the Dreamer put me in. Seems like quite some sad things happened. Don''t worry about it."


    Jenny just looked at Nick with a worried expression.


    To Jenny, Nick felt different.


    Nick felt much colder and more distant.


    It was almost like he was afraid of getting too close to Jenny.


    Jenny wanted to ask Nick about what was going on, but then she remembered herst talk with him.


    Back then, Nick had said that he thought that Jenny was getting too involved in his life.


    He was her boss, and she was his employee.


    So, Jenny decided against asking Nick.


    After some small talk, Nick left the Containment Unit to look at how much Zephyx had been produced.

 Chapter 116 116 – Dung Heap

    <h4>Chapter 116 Chapter 116 ¨C Dung Heap</h4>


    When Nick saw the amount of Zephyx that had been created, he sighed.


    ''It''s as expected. The more suffering someone goes through, the more Zephyx gets produced.''


    Nick had produced around 15 grams of Zephyx, which was quite a bit more than previously.


    Since Nick got to keep 20% of that, it meant that he had essentially earned 6,000 credits from just this.


    Usually, Nick would feel quite overwhelmed, but the feeling of surprise and joy was extremely subdued at best.


    It just didn''t feel like anything special right now.


    After looking at the Zephyx for a little bit, Nick grabbed the Zephyx containers and brought them over to Wyntor''s office.


    "Thanks," Wyntor said as he grabbed the container.


    A momentter, Wyntor calcted the worth of the Zephyx and gave Nick the money he had earned thest couple of days.


    After all, even though Nick hadn''t been working, the other Extractors had been working, and Nick still earned money from that.


    "Thanks," Nick also said as he pocketed the money.


    "By the way, your first teacher is ready to start today since she doesn''t have a lot to do," Wyntor said. "You''re fine with starting today, right?"


    ''She?'' Nick thought.


    Nick had chosen fist weapons and throwing spears, and both things didn''t seem like weapons that women would choose.


    "Which instructor is it?" Nick asked.


    "The spear one," Wyntor said with a chuckle. "She will be in the warehouse in a bit less than an hour."


    Nick nodded with a bit of anticipation, which could almost be called excitement.


    "I will be there," Nick said as he stood up.


    "Nick, I need to talk to you about a couple of things," Wyntor said.


    "I know," Nick answered. "I''m just getting something to eat. A consistent diet is part of training, and I need to eat something before I start training with my instructor. We can talk about everything after I got my food."


    "If it''s okay with you, I can get the food and eat it in here. That should save us some time," Nick exined.


    Wyntor furrowed his brows.


    He wasn''t the biggest fan of someone eating food inside of his office.


    "Let''s talk about these things in your room then," Wyntor said.


    "Fine with me," Nick said before leaving the office.


    Nick grabbed a cooked chicken and walked to his room.


    Naturally, Wyntor was already waiting there, and the two of them entered.


    While Nick was tearing the chicken apart, Wyntor was telling Nick about what had changed in thest couple of days.


    Nick simply listened, and when Wyntor was done with telling Nick about everything, Nick gave his input.


    "I''m fine with the corpse acquisition," Nick said.


    In thest couple of days, Wyntor had finally managed to finalize a deal between him and Crimson Fungus City.


    Corpses were seen as the property of Crimson Fungus City.


    Any corpse that appeared in the Outer City and the Dregs was the property of the city.


    Naturally, it was like that since corpses could be sold for quite a lot of money to the Zephyx Manufacturers.


    The baseline price of the corpses was set by Anatomy, the second-biggest Manufacturer in the city.


    Anatomy''s strongest Specter was the Pit of Corpses, and it was a very strong level five Specter, a Fanatic.


    The Pit of Corpses essentially had no limit to the number of corpses it could turn into Zephyx.


    However, the more corpses it got, the less efficient it was in producing Zephyx.


    After a lot of time, Anatomy found a sweet spot.


    If they purchased all the corpses at 10,000 credits per corpse, they would still remain very profitable, and the other Manufacturers would need to pay more to get corpses.


    Naturally, the other Manufacturers could only buy a couple of corpses for such a high price, which meant that Anatomy would still receive the vast majority of corpses.


    If one directly bought corpses from the guards without any kind of deal, they would need to pay 15,000 credits since the city also wanted to earn quite a bit.


    Luckily, Wyntor had gotten a favorable deal with the city.


    Every two days, they would receive the corpse of one adult male for 11,000 credits.


    That made things way easier.


    First of all, the corpse was cheaper.


    Second, it was always a very valuable corpse since it was from an adult male. These corpses tended to have more mass than the corpses of females and children.


    Third, Nick wouldn''t need to find targets anymore, which was good for his mental state.


    They wouldn''t even need to leave since the city guards would deliver the corpse right to the warehouse.


    After talking about the corpses, the two of them talked about their future ns.


    For now, everyone would focus on training and getting ready for battle, and in about three months or so, when everyone reached the Peak of the first level, they would start to be a bit more aggressive towards Ardum''spany.


    The search for a third Specter was put on ice for now since they wanted to consolidate for a while.


    The more Specters they had, the more people they needed to employ, which would make for a bigger target.


    They could still expand when Ardum was dealt with.


    Wyntor also told Nick about Ardum''spany.


    It was called Cycle, and it had a circr arrow as a symbol.


    Cycle was named as such due to their strongest Specter, the Dung Heap.


    The Dung Heap was an Adolescent Specter, making it stronger than all the Specters Dark Dream owned.


    Ardum had purchased the Dung Heap for only 500,000 credits, which was insanely low for an Adolescent Specter.


    Even Hatchlings went for at least a million credits each.


    Well, the reason why the Dung Heap was so cheap was that it barely produced any Zephyx.


    The Dung Heap produced Zephyx by destroying food.


    And, well, food was pretty expensive in Crimson Fungus City.


    Even more, the "bargain bin method" couldn''t be employed since the Specter was a Possession Specter.


    So, Ardum was stuck buying very expensive food to pile onto the Dung Heap to barely produce a bit of Zephyx.


    Even though the Dung Heap was an Adolescent, it was probably only a quarter or half as profitable as the Screaming Coffin.

 Chapter 117 117 – Special Law

    <h4>Chapter 117 Chapter 117 ¨C Special Law</h4>


    Aside from the Dung Heap, Ardum also had two Hatchlings, but they were not very important.


    The most important thing was that if they managed to deal with Ardum, they would get all of these Specters.


    Naturally, Nick wanted to know how they would get them. After all, the Specters were owned by another Manufacturer, and if these Specters suddenly appeared in Dark Dream''s building, wouldn''t the city get involved and use them of theft?


    Wyntor told Nick that this was not the case.


    In the past, Kugelblitz had wanted to get rid of one of itspetitors, and after a lot of influencing in the city''s government, they managed to pass aw.


    Thisw dictated the minimum power one needed to possess in order to safeguard the popce from a captured Specter.


    One needed at least one Extractor for every Specter, and the Extractors all needed to be on the level of every Specter.


    Dark Dream, for example, had two Hatchlings, which meant that Dark Dream needed two Newbies, and at least one of the Newbies needed to be a Peak Newbie.


    However, there were a couple of exceptions.


    For example, if a Late or Mid Newbie could prove that they could suppress the Peak Hatchling, there wouldn''t be an issue.


    Another Manufacturer could request a check on another Manufacturer, but the check cost a lot of money.


    If someone wanted to perform a check on Dark Dream, they would need to pay a million credits.


    If a check was requested, a team employed by Crimson Fungus City would arrive and inspect all the different Specters in the Manufacturer.


    If the Manufacturer was deemed to be strong enough to have these Specters, the team would leave, and the other Manufacturer would have lost their credits.


    However, if the Manufacturer couldn''t show the power required to suppress their Specters, the Manufacturer would be forced to disband, and the Specters would be handed over to another Manufacturer.


    Almost always, the Manufacturer that requested the check also had a couple of empty Containment Units ready while also having a great number of extra employees, and since they also paid for the check, they almost always got the Specters.


    So, what did this mean in concrete numbers?


    If Ardum managed to kill Nick, he could request a check.


    Wyntor wouldn''t be strong enough to suppress the Dreamer on his own, and the other two Extractors were still too weak. Additionally, their abilities also weren''t suited forbat.


    On the other hand, if Dark Dream managed to get rid of the second John in Cycle and kill all of the Newbies, they would get all the Specters of Cycle.


    At this point, it was important to mention that they couldn''t purposefully kill Ardum himself.


    Ardum was one of the potential heirs of the Melfion family, and even if he was supposed to prove himself worthy, the Melfion family wouldn''t be happy with seeing one of their sons killed.


    While nothing would happen to Wyntor, the person who killed Ardum would most likely be killed by the Melfion family.


    As a John himself, Ardum could represent the Dung Heap, but he couldn''t represent the two Hatchlings.


    But as long as they managed to kill enough of Ardum''s men, they would still get everything.


    Ardum was only one man, and he had three Specters.


    For quite a while, Nick and Wyntor nned through all kinds of scenarios.


    At some point, they would sh with Cycle.


    With Ardum''s arrogance, he probably thought that Dark Dream didn''t even know that he was spying on them.


    Wyntor assured Nick that Ardum''s head was so far up his own ass that he was defying physicalws.


    As long as they acted stupid, Ardum would believe himself to be in control.


    For now, they would just act like they didn''t know that someone from Ardum''spany was spying on them.


    After a lot of talking, Nick said that he had to go.


    It was about time for his first lesson.


    Nick and Wyntor went back to Dark Dream.


    When they entered the warehouse, they could see a new person.


    "Yes, Stan?" Wyntor asked the guy who was running up to him.


    It was a man with dark hair wearing a grey suit.


    And at this moment, he seemed like he had seen a Specter.


    His eyes were widely opened, and his face had turned pale.


    "Sir, there was nothing we could do! She was-"


    "Calm down!" Wyntor said with a forceful voice.


    Stan looked with a worried expression at Wyntor as he kept ncing towards the back of the warehouse asionally.


    "Man, I guess this is your doing?" Wyntor asked.


    "They were weak."


    Nick and Wyntor looked up at one of the scaffoldings and saw someone leaning on a railing.


    When Nick saw the person, he took a deep breath.


    She was big!


    The person was over 190 centimeters tall. Her hair was light brown, and her skin also had a very brown tone.


    Nick would have thought that she was a man, if¡­ well¡­


    Her front was also very big.


    A momentter, Nick noticed the emblems on her uniform.


    She wore the bloody red uniform of a Zephyx Extractor from Kugelblitz, and Nick could also see the picture of a three-headed mushroom on her chest.


    The mushroom was being struck by three lightning bolts, which signified her level.


    She was a level three Zephyx Extractor, a Veteran.


    And she wasn''t just any Veteran.


    She was a Veteran who was being employed by the most powerful Zephyx Manufacturer in Crimson Fungus City, Kugelblitz.


    This person was most likely extremely powerful, even for a Veteran.


    The next moment, the tall woman jumped over the railing andfortablynded on the ground, making almost no sound.


    Crk.


    Nick heard the distant sound of something scraping on the walls of the warehouse and looked over.


    On one wall of the warehouse was a metallic spear embedded.


    Nick remembered that this was one of the positions of the guards.


    Luckily, he didn''t see a corpse.


    SHING!


    A momentter, a tiny silver thread reflected in the air, and the spear shot out of the wall.


    Clink!


    And neatlynded in the tall woman''s right hand.


    Nick took a deep breath.

 Chapter 118 118 – Manela

    <h4>Chapter 118 Chapter 118 ¨C Man</h4>


    Man, the tall woman, walked up to Wyntor and nodded in greeting.


    Nick looked with quite a bit of awe at the woman.


    She was so tall and strong, and her demeanor seemed so confident.


    Nick had never seen someone like this in the Dregs.


    "I presume you had your fun?" Wyntor asked with a sigh.


    "Yes," Man said with a confident nod, "but your guards are no good. They didn''t even notice me until I voluntarily showed myself. You need better ones."


    The guards heard Man. Usually, they would have protested, but this time, they kept quiet.


    Yes, they were very good at what they did, but this was a Veteran from Kugelblitz!


    Of course they were not up to her standards!


    If they were, they wouldn''t be working for a small client like Dark Dream!


    "They are more than good enough for what I pay them," Wyntor said with a friendly smile. "If I were to hire guards that you would be fine with, I would be losing more money than I would make."


    Man had an unimpressed expression on her face, but Nick could also see that she understood.


    The next moment, Man nced at Nick.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    Man furrowed her brows.


    "Is that the guy?" Man asked.


    "Yes, this is Nick, my Chief Zephyx Extractor," Wyntor said, gesturing to Nick.


    "Chief Zephyx Extractor," Man repeated with disgust.


    When she heard Chief Zephyx Extractor, the image of her own Chief Zephyx Extractor in Kugelblitz shot through her mind, a level six Zephyx Extractor, a Hero.


    Compared to that person, Nick seemed like a child.


    "Officially, I guess the title is urate," Man said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Silence.


    "You''re not going to ask?" Man asked.


    "No," Nick said. "I know what you mean."


    "Hmph," Man uttered as she looked at Nick for a bit more. "Well, money is money, I suppose."


    Nick nodded and held out his hand for a handshake. "Nice to be working with you."


    Man looked at the hand with furrowed brows. "What are you doing?"


    "Shaking hands," Nick said matter-of-factly. "Isn''t that how you people from the Inner City greet each other?"


    Man''s eyes narrowed.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    Did he do something wrong?


    Wyntor awkwardly cleared his throat. "Nick, a handshake is more for interactions between businesses. Unless they are in an official meeting, Extractors generally don''t greet each other like that."


    "You can tell him," Man said. "You don''t need to lie for me."


    Wyntor awkwardly coughed again. "And Man is not from the Inner City. She used to live in the Outer City."


    "Oh," Nick said, pulling his arm back. "I didn''t know."


    Man just looked at Nick. "You smell of chicken," she said.


    Nick wasn''t sure where Man was going with this. "Yes, I eat them every day."


    "Are they good?" she asked.


    "Very," Nick said. "They are the best thing I have ever eaten in my life."


    Man raised an eyebrow.


    Nick didn''t seem to be lying.


    Then, a casual smile formed on her face. "Thanks. My mother raises the ones they sell here, and my father ughters them. Your appreciation for the chickens is why they are still working to this day."


    Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise as he thought back to the chickens he had eaten.


    Man''s parents were the ones who raised and ughtered them?


    "The chickens taste amazing," Nick said with a nod.


    "Thanks," Man said with a small smile.


    But then, her face immediately turned into a solemn frown filled with seriousness.


    "We don''t have time for this," she said.


    Nick nodded.


    They were not here to talk about chickens.


    "Get your spears," Manmanded.


    "I have one," Nick said, taking out one of them.


    nk!


    Man pped the spear to the side, and it fell to the ground.


    "Get your entire set," she ordered. "I heard you got a set of five. Get them all. Leave your vambraces in your room."


    Man had already noticed the reason why Nick wasn''t carrying all of his spears with him.


    The single spear she had thrown to the side was already way too heavy for someone like Nick.


    A set of five would be absolutely brutal to carry, and if Nick also wore his fist weapons, things would only be more troublesome.


    "Of course," Nick said as he turned around to leave.


    "Take your spear with you," Manmanded.


    Nick furrowed his brows. He woulde back here anyway. Why should he take the spear with him?


    "Show respect to the craftsmanship," Man exined, seeing Nick''s expression. "A spear is only ever supposed to remain in three ces when not being used."


    "On your back."


    "Stabbed into something."


    "Or lying on a clean surface."


    "You can stab your spear into the warehouse floor since that is what a spear is supposed to do, but you are not allowed to leave it lying on such dirty ground."


    Man flicked her fingers, and the spear on the ground flew into her hand by itself.


    CRACK!


    The next moment, she flicked Nick''s spear downward, and it perfectly stabbed into the ground.


    "That''s okay," she said.


    Then, she kicked the spear, and it fell to the ground.


    "That''s not okay."


    ''Show respect to the craftsmanship?'' Nick thought.


    At that moment, Nick thought about how he would feel if he produced something with all his passion and love and then saw it getting thrown in the dirt with disregard.


    ''I most likely won''t mind, but I can see how someone can view this as disrespectful,'' Nick thought.


    "Okay," Nick said, bending down and lifting the spear.


    After putting it on his back, Nick left the warehouse.


    Meanwhile, Man looked at Wyntor. "He''s malleable," she said. "That''s good."


    Wyntor nodded. "I see a lot of potential in him."


    Silence.


    "You don''t agree?" Wyntor asked.


    Man looked at the exit with furrowed brows.


    "I don''t know."


    "He is malleable, and I can see a fire burning inside of him."


    "But on the other hand, he also gives me this certain feeling that I have felt from many of my colleagues."


    "It''s like he''s fighting a hopeless battle, and he knows it deep inside."


    "He seems too idealistic."


    "People like this don''t tend to live long."

 Chapter 119 119 – Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 119 Chapter 119 ¨C Lesson</h4>


    A minuteter, Nick came back to Dark Dream.


    He had put his cuffs away, but the weight of all five spears was almost crushing him.


    Man could see how much Nick was suffering under the heavy weight of the spears.


    She had no idea why Wyntor bought him such a heavy and advanced set of spears.


    These spears seemed way too heavy for someone of Nick''s level.


    However, Man also knew that a majority of an Extractor''s power came from their ability.


    Most likely, the heavy weight of Nick''s throwing spears was rted to his ability.


    Man knew that Wyntor wasn''t dumb. After all, Wyntor had been in her department for a couple of days a couple of years ago while he was learning about how to run a proper Manufacturer.


    "Let''s go," Man said, walking past Nick and leaving the warehouse.


    "Go where?" Nick asked.


    "Training spot," she said. "We can''t throw spears in here."


    "Oh, right," Nick said as he started to walk past her.


    "Have fun!" Wyntor shouted before going back to his office.


    Man and Nick walked through the streets.


    Many people on the streets looked at Man with respect and shock.


    A Veteran from Kugelblitz!


    Even more, she was huge!


    It was almost like a bronze goddess of war was walking through the streets.


    Man didn''t say anything as they walked, but her speed slowly picked up.


    Nick already had issues walking at a normal pace, but it only got worse when Man walked faster.


    Nick gritted his teeth and also sped up.


    The sound of Nick''s footsteps was extremely loud and reverberated through the streets.


    After a while, the two of them reached the entrance to the Dregs.


    The next moment, Nick saw Man casually jumping on top of a two-story building.


    She looked back, motioning for Nick toe up with her.


    Nick looked at Man with furrowed brows.


    He could barely walk with all this weight.


    How was he supposed to get on top of a building?


    Nick looked around but didn''t see any stairs.


    The wall was also very t.


    There were no smaller buildings within reach.


    Sure, if Nick''s ability activated or if he didn''t carry his spears with him, he would have no issues getting up there.


    Sadly, it was during the middle of the day, which meant several people were looking towards Nick''s direction at all times, and he was obviously supposed to bring his spears with him.


    Man just kept looking at Nick without saying anything.


    Nick thought for a bit.


    A couple of secondster, he walked to the entrance of the house and loudly knocked.


    "Anyone in there?"


    No answer.


    "Hello?"


    No answer.


    "If you don''t open, your house might get damaged."


    No answer.


    At that moment, the door gave way since it had never been locked.


    Nick hesitated, shrugged, and entered.


    After looking through the house, he couldn''t find any sign of people living there.


    This house was at the border between the Outer City and the Dregs.


    Most likely, nobody would be living here.


    While it officially was part of the Dregs, the guards really weren''t the biggest fans of the stinky people from the Dregs, and they didn''t like them living this close to the Outer City.


    Because of that, almost all houses at the border were empty, and this most likely was one of them.


    ''Good to know,'' Nick thought with a nod.


    Nick walked out of the house again and looked at Man, who was still looking at him wordlessly.


    "Can I throw my spears to you?" he asked.


    Man''s brows furrowed.


    She didn''t immediately answer.


    "What if I say no?" she asked.


    "That''s also fine," Nick said.


    Silence.


    "Show me," she ordered.


    "Alright," Nick said.


    Nick took out one spear and stabbed it into the ground beside him.


    He did the same with the next three spears.


    Nick grabbed thest spear with both hands and stabbed it into the wall of the house.


    Then, Nick grabbed another spear and stabbed it higher into the house by throwing it.


    After doing that five times, Nick created a small staircase.


    Man said that it was fine if the spears were stuck in something.


    So, this should be okay.


    After climbing to the second spear, Nick put his legs around it and let his upper body fall.


    Like this, he could easily grab the first spear.


    When he got it, he walked all the way to the top and stabbed it into the roof.


    Man looked at him wordlessly as Nick went back down to grab the second spear.


    A couple secondster, Nick was on top of the building with all of his spears.


    "Impressive," Man said.


    "Thanks," Nick said.


    "I don''t think you know what I meant," she added.


    Nick blinked in surprise. "What did you mean?"


    "Your question earlier," Man said. "You asked me if you could pass your spears to me."


    "Yeah, what about it?" Nick asked.


    "I''ve done this with a couple of people, but you''re the first one that actually asked for help without giving up," she said.


    "Huh?" Nick uttered.


    "This was supposed to teach you two things."


    "First, that throwing spears are more than just weapons. You can use them in many different ways."


    "And second, that we are not alone as Zephyx Extractors."


    "As Zephyx Extractors, we are always working together. We are a team."


    "Even if we go into battle, we go into battle together."


    "Because of that, asking for help is not wrong and even encouraged."


    "Tasks that seem very difficult can easily be ovee by working together with someone else, and not epting the help of others is often very stupid."


    "You''re actually the first one that asked for assistance like this."


    "Most of the time, if the person doesn''t find the solution, they just say that they give up. They see asking me for help as giving up when it is actually the very point of the lesson."


    Nick blinked a couple of times. "Then why did you ask what I would do if you said no?"


    "I wanted to know what you had nned," Man said. "You went into the house to see if someone lived there, which means you probably were nning on damaging the house. I wanted to see what would happen."


    "Oh," Nick said. "Well, originally, I wanted to throw my spear upwards and let itnd in the roof, but I realized that it was too heavy to throw that far up. So, I went with this."


    Man looked at Nick for a couple more seconds.


    Then, she nodded. "Alright, let''s continue," she said before holding out her hand.


    Nick grabbed it and shook it.


    Man looked at him with a deadpan expression.


    "Give me your spears. I''ll hold them for you."


    Nick stopped shaking Man''s hand.


    "Oh, okay."

 Chapter 120 120 – Collecting

    <h4>Chapter 120 Chapter 120 ¨C Collecting</h4>


    For the next couple of minutes, the two of them jumped from building to building.


    Eventually, Man stopped, and Nick looked at the ce in front of him.


    Ruins.


    They were standing on the highest building around, which was four stories high. In front of them were half-destroyed andpletely destroyed houses for nearly fifty meters.


    Even more, many of the tes and grates werepletely ruined, exposing the sewers.


    In a way, this area looked like an ancient ruin in the middle of a swamp, except that the swamp itself was made of even more disgusting water.


    "Can you tell what destroyed all of these buildings?" Man asked.


    Nick looked around.


    After a while, he noticed that there were many round holes in the destroyed buildings.


    "Something round and strong," Nick said.


    Man grabbed one of Nick''s spears and threw it.


    SHING!


    Nick''s eyes shot open in shock as he saw his spear perfectly passing through one of the holes!


    "This was my training ground," Man said. "This is the only ce in the Outer City where I can practice throwing my spears."


    Nick looked at the destroyed buildings and the houses.


    Man must have thrown countless spears.


    "Get your spear. You need to get familiar with this ce anyway," she said.


    Nick took a deep breath and nodded.


    "Hold up," Man said, holding out Nick''s other spears. "Don''t forget your other spears."


    Nick took another deep breath.


    "Of course," he said, putting them on his back.


    Immediately, Nick felt extremely heavy again.


    As he looked at the destroyed building in the distance again, he felt like it was now much further away.


    Even more, Nick was on top of a four-story building while the spear had shot through a hole in one of the small houses.


    On top of that, the grates on the streets would never be able to hold Nick''s weight and the weight of the spears.


    This meant Nick needed to jump from building to building while also carrying his spears.


    It was essentially impossible.


    However, Nick remembered what he had learned in the previous lesson and what Man had said.


    Throwing spears were not only weapons.


    Eventually, Nick created a route in his mind.


    First, he climbed down the building by dropping three of his spears.


    By dropping them, Nick could easily control in which way they would reach the ground, and all three spears stabbed into the roof of the smaller building beside this one.


    Then, Nick jumped down the building and stabbed thest spear into the wall.


    Since Nick didn''t weigh a lot without his spears, the wall managed to withstand his weight.


    After that, Nick pulled the spear out and dropped onto the roof.


    With his physique, he could withstand such a drop.


    A momentter, Nick put the spear with the others and left to get his lost spear.


    Man had never said that Nick couldn''t put his spears to the side.


    Without his spears, it was easy to jump from building to building.


    About a minuteter, Nick entered the destroyed building and found his spear stabbed into the ground.


    Returning also wasn''t difficult, but the climb to the top of the tall building wasn''t easy.


    Nick used the same method he used during the first lesson, but due to the greater size of the building, Nick needed to jump much more.


    But eventually, he did it and arrived at the top with all of his spears.


    Man wordlessly walked over to Nick and took one spear.


    SHING!


    And threw it through the same hole.


    "Nice going, smartass. Now, do the same, but take your spears with you," she said.


    Nick took a very deep breath to calm down.


    "Of course," he said.


    "I don''t want to see you drop your spears," Man said. "If your spears are leaving your person, it better be to act as a foothold or something simr."


    As Nick looked at the route he needed to take, he became worried.


    With the added weight, that route was now impossible to take.


    There were too many big jumps.


    This time, it took Nick almost five minutes toe up with a new route, and the route was long.


    The spear was barely 40 meters away from Nick, but he would need to traverse over 200 meters to get to it.


    Climbing down the tall building was the first problem.


    With so many spears on him, the wall couldn''t possibly resist Nick''s weight if he held onto a single spear.


    However, Nick came up with a solution.


    He jumped down and immediately stabbed one of his spears into the building.


    But before he fully stopped, he let go of the spear and continued falling.


    And stabbed in the second spear.


    Eventually, Nick had put all four spears into the wall.


    Since Nick no longer had a spear on his back, he could climb up to the highest one, retrieve it, and fall to the second.


    The second could withstand thebined weight of Nick and one spear, but the third one quickly broke off the wall when Nick dropped onto it with two spears.


    Luckily, the spear still managed to slow his fall, and eventually, Nick broke through all the spears andnded on the ground.


    His bones and muscles hurt, but he could still move.


    Then, the arduous journey began.


    Nick used his spears to close the gap between buildings while also having to retrieve them.


    He needed to bnce on them.


    He even used them to break down a wall.


    It took Nick over 40 minutes to get to his original spear and retrieve it.


    Then, the long journey back began.


    The way back was even more difficult with an additional spear, and it took Nick another 30 minutes.


    Finally, Nick arrived on top of the building.


    Man grabbed one of the spears and threw it through a different hole in a different building.


    "Next one."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He had expected that he would learn how to throw spears.


    Instead, Man was the one throwing, and he was the one collecting them.

 Chapter 121 121 – Ability?

    <h4>Chapter 121 Chapter 121 ¨C Ability?</h4>


    For the next two hours, Nick had to collect three more spears, each one more difficult to get than thest one.


    By the end of it, Nick felt like he was about to die.


    His arms were nearly unusable, and his back was aching whenever he tried to straighten his posture.


    When Nick reached the top of the building again, Man nodded at him.


    "Good work. That should be enough for today," she said.


    Nick breathed with difficulty and only nodded without saying anything.


    By now, Nick had realized why Man had made him do these things.


    First of all, Nick became familiar with his new training spot.


    Second, he was undergoing arduous physical training, which should also improve his strength.


    Third, Nick was getting more used to the weight of his spears and learned how to carry them without using up too much of his power.


    Fourth, Nick was getting very familiar with his spears.


    The way he was handling the spears now was far easier and more skillful than before the exercises.


    Even more, Nick had gotten familiar with creating several footholds with his spears and using them to reach terrain that he otherwise couldn''t.


    Funnily enough, even though Nick''s task hadn''t been to throw spears, he had needed to throw his spears more than once, and the throws always needed to find different targets.


    Sometimes, they needed to pierce a wall below Nick.


    Sometimes, they needed to pierce a wall above him.


    Sometimes, they needed to pierce the ground far away.


    And sometimes, they needed to pierce the ceiling.


    Additionally, since a wrong throw would cause huge issues for Nick, every single throw he made was very careful and calcted.


    After all, if one of his spears bounced off a wall, they would fall towards the broken grates, which meant that they would fall into the sewers.


    If one of the spears fell into the sewers, Nick would have to get it back.


    The spears were too valuable to leave like this.


    Even more, Man would probably be quite angry if Nick left one of his spears in such a dirty ce.


    Nick needed to be extremely careful with his throws, and that had already resulted in him bing much better at throwing them.


    All in all, the training had been quite effective.


    "Same time tomorrow," Man said, "but this time, we will meet here."


    "Of course. Thank you," Nick said through difficult pants.


    Man nodded once more and jumped off the building towards the Outer City.


    She was extremely silent and made no noise, even though she had probably jumped over 50 meters into the distance.


    Even when shended, she made no sound.


    ''Is that her ability?'' Nick thought.


    ''My spears already weigh 30 kilos each, and they are made for Mid to Peak Johns. She''s a powerful Veteran, which means her spears are even heavier.''


    Nick saw seven thin spears on Man''s retreating back.


    ''She''s probably walking around with over 300 kilos of extra weight.''


    ''Yet, she makes no sound when she moves.''


    ''It''s almost like she''s a ghost.''


    ''Or a Specter.''


    Nick looked at Man until he couldn''t see her anymore.


    Then, he took a deep breath.


    A momentter, his spears suddenly became very easy to carry.


    His ability had activated.


    Nick easily jumped down the building.


    With his stronger body, he would have no issues withstanding such a high fall.


    Nick calmly fell.


    BOOOOM!


    But then, Nick''s eyes widened in shock as the ceiling hended on broke into pieces.


    ''Fuck!'' Nick thought.


    Nicknded on the floor below the ceiling, and since the ceiling had slowed Nick''s fall, he didn''t break the floor as well.


    However, half of the roof of the building hended on was broken.


    ''How the fuck did she do that?!'' Nick thought as he pushed the bent metallic rubble to the side.


    ''She should weigh three times as much as me, but the building shended on didn''t show any signs of breaking!''


    After climbing out of the broken house, Nick jumped from building to building to get back, much more careful not to break them.


    For the remainder of the day, Nick ate some food and trained with his melee weapons.


    The next day, after working with the Dreamer, Nick grabbed some lunch and moved to the training field again.


    It was easy to get there since nobody saw Nick as soon as he reached the rooftops, but when the four-story building came into view, things became difficult.


    Nick didn''t see Man, but he could tell that she was there since his ability had deactivated.


    Traveling across the rooftops became problematic again.


    Eventually, Nick managed to reach the top of the big building, but¡­


    "You''rete," Manined with narrowed eyes.


    "Sorry," Nick said. "I forgot about the difficult path to this ce. I''ll start earlier tomorrow."


    Man snorted in annoyance. "How could you forget? You should have known how far you needed to travel and what you would carry. Clearly, you knew how long it would take."


    Nick took a deep breath. "I would havee ten minutes early with the use of my ability."


    Man frowned. "I don''t need to know about your ability," she said. "If you tell me your ability, it would seem like I coerced you into telling me with my superior power, and my motives would be called into question."


    "I don''t want to know what ability you have," she said.


    Nick nodded. "Of course."


    Man also nodded and turned to the training field.


    "But you don''t seem to mind," Nick added.


    "What are you talking about?" she asked.


    "Your ability," Nick said. "How else would you be able to remain so silent while jumping so far with so much extra weight?"


    "That''s not an ability," Man said.


    Nick''s brows raised in shock. "It''s not?"


    "No," Man confirmed.


    "Then, can I learn that?" Nick asked.


    "It''s on your training n," Man said. "It''s not a focus, but it''s part of your training."


    "That as well."


    Nick just looked at Man with confusion.


    What as well?


    The next moment, Man just gestured towards Nick''s side with her head.


    Then, Nick saw one of Man''s spears stuck in the roof of the tall building, just two centimeters away from Nick''s left foot!


    This spear hadn''t been there!


    He hadn''t heard or felt anything!


    How did this spear appear there?!

 Chapter 122 122 – Advantageous Disadvantage

    <h4>Chapter 122 Chapter 122 ¨C Advantageous Disadvantage</h4>


    "How did this spear get here?" Nick asked in shock.


    "You''re going to learn how to do thatter," Man said before she opened her right hand.


    Nick was about to shake it again, but he remembered the scene from yesterday.


    Instead, he just awkwardly looked at it, not knowing what to do.


    "My spear," she said. "Hand it to me."


    "Oh, sure!" Nick said quickly as he grabbed the spear.


    Then, he pulled it out with all of his power.


    Whoop!


    And nearly fell over as the spear easily and neatly came out of the roof.


    ''It''s so light! That''s probably only five to seven kilos!''


    Nick had expected something like fifty to seventy kilos!


    Awkwardly, Nick put the spear on Man''s hand, and she took it.


    The next moment, the spear shrank in her hand!


    The tip waspressed and entered the shaft, making the spear less than ten centimeters long.


    The next moment, she slid the spear down her sleeve.


    Without Nick asking, Man unbuttoned the sleeve on her right arm, showing Nick her wrist.


    There were sixpact spears around her wrist.


    Then, she flicked her wrists, and one of the spears flew into her opened hand and expanded back to its big size.


    "Not every spear needs to be equally strong," she said.


    "The spears on my back are for strong and durable targets, but they are not as silent."


    "If you want to focus on throwing spears, you have to buy multiple sets for different purposes."


    Man looked at the spears on Nick''s back. "The spears on your back are for single target assassinations and direct heavy battle. They are not made to be used against quick and nimble targets."


    Nick nodded with understanding.


    "Time to warm up," Man said as she took all five of Nick''s spears.


    Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!


    Within three seconds, all five of Nick''s spearsnded on different houses in the training area.


    "Get them within 20 minutes. If you can''t do that, you will try again," she said.


    Nick took a deep breath and immediately jumped down the building.


    Without his spears, he became quite agile and fast.


    However, he quickly found something that surprised him.


    Right now, Nick stood in front of a gap that was five meters wide, with a three-story high building on the other side.


    Nick was only on a building that was one story high.


    Even more, except for the small holes left behind by Nick''s spears from yesterday, the wall was rather smooth.


    For quite a while, Nick looked with shock at the wall.


    This entire time, Nick had viewed the presence of his spears as a drawback due to their heavy weight.


    But right now, he couldn''t climb that building!


    Climbing it with his spears was quite easy since he only needed to create a smalldder, but it became extremely difficult without them.


    Traversing the rooftops had be more difficult without his spears!


    Nick would have never thought that this would happen.


    Nick almost always used this building as a sort of central checkpoint to get to every other building since it was in the middle.


    But this time, Nick couldn''t climb it.


    He needed at least two spears to get on top of the building!


    ''I can''t waste time here!'' Nick thought before he changed his route.


    Originally, Nick wanted to get the spear that was the furthest away first since every spear added extra weight, but now, he would get that onest.


    About ten minutester, Nick retrieved three spears and reached the top of the tall building.


    Five minutester, he retrieved thest spear.


    Now, he only needed to get back.


    He reached the starting point¡­


    23 minutes after starting.


    So close!


    Without saying anything, Man threw the five spears to the same spots again.


    This time, Nick knew what he had to do, and he was faster thanst time.


    21 minutes.


    Once again.


    20 minutes and 28 seconds.


    And again.


    20 minutes and 42 seconds.


    Once more.


    Over 21 minutes.


    Nick breathed heavily.


    He had already used up almost all of his power in the previous attempts.


    Jumping from building to building with so much weight was extremely exhausting.


    Nick knew that he wouldn''t be able to finish the task today.


    But when he saw Man''s strict gaze, he knew that giving up was the wrong move.


    Nick also remembered that he would need to pay for the lesson if Man felt like Nick was wasting her time.


    So, he had to continue trying.


    But since Nick couldn''t possibly win anyway, he took the time to look at the route again from the top of the building instead of immediately jumping down.


    He used this time to optimize his route for tomorrow.


    A couple of minutester, Nick raised an eyebrow as he noticed something.


    There was another way to get two of his spears that was way faster than the one he always used, and the reason why he had never found that way was because he was nning his route with his spears in mind.


    The original route was to go ten meters towards the center, 20 meters towards the right, get one spear, travel back to the center, go 30 meters towards the left, get the next spear, go back to the center, and climb the big building with the spears.


    But with the new route, Nick could run all the way around the battlefield in a circle.


    From the south, which was the starting point, Nick could go towards the east, then the north, then the west, grab spear number two, turn around, grab spear number five, grab spear number four, grab spear number one, and then go towards the center to get thest spear.


    It would be much faster.


    Nick took a deep breath and jumped down the building.


    He followed the new route.


    And came back after¡­


    23 minutes.


    However, Nick had also nned his new route for over five minutes.


    After starting once more, Nick managed to get through the exercise in just a bit under 20 minutes.


    He had done it!

 Chapter 123 123 – Peak

    <h4>Chapter 123 Chapter 123 ¨C Peak</h4>


    Nick reached the top of the building and breathed heavily as he copsed onto his knees in exhaustion.


    He had never been this exhausted before.


    "Well done," Man said. "I thought it would take until the end of the lesson, but we still have about half an hour left."


    "Take a break for two minutes," she said.


    Nick didn''t answer and just continued breathing with difficulty.


    When the two minutes were up, Nick had somewhat recovered.


    SHING!


    And the five spears shot towards the same ces again.


    "Onest time," Man said. "If you manage to do it in time again, you''ll get a surprise."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Again?


    Nick''s bones were already hurting from the constant falls and his muscles constantly pressing on them.


    His body was shouting at him that what he was doing was dangerous and that he needed to stop.


    This was too much, and it might be dangerous!


    However, Nick only took a deep breath.


    If it were just himself, he would never do something as risky as this.


    But he trusted Man.


    Man seemed like an honest person, and she also seemed too intelligent to make Nick do something like this without a good reason.


    Nick trusted in Man''s character and experience.


    So, Nick almost immediately jumped down again.


    As soon as he started running, Nick felt himself being slower than before.


    His exhaustion had hit him full force.


    But he just kept jumping.


    CRK!


    Nick slipped, and his knee hit the roof of the building he was on.


    It hurt quite a bit, and his knee made weird sounds whenever he moved it, but he just gnashed his teeth and continued.


    Despite all odds, Nick managed to do the jumps he needed to do.


    Eventually, he retrieved all of the spears.


    Nick felt like he was about to copse, but he still managed to urately throw the spears into the tall building before climbing up and retrieving them again.


    Finally, he arrived, and he immediately fell onto the ground, breathing heavily in exhaustion.


    He was done.


    He was so done.


    He didn''t care about the time anymore.


    He was just done.


    "A bit slower than expected," Man said.


    Nick didn''t care.


    "It took you 18 minutes and 36 seconds."


    That took Nick by surprise.


    "W-what?" he asked in confusion through heavy pants.


    "18 minutes and 36 seconds," Man repeated. "That''s your time."


    Nick almost couldn''t believe it. "But¡­ how?" he asked.


    "Don''t act too surprised," Man said. "That''s still quite slow for a Peak Newbie."


    "But I''m¡­"


    That was when Nick realized.


    "And that''s your surprise," Man said.


    "I¡­ broke through?" Nick asked in confusion.


    Man nodded. "You can reach the next level after only umting about 80% of the Zephyx necessary. In your case, you seemed to have somewhere between 93% and 96% of the Zephyx you needed to be a Peak Newbie."


    "You can view Zephyx as a pile of stones, and you advance a level when the pile grows to a certain height. By simply putting more stones onto it, it will eventually reach that height."


    "However, you can also force it to reach that height if you put in a lot of effort to realign the stones."


    "Our bodies use up Zephyx as fuel, and a higher level simply means that you produce and use more Zephyx. The stored Zephyx in your body is used as a ma to attract more Prephyx, and if it manages to attract enough, it will disperse into your body, and the new amount of Prephyx absorbed in a given timeframe remains at the early peak."


    "In short, even if you break through with less Zephyx, you will have just as much Zephyx as someone that did break through with all the required Zephyx."


    "By forcing yourself to the absolute brink, you managed to absorb enough Prephyx to push yourself over the edge."


    "That''s how you managed to break through."


    Nick listened with rapt attention.


    That was possible?!


    He could break through earlier?!


    "How exactly can I achieve that?" Nick asked.


    "Very strong stimulus," Man answered. "Mostmonly, a dire situation."


    "If you feel like you''re about to die, your survival instinct can give you the push. If you feel like you have to save a loved one with all of your power, you can get that push."


    "In your case, it was simply trying very hard to finish the course."


    "Of course, something like this can''t bepared to something like a life-and-death fight, but you also had more Zephyx."


    "80% is what has been observed in experiments where Extractors were put up against Specters in a battle. It might be possible that it can go even lower, but we don''t have any specific data for that."


    "In short, since you already had something like 95% of the required Zephyx to break through, it wasn''t very difficult to force it," Man exined.


    Nick absorbed all the knowledge like a dry sponge.


    Right now, reaching a new level didn''t require a lot of time, but things wouldn''t stay that way.


    With this method, he could probably save years in the future!


    "Thank you for telling me," Nick said through exhausted pants.


    "Everyone knows that," Man answered. "It''s nothing special."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Anyway, we are done for today," Man said. "You are too exhausted to do anything buty on the ground, and if you attempted to throw your spears in this condition, you might throw one of them into the sewers."


    "I will note the remaining ten or so minutes down and will add them some other day."


    "For now, we''re done. See you tomorrow."


    Nick slowly forced himself to sit up. "Th-Thanks," he said in exhaustion.


    Man just nodded and silently jumped away.


    Nick copsed onto his back again and just looked at the sun.


    Looking at the sun wasn''t painful since its beams weren''t that bright.


    For the next 20 minutes, Nick justy on top of the building.


    And then, he went home.


    Luckily, his ability was active again, making it easy to get home.

 Chapter 124 124 – Ghost Wire

    <h4>Chapter 124 Chapter 124 ¨C Ghost Wire</h4>


    When Nick came home, his muscles ached all over.


    It had never been this bad before.


    Nevertheless, Nick forced himself to get some food before falling into bed.


    This time, he slept over nine hours, which was quite a lot for him, and as soon as he woke up, Nick''s body had alreadypletely recovered.


    Nick still remembered that his body had been sore for several days before he had be an official Zephyx Extractor.


    If things were still like back then, Nick''s muscles would have ached for up to a week, based on the pain he had been feeling.


    And yet, it had only taken a couple of hours for them to recover.


    Although, it might not be that surprising.


    Specters could recover from fatal injuries within just a couple of days, and Extractors became more powerful by using the same kind of powers as the Specters, which was the Zephyx.


    In a way, it was to be expected that the recovery rate of a Zephyx Extractor also increased.


    Maybe, at some point, it was even possible to recover lost limbs without having to resort to Restoration Liquid?


    After finishing his work, Nick walked towards the training area again.


    This time, it was much easier since Nick had already created a pathway to get to his goal. Additionally, he had be a Peak Newbie.


    In the end, he arrived ten minutes before the training was supposed to start.


    Surprisingly, Man was also already here.


    "Since we ended early yesterday, we are going to start early today," she said.


    Nick nodded.


    Without saying anything else, Man grabbed Nick''s five spears and threw them toward the same location as yesterday.


    "Less than 20 minutes, go."


    Nick nodded and immediately started.


    Since he was fully recovered, he was much faster than yesterday, and hepleted everything in barely 15 minutes.


    Nick''s breathing had already quickened, but he wasn''t close to being exhausted.


    Sure enough, this just counted as a warmup.


    "Today, we are focusing on this," Man said as she held an empty hand in front of her.


    Nick just looked in confusion at her empty hand.


    "On what?" he asked.


    Man swung her hand around a bit, and Nick felt like something had suddenly hit his cheek.


    However, the thing that had hit him was extremely light.


    That was when Nick remembered that he had seen an almost invisible wire when Man had thrown one of her spears the first time he had seen her.


    After focusing on her hand, Nick could actually see a tiny wire.


    "Take it," she said as she put the wire in Nick''s right hand. "Look at it."


    For a while, Nick just inspected the wire.


    It was extremely light.


    It was so light that he almost couldn''t feel its weight.


    Yet, it was extremely durable.


    Nick didn''t use all of his power, but he used quite a lot, and the thin wire didn''t seem to get damaged in any way.


    Even more, the tiny wire was actually beginning to cut into Nick''s hand!


    It was so bizarre that something this insanely thin could be that durable!


    "It''s called a Ghost Wire, and it''s used for many different things," Man said after a while.


    "No normal material can be that durable while being that thin, which makes the origin of this wire obvious," she added.


    Nick nodded. "Ites from a Specter."


    Man nodded back. "The Fear Queen is a normal-sized ck widow that likes to put as much fear as possible into her victims. She usually restricts them with her silk and injects them with many different poisons that can cause extreme fear and extreme euphoria."


    "This wire is a couple of her strings of silk rolled up into a single form. As an Adult Specter, the Fear Queen is very powerful, and her silk is just as powerful."


    "You can keep that one and these four," Man said as she took out another four stacks of wire.


    Nick looked at them with surprise. "That sounds expensive," he said.


    "Your boss paid for them. They are officially yours," Man said.


    Nick didn''t feelfortable with Wyntor giving him even more stuff.


    He felt like Wyntor was giving him way more than he was giving back, which made him feel a bit guilty.


    Nick almost felt like he was taking advantage of Wyntor.


    But in the end, Nick could only sigh. "Thanks."


    For the next three hours, Man taught Nick about the Ghost Wire and how to use it.


    There were many different things that Nick could do with such a durable wire.


    For example, he could hang it between two buildings at neck height, and nobody would notice it before they ran straight into it.


    However, the most important thing for Nick was the Ghost Wire''s ability to act as a retrieval tool for his spears.


    He hadn''t noticed it before, but there was a very thin hole at the side of his throwing spears.


    This hole was specifically made for Ghost Wires.


    By putting the Ghost Wire through it, Nick had essentially created a long and invisible leash for his spear.


    Each Ghost Wire was around 100 meters long, which meant that Nick could essentially retrieve his spears as long as he didn''t throw them further.


    If he wanted to throw them further, he would just have to let go of the Ghost Wire and retrieve the spear the traditional way.


    For today, Nick kept dropping his spears from the house and retrieving them with the wire.


    It was surprisingly difficult to make the spears shoot back at him without hitting anything on their way back.


    But eventually, Nick managed to retrieve them consistently without any issues.


    When it was almost time to end training for the day, Man told Nick to retrieve his five spears once more.


    Naturally, she detached the Ghost Wires before telling him to do that.


    After Nick got the first spear back, he quickly attached the Ghost Wire, which didn''t even take ten seconds, and after that, everything seemed to change.


    He no longer needed to consider how to retrieve a spear after throwing it since he could just retrieve it with the Ghost Wire.


    That made everything so much easier, and Nick''s movements became far more fluent.


    In the end, he barely needed nine minutes toplete the course.

 Chapter 125 125 – Throws

    <h4>Chapter 125 Chapter 125 ¨C Throws</h4>


    A day passed, and thest day of throwing spear training was taking ce.


    This was already Nick''s fourth day of training with throwing spears, and today, he would focus on actually throwing spears.


    But the best thing was that Nick didn''t fear messing up his throws anymore.


    He could travel everywhere with his spears, and if he threw it somewhere he didn''t want, he could just tug on the Ghost Wire to get it back.


    The first thing he had to do was to run to the five spots again, but this time, Man didn''t throw his spears away.


    She just wanted Nick to get to the five spots while carrying all of his spears.


    That made things different, but Nick still managed toplete the task in about ten minutes.


    And then, it was time for the actual training.


    "There are many ways to throw a spear," Man said as she took out one of her own spears.


    After that, she lifted it with one hand and took a couple of steps forward.


    She pulled the spear back and took a couple of steps forward before throwing it.


    BOOOM!


    The roof of the building the two were standing on shook as Man threw the spear.


    Nick just watched in awe as the spear seemed to shoot into the horizon!


    One second, it had been there, and the next, it seemed to have traveled into the sun.


    Of course, the spear didn''t actually reach the sun.


    "Watch," Man said as she lifted her hand.


    Then, she pulled back.


    BANG!


    And Man suddenly also flew into the horizon!


    Nick''s eyes widened in shock.


    Man didn''t fly as fast or as far as her spear, but she still flew for probably over 200 meters.


    In the distance, Nick could see Man catching her spear again, and that was when he realized what had just happened.


    Man had gathered an incredible amount of power and threw her spear with all of it.


    Then, she tugged on her extremely long Ghost Wire.


    With her power, she managed topletely stop the force of her throw and even put in so much that the spear started to shoot back at her.


    Of course, the force of the throw had to go somewhere, which was why Man''s body had suddenly shot into the distance.


    In the end, her spear returned to her, and she simplynded on a roof.


    Surprisingly, the roof didn''t copse.


    A couple of secondster, Man returned to the roof of the tall building.


    "That was a Full Throw," she exined. "As the name suggests, a Full Throw is a throw that uses all of your power."


    "The tricky part is to deal with the force when you have a Ghost Wire attached. Without it, it''s just a normal throw, but with it, things get tricky."


    "Imagine you attack someone with a Full Throw who is only 30 meters away, and they sidestep it. If there''s no building within the next 70 meters and if your throw was strong enough, your Ghost Wire will pull you forward, right into your enemy''s arms."


    "But as you have seen, that can also be used to traverse great distances. I can jump high and far, but not that high and far."


    "Of course, if I had actually wanted to go as far as possible, I would have jumped forward after throwing my spear."


    "When facing an enemy, you will rarely be able to make a Full Throw. The preparation is long, and the enemy will most likely hear your loud steps. You can only use it when you are very far away from the enemy or when one of your allies is distracting the enemy."


    Nick nodded.


    "Next," Man said as she lifted her spear again.


    Then, she performed the same throwing motion but without taking steps.


    The spear didn''t fly as fast as before, and Man was only pulled forward by about 20 meters when she tugged on the Ghost Wire.


    Naturally, the power of this throw couldn''t possiblypare to the one before that.


    "This is a Stand Throw," Man said after jumping back to the building. "This is mostmonly used when your enemy doesn''t see you, and you''re not far away. In your case, that would mean about 30 to 70 meters, assuming you had an appropriate level of power for your spears."


    "The throw is very silent, but it still needs some preparation. After all, you have to assume a throwing stance while also pulling your arm all the way back."


    Nick nodded.


    There wasn''t much to say about the Stand Throw.


    Ding!


    Suddenly, Man''s body shook a bit, and Nick saw a spear shoot at Man from a distance.


    Man easily caught the spear and showed it to Nick.


    "That was a Hidden Throw," she said. "This one is not relevant to you yet, but I still want to show it to you."


    The next moment, Man slowly showed what she had just done.


    She stood in front of Nick with her arms crossed, and she slowly angled one of her wrists backward.


    Nick saw one of the small spears in her sleevee out, stopping at the tips of Man''s fingers.


    Man pulled her wrist backward more, pulling the small spear with it.


    An instantter, one end of the small spear pointed at Nick.


    And then, she just moved her wrist rapidly forward.


    Bang.


    The quiet sound of something solid hitting something solid rang through the air, and Nick saw the center of the spear rapidlying closer.


    One had to remember that the tip of the small spear had been pulled into the shaft, but now, the tip was rapidly extending.


    An instantter, a long spear shot past Nick''s head before getting pulled back again.


    "Now, I''m doing it with real speed again," Man said.


    BANG!


    Nick didn''t even see Man''s wrist move before her spear shot past him again!


    "The throw is not very strong, but still strong enough to kill someone on my level if they don''t have their Barrier active," Man exined.


    "Since you don''t have Hidden Spears, you can''t properly use the Hidden Throw."

 Chapter 126 126 – Mask

    <h4>Chapter 126 Chapter 126 ¨C Mask</h4>


    "There''s onest throw," Man said as she took out one of her bigger spears again.


    The next moment, she lowered her arm and threw the spear from her hip.


    The power seemed to be nearly as strong as the Stand Throw.


    "This throw is interchangeable with the Stand Throw and is called the Hip Throw. Both of them have their advantages and disadvantages."


    "The Hip Throw is just as strong as the Stand Throw but is even faster. Even more, if you are in the air, for some reason, the Hip Throw is also much better than the Stand Throw. Additionally, you don''t need to assume as obvious of a stance as with the Stand Throw."


    "The problem is that aiming is much harder, and you also can''t control the power as well. If you have space and time, performing the Stand Throw is always preferable, but if you don''t, you are almost forced to perform the Hip Throw."


    "The Hip Throw is mainly used if you are actively battling someone that is charging towards you."


    "Someone that wants to get into your melee range is going to zig-zag and approach you rapidly while you are trying to retreat. In that case, you have to use the Hip Throw since the Stand Throw is just too obvious."


    "Although, since you are also training in fist weapons, you might not even use the Hip Throw that much."


    Nick nodded. "Probably not."


    "For now," Man continued. "I am going to teach you the Full Throw. Going through the most extravagant throw first will make it easier to learn the other onester."


    For the next couple of minutes, Man taught Nick how to perform the Full Throw, which wasn''t very difficult.


    After all, it was just throwing an object.


    Every human has thrown objects before.


    Nick kept practicing the Full Throw for the next three hours, butpared to Man, Nick didn''t take off.


    One had to remember that Nick''s spears were designed to be thrown with much more power.


    With Man watching, Nick couldn''t throw the spear properly.


    With a Full Throw, Nick could barely throw his spear for about ten to twenty meters.


    It was just way too heavy.


    Eventually, Man left, and Nick could actually try the Full Throw.


    Since he wasn''t that exhausted today, Nick decided to continue throwing spears with his ability.


    Nick took a couple of steps back, lifted his spear, and performed a Full Throw.


    BOOOOM!


    The roof below Nick shuddered as he threw his spear into the distance!


    Nick watched with satisfaction as his spear traveled further and further.


    DING!


    Suddenly, the Ghost Wire on Nick''s right wrist became taut, and Nick felt himself get pulled forward.


    The force was enough to pull Nick over the edge of the building, and he was just about to fall towards the sewers.


    However, even though Nick had been surprised, his training with the Ghost Wire kicked in, and he pulled on it even more.


    Nick was pulled away from the big building andnded on a smaller building further away just as his spear reached him again.


    ''Huh,'' Nick thought. ''That went way better than I anticipated.''


    After retrieving his spears so many times and after running across the entire training ground so many times, Nick had be extremely familiar with his environment and his spear.


    The way Nick had simply pulled himself forward tond on a small building while easily catching the spear looked almost beautiful.


    Nick had barely learned how to throw a spear properly, but he already looked like someone who had been using spears for years.


    This made Nick realize one thing.


    ''Man is an amazing teacher,'' he thought in surprise and awe.


    When he first appeared in this training ground, he felt unsure due to the weight of his spears and the destroyed grates and buildings everywhere.


    The thought of throwing his spears in such a ce had made Nick anxious and nervous before.


    But now, it was easy.


    The broken ground might as well not exist since Nick knew exactly what below him at any given moment was, and he could easily move across the air without losing his spears.


    In just four days, Nick had be very confident in using his spears.


    Eventually, Nick returned to the tall building and continued practicing Full Throws with his ability active.


    Sadly, he had to stop after just half an hour.


    The three hours of throwing had already exhausted his arm.


    However, Nick still didn''t leave.


    ''I think I can eatter. This training ground is too good, and I haven''t properly exercised the rest of my body today.''


    So, Nick decided to run and jump across the rooftops while carrying all of his spears.


    With his ability active, this task was no longer a problem.


    If Nick were to do his warmup routine again, he wouldn''t even need a minute, which was why Nick wasn''t doing that.


    Instead, he threw his spears around in the air, pulling him from one side to the other.


    Nick wanted to get familiar with how to move in the air.


    Humans generally weren''t good at moving in the air, but with the throwing spears, Nick had somewhat ovee this weakness.


    After a bit more than an hour, Nick became exhausted and returned home.


    ''I''m excited for more training in four days,'' Nick thought while eating.


    ''But first, I''m going to learn about fist weapons tomorrow.''


    ''I can actually see myself bing stronger!''


    ''My goal is actually not impossible to achieve!''


    However, when Nick had that thought, his good mood vanished.


    For the past four days, Nick had managed to put on a mask that had even fooled himself.


    It was a mask that said that nothing was wrong.


    But now that Nick had remembered his true face, the mask had be visible again.


    In the end, Nick could only take a deep breath.


    ''I can''t get lost in this excitement.''


    ''All of this is only a means to an end.''


    ''And I can''t forget that.''

 Chapter 127 127 – Julian

    <h4>Chapter 127 Chapter 127 ¨C Julian</h4>


    The next day, after he had finished his work and got something to eat, Nick returned to Dark Dream.


    He was about to meet his other teacher, the one who was supposed to teach Nick about his fist weapons.


    When Nick came back to Dark Dream, he saw a new person waiting for him in front of Wyntor''s office.


    Naturally, Wyntor was also present, and the two of them were talking.


    Nick assumed that this was his new teacher, but he wouldn''t have guessed that based on the person''s appearance.


    The person was a very young man. At least, that was how he looked like.


    He was about 170 centimeters tall, and he had this extremely bright and innocent smile.


    Even more, his stature seemed very thin and agile. It was almost like the person was a sprinter or runner.


    His hair was a calm blue, and he seemed like a very rxed person.


    Butpared to Man, this person wore the uniform of an Expert from Kugelblitz, which meant he was much more powerful than Man.


    A level four Zephyx Extractor!


    Someone on the same level as Albert!


    Yet, he seemed so very different from Man.


    It was almost like their genders were reversed.


    Man was big, powerful, and dominant.


    This guy was small, refined, and gentle.


    After looking for a bit, Nick walked over.


    The man slowly turned to look at Nick with his bright blue eyes and gently waved with a heartfelt smile.


    "There you are, Nick," Wyntor said with a slightly excited voice.


    Nick could tell that Wyntor really enjoyed talking to this guy based on his tone.


    "Julian, this is your new student, my Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick," Wyntor said, looking at the man and gesturing to Nick.


    Julian smiled and offered his hand. "Nice to meet you, Nick. I''m Julian, and I''m going to be your trainer for fist weapons."


    Nick looked at the hand for a bit and decided to shake it.


    After meeting Man for the first time, Nick had be a bit unsure whether or not he was supposed to shake the hand.


    As soon as Nick touched Julian''s hand, his eyes widened.


    ''So hard and rough!'' Nick thought in shock.


    It was like Nick had touched the hand of a humongous metallic titan that had beenpressed into a tiny shape.


    There was so much explosive power in the hand.


    Nevertheless, the handshake was gentle, and Nick didn''t feel any pain.


    After Nick had felt Julian''s hand, he actually looked at it.


    It was like the hand didn''t belong to the man in front of him!


    While Julian seemed like a gentle and peaceful small boy, his hand was rough and filled with aggressive and powerful veins that expanded and shrunk in sync with Julian''s heartbeat.


    Naturally, Julian noticed Nick''s reaction, but he only chuckled a bit and slowly pulled his hand back. "I get that reaction all the time," he said with a soft voice. "I take it as apliment."


    "Sorry," Nick said. "I didn''t expect such a strong hand."


    "Harmony and discord are two sides of the same coin," Julian said.


    "Harmony requires gentleness, and discord requires power."


    "You can only live in harmony when people don''t want discord with you, but when people want harmony, you must be gentle. Otherwise, there is no harmony but only fear."


    "Learning this principle will help you with your position," Julian said with a smile.


    Nick listened intently and thought about Julian''s words.


    Nick took these words seriously since they came from an actual Expert.


    Experts were the elite of Kugelblitz, and every one of them had incredible power.


    ''He''s probably also far older than he looks,'' Nick thought. ''Bing an Expert would take me many years. Maybe even decades.''


    ''He most likely knows what he is talking about.''


    "Thank you. I will remember that," Nick said.


    Julian just nodded and turned to Wyntor. "Do you have a ce where we can train?"


    "There''s a gym about 500 meters from here, but I don''t think it is durable enough to withstand you," Wyntor said.


    Julianughed. "That''s fine. I can keep myself in check."


    Wyntor alsoughed and told Julian where he could find the gym.


    After a bit more talking, Julian and Nick walked out of Dark Dream to go to the gym.


    Nick subconsciously assumed a position behind Julian.


    Julian just had this irresistible Aura of reliability, power, and trust.


    He subconsciously made people want to follow him.


    Julian didn''t look at Nick, who was following behind him, and only shook his head a bit with a helpless smile.


    "Can I ask you something?" Nick asked after some hesitation.


    "Sure," Julian said, turning to Nick with a smile.


    "You''re an Expert, right?"


    Julian nodded wordlessly.


    "Don''t take this the wrong way, but why is someone as powerful as you teaching a Newbie like me?" Nick asked. "I don''t think Wyntor has the funds to hire someone like you."


    Julianughed a bit. "Of course he does."


    Nick raised his eyebrows in surprise.


    "After all, my services are not very expensive."


    "In fact, I''m not getting paid at all."


    This surprised Nick even more.


    "But then, why?" he asked.


    "I''ll tell you when we are there," Julian said with a yful smirk.


    Nick was still confused, but he followed after Julian.


    After some minutes, the two reached the gym and entered.


    The gym was a huge hall that was nearly a hundred meters long.


    Gyms like these catered to normal people and Zephyx Extractors.


    After all, where was a Zephyx Extractor supposed to find a ce to exercise?


    If a Veteran identally kicked a wall, the wall would break into pieces and fly away.


    Of course, since this gym was in the Outer City and not the Inner City, it only catered to normal people and Newbies.


    As soon as the two of them entered, the trainer at the counter looked at Julian like he was a Specter.


    The trainer immediately told Julian that he was so sorry, but he couldn''t offer a training room for someone this powerful.


    Julian just assured him that he wasn''t the one training and that he wouldn''t damage anything.


    Eventually, the trainer relented and gave the two of them a room for free.


    He was using the opportunity to get some publicity.

 Chapter 128 128 – A Wager

    <h4>Chapter 128 Chapter 128 ¨C A Wager</h4>


    The two of them entered the room and closed the door.


    This was the biggest room the gym had to offer, and it was over ten meters wide and long, with many different small pieces of equipment in a couple of closets at the side.


    Julian walked around and tested the ground a bit. "If you''re careful, you can probably use almost all of your power."


    The ground and walls were made of extremely dense and cold metal.


    In fact, the wall felt almost identical to the wall of the first Containment Unit Dark Dream had bought.


    Nick nodded. "Sounds good."


    Julian turned away from Nick and smiled.


    He remained silent for a while.


    Nick raised an eyebrow in uncertainty.


    "I''m not here because of Wyntor," Julian said.


    "You''re not?" Nick asked in surprise.


    Julian shook his head while facing away from Nick.


    The next moment, Nick''s ability activated.


    It seemed like Julian could no longer perceive Nick.


    Two secondster, Nick''s ability deactivated again.


    Julian hadn''t moved.


    A secondter, Nick''s ability reactivated.


    And deactivated.


    And reactivated.


    And finally, deactivated again.


    Julian just chuckled a bit and shook his head in helplessness.


    "Wow," he said. "It''s really impossible to perceive. No matter what I do, I can''t see any sign of it."


    Nick''s eyes widened, and his heart rate shot up as he realized what these words meant.


    "You know?" Nick asked in shock and nervousness.


    "I''m here because of Albert," Julian said as he turned to face Nick with a smile.


    "Albert and I are close friends, and he told me about you."


    "Yes, that includes your ability as well."


    Nick became nervous.


    An Extractor''s ability was their deepest secret.


    After all, if an enemy knew about the Extractor''s ability, they could counter it, and Nick''s ability was especially weak to counters.


    Of course, Nick also felt betrayed by Albert.


    How could Albert tell someone else about Nick''s ability?


    "Don''t worry," Julian said with a chuckle. "While I am employed by Kugelblitz, I don''t belong to them. I am not allowed to tell you the specifics, but I won''t tell your secret to anyone, even if you were to somehow threaten Kugelblitz."


    Of course, Nick didn''tpletely believe Julian, but there was nothing he could do.


    Julian knew Nick''s secret, and that was that.


    "So, you''re here because of my ability?" Nick asked.


    "Partially," Julian answered. "I''m also here because of your personality."


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "Albert described you as very idealistic and altruistic. While there are many people that are idealistic, people from the Dregs don''t tend to be."


    "The darkest facets of humanity are proudly on disy for all the people in the Dregs to see while the good facets hide far away."


    "A brutal andwless arena breeds cynical people and idealistic corpses."


    "Idealistic survivors are rare. Especially when they have essentially grown up without any parents in such a ce."


    Nick had an expression of uncertainty on his face.


    He agreed with Julian, or he would have, at least.


    Sadly, things were a bit different.


    This entire thing with Pator and Horua made Nick feel like all the happiness and magic of the world had vanished.


    "You don''t agree?" Julian asked, looking at Nick.


    Nick sighed. "I used to be like that, but not anymore."


    "Howe?" Julian asked.


    "Some things happened," Nick said.


    Silence.


    "I presume you don''t want to talk about it?"


    Nick looked to the side with uncertainty.


    "It would take too long. Also, we are supposed to train, right?" Nick said.


    "Getting to know you is important to me, Nick," Julian said. "If you are fine with it, I am willing to listen."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He wanted to tell someone about his troubles, and Julian seemed very trustworthy.


    Somehow, Nick felt like Julian was a person worth trusting.


    "Okay," Nick said.


    Then, Nick told Julian about Horua and Pator and how all of this had impacted and changed him.


    "So, you are idealistic but no longer na?ve," Julian said.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "I''m not sure anymore."


    "You want to improve the lives of others, right?" Julian said. "You want to help all the people of the Dregs, even though they have never done anything for you."


    "I don''t think many people would want to do something as selfless as this."


    Nick looked with uncertainty to the side. "I don''t know," he said.


    By now, Nick felt deted again.


    The hole in his chest had returned.


    He might distract himself every day, but in the end, that was what life was for him.


    A distraction.


    In the end, the suffering and guilt still consumed his insides, and feeling better on the outside didn''t help.


    "How old are you?" Julian asked.


    "16," Nick answered.


    "Still quite young," Julian said. "How strong is your conviction? How much do you want to help others?"


    Nick looked at Julian calmly. "It''s the only reason why I''m still alive."


    Julian looked at Nick with interest. "What if you change?"


    "What do you mean?" Nick asked.


    "What if you get a lover, a high status, a child, or something simr?"


    "If all your life''s wishes have been handed to you, will you still continue holding onto this altruistic dream of yours?"


    "When people betray you again and again, will you still try to improve the lives of humanity?"


    Nick didn''t answer immediately as he thought about his answer.


    "Yes," Nick said. "I owe as much to Horua. He would have wanted me to help others."


    "And your feeling of duty is so strong that it will even hold firm decades in the future?" Julian asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yes."


    At that moment, Julian turned away from Nick, and a grin appeared on his face.


    "Care to bet on it?" Julian asked.


    Nick looked with surprise and confusion at Julian, who was looking away from Nick at that moment.


    "A bet?"


    "Yes, a bet," Julian said.


    Nick furrowed his brows as he wasn''t quite sure where that hade from.


    Meanwhile, something horrific was happening.


    Julian''s eyes vanished, and several smirking mouths filled his face.


    "A wager, if you will," the mouths spoke in unison, creating ayered voice that rippled through the room.


    Nick''s eyes became unfocused.


    "A wager?" Nick repeated with a distant and confused voice.


    "Yes," the many mouths answered.


    "Of course, a wager is boring without any stakes."


    "Are you interested?"


    Nick''s nk eyes looked at the back of Julian''s head.


    "Sure, why not?"

 Chapter 129 129 – He’s a Great Guy

    <h4>Chapter 129 Chapter 129 ¨C He''s a Great Guy</h4>


    "I had a lot of fun today! Sorry for taking up your time," Julian said with a friendly smile.


    "No problem, you helped me a lot!" Nick said with a grin.


    After Nick had told Julian about his issues, Julian talked with Nick for a couple of hours about what to do.


    Julian told Nick that he was trying to atone for something that couldn''t be atoned for.


    Nick was still young, and he hadn''t been ready for such a big responsibility.


    Julian said that Nick had to live his own life and that Horua''s fate was because Wyntor hadn''t properly informed Nick about everything.


    After all, if Wyntor had told Nick about what would happen if Horua refused to be an Extractor after seeing the Dreamer, Nick wouldn''t have made Horua sign the contract, right?


    Therefore, Nick wasn''t the one at fault.


    It was Wyntor.


    So, why was Nick trying to atone for something that wasn''t his fault?


    Additionally, Nick had always only lived for himself since the people of the Dregs always shunned him.


    Julian said that it seemed like Nick was just trying to help all these people because he wanted to belong to amunity.


    Nick was desperately trying to be a part of amunity, which was why he was willing to sacrifice everything he had to help people who only despised him.


    The things that Julian said made a lot of sense, but Nick just couldn''t ept them emotionally.


    Sure, maybe he was actually trying to help people who didn''t deserve it, but his emotions were telling him that a human should help other humans.


    The instinct to help others was inherent to every human.


    So, wasn''t helping others just being human?


    Was it wrong to be human?


    Julian told Nick that he was free to do whatever he wanted but that he should always consider all sides.


    After such a long talk, Julian had also confessed something to Nick.


    He wasn''t actually Nick''s trainer.


    He was someone higher up in Kugelblitz who simply wanted to meet Nick and talk to him.


    The actual trainer woulde tomorrow.


    However, Nick wasn''t angry at Julian.


    After all, Nick felt a bit better after talking to Julian.


    Maybe Julian was right about some things.


    For example, Julian had also said that Nick''s imagination of what Horua wanted sounded too idealistic.


    Would a boy truly want to save the ce that would have thrown him out of his house as ast wish?


    It sounded more realistic that the boy would want these people to pay for all the things they had done.


    Nick didn''t like that thought, but it actually sounded possible.


    Of course, they had talked about more things, but for some reason, a huge part of his talk with Julian had be blurry.


    ''We have talked about so many different things that I can''t even tell how much we have talked about and for how long. I feel like I already forgot half of what we talked about,'' Nick thought as he rubbed his head.


    After a minute, Nick managed to focus again, and he looked up.


    Julian was gone.


    ''He probably already went home,'' Nick thought as he walked out of the gym.


    As Nick walked down the streets, he just kept rubbing his head.


    It was like all his memories and thoughts were jumbled up.


    In the end, he decided to ignore it and got some food.


    During his sleep, Nick dreamt of many gigantic mouths surrounding him and talking to him.


    The voices were so loud and droning, and he felt like what they were saying was something that he couldn''t possibly do.


    He tried to run from the mouths, but new ones just kept appearing around him.


    For an eternity, Nick just kept running.


    While he was running, Nick became angrier and angrier.


    It was like all the people around Nick were telling him that they hated him and that they wanted him to die.


    The mouths hurt Nick.


    They represented all the people of the Dregs who had ridiculed him when he was younger.


    Eventually, Nick woke up and went to work.


    "Hey, Nick. How was training?" Wyntor asked from his office.


    "He didn''t tell you?" Nick asked.


    "No?" Wyntor answered in confusion.


    "Julian isn''t my trainer," Nick said. "He acted like he was my trainer so that he could talk to me alone."


    "Oh, that''s understandable," Wyntor said with a dismissive wave. "Julian is a busy man, but he''s very trustworthy."


    "I know," Nick said. "By the way, where did you meet Julian?"


    "I don''t know," Wyntor said casually. "Maybe he led me around Kugelblitz or something like that."


    "Oh, that could be it," Nick said, epting the answer. "Who is my actual teacher, by the way?"


    "It''s someone called Reynold," Wyntor answered. "He was supposed toe yesterday, but Julian said that he had told Reynold that he would do your training."


    "But since he won''t do it now, I should probably call Reynold again. I''ll get back to him and tell him that he''s your teacher again."


    Nick nodded. "Great. By the way, do you know how I can reach Julian?"


    "No idea," Wyntor said.


    "You don''t know where he lives?"


    "No."


    "Can''t you just contact him via Kugelblitz?"


    "Julian doesn''t work for Kugelblitz," Wyntor said.


    "Oh," Nick said. "So, I can''t reach him?"


    "I don''t know where he is," Wyntor said, "but when we need him, I''m sure he will pop up."


    "Probably," Nick said with a nod. "Anyway, I''m going to work now."


    "Good luck," Wyntor said, returning to writing on a piece of paper.


    Nick entered the Dreamer''s Containment Unit, and two minutester, he was asleep.


    As soon as Nick started to dream, all the mouths returned, and they kept telling Nick that he should kill everyone.


    But just a couple of momentster, all the mouths vanished, and two dead eyes from an owl appeared in the sky of Nick''s dream world.


    For just a moment, the dead eyes focused on the vanishing mouths.


    And then, Nick was transported into a torture room where he was forced to torture Horua.

 Chapter 130 130 – Reynold

    <h4>Chapter 130 Chapter 130 ¨C Reynold</h4>


    Eventually, Nick was woken up by Jenny, and he left the Containment Unit.


    When he checked the produced Zephyx, Nick realized that the amount had dropped just a bit.


    ''If my suffering in the nightmare is what produces Zephyx, it means that I have not suffered as much.''


    ''I''m sure that the Dreamer is still trying its best to squeeze as much suffering as it can out of me, but the drop in Zephyx means that it just can''t make me suffer as much anymore.''


    Nick released a sigh of relief and let out a tiny smile.


    ''Thank you, Julian. You really helped me.''


    But then, Nick shook his head and took a deep breath.


    ''That doesn''t change anything,'' Nick thought. ''What''s the point of feeling good? I''m not a ve to my emotions, and I have an actual goal that I want to achieve.''


    ''Suffering.''


    ''Happiness.''


    ''Both are irrelevant.''


    Then, Nick nodded with conviction and dealt with the Zephyx that was produced.


    Wyntor said that Reynold had agreed again to train Nick, and he would be here in an hour.


    Nick got some food and grabbed his weapons.


    He left his spears at home, which made him feel a bit naked, but he still wasn''t strong enough to wear all of his weapons at once.


    At least not as long as his ability wasn''t active.


    With his ability active, carrying all his spears and fist weapons would be like a normal adult carrying about eight to ten kilos on their person.


    It wasn''t nice, but it was definitely manageable.


    About ten minutes to three p.m., Nick walked into Dark Dream, and he quickly noticed his new trainer.


    Nick already knew that he was called Reynold since Wyntor had mentioned his name.


    Reynold was a little bit smaller than Man, but he seemed double as wide.


    While Man was thin and tall, Reynold was filled with explosive muscle.


    However, even though Reynold was quite wide, Nick could easily tell that there was no unnecessary fat on his person.


    Just like Man, Reynold wore the uniform of a Veteran of Kugelblitz.


    In a way, that relieved Nick.


    Julian had seemed just too powerful for a trainer, and Nick had felt like he was wasting Julian''s time.


    As Reynold talked to Wyntor, his boisterous, casual, and friendly voice echoed throughout Dark Dream.


    His voice was very deep, and heughed a lot.


    "Well, we''ll see about that!" Reynold said to Wyntor with a boisterousugh.


    Nick could hear Reynold from over five meters away.


    "Oh, Nick, my boy!" Reynold shouted with an excited smile. "You came at just the right time. I was just making a bet with Wyntor about when you will crack under my tough training!"


    Wyntor was smiling, but Nick could tell that he was a bit ufortable with the loud and dominant presence of Reynold.


    "A bet?" Nick repeated as his eyes zed over.


    ''A bet?''


    ''A wager?''


    Nick felt like he had forgotten something important, but he quickly shook his head to regain his bearings.


    Getting distracted in front of his new teacher wouldn''t leave a good impression.


    "Oh?" Nick said as he approached Reynold. "What do you two think?"


    "I have full trust in you," Wyntor said.


    Nick smiled a little.


    "Ahahaha! Good! Good!" Reynold shouted as he loudly pped in his hands a couple of times. "Truepanionship and trust. I love it!"


    "But we can''t just ignore the facts," Reynold added with a smirk as he bumped Nick''s shoulder with his fist.


    Nick didn''t rub his shoulder, but he was in quite a bit of pain.


    However, he could tell that Reynold genuinely didn''t mean it.


    He was just careless and was living in the moment.


    "I''ll say you won''t get to the tenth day," Reynold said with a smirk. "Sorry, Nick, my boy, but that''s just genuinely what I think. You''re just 16, and you still need to experience a couple of setbacks to truly attain the grit to put your everything into your goal."


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    In a way, he was a bit insulted by Reynold''s words, but he could also tell that Reynold wasn''t trying to put Nick down.


    He was just very confident.


    "So, you agree? Ten days of training?" Wyntor asked.


    Reynold looked at Wyntor with a smirk. "Aren''t you greedy? Yes, I agree!"


    The next moment, Reynold and Wyntor shook hands.


    "You''re about to lose a lot of money and dignity, Little Wyntor," Reynold shouted happily with augh.


    However, there was also a smirk on Wyntor''s face.


    "Nick," he said, making Nick look at him, "could you please tell your new teacher about your other teacher?"


    At that moment, Reynold became quiet and looked at Wyntor with a serious and evaluating gaze.


    Nick was taken aback by how quickly Reynold''s demeanor had changed.


    Just now, he had seemed like someone who went out to party all the time with the boys, but now, he felt like a serious and reliable warrior.


    ''Sure enough, Extractors that can get into Kugelblitz are outstanding,'' Nick thought before answering.


    "Man," Nick said, looking at Reynold.


    Reynold blinked a couple of times.


    "Which one?" he asked with a slightly nervous voice.


    "What do you mean, which one?" Wyntor said with a confident chuckle. "There''s only one Man."


    Reynold took a deep breath as he looked at Nick differently.


    "And you managed to get through four days of training under Man?" he asked.


    Nick nodded. "Her training is amazing. I would have never thought I would learn so much in just four days."


    Reynold grabbed his hair with two of his hands and looked up in a melodramatic pose of tragedy.


    "And yet again, I fell victim to my own confidence," he said before taking a deep breath.


    Then, he loudlyughed again. "Well done! Well done! You managed to pull one over me, Little Wyntor," Reynold said to him. "Seems like you will get some free training out of me."


    Wyntor just smiled. "Thank you."


    Reynold chuckled a bit and shook his head.


    "I was sure that the other teacher would be William. To think that you managed to convince Man."


    Then, Reynold sighed.

 Chapter 131 131 – Whirlwind

    <h4>Chapter 131 Chapter 131 ¨C Whirlwind</h4>


    After exchanging a couple more words, Reynold and Nick left Dark Dream.


    "Hey Nick, you know of any good ces to fight?" Reynold asked.


    "There''s a gym nearby," Nick said.


    "Eh, that''s not good," Reynold said. "If I identally punch too hard, I''ll have to pay for their room. You know of a different ce? Doesn''t even have to be very sturdy. Just big."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "I don''t know of such a ce," Nick said. "There are a couple of abandoned ces in the Dregs, but they are filled with houses or rubble. There''s nothing like a wide arena."


    "Abandoned ces?" Reynold repeated with a smirk. "Can you show me one?"


    "Sure," Nick said.


    Then, Reynold started tough loudly, but he didn''t tell Nick why he wasughing.


    After a bit of walking, Nick jumped on top of one of the buildings at the edge of the Dregs and showed the empty houses to Reynold.


    "This ce has nearly no one since no one from the Outer City wants to live here, and nobody from the Dregs dares to live here. That means almost all of these houses were permanently empty. I''m not even sure who built them," Nick said.


    Reynold grinned as he looked at the houses.


    "Oh, this is going to be fun!" he said before jumping off the building.


    The ground quaked when Reynold jumped, and the house beneath him almost broke into pieces.


    That was very different from when Man jumped.


    Nick looked with surprise as Reynold jumped over 100 meters into the distance without a running start.


    Boom.


    Nick''s eyes widened as he saw a cloud of dust explode when Reynoldnded.


    Even more, the house hended on had turned into nothing but rubble.


    It was almost like a meteor had fallen on one of the houses.


    Then, Nick saw Reynold jump out of the destroyed house.


    He flew almost 50 meters into the air before hended on the neighboring house.


    BOOOM!


    The house exploded, and the metallic rubble shot in all directions.


    BOOM BOOM BOOM!


    Then, Nick saw one piece of rubble flying away after the other as Reynold unleashed punches and kicks at crazy speeds!


    It was almost like Reynold had transformed into a whirlwind of violence!


    In fewer than 30 seconds, Reynold had actually cleared the entire area hended in of rubble.


    He had destroyed a house and cleaned it up in no time at all!


    Of course, the rubble wasn''t truly "cleaned up".


    After all, the rubble was now stuck in all the surrounding houses.


    Nick could only take a deep breath.


    He had often envisioned the powers of a Veteran, but the only demonstration he had ever seen had been by Man when she had thrown her spear.


    But this time, Nick truly saw what a Veteran could do.


    This was no longer in the realm of what humans could do!


    Reynold kicked metallic pieces several tons heavy into the distance like they were toys!


    When he was done with the second house, he went back to the first house and cleaned that as well.


    Then, Reynold just cleaned his hands with a satisfied smirk.


    Reynold had created a sizable empty space, and with the border covered in a wall of rubble, it almost looked like an actual arena.


    "Hey, Nick! What''re you waiting for?!" Reynold shouted with an excited smile.


    Nick scratched the back of his head before shrugging and jumping from house to house to reach Reynold in his new arena.


    When Nick reached the arena, he noticed something.


    There were two sizable holes in the ground.


    Nick knew exactly where they hade from and looked at Reynold.


    "Howe you''re not dirty?" Nick asked. "You fell into the sewers, right?"


    Yes, the holes were where Reynold hadnded.


    With his force and weight, he had shot through the house and the floor like a cannonball, and by all intents and purposes, he must havended in the sewers.


    Yet, there was no bit of water on him.


    Reynold justughed loudly.


    Ding! Ding!


    Then, he knocked on the air around him, and Nick saw something ripple around Reynold.


    "Oh, your Barrier, right," Nick said.


    Naturally, a Veteran working for Kugelblitz had ess to amazing equipment, and the Barriers they could use were probably just as amazing.


    "I have to admit, though, I was spooked for a bit," Reynold shouted with loudughter. "When I was submerged in the water down below, I felt the presence of the Nightmare and jumped away real quick!"


    Reynold just keptughing like something hrious had happened.


    One had to remember that, even though Reynold was incredibly powerful, he was just as helpless in front of the Nightmare as a normal person.


    "What''re you waiting for, Nick?" Reynold asked with a grin.


    Nick was a bit confused.


    "This arena isn''t big enough," Reynold said. "We gotta get rid of two more houses."


    "I took care of two, and now you have to take care of the other two."


    Nick raised his brows in surprise as he looked at the houses surrounding him.


    Everyone was used to seeing houses all the time, but when one seriously considered destroying one, one would realize how big these houses actually were.


    "Destroy a house?" Nick repeated in confusion.


    "Yeah, go ahead. Just like me," Reynold shouted with augh.


    Nick scratched the back of his head.


    He could guess that this was already part of his training, but he could also tell that this kind of training was very different from Man''s training.


    Nick looked at the des on his arms and furrowed his brows.


    "Oh, wait a second," Reynold said. "Those are no good for such a task."


    Nick raised an eyebrow and looked at Reynold.


    "Luckily, I expected that you might need some weapons for our training," Reynold said as he took out something from behind his back.


    Nick could see two heavy brown gauntlets and two heavy brown greaves that included two armored shoes.


    "Your weapons are made for killing," Reynold said with a smirk.


    "These are made for violence!"

 Chapter 132 132 – No Thinking

    <h4>Chapter 132 Chapter 132 ¨C No Thinking</h4>


    Nick looked at the four weapons with surprise and took off his own weapons.


    "Where should I put these?" Nick asked, gesturing to his silver weapons.


    "Just throw them in the corner somewhere," Reynold said dismissively.


    This surprised Nick a bit. "No respect for the craftsmanship?"


    Reynold shook his head in confusion. "Wait, what?"


    "You know, treating weapons with respect," Nick said. "Man told me that we are supposed to treat our weapons with respect."


    "Why?" Reynold asked in genuine confusion. "They''re objects. They''re not alive. They don''t care."


    Nick scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, but Man said that a lot of work goes into creating these sorts of weapons and that we should always treat them with respect."


    Reynold snorted. "Man''s too serious and stuck up," he said with a dismissive wave. "We paid the craftsman, right? Therefore, they belong to us, and that means that we can do with them whatever we want."


    "If we want, we can throw them into the sewers and leave. The craftsmen shouldn''t care about what happens to their weapons. They got their money, and that''s what they wanted in the first ce."


    Nick couldn''t really argue with Reynold.


    Logically speaking, Reynold was right.


    However, Nick also thought that Man was right.


    In the end, Nick just put his weapons on the roof of a building he wouldn''t destroy.


    After that, he grabbed the weapons Reynold had taken out.


    ''Heavy!'' Nick thought as soon as he lifted one of the greaves.


    Nick estimated that the greaves and gauntlets put together were nearly as heavy as all of his spears.


    Reynoldughed loudly as he saw how difficult it was for Nick to put on the greaves and gauntlets.


    It was almost like this was the most hrious thing in the world.


    When Nick was finally done, he stood in the middle of the arena like his feet had been glued there.


    Reynold pped in his hands withughter. "What are you waiting for?! Go!" he shouted in amusement.


    Nick furrowed his brows and awkwardly waddled to one of the houses.


    It was two stories high and almost ten meters long.


    It was a very average house, but to the current Nick, it seemed gigantic.


    He took a deep breath as he looked at the huge task in front of him.


    He had no idea where to start.


    "What are you daydreaming for? Go!" Reynold shouted.


    "I''m nning," Nick shouted back.


    "Nonsense!" Reynold shouted. "That''s what others do, not us!"


    Nick furrowed his brows and turned to Reynold.


    "We are not like them," Reynold said with an arrogant smirk. "nning, strategizing, feinting, retreating, whatever. We don''t do that."


    "We use our fists and legs!"


    "Do you know what that means?"


    Nick looked at Reynold with uncertainty before shaking his head.


    "It means we have more weapons than all of them," Reynold shouted.


    "Everyone else has one or two weapons. Big sword for both hands, two swords for both hands, big club, small clubs, big rifle, two pistols, throwing spears, rapiers, whips, whatever!"


    "They all only have two weapons at most!"


    "We have four!"


    "As long as our enemy is within reach, they are helpless!"


    "We kick and kick and punch and kick and punch and kick and kick and punch and punch and kick until there is nothing left of our enemy!"


    "We attack faster and faster until they can''t defend themselves anymore!"


    "We don''t think!"


    "We punch!"


    "We kick!"


    "We unleash all our aggression and stomp their lights out!"


    "We attack so fast that not even we know what kind of attack we willunch next, and if not even we can know that how will our enemy?"


    Reynoldughed loudly.


    Nick wasn''t usually someone who got pumped and excited, especially not in recent times, but the way Reynold had shouted his sentences made even Nick''s blood boil.


    Nick took a deep breath as his heart rate increased, and he looked at the house again.


    "Go!" Reynold shouted again.


    Nick pulled his right arm back and swung it forward with all of his power.


    BANG!


    He hit the wall in front of him and created a massive dent in it.


    However, the wall hadn''t broken down yet.


    The gauntlet was just way too heavy for Nick to swing properly.


    ''I need to change my-''


    "Don''t stop! Go!" Reynold shouted, interrupting Nick''s thoughts.


    Nick shook his head, gritted his teeth, and unleashed a kick.


    BANG!


    The wall in front of Nick got bent more until it caved in.


    "Do it!" Reynold shouted with aggression. "Fucking do it! Fuck this house!"


    "Destroy it!"


    Nick gritted his teeth and punched again.


    "Fuck it up! This asshole insulted your mother! Kill it!" Reynold shouted aggressively.


    Nick snorted.


    Reynold sure was a character.


    "Fuck it up!"


    "Kill the fucker!"


    However, even though Nick found Reynold''s shouts to be a bit embarrassing and funny, he couldn''t deny that they worked.


    Reynold actually managed to get Nick''s blood pumping.


    Nick continued kicking and punching the house in front of him.


    Things proceeded very well for a couple of minutes, but then Nick started to get exhausted.


    It was so exhausting to punch and kick something without any breaks with such heavy gauntlets and greaves.


    "Me and all my homies hate this house! Destroy it!" Reynold shouted.


    However, Reynold''s shouts kept motivating Nick to continue punching and kicking.


    RUMBLE!


    Eventually, part of the second floor started to copse.


    Nick wanted to jump back, but he felt something kick him into the house.


    "It''s fighting back! Fuck it up!" Reynold shouted while kicking Nick into the house.


    Nick became a bit panicked as the ceiling above him started to copse.


    In his desperation, he performed a powerful punch that bent the heavy metal te that was falling on him.


    Nick felt his entire body shake due to the impact.


    But it had worked.


    The te was not falling on him anymore but on the ground beside him.


    Yet, that wasn''t the end.


    More parts of the ceiling began to copse.


    "FUCK ''EM UP!" Reynold shouted like a violent beast.


    Nick clenched his fists and started to punch the ceiling again.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!

 Chapter 133 133 – Two Methods

    <h4>Chapter 133 Chapter 133 ¨C Two Methods</h4>


    "Alright, that''s about enough," Reynold said as he pulled Nick back by his shoulders.


    Nick''s breathing had be extremelybored and heavy, but his eyes red at the house with pure hatred and aggression.


    After a couple of seconds, Nick''s body sagged, and his breathing became deeper.


    "There we go," Reynold said with a smirk as he let go of Nick, who fell onto his knees in exhaustion.


    "You did good, Nick," Reynold said with augh. "You really fucked that house up!"


    Nick slowly turned to look at the house.


    It was half copsed.


    The front hadpletely copsed, but the back was still at its original height.


    Nick had punched the house for half an hour, and this was the result.


    It had been extremely exhausting, but Nick got quite far.


    "How''s it feel?" Reynold asked, squatting beside Nick.


    Nick thought about it for a bit as he looked at the house.


    "Good," he said.


    Reynoldughed loudly. "That''s the way we like it!" he shouted as he pped Nick''s back, who started to cough.


    "Nick," Reynold said with a quiet voice, for his standards, "we are not thinkers."


    "We are not nners."


    "Our power doesn''te from here," Reynold said as he pointed at his head.


    "Ites from here," he said as he hit his chest with his fist.


    "Our brains might make us move smarter, but our feelings make us move faster."


    "Someone that needs to get home to protect their family from a threat will run much faster than normal."


    "Someone that''s filled with hatred and anger will attack much faster and with more power than normal."


    "Our weapons are the fastest, and the best way to take advantage of that is to make them even faster."


    "Punch faster and faster until nobody can defend anymore!"


    "So what if an enemy sees our attack and blocks it? We just continued punching and kicking, and eventually, their foresight won''t be of help anymore."


    "What good is their intelligence and perception when their bodies can''t move fast enough to defend?" Reynold shouted with a loudugh.


    Nick listened intently to Reynold''s words.


    The things Reynold was teaching Nick were very different from what Man was teaching him.


    Man was very methodical and nning, while Reynold went all out.


    One was the epitome of control, while the other was the epitome of chaos.


    "Break''s over," Reynold said with a smirk before shoving Nick forward. "Come on! Fuck ''em up!"


    Nick took a deep breath and cracked his neck.


    Then, he ran straight into the building violently.


    He had thrown all the caution to the wind and decided to just go crazy, doing whatever his body was telling him to do.


    "Come on! Do it! Fucking do it! Just do it!" Reynold kept shouting.


    The house kept shaking under the impacts, and debris was falling from the house as Nick kept demolishing its insides.


    20 minutester, Reynold pulled Nick out again.


    Nick nearly puked from exhaustion.


    Man''s training was also extremely exhausting, but that kind of exhaustion was different from this one.


    At the end of Man''s training, Nick felt like his body had been abused to its fullest extent, and it basically hurt everywhere.


    But here, Nick felt like he was about to lose consciousness and die.


    With Man, it felt like Nick had exhausted his body.


    With Reynold, it felt like Nick had exhausted his energy.


    Another difference was that Man never gave Nick any breaks, while Reynold forced Nick to take breaks several times.


    "Look at that beauty," Reynold said with a smirk as he looked at the house.


    Nick also looked at the house.


    It had turned into rubble.


    It was just a small hill of broken metal.


    ''That was me,'' Nick thought.


    ''I did this.''


    Nick still remembered how big and intimidating the house had been.


    It had been a huge structure made of metal.


    Now, it had turned into manageable pieces of rubble.


    "Next, you gotta kick and punch the pieces so hard that they stick in the edge of the arena," Reynold said as he pointed at the edges of the arena.


    When Reynold had destroyed the first two houses, he had kicked the rubble to the side with so much power that it got stuck in the surrounding houses, essentially creating a makeshift wall.


    Nick realized that this would be very different from what he had done up until now.


    Destroying the house had required a continued explosion of power, but throwing and burying these things in the surrounding houses required short bursts of power.


    "Come on! Get to it!" Reynold shouted as he shoved Nick forward.


    Nick took a deep breath and charged at the rubble.


    He immediately kicked one of the pieces with all of his power.


    BANG!


    Sadly, the te hit the building with its t side and slid down.


    Nick wanted to go forward and retrieve the te.


    "Forget it!" Reynold shouted. "You''re thinking too much! You only have to bury them in the houses!"


    "You don''t have to throw from a distance!"


    "Just keep punching and kicking at the hill of rubble until it''s gone, and when some pieces are still at the edge of the arena, just stomp them into the buildings like they''re a shitty stamp!"


    "Come on! Faster! Stronger!"


    Nick had already continued to attack the hill of rubble, and soon, many different pieces of debris were essentially flying everywhere.


    Some of them werending in the arena.


    Some of them hit a building and slid down.


    Some of them got buried in a building.


    Nick just kept punching and attacking the rubble.


    This time, there were no breaks.


    Nick''s breaks were between kicking the debris.


    After all, he was now attacking many small pieces instead of one big piece.


    That required many small explosions of power instead of one big one.


    "Faster! Faster! Faster!" Reynold shouted.


    "Fucking do it!"


    "Fuck it up!"


    "Kick the fucker!"


    Under Reynold''s constant shouts of motivation, Nick kept going at the hill of debris.


    He didn''t even notice the time passing.

 Chapter 134 134 – Men and Women

    <h4>Chapter 134 Chapter 134 ¨C Men and Women</h4>


    "And that''s it!" Reynold shouted withughter when he saw Nick punching thest piece of debris into a house wall.


    Since Nick hadn''t managed to make the majority stick to the walls, he just punched and kicked the debris into the walls from melee range.


    As soon as Nick was done, he fell onto his back.


    He didn''t lose consciousness, but he still felt like he couldn''t stay on his feet.


    His entire body was burning and aching, and the heavy weapons Reynold had given him felt like they had fused to Nick''s body.


    For over three minutes, Nick couldn''t even be bothered to think about anything.


    He was just too busy trying to survive and breathe.


    When Reynold saw that Nick''s eyes regained focus, he walked over and squatted down beside Nick, smirking at him.


    "Tough, isn''t it?" Reynold asked.


    Nick was so busy breathing heavily that he only nodded several secondster.


    "Training as a Zephyx Extractor is different from training as a normal person, Nick," Reynold said with a chuckle. "The more Zephyx we have, the quicker our regeneration bes."


    "As a Peak Newbie, you should be able to recover from something like this within 24 hours or so, which is just perfect for our training tomorrow."


    Nick breathed heavily. "Is¡­ training like this¡­ very important?" he asked through gasps.


    Reynold nodded. "Yep. Zephyx is our source of energy, and it also increases the power of our bodies."


    "However, the increase is based on our fitness."


    "For example, Man is very fit and quite big, but her physical power can''tpare to mine."


    "Even though the inherent strength difference between sexes bes less important the stronger we get since the average density of female muscle increases to almost the same density as male muscles, men still tend to train their bodies with more fervor, on average. Obviously, there are exceptions, but on average, that is still the case."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Are you sure?" he asked, slowly sitting up. "This doesn''t seem like Man. Maybe she just prioritizes flexibility and speed over pure strength due to her weapon."


    Reynoldughed and shook his head a bit.


    "That''s an excuse and does not represent the truth. While it is true that an excessive amount of muscle can slow you down, that excessive amount of muscle must truly be excessive."


    Reynold lifted his right arm and flexed it, showing his bulky muscles.


    The next moment, he rxed it and moved it over his shoulder.


    His other arm also moved behind his back but from below.


    After turning around, Nick saw what Reynold was doing.


    Right now, Reynold''s two hands were holding each other behind his back, oneing from above and oneing from below.


    Almost all humans could do something like that, but for someone as muscr as Reynold, this was special.


    Then, Reynold did the splits, eliciting a shocked expression from Nick.


    "Lastly, our weight barely increases as we grow more powerful," Reynold said as he almost seemed to teleport into the distance.


    "Even though I obviously weigh more than Man, it''s, at the absolute most, 100 kilos, and that''s being extremely generous."


    Reynold grinned. "And what''s 100 kilos for a Veteran?"


    Nick couldn''t find a counterargument.


    "But then, why doesn''t she train like that?"


    Reynoldughed loudly.


    "Because she doesn''t want to look like me," Reynold shouted.


    Nick just looked at Reynold for a while.


    That''s it?


    That was the entire reason?


    "It''s understandable, though," Reynold added. "There are a couple of female Extractors in Kugelblitz that have bodies very simr to mine, and damn, they''re scary."


    "If you were to see them, you would immediately think they are men, but the fact that they are women makes this so much scarier."


    "Not in a negative sense, of course. It''s just that being willing to sacrifice your outward appearance for power to this degree shows a terrifying amount of dedication and willpower."


    "They are like iron soldiers, and you can tell their fanatic dedication to bing stronger just from looking into their eyes."


    "I mean, I want to be stronger as well, but damn, I can''tpare to them."


    Reynoldughed some more.


    "I still want to live a little, you know?"


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    It sounded believable, but he still wanted to ask Man in a couple of days.


    "Anyway, enough talking," Reynold said. "We are over."


    "Over?" Nick asked.


    "We''ve been here for three and a half hours," Reynold said.


    "Oh," Nick answered. "Sorry."


    "Nah, it''s fine," Reynold said with a dismissive wave. "We''re just going to rectify that tomorrow."


    "Tomorrow, you deal with the second house in two and a half hours. With your experience from today, this should be doable."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Sure, he would definitely be faster tomorrow, but nearly an entire hour faster?


    That would be brutal.


    It would be just as brutal as today.


    "Not surprising that you thought I would only hold out for ten days or so," Nick said with a sigh.


    Reynoldughed loudly.


    "We''re going to turn you into a bronze titan!" Reynold shouted as he pped Nick''s back.


    "You still have a bit of growing ahead of you, and if you eat enough while training hard, you should be able to squeeze a couple more centimeters out of your body!"


    Nick hadn''t really thought about it before, but now, he realized that he would enjoy being taller.


    "Thank you, Reynold," Nick said as he stood up. "You taught me a lot today."


    "No problem, boy!" Reynold shouted with a loudugh. "I''m going to make a man out of you!"


    Nick alsoughed and nodded.


    "Anyway, gotta go. Work calls!" Reynold said with a wave before he jumped into the distance.


    "See you tomorrow!" Nick shouted after him.


    For a bit, Nick just watched Reynold jumping into the distance.


    He was very impressed by Reynold.


    He was outstanding in basically every department.


    ''If the thing with Horua and Pator hadn''t happened, maybe I would have be someone like this in the future,'' Nick thought.


    ''But now¡­''


    He could only sigh.

 Chapter 135 135 – Playing

    <h4>Chapter 135 Chapter 135 ¨C ying</h4>


    Nick felt like his body was falling apart when he came home after eating two chickens.


    The exhaustion of his body was so insanely deep.


    As soon as he fell into his bed, he almost immediately fell asleep.


    Naturally, since he fell asleep very early, he also woke up very early.


    After Nick woke up, he still felt quite a couple of aches in his body, but they were far duller than yesterday.


    Since he woke up so early, Nick decided to practice his punches and kicks without his weapons.


    Not wearing these heavy weapons and having his ability active made all the movements very different.


    It was almost like his legs and arms shot forward on their own.


    Sadly, Nick had to change locations rather quickly when he heard a couple of creaking noisesing from the floor of his room.


    While he wasn''t hitting anything, the force he was applying to the ground while punching was still significant.


    ''Wait, didn''t I build a ce just for that yesterday?'' Nick thought.


    After looking at the clock, he realized that he still had three hours before he had to get breakfast and get to work.


    So, Nick jumped towards the newly built arena.


    Since Nick hadn''t taken any of his weapons with him, he moved insanely fast.


    However, he also felt a bit naked.


    After walking around with his weapons every day, not carrying some of them felt very strange.


    For the next three hours, Nick practiced several punches and kicks on one of the surrounding houses, but he made sure that he didn''t touch the house that he was supposed to tear down this afternoon.


    Since Nick''s power was now much stronger due to his ability being active, he did more damage to the house than yesterday, but surprisingly, not that much more.


    ''Weapons really make a difference,'' Nick thought. ''I''m five times stronger than yesterday, but I''m just twice as fast in destroying stuff.''


    Nevertheless, Nick kept attacking the house as he tried out different ways of performing a punch.


    While Man always exined in detail how Nick was supposed to do something, Reynold didn''t do that.


    Instead, Reynold let Nick figure things out on his own.


    ''Maybe that''s all I need?'' Nick thought. ''I mean, at some point, if I punch enough times, my punches will be very strong and fast.''


    ''I guess it''s less theory and more practice.''


    Because of that, Nick decided to not think about how he was moving very much and just continued moving, but he still remained cautious that he didn''t overexert himself for his training that afternoon.


    This was only practice, not actual training.


    Eventually, Nick got something to eat and entered Dark Dream.


    "Good morning, Nick," Wyntor said from his office.


    "Morning," Nick answered with a nod.


    "How''s Reynold''s training?" Wyntor asked with a smirk.


    "Exhausting," Nick immediately answered, "but also very good."


    "I presume you can deal with it?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick nodded. "I like his training. I wouldn''t want to quit, even if you wanted me to."


    "Good to hear," Wyntor said.


    After that, Nick worked with the Dreamer and dealt with all of his duties, and before he knew it, it was time for his training with Reynold.


    When Nick arrived at the arena, Reynold was already waiting there.


    "Ready for a new day in hell?" Reynold asked with a loudugh.


    "Yes!" Nick shouted.


    "Good! Good!" Reynold shouted as he threw the four weapons from yesterday to Nick.


    Nick quickly switched into them and nodded at Reynold with conviction.


    "You ready?" Reynold asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "Good," Reynold said.


    Then, Reynold grabbed Nick, lifted him above his head, and threw him at the house he was supposed to tear down like a cannonball.


    "Then get to it!" Reynold shouted with some aggression.


    BOOM! BOOOM!


    Nick shot through the house and came out on the other side.


    Right now, Nick''s blood was already pumping, but not for the same reason as yesterday.


    ''What the fuck?!'' was the only thing Nick could think right now.


    He felt like his body was hurting all over, and he wasn''t even sure if he had broken something or not.


    ''Did I just fly through the entire house?'' Nick thought.


    However, his thoughts were cut short when he hit the house behind that one, which stopped his flight.


    For a while, Nick just remained in the position he hadnded in.


    ''Did that guy just throw me through a fucking house?!'' Nick thought.


    Nick looked at the hole he left behind.


    He could see Reynold through it, who just smirked victoriously.


    "Come on! We don''t have all day!" Reynold shouted.


    Nick shook his head a bit.


    At that moment, Nick felt a hand on his shoulder.


    Reynold had already arrived beside him.


    "Too slow! We gotta hurry up! We only got two and a half hours today!" Reynold said quickly as he started to lift Nick again.


    "Hey! Hey! Hey!" Nick shouted rapidly as he began to il.


    "Here we go!"


    Reynold pulled Nick back with one hand.


    "I bet I can also throw spears!"


    Then, he threw Nick at the house like he was a spear.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Nick shot through the entire thing.


    This time, he had positioned his fists in a way that pointed at the building while also protecting his head.


    Nick felt his bones shake, but it didn''t hurt nearly as much as the first throw.


    On top of that, Nick managed to somewhat change his alignment and managed tond on his feet and knees, sliding for a couple of meters.


    Luckily, the uniform of a Zephyx Extractor was extremely durable, and the skin and flesh on Nick''s knees didn''t get ground off.


    Nick''s breathing had already quickened as his fight or flight instinct kicked in.


    This was actually dangerous!


    "No time for thinking!" Reynold said as he grabbed Nick again.


    "What are you doing?!" Nick shouted in a mix of fear and anger.


    Reynold smiled brightly.


    "ying!"

 Chapter 136 136 – Recovery

    <h4>Chapter 136 Chapter 136 ¨C Recovery</h4>


    For the next hour, Reynold kept grabbing Nick and throwing him through the house.


    Naturally, the house copsed quite quickly, but that didn''t stop Reynold.


    Instead of throwing Nick through the house, Reynold simply threw him into the pile until he got stuck there.


    Nick kept asking what Reynold was doing, and Reynold kept answering with short answers like it was obvious what he was doing.


    ying.


    Having fun.


    "Aren''t you supposed to train me?" Nick asked one time before being thrown again.


    In response, Reynold justughed loudly.


    "Am I not?"


    "No?" Nick said when Reynold pulled him out of the pile like a vegetable.


    "We also gotta learn to defend, my boy!" Reynold shouted as he buried Nick in the debris again.


    "Before you jump, you gotta learn how to fall," Reynold said as he pulled Nick out again.


    "Today, I''m the one having fun!" Reynold shouted with loudughter.


    For once, he didn''t immediately throw Nick into the pile again.


    "You just have to learn to defend from what''sing!"


    Nick gulped.


    After that, Reynold changed his grip on Nick and held one of his ankles with his right arm.


    "Whooooaaa!" Nick shouted as Reynold swung him around like a towel.


    "Here goes!" Reynold shouted with a mad grin.


    BANG!


    Then, he used Nick like a stick and hit the pile with him.


    A big part of the metallic debris exploded and scattered.


    At the same time, some blood also sshed around.


    Nick had protected his head with his forearms, but his forearms had received several cuts.


    "That''s no good!" Reynold shouted when he saw the blood. "You gotta use your weapons to defend, not your naked body!"


    Before Nick could think about how he was supposed to do that, Reynold hit him into the pile again.


    More blood.


    "Come on!" Reynold shouted.


    BANG!


    "Ya gotta learn how to defend!"


    BANG!


    Several bruises had appeared on Nick''s arms by now, and he was in a lot of pain.


    However, Nick could deal with the pain.


    After all, in the sewers, the Nightmare had put him through pain that was much, much worse.


    Additionally, the more often Reynold swung Nick, the easier it became for Nick to defend.


    The way Reynold swung Nick was almost identical every single time, and Nick had learned how to defend himself in this case.


    "Good!" Reynold shouted with augh when he saw that Nick''s injuries stopped increasing.


    So, Reynold turned Nick and grabbed one of his wrists instead.


    BANG!


    Nick''s t body hit the pile.


    At that moment, Nick''s mind stopped working.


    The power of the hit had been so strong that Nick felt unable to breathe.


    It was like all of his organs tried to curl up.


    "No time to rx!" Reynold shouted as he lifted Nick again.


    At this point, Nick just wanted to get out.


    The hits earlier were bad, but they just hurt.


    These ones, on the other hand, felt genuinely dangerous.


    Nick grabbed Reynold''s hand and tried to pull his own hand out.


    CRK!


    "FUCK! Okay! Okay!" Nick shouted as he let go of Reynold.


    Just now, Reynold had strengthened his grip, and Nick felt like his wrist was about to break in two!


    "This is training, Nick! You can''t run from training!" Reynold said with a smirk.


    BANG!


    Reynold hit Nick into the pile again.


    This time, Nick managed to protect his torso by pulling his knees to his chest.


    His shins hurt a lot, but it was better thanst time.


    Over the next couple of times, Nick became better and better at this until he even managed to directlynd on his feet.


    "Good job!" Reynold shouted with a grin. "Next!"


    Reynold grabbed Nick at a seemingly random spot, jumped away from the pile, and threw him without any control at the pile.


    Nick''s body was spinning uncontrobly through the air, and Nick felt himself hit the pile with his ass first.


    Once more, Nick started to receive injuries.


    Reynold grabbed him at a different random spot and carelessly flung him at the pile again.


    Nick spun uncontrobly again.


    This happened several more times.


    But slowly, Nick learned to adapt.


    He managed to somewhat control the way his body was rotating in the air and how to tell where he currently was.


    Nick started to hit the pile with his arms and legs more and more.


    Until one moment¡­


    BANG!


    Nick hit the pile with the soles of his feet and stopped his momentum by kneeling down.


    Naturally, the force of the throw still pushed him and the pile quite a bit, but Nick had essentially stabilized his position.


    At this moment, Nick was very injured.


    Blood wasing out from all over his body, and if he hadn''t known about his increased recovery rate due to his Zephyx, he would have already tried to stop the training out of fear.


    The pain was bad, but Nick''s adrenaline did a great job suppressing it.


    "Well done!" Reynold shouted before he grabbed Nick again.


    Then, he just threw Nick in a random direction.


    He wasn''t even aiming for the pile anymore.


    This time, Nick had to learn tond on t ground and on vertical walls, but with his previous experience, he quickly got used to it.


    After that, Reynold also randomly changed the angle at which he was throwing Nick.


    Sometimes, Nick flew almost perfectly straight into the air, and other times, he skidded across the floor like a pebble skipping across a river.


    Nick became better and better.


    Finally, Reynold wasn''t even throwing Nick anymore.


    Now, Reynold was "lightly" punching and kicking Nick.


    These punches and kicks were not designed to injure him but to throw and push him.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    In no time at all, Nick started to recover very quickly after every punch and kick, and he even managed to see Reynolding before he actually grabbed his body.


    At that moment, Nick realized how much he had actually learned today.


    He was able to recover from such powerful punches and kicks so quickly!


    That was incredible!

 Chapter 137 137 – First Week

    <h4>Chapter 137 Chapter 137 ¨C First Week</h4>


    "HAHAHAHA! Good! Good!" Reynold shouted withughter as he pped loudly.


    By now, Nick had stopped bleeding.


    Sure, there were plenty of dried clots of blood all over his body, but he was no longer actively bleeding from anywhere.


    "That should about do it!" Reynold shouted as he slowly approached Nick.


    Nick felt nervous when Reynold was approaching him, but he just kept telling himself that the training was over.


    After all, why else would Reynold slowly walk towards Nick like this?


    Nevertheless, after being thrown around for who knew how long, Nick still felt nervous.


    Since he now also had some time to calm down, Nick also looked around the arena.


    Sure enough, all the debris had been thrown into the border of the arena.


    The entire house had been destroyed and cleaned up.


    ''To think that Reynold did all of this by swinging me around,'' Nick thought.


    It was so bizarre.


    Nick had once thought about destroying a house, but he had never thought about being the tool of someone that destroyed said house.


    "Reynold, you taught me so much today," Nick said with a sigh as he realized how stark the difference between the start of today''s training and now was.


    In the beginning, Nick was getting injured by everything, but now, he feltfortable being thrown around in any imaginable way.


    If he were to fight someone more powerful than him, Nick would at least be able to recover from a powerful attack and continue running away.


    If Nick were attacked by someone much stronger, it would be over as soon as the enemy managed to throw Nick to the ground, but with this training, such a throw might even be an opportunity for Nick.


    After all, not everyone would expect Nick to suddenly flip in the air, which might result in them misjudging the trajectory of their target and crashing against a building or something.


    That was an extremely important skill to have.


    "It''s what I do," Reynold shouted with a loudugh.


    Then, he turned to the arena and grandly gestured towards it. "Also, our arena is finally done! Next week, we can truly start training!"


    "Next week? Oh, right!" Nick said, realizing that they only had two days of training this week.


    Man had four days, and Reynold had three days, but this week, he only had two due to Julian having taken one of them.


    This meant that Nick would only see Reynold again in five days since he would spend the next four with Man.


    "Howte is it?" Nick asked.


    Reynold looked at something on his wrist.


    When Nick had first seen this thing, he had been awestruck.


    A clock for a wrist!


    He hadn''t even known that was possible!


    "We are about done. We cleaned the house in two and a half hours," Reynold said with a grin.


    "You threw me around for two and a half hours?" Nick asked.


    Reynold justughed loudly. "How else are you going to learn? You know, not everyone gets the opportunity to be flung around like this for hours on end."


    Nick couldn''t disagree.


    "Anyway, I''m looking forward to our three days next week," Reynold said.


    Nick nodded. "Thanks again."


    "No problem, my boy," Reynold said as he pped Nick''s shoulder again.


    The two of them gave their farewells and split up.


    Nick went to buy some food, and for the evening, he decided to focus on getting reacquainted with his spears in the training area that Man had shown him.


    Nick''s first week of training with his weapons was officially over, and he had learned a lot.


    Next day, he met Man at the training ground again.


    After spending two days with Reynold, Man didn''t seem as big as before to Nick.


    Man nodded when she saw Nick. "Get warmed up. You know how," she ordered.


    Nick nodded, jumped down the building, and used his spears to get to the five spots in the training field.


    It took Nick just seven minutes while carrying all five of his spears.


    When he arrived back on top of the building, Man looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You move differently," shemented.


    "I do?" Nick repeated in surprise.


    How was he moving differently?


    "It''s like you''re no longer afraid of stumbling or falling over," Man exined.


    "Oh, yeah," Nick said with a nod. "My other teacher taught me yesterday."


    "Yesterday?" Man asked with furrowed brows. "I don''t think that''s something that can be taught in just a single day. Who''s your teacher?"


    "He''s also a Veteran from Kugelblitz," Nick said.


    Man didn''t show any reaction.


    "It''s a pretty big guy called Reynold. He''s teaching me how to fight with my fist weapons," Nick said.


    A light appeared in Man''s eyes. "Reynold? The loud one?"


    "Yes, the loud one," Nick answered with a chuckle.


    Man nodded. "How did he teach you?" she asked, the suspicion in her voice reced by curiosity.


    Nick scratched the back of his head. "Reynold destroyed a house by throwing and swinging me."


    Man furrowed her brows in confusion and skepticism.


    What did Nick mean by that?


    Nick exined what had happened in more detail, and eventually, Man could only ept that this was truly how Reynold had trained Nick.


    Although, the more she thought about it, the more it started to make sense.


    In a way, it was like Nick was fighting with his life on the line against someone far more powerful than him for over two hours.


    After being thrown around that many times, even an idiot would learn how to avoid getting injured.


    "It''s good that Reynold is teaching you," Man said. "He''s one of the vice team leaders for us Veterans, you know that?"


    Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise. "No, I don''t."


    "Well," Man said, "we have around 40 Veterans in Kugelblitz, which are split into four teams with ten members each."


    "One of the ten members of each team is a team leader, and every team leader has two vice team leaders. So, to break it down, there is one team leader, two vice team leaders, and seven normal Veterans in every team of Veterans in Kugelblitz."


    "And Reynold is one of them."


    ''This means that Reynold is outstanding even for the standards of Kugelblitz!'' Nick thought.


    "What about you?" Nick asked.

 Chapter 138 138 – A Job

    <h4>Chapter 138 Chapter 138 ¨C A Job</h4>


    "I''m just a normal member," Man said.


    "Oh," Nick answered.


    "Is that surprising to you?" she asked.


    "Oh, no! Sorry if it came across like I was disappointed," Nick said hastily.


    "It didn''t," Man added emotionlessly. "I was simply asking a question."


    "Oh, ok," Nick said.


    He didn''t say anything for three seconds.


    "Well, I was a bit surprised," Nick said. "You seem like someone who knows how to take charge of a situation."


    Man nced at Nick. "I can see how I can give off that impression. In fact, I used to be a team leader in Ghosty''s Lab before I switched to Kugelblitz."


    "You were in Ghosty''s Lab before?" Nick asked in surprise.


    Man nodded. "Over half of the staffe from other Manufacturers. Kugelblitz rarely hires Newbies and Johns since everyone else wants to join us anyways."


    Nick nodded. "That makes sense."


    Man didn''t answer.


    "Hey, Man?" Nick asked.


    Man looked at Nick.


    "Do you want to be a team leader again?"


    Man snorted. "No."


    This surprised Nick. "Why not?"


    "It''s not as cracked up as it seems to be," she said. "In a big corporation, power and hierarchy work very differently."


    "You can probably just tell Wyntor that you want an Extractor removed, and they get fired."


    "That''s not how it works in big corporations."


    "If an Extractor makes trouble, I have to file severalints with upper management, who will then tell me to handle the issue."


    "When I show that it hasn''t improved, they will talk a bit with the Extractor, which might make things even worse since the Extractor will now hate me even more than before."


    "After several times of this exact thing, I can finally get rid of the person that has made trouble in my team for so long."


    "The power from both sides looks very different."


    "Employees believe that their superior ispletely in control at all times and that they almost can''t resist."


    "Meanwhile, the superior almost feels like the employee is in control."


    "If an employee is rude to me, the only thing I can do to them is reprimand them, and if that doesn''t work, I need to put in a lot of effort to convince upper management to reprimand them."


    "However, if I am rude to an employee, upper management will immediately pull me out and tear into me and tell me that I can''t possibly talk like that to my team. Even if they were rude first."


    "Additionally, whenever I give an order, there is nothing I can do really if they just say no."


    "What if they say no? If I give the order again, they will just say no again. I also can''t attack them or force them. In the end, I have to talk to my superior and get them to do something about it, which might take several days or weeks, and on top of that, they will believe that I am the ipetent one because I can''t control my team."


    Nick just listened to Man''s rant in stunned silence.


    "Being a team leader is filled with stress and annoyance, which is why I am not interested in that position anymore," Man said.


    "What about bing an Expert?" Nick asked. "Wouldn''t bing a team leader give you some sort of advantage?"


    "Who says I want to be an Expert?" Man asked.


    Now, this took Nick by surprise. "You don''t?"


    "I am already in enough danger by working with the Adult Specters. I finally managed to work with them without being in too much danger, and I''m not about to go through the same thing again with Elders."


    "Is it that bad?" Nick asked.


    "Nick," Man said. "What is a Zephyx Extractor?"


    Nick blinked a couple of times. "I''m not sure," he said.


    "It''s not a philosophical question," Man said.


    "It''s a job," she added.


    "A Zephyx Extractor is a job."


    "Why do you do a job?" she asked.


    "Money?" Nick answered with a question.


    "Correct, money," Man said, evenly looking at Nick. "If none of us were getting paid, almost nobody would show up to work."


    "That''s the undeniable truth."


    "We do work so that we can live. We don''t live so that we can work," Man said.


    "I''m earning more than enough."


    "I''m strong enough."


    "I am secure enough."


    "I have enough free time."


    "Why would I sacrifice all of my security and free time for more money and strength?"


    "My goal is not to be the strongest person in the world. My goal is to lead a happy life."


    "Work is work. Life is life."


    "That''s it," Man exined.


    Nick understood what Man was saying, but in a way, it felt strange.


    Yes, being a Zephyx Extractor is a job, but it also allowed someone to unlock incredible powers.


    Wasn''t Man interested in being able to do things that she could only dream of right now?


    Didn''t she want to be stronger?


    Nick also remembered what Reynold had said about Man.


    He had said that Man wasn''t interested in training as much as Reynold due to her appearance.


    Back then, Nick hadn''t fully believed Reynold, but now, he did.


    Right, if Man only viewed this as a job, why would she sacrifice her appearance for it?


    Nick knew that this was Man''s choice and her opinion, but it just felt so strange to him.


    "You don''t want to be more powerful?" he asked.


    "Of course I do," Man answered, "but in this world, poweres with responsibility and work."


    "The Experts dedicate their entire life to work, and half of them don''t even have a partner."


    "That''s not a life I want to live."


    "While I am interested in bing more powerful, I am not willing to put in the time and work required to be more powerful."


    "Bing stronger just isn''t as attractive as it used to be."


    Man looked at the horizon.


    "Many people dream of bing the most powerful in this world."


    "However, being the most powerful probably also means being the busiest."


    "And that''s not something that is appealing to me."

 Chapter 139 139 – Three Months

    <h4>Chapter 139 Chapter 139 ¨C Three Months</h4>


    After talking a bit more, Man said that they had wasted enough time and that they would start training immediately.


    For the next four days, Man kept instructing Nick on how to throw his spears while also constantly refreshing the basics he had already learned.


    After that, Nick had three days of training with Reynold.


    During these three days, Reynold kept charging at Nick, trying to hit him.


    Reynold wanted Nick to get acquainted with making quick and correct decisions in a stressful and hectic situation.


    Since Nick was using fist weapons, he needed to be the fastest person in a closebat fight, which also meant making the quickest decisions.


    In essence, Reynold was shoving all kinds of movements into Nick''s subconscious.


    The more familiar movements became, the quicker they could be performed.


    Sadly, something like this would take a long time.


    Then, it was time for Nick''s training with Man again.


    Back and forth.


    Back and forth.


    While Nick was training with his weapons, Jenny and Trevor were also training in their weapons.


    Jenny had found a good teacher for her long-distance rifle in an experienced guard team working for Gemini.


    While the guard team didn''t have a single Zephyx Extractor, their tactics, teamwork, and mastery over weapons made them dangerous to even Veterans.


    Jenny''s teacher was the sniper of this team, and he wielded an incredibly expensive and powerful rifle that could be loaded with Zephyx-based ammunition and even used Zephyx as a source of power.


    The rifle cost over three million credits, and it was the only thing that allowed the guard team to threaten a Veteran.


    Firing such a rifle cost over 50,000 credits per shot, and if the appropriate fortifications were not in ce, the recoil would even break several bones of the sniper.


    So, even though he was not a Zephyx Extractor, the gunner was still extremely experienced and more than good enough to teach Jenny.


    Meanwhile, Trevor found a sort of club for convertable spear users.


    Trevor had a spear with a retractable shaft, which meant that the spear could also be used as a dagger.


    Such a weapon was officially called a convertable spear.


    Only very few people were using convertable spears, which was why this club was formed.


    It basically included over half of all the people who used this kind of weapon, and the strongest person in the club was an Expert.


    The Expert instructed the two Veterans, and the two Veterans instructed all of the Johns.


    Any Newbies got instructed by different Johns.


    Membership for this club was rather cheap, but it came with the duty to instruct one''s juniors.


    Nevertheless, Trevor was also making amazing strides in learning how to wield his weapon.


    The members of Dark Dream were bing more powerful.


    As several weeks passed, the three Extractors also began to change.


    Jenny and Trevor had already be Peak Newbies, just like Nick.


    Since Jenny''s training was mostly focused on stealth, running away, aiming, and shooting, she became a bit more muscr, but not in a very noticeable way.


    Although, many men on the streets kept turning their heads when she passed by them.


    Jenny had also cut off the bangs that went down the right side of her head.


    These bangs had often gotten in her way while she was trying to look through the sight of her rifle.


    In the end, she decided to remove the bangs on her right while keeping the ones on her left, giving her an asymmetrical but striking appearance.


    Meanwhile, Trevor was bing more muscr, but also not by much.


    Trevor had already been quite fit before joining Dark Dream. On top of that, Trevor actively avoided bing too muscr.


    After all, he was supposed to be Wyntor''s undercover agent, which meant that he had to fit in with strangers.


    He had to be charming and handsome, not intimidating.


    But the biggest change was Nick.


    Reynold was going hard on Nick.


    Every week, Reynold got another brilliant idea, and Nick left every day with either heavy injuries or an absolutely exhausted body.


    Sometimes, even both.


    But the hard work was showing results!


    Since Nick could train to death every single day due to his recovery, the growth of Nick''s muscles was unparalleled.


    While Nick had always been quite fit, he had never looked like an actual warrior.


    But now, he did.


    Nick wasn''t as muscr as Reynold, but he was getting there.


    When he flexed one of his arms, one could already see all the different muscles in quite a bit of detail.


    Additionally, Nick''s back and legs had also be much bigger since he was carrying his extremely heavy weapons every single day.


    Another good thing was that Nick was growing, which improved his power even more.


    About six months had passed since the founding of Dark Dream, and Nick had grown by about five centimeters, which put him at 178 centimeters.


    From the looks of things, Nick was having a growth spurt, and it was probably also hisst one.


    So, he was doing his best and kept training and eating a lot to extend his growth spurt.


    Reaching a height of 190 centimeters was impossible, but reaching one of 185 centimeters should still be possible.


    After three months of training, Jenny, Trevor, and Nick became very confident in their power.


    One night, Dark Dream held a secret meeting, and Wyntor told Trevor and Jenny about the spy that was spying on Dark Dream every few nights or so.


    Then, Wyntor told them what his n was.


    The next time the spy showed up, Nick would kill him, which would provoke Cycle, Ardum''spany.


    That meant that working would be many times more dangerous and that every employee would be a target.


    While it was illegal to kill a Zephyx Extractor, nobody really investigated these things unless they happened in the middle of the day in the middle of the street.


    Surprisingly, Jenny and Trevor had noints.


    Dark Dream had taken them out of the Dregs, and they were willing to do anything for it!

 Chapter 140 140 – Waiting

    <h4>Chapter 140 Chapter 140 ¨C Waiting</h4>


    For the next couple of days, Nick went to sleep directly after training and stood up deep in the night.


    Then, for the first couple of hours after waking up, Nick waited on top of a neighboring building while watching Dark Dream''s warehouse.


    It was finally time.


    Wars and conflicts between Manufacturers could happen for any reason.


    Sometimes, it was as major as an assassination, but other times, it was simply because one Extractor looked at another one with shifty eyes.


    But most of the time, it was simply small things that spiraled out of control.


    In a certain way, there was no enmity between Cycle and Dark Dream.


    Both of them were just working on their Specters.


    It was just that Ardum had acted like an asshole towards Wyntor, but to be fair, Wyntor acted like an asshole back.


    And then came the entire spy business.


    Under normal circumstances, something like this would be easily resolved by confronting the other Manufacturer and demanding payment from them.


    The other Manufacturer would apologize deeply, say that this was an order given by a rogue manager, and pull all members back.


    Of course, that was a lie, but that didn''t matter.


    In the political game, only the surface counted.


    As long as there was no concrete proof, the public wouldn''t be happy with seeing one Manufacturer attacking another.


    Additionally, when it came to big Manufacturers with over a hundred employees, it was also important that everyone perceived themselves to be fighting a defensive war.


    The otherpany was the one antagonizing and attacking them!


    They were just defending themselves!


    But if a Manufacturer ordered their Extractors to attack someone they perceive to be innocent, things could be very troublesome.


    One had to remember that these werepanies, not countries.


    These were employees, not soldiers.


    If a Manufacturer decided to act like a tyrant that attacked any other Manufacturer just for existing, many of their Extractors would quit and join another Manufacturer.


    Because of that, it was important to show proof that going against another Manufacturer was justified.


    In a way, this also counted for Dark Dream.


    If Wyntor just randomly ordered Jenny to assassinate the wife of some Extractor, things would be very troublesome.


    Maybe, Jenny would even run to the wife and tell her everything.


    After that, the otherpany would take her with them.


    Wyntor would demand them to hand her over while denying everything, but they would keep protecting Jenny and making her one of their employees.


    Giving assassination orders was always very risky without being able to provide a verypelling reason.


    Luckily, Dark Dream had their reason.


    All three Extractors had seen how much of an asshole Ardum was, which was already more than enough for them.


    Then that entire thing with Pator appeared, and now, there was even another spy.


    Wyntor didn''t need to fear his employees abandoning ship.


    They were all unified against Cycle.


    But what about Cycle?


    They had six Newbies and two Johns, including Ardum, and only Ardum had evere into direct contact with Dark Dream.


    Their spy had also seen Dark Dream, but they had note into contact with them.


    The remaining six employees had never seen anyone from Dark Dream.


    What if a war suddenly broke out between these two Manufacturers?


    Well, without a good reason, Ardum''s employees wouldn''t feel great risking their lives fighting some random people they had never heard of.


    This meant that Ardum would need some time to prepare a good lie to get their people to follow him into war.


    If he didn''t have one, some of his employees might transfer to Dark Dream.


    ''From what Wyntor said, Ardum probably doesn''t expect his spy to die,'' Nick thought as he watched the ceiling of Dark Dream from a neighboring house.


    ''Ardum is too arrogant and thinks he has everything under control.''


    However, Nick was still a bit skeptical.


    After all, while Wyntor was extremely intelligent, he could also be wrong sometimes.


    What if Ardum just acted like a dumbass to fool Wyntor into lowering his guard?


    ''For now, it doesn''t matter. Wyntor is the CEO, and I just have to trust in him. I just have to wait for the spy to appear.''


    The spy had beening fewer and fewer times.


    They were probably cautious due to the guards that Wyntor had hired.


    ''I wonder what they are even looking for,'' Nick thought. ''I don''t see what Ardum would gain from looking into our warehouse after so long.''


    ''I mean, I get it in the beginning since he probably just wanted to know what it looked like, but what''s the point of keeping watch? He''s seen everything already,'' Nick thought as he scratched the back of his head.


    ''Is there a different reason for sending the spy?''


    ''What if they are actually not a spy?''


    ''I mean, I''ve never seen them. I just feel their presence from time to time.''


    Nick kept thinking about that for a while, but in the end, he just shrugged.


    ''It''s Wyntor''s problem, not mine. I just need to deal with the spy.''


    A couple hours passed.


    Nick was extremely bored.


    ''Oh?'' Nick thought as his body stiffened.


    Nick just saw something white silentlynding on the roof of Dark Dream.


    It was shortly before 5 a.m. at this moment, which was when the shift of the guards changed.


    One could say it was the perfect opportunity for someone to do something.


    Nick took out a pair of binocrs that Wyntor had given him and looked at the white thing on top of Dark Dream.


    ''Someone wearing a white cloak,'' Nick thought.


    The person on top of Dark Dream wore a white cloak that made it difficult to see them under the constant light of the sun.


    Then, Nick saw the person fidgeting around with something, but he couldn''t see exactly what it was due to the huge cloak.


    ''Well, whatever it is, it can''t be good.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He didn''t look forward to it.

 Chapter 141 141 – Investigation

    <h4>Chapter 141 Chapter 141 ¨C Investigation</h4>


    The building Nick was on was quite a bit higher than Dark Dream, which made it quite easy for Nick to see the person in the white cloak but difficult the other way around.


    At this moment, the person on top of Dark Dream was taking out a white bottle with some green stuff in it, and they were slowly and silently opening it.


    Then, they moved closer to one of the holes, which was above one of the spots where the next shift of guards would stand.


    Now, they only needed to-


    Crack! BANG!


    The person suddenly heard a huge crack appear behind them before hearing the loud sound of something heavy hitting something below them.


    With shocked eyes, the person saw the guards inside Dark Dream looking at the ceiling of the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    At this moment, the person looked with shocked eyes at the red mark on top of the Containment Unit.


    It almost looked like something had once been there, but the person didn''t remember anything being there.


    That was when they noticed the guards pointing at one of the walls inside Dark Dream.


    There was a silver spear with big red streaks stuck in the wall!


    The spy had no idea what was going on, but their heart rate shot up.


    ''I have to go!'' they thought urgently as they stood up.


    "Argh, what?" a female voice spoke as the person felt like their legs were not listening to them anymore.


    At the same time, they suddenly started to feel a terrifyingly sharp pain arriving.


    ''My back!'' the person thought in terror.


    Ssh.


    At that moment, a long piece from an intestinended in the middle of Dark Dream.


    That was when the person realized what had happened.


    Their body bent to the side, and they looked at their abdomen.


    It was like they had entered a nightmare.


    There was a huge hole in their abdomen!


    That spear!


    Wait, had that spear caused that hole?!


    Then, the person remembered that the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream was always walking around with some spears.


    And that spear with the red streaks looked exactly like one of his spears.


    Except for the red streaks. They were new.


    A couple of seconds ago, Nick had thrown the spear at the person.


    He wanted to nail them to the ceiling of Dark Dream, but he had overestimated the ceiling''s durability.


    In the end, his spear shot through the person''s body, bounced off the Dreamer''s Containment Unit, and got stuck in the walls.


    "Sto- argh!" the person shouted, but they couldn''t finish their words since they suddenly started coughing.


    At the same time, they looked around to search for the attacker.


    BANG!


    And then, their nose vanished after a streak of silver entered the person''s face where their nose had just been.


    The person quickly started to convulse.


    The roof behind them had several pieces of brain matter scattered across it.


    A silver and red spear was stuck in the walls of a higher building behind them.


    From a distance, Nick took a deep breath and sighed as he watched the person in white convulsing violently on the roof of Dark Dream.


    The next moment, the guards started to run out of Dark Dream as they climbed the side of the building to get to whoever was on the roof.


    "It''s just me!" Nick shouted from the higher building.


    The guards looked over and spotted Nick in surprise.


    "What''s going on?" one of them asked with a shout.


    "I''ll exinter," Nick answered. "The spear came from me. The danger has been dealt with."


    The guards looked at each other.


    After some seconds, they nodded.


    "Okay, we''re going inside!" one of them shouted.


    Then, the guards went back into Dark Dream.


    Meanwhile, Nick leaped off the building and went to retrieve the spear that was stuck in the wall behind the person.


    ''I can get the other er. It''s inside Dark Dream anyway,'' Nick thought as he walked over to the person lying on the roof.


    By now, their convulsing had lost a lot of power.


    There was a big hole going through the spot below their sternum and one going through the spot where their nose had been.


    The spears had done a lot of damage.


    When Nick saw the effects of his spears from such a close range, he sighed.


    Nick was used to seeing the people he killed with broken necks.


    Seeing them with these holes almost made it feel like it hadn''t been Nick who had killed them.


    It was so different.


    It was so distant.


    Nick ripped the white cloak off the person and looked at them.


    ''Sure enough, she''s from Cycle,'' Nick thought as he saw the standard Zephyx Extractor uniform with the emblem of Cycle on the corpse.


    The person in front of Nick was a woman with turquoise hair and blue eyes. Her eyshes were long, and she was quite slim.


    Nick sighed again.


    ''She looks like a nice person,'' he thought.


    After that, Nick looked at the ss jar that the woman had dropped.


    The green stuff inside the ss jar had partially spilled out, and Nick carefully put the green stuff back into the ss jar while making sure that he didn''t touch any of it with his bare hands.


    After putting the lid back onto the ss jar, Nick carefully put it to the side while continuing to inspect the corpse.


    A couple of credits.


    A banking card.


    Some random personal belongings.


    ''Oh?'' Nick thought as he saw three small and ck balls. ''Those look unusual.''


    ''Probably some kind of weapon.''


    Nick carefully put those to the side as well and continued inspecting the corpse.


    Sadly, that was everything that seemed relevant or suspicious.


    Nick could only sigh. ''Of course, people only have written orders and such stuff on them in stories.''


    After looking through everything, Nick grabbed the corpse and moved it into the building.


    He would wait for Wyntor.

 Chapter 142 142 – Green Powder

    <h4>Chapter 142 Chapter 142 ¨C Green Powder</h4>


    Just when Nick was retrieving his second spear from the wall, the door to the Dreamer''s Containment Unit opened, and Trevor walked out.


    Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise.


    Usually, Trevor didn''t wake up on his own.


    "Does anyone know what''s going on?" Trevor asked with a shout as he searched for the guards.


    Then, he found Nick. "Oh, Nick. You''re here already?" he asked.


    Nick nodded as he put the bloody spear onto his back.


    The next moment, Trevor noticed the corpse in the middle of the warehouse.


    When Trevor saw the face of the corpse, he flinched.


    That hole in the middle looked brutal.


    It was like a huge object had shot through it at incredible speeds, which was probably what happened.


    Trevor quickly realized that it had probably been one of Nick''s spears, which shocked him quite a bit.


    Trevor was not dumb, and he could tell how much force something like a spear needed to shoot through an Extractor''s skull like it was paper.


    He knew that he could deal a lot of damage with his own convertable spear, but he couldn''t do something like that.


    His opponents were made of actual matter, while the holes looked like the spear didn''t distinguish between an Extractor''s body and air.


    How much power could Nick unleash?!


    ''That''s probably due to his ability,'' Trevor thought.


    Trevor and Jenny still didn''t know what kind of ability Nick had, which meant that they could only guess.


    At least now, they knew that Nick''s ability was useful for directbat.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to unleash so much power.


    "What happened?" Nick asked as he jumped down from one of the scaffoldings.


    "That''s what I wanted to ask," Trevor answered. "I suddenly woke up and found the Dreamer in the corner of the Containment Unit, looking at the ceiling."


    "I found the spy and threw my spear at her," Nick said. "The spear passed through her and bounced off the Dreamer''s Containment Unit. It probably got startled by the loud sound."


    "Oh, okay," Trevor said, looking at the corpse. "Should I go back in?"


    "No, it''s okay," Nick said. "You can go home earlier today."


    Trevor nodded. "Sure. Please, tell me if anythinges of this, okay?"


    "Of course," Nick said with a nod.


    "Then, have fun at work," Trevor said before throwing another nce at the corpse and leaving.


    "Thanks," Nick answered absentmindedly.


    A momentter, Nick opened the door to the Dreamer''s Containment Unit but didn''t enter.


    In the corner of the room, the Dreamer just looked at Nick with its dead eyes.


    "I identally hit your room with this spear," Nick said, showing the bloody spear. "Sorry for disturbing you. I''lle to you in a couple of hours, okay?"


    The Dreamer just looked at Nick.


    It didn''t answer.


    "Of course," Nick said before closing the door again.


    Then, Nick leaned on one of the walls and waited for Wyntor.


    "Excuse me, Nick?"


    Nick looked over as two of the guards approached.


    The third one was keeping a lookout from above.


    "Hm?" Nick uttered.


    "What happened?" the guard asked.


    "That''s a spy," Nick said, pointing at the corpse. "She was on the roof, fidgeting with this ss jar above one of your guys'' locations."


    The two guards took deep breaths.


    This meant that they had been the targets of something.


    "May I take a look?" one of the guards asked as he took out a small box.


    "Sure," Nick answered with a shrug.


    Next, the guard opened the small box, revealing several small bottles and vials.


    Nick watched with raised eyebrows as the guard very carefully removed some of the green stuff in the ss jar and put it into one of the vials.


    While the first guard was performing some tests on the green stuff, the other guard looked at the three ck balls beside the corpse.


    Nick gestured that the guard could take a look, and the guard inspected one of the ck balls.


    "Nick, I know what this is," the second guard said.


    "Oh? What is it?" Nick asked, approaching the guard with the ck balls.


    The guard showed Nick a small engraving on the ck ball and the sigil of a cute ghost.


    "It''s a weapon produced by Ghosty''s Lab," the guard said.


    "What kind of weapon?" Nick asked.


    "A smoke bomb," the guard said. "It has no offensive purpose and is almost exclusively used to flee from a battle."


    "One of them is about 5,000 credits."


    Nick furrowed his brows and nodded.


    It made sense that a spy would have something like that.


    ''Maybe I should get a couple of these?'' Nick thought.


    "Thanks," Nick said.


    The guard nodded and put the ck balls back to the side.


    The second guard went back to his post while the first one continued experimenting with the green powder.


    Nick just waited.


    Eventually, Nick saw the entrance to Dark Dream open, and Wyntor walked in.


    When Wyntor saw the corpse, he raised an eyebrow. "I presume that''s the one?" he asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yep. Shended on our roof and was sprinkling that green stuff into the warehouse. Or, at least, she wanted to. She didn''t have the opportunity."


    Wyntor nodded as he approached the corpse.


    When he saw the corpse''s face, his eyes didn''t show any reaction.


    They just remained cold.


    "Sir," the guard experimenting on the green stuff spoke politely in greeting.


    Wyntor nodded. "You''re analyzing the green powder?" he asked as he scratched his chin.


    His furrowed brows showed that he was confused or skeptical about something.


    "Yes, sir. I''m nearly done. I am basically already certain what it is, but I want to rule out all other possibilities," the guard said.


    "I also am pretty sure about what it is," Wyntor said.


    "Oh, you know what it is?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded but didn''t say anything.


    The two of them waited for the guard''s analysis to finish.


    The guard stood up and put his little box away.


    "I''m almost certain that this is some sort of healing powder."


    Nick''s eyebrows shot up.


    At the side, Wyntor nodded. "That''s what I suspected."


    This confused Nick a lot.


    Healing powder?


    Why?


    Why would the spy sprinkle that into Dark Dream?


    "What does that mean?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor took a deep breath through his nose.


    He didn''t seem happy at all.


    "It means that Ardum got us."

 Chapter 143 143 – A Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 143 Chapter 143 ¨C A Meeting</h4>


    Books, reports, and several different kinds of office suppliesy on a table in the middle of quite a sizable meeting room.


    The table was big and was able to amodate around 20 people.


    Just like with any other building in the Outer City, the walls were made of shiny metal, but the metal this building was made of was even stronger than normal.


    It was made of actual steel.


    No normal person could possibly break one of the walls down without using extremely powerful tools.


    Inside the biggest meeting room of the building, seven people sat around the huge table.


    Two young women sat on one side of the table.


    One of them had brown hair and chatted animatedly with the girl beside her.


    There were two pistols adorning her waist, and she wore the standard uniform for a Zephyx Extractor.


    The emblem on the uniform was an arrow going in a circle.


    This was Cycle''s emblem.


    Beside the young woman with the guns sat a taller woman who looked about ten years older but was, in fact, only around four years older.


    This woman had a bald head and had quite big arms. On her back was a massive staff made of pure steel with one massive round ball at each end of the staff.


    While the young woman was talking animatedly to the older one, the older one just listened like she didn''t care.


    But that didn''t mean that she actually didn''t care.


    In fact, those two were best friends.


    Just like the younger one, the older one wore the standard uniform for Zephyx Extractors.


    It was obvious who these two were.


    Those two were Newbies from Cycle.


    Besides the bigger woman sat a short and slender man with ck hair and sharp eyebrows.


    The man didn''t talk with anyone else on the table and just waited.


    There was no weapon visible on him, and he wore the same uniform as the former two Extractors, signifying that he also was a Newbie belonging to Cycle.


    At the other side of the table was a young man with red hair who was moving back and forth on his chair to keep it bnced on its two back legs.


    The guy put his knees on the edge of the table but didn''t dare to put his legs on it due to the presence of more powerful people than him.


    There was also no visible weapon on him, and he wore the same uniform as the others, showing that he was a Newbie belonging to Cycle.


    Besides the red-headed guy was another man.


    This one looked to be in his young thirties, and he had long and rough brown hair.


    On top of that, he was over 190 centimeters tall with quite a bit of muscle, creating quite an intimidating presence.


    On his back was a long sword, and just like the others, this one also wore the uniform of a Newbie belonging to Cycle.


    However, the way everyone was acting around him showed that he had a slightly higher position than the other Newbies since they avoided looking at him without a good reason.


    Thest person in the room was the one at the head of the table.


    It was a tall and very fat man with an eyepatch.


    The guy probably weighed over 200 kilos, which was quite unusual for Zephyx Extractors. After all, Extractors tended to do a lot of manualbor and fighting, which kept their bodies healthy and athletic.


    Of course, there were also people who looked fat but were actually healthy and athletic, but this guy did not belong to those.


    In a way, his round shape made him look a bit like a panda, and his eyepatch made him look a bit like a pirate.


    A panda that was also a pirate sure was an interesting mental image.


    On the panda-man''s back was a long rifle that had several attachments on it.


    The panda man was looking at the people in the meeting room, and everyone looked back.


    Compared to the others, the panda-man had two interlocking arrows on him.


    This signified that he was a level two Extractor.


    A John.


    "Are we waiting for the boss?" the big and serious man with the long sword asked the panda man.


    The panda man nodded with a polite smile. "He should be here soon. He was the one that called in the meeting."


    "What''s this even about?" the red-haired man asked with annoyance as his chair tilted back and forth. "I wanna get back to work."


    "Jonathan," the panda man said, "this is more important than working right now. Also, you are getting paid by the hour. So, it doesn''t matter whether you are working or not right now since you''re still getting paid."


    The red-haired man, Jonathan, just rolled his eyes, shrugged, and went back to tilting on his chair.


    "By the way, where''s Sarah?" the young woman with the pistols and the brown hair asked the panda man.


    "She''s noting to this meeting, Kiara," the panda man said.


    Kiara, the young woman with the pistols, raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"


    The panda-man sighed. "We''ll talk about itter."


    "Is all of this rted to Sarah?" the bald woman asked with a serious voice.


    "Let''s all just take a step back," the panda man said with his arms raised like someone was about to attack him. "The meeting has not even started. Just calm down and wait for the boss."


    The two women looked with skepticism at the panda man.


    Surprisingly, they looked at the panda man with less respect than when they were looking at the serious and tall man with the long sword on his back.


    The fact that the panda-man was the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Cycle, and therefore their boss, didn''t make a difference.


    The ck-haired man remained silent and waited with his eyes closed.


    The two women continued talking in whispers, but it was mostly the younger one who talked while the older one listened.


    Finally, a couple minutester, the doors opened, and Ardum walked in.

 Chapter 144 144 – Sarah’s Death

    <h4>Chapter 144 Chapter 144 ¨C Sarah''s Death</h4>


    As Ardum entered the meeting room, everyone else stopped what they were doing and sat in their chairs silently.


    The strong reaction of the room showed the deep respect everyone held for Ardum.


    Ardum looked at everyone and nodded once with a serious expression, which was unusual since Ardum was mostly rather casual with everyone.


    While Ardum was sitting down, everyone showed different reactions.


    The young woman looked worried.


    The older woman and the tall man furrowed their brows.


    The red-haired man and the ck-haired man showed interest.


    The panda man sighed.


    After sitting down, Ardum sighed.


    "As some of you know, I have a younger brother called Wyntor," Ardum started.


    Some of the people nodded.


    "Just like me, he''s currently going through that entire potential heir thing, butpared to me, he''s having more issues."


    Ardum sighed again.


    "I always doted on him, but his towering pride made it impossible for him to ept even a little bit of help from me."


    Some of the present people frowned.


    They thought that Ardum was talking too nicely about his brother.


    Many of them had talked to Ardum about his brother in the past, and while Ardum always tried his best not to talk badly about him, he always hesitated when it came to talking about his brother''s bad aspects.


    Obviously, Ardum was simply too nice to say anything bad about his little brother, even though it seemed more than appropriate.


    Ardum released a bitter chuckle. "I noticed that he wasn''t very careful with his Extractors recently."


    "His Extractors showed signs of constantly being tired and disoriented. Obviously, that''s because of their main Specter, the Dreamer."


    "I think their Chief Zephyx Extractor is telling his employees to use their working time with the Dreamer as their resting period. After all, they are sleeping, right? Why would they still need to sleep after sleeping in front of the Dreamer for so long?" Ardum said with a sigh.


    The others didn''t show any reactions, but the change in the atmosphere showed everyone''s opinion.


    It was idiotic.


    Working with a Specter could and should never be viewed as resting time.


    "But due to my brother''s very healthy self-confidence, I doubt that he would have epted any of my advice."


    Ardum sighed once again.


    "Which was why I made a very foolish and selfish decision."


    The two women looked at Ardum with sympathy.


    Ardum was always so hard on himself.


    "I thought I could help my little brother''s employees by sprinkling some Restoration Dust into theirpany in secret."


    This increased the curiosity of everyone present.


    That was an unusual course of action.


    But it would work.


    And it also wouldn''t tarnish Wyntor''s image in front of his employees.


    Sure, it was unusual, but it was also effective.


    Ardum took a shaky breath.


    "I had Sarah take care of that," he said.


    Immediately, the atmosphere in the room tensed up several degrees.


    The present people were not na?ve children.


    They could see what wasing, and they did not look forward to it.


    At all!


    "Tell me she''s still alive!" Kiara, the young woman, shouted with nervousness and anger as she jumped up from her chair.


    A momentter, the older woman pulled Kiara back into her chair, but her expression showed a tremendous amount of suppressed rage.


    The panda man looked to the side.


    The huge man''s brows furrowed.


    Jonathan''s brows rose in surprise.


    Everyone was looking at Ardum intensely.


    Several seconds of silence passed.


    "Sarah didn''t report back," Ardum quietly spoke.


    "She was supposed to report to me yesterday morning."


    "Her husband said that she didn''te home."


    "I can only assume that she is no longer with us."


    Silence.


    Stunned silence.


    Sarah?


    Dead?


    Sarah''s image shot through everyone''s mind.


    She had always been smiling.


    She had always been the happiest and friendliest member of Cycle.


    She had always taught two of the present people about how to work with Cycle''s Specters.


    While she had only been a normal employee like everyone else, she had somehow always been at the center, talking to everyone.


    Due to her ideology, she had even refused to train in any offensive weapon, and she had only trained in stealth and running away.


    And someone as kind as she had been killed?!


    How?!


    Why?!


    This was unfair!


    This was so unfair!


    "Who was it?" the man with ck hair asked emotionlessly.


    Ardum looked at the young man.


    The young man looked back.


    For just a moment, the two of them looked at each other.


    "I can''t be entirely sure," Ardum said, "but I assume it was one of Dark Dream''s three Zephyx Extractors. Most likely their Chief Zephyx Extractor."


    Ardum furrowed his brows and gazed at the table.


    "He has been seen carrying corpses into Dark Dream several times already."


    The image of a cold, ruthless, and cruel man holding Sarah by her throat appeared in everyone''s minds.


    The rage and hatred in the atmosphere intensified.


    "How are we going to get justice for Sarah?" the bald woman asked with suppressed rage.


    BANG!


    A part of the huge table broke due to Jonathan hitting it with his fist.


    "Justice?!" Jonathan shouted in absolute rage.


    "Revenge!"


    "How do we get revenge for her?!" Jonathan corrected.


    The bald woman looked at Jonathan.


    Those two rarely saw eye to eye, but that didn''t matter right now.


    "Revenge, then," she echoed.


    Everyone turned to look at Ardum.


    Ardum had a troubled expression on his face. "We don''t know whether or not it truly was one of Wyntor''s employees," he said.


    "For now, I just need your cooperation and help."


    "If this situation is not handled correctly, this might turn into an actual war, which would mean even more deaths for us."


    "We can''t make any hasty decisions," Ardum exined.


    "I doubt it," the huge man said with a neutral voice. "They have three Newbies. We have six-, five Newbies and two Johns. They won''t dare to start a war with us."


    Ardum looked at the huge man for a while.


    "Maybe you''re right," he said, "but I still need all of your cooperation."


    "I want to hold a meeting with Wyntor to address this issue, but I want it to be public between ourpanies."


    "Because of that, I would like to ask a couple of you to apany me to the meeting."

 Chapter 145 145 – Brothers Meet

    <h4>Chapter 145 Chapter 145 ¨C Brothers Meet</h4>


    Five people were walking through the streets of the Outer City.


    All the citizens that saw them stepped to the side in awe.


    Five Zephyx Extractors!


    In front of the group was the panda man.


    Behind him was the huge man with the long sword, the bald woman with the big staff, and the young woman with the two guns.


    Behind the three of them was Ardum.


    In this position, the five of them walked through the Outer City.


    Today would be the official meeting between Dark Dream and Cycle.


    In order to minimize the risk of one party suddenly attacking the other, the meeting was to be held in a restaurant near the busiest street of the Outer City.


    After a while of walking, the five of them arrived at the restaurant and sat down at their assigned table.


    They had reserved the biggest table in the restaurant, and all five of them sat on one side.


    Ardum was in the center with the panda man beside him.


    The other Extractors sat beside them.


    The rage from the meeting from two days ago had not vanished.


    Instead, it had only turned into cold determination.


    Ardum looked troubled and serious.


    The panda man looked troubled.


    The huge man and the bald woman looked serious.


    The young woman looked like she was suppressing a mountain of rage.


    None of them said anything as they waited.


    For over ten minutes, they waited, their anger only increasing.


    The meeting was supposed to be held at ten a.m., and it was already 9:59 a.m.


    This showed that Dark Dream didn''t take this seriously!


    Finally, a minuteter, four people entered the restaurant and walked up to Cycle.


    In the front was a young man with light-brown hair, wearing a luxurious suit.


    Behind him were three Zephyx Extractors.


    The leftmost one was an imposing tall man.


    The rightmost one was a beautiful woman with a long rifle that radiated danger.


    In the middle was a young man with a powerful body and three silver spears on his back.


    However, the huge man and the panda man noticed the silver glint on the man''s legs, which told them that the spears were not his only weapons.


    Without saying anything, Wyntor sat down on the seat in front of Ardum.


    Nick sat down in the seat in front of the huge man.


    Trevor sat down in front of the young woman.


    Jenny sat down in front of the bald woman.


    No one sat in front of the panda man.


    Wyntor took a breath.


    "What do you want, Ardum?" he asked in a tone that made it seem like Ardum was bothering him with something unimportant.


    Kiara nearly exploded with anger when she heard Wyntor''s tone.


    Ardum took a deep breath.


    "Wyntor, one of my Extractors has not returned to work," he said carefully. "Do you know anything about this?"


    Wyntor looked with boredom at Ardum. "So, you want to y this game openly?"


    Ardum furrowed his brows.


    "Just answer the question," he said.


    Wyntor looked at Ardum.


    Then, he looked at Ardum''s Zephyx Extractors, who looked back with stalwart eyes.


    Eventually, Wyntor''s eyes turned back to look at Ardum.


    His expression was very rxed and unimpressed.


    "Your spy," Wyntor said.


    Then, he gestured to Nick.


    "Nick killed her."


    The atmosphere intensified.


    Kiara seemed like she was about to jump forward and kill Wyntor.


    Selina, the bald woman, narrowed her eyes at Nick.


    The huge man became more serious, and the panda man looked troubled.


    "She was not a spy!" Kiara shouted as she shot up from her chair.


    "Sarah was there to help you because you are too stupid to run your ownpany!" she shouted in anger as she pointed to Wyntor''s face.


    This time, Selina didn''t pull her back.


    "Kiara! Sit down!" the huge manmanded with a deep voice.


    "Why should I?!" Kiara shouted. "Sarah died because he is too stupid to take care of his own employees."


    At that moment, Jenny furrowed her brows.


    "Don''t throw usations when you have no idea what you are talking about. Sit back down, kid," Jenny said.


    Kiara red at Jenny.


    "Ardum, this is an official meeting," Wyntor said evenly. "Please tell your people to remain civil."


    Ardum took a deep breath.


    At that point, Selina pulled Kiara back to her chair.


    "I''m sorry," Ardum said with suppressed rage. "Sarah was a friend to all of us. It won''t happen again."


    Ardum''s submissive tone enraged Kiara and Selina.


    Why did Ardum always have to suffer because of them?!


    "I don''t see the issue," Wyntor said casually. "You sent a spy. We got rid of the spy. It happens every day."


    "Usually, you are supposed to deny that the spy belonged to you, and we would continue our covert battle."


    "But now, you want all of this to be public, which is idiotic."


    The four Zephyx Extractors of Cycle listened to Wyntor with suppressed rage.


    "Ardum, we both learned about the business of harvesting Zephyx from our father. We know how these things go."


    "By going public with all of this and unveiling everything, you''re being dumb."


    "Wyntor," Ardum interrupted, "this is not about mypany. This is about one of my friends."


    "Is it not?" Wyntor asked. "Why else would you go public?"


    "If this were truly about your friend, you would silently send someone to sabotage Dark Dream."


    "By making this public, you are making it more difficult for yourself to go against me since there is now a public record of friction between us. If any of my people die, you will be the prime suspect."


    "You actively made it harder to take your revenge by doing this," Wyntor said.


    "This is not about revenge," Ardum said with a forceful and dark voice. "I want there to be justice. I want this to be solved aboveboard. I don''t want to fight you in the dark."


    "You''re my brother," Ardum added.


    "Brother," Wyntor repeated with an unimpressed tone.


    "Which brother sends a twelve-year-old spy to his fourteen-year-old brother?"

 Chapter 146 146 – Nick’s Advice

    <h4>Chapter 146 Chapter 146 ¨C Nick''s Advice</h4>


    The two women of Cycle furrowed their brows.


    A twelve-year-old spy?


    "I already told you that Pator wasn''t a spy," Ardum said with a very dark voice. "He was simply a friend of mine, and the fact that I didn''t already do something to you after you sent his head to me is more than you deserve!"


    His head?!


    At that moment, Kiara, Selina, and the tall man imagined the horrifying sight of a child''s head appearing in front of Ardum.


    And Wyntor had done that?!


    It seemed like Wyntor was even worse than what everyone had believed!


    "Spies get killed," Wyntor said calmly. "It''s how it has always been and how it will continue to be."


    "Yet, despite knowing all of this, you sent another one. It seems more like you were the one that wanted to kill your employee."


    "When you send someone into a rabid dog''s turf, you can''t act surprised when they never return."


    "Sarah was not a spy!" Ardum shouted.


    "Then, what was she?" Wyntor asked.


    "She was supposed to covertly help your employees recover since you are working them to death!" Ardum said with suppressed rage.


    "Covertly help my employees recover," Wyntor repeated with a voice that was the epitome of not buying it.


    "Yes, because you keep overworking them!" Ardum shouted.


    "Let me repeat that," Wyntor said. "You sent someone to help my employees recover in secret, right?"


    Ardum took a deep breath. "Yes. It was a stupid idea."


    Wyntor looked at Ardum.


    "After I sent the head of a 14-year-old boy, who was allegedly your friend, to your home address," Wyntor said.


    "After I did that, you still wanted to help me."


    "By sending someone to silently sprinkle Recovery Dust into my building during the dead of the night."


    "When almost no employees are present."


    "Did I get that right?" Wyntor asked.


    Ardum red at Wyntor.


    "It was her idea," he said.


    "And now, it''s suddenly her idea," Wyntor said. "Why would she care?"


    "Aside from the point that my employees are as healthy as can be, why would she want to do that?"


    "Wasn''t she busy with her own work?"


    "Even more, we all know that my employees get more than enough rest. So, why would one of your Extractors appear in the dead of night to help my rested and healthy employees recover?"


    Ardum gritted his teeth. "Because I told her how important you were to me."


    "You''re avoiding the question," Wyntor said.


    "This is not about being right or wrong, Wyntor!" Ardum shouted. "This is about you killing someone innocent!"


    "She was on my property without my consent," Wyntor said. "I am free to kill her. The guards won''t care."


    "Do you even hear yourself speak?!" Ardum shouted in outrage.


    "Free to kill. Property. You''re talking like Sarah was just a number! A tool!"


    Wyntor just looked at Ardum with a deadpan expression.


    "She was a stranger," he said. "Why should I care if some random stranger dies?"


    "Compared to you, I don''t need to fake empathy. I have plenty of that for the people I trust."


    "You''re avoiding the topic!" Ardum shouted. "This is about Sarah, not me or you! What are you going to do to rectify this injustice?!"


    "You sent a spy. I killed a spy. That''s it," Wyntor said. "Send someone else. I kill someone else."


    Silence.


    By now, Kiara was more than furious, but Selina kept her in check.


    Selina was also furious, but she also looked at the Zephyx Extractors of Dark Dream.


    None of them showed any surprise about Wyntor''s conduct.


    Wyntor was talking about killing people as if it were the most normal thing on the, and none of his Extractors seemed to be surprised.


    This was strange.


    Were all three of Wyntor''s Extractors just as monstrous as Wyntor himself?


    If Ardum talked like that, everyone in Cycle would be shocked.


    Was Dark Dream truly filled with psychopaths?!


    The name seemed fitting¡­


    "You''re not going to do anything?" Ardum asked with a dark voice.


    "No," Wyntor answered.


    Silence.


    A momentter, Ardum looked at Wyntor''s Zephyx Extractors.


    "This does not concern you," he said. "This is a fight between my brother and I."


    "You have all seen what kind of person he is."


    "I implore you."


    "Don''t get involved in this."


    "I don''t want anything to happen to you."


    Nick looked at Ardum.


    "Go fuck yourself."


    This took Trevor and Jenny by surprise, and they looked over at Nick.


    Even Wyntor was a bit surprised.


    "What?" Nick asked after seeing their expressions. "This is a fight, right? What''s so bad about throwing an insult?"


    In the end, Trevor just chuckled while Jenny put her hands over her eyes in embarrassment.


    Wyntor looked at Nick and then at the shocked Ardum.


    "Yes, that," Wyntor said.


    "How dare you!" Kiara shouted as she shot up from her chair. "You told me to sit down, but now you are insulting our boss!"


    "Hey, he was the one that addressed me first with that sermon," Nick said with a shrug.


    "I just wanted to repay his piece of advice with an equally valuable piece of advice."


    At that point, Nick stood up. "h, h, h," he said with annoyance. "We are all going to kill each other anyway. What''s the point of acting all offended now?"


    When Jenny and Trevor saw Nick stand up, they also stood up to show their support.


    "In the end, this is all about money. Who gives a shit?"


    "Anyway, I got work to do. See ya!" Nick said as he turned to walk away.


    Jenny and Trevor wordlessly followed him.


    Ardum''s Zephyx Extractors looked with pure shock at Nick.


    Wyntor just smiled, shrugged, and also stood up.


    "What he said."


    Then, Wyntor turned around to leave.


    The Extractors from Cycle almost exploded with rage.


    "Are you sure about this, Wyntor?" Ardum asked with a dark voice.


    "You do know that the first victim of this will be the spy you nted in mypany, right?" Ardum asked.


    Wyntor shrugged.


    "Go kill them then."


    And then, Wyntor walked out of the restaurant behind his employees.

 Chapter 147 147 – Trickery

    <h4>Chapter 147 Chapter 147 ¨C Trickery</h4>


    All members of Cycle were gathered in the meeting room.


    At this moment, all of them were looking at someone sitting on the ground with a lowered head.


    It was the silent ck-haired man.


    His name was Neron, and he had been one of Cycle''s Newbies.


    Yes, had been.


    Kiara and Selina took deep breaths as they looked at Neron''s corpse.


    It was almost like Neron was still alive.


    Neron had always been a silent man, but whenever he spoke up, his words proved to be invaluable.


    He had been very intelligent and thorough whenever he dealt with something.


    His weapon of choice had been a pair of daggers, and he had always been the one who took care of subtle but important missions.


    If Cycle needed a spy, they would have chosen Neron for the mission.


    But now, he was dead.


    Ardum sat on the head of the table, and right now, he could only sigh.


    "I''m sorry that you guys needed to see this, but there was no other way," he said with a serious voice.


    Everyone turned to look at Ardum.


    "It is not easy for me to kill someone, but as the CEO, it is part of my job and responsibility."


    "I brought Neron''s corpse in here to show you how cruel the life of Zephyx Extractors can be."


    Ardum sighed. "I knew that Neron was a spy for three months now, but I didn''t mind. After all, he belonged to my brother. What was so bad about my brother knowing some things about me? It''s not like we are enemies."


    Ardum sighed again.


    "I would have never thought that things would turn out this way."


    It was difficult for the employees to ept that another one of their colleagues had died.


    Sadly, that was how these things went.


    Just a week ago, Cycle had had eight people.


    Now, there were only six left.


    Ardum, the CEO.


    Stephen, the panda-man, the Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Futuma, the huge man. He was also the most experienced and strongest of the Newbies. If nothing went wrong, he would soon be a John.


    Selina, the bald woman with the staff.


    Kiara, the young woman with the two pistols.


    And Jonathan, the young red-headed man.


    These six were all the members of Cycle that were still alive.


    Sarah and Neron had died.


    And it was all because of Dark Dream!


    "We understand," Selina said with an emotionless tone as she threw a disregarding nce at Neron''s corpse.


    "Neron was never our friend."


    "From the very beginning, he has been our enemy."


    "We just didn''t know it."


    The others didn''t answer, but they had simr sentiments.


    Kiara nodded. "Yes, screw Neron, that traitor! I will always be on your side, Ardum!"


    "Yeah, fuck Neron!" Jonathan shouted with righteous anger.


    Futuma silently nodded.


    Stephen turned to Ardum with a reassuring smile but didn''t say anything.


    Ardum could only smile when he saw everyone''s support.


    "Thank you. You can''t imagine how much this means to me."


    But then, Ardum sighed again. "But now, I have to n a war, which I am not looking forward to."


    The Newbies took the hint and nodded. "We will always follow you," Selina said before leaving with Kiara.


    Jonathan showed Ardum a thumbs-up and left.


    Futuma nodded with conviction to Stephen and Ardum before leaving.


    When the door was closed, only Ardum and Stephen were left in the room.


    After a bit, Ardum walked over to his seat, sat down, and put his legs on the table.


    At the same time, an arrogant smirk appeared on his face.


    Stephen also grinned maliciously as he sat down in his seat.


    "Nearly there," Ardum said with a chuckle.


    Stephenughed. "You''re amazing at this," he said. "If I didn''t know you, I would also believe you."


    Ardum snorted. "Of course. I''m a Melfion. It''s only natural that I am good at fooling others."


    While Ardum talked, Stephen nced at the corpse in the corner and snorted. "What an idiot."


    "What did you expect?" Ardum said with a chuckle. "He had to trust someone, and he just so happened to choose you."


    "Do you know what he said to me?" Stephen asked.


    Ardum just shook his head.


    "He said that he thinks you are only ying with us so that we would voluntarily jump into a sea of knives for you."


    Ardumughed. "I mean, was he wrong?"


    "No," Stephen answered with a chuckle.


    "Forget him," Ardum said without even looking at the corpse. "He was too smart for his own good but not smart enough to keep his mouth shut."


    "If he hadn''t tried to expose me behind my back, he would still be alive."


    Stephen nodded. "But seriously, Ardum, I''m quite impressed. You managed to get rid of the troublesome employee while also fortifying your standing in thepany."


    "Framing him as a spy was genius," Stephen said.


    "Stop sucking up to me," Ardum said with disgust but couldn''tpletely hide a pleased tone.


    At that point, Ardum furrowed his brows.


    Wyntor''sst words shot through Ardum''s mind.


    Wyntor never had a spy in Cycle, from what Ardum knew.


    When Ardum told him that he would kill his spy, he was actually just trying to frame Neron.


    Yet, despite all odds, Wyntor confirmed that he truly had a spy in Cycle.


    And it almost definitely wasn''t Neron.


    After all, Neron had tried to expose Ardum by talking to the employees, which would be stupid for a spy.


    A spy was supposed to remain hidden and seem loyal.


    ''Does Wyntor truly have a spy in mypany?'' Ardum thought.


    Ardum nced at Stephen.


    ''Impossible.''


    "Stephen, I think it''s about time for your next reward. You''ve been quite helpful," Ardum said.


    At that point, Stephen''s demeanor changed, and he looked with excitement at Ardum as his breathing quickened.


    "You got one?" he asked while almost panting.


    Ardum nodded and slid an emblem over the table.


    "I found someone that was willing to sell one for only 35,000 credits."


    "You can go get her."


    Stephen panted heavily as he carefully took hold of the token.


    In his mind, a small and cute girl smiled at him.


    A momentter, that girl was no longer smiling.


    Tears stained her face as she screamed in terror.


    Stephen couldn''t keep his thoughts in check and grabbed the front of his pants to calm the restless thing down.


    "Don''t use her up too quickly this time," Ardum said with annoyance. "I don''t want to hear yourints again because you are not able to keep your toys from breaking."


    "Of course, sir!" Stephen said, changing the way he was addressing Ardum. "I won''t disappoint you!"


    Ardum nodded. "You can go. I will call you when I''ve finalized the n of attack."


    "Of course, of course!" Stephen said with an excited chuckle as he ran out of the room with excitement.


    Finally, he got a new toy to y with!

 Chapter 148 148 – Plan?

    <h4>Chapter 148 Chapter 148 ¨C n?</h4>


    "What''s our n?" Nick asked.


    Right now, the four people of Dark Dream were gathered inside the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit.


    It was simply the best ce for talking about things that nobody was allowed to listen to.


    The Screaming Coffin was just lying near one of the walls and didn''t move.


    It was happily digesting its meal.


    Surprisingly, it was still consuming the spy''s corpse.


    Apparently, the corpses of Extractors took far longer to digest and also gave far more Zephyx.


    "We can''t openly attack Ardum," Wyntor said. "Ardum has exposed our secret enmities, which makes it difficult when members of Cycle die."


    "While the guards don''t really care about wars between Manufacturers, they still perform a superficial and rudimentary investigation, and if we are too suspicious, they might even decide to permanently ce someone in Dark Dream to supervise us."


    "Naturally, no one wants that to happen. Not even Ardum."


    Wyntor snorted. "But because Ardum acts all friendly and innocent in front of his employees, he has to act all shocked, emotional, and angry in front of them to get them on board with this entire conflict."


    "If he didn''t, his smarter employees might realize that some things don''t add up and will be suspicious."


    Wyntor snorted again. "Because of Ardum''s ipetence, he made it more difficult for ourpanies to fight."


    Nick chuckled a bit.


    Trevor just smiled helplessly while Jenny looked worried.


    "What about your spy?" Jenny asked with worry.


    "What do you mean?" Wyntor asked.


    Jenny furrowed her brows as she looked at Wyntor. "You said Ardum was free to kill the spy. Are you truly willing to throw one of your people away like that?"


    "Oh, that?" Wyntor said before he started tough.


    "I don''t have a spy in Cycle," he said.


    This surprised everyone.


    "What? But then, how, why?" Nick asked in confusion.


    "Ooohhh, I get it!" Trevor said with a surprised expression.


    "What? Exin it!" Nick said with annoyance. "I also want to know!"


    Jenny just looked with confusion at Trevor and the grinning Wyntor.


    "Ardum wants to get rid of someone," Trevor said. "One of his employees probably became skeptical, and Ardum used them of being a spy so that he could kill them. He tried something simr on me when we first met, remember?"


    Jenny and Nick understood now and looked at Wyntor.


    "But then, why did you confirm that there was a spy?" Nick asked.


    "To make him paranoid," Trevor said.


    Wyntor nodded. "Exactly."


    "Ardum expected me to deny having a spy among his ranks, but instead of denying, I confirmed it and acted like it wasn''t a big deal."


    "That would make him believe that I truly have a spy in hispany."


    Wyntor grinned. "I can already imagine him looking with suspicion at all of his employees."


    Nick and Jenny looked with awe at Wyntor.


    That was amazing!


    Wyntor had managed to disrupt Cycle''s unity with a single sentence!


    "We should get back to the topic," Wyntor said.


    The others nodded.


    "Wars like this are fought in secret, and it''s all about reducing the enemy''s numbers until they no longer have enough employees to take care of all their Specters."


    "There will most likely not be a public battle. Most of the time, it''s just a number of assassinations on the employees."


    The three of them furrowed their brows.


    This was troublesome.


    "What about our families?" Jenny asked.


    "Ardum will most likely use them," Wyntor said.


    At that point, Jenny became nervous.


    "What about my partner?" she asked.


    "Get her to live in here," Wyntor said. "Nick and Trevor don''t have any family, which makes things easier for them. We have more than enough space for one woman to live here."


    "Although, you won''t have a lot of privacy here."


    Jenny nodded. "That''s fine. As long as she and I are safe, I don''t care about that."


    "Then, get her right now," Wyntor said. "Ardum has to act like convincing himself to battle his younger brother is very difficult, which means he can''t possibly strike this soon after our meeting."


    "Okay," Jenny answered. "I''ll get her."


    Jenny quickly ran out of the Containment Unit, leaving the other three alone.


    "Will we take the offensive?" Nick asked.


    "I''m not sure," Wyntor answered. "There are good and bad things about these things."


    "If we initiate the battle, Cycle''s unity will only increase, but if we don''t, they might strike with a force that makes it impossible for one of you to resist on your own."


    Trevor and Nick furrowed their brows.


    Traveling outside alone was dangerous now.


    Even worse, their Barriers had to be activated manually. If they didn''t activate them, it would be like throwing their lives away.


    "Should we travel together when we leave?" Trevor asked.


    "No," Wyntor said. "We always need two of you to be here. If too many of you leave at once, we leave our base open."


    "While the guards will react very quickly, it only takes a short moment for a level two Extractor to damage the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit."


    "If the Screaming Coffin gets startled and runs away, any Extractor on the streets is allowed to capture it. At that point, we will lose a great deal of our ie."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    That was troublesome.


    "I think I should live here for the time being," Trevor said. "It doesn''t really make that much of a difference."


    "That would be for the better," Wyntor said.


    Trevor nodded and stood up. "Then, I''ll get my things right now."


    "Of course."


    Trevor also left the Containment Unit, leaving Nick and Wyntor inside.


    "What about my training?" Nick asked.


    "Dangerous," Wyntor said. "You have to go through rtively isted ces, which make for a great ambush point."


    "While you will be safe during the training due to your teachers, you are vulnerable before and after training."


    Nick looked at Wyntor with furrowed brows.


    "But isn''t that also an opportunity for us?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor furrowed his brows and scratched his chin.


    Then, a gleam appeared in his eyes.

 Chapter 149 149 – Open

    <h4>Chapter 149 Chapter 149 ¨C Open</h4>


    Nick jumped from rooftop to rooftop.


    He was on his way to Man''s training spot.


    Nick was only carrying three of his spears with him.


    He had already told Man about his current situation, and she had allowed Nick to only travel with three of his spears.


    Like this, he could still move around with quite a lot of agility.


    As Nick jumped from rooftop to rooftop, he looked forward with narrowed eyes.


    It had been several days since the meeting with Cycle.


    Trevor and Jenny had already moved to the warehouse and remained inside most of the time.


    The only one traveling around outside was Nick since he still wanted to train.


    Of course, that drew the attention of certain people.


    For example, right now, Nick''s ability wasn''t active, even though he had left for the training spot before Man would be there.


    This meant that someone was currently looking at Nick while he jumped from roof to roof.


    Yesterday had been the same.


    His ability only reactivated when he was close to the training spot.


    Nick was sure that the person following him didn''t dare to get too close to Man.


    They probably always remained at least two kilometers away from the training spot.


    Sure enough, when Nick was closing in on the training spot, his ability reactivated.


    Even when Nick stood alone on the roof of the tallest building, his ability didn''t deactivate.


    The person who was keeping watch over him didn''t even dare to look at him while he was there.


    ''They don''t even dare to look at me,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''Looking shouldn''t hurt, right?''


    ''Are they this scared of Man?''


    Yes, they were.


    What Nick didn''t know was that yesterday, Man had seen the person following Nick.


    So, before she went to the training spot, she actually secretly arrived near that person and told them not to bother them while they were in the middle of training.


    Otherwise, Nick wouldn''t be able to focus on training.


    They could attack Nick on his way to or back from the training area, but the training area itself was off-limits during training hours.


    Naturally, Man''s appearance spooked the person to their very core, which was why they didn''t dare to go anywhere close to the training spot or even look at it.


    On the rooftop, Nick waited for a couple of minutes until Man arrived.


    Their training started without any dy and passed without any incidents.


    After Man left, Nick jumped down the tall building, but he didn''t leave the training spot.


    Instead, he went into the training spot.


    With practiced ease, Nick arrived inside one of the houses that hadn''t been destroyed yet.


    Nick went to one of the corners and sat down.


    The house had several holes through which sunlight could stream in, but none of the holes directly pointed at the corner Nick was sitting in.


    This meant that the corner was a bit darker than the rest of the house.


    "You''re going to die."


    A whisper appeared in Nick''s ears.


    "They''re going toe for you."


    "They''re going to bury you in here."


    Naturally, this was the Nightmare.


    Luckily, the corner was not dark enough for the Nightmare to unleash its actual powers.


    Right now, it could only whisper in Nick''s ears and slightly distort his vision.


    It wasn''t dark enough to create illusions or to fool Nick''s other senses.


    "You''re going to get killed."


    "There will be many enemies."


    "They are all looking at you."


    Nick just remained sitting in the corner with his eyes closed.


    Nick had been doing this for a couple of days.


    He wanted to give his opponent a chance to attack him.


    The ce where Nick was sitting was only visible through the door of the house.


    So, if someone saw him, they had to be looking at him through the door.


    Naturally, Nick would be able to tell when somebody was looking at him due to his ability.


    And when his ability deactivated, Nick would also know in which direction his opponent would be.


    This would give him the best shot at winning against his opponent.


    Sadly, nobody had shown up thest couple of days.


    Either they were afraid ofing close to the training spot, or they knew that this was a trap.


    Probably both.


    The training spot was surrounded by taller buildings, which meant that any enemy had to be either inside the training spot or on one of the taller buildings near the edge.


    This was Nick''s turf, and he knew how to move around here.


    Nick wanted the fight to happen in here, and his opponent most likely knew that.


    But that actually wasn''t so bad for Nick''s enemy.


    After all, they could position several people around the training spot.


    They didn''t have to fight Nick one-on-one.


    If they wanted, they could surround the training spot and shoot at him from several different areas.


    But it was a risk.


    If they actually decided to fight here, this would turn into an actual battle and not an assassination.


    That made it riskier.


    Alternatively, they could just attack Nick on his way back to Dark Dream.


    Or attack one of the other Extractors.


    There were many ways one could go about this situation.


    But for now, no way would be chosen.


    After around an hour, Nick''s ability still hadn''t deactivated, and he was getting sick of listening to the whispers in the dark.


    Nick left the house and climbed the tall house.


    His ability still didn''t deactivate.


    ''They''re gone,'' Nick thought.


    So, Nick decided to travel back to Dark Dream.


    Nothing peculiar happened.


    The next day, Nick felt himself being followed again, but he wasn''t attacked.


    His training with Man passed by without any incidents, and Nick once more entered the house in the training spot.


    The whispers returned.


    Minutes passed.


    Would this be another hour of pointless waiting?


    Nick waited in silence.


    More minutes passed.


    Suddenly, Nick opened his eyes.


    His ability had just deactivated!

 Chapter 150 150 – Sniper

    <h4>Chapter 150 Chapter 150 ¨C Sniper</h4>


    BOOOM!


    As soon as Nick''s eyes shot open, he exploded forward with all of his power and ran out of the house.


    His eyes quickly scanned over the training area, but he couldn''t see anyone.


    Whoever had just looked at him did it in a very covert manner.


    Nevertheless, Nick could tell from roughly which location his enemy had seen him, and he charged in that direction.


    Nick couldn''t see anyone.


    A momentter, Nick''s ability reactivated, and he narrowed his eyes.


    ''They''re retreating!'' Nick thought. ''They turned their backs to me.''


    ''Bad idea!''


    When Nick''s ability reactivated, his speed became far faster.


    Even with all of the weight of his weapons, Nick charged forward with incredible speed.


    Nick''s body was already very athletic and muscr, and thanks to his ability, his body was 25 times stronger than a normal person with his build would be.


    BOOOM!


    Nick put all of his power into a jump and managed to jump across half the training area, even with all of his weapons.


    Nick flew over ten meters into the air andnded over 25 meters away.


    Cling.


    Yet, when Nicknded, he barely made a sound.


    It was almost like a cat hadnded on top of the building.


    No sound, no vibrations, no damage.


    It was like Nick didn''t weigh anything.


    The only unusual thing was that a strong gust of wind spread from Nick''s location.


    This was something Nick had learned from Man in thest couple of months.


    By using his Zephyx in a certain way, Nick could redirect the force when he wasnding somewhere.


    Mastering this ability took a long time, and when it was mastered, someone could move with as much speed as they wanted without making a sound.


    Of course, Nick hadn''t mastered the ability yet. The best he could do was to redirect the force into the air around him, pushing the air away with a lot of force.


    Nevertheless, this ability was perfect for Nick since sounds also exposed his location and made him perceivable.


    When Nicknded, he continued shooting forward with a mad gleam in his eyes.


    The enemy was here!


    He had to fight!


    For his goal, he had to be stronger!


    He had to protect his friends!


    He had to prove that he wasn''t just wasting time!


    Nick needed to prove himself to himself.


    He had to see how strong he had be!


    With gnashed teeth and narrowed eyes, Nick jumped forward again, preparing a spear.


    Nick still couldn''t see any enemies.


    Finally, Nick reached the edge of the arena and jumped onto the roof of quite a tall building.


    Silently but quickly, Nick moved forward, looking into the distance.


    A running person!


    Someone wearing a ck cloak was jumping from building to building.


    Right now, they were only 30 meters away from Nick.


    Nick had just moved way too fast for the enemy to have gotten far.


    Immediately, Nick pulled his spear back.


    He would obliterate them!


    But then, Nick''s eyes narrowed even more.


    He moved his hand in a certain way, which activated his Barrier.


    At the same time, he ducked and quickly stepped to the side.


    SHING!


    A momentter, the Barrier around Nick flickered a bit.


    It hadn''t been hit by anything, but something extremely fast had just passed by Nick, and the force from that object passing by the Barrier made it flicker.


    BOOOM!


    A momentter, Nick heard the sound of a high-caliber rifle.


    Naturally, the sound of the rifle arrived after the projectile.


    Nick looked at the retreating person and noticed that they had turned around only after the shot had been fired.


    ''More than one,'' Nick thought.


    The thing that had passed Nick just now had left a silver and green streak.


    Nick was quite sure that it was a bullet, but he could also tell that this wasn''t everything.


    There was something else.


    ''An ability,'' Nick realized.


    Whoever had just shot at Nick had unleashed an ability with the bullet.


    If Nick got hit by that, it would be extremely dangerous.


    All of these thoughts shot through Nick''s mind in an instant.


    In fact, Nick didn''t even pause after jumping to the side and quickly slid down the wall of the building.


    From this position, Nick couldn''t see the retreating person anymore.


    Sure enough, a momentter, Nick''s ability reactivated.


    ''Whoever shot at me can''t see me from their location.''


    DING!


    Nick rammed one of his spears into the wall beside him to stop himself from falling.


    His ability didn''t deactivate.


    ''They''re not close enough to hear my spear piercing the wall,'' Nick concluded.


    Nick looked forward into the distance.


    ''There''s nobody in this direction,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick diagonally looked at the wall he was hanging from.


    ''They have to be somewhere there.''


    Nick used a second spear and slowly moved forward by stabbing it also into the wall.


    His ability was still active.


    Nick slowly moved his head forward,ing closer and closer to the end of the wall.


    The closer he got, the less the wall covered.


    By now, Nick could see the ce where the fleeing person from earlier had been.


    Naturally, that person had vanished by now.


    Nick moved his head forward after looking at the part that was revealed behind the wall.


    His ability deactivated, and Nick immediately pulled his head back.


    Without hesitation, Nick immediately jumped off his spear.


    CRACK!


    The wall got destroyed as it couldn''t withstand the force of Nick jumping off the spear.


    BANG!


    Another part of the wall exploded as something shot through it.


    Just as expected, the enemy tried to kill Nick by shooting through the wall to hit his body.


    Nick grabbed the edge of the roof and used his Ghost Wire to retrieve his spears while pulling himself onto the rooftop.


    As soon as he got to the top, he rolled away from the spot where his enemy should be able to see him.


    BANG!


    Another hole appeared beside Nick.


    ''They''re good!'' Nick thought as he slipped into the training area again.

 Chapter 151 151 – Running

    <h4>Chapter 151 Chapter 151 ¨C Running</h4>


    As Nick rolled into the training area, his ability activated again.


    Even though it had seemed that Nick had only blindly moved around, he had actually approximated the sniper''s location.


    Since Nick had beening here for months, he was very familiar with the area, and he knew how to get there.


    And he also knew that it would be very difficult.


    ''It will be extremely difficult to get close to the sniper without them noticing me,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows as he slid down the building.


    ''There are too many even and low rooftops.''


    ''The sniper is probably at a high location, and I can''t get to them without being seen. Even if I run through the streets.''


    BANG!


    Nick rammed the de on his right hand into the wall in front of him.


    Naturally, Nick had his fist weapons with him due to the uing war.


    Nick''s de easily punched through the wall, and Nick used it to create a huge hole, allowing him to enter the home.


    It was quite loud, but the sound was too distant for the sniper to properly hear.


    As Nick slipped into the building, the map of the surrounding areas shot through his mind again.


    There was no good way to get to the sniper.


    But then, Nick got an idea.


    BANG!


    Nick rammed his de into the floor and created a circr cut around his position, which resulted in him falling down a floor.


    One had to remember that Nick was incredibly powerful right now and that his de was extremely sharp and durable.


    Cutting a circr hole in some metal flooring wasn''t difficult.


    Nick did the same thing another floor lower.


    After that, Nick grabbed the edge of the floor he had just fallen through.


    Below him was darkness.


    The sewers.


    Luckily, some light came through the holes, and Nick could see a bit.


    When Nick saw a rooftop that came out of the water, he immediately jumped onto it.


    As soon as Nicknded, he took out a spear and threw it into the distance with all of his power.


    DING!


    The spear hit something in the distance, and Nick pulled a bit on the Ghost Wire.


    If he really wanted to, he could pull the spear back, but that was not what he wanted.


    As long as the spear could withstand a bit of pull, it would work.


    The next moment, Nick narrowed his eyes and jumped forward with all of his power.


    CRK! CRK!


    Nick quickly hit the dark ceiling, but he used his two des to cut into it in a diagonal fashion.


    Now, Nick hung from the top of the dark sewers.


    His two des were stuck in the ceiling, and Nick used their t sides to support his body.


    A momentter, the world around Nick transformed.


    One person wearing a ck cloak after the other appeared, and they were all targeting Nick with long rifles.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    All the shots hit Nick and tore parts out of his body.


    However, Nick just closed his eyes and pulled one of his des out before stabbing it into the ceiling a bit further away.


    "YOU''RE GOING TO DIE!"


    "DIE!"


    "I HATE YOU!"


    "DIE!"


    The dark voices that the Nightmare created shouted at Nick with hatred.


    Nick was in the darkness, and the darkness was the Nightmare''s domain.


    But Nick just gritted his teeth and moved forward.


    The pain was almost unbearable, but Nick''s desire to prove to himself that he wasn''t worthless was just too strong.


    After moving forward a bit, Nick pulled slightly on the Ghost Wire of the spear and noted that he was facing in the wrong direction.


    A momentter, corpses began to fall from the dark sky, screaming at Nick toe with them.


    Trevor and Jenny were disemboweled in front of Nick, and their organs covered his body, constricting it.


    But Nick just continued moving forward.


    It was horrible, but Nick just kept going.


    Finally, Nick realized that he had arrived at the location where his spear was stuck in the ceiling.


    Immediately, Nick started to dig through the ceiling, and a momentter, he saw a bit of light.


    It was still pretty dark, but the light made it far more difficult for the Nightmare to fool him.


    Nick retrieved his spear and went through the hole he had created, appearing on the ground floor of a building.


    When Nick realized that he had arrived, a fire of determination appeared in his eyes.


    Now, he would be the attacker!


    Thest shot from the sniper had happened not even 30 seconds ago.


    That was how fast and determined Nick had moved through the buildings and the sewers.


    The sniper should still be in the same area as before.


    ''They''re most likely surveying their surroundings while looking at the training area,'' Nick thought.


    ''They think I''m still there.''


    ''Maybe one of their colleagues is currently searching the ces where I should be while the sniper keeps an eye out.''


    Nick looked back at the hole and approximated the direction he was facing.


    He remembered in which direction he had thrown the spear, and by looking at the rooftop in the sewers through the hole, Nick could tell with quite some confidence where the sniper was.


    ''I moved over 50 meters forward, which means I passed the low spot where the sniper could see me.''


    Nick silently ran through the building and rolled out of a window.


    The streets were in horrible condition, but not everything was broken.


    Right now, Nick was in an alley with more holes than street, surrounded by tall buildings on both sides.


    Nick looked up and saw some kind of metallic g hanging from one of the buildings.


    ''So, I''m here,'' Nick thought.


    Naturally, buildings all had their own special marks that identified them, and Nick remembered that strange metallic g.


    He knew exactly where he was now.


    With narrowed eyes, Nick looked down one way of the alley.


    Ding! Ding!


    Nick jumped forward and buried his two des in one side of the building to grab onto it before jumping forward to the other wall.


    Like this, Nick moved forward through the alley.

 Chapter 152 152 – Sneaking

    <h4>Chapter 152 Chapter 152 ¨C Sneaking</h4>


    Nick silently jumped from building to building.


    Whenever his des stuck into one of the buildings, they made a little sound, but the sound was barely noticeable.


    Ding!


    Suddenly, Nick silently jumped through a window into a house.


    He had heard someone.


    As Nick looked through the window of the house he was in, he could see a person wearing a ck cloak carefully jumping from ce to ce as they were passing through the alley.


    Nick narrowed his eyes as he looked at the person.


    ''No rifle,'' Nick realized. ''That''s not the sniper.''


    A momentter, Nick saw the person''s hands, and he saw a gun in each of them.


    That was when Nick remembered that woman with the two guns he had seen during the meeting, the one that had exploded more than once.


    ''Most likely her,'' Nick thought.


    For a moment, Nick thought about killing her.


    After all, she was an enemy.


    ''No,'' Nick thought. ''If I kill her, the sniper will know where I am.''


    ''The sniper is far more dangerous than her.''


    As Nick watched her pass, he thought about something.


    ''If I were the sniper, would I let her just run through an alley without any supervision?''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''No, I wouldn''t.''


    The next moment, Nick held one of his hands out of the window.


    The sunlight reflected off Nick''s polished de, and Nick saw the silhouette of the end of the alley.


    That was when Nick saw a bright spot on top of one of the buildings, and he immediately pulled his arm back.


    Nick''s ability immediately deactivated!


    However, Nick didn''t move, and his ability quickly reactivated.


    ''They probably saw something glimmer in the alley and looked over,'' Nick thought. ''They think I''m just a random piece of metal that reflected some of the light.''


    ''That means they still don''t know I''m here!''


    Nick quickly shot away from the window and silently ran through the house until he arrived at the other side.


    Nick knew exactly on which building the sniper was now, and he also knew how to get there.


    After jumping out of the window, Nick put his de into-


    Nick stopped moving.


    Just five meters away, on the rooftop of the neighboring building, someone wearing a ck cloak had stopped running.


    The person was looking at Nick from just five to ten meters away.


    Nick looked back.


    None of them had expected to see someone here.


    And they were just looking at each other.


    Three seconds of silence passed, during which nobody moved.


    Clink! Clink!


    Two small gauntlets fell onto the roof of the building as the cloaked person lifted their hands in surrender while also falling to their knees.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    A momentter, Nick put his finger to his lips and gestured for the other person to stay quiet.


    The other person rapidly nodded several times.


    Nick slowly nodded as well.


    Then, Nick quietly jumped to the building where the cloaked person was.


    The cloaked person became terrified when Nick came close to them.


    However, they had alreadymitted to their choice, and their life was now up to Nick.


    They only hoped that Nick would consider epting them into Dark Dream instead of killing them.


    Luckily, Nick quickly ran past them.


    "Nothing will happen to you," Nick said as he passed them. "Don''t look at me. If you see my ability, I will have to kill you."


    The heartbeat of the person became even faster, and they didn''t dare to say anything or do anything.


    Right now, they were just on their knees, looking away from Nick.


    Nick rapidly ran along the roof with all of his speed.


    A couple of secondster, Nick arrived behind the building where the sniper was on.


    Very quietly, Nick climbed up the building.


    There he was.


    Right in front of him was a cloaked person, lying on their huge belly while aiming towards the training spot with a huge rifle.


    Nick immediately knew who that was.


    He remembered the fat man with the eyepatch, whom he had seen during the meeting.


    ''This should be their Chief Zephyx Extractor, the second John,'' Nick thought.


    Nick narrowed his eyes and slowly moved forward.


    "I can''t see Jonathan!"


    At that moment, a female voice shouted from the other end of the alleyway.


    "Jonathan, report!" the fat guy in front of Nick shouted as he turned to look towards his left.


    Silence.


    Stephen, the fat man, furrowed his brows.


    Did the enemy get Jonathan?


    However, the enemy should still be within the training ground.


    The only way to get here without being noticed would take at least two minutes.


    A momentter, Stephen suddenlyy in the shade.


    Something had covered the sun.


    Stephen''s eyes widened in shock.


    CRACK!


    A metallic de violently rammed through the fat man''s thick neck, decapitating him.


    Stephen''sst thought was, ''Why didn''t my Barrier activate?!''


    Well, Barriers without an AI chip weren''t that great in dealing with surprise attacks.


    While Stephen had a Barrier that could activate and deactivate itself on its own, it didn''t have an intelligent way to deal with a subtle attack.


    Stephen''s Barrier was definitely more expensive than Nick''s, but it still wasn''t good enough to save Stephen.


    Nick knew how to exploit these Barriers since his own Barrier had the same fault.


    If something moved very slowly through the Barrier''s proximity, the Barrier wouldn''t view that as an attack.


    So, Nick had simply moved forward very slowly, entering Stephen''s Barrier.


    When he was directly on top of Stephen, Nick mmed his de down.


    Stephen was dead.


    Nick just looked at the corpse for about a second before he jumped down the building.


    A momentter, Nick saw Jonathan, who didn''t dare to look in Nick''s direction.


    Nick quickly arrived behind Jonathan, and he could tell that Jonathan had noticed him.


    "The fat guy is dead," Nick said.


    Jonathan''s body shook, but he didn''t dare to move.


    "How many are here?"


    "Three," a scared male voice answered.


    "Including the fat guy?" Nick asked.


    "Yes," Jonathan said.


    Nick nodded.


    "If you can convince the girl to surrender, she doesn''t have to die," Nick said.

 Chapter 153 153 – Fear

    <h4>Chapter 153 Chapter 153 ¨C Fear</h4>


    Jonathan, who was still wearing his ck cloak, felt like he had made the right choice.


    When he had seen Nicking out of the window almost beside him, he had been frozen in fear.


    The three of them had thought that Nick was still inside the training area or leaving via the other side to take a detour.


    After all, it was impossible to get close to them via the direct route since Stephen could see everything.


    Kiara and Jonathan had been sent by Stephen to advance. If Nick were hiding somewhere close to the border, they would be able to get him out of this hiding ce, which would allow Stephen to kill him in one shot.


    Kiara was walking in a more hidden area, but she would have Stephen''s oversight.


    Meanwhile, Jonathan would walk on top of the buildings, which would make it easy for him to keep a lookout and to notice Nick if he decided to advance.


    And then, Nick hade out of the window beside Jonathan.


    Several thoughts had shot through Jonathan''s mind at that point.


    ''Oh, fuck!'' had been the first one, quickly followed by, ''I''m going to die!''


    Jonathan knew that Stephen hadn''t been able to see him since he was watching over Kiara.


    When Stephen had asked for volunteers, Jonathan jumped forward, eager to take revenge for Sarah.


    In Jonathan''s mind, he had imagined himself fighting the enemy with his fists, beating them back.


    Then, Stephen would take the shot, and everyone would thank him for keeping the enemy upied.


    Finally, it was his time to shine!


    Finally, he would prove to Futuma and Selina that he wasn''t just blowing hot air as they imed he was doing!


    He hated how Selina always told him that he would run at the first sign of danger, while Futuma always ignored him whenever he was trying to say something!


    But when Nick actually showed up, it became very different from Jonathan''s imagination.


    When Jonathan had seen Nick''s narrowed and focused eyes as he confidently and quietly came out of the window, he felt like he was looking at a Veteran.


    Everything inside Jonathan shouted at him that he was going to die.


    This was not someone he could fight!


    So, Jonathan had surrendered.


    The next minute was a blur.


    He remembered Nick walking past him and saying something.


    Then, a nk.


    Finally, Nick had returned, talking to him.


    Jonathan wasn''t sure if a second or an hour had passed.


    At this moment, Jonathan was just trying toe to terms with his survival.


    "If you can convince the girl to surrender, she doesn''t have to die."


    When Jonathan heard that, he felt his heart rate increase again.


    Die.


    Everyone always talked about death, but when death was this close, the word felt very different.


    Jonathan''s body shook, and he slowly rose to his feet.


    "I still can''t see Jonathan!" Kiara shouted from the end of the alley.


    Jonathan''s heart beat in his ears.


    "Tell her that the fat man is dead and that you lost. If shees peacefully, I promise that she won''t die," Nick said.


    Jonathan breathed heavily as he heard Nick speak from behind him.


    "K-Kiara," Jonathan spoke. "S-Stephen is d-d-dead."


    In the alley, Kiara''s eyes widened in shock as she looked in the direction where Jonathan''s voice came from.


    Dunk!


    Nick shoved Jonathan forward to tell him to move.


    Jonathan kept his arms raised as he walked across the roof.


    "I-if youe peacefully, he promises that you won''t d-die," Jonathan said.


    Kiara didn''t know what she should think and looked at where Stephen should be.


    She couldn''t see him.


    At that moment, Kiara''s emotions went wild.


    Fear, disbelief, rage, frustration.


    After a bit, Jonathan appeared at the edge of one of the buildings that Kiara could see.


    When she saw Jonathan, her heart almost stopped.


    Even from this distance, she could see Jonathan''s body shaking like a leaf, and the bit of his face that she could see through the cloak was wet with tears.


    Even more, the fear and panic in his voice was overwhelming.


    The next moment, Nick stepped forward from behind Jonathan and looked at Kiara with an even look.


    "Step to the side and turn away," Nick spoke quietly and coldly.


    Jonathanplied, took a couple steps to the side, and looked away from Nick.


    Kiara''s fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, and she became ready to react.


    "If you run, you will die," Nick spoke coldly.


    "If you stay, you will survive."


    "I already killed the fat guy after he ambushed me with a number advantage."


    "Taking care of you will not be difficult," Nick said.


    Kiara gritted her teeth.


    Shing!


    In an instant, one of Nick''s spears appeared in his hand.


    "Don''t do anything stupid," Nick threatened in a dark and deep voice.


    Kiara''s clenched fists shook.


    She was so frustrated!


    They were supposed to win!


    Even more, they were two while he was only one!


    If they fought together, they might be able to take him down!


    But when she saw Jonathan, she immediately threw that possibility out of the window.


    Jonathan looked far too terrified to fight right now.


    ''I should have believed Selina!'' Kiara thought.


    At that moment, Kiara hated Jonathan so much!


    "What will it be?" Nick asked.


    Kiara gritted her teeth and slowly retrieved one of her guns.


    Then, she threw it to the ground beside her.


    "You can keep your guns," Nick said with confidence.


    "Having them or not having them makes no difference."


    Kiara''s clenched fist shook even more as she retrieved the gun she had dropped.


    Nick lowered his spear.


    "Come up," hemanded.


    Kiara looked at Nick with humiliation and frustration.


    She didn''t move.


    "I said,e up," Nick said with some aggression in his voice.


    Kiara gritted her teeth.


    "How?" she asked.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "How am I supposed to climb such a tall building?"


    Nick furrowed his brows in confusion.


    What was her problem?


    Like, just climb?


    Was she scheming something?

 Chapter 154 154 – Peddler Storage Token

    <h4>Chapter 154 Chapter 154 ¨C Peddler Storage Token</h4>


    "Turn around," Nick said.


    "Why?" Kiara asked, taking a more defensive stance.


    "I will create a staircase for you with my ability, but I don''t want you to see my ability," Nick exined.


    Kiara furrowed her brows, but a couple of secondster, she turned around.


    Since Jonathan also wasn''t looking at Nick, Nick''s ability reactivated.


    DING! DING! DING!


    Nick threw his three spears rapidly at one of the buildings, creating a stairway.


    "Turn around ande up," Nickmanded.


    Kiara looked back and saw the three spears stuck in the building at different heights.


    Without waiting, she jumped onto the first one.


    When she felt how heavy and durable the spear was, her eyes opened wide in shock.


    These spears were way heavier than she had expected!


    And he had thrown them this urately and quickly?!


    How powerful was his ability?!


    After a couple of jumps, Kiara arrived at the rooftop of Nick''s neighboring building.


    SHING! SHING! SHING!


    Nick pulled his three spears back with his Ghost Wire and pocketed them.


    Kiara once more became shocked.


    As a Newbie who had never truly fought another Extractor, she had no idea that something like this was possible.


    She knew exactly what that meant.


    Nick had infinite ammo!


    Kiara moved closer to Nick whilepletely ignoring Jonathan.


    When she arrived, Nick nodded.


    "Follow me," Nick said as he turned around.


    Jonathanplied without any resistance.


    When Kiara saw Jonathan sopliant, she couldn''t help gritting her teeth.


    She was so disgusted with this coward!


    After a bit of walking, the three of them climbed onto the building where Stephen''s corpsey.


    When they saw Stephen''s decapitated corpse, reality once more hit them.


    Kiara''s fear increased a lot.


    This was not someone she could mess with!


    "Search his body," Nickmanded.


    Kiara gritted her teeth while Jonathan''s face became even whiter.


    "I don''t know if there is a kind of trap that Cycle has nted on his body, and I''m not the one that''s going to find out," Nick said.


    Kiara red at Jonathan while Jonathan gulped.


    Jonathan slowly moved towards the corpse with a shaking body.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, something heavy hit Kiara''s back, and she fell onto the fat man''s corpse.


    Kiara couldn''t breathe for a long time, and she was in strong pain.


    "I said, search his body!" Nick shouted.


    Just now, Nick had punched Kiara''s back.


    Jonathan just looked with terror at Kiara, and his shaking hands moved to the fat man''s corpse, quickly rummaging through his pockets.


    When Kiara could finally breathe again, she turned to look at Nick and red at him.


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    Kiara could only grit her teeth and search the fat man''s corpse.


    The two of them found a couple of credits, a bank card, some tools, his Barrier¡­


    "Wait, give me that," Nick said suddenly.


    Kiara and Jonathan turned to look at what Nick was pointing at.


    It was some kind of coin or emblem.


    Jonathan grabbed it and held it out to Nick.


    Nick looked at it and furrowed his brows.


    "A Peddler Storage Token?" Nick said.


    The two didn''t know what Nick meant.


    They were not from the Dregs.


    When Nick saw their confused expressions, he held the token up. "The Peddlers are one of the four gangs that run the Dregs. They deal in all kinds of trade."


    "Now, my question is, why would a level two Extractor have a token from the Peddlers? If he wanted to, he could just store his stuff in a more secure storage. As a level two Extractor, he could even enter the Inner City."


    "Why store his things in the Dregs?"


    "Unless it''s something that he can''t store anywhere else," Nick said.


    "Do you know what this could be?" he asked as he looked at the two of them.


    Both of them shook their heads.


    "Seems like it''s not only Ardum that has you two fooled," Nick said.


    Jonathan looked with worry at Nick while Kiara narrowed her eyes.


    However, Kiara didn''t dare toin.


    "Why don''t we take a look?" Nick asked with a confident smirk.


    Next, Nick moved forward and grabbed the fat man''s head before stuffing it into a sack that was hanging from the fat man''s belt.


    Then, Nick just lifted his corpse.


    "Let''s go. It''s not far from here," Nick said before jumping from one building to the next.


    The fat man was extremely heavy, but Nick still managed to move with confidence.


    Additionally, the silence with which he moved made him even more terrifying for the two people apanying him.


    Jonathan just followed Nick, while Kiara took a deep breath before doing the same.


    After a bit of jumping, the three of them reached the part of the Dregs that actually had humans.


    When the people of the Dregs saw Nick pass them with a huge corpse, they stepped to the side in fear.


    Ironically, they were more afraid of his uniform than the corpse he was carrying.


    Eventually, the three of them reached a tall building with two people standing in front.


    When they saw Nick approaching them, one of them quickly ran to the side.


    "Stop!" Nickmanded.


    The second guard immediately froze in fear.


    "Is there something you need, sir?" the first guard asked.


    "I''m going to ask you a couple of questions," Nick said to the guard, "and you better not lie."


    "I''m from the Dregs myself, and I know how these things work."


    "I''ve already harvested a couple of corpses from the Riker Strikers some months ago for one of my Specters. If you try something on me, I might decide to go for the Peddlers next."


    "Got it?" Nick asked.


    The two immediately knew what Nick was talking about.


    After all, the Riker Strikers had taken a brutal hit when a Zephyx Extractor had entered their headquarters and killed almost ten people!


    The amount of people who wanted to join them dropped significantly after that event.


    The guards looked at each other.


    Then, one of them looked with worry at Nick before looking at his colleague again.


    Lastly, they looked at the headless corpse.


    "What do you want to know, sir?" one of them asked.

 Chapter 155 155 – The Storage

    <h4>Chapter 155 Chapter 155 ¨C The Storage</h4>


    Nick dropped the corpse onto the ground.


    Then, he took out the Peddler Storage Token and showed it.


    "I found this storage token on him," Nick said. "I presume you''ve seen this guy before?"


    The two looked at the token with worry.


    They were not allowed to give out any data from their customers.


    Although¡­


    This customer was dead.


    "Yes," one of them said, eliciting a nervous nce from the other one.


    Nick nodded. "I want to ess the storage, and I don''t want to get led to a fake room. I am from the Dregs. I know what you guys deal in, and if a level two Extractor is storing something here instead of the Inner City, it must be bad."


    The two guards looked at each other in nervousness.


    "Please, follow me," one of them said, opening the door behind him.


    Nick nodded. "I''ll leave the corpse here. If anything is missing from it when I return, I''ll go home with a second corpse. I can afford to spend 15,000 credits on a tantrum."


    The guards swallowed again, and one of them called a couple of colleagues to watch over the corpse.


    The other guard then entered the warehouse while being followed by Nick and his two panions".


    "You''re sure we took the right turn just now?" Nick asked coldly.


    The guard swallowed.


    He turned around and looked at Nick''s narrowed eyes.


    "M-may I see-see the token again?" he asked, holding out his shaking hand.


    Nick slowly ced the token in the guy''s hand.


    The guy looked at the token.


    "Ex-excuse me. I made a mistake just now," the guard said carefully as he handed the token back.


    Nick red at him.


    Nick had used the storage service of the Peddlers in the past, and he knew that they would never store important things upstairs, which was where the guard had just wanted to lead Nick.


    Something stored by an Extractor had to be stored in the basement.


    Sure enough, the guard led Nick and the others into the basement.


    After a bit of walking, everyone stopped in front of a metallic door.


    "This is the door," the guard said, his body still shaking. "We value our customers'' privacy. So, we don''t know what''s behind this."


    "Open it," Nickmanded.


    "Of course," the guard said with a polite but nervous smile as he took out a couple of keys.


    "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry!"


    As soon as the door opened, the panicked voice of a small child came out of the room.


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    Jonathan and Kiara became shocked.


    "Please," the guard said with a polite tone as he gestured to the door.


    Nick unceremoniously pushed the door open and walked inside.


    "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! Please! I''ll do anything! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"


    When the three of them saw what was in the room, they had to take deep breaths, and even Nick''s heart sank.


    In the back of the room was a rickety bed.


    On the left side of the room were some pieces of bloody metal and some bloody scissors.


    The corner of the room had some piss and shit in it.


    And in another corner was a cage.


    Inside the cage was a little girl with several wounds on her body.


    Right now, she was looking with pure panic and terror at the three people as she did her absolute best to stretch as much of her body out of the cage as she could.


    It was like she was absolutely terrified of staying in this cage.


    Or, more precisely, in the ce where the cage was located.


    The cage was put in a darker corner of the room.


    It wasn''t fully dark, but it was quite dark.


    Everyone knew what that meant.


    The Nightmare had been whispering in the little girl''s ears for who knew how long.


    "I won''t bite you anymore! I swear! I''ll do whatever you want! Please! Please! Please! I''m sorry!"


    "This shouldn''t be in here," the guard said with fake outrage. "I swear, we would never-"


    "Shut up," Nick said.


    The guard didn''t say anything anymore.


    Jonathan and Kiara looked with absolute terror at the girl and the cage.


    Then, the stench of the feces-filled cage hit them.


    Kiara turned to the side and puked.


    "You can confirm that this is the fat guy''s storage unit?" Nick asked evenly.


    "Y-yes, sir," the guard answered. "If we had known what-"


    "Shut up," Nickmanded again.


    The next moment, Nick turned to Jonathan, who just looked at the girl with pure terror.


    "Let her out," Nickmanded.


    Jonathan''s body shook, and he looked at Nick.


    After that, he turned to the cage and moved forward.


    As soon as he reached the cage, the girl''s little hands grabbed Jonathan''s body with all their strength, refusing to let go.


    "Please! I''m sorry! I''m sorry!" she shouted in panic.


    "I-I''ll let you out!" Jonathan shouted back in panic.


    However, the girl waspletely delirious and just kept shouting at Jonathan while grabbing his body.


    Jonathan quickly found the lock, but it was made of metal, and he wasn''t strong enough to break it.


    When Nick saw that, he was annoyed.


    Nick stepped forward.


    "Out of the way!" Nickmanded.


    Jonathan stumbled quickly out of the way.


    Then, Nick looked into the little girl''s eyes.


    "Move back!" hemanded with a dark voice.


    The little girl stopped moving when she heard Nick''s voice.


    "I said, move back!" Nick shouted.


    The girl quickly fell back.


    Nick grabbed one of the bars and put his foot on the edge of the cage.


    Then, he pulled.


    CRRRRRRRRRRRK!


    The bar bent, and Nick snapped it off.


    Then, he did the same thing to a second bar.


    "You cane out," Nick said with a calm voice after taking a deep breath.


    The girl quickly moved forward and stumbled out of the cage before she bolted to the door to escape.


    Nick just grabbed her.


    "Calm down!" Nick shouted. "I''m not here to hurt you!"


    "I''m here to free you!"

 Chapter 156 156 – The Truth

    <h4>Chapter 156 Chapter 156 ¨C The Truth</h4>


    After a lot of persuasion and talking, the little girl finally broke down and started crying.


    The guard kept looking around with nervous eyes.


    Jonathan just sat in the hallway, looking at the ground with dead eyes.


    Kiara just looked with terror at the crying girl and the room.


    "How are you with kids?"


    Kiara was taken out of her thoughts when Nick addressed her.


    Kiara just looked at the girl nervously.


    "I have a little brother," she said.


    Nick nodded. "I want to know what happened here," he said.


    Kiara looked at Nick nervously.


    Then, she walked up to the girl and softly started to talk to her.


    Meanwhile, Nick walked out of the room and looked at Jonathan.


    Jonathan didn''t even turn to look at Nick.


    Just the mental image of the room was too much to process for him.


    The cruelty¡­


    He knew how it felt to be in the darkness.


    It was probably the most terrifying experience imaginable.


    And this girl had been in the darkness for maybe even days.


    Jonathan just couldn''tprehend what he had seen.


    "This is who you''re working for," Nick said.


    Jonathan didn''t look up.


    "Where do you think the fat guy got this girl from?" Nick asked. "Getting something like this requires some connections."


    Jonathan didn''t answer.


    "When we met Ardum for the first time, he tried to frame one of my people as a spy while we didn''t even have any issues with each other."


    "At the same time, he had a true spy in our midst."


    "It was a 14-year-old boy named Pator."


    "Ardum nted Pator on Wyntor''s side two years ago."


    "Ardum used a little boy as a spy, knowing fully well what happens to spies in the Melfion family."


    Nick looked at the wall absentmindedly.


    "I was tasked with doing the deed."


    Jonathan turned to look at Nick.


    "I found Pator crying and talking to a statue," Nick said. "He was saying that he regrets everything and wants to stop but can''t because he''s already in too deep."


    "If he continued, he would feel like he was betraying his friends."


    "If he stopped, he would die."


    Silence.


    "What did you do?" Jonathan asked.


    "A spy is a spy," Nick said.


    "I did what I had to do."


    Jonathan looked back at the wall.


    "The girl from Cycle has been spying on us for three months," Nick said.


    "We noticed her three months ago already, but we didn''t do anything since we were not ready for an open conflict with Cycle yet."


    "For three months, she just randomly showed up in the night and in the early morning."


    "A week ago, we were ready to do something about the spy, and I found her on our rooftop."


    "She took out some kind of ss jar and was fidgeting around with it."


    "I threw two spears at her."


    "The first one shot through her body."


    "The second one shot through her head."


    "When we looked at her corpse and found the green substance, we knew why she was here."


    "She was meant to act as a reason to go to war."


    "Ardum keeps putting on a fake persona, and in order to get your support, he needed to unite you under amon cause."


    "Think about the following questions."


    "Why did she arrive during the night, in secret, for several months?"


    "If she wanted to help us, would there have been an easier way?"


    "Why is the little girl here?"


    "Go think about these questions."


    Silence.


    Nick just kept looking forward without saying anything.


    Jonathan just kept looking at the ground.


    Several minutes passed.


    "Her name was Sarah," Jonathan said.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Sarah was always happy and helpful. She even taught me how to take care of our Specters."


    Silence.


    "Her shifts changed about three months ago, and her hours in thepany got reduced," Jonathan said.


    "Was there someone else that Ardum could have sent to do the same thing?" Nick asked.


    Jonathan furrowed his brows.


    "Neron was our spy," Jonathan said. "His job was to go undercover and gather information."


    "Was?" Nick asked.


    "He was also a spy for you," Jonathan said.


    Nick snorted. "No, he wasn''t."


    Jonathan furrowed his brows.


    "Wyntor said that to confuse Ardum," Nick exined.


    After that, Nick exined in detail why Wyntor had confirmed that there was a spy and what Wyntor thought Ardum was actually doing.


    Jonathan had difficulties believing Nick.


    However, the things he had seen today made it difficult to ignore Nick''s words.


    Was it true?


    Had Ardum actually yed them for a fool?


    The more Jonathan thought about that possibility, the more signs he saw that confirmed Nick''s statement.


    At some point, Kiara walked out of the room.


    The girl clung to Kiara''s thigh.


    Nick just looked over at Kiara.


    Kiara took a deep breath. "Her family sold her to a group of strangers," Kiara said with difficulty.


    "They put her in this room."


    "A couple of dayster, Ste- the big man showed up."


    The little girl started to shake.


    "He did horrible things, and when she fought back, he put her in the cage to punish her."


    "That was two days ago."


    The girl continued shaking, and Kiara kept stroking the little girl''s hair.


    Jonathan took a deep breath.


    Nick nodded and stopped leaning on the wall.


    "Let''s go. We''re done here."


    Kiara furrowed her brows.


    "Just like this?"


    "Yes," Nick said. "If you want to find justice, you are free to do so. It''s 15,000 credits per corpse."


    "But keep in mind. All of these guards also have families, and not everyone knows exactly what is going on at all times."


    Kiara gritted her teeth.


    "What about her?" she asked, gesturing to the little girl.


    "I can leave her to you if you want."


    "Keep her. Let her go. Hand her to an orphanage. Bring her back to her family. Do whatever you want."


    Kiara furrowed her brows.


    She was stuck with the little girl now?!


    However, when she looked at the girl''s scared eyes, she just felt pity.


    She earned enough money to support another person¡­

 Chapter 157 157 – Going Back

    <h4>Chapter 157 Chapter 157 ¨C Going Back</h4>


    Nick left the Peddler''s building with Kiara, Jonathan, and the girl following him.


    Jonathan and Kiara hadn''t noticed it, but their dynamic with Nick had already changed.


    Earlier, they had followed Nick because he had essentially threatened them with their lives.


    But now, they just naturally followed him.


    Naturally, that was because of what they had just seen.


    Stephen had harbored such a dark secret, and most likely, Ardum must have known about it or, even worse, actually supported it.


    It was still very difficult for them to ept that the nice boss they had known for months actually had such a dark secret.


    Kiara, especially, wanted to deny that Ardum knew about these things.


    But the only way this would be possible was if all of this had been set up by Nick.


    However, that was just too unrealistic.


    It would have required so much work, and Nick would have even needed to fool a small girl into lying very convincingly.


    It was a fact that Stephen was a monster, and Ardum most likely knew about it.


    Some people might be able toe to terms with this and continue working for Ardum, but Jonathan and Kiara were not part of this group of people.


    Kiara and Jonathan both grew up in the Outer City.


    While life hadn''t been smooth sailing for them, it wasn''t nearly as bad as growing up in the Dregs.


    The earliest one of them had seen a corpse was when they were 14 years old, which was nothingpared to children who grew up in the Dregs.


    The two of them knew that life was cruel, but looking past such a vile act was still impossible for them.


    Nick led the three of them into the Outer City again.


    They were walking far slower than before due to the additional presence of the little girl.


    During their travels, the little girl didn''t say anything and simply hung on Kiara''s thigh.


    Some minutester, the three of them reached the Outer City, and Nick turned to Kiara.


    "We''re going to your home. You can leave the little girl there while we deal with other matters," he said evenly.


    Kiara took a deep breath and nodded.


    Showing Nick where she lived was making it impossible for her to turn back.


    If she decided to betray them, they knew where she lived, and they would be able to assassinate her easily or even take her family hostage.


    However, it didn''t actually make a difference.


    Kiara had already decided to just go with the flow.


    Yes, she still hated Nick for killing Sarah, but she wasn''t willing to throw her life away for revenge.


    Half an hourter, they reached a small house at the edges of the Outer City.


    "We''ll be waiting here. Don''t take longer than ten minutes," Nick said evenly.


    Jonathan looked with worry at Kiara.


    He hoped that Kiara didn''t decide to do something stupid.


    Kiara nodded and led the little girl inside.


    A moment after the door opened, Nick heard the voice of a young teenage boy.


    He guessed that this was Kiara''s brother since she had said that she had a younger brother.


    A couple of minutester, Kiara came out of the house and nodded at Nick.


    Jonathan sighed in relief.


    After that, the three of them ran towards Dark Dream, and since the little girl was no longer with them, it barely took them five minutes.


    When the two of them saw the warehouse, they furrowed their brows.


    That was it?


    Cycle was inside an actual office building, which was several stories high.


    Meanwhile, Dark Dream was just some shitty warehouse.


    Their future seemed a bit more uncertain.


    Nick opened the door and motioned for them to enter.


    When the door opened, the three of them saw several people.


    Jonathan and Kiara immediately noticed the guards and realized that working in a warehouse wasn''t actually so stupid.


    Guards needed to patrol through office buildings, but in a warehouse, they could keep watch over everything easily.


    Even more, it was quite difficult to get to the guards.


    The next moment, they noticed a beautiful woman with brown hair sewing something in the corner, which was a bit strange.


    Did someone live here?


    Was that an employee?


    Next, they noticed a tall man sleeping in the corner, and they quickly realized that this was one of Dark Dream''s employees.


    This was the one called Trevor.


    But why was he sleeping here?


    Naturally, the people who were awake also noticed the neers, and they became careful.


    After all, they were all on edge due to the current situation.


    Nick just walked towards a desk where a young woman was sitting.


    Since Pator was dead, his position had been filled by three people who worked in shifts.


    When the young woman saw Nick approaching, she respectfully stood up and performed a quick bow.


    "Good evening, sir. What do you need?" she asked.


    "Get Wyntor down here immediately," Nick said.


    "Of course, sir," the young woman said before running out of the warehouse.


    It was almost eight p.m. by now, and Wyntor had already gone home.


    Nick walked back to Kiara and Jonathan, who just awkwardly stood around, not knowing what would happen to them.


    Then, the three of them went to the side and waited.


    "Why is he sleeping here?" Jonathan asked after a couple of minutes of silence as he gestured to Trevor.


    "Because of you," Nick said.


    The two of them furrowed their brows in confusion.


    "What if you attack him on his way home?" Nick asked.


    Then, he gestured to the beautiful woman sewing in the corner. "She''s also here because of you. She''s a family member of one of our Extractors. She''s living here so that you can''t use her as a hostage."


    Kiara and Jonathan felt a bit insulted.


    They would never stoop so low and involve the family members of their enemies.


    But then, they remembered Stephen''s and Ardum''s true faces, and they realized that such a worry was actually not unfounded.


    However, at the same time, a question appeared in their mind.


    Why didn''t their family live in the office for the same reason?


    What was different?


    However, before they could find an answer, the main entrance opened.


    Wyntor was here.

 Chapter 158 158 – Financial Situation

    <h4>Chapter 158 Chapter 158 ¨C Financial Situation</h4>


    As soon as Wyntor entered, Jonathan and Kiara became anxious again.


    Wyntor had a powerful presence, and he was the leader of their enemy.


    Their lives would be in his hands.


    When Wyntor saw Kiara and Jonathan, his expression didn''t change.


    It was almost like he had expected them to be here.


    Wyntor walked up to them, and the anxiety of Jonathan and Kiara intensified.


    "Let''s talk inside," Wyntor told the three of them as he walked past them towards one of the Containment Units.


    Nick gestured to follow Wyntor.


    Jonathan and Kiara became scared.


    Why were they going to a Specter?!


    Were they about to get sacrificed?!


    When they entered the Containment Unit, Kiara and Jonathan became terrified.


    There was a horrifying coffin walking around in the Containment Unit on white bandages!


    The two of them had seen a couple of Specters before, but seeing a new Specter was always a terrifying experience.


    Especially since they didn''t know what that Specter could do.


    "Perfect timing," Nick said.


    Nick walked up to the coffin.


    BANG!


    And kicked it.


    The coffin hit the wall, and all its bandages went back inside.


    Kiara and Jonathan took deep breaths.


    Sure enough, Nick was terrifying!


    BANG!


    Then, Nick dumped the heavy corpse of Stephen onto the ground.


    Naturally, Nick wouldn''t forget such a valuable corpse.


    After a couple of seconds, the bandages slowly came out of the coffin again, and they quickly found Stephen''s corpse.


    Slowly, the wound around the corpse.


    And then, the coffin opened.


    SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


    Kiara and Jonathan became absolutely terrified at that point and didn''t dare to move.


    This was the most horrifying scream they had ever heard in their lives!


    A momentter, the corpse was consumed by the coffin, and the lid closed again.


    "That should keep it busy for a while," Nick said. "Sad that Possession Specters don''t grow more powerful."


    Nick turned to look at Jonathan and Kiara, seeing that they were terrified of the coffin.


    "That''s all it can do."


    The two looked at Nick like they had just been pulled out of their thoughts.


    "What?" Kiara asked.


    "That''s all it can do," Nick said. "It screams and eats corpses. It looks scary, but it''s actually very weak. A good kick will scare it and shut it up."


    The two of them looked back at the coffin, which wasn''t moving anymore.


    That was it?


    "When it has food, it just lies on the ground. When it doesn''t, it searches around. As long as you don''t stand still while it tries to jump onto you, nothing will happen to you," Nick exined.


    "It''s called the Screaming Coffin, and it barely requires any maintenance. I''m the one dealing with its food supply."


    The two of them calmed down for multiple reasons.


    First of all, the coffin didn''t seem as scary anymore.


    Second, the fact that Nick exined how to work with the Specter meant that they most likely weren''t about to get killed.


    "Tell me what happened," Wyntor said as he looked at Nick.


    Nick nodded and narrated the day he had.


    Naturally, since Jonathan and Kiara were here, Nick didn''t exin how he managed to sneak up on them.


    When Wyntor heard about the young girl, he didn''t seem surprised, which shocked Jonathan and Kiara.


    It was almost like Wyntor had expected something like this.


    "I was wondering how Ardum managed to pay a level two Zephyx Extractor with that money sink in his facility," Wyntor said. "That exins it."


    "Money sink?" Jonathan asked nervously.


    Wyntor nced at Jonathan evenly. "The Dung Heap," he said.


    This confused Jonathan. "Why is that a money sink?"


    "It eats food," Wyntor said evenly. "Food is scarce and very expensive. The Dung Heap probably makes less money than this coffin."


    Jonathan and Kiara were quite surprised when they heard that.


    "Seems like Ardum didn''t tell you," Wyntormented.


    The two of them looked at each other withplex expressions.


    "No, he didn''t," Kiara said, turning back to Wyntor.


    Wyntor nodded and started to break down what the Dung Heap was most likely producing and costing.


    After about five minutes of exining everything, Kiara and Jonathan realized that the situation was really dire.


    The Dung Heap could probably only pay for about three Extractors.


    Then, Wyntor told them about the other two Specters of Cycle, which surprised them.


    "Didn''t you say you had no spy in Cycle?" Kiara asked Nick.


    Wyntor snorted. "I don''t need a spy for that. Some of you carelessly told the normal staff about the Specters, and I simply had to bribe them for the information."


    "When Extractors can''t keep their mouths shut, it''s easy for the enemy to get all this information."


    At that moment, Jonathan gulped nervously.


    He had talked with one of the guards about the Specters he was working with.


    Jonathan was most likely part of how Wyntor found out about all of this.


    Wyntor continued breaking down what Cycle was most likely earning, and it didn''t look good at all.


    Cycle was earning about as much as Dark Dream.


    Yet, their rent was several times higher.


    They had double the number of Extractors.


    They had far more normal staff.


    "Depending on what you earn, Cycle should only make between 50,000 to 150,000 credits per month, and that''s assuming that the Chief Zephyx Extractor and Ardum don''t get paid," Wyntor said.


    "Nevertheless, I doubt that Ardum was paying you well."


    Jonathan and Kiara looked at each other.


    Actually, they were pretty happy with what they were earning.


    "How much were you earning?" Wyntor asked.


    The two of them became ufortable.


    However, they didn''t have a choice and answered.


    "I''m a Late Newbie," Jonathan said. "Because of that, I was earning about 6,000 credits per month."


    "I''m a Mid Newbie," Kiara said. "I''m earning about 5,000 credits per month."


    Wyntor didn''t seem surprised, but Nick felt shocked.


    That was barely anything!


    "That''s what Trevor and Jenny make in five days!" Nick said in shock.


    Jonathan''s and Kiara''s eyes widened in shock as they looked at Nick.


    "What?" Jonathan asked.


    Nick nodded. "Our Extractors get 10% of what they produce, and the Dreamer produces around ten grams of Zephyx per shift on average."


    This shocked the two of them.


    "The Dreamer is producing that much Zephyx?!" Kiara shouted in shock.


    Nick nodded.


    "It produces about 30 grams of Zephyx a day," Nick said.


    Kiara and Jonathan took a while toe to terms with that.

 Chapter 159 159 – Useful Ability

    <h4>Chapter 159 Chapter 159 ¨C Useful Ability</h4>


    Jonathan and Kiara almost couldn''t believe that the people in Dark Dream were earning so much more.


    However, after thinking about what they had just heard from Wyntor, they realized that it actually made sense.


    It was not that Wyntor was paying his employees very well.


    It was that Ardum was paying them horribly since he was barely earning any money.


    In terms of pure profit, Dark Dream was probably earning a lot more than Cycle, which meant that they could also pay their employees far better.


    "You will be working for me from now on," Wyntor said, evenly looking at the two of them.


    Jonathan and Kiara looked at each other with uncertainty.


    All of this was so sudden.


    However, they remembered that they didn''t really have a choice.


    They had already betrayed Cycle by walking in here.


    There was no going back.


    "What about our families?" Kiara asked.


    "Since you are my employees, the security of your families is my responsibility," Wyntor said. "As soon as you''ve signed the contract and the release fee has been paid, you can get your families and let them live in here for the time being."


    Earlier this day, the two of them would have thought that something like this was being too paranoid, but after witnessing Stephen''s and Ardum''s true faces, they epted it.


    "Then, thank you, boss," Jonathan said with a careful smile.


    "Nick is the boss," Wyntor said before looking at Nick with a grin. "At least, that''s what all the Extractors call him."


    "You can refer to me simply as sir," Wyntor said.


    Nick smiled awkwardly.


    He had gotten used to Jenny and Trevor calling him boss, but with two new additions, his nickname felt official.


    "Of course, sir," Jonathan said with a polite bow.


    Wyntor nodded and looked at Kiara.


    Kiara only sighed and nodded. "I''m looking forward to working with all of you."


    "Good," Wyntor said before he walked to the door. "I will be drafting the contract and dealing with the release fee. Nick, you show them around."


    Nick nodded.


    Usually, when Extractors signed a contract, the contract said that they had to keep the specifics of their old workce a secret, and a release fee had to be paid when they decided to work for another Zephyx Manufacturer.


    Funnily enough, the contract these two had signed didn''t have such a use.


    Instead, the contract stated that they were not allowed to quit without the CEO''s consent.


    However, that use wasn''t legally enforceable.


    Wyntor would just pay the standard amount of money to purchase the two of them, and if Ardum had an issue with it, he could sue Wyntor.


    But both of them knew that he wouldn''t get anywhere with that.


    Ardum simply wrote the contract like this to make his employees think that they weren''t allowed to join another Manufacturer.


    After Wyntor left, Nick looked at the two of them, who looked at Nick nervously.


    "Wee to Dark Dream," Nick said with an embarrassed smile. "I guess I''m your boss now."


    When the two of them saw the innocent smile on Nick''s face, they were taken aback.


    Nick had seemed so dangerous and powerful, but now, he seemed more like an inexperienced and shy boy.


    "By the way, my name''s Nick, and I''m 16 years old," Nick said with a smile.


    "You''re 16?!" Kiara asked in shock, which was mirrored by Jonathan.


    "Is that strange?" Nick asked with a smile as he scratched the back of his head.


    "It''s just¡­ that''s very young to be a Chief Zephyx Extractor," Kiara exined.


    "I guess so," Nick answered awkwardly.


    Kiara and Jonathan were still confused and shocked.


    As soon as they had joined Dark Dream, Nick''s entire demeanor had changed.


    But after a while, they decided that this was a good thing.


    Wyntor''s Aura was already oppressive enough.


    "Anyway, what are your abilities?" Nick asked. "I kind of need to know."


    The two of them looked at each other.


    Asking an Extractor about their ability was a taboo.


    However, it was also normal for the Chief Zephyx Extractor to know the abilities of their employees since they needed to assign them to the Specters.


    "I can show you," Kiara said as she slowly moved her hand to one of her guns.


    Naturally, Nick noticed Kiara''s movements, but he didn''t stop her.


    Kiara slowly pulled out her gun and pointed it at one of the walls.


    BANG!


    She fired a bullet, and the bullet hit the wall loudly.


    The bullet bounced off the wall after being dented into an unrecognizable form.


    Meanwhile, the wall only got a bit discolored.


    "That was a normal shot," Kiara said.


    Nick nodded as he watched with interest.


    Even though the person in front of him had a gun, Nick wasn''t nervous in any way.


    Kiara was barely a meter away from Nick, and if she tried anything, Nick would reach her very quickly.


    The next moment, a red glow appeared around Kiara''s gun.


    When Nick saw the red glow, he became very interested in the ability.


    It seemed like Kiara had an ability that was actually useful forbat.


    BANG!


    Kiara shot another bullet, which hit the wall as well.


    Just like the first bullet, this one couldn''t prate the wall, but there was one difference.


    A very small crevice was left in the wall.


    The crevice was around 15 centimeters long, barely a couple of millimeters wide, and not even a single millimeter deep.


    "Interesting," Nick said.


    Kiara nodded. "This is the ability that Extractors receive from one of our- Cycle''s Specters. Most of us have this ability since it is very useful forbat."


    "With this ability, we can empower a weapon or parts of our bodies with a cutting effect, and the best part is that it barely costs any Zephyx to use," Kiara exined.


    "Jonathan also has this ability," Kiara said as Jonathan nodded.


    Nick was very interested in the ability.


    If they won the war, they would gain ess to the Specter that granted people this ability.


    This meant that Dark Dream would finally get a Specter that granted their new employees useful abilities!

 Chapter 160 160 – Teaching

    <h4>Chapter 160 Chapter 160 ¨C Teaching</h4>


    After talking a bit more, Wyntor returned with the contract.


    The two of them signed the contract, and they finally officially belonged to Dark Dream.


    Wyntor sent the two of them out to get their families toe here and told them that they would be working with the Dreamer tomorrow.


    Depending on their result, one of them would take over Nick''s shift.


    As the Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick didn''t need to work with a Specter to earn money.


    Additionally, Nick also needed time to find new Specters and to manage all the Extractors.


    Jonathan and Kiara left to get their families after thanking Wyntor.


    After the two of them left, Wyntor and Nick talked about their future ns for a while.


    With Stephen dead and two of Cycle''s employees gone, Cycle had just barely enough employees to keep their Specters.


    Now, they only needed to deal with one more person.


    Eventually, Wyntor went home while Nick waited for Kiara and Jonathan to arrive with their families.


    As soon as the families arrived, Nick showed them where they could stay.


    Naturally, the little girl was part of Kiara''s family.


    By now, Trevor had woken up since his shift was about to start, and Nick introduced him to everyone.


    Finally, at ten p.m., Nick left Dark Dream to get something to eat.


    Not many ces were open at this hour, but Nick could still find something.


    An hourter, Nick fell into bed.


    After waking up the next day, Nick got some food and went to Dark Dream.


    It was silent.


    The families of the Zephyx Extractors had all been sleeping since it was so early.


    However, as soon as the door opened, a couple of them woke up and looked at Nick.


    After all, sleeping in such an open space made people nervous, and their sleep was light.


    Sadly, there wasn''t much they could do.


    At least it was only a temporary arrangement.


    Jonathan was one of the people who got woken up by Nick, and he quickly stood up when he saw him.


    "Wake Kiara up as well and get something to eat," Nick whispered to Jonathan. "In an hour, you guys are going to work with the Dreamer."


    Jonathan nodded and went over to Kiara.


    Meanwhile, Nick went to the Containment Units and retrieved the gathered Zephyx.


    And then, Nick waited for the hour to pass.


    As he looked around the warehouse, Nick felt like Dark Dream had transformed into a shelter.


    There were almost ten people sleeping in here.


    Things were getting crowded.


    ''We really need a new ce,'' Nick thought.


    Eventually, it was time to go to work.


    Jonathan and Kiara weren''t in the mood to eat something since too much had happened yesterday, but they still had to work.


    When the two of them walked to the big Containment Unit, they gulped.


    Coming into contact with a new Specter was always scary, and they were quite sure that this Specter wasn''t as harmless as the Screaming Coffin.


    After entering the Containment Unit, the two of them saw the Dreamer.


    Right now, the Dreamer was looking intently at Jonathan and Kiara while Trevory in front of it.


    When Kiara and Jonathan looked into the Dreamer''s eyes, they both took deep breaths.


    It felt hollow and creepy.


    Its Aura was different from Cycle''s Specters.


    The Dung Heap was essentially just a rotting pile of stink, which didn''t make it very scary, while the other two Specters were more direct with their Aura.


    Inparison, the Dreamer felt threatening but in a subtle way.


    However, it wasn''t as scary as their Specters, actually.


    The Lover looked horrifying, and the Bleeding Lady put terror into every watcher.


    But the Dreamer just seemed creepy.


    "These are two new employees," Nick told the Dreamer. "They are Zephyx Extractors and already have experience in working with other Specters. Depending on how they do, they will be working with you from now on."


    Naturally, the Dreamer showed no reaction whatsoever.


    "Can it understand us?" Kiara asked.


    The Dreamer didn''t look at her.


    "It feeds on mentality," Nick said. "It can understand us."


    After that, Nick walked over and woke up Trevor.


    "Morning already?" Trevor asked with a yawn.


    "Yep," Nick said with a smile.


    Then, Trevor turned to Jonathan and Kiara. "Don''t worry. Working with the Dreamer is easy. You just gotta dream a bit."


    Trevorughed a bit before walking out.


    "You two will do my shift today," Nick said. "You both get four hours each and if you produce enough Zephyx, you get to work with the Dreamer from now on."


    The two of them nodded.


    "Jonathan, you go first," Nick said.


    Jonathan took a deep breath and walked over to the Dreamer.


    "Justy down or sit down somewhere," Nick said. "The Dreamer will put you to sleep."


    Jonathan nodded, took another deep breath, and sat down near the wall.


    When Jonathan saw the Dreamer walk over to him, his fight or flight instinct kicked in, and he started to sweat profusely.


    Being in a vulnerable position in front of a Specter was a terrifying experience.


    However, Jonathan had worked with scarier Specters, and he didn''t panic.


    After a bit, Jonathan felt his mind shifting, and a minuteter, he was out.


    Kiara watched nervously as Jonathan''s head lost its strength and sank.


    "And that''s it," Nick said. "Four hourster, we''ll wake him up, and you will take his ce."


    Kiara gulped and left the Containment Unit with Nick.


    Nick talked with Wyntor for a while before he talked with Jenny and Trevor a bit more.


    Four hourster, Nick checked the amount of Zephyx that Jonathan had produced in four hours.


    ''Five grams,'' Nick thought with a nod. ''About average.''


    Kiara and Nick entered the Containment Unit.


    Nick told Kiara to wake Jonathan up and to take his ce.


    When Jonathan woke up, he was confused, but he quickly realized what had happened.


    "Huh, that was easy," Jonathanmented. "Easier than working with the Bleeding Lady and far easier than working with the Lover."


    Eventually, Kiara also fell asleep, and four hourster, Nick checked the Zephyx she had produced.


    ''Six grams,'' Nick thought. ''I guess it makes sense to turn this from three eight-hour shifts into four six-hour shifts.''


    Nick nned a bit and nodded.


    From this day forward, all four employees would be working with the Dreamer each day.


    And for the first time, Nick had time to actually do his actual job since he didn''t need to work with the Dreamer anymore.


    Nick''s team had grown from two to four.

 Chapter 161 161 – Tailing

    <h4>Chapter 161 Chapter 161 ¨C Tailing</h4>


    Nick sat on top of a tall building.


    At this moment, Nick was wearing a white cloak, which almost seemed identical to the one that the spy had worn when Nick had killed her.


    This time, Nick was the spy.


    About a hundred meters away was another tall building, but this one was different since it even had actual windows made of actual ss.


    ss was an extremely rare and valuable material, and the only ce one would usually find ss was in the Inner City.


    Yet, this building had real windows.


    Almost no other building in the Outer City had real ss.


    This meant that this building belonged to apany that earned a lot of money.


    Of course, thatpany was Cycle.


    Even though Cycle didn''t have many employees, getting a profit of 100,000 credits or more per month in the Outer City was ridiculously high.


    One had to remember that everyone in the Outer City could only do business with others from the Outer City.


    At most, there were 50,000 people living in the Outer City.


    So, while a building with real windows was unaffordable for almost everypany, Zephyx Manufacturers could buy something like that.


    For the past day, Nick had kept watch over Cycle''s building.


    Stephen had died, and Jonathan and Kiara had switched to Dark Dream, which meant that Cycle should be in a lot of trouble.


    And Nick was here to find an opportunity to actually end it.


    His job was to see if there were truly no more Extractors remaining and to find an opportunity to assassinate thest of them.


    ording to Jonathan, there were only two more Extractors left, excluding Ardum.


    A tall guy with a long sword, called Futuma, and a bald woman with a big staff, called Selina.


    Funnily enough, Nick hadn''t seen either of them within thest day, which meant that they were probably living inside the office for now.


    Given the current situation, that was understandable.


    Over the next couple of hours, only a couple of normal people were entering and leaving the building.


    And then, finally, something interesting happened.


    Nick saw a tall man with a long sword walking out of the entrance, and he narrowed his eyes.


    ''This must be Futuma,'' Nick thought.


    Without looking around, Futuma chose a direction and walked away from Cycle.


    The way Futuma was walking made it seem like nothing was wrong.


    ''Should I follow him?'' Nick thought. ''My ability is still active, which means he hasn''t seen me.''


    Naturally, it was possible that this was a trap. After all, Nick had set up the same trap two days earlier.


    After a bit of hesitation, Nick decided to follow Futuma.


    As long as his ability was still active, nobody was perceiving him.


    Futuma kept walking towards the south, and Nick kept following him.


    A couple of minutester, Futuma walked out of the Outer City and reached the edge of the Dregs.


    When Nick saw that, he became more nervous and furrowed his brows, looking around.


    Futuma had to know that this was a perfect spot to ambush him.


    So, why would hee here on purpose?


    Was this truly a trap?


    But no one could perceive Nick!


    After all, his ability was still active.


    Eventually, Futuma stopped in the middle of a run-down street where nobody was living.


    And then, he just stopped moving.


    He just looked forward without doing anything.


    Nick looked around, his face scrunching up in difort.


    Was there anybody following him?


    Nick couldn''t see anyone else on the rooftops or the streets.


    The stench of the Dregs entered Nick''s nose, and his facial muscles tensed in disgust.


    As he looked around, Nick became more nervous and paranoid.


    Why was Futuma just stopping in the middle of nowhere?!


    This had to be a trap!


    But his ability was still active!


    Nick had to put his arm over his nose to cover the terrible stench.


    A momentter, Nick had to suppress several coughs.


    ''What the hell is going on?'' Nick thought as he realized that this wasn''t normal.


    Sure, the Dregs stunk a lot, but it had never been this intense.


    Not even the sewers smelled this disgusting!


    It was almost like¡­


    ''The Dung Heap!'' Nick realized.


    Jonathan and Kiara had said that they didn''t know of anyone who had gained an ability from the Dung Heap.


    They had heard from somebody advancing their ability through the Dung Heap, but they had never seen an Extractor directly getting one.


    Stephen, for example, had advanced his ability through the Dung Heap.


    Just like Kiara and Jonathan, Stephen had gained his ability from the Bleeding Lady, butpared to them, he was already a level two Extractor, and his ability had already advanced.


    By using the Dung Heap, Stephen''s bloody cut had gained an additional poison effect.


    Still, while the two of them knew what the Dung Heap could do to elevate an ability, they didn''t know the pure ability the Dung Heap could bestow.


    Additionally, they also didn''t know what kind of ability Futuma had since he kept his abilities secret.


    Well, Nick now knew the answer to both questions.


    The stench was absolutely horrifying, and breathing became quite difficult for Nick.


    Even more, the effect of the ability was bing stronger and stronger the more Nick breathed.


    "I know somebody''s here."


    At that point, Futuma spoke.


    Nick furrowed his brows as he tried to keep his breathing in check.


    Activating such an ability over such a great area had to use up a lot of Zephyx, and Futuma was a Peak Newbie, just like Nick.


    As long as Nick could hold out, he would be able to keep himself hidden until Futuma had to deactivate his ability.


    ''He''s bluffing,'' Nick thought. ''If he knew I was here, my ability would have deactivated.''


    Silence.


    "Do you think I''m bluffing?" Futuma asked his surroundings evenly.


    Nick didn''t say anything.


    Silence.


    "You don''t know why Cycle is truly called Cycle, apparently," Futuma said.


    "The Dung Heap''s ability is a cycle."


    "It leaves me andes back."


    "But when somebody breathes it in, it can''te back, which means my internal Zephyx recovers slower."


    "That''s how I know you''re here."

 Chapter 162 162 – Offer

    <h4>Chapter 162 Chapter 162 ¨C Offer</h4>


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    Was Futuma bluffing?


    It sounded very convincing that he knew that someone was there.


    Even more, since he didn''t know where Nick was, Nick''s ability remained active.


    It was actually possible to know that Nick was somewhere close to someone without deactivating his ability.


    At this moment, a strong internal conflict was happening inside Nick.


    Was Futuma bluffing or not?


    If he was bluffing, he should be running out of Zephyx pretty soon, and Nick could get the jump on him.


    If he wasn''t bluffing, Nick might actually die to the poison.


    ''It doesn''t actually matter,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes. ''One possibility has a high chance of death while the other is just a missed opportunity.''


    The truth was that Futuma wasn''t bluffing.


    The Dung Heap''s ability allowed someone to give off poisonous gas.


    When the poison wasn''t being absorbed by any living thing, it would simply go back into the body of the person who used it, replenishing a part of their Zephyx.


    Naturally, using this ability still consumed Zephyx since one couldn''t reabsorb 100% of the poison they had given off, but the Zephyx used wasn''t a big deal.


    Nevertheless, the amount of Zephyx Futuma was getting back from using his ability was far lower than normal, which meant something big was breathing and absorbing his poison.


    Futuma had spread his gas over a radius of 50 meters.


    Unfortunately, while he knew that someone was there, he couldn''t tell where they were.


    He just knew that they had to be within a 50-meter radius of him.


    And he also knew that it had to be an Extractor.


    After all, any normal animal or human would have already died by now, and Specters don''t breathe.


    So, it had to be a Zephyx Extractor.


    Zzzt!


    At that moment, a blue spark appeared on top of one of the buildings.


    Futuma looked over.


    At that moment, Futuma saw a semi-transparent Barrier that was burning the gas he was releasing.


    Naturally, this was Nick.


    By activating his Barrier, Nick could protect himself from the poison, but the sound and visual effects of his Barrier would also reveal his location to Futuma.


    Under normal circumstances, Nick would have just run away in secret.


    "You want to talk?" Nick asked from his rooftop.


    If Futuma wanted to kill Nick, he would have simply waited without saying anything while using some kind of method to contact Ardum.


    At that point, Ardum would arrive with Selina, and they would search through the surroundings for Nick.


    Yet, Futuma had said several things, and he had even exined his ability.


    This meant that Futuma wasn''t interested in killing Nick.


    At least not right now.


    Futuma could see Nick''s appearance through the blue shimmer of his Barrier.


    As Nick looked at Futuma, he saw his Barrier slowly vanishing.


    Naturally, Nick hadn''t deactivated his Barrier.


    There simply wasn''t more to block for the Barrier.


    This meant that Futuma had pulled his poison back.


    When Nick realized that, he deactivated his Barrier. After all, keeping it active drained a lot of Zephyx.


    "You''re Nick, the Chief Zephyx Extractor, right?" Futuma asked.


    "Yes," Nick answered evenly from his rooftop.


    "What happened to Jonathan and Kiara?" he asked.


    "You''re not asking about the fat man?" Nick asked back.


    "It''s obvious what happened to him," Futuma answered emotionlessly. "Someone with such dark secrets won''t dare to betray Ardum."


    Nick narrowed his brows.


    Futuma had essentially confessed to knowing that Ardum and Stephen were monsters.


    Apparently, not everyone fell for Ardum''s spiel.


    "They''re working for me now," Nick answered.


    Silence.


    "How did you manage to convince them?" Futuma asked.


    "The fat man had a Peddler Storage Token on him. I simply showed them what was inside," Nick said.


    Futuma just raised an eyebrow. "That would do it," he said with an unimpressed tone.


    "Why do you want to talk to me?" Nick asked again. "You''re not fooled like the others."


    "Ardum isn''t the best actor," Futuma said, looking at Nick. "I never believed him for a single second, butpared to others, I simply didn''t make a big deal of it."


    "He knows that I know, and he knows that I don''t care."


    "If you got the power and the money, you can do whatever you want."


    Nick wasn''t a big fan of what he was hearing.


    "You still haven''t answered my question," Nick said with an emotionless voice.


    Futuma looked into Nick''s eyes without fear.


    "Money and power," Futuma answered.


    "I want money and power."


    "Loyalty and fairness are unimportant in the face of money and power."


    "Give me money and power, and I will be your ally."


    "If I join Dark Dream, Cycle is done for," Futuma said.


    Nick wasn''t quite sure what he should think about that.


    On the one hand, they could take down Cycle right now, but on the other hand, Futuma knew no such thing as loyalty.


    In a certain way, it was like going into a rtionship with someone who cheated on their current partner with you.


    Sure, you would get the person, but that person had cheated on their partner.


    This meant that the chances were high that they would also cheat on you.


    Just like how Dark Dream could gain Futuma''s power by offering more than Cycle, another Zephyx Manufacturer could do the same by offering more than Dark Dream.


    Sadly, they probably also wouldn''t be able to kill Futuma after hiring him and dealing with Cycle.


    Someone like Futuma was smart enough to prepare for such an event.


    Futuma would know that Dark Dream might want to kill him, and he would have certainly prepared something for that event.


    epting Futuma would be troublesome.


    It would be like epting a snake toe into one''s home.


    "What do you have in mind?" Nick asked.


    "A leadership role," Futuma said.


    "I don''t switch sides just because someone offers me more money. I also want more power."


    "The money part won''t be a problem for you since Cycle pays horribly, which just leaves the power part."


    "I want a team leader position."


    "Give me that, and I will join."

 Chapter 163 163 – Protective Order

    <h4>Chapter 163 Chapter 163 ¨C Protective Order</h4>


    Nick looked at Futuma from afar with furrowed brows.


    Should he ept or not?


    There was definitely a major risk associated with this decision.


    Would someone who was only interested in money and power be trustworthy enough to tell them some secrets?


    With enough money, Futuma could maybe even be bought to be a spy.


    Having a team leader as a spy would be devastating.


    In fact, Nick didn''t want to hire Futuma at all.


    He simply didn''t like him.


    Compared to Nick, Futuma was only interested in his own gain.


    It was almost like Futuma had no morals, which was in stark contrast to Nick, whose entire purpose in life was to make the world a better ce.


    However, Nick knew that things weren''t that simple.


    Jonathan and Kiara had told Nick about Futuma.


    In Cycle, Futuma garnered a lot of respect from everyone.


    In fact, almost all of the Extractors had seen Futuma as their Chief Zephyx Extractor instead of Stephen.


    Whenever there was a major decision, the Extractors looked at how Futuma reacted before they gave their own answers.


    From what the two of them had said, Futuma was the epitome of reliability, and he even pushed back on some policies that would have been detrimental.


    Futuma was definitely a capable leader.


    Having him as a team leader would be a tremendous asset to Dark Dream.


    For a while, Nick just silently looked at Futuma as he evaluated his options.


    "Fine," Nick said after several seconds.


    "What do you have to offer?" Futuma asked.


    "A position as the only team leader. When we expand in the future, there will be other team leaders as well, but you will be our first," Nick said.


    "What about the money?" Futuma asked.


    "You get 10% of all the Zephyx you produce yourself and 5% of all the Zephyx your team produces, including yourself," Nick said.


    Wyntor and Nick had already talked about what Nick''s team leaders would earn in the future.


    When they finally hired a team leader, Nick''s share of the profit would drop from 10% of what every Zephyx Extractor produced to 5%.


    However, Nick''s amount of work would also drop since he would only need to give orders to the team leaders instead of to the individual Zephyx Extractors.


    Hypothetically, if there were five teams of five Extractors, Nick would only need to give orders to five people but would gain 5% of what 25 Extractors produced.


    And since Extractors got 10% of what they produced, it would be like Nick was earning as much as 12.5 Extractors, while the team leaders earned as much as 3.5 Extractors since they were also working with Specters themselves.


    The difference in earnings was monumental, but the amount of money the normal Extractors earned was still absolutely top.


    By hiring Futuma, Nick''s workload would drop even more, and he would only need to search for new Specters.


    Although, he also needed to work with one Specter to increase his own level.


    When Futuma heard Nick''s offer, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.


    Apparently, he genuinely hadn''t expected such a good offer.


    A secondter, Futuma''s brows furrowed, and he looked at the ground.


    "Do you ept?" Nick asked after a bit.


    Futuma looked at Nick again and nodded. "I presume you don''t have a contract ready."


    "I don''t," Nick said.


    A momentter, Futuma took a rolled-up piece of paper out of one of his pockets and unrolled it, showing it to the distant Nick.


    "What is that?" Nick asked with furrowed brows.


    "Insurance," Futuma said. "I''m not going to walk into Dark Dream without having signed a valid contract. I''m not a great fan of putting my life in someone else''s hands."


    "This piece of paper is a protective order. After signing it, if I die before we negate the protective order or before it is fulfilled, Dark Dream will have to pay a hefty fine of about 500,000 credits."


    "Naturally, as soon as I have signed my employment contract, the protective order will be null and void."


    "I want you to sign this on behalf of Dark Dream. Without this, I won''t go near Dark Dream," Futuma said.


    Nick looked at the distant Futuma with furrowed brows.


    "I''ll need to read this first," he said.


    Futuma rolled the protective order up again and held it out in front of him.


    A momentter, Nick jumped down from the building and walked up to Futuma.


    Naturally, Nick was still careful about Futuma.


    He wouldn''t lower his guard until Futuma signed his actual employment contract.


    After some seconds, Nick reached Futuma and grabbed the protective order.


    Nick took a couple of steps back to be at a safe distance and nced at Futuma warily.


    While Nick started reading with much difficulty, he also kept ncing at Futuma.


    Of course, Futuma got annoyed by Nick''s constant vignce and took several steps back.


    Then, he turned around with his hands lifted up to show that he wasn''t luring Nick into some sort of trap.


    "Is that better?" Futuma asked. "Can you focus on reading now?"


    Nick furrowed his brows as he nced at the distant Futuma.


    He didn''t like Futuma''s attitude, but he was right.


    It did lower Nick''s vignce.


    Nick returned to reading, but then, he nced at Futuma again.


    Futuma was turned away, not looking at Nick.


    Then, Nick''s eyes narrowed, and a gleam appeared in them.


    DZZZZZZT!


    Suddenly, Nick''s Barrier shone in an aggressive blue light, and Nick felt like all of his power was being sapped away!


    Immediately, Nick jumped to the side with all of his power.


    CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!


    Nick saw several scalpels, scissors, knives, and saws hitting the ground after they flew past the spot where he had just been.


    A poisonous green Aura emanated from all the small tools and weapons, and the metal of the streets around them started to rust.


    If Nick hadn''t been ready for a sudden attack, he would have died!


    Luckily, he had noticed just in time that his ability hadn''t reactivated after Futuma had turned around.

 Chapter 164 164 – The Torturer

    <h4>Chapter 164 Chapter 164 ¨C The Torturer</h4>


    Mere moments after Nick had noticed that his ability hadn''t reactivated, he had turned his Barrier on.


    If he hadn''t done so, these many small objects would have skewered his body, and based on what he was seeing, he would have also been poisoned.


    Without hesitation, Nick immediately looked to his back.


    On top of the building where Nick had been earlier was a person.


    Ardum.


    At this moment, Ardum held several bloody tools in his right hand as he red at Nick.


    At the same time, Futuma spun to face Nick and narrowed his eyes.


    Meanwhile, a person wearing a ck cloak ran out from one street while they were holding a huge staff.


    That was obviously Selina.


    Based on all the reactions, Nick could tell that this had been a trap.


    Selina and Ardum had probably been called over by a signal, but they hadn''t attacked before Nick''s vignce had lowered.


    Earlier, Nick had still been on one of the highest buildings in the surroundings, and he had constantly looked around.


    So, they had waited until Futuma could convince Nick to lower his guard.


    And it would have worked.


    The only reason why they hadn''t gotten Nick was the activation condition for his ability.


    When Nick saw the bloody tools in Ardum''s hands, he remembered what Wyntor had told him.


    Naturally, Wyntor knew what kind of ability Ardum had since he was originally supposed to get the same one.


    It was the ability of an Elder Specter, which was called the Torturer.


    The Torturer was a moving pile of bloody tools, and even though it looked like a Possession Specter, it was actually a Physical Specter.


    It gained power from causing pain, and working with it was one of the worst things.


    However, it had probably the most useful ability out of all the Specters in Crimson Fungus City.


    The ability allowed someone to conjure very durable and deadly tools in exchange for Zephyx.


    But most important of all, this ability could be evolved in many different ways.


    Naturally, this Specter was owned by Kugelblitz, and the very few Newbies Kugelblitz recruited would receive the Torturer''s ability.


    Interestingly enough, Albert also had the Torturer''s ability, which meant that he had most likely been recruited by Kugelblitz before he had been a Zephyx Extractor.


    As the son of a major shareholder of Kugelblitz, Ardum naturally also got the privilege of receiving the Torturer''s ability, and based on what Nick had just seen, Ardum had probably evolved his ability by using the Dung Heap.


    While Wyntor was smarter than him, Ardum was still extremely powerful and dangerous.


    Nick was in trouble.


    Especially since there was also Selina, who had the Bleeding Lady''s ability.


    The only good thing about this situation was that Futuma couldn''t use his ability with his allies present.


    As soon as Nick finished jumping to the side, he deactivated his Barrier.


    The barrage Nick had just withstood had probably consumed over 80% of his Zephyx, which significantly weakened him.


    While Barriers were essential for survival, if a Barrier consumed all of one''s Zephyx, one would basically be unable to move.


    So, even though they hadn''t received any injuries yet, they would have already lost.


    Because of that, Nick deactivated his Barrier after jumping to the side.


    "I''m not surprised that you''re a Chief Zephyx Extractor anymore," Futuma said as he pulled out his long sword.


    "But you''re still nothingpared to our Chief Zephyx Extractor."


    Then, Futuma smiled.


    "Which is me."


    Since Nick had killed Stephen, Cycle needed a new Chief Zephyx Extractor, and Ardum had assigned the role to Futuma.


    Because of that, Futuma hadn''t even entertained the thought of joining Dark Dream.


    After all, if they managed to destroy Dark Dream, Futuma would be a Chief Zephyx Extractor with five Specters he would be responsible for!


    Nick just narrowed his eyes and didn''t answer.


    A momentter, Futuma was lunging at him as Ardum readied more of his tools.


    Selina was still a bit away from the battle.


    Nick gritted his teeth as Futuma''s de approached at surprising speeds.


    Futuma definitely wasn''t inexperienced in fighting other Extractors.


    BANG!


    Futuma''s de bounced back as Nick pped it to the side with the long de on his left arm.


    A momentter, Nick already lunged forward with his right arm and aimed for Futuma''s chest.


    However, Futuma quickly stepped back.


    DING!


    And blocked Nick''s strike with his de.


    Yet, the strongest aspect of fist weapons was their unparalleled attacking speed, and Nick''s next attack was already on its way.


    Futuma narrowed his eyes with a serious expression as he jumped back again.


    But then, Nick jumped back.


    SHING! SHING!


    Two tools passed through the space between Futuma and Nick.


    If Nick had continued attacking, he would have been impaled.


    This was not a one-on-one battle.


    If it were, Nick would be confident in winning against Futuma.


    Sadly, it wasn''t.


    Ardum jumped down from the building as he readied more of his tools, and Futuma stopped retreating.


    Selina was alsoing dangerously close.


    Nick continued jumping back.


    "Kiara and Jonathan are still alive!" Nick shouted towards Selina.


    Ardum narrowed his eyes as he nced at Selina.


    BANG!


    The floor below Nick caved in as Selina''s heavy staff hit it.


    Luckily, Nick had jumped away just in time.


    "Those traitors will be next!" Selina shouted in a cold voice.


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    Kiara had told Nick that Selina most likely wouldn''t listen.


    Selina was a very loyal person, and without concrete proof, she would attack Nick on sight.


    Sadly, Nick didn''t have proof of Ardum''s and Stephen''s conduct that he could take out just like this.


    The only things that could convince Selina would be Jonathan and Kiara telling her directly about what they had seen and the child they had saved.


    Sadly, none of these things could be put in a pocket and pulled out when one wanted.


    At this moment, Ardum threw his next set of terrifying tools, and Nick had to jump away again.


    Meanwhile, Futuma and Selina were charging at him.


    Things were getting problematic.

 Chapter 165 165 – How?!

    <h4>Chapter 165 Chapter 165 ¨C How?!</h4>


    Nick jumped back once more while Futuma and Selina rapidly ran towards him.


    Futuma and Selina were Peak Newbies, which meant that, on a baseline, they were just as physically strong as Nick.


    Luckily, based on what Nick could see, they weren''t focusing on training their bodies.


    While they were definitely athletic, they didn''t look like they dedicated their life to sports.


    Futuma reached a full sprint as he held his long sword at his side, ready to explode forward with a strike.


    Meanwhile, Selina wasn''t as fast as Futuma. Her physique and her heavy weapon made her slower by quite a bit.


    Ardum kept a certain distance from his two agents and kept conjuring poisoned tools.


    Suddenly, Nick pulled out one of the three spears he carried with him and dropped it to the side.


    The spear stuck into the ground, and Nick''s three opponents could see how heavy it was.


    The fact that Nick was running around with three of these was extremely shocking.


    How would he even be able to throw them?!


    With 30 kilos less on his person, Nick''s speed increased, and he quickly took a bigger jump backward.


    CLINK! CLINK!


    Nick used his des and blocked two tools that Ardum had thrown at him while jumping back.


    When Ardum saw that, he gritted his teeth.


    This had already turned out way worse than he had expected.


    Nick was way stronger than anticipated!


    Ardum was already quite frustrated and nervous.


    After all, they were currently in theyer of buildings between the Dregs and the Outer City.


    If Nick simply jumped across a couple of buildings, he would be entering popted space again, which would make things troublesome.


    One had to remember that they were officially not allowed to fight.


    If anyone witnessed them fighting and the guards investigated, Cycle would have to pay a hefty fine, and they would also receive a brutal warning.


    Ardum had to kill Nick before he could flee into the city!


    Otherwise, Nick would justnd in a crowded street and casually walk forward, acting like he wasn''t in a battle.


    And Ardum wouldn''t be able to do anything about it.


    Nicknded on top of a low building and looked forward.


    BANG!


    Futuma also jumped towards the building''s roof, keeping his sword ready.


    Nick moved strangely, almost like he was pulling on something.


    Immediately after, Nick fell backward, past the small building''s roof.


    "BEHIND YOU!"


    At that moment, Ardum''s urgent voice thundered throughout the surroundings, and Futuma immediately turned to look behind him.


    The spear Nick had dropped earlier was currently almost above Futuma.


    ''How?!'' Futuma thought in shock.


    Luckily, the spear would pass over Futuma, based on its trajectory.


    Meanwhile, Nicknded behind the building.


    At this moment, nobody could see him, and his ability reactivated.


    A Ghost Wire extended from Nick''s right arm and stretched over the building, creating smoke at the edge of the building''s roof.


    Nick''s eyes were narrowed.


    And then, he pulled forward with all of his power.


    CRRRRRR!


    Immediately, an invisible cut appeared in the metallic building, created by the Ghost Wire.


    Futuma''s eyes widened in shock as the spear suddenly angled towards Futuma and shot at him.


    Its speed was insane!


    He couldn''t react!


    BOOOOOM!


    A copper-colored Barrier appeared around Futuma.


    Naturally, Futuma had his own Barrier, and he had already activated it when Ardumunched his first attack.


    The spear hit the Barrier with insane power, and the Barrier shook violently.


    However, Futuma''s trajectory didn''t change.


    The Barrier that Futuma used also expended Zephyx to nullify the kic force of whatever was hitting it.


    This naturally cost more Zephyx than the other kinds of Barriers, but it meant that Futuma wouldn''t get stunned or thrown away by an attack.


    The next moment, Futuma felt like the world around him was swimming and distorting.


    This was a symptom of being critically low on Zephyx.


    He wasn''t out, but his concentration had already suffered quite a bit.


    ''How?!'' Futuma thought in terror.


    Nick had depleted nearly all of Futuma''s Zephyx in an instant!


    With one attack!


    A Newbie shouldn''t be able to do that!


    To put this into perspective, Nick''s Barrier managed to withstand over five poisoned tools that Ardum had thrown at him, and Ardum was an Early John!


    But now, Nick, a Peak Newbie, had done even more damage with one attack than Ardum had done with five!


    This shouldn''t be possible!


    DING!


    Futuma immediately shed the spear away from his Barrier with his sword.


    On the other side of the building, Nick felt all the power he had put into the pull vanish.


    ''I got his Barrier,'' Nick thought.


    The next moment, Nick clicked on something on his right hand, and the Ghost Wire lost its connection to him.


    Retrieving that spear was too troublesome right now.


    Without hesitation, Nick jumped to the side and exploded forward.


    With his ability active, his speed had increased substantially.


    Futumanded on the building, and the spear Nick had abandoned hit one of the other buildings.


    Selina had slowed down in shock, but she quickly sped up again.


    Ardum gritted his teeth violently.


    BANG!


    Ardum jumped forward, and he quickly passed by Selina,nding on the building.


    "Don''t engage him without me!" Ardum ordered. "He''s too dangerous!"


    Futuma nodded as he jumped past the building.


    Selina also jumped onto the building.


    Ardum sped past Futuma, and the two of them simultaneously fell towards the alley behind the building.


    Then, their eyes widened.


    Where was he?!


    Nick had vanished!


    In an instant, they found the only path Nick could have taken and ran down the alley.


    Ardum passed Futuma and reached the turn that Nick had to have taken.


    Cling!


    At that moment, a part of Ardum''s neck sparkled with a silver color.


    Ardum looked down and saw an almost invisible wire on his neck.


    SSSSSSSSSSS!


    At that moment, the wire suddenly shot toward Ardum''s right with incredible speed.


    Ardum immediately understood what was happening, but it was toote to react.

 Chapter 166 166 – Floor

    <h4>Chapter 166 Chapter 166 ¨C Floor</h4>


    CRACK!


    The left side of Ardum''s head sparkled silver as Nick''s spear hit him.


    Nick''s spear had activated Ardum''s Barrier.


    However, Ardum''s Barrier was very different from normal Barriers.


    After all, Ardum was a potential heir to the Melfion family.


    The silver sparkle had been Ardum''s Barrier, which had created a thin film of energy over Ardum''s clothing and skin, and when the spear was close to hitting Ardum, the Barrier''s shape changed.


    The Barrier stretched out and angled 30¡ã to the side.


    The spear hit the angled Barrier, and its trajectory changed so that it passed by Ardum instead of hitting him.


    Naturally, quite a bit of the spear''s force still hit the Barrier, but it was almost negligible.


    Together with the five-to-one ratio of attacking Zephyx to defensive Zephyx of the Barrier, Ardum didn''t even lose 10% of his Zephyx.


    Inside the alley, Nick gritted his teeth.


    He hadn''t expected Ardum to be first.


    If any of the other two had arrived, they would have been killed, most likely.


    Sadly, Ardum''s Barrier was just way too advanced and powerful.


    However, even though Ardum didn''t take any serious damage, his fear and anger still exploded.


    Just now, he had felt like he was about to die, which made him absolutely furious!


    How could such a nobody cause such panic in him?!


    This was one of the greatest acts of disrespect that Ardum had ever experienced!


    "You''re going to pay for this!" Ardum spoke through gritted teeth with pure venom.


    Nick didn''t answer and just pulled out a ck ball from one of his pockets.


    BANG!


    Nick threw the ball onto the ground in front of him, and a huge cloud of smoke filled the alleyway.


    Ardum snorted.


    The next moment, a silver flicker appeared in front of Ardum''s eyes, and some kind of disy appeared.


    In Ardum''s vision, the colors changed, but the smoke also seemingly vanished.


    Naturally, such an expensive Barrier had more than a few utility effects.


    Right now, Ardum could see how Nick ran into one of the buildings at the side.


    Ardum aggressively shot forward.


    BANG!


    Ardum punched through the door of the building that Nick had just entered, and he quickly charged down one of the hallways.


    Sadly, this one led into an empty room.


    SHING!


    The disy in front of Ardum''s eyes changed.


    The colors became subdued, but there were several bright specks floating in the air.


    These bright specks were particles that created human scent.


    This meant that Ardum could essentially see Nick''s smell with his eyes.


    The particles were dispersing, but they were still far more concentrated in some spots than in others.


    Naturally, this meant that Nick had been there.


    Ardum rapidly charged forward again, following the trail of scent that Nick had left behind.


    Eventually, Ardum reached another room.


    The trail ended in front of a hole in the floor.


    Ardum narrowed his eyes.


    Did Nick jump into the sewers?


    CRK!


    Suddenly, an arm shot out of the hole and grabbed Ardum''s ankle!


    ZZZZZT!


    But the next moment, a spark of lightning appeared around Ardum''s ankle after it sparkled with a silver color.


    The arm started to smoke and rapidly retreated back into the hole.


    Obviously, such an obvious weakness as getting grabbed was something that the Barrier could deal with as well.


    BOOOOM!


    Suddenly, the floor below Ardum exploded as a foot kicked through it.


    Ardum was flung forward, and his Barrier sparkled again.


    ''You want to throw me into the sewers?!'' Ardum thought with absolute fury.


    In the air, Ardum turned to Nick''s foot and threw a scalpel at it.


    DING!


    Luckily, he missed.


    The next moment, Ardumnded on the other side of the hole.


    CRACK!


    A de shot through the floor and cut to the side.


    CRK!


    The te Ardum was standing on copsed, but he managed to jump to the side.


    DING!


    One of Ardum''s knives hit the de and bounced off.


    The de vanished.


    BANG!


    And reappeared at the edge of the room.


    Then, it rapidly moved along the outside of the room.


    Ardum gritted his teeth and threw his remaining tools at the flooring beside the de.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The three tools punched through the floor.


    SPLASH! SPLASH!


    Two distant sounds of sshing appeared.


    ''Did I hit?'' Ardum thought with furrowed brows.


    Yet, the de kept going around the room at incredible speeds.


    Ardum focused on conjuring more tools.


    Sadly, conjuring tools took some time.


    Over the next couple of seconds, Ardumunched several tools at the spot where Nick should be, but he had no idea if he actually hit him or not.


    When the room became too unstable, Ardum jumped to one of the walls and punched through it, keeping himself above the floor.


    The floor began to shake, and the de vanished.


    While Ardum held himself up on the wall with his left hand, his right hand was ready to throw another three scalpels.


    As soon as the floor fell down, Ardum would throw them at Nick!


    BOOOM!


    Yet, instead of falling, the floor suddenly shot upwards!


    Ardum''s eyes widened.


    His entire vision was upied by the floor of the room that wasing closer and closer.


    Ardum''s Barrier activated when the metal floor touched him, and a silver light appeared.


    Behind the floor, Nick''s eyes sparkled as the silver light of Ardum''s Barrier shone through some of the holes in the floor.


    Since the floor had already risen by a lot, Nick grabbed one of the walls of the room with his hands and kicked the floor in the direction of the silver light.


    BANG!


    The entire floor bent, and Ardum''s eyes widened as it shot towards him.


    CRACK!


    The floor buried into the walls and ceiling in several ces, getting stuck in them.


    At that moment, Ardum gritted his teeth and also kicked the floor.


    BANG!


    The floor bent in more ces, and Nick could see the spot that Ardum had just kicked from the other side.


    BANG!


    An extremely powerful impact bent the floor again, and Ardum''s Barrier shone again.


    This kick had just consumed nearly 3% of Ardum''s Zephyx!


    With the ceiling above it and the wall behind it, Ardum''s Barrier couldn''t redirect the force of the strike, which meant that it was forced to block it directly.


    BANG!


    Ardum kicked forward again, bending more of the floor.


    BANG! BANG!


    Yet, more powerful attacks came from the other side of the floor, using up more of Ardum''s Zephyx.


    Worst of all, Ardum couldn''t tell where Nick was!


    He knew that Nick was somewhere behind the floor, but he didn''t know where!

 Chapter 167 167 – Splash

    <h4>Chapter 167 Chapter 167 ¨C Ssh</h4>


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The floor got bent in more and more ces as Nick and Ardum punched and kicked it.


    Some secondster, more and more parts of the floor fell into the sewers.


    The amount of floor in the room was decreasing.


    Yet, Ardum still couldn''t find Nick!


    Where the fuck was he?!


    In a rare moment of peace, Ardum used his knives and createdrge cuts on the floor in front of him.


    As long as he could see Nick, he would be able to kill him!


    The only reason why Nick had been able to fight him evenly was because Ardum couldn''t properly use his ability like this.


    At least, that was what Ardum thought.


    After more cutting, almost all the floor in the room had fallen into the sewers below, and Ardum could finally see the entire room.


    Nothing!


    Nick wasn''t here!


    Then, Ardum saw a small hole in the ceiling near the other wall, and Ardum immediately realized what had happened.


    BANG!


    At that moment, a de shot through the ceiling above Ardum and hit his head.


    Ardum''s Barrier blocked the de.


    CRACK!


    Butpared to Futuma''s Barrier, Ardum''s Barrier didn''t negate kic energy unless it was programmed to do so.


    Ardum lost his grip on the wall behind him and shot down.


    Ardum''s eyes widened in horror and fury, and he turned to look up.


    Through the bit of sunlighting from behind Nick, Ardum could see Nick''s silhouette through the hole that Nick''s hand had just made.


    Immediately, Ardum threw all his knives at Nick in ast-ditch effort to kill him.


    DING! DING! DING!


    Nick moved to the side, and the three knives punched through the ceiling in front of Nick.


    "I WILL-"


    SPLASH!


    Ardum couldn''t finish his dramatic shout as he fell into the sewers, and his mouth got filled with liquid that only a limited number of people would call water.


    Nick moved forward again and looked into the sewers through the hole.


    ''If he has a simr reaction to Wyntor, he will be out of the fight for a while,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick slowly snuck forward on the second floor of the building.


    While he was doing so, Nick clutched the right side of his abdomen.


    A lot of ckened blood was flowing out of that spot.


    Ardum had hit him with one of his knives when Nick had been cutting through the floor.


    The spot where the knife had hit Nick hurt like hell and burned like crazy.


    It felt like Nick''s insides were dposing.


    BANG!


    Nick heard a loud crash from below him.


    It sounded like someone had kicked a door open.


    On the first floor, Futuma and Selina charged forward.


    Earlier, they had seen Ardum get hit by a spear and charge into a smoke-filled alley.


    The two of them had run through the smoke-filled alley, but they didn''t see anyone on the other side of the smoke cloud.


    They had been searching for Ardum and Nick until they heard and saw three knives shooting through the roof of one of the buildings.


    Ardum had to be in here!


    The two of them searched through every room on the first floor.


    Some secondster, Futuma nearly fell into the sewers as he entered a room without a floor.


    Luckily, he had reacted quickly enough and grabbed the floor behind him.


    "Ugh, cough, cough, huuuuuur."


    Futuma heard the sounds of violent coughing and heaving from below him and looked down.


    There, he saw his boss, Ardum, puking his guts out.


    He was swimming in the "water".


    Ardum saw Futuma. "Don''t- huuurh, don- huuuurh, do- argh!"


    Futuma furrowed his brows as he tried to decipher what Ardum wanted to tell him.


    BOOOOOM!


    Futuma''s copper-colored Barrier exploded into pieces, and his eyes widened in shock and horror.


    Behind him, a hole had appeared in the floor of the first floor.


    And in the wall behind it.


    And in the floor of the second floor.


    Yet, Futuma''s chest also had a hole.


    Nick had been watching Futuma through the light-holes in the second floor, and when he had seen Futuma hanging from the floor, he knew that his opportunity had arrived.


    Nick remembered where Futuma was, ran to the room beside the one he was staying in, and threw his spear with all of his power through the floors, walls, and Futuma''s chest.


    Ssh!


    At that moment, a part of the sewers sshed.


    Nick''s spear hadnded.


    But the next moment, a tiny wire that was going through Futuma''s chest strained.


    BANG!


    And Nick''s filth-covered spear erged the hole in Futuma''s chest as it shot back.


    Futuma lost the strength in his arm and fell into the sewers.


    BANG!


    Right on top of Ardum, who was pushed below the surface again while he was coughing, gorging himself on another mouthful of sewer soup.


    BANG!


    A door was kicked open, and Selina charged through the room.


    But then, she suddenly stopped and barely managed to avoid stepping into the room without floor.


    She had just heard a sounding from here.


    Selina quickly looked into the sewers, but she couldn''t see anything.


    There was just water.


    Then, she looked around.


    That was when she saw a suspicious hole in the ceiling.


    ''That hole is the same size as the enemy''s spear,'' she thought with narrowed eyes.


    BOOOOOM!


    Selina''s Barrier exploded.


    Her eyes immediately lost all focus, and she fell backward.


    There was now a sizable hole in her face.


    CRACK!


    And the hole became evenrger as Nick''s spear passed through it again.


    Ssh!


    At that moment, Ardum broke past the surface again and took a deep breath.


    BANG!


    And was pushed under again by Selina''s corpse.


    On the second floor, Nick chuckled a bit.


    "Ow!" he suddenly shouted as he clenched his abdomen in pain.


    Nick removed his hand and saw that it was covered in ckened blood.


    ''I have to deal with this,'' he thought.


    BANG!


    Nick punched through the ceiling and went to the roof of the building.


    Then, he ran to the ce where he had talked with Futuma earlier and grabbed his spear.


    Finally, Nick ran towards the Outer City.

 Chapter 168 168 – Hospital

    <h4>Chapter 168 Chapter 168 ¨C Hospital</h4>


    Nick jumped from building to building as quickly as he could.


    The injury in his abdomen didn''t feel good at all.


    However, before Nick dealt with the injury, he had to quickly tell Wyntor about what had just happened.


    In just a few minutes, Nick ran into Dark Dream.


    As soon as he arrived, everyone turned to look at him since he had just violently thrown open the doors.


    Immediately, the people noticed that Nick was injured and that he was bleeding.


    "Nick!" Trevor shouted in urgency as he ran over to Nick.


    Nick pulled him closer and whispered into his ear.


    "Futuma and Selina are dead," Nick whispered. "Ardum is the only Zephyx Extractor left in Cycle. You have to tell Wyntor immediately!"


    When Trevor heard that, his eyes widened in shock.


    It was over?


    The war was over?


    Then, Trevor realized that Nick had essentially dealt with Cyclepletely on his own.


    Jenny and he hadn''t done anything to help.


    Completely on his own, Nick had gotten two Extractors from Cycle to join Dark Dream while killing four others, including the first spy.


    One of them had even been a John!


    "Nick, what about-"


    "No time!" Nick shouted as he ran towards the exit. "I''ll talk to youter!"


    Trevor blinked a couple of times in shock, but he quickly realized that Nick was probably dealing with his injury.


    "What did he say?" Kiara asked after walking to Trevor.


    Over the past two days, Kiara and Jonathan had be familiar with the people of Dark Dream, and they didn''t feel nearly as ufortable as they had anticipated.


    Dark Dream was actually pretty nice to be in.


    "I have to get Wyntor," Trevor said with furrowed brows before he ran to one of the assistants.


    It was currently in the evening, and Wyntor wasn''t in Dark Dream right now.


    Meanwhile, Nick was rapidly running towards the ce that had healed him when he had caught the Dreamer.


    Nick stormed through the doors, and the clerk behind the counter raised her eyebrows in shock.


    BANG!


    Nick mmed his bank card on the counter. "I''ve been poisoned by a powerful ability from a level two Specter! Heal it!"


    The clerk''s eyes widened, and she quickly punched a button below the counter.


    "Walk in that direction!" she said, pointing towards her right. "The team will meet you on your way!"


    Nick nodded and quickly walked down the hallway.


    About five secondster, a big door at the end of the hallway opened, and four people quickly ran through it.


    As soon as they saw Nick''s uniform and his condition, they knew that he was their client.


    One of them ran forward with a metallic bed on wheels and practically pushed Nick onto it.


    After that, they pushed Nick into a big and brightly lit room with many little vials adorning the walls.


    One had to remember that this was not a hospital in the ssical sense.


    This was a branch of a huge organization that had ess to a powerful Specter that exchanged human life with healing liquid.


    The people who pushed Nick in were also not really doctors.


    They definitely knew a lot about the human body, but their main duty was to assess the damage and level of the client while choosing the correct mix of liquids to ensure optimal recovery.


    Naturally, this service was not cheap at all.


    In fact, it was so expensive that only Zephyx Extractors could afford it.


    The main reason wasn''t that Zephyx Extractors had a lot of money but because the Zephyx Manufacturers employing them would pay in case the Extractor couldn''t.


    Healing a badly wounded Extractor was extremely expensive, but losing an experienced Extractor was even more expensive.


    Someone in the team rapidly opened Nick''s uniform with practiced ease and threw it to the side.


    Now, everyone could see the injury.


    "The kidney has been hit and is poisoned," one of them said.


    The others nodded solemnly.


    "What''s the level of the poison?" he asked Nick.


    "Adolescent Specter," Nick said.


    The man furrowed his eyes in displeasure. "Young man, you have to be honest. We are not with the guards, and we do not care whether or not you broke thew. I can see that this is not a wound that a Specter would usually inflict. Are you sure this came from a Specter?"


    Nick took a deep breath. "Early level two Extractor," he said. "I got hit by a poisoned knife."


    The leading doctor nodded. "Do you know if the poison effect was the Extractor''s primary ability or an evolution?"


    "Evolution," Nick answered.


    "Are you certain?" the doctor asked.


    "I am certain," Nick said.


    The doctor nodded and turned to one of his people. "Get me B6 and H67," he ordered.


    One of the people nodded and ran towards one of the big cabs.


    After opening it, the man grabbed one of the bottles before he ran to a different cab and did the same thing.


    One of the bottles was blue, while the other was violet.


    The doctor opened the violet bottle and put it over Nick''s festering wound.


    Skillfully, the doctor dropped six drops of violet liquid onto Nick''s wound.


    The liquid vanished rather quickly, almost like it had entered Nick''s body through his wound.


    Some momentster, Nick calmed down as a cool and refreshing feeling washed over his body.


    "How do you feel?" the doctor asked.


    "Calm¡­ better¡­" Nick said slowly.


    The doctor nodded and grabbed the other bottle.


    Then, he very carefully dropped one drop of blue liquid onto Nick''s wound.


    A momentter, Nick''s eyes shot open, and he took an insanely deep breath.


    Almost immediately, Nick shot up from the metallic bed.


    The other people had already retreated since they were used to that reaction.


    Just now, Nick felt like someone had injected pure adrenaline into him.


    "How do you feel?" the doctor asked again.


    Nick looked with surprise at the doctor.


    "I feel amazing!" he said in wonder.


    The doctor nodded. "You''ve been cured."


    "Please go to the front desk and tell them that you are healed."


    "Have a nice day."

 Chapter 169 169 – Kill Me

    <h4>Chapter 169 Chapter 169 ¨C Kill Me</h4>


    A group of five people stood in front of a tall building.


    The people wore uniforms with red and ck colors, the same colors as the standard Zephyx Extractor uniforms.


    However,pared to those, these uniforms looked to be of higher quality, and their shape was also slightly different, giving off more authority.


    On these uniforms were emblems depicting mushrooms in front of building silhouettes.


    The people in the Outer City saw these kinds of uniforms even rarer than Zephyx Extractor uniforms.


    These uniforms were the uniforms of the official city forces, and they all worked and resided in the Inner City.


    One could also call the people who wore these uniforms the guards of the Inner City.


    Naturally, since the Inner City was where all the rich and influential people lived, the level of the guards there was also vastly higher than in the Outer City.


    All of these guards were Zephyx Extractors or ex-Zephyx Extractors.


    When a Zephyx Manufacturer became big enough to have their own emblem, they were also required to support the city with more than just credits.


    Namely human power.


    At that point, the Zephyx Manufacturer needed to dedicate 20% of their Extractors to the city officials.


    So, if a Manufacturer had about 20 Veterans and 100 Johns, they would need to dedicate at least four Veterans and 20 Johns to the city.


    These Zephyx Extractors would work for eight hours each day for the city.


    This meant that these Extractors wouldn''t have any time to work with any Specters or for the Manufacturer.


    Of course, the city also paid these Extractors, but the Manufacturers almost always had to pay their Extractors on top of that since the city''s pay was horrendous.


    The Extractors that were dedicated to the city would work as guards, officials, tax collectors, and so on.


    But most of them were essentially just doing nothing.


    It didn''t take a lot of manpower to run the city.


    The real reason why every Manufacturer needed to dedicate 20% of their forces to the city was to make a revolt impossible.


    With 20% of all the Extractors in their pocket, the city could fight any Manufacturer that wanted to rise against it.


    However, while this seemed like a horrible disadvantage for Manufacturers, it actually wasn''t.


    After all, someone who was working for the city had a lot of power and could sway some things.


    The more people a Manufacturer had in the city''s forces, the more advantages they could get with thew.


    For example, there had to be at least one Zephyx Manufacturer that was causing illegal deaths in the Inner and Outer City because of one of their Specters, but the guards didn''t know which Manufacturer it was.


    Naturally, that was because that Manufacturer had so many people in the guards that they could keep such a huge operation hidden.


    And right now, five of these people stood in front of Cycle''s building in the Outer City.


    The four people in the back had emblems with two mushrooms on them, which meant that they were level two Extractors who were currently working for the city.


    When an Extractor worked for the city, they would wear the city''s uniform, making it impossible to tell from which Zephyx Manufacturer this Extractor came.


    One could only tell that these four were Johns.


    Compared to these four, the person in the front had three mushrooms on his emblem, which meant that he was a Veteran.


    Just now, the leading person had tried to open the front door to Cycle, but it didn''t open.


    That was a bit unusual since it was 9 a.m.


    After some time, the guard frowned.


    DUNG! DUNG! DUNG!


    He knocked with a lot of force three times, shaking the entire entrance area.


    "This is the City guard. Open the door!" the guard shouted.


    No answer.


    This continued for almost five minutes.


    The guard just kept knocking and shouting.


    "Seems like we got a winner," the leading guardmented.


    The other guards looked with curiosity at the closed doors.


    It wasn''t every day that a Manufacturer went out of business.


    The leading guard pulled out a thin golden de and rammed it into the slit between two doors.


    DING!


    He moved the de down and cut through the lock with a lot of force.


    Finally, he pushed forward, and the door opened without any resistance.


    When the door opened, the guards smelled a thick stench of blooding out from the building.


    The main hall was very clean, but it smelled like it was coated in blood.


    The guards behind the leading guard became nervous.


    Johns rarely fought Extractors or Specters, and whenever a Manufacturer was about to go under, they often resisted with force or just released their Specters.


    And since these Specters were a danger to the city, the guards had to take care of them.


    "Don''t worry," the leading guard said as he strode into the building confidently. "Based on the report, this Manufacturer only has one Adolescent and two Hatchlings."


    The other guards sighed in relief when they heard that.


    The building was eerily silent as they continued walking towards the end of the main hall.


    When they reached the counter, the stench of blood became even thicker.


    No one was standing at the counter.


    The leading guard approached the counter and looked behind it.


    "Ah, that''s where the stench ising from," he said.


    The other guards followed and also looked behind the counter.


    They saw a huge pile of bloody minced meat.


    It was like a pig had been thrown into a meat grinder and then just dumped here.


    "Looks like the doing of a Specter," the leading guard said.


    The other guards gulped nervously.


    "Kill me."


    A chill ran down the guards'' necks as they heard the soft but almost lifeless voice of a young womaning from one of the hallways.


    "Please¡­ kill me¡­"


    The voice became louder, and some momentster, they saw someone stepping out of the hallway.


    It was a severely bleeding nakeddy with long ck hair.


    Her fingernails were over 20 centimeters long and extremely sharp.


    A momentter, the woman raised her head, and she looked at the guards.


    Her eye sockets were empty.


    There were only two dark and bloody holes.


    "Kill me¡­"


    "Kill me!"


    "KILL ME!"


    "KIIIIIILLLL MEEEEEE!"


    And then, she charged forward.

 Chapter 170 170 – Wrapping Things Up

    <h4>Chapter 170 Chapter 170 ¨C Wrapping Things Up</h4>


    "That''s what happened," Wyntor said to the five people in front of him.


    Right now, Nick, Jenny, Trevor, Jonathan, and Kiara were standing in front of Wyntor, who had just told everyone about what the guards had found in Cycle.


    "He really freed all the Specters without telling anyone?" Kiara asked in shock.


    Wyntor nodded. "Ardum is an egomaniac. He doesn''t care about anyone else when there is something even mildly bothering him. He is the most important thing, and if he identally slightly stubs his toe, he wouldn''t care if he had to kill a thousand people to make the pain go away."


    At that moment, Wyntor had to chuckle a bit. "And with what Nick told me Ardum went through, I doubt that he had anything but rage and hatred in his mind."


    Trevor and Jenny also chuckled.


    Nick had already told them how he had thrown Ardum into the sewers.


    "Did anyone survive?" Jonathan asked with worry.


    After all, he had worked with the people in Cycle for a long while, and he didn''t want to see any of them die.


    Except for Ardum, maybe.


    "Two of the guards and one of the clerks managed to flee," Wyntor said. "The others were killed by the Specters."


    Kiara sighed. "Why? Why did this have to happen?"


    "Well, when you know that the city is about toe and repossess yourpany, the only thing you can do is make it as difficult as possible for them to get your stuff," Wyntor exined.


    "He can''t destroy the building since it is leased in his name, and he doesn''t own it."


    "He can''t just randomly kill his people since that would be considered sabotage."


    "The only thing he can do is let out all the Specters and act like it was an ident."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Is there no way to fool the city? Ardum is also a Melfion, right? Shouldn''t there be some way to deal with the inspection?"


    "He already did everything he could," Wyntor exined. "While the building is leased in his name, Cycle doesn''t officially belong to him."


    "It doesn''t?" Nick asked in surprise.


    "No," Wyntor answered while shaking his head. "Officially, his Chief Zephyx Extractor owns 51% of Cycle. Naturally, unofficially, he owned all of it, but only the official ounts matter."


    "He can im that he had raised the issues regarding personnel and the Specters potentially breaking out with the Chief Zephyx Extractor, who just ignored all the issues."


    "And since the Chief Zephyx Extractor officially owns the majority of thepany, he couldn''t do anything without the Chief Zephyx Extractor''s permission."


    "Under normal circumstances, when your business is judged to be unfit to hold Specters, you also receive a hefty fine and a long mandatory work sentence for endangering the city."


    "Yet, since Ardum didn''t officially own most of his business, he can''t be held ountable, which means he won''t lose any of his personal wealth."


    The five Extractors were not happy when they heard that.


    Ardum would get away scot-free?!


    That was so unfair!


    "Will Ardum take his revenge?" Jonathan asked.


    "That won''t be easy," Wyntor answered. "Since he officially failed to earn his inheritance, he has to get ess to the family fortune via the traditional route."


    "Bing strong enough to actually control a major part of the Melfion family."


    "He will need to be an Expert at the very least, and if he actually wants to control a substantial amount of the family''s power, he will need to be a Specialist, a level five Extractor."


    "Kugelblitz will hire Ardum as a level two Extractor, and he will have to work his way up thedder."


    "Due to our family name, he will get the job, but as soon as he is officially part of Kugelblitz, he has to work just as hard as anyone else."


    "And Kugelblitz is very strict with how their employees conduct themselves."


    "Kugelblitz represents Crimson Fungus City, and if one of their employees is found to use their position to suppress people outside Kugelblitz, they will terminate that employee and make sure that they don''t find a job anywhere else."


    "If you want to make it in Kugelblitz, your conduct has to be exceptional and exemry."


    "While Ardum definitely hates us, and Nick specifically, he won''t sacrifice his life and future for revenge," Wyntor exined.


    "Ardum might be an impulsive idiot, but that''s for my standards, not for general standards."


    "He isn''t dumb enough to throw his life away for something like that."


    The Extractors had mixed feelings.


    On the one hand, they were d that Ardum most likely wouldn''t cause problems for them in the future.


    But on the other hand, they felt like all of this was so unjust and unfair.


    Even though Ardum had done all of these horrible things, he would still get an amazing job in Kugelblitz.


    Ardum''s fate after messing up everything was a fate that nearly everyone in the city wished for.


    It was so unfair.


    Everyone remained silent for several seconds.


    "On a positive note," Wyntor continued, "the guards captured all three Specters and put them back into their Containment Units. Dark Dream has also received the ownership of all these Specters."


    A collective sigh of relief was released.


    They had still been a bit nervous about whether or not they would get the Specters.


    "And not only that," Wyntor said.


    The others looked at Wyntor with raised eyebrows.


    "I also got into contact with the owner of the building, and I managed to acquire the lease for the building."


    The eyes of the Zephyx Extractors opened widely.


    "The building is far better than the warehouse we are in right now. In fact, it has space for up to 20 Containment Units of regr size. On top of that, we will have plenty of rooms for all kinds of things."


    "While the lease is quite expensive, it''s not an issue."


    "After all, we now officially own five Specters."


    At that point, Wyntor began to smile brightly.


    After a bit, Nick also smiled.


    Dark Dream was about to undergo another evolution!

 Chapter 171 171 – New Home

    <h4>Chapter 171 Chapter 171 ¨C New Home</h4>


    A group of around 20 people stood in front of the tall building that had once belonged to Cycle.


    Almost all the employees of Dark Dream had gathered here.


    Nick and Wyntor were at the front, and the four Zephyx Extractors, Jenny, Jonathan, Kiara, and Trevor, were behind them.


    Behind the Zephyx Extractors were six guards, three of whom had worked for Dark Dream before, with the other three being new hires.


    Since their new building was no longer as open as the warehouse, they needed more guards to patrol the individual corridors.


    Behind the guards were six clerks and assistants whose job it was to receive guests and deal with all the day-to-day matters, like cleaning and sending messages.


    Right now, all of these people looked at the tall building with wonder and excitement.


    This was where they were going to work from now on!


    Finally, they could get out of that shitty old warehouse!


    Now, they felt like they were working for an actual Zephyx Manufacturer.


    "Let''s go inside," Wyntor said as he gestured for everyone to follow.


    Nick nodded and looked with a threatening expression behind him.


    At the Dreamer.


    Naturally, the Specters had to move into the new building as well.


    Luckily, since Dark Dream only had two Specters, they didn''t need to put a lot of effort into moving.


    The Screaming Coffin was being carried by Jonathan and Trevor, and the Dreamer was standing in the middle of all the Extractors.


    The Screaming Coffin didn''t care about anything and was simplyzing around, still busy digesting the fat man''s corpse, and if the Dreamer decided to escape, it would get shut down by five Extractors.


    Usually, moving Specters from one building into another was a huge act that required a long time, but since they only had two, it wasn''t a big deal.


    Fortunately, the people who sold the Containment Units also offered a moving service.


    They would build a Containment Unit identical to the old one in the new building.


    Then, the Zephyx Manufacturer would move the Specter from one Containment Unit into the other.


    Lastly, the old Containment Unit would be taken away by the sellers.


    This service cost around 10% of what the Containment Unit was worth.


    This meant that there were already two fitting Containment Units for the Screaming Coffin and the Dreamer in the new building.


    A momentter, the group of people walked into the building.


    "Mind showing us around?" Wyntor asked as he looked at Kiara and Jonathan. After all, they had worked in this building just days ago.


    "Of course!" Jonathan said with a smirk.


    By now, Jonathan and Kiara had warmed up to their new colleagues, and Jonathan''s confident attitude had returned.


    "Hmph," Kiara uttered from the side. "Look at how cocky you sound. Hard to believe that you nearly shat your pants when you saw boss for the first time."


    Some of the people chuckled, while Jonathan became red in the face.


    "This is the main hall," Jonathan said like he hadn''t just been humiliated. "There are several staircases on each side. In case one of them copses, we can still use the other ones."


    "The building has seven floors, and the middle five are for the Containment Units. The first floor is for entertaining guests, and it acts as a safe meeting ce."


    "The seventh floor was always reserved for the business end of things. The seventh floor has meeting rooms and offices. On top of that, the central controls for the building are also there."


    "The Dung Heap is on the-"


    "That''s enough. Thank you, Jonathan," Wyntor said, interrupting him.


    Jonathan realized that he had nearly unveiled the identities of all the Specters in front of the normal employees and became ashamed.


    Luckily, everyone knew the Dung Heap already since it had been Cycle''s main Specter.


    On the side, Kiara smirked in Schadenfreude.


    She had never truly been a fan of Jonathan, and after Jonathan had surrendered without even putting up a fight, she hated him even more.


    "I''ll leave you to look around the building," Wyntor said as he looked at the non-Extractors. "For now, nothing but the Containment Units are off limits since we haven''t officially moved in yet. Get familiar with your new workce for today. Starting tomorrow, you will officially resume working."


    The employees nodded and thanked Wyntor.


    Then, Wyntor turned to the Extractors. "Let''s deal with the Specters," he said before walking towards one of the staircases on the right.


    The normal employees understood that they were not supposed to follow Wyntor and the others right now and decided to remain in the main hall for now.


    The stairway was pretty wide, with a big open area in the middle.


    It was specifically designed like that so that Zephyx Extractors could quickly go from one floor to the other.


    For example, Nick could climb onto the fortified railing and jump from the seventh floor to the third floor by jumping through therge empty area in the middle.


    Wyntor and Nick walked at the front, and Nick kept looking at the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer just looked forward with dead eyes.


    Right now, the Dreamer was not restrained at all, even though Dark Dream could have done so.


    The reason was to reward the Dreamer for being cooperative.


    It was also a little show of trust, even though it essentially wasn''t since it wouldn''t be able to escape from five Extractors anyway.


    Naturally, Dark Dream didn''t trust the Dreamer at all.


    All of this was just an empty expression to make it morefortable for the Dreamer so that it didn''t try to escape.


    Well, obviously, the Dreamer would try to escape, but it wouldn''t try with desperation as long as it was somewhat happy.


    The group of people climbed all the way to the fifth floor and entered the main hallway again.


    The fifth floor looked very different from the first one.


    There was one hallway that went from left to right and three hallways that went from forward to backward.


    One hallway went through the middle of the floor, and the two others went through the sides.


    This essentially split the floor into two parts, and each part had space for two Containment Units.


    The employee entrances of the Containment Units were in the middle hallway, and the entrances for the Specters were in the side hallways.


    The group of people led the Dreamer down one of the side hallways.


    A momentter, one of the walls split open after giving off a loud rm.


    Without being ordered, the Dreamer walked into the Containment Unit.


    Then, the Containment Unit closed.


    The Dreamer had moved into its new home.

 Chapter 172 172 – Floors

    <h4>Chapter 172 Chapter 172 ¨C Floors</h4>


    After putting the Dreamer into its new home, the group dumped the Screaming Coffin into its Containment Unit on the second floor.


    Wyntor had also told everyone about how he nned on dividing the Specters.


    Nearly every floor would be dedicated to a different kind of Specter.


    The second floor was dedicated to Possession Specters, and it had the Screaming Coffin and the Dung Heap.


    The Dung Heap wasn''t really a Possession Specter, but it essentially acted like one.


    The Dung Heap was a Physical Specter with an actual body, but it couldn''t move very fast, which was why it essentially acted like a Possession Specter.


    Wyntor decided to keep the Dung Heap on the second floor with the Screaming Coffin because of that.


    Possession Specters very rarely escaped, and the second floor was the closest to the exit, which was why they were on that floor.


    The third and fourth floors were for general Physical Specters.


    Physical Specters were the most numerous, which was why Wyntor dedicated two floors to them.


    Well, he actually dedicated three floors to them, but that would be exinedter.


    Right now, they only had one normal Physical Specter, which was the Bleeding Lady.


    She was residing on the third floor.


    The fifth floor was for Specters that fed on mentality.


    Wyntor wanted to keep these kinds of Specters separate from all the others because of the normal employees.


    idents always happened, and it was possible that some of the Specters might gain the ability to influence people beyond their Containment Unit.


    Naturally, Zephyx Extractors had a great resistance to these kinds of things, but normal people didn''t.


    Because of that, Wyntor wanted to keep these kinds of Specters off-limit from all the normal employees.


    Only Zephyx Extractors were allowed on the fifth floor.


    No clerks or guards were allowed to enter it.


    In fact, after today, Wyntor would also include himself in that list.


    While Wyntor was a Mid Newbie, he didn''t want to get into the bad habit of ignoring his own regtions.


    At some point, Dark Dream would have stronger Specters.


    Then, Wyntor''s mental resistance would barely be better than the resistance of a normal person.


    And as the CEO, it would be really bad if a Specter were to control him.


    Finally, the sixth floor was for Force Specters.


    Dark Dream didn''t have any right now.


    This was how all the floors were set up.


    Naturally, the normal employees would feel nervous when entering any of the floors with Containment Units on them, but they would be especially scared of the fifth floor.


    Normal employees didn''t know what kind of Specters Dark Dream owned, which was why they didn''t know why they were not allowed to enter the fifth floor.


    That made the fifth floor extremely scary to them.


    What kind of Specter was stored on the fifth floor that they were not even allowed to clean that ce?!


    But that wasn''t the only concerning floor.


    The second floor was also concerning, but not for a reason such as danger.


    It was just annoyance and disgust.


    The Dung Heap''s smell couldn''t perfectly be contained in its Containment Unit, which meant that its odor permeated throughout the second floor.


    The second floor smelled like rotten garbage all the time, and the employees hated going there.


    Luckily, it wasn''t dangerous.


    It was just disgusting.


    "I''m going to set up the seventh floor," Wyntor told Nick. "You should get everyone familiar with the new Specters before work tomorrow."


    Nick nodded. "What about the new employees?"


    "They wille next week," Wyntor said. "I already signed the contract with them and Ghosty''s Lab."


    Ghosty''s Lab had the most Newbies, and surprisingly, they were not against other Manufacturers taking their Newbies.


    The reason was the release fee.


    Ghosty''s Lab hired more Newbies than they actually needed since they knew that other Manufacturers were going to poach them.


    The release fee for a Newbie was more than the Newbie brought in within a year.


    This was essentially free money for Ghosty''s Lab.


    Since Dark Dream needed more Extractors, Wyntor had taken out a loan and bought three more Extractors.


    The three Extractors were just Early Newbies, but they were already far better than normal people.


    They had been tested by Ghosty''s Lab.


    They had already worked with Specters.


    They already had some experience.


    And most of all, they had the standard ability that most of the Extractors from Ghosty''s Lab had.


    The Adult Specter Metalmorphosis.


    Metalmorphosis was a floating ball of liquid metal, and it gained power by causing terror and fear.


    Extractors that work with it got its ability, which was useful for almost everything.


    The ability allowed Extractors to reshape metal into all kinds of shapes.


    Weapons, tools, walls, whatever.


    While the base ability was not amazing for fighting, it could be mutated in many different ways.


    For example, if one of these people evolved this ability with the Dung Heap, they might be able to create a thin wave of metal with poisonous properties.


    It would essentially be like a wave of acid.


    The three Newbies that Wyntor had bought all had the base ability of the Metalmorphosis.


    After hearing that the three new employees woulde next week, Nick nodded. "Good. I will teach them about all the Specters when they''re here."


    Wyntor chuckled. "I would assume so. It''s your job, after all."


    Nickughed a bit in embarrassment.


    "Anyway, be careful with the new Specters. I heard the Lover and the Bleeding Lady are scarier than the Dreamer," Wyntor said.


    Kiara and Jonathan nodded, showing their agreement.


    In their opinion, the Bleeding Lady was the scariest Specter, followed by the Lover.


    "No worries," Nick said.


    "I don''t have any," Wyntor answered before he went into the stairway to go to the seventh floor.


    After Wyntor left, Nick looked at his four employees.


    Kiara and Jonathan were a bit excited, while Trevor and Jenny were a bit worried.


    "I would say, let''s get the hard part out of the way first," Nick said.


    "Wanna start with the Bleeding Lady?"

 Chapter 173 173 – The Bleeding Lady

    <h4>Chapter 173 Chapter 173 ¨C The Bleeding Lady</h4>


    The five people went to the third floor.


    Right now, only the Bleeding Lady was on the third floor.


    Kiara led everyone to the Containment Unit containing the Bleeding Lady and showed them how to operate it.


    The Containment Unit that Ardum had bought for the Bleeding Lady was even better than the one that currently housed the Dreamer, and it had a couple more functions.


    After that, Kiara looked at Jonathan. "You show him."


    Jonathan knew what Kiara meant and nodded.


    "Boss, I''ll bring you to the Bleeding Lady. She''s very unstable and gets aggressive very quickly, which is why Stephen and Futuma always told us that we should go into the Containment Unit with at most two people. Any more, and she might be violent."


    "Well, more violent than normal."


    Nick nodded.


    Then, Nick and Jonathan went through the door.


    Compared to the warehouse, this building had small rooms between the hallway and the Containment Unit.


    After going through the door, Nick found himself in a small locker room with a shower.


    "Boss, if you don''t want your uniform to get ruined, you have to take it off," Jonathan said as he started to take off his clothes.


    Nick raised an eyebrow but did what Jonathan said.


    "Keep your underpants on, boss," Jonathan added. "The Bleeding Lady has a very strong reaction to male genitalia."


    Nick nodded without saying anything.


    "Next, we cleanse our bodies," Jonathan said as he walked into the shower.


    A momentter, blue liquid came out of the shower head, and Jonathan left the shower after around ten seconds.


    The good thing about Cleansing Liquid was that it didn''t stick to someone, which meant that they didn''t get wet.


    Nick also took a quick shower.


    "I presume you''refortable with blood, boss?" Jonathan asked.


    Nick just nodded.


    Jonathan nodded back and put his hand on the actual entrance to the Containment Unit.


    Then, he sighed. "She''s probably quite upset right now. Be prepared to get cut a lot."


    "Are the cuts dangerous?" Nick asked.


    "Depends," Jonathan answered. "She has two kinds of cuts. She has the good ones and the bad ones."


    "The bad ones will actually kill you, but she only uses them when she feels threatened. The good ones will draw blood and are very painful but will close very quickly."


    "The good thing about her is that it is very clear when she is about to actually attack you. If it happens, I will warn you."


    "For now, please just follow mymands, boss," Jonathan said.


    Nick nodded. "Sure. You know her better than me."


    "Alright," Jonathan said with a sigh before turning to the door. "Here we go."


    Then, he pushed open the door, and the two of them slowly walked in.


    The door closed behind them, and Nick found himself in a crimson-red room.


    This surprised Nick a bit since Containment Units usually didn''te in that color since it was quite ominous.


    The Containment Unit was lit by a reflective light shaft that captured the sunlight from outside and brought it in here.


    In the corner of the room, Nick saw a person quietly sitting.


    By her looks, she was a young woman, probably about 18 to 20 years old.


    She waspletely naked, and there were numerous healing cuts all over her body.


    Long ck hair fell from her head and almost epassed her body.


    "She''s the reason for the red color in here," Jonathan whispered to Nick. "She gets agitated when she''s somewhere that isn''t red."


    "She painted the room red with her own blood."


    Nick felt his heart rate increase, but he still had control over himself.


    His body was ready to jump into a fight any minute.


    The Bleeding Lady must have already noticed the two new people in her Containment Unit, but she didn''t show any sign of doing anything.


    She was just looking at the ground, her face hidden behind her hair.


    Jonathan gestured for Nick to slowly follow him and walked forward.


    "Hello, long time no see," Jonathan said with a quiet and calming voice.


    The Bleeding Lady showed no reaction.


    "Do you want to have a bit of blood?" Jonathan asked carefully.


    She didn''t say anything.


    "You can have a bit of blood, but only if you want," Jonathan said carefully as he bent down to be at her eye level.


    Then, Jonathan stopped advancing.


    There was still about a meter between them.


    After some seconds, she lifted her head.


    Nick felt a cold shiver run down his back when he saw the bleeding holes where her eyes should be.


    For a bit, she just looked at Jonathan.


    Then, she slowly turned to look at Nick.


    Nick stood a meter behind Jonathan.


    "Hello, I''m Nick," Nick said with a calming voice.


    Nick looked deeply into the Bleeding Lady''s "eyes".


    "He''s my new boss," Jonathan said. "He''s just here to meet you."


    After about five seconds of silence, the Bleeding Lady slowly lifted one of her fingers, her long nails extending upward.


    "I will kill you," she spoke quietly with a cute voice.


    Nick didn''t do anything and just watched.


    "Yes, you will kill me," Jonathan said with a nervous smile before he extended his right arm.


    The Bleeding Lady''s long fingernail went to Jonathan''s wrist and moved upward.


    A deep cut appeared on Jonathan''s wrist, and he started to bleed heavily.


    Nick watched with worry.


    Surprisingly, not even ten secondster, the blood stopped flowing out, and a deep red crevice was left in Jonathan''s wrist.


    Jonathan did his best to seem calm, but Nick could tell that he was in severe pain.


    "I will kill you," she said again as she moved her long nail over Jonathan''s chest.


    A huge cut went across Jonathan''s torso, but just like thest one, it quickly stopped bleeding.


    "I will kill you."


    Another cut went across Jonathan''s entire arm.


    "I will kill you."


    A huge one appeared on Jonathan''s leg.


    About two minutester, the Bleeding Lady stopped cutting up Jonathan''s body.


    There were over ten cuts going across his body.


    Yet, surprisingly, the first ones were already starting to vanish, and Jonathan didn''t seem like he had been weakened by the blood loss in any way.


    A momentter, the Bleeding Lady turned to look at Nick and extended one of her nails.


    "I will kill you."

 Chapter 174 174 – Blood

    <h4>Chapter 174 Chapter 174 ¨C Blood</h4>


    Nick looked at the Bleeding Lady.


    "Come closer," Jonathan said from the side.


    Nick slowly took a couple of steps forward and went on his knees, just like Jonathan.


    Then, he extended his left arm.


    The Bleeding Lady slowly moved her nail across Nick''s wrist.


    CRRRK!


    Yet, it didn''t bleed.


    There was a cut there, but it didn''t draw any blood.


    At that moment, Jonathan started to sweat profusely.


    "It''s okay. It''s okay," he quickly said in a calming tone. "My boss is a bit stronger than me. You can y a bit rougher with him."


    "Come, try again," Jonathan said.


    Nick noticed that the Bleeding Lady''s body was shaking with intensity.


    "Move back," Jonathan whispered with a veiled, urgent voice.


    Nick slowly stood up and took three steps back.


    Jonathan moved his hand behind his back and gestured for Nick to ready his weapon.


    Nick understood but didn''t move.


    He didn''t want to act suspicious right now.


    But inside, he was ready for a fight.


    "You can try again," Jonathan said with a calming voice. "If you use more power, he can also bleed."


    "If you want, we can try again."


    The Bleeding Lady''s nail continued shaking.


    Some seconds passed.


    Eventually, her nail lowered to the ground, and Jonathan took a deep breath.


    A nail from her other hand rose, and she pointed at Nick.


    "I will kill you," she said.


    Jonathan gestured for Nick toe closer again.


    Nick did just that and arrived beside Jonathan.


    He held his arm in front of him, and the Bleeding Lady pointed her nail at it.


    Nick felt some kind of power gathering on the nail, but he didn''t move.


    SHING!


    A deep cut appeared on Nick''s wrist.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    That hurt like hell!


    Nick hade into contact with the Nightmare many times, and he had gone through worse pain, but this cut was still far more painful than a normal one.


    It was almost like Nick''s nerves were screaming at him with far more intensity than normal.


    The next moment, the Bleeding Lady''s nail moved away from Nick, and she slowly moved her t hand to Nick''s bleeding arm.


    Jonathan slowly put his arm on Nick''s shoulders, signaling to him that there was nothing to worry about.


    The Bleeding Lady slowly touched the blooding out of Nick''s arm, and the blood magically gathered in her hand, forming a ball.


    After ten seconds, Nick stopped bleeding, and the Bleeding Lady held a big ball of blood in her hands.


    Surprisingly, Nick didn''t feel any pain or weakness.


    It was almost like he hadn''t been cut just now.


    The next moment, the Bleeding Lady moved the ball of blood onto one of her own cuts.


    Nick''s blood clung to the Bleeding Lady''s cuts, making them seem like they were bleeding again.


    She did that with all of the cuts across her body, using up the ball of blood.


    Then, she put her hands around her legs and stopped moving.


    "Alright, it was fun. See you soon," Jonathan said carefully before standing up.


    "It was fun," Nick said carefully before he also stood up.


    Then, the two of them slowly walked to the exit of the Containment Unit and left.


    Jonathan carefully closed the door behind him.


    And then, he copsed onto the ground and started breathing heavily.


    Nick looked with surprise at Jonathan. "What''s going on?" he asked.


    Right now, Jonathan looked like he had been scared for his life, and he only looked forward in shock.


    "I''ve never seen her this mad before!" he shouted.


    "She was mad?" Nick asked.


    Jonathan rapidly nodded.


    "When I saw her after going in, I would have run out immediately if you weren''t with me. I''m just a Mid Newbie, for fuck''s sake! I can''t fight her!"


    Nick blinked a couple of times. "She seemed pretty calm to me."


    "Are you kidding?!" Jonathan shouted. "She was absolutely furious when we showed up! I thought she was about to jump us at any second!"


    "Also, did you see how many cuts she made?! It took that many cuts to calm her down! I''ve never been cut this much!"


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "What''s the normal number of cuts?"


    "Like one across the wrist, like you tried to kill yourself, and maybe one more somewhere else. After that, she''s content," Jonathan said. "That bitch cut up almost my entire fucking torso! Do you have any idea how hard it was not to cry out in pain?!"


    "What if you cry out in pain?" Nick asked.


    "Never do that!" Jonathan shouted with urgency. "That will only entice her to continue! Her cutting you is like an addiction. She has to do it from time to time, or she won''t calm down."


    "But if you scream in pain, it will be like your drug of choice suddenly bing far stronger, and she needs more. If you remain calm and quiet, she will quickly stop, but if you be loud, she will keep going until you stop crying."


    "One way or another," Jonathan added before looking away.


    Nick looked at Jonathan.


    "You know, you actually did exemry work just now," Nick said.


    Jonathan looked at Nick.


    "I can see how terrified you are," Nick said. "But while we were in there, you acted calmly and rationally. In front of a Specter that''s more powerful than you, you managed to remain focused and even calmed her down."


    "You did very well," Nick said with a smile.


    Jonathan looked forward for a bit before smiling.


    Then, he started to smirk arrogantly. "Of course! That''s to be expected!" he said with confidence.


    Nick just nodded with his own smile.


    "Anyway," Jonathan said as he stood up. "That''s one session of work. She gets one session a day, and based on how much blood she drew during the session, a certain amount of Zephyx will be produced."


    "Usually, she produces about 15 grams of Zephyx a day, but today, we might have even made 50."


    "But don''t expect things to continue like this. It will most likely be back to 15 grams a day starting tomorrow."


    "You just go in, talk to her, slowly approach her, let her cut you a bit, and leave. It takes less than ten minutes per day ands you something like 15 grams of Zephyx."


    "The work is painful and scary, but it doesn''t take a lot of time and gives a lot of Zephyx."


    "That''s about everything you need to know about her," Jonathan said.


    Nick nodded.


    "Thanks. You were a great help."

 Chapter 175 175 – The Lover

    <h4>Chapter 175 Chapter 175 ¨C The Lover</h4>


    Nick and Jonathan cleaned themselves and put their uniforms back on before they came out.


    The others were already waiting for them.


    "How bad was it?" Kiara asked.


    "Bad," Jonathan said. "She was really cranky, but she''s calmed down now."


    "What''s the Bleeding Lady like?" Jenny asked, looking at Nick.


    "Well, there are a lot of things you have to look out for," Nick said. "Working with her is a bit more dangerous andplicated than working with the Dreamer."


    "Compared to the Dreamer, she also seems much more unstable, which makes it difficult to assure our safety."


    "I want you and Trevor to get familiar with the Bleeding Lady over the next two days. I think it is important that every Extractor knows how to work with every Specter in case someone can''te to work."


    "But most likely, due to the danger, I am going to be working with her regrly," Nick said.


    The others were a bit surprised.


    Nick was going to take care of the Bleeding Lady?


    Naturally, Nick needed to work with at least one Specter so that his level could increase, but they had thought that he would take care of some other Specters.


    Although, it also made sense.


    The Bleeding Lady was a Physical Specter with an ability that could be used in battle, making her very dangerous.


    Even more, the Bleeding Lady was already a Late Hatchling.


    If she actually decided to attack an Extractor, they might die.


    Nick would have the greatest chance of survival since they would be fighting in a small room, and he was extremely dangerous in close proximity to his target.


    He didn''t say it, but Nick actually had another reason for working with the Bleeding Lady.


    The time required.


    The Bleeding Lady gave about as much Zephyx as the Dreamer, and when she inevitably advanced a level, she would give even more.


    As the Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick had many things to do, and the less time he was busy working with Specters, the better.


    When Jonathan and Kiara heard that Nick would take care of the Bleeding Lady, they released sighs of relief.


    They really didn''t want to work with her.


    First of all, she was insanely dangerous.


    Second, working with her was painful.


    "Let''s check up on the Lover next."


    Kiara and Jonathan didn''t seemfortable when they heard that.


    Nick noticed and raised an eyebrow. "I guess it''s not a lot of fun to work with it?"


    Jonathan and Kiara looked at each other.


    "I''ll tell you when we''re there," Kiara said before she walked to the staircase.


    Nick, Jenny, and Trevor felt intrigued and followed after her.


    When everyone reached the fifth floor, they stopped in front of a door.


    Kiara took a deep breath and readied herself to exin the Lover.


    Yet, she only became red in the face.


    "You do it!" she ordered Jonathan.


    "Me again?" Jonathan asked with annoyance.


    Kiara just red at him.


    In the end, Jonathan could only sigh.


    "The Lover is a worm with tentacles and is about as big as a chicken," Jonathan said.


    Nick, Trevor, and Jenny were a bit surprised.


    They had expected that something that was called the Lover would have a more human appearance.


    "The Lover gains power by perverting and changing someone''s sexual desires," Jonathan said awkwardly.


    At that point, the three Extractors who didn''t know the Lover started to feel ufortable.


    "In order to work with it, you need to allow it to¡­ well¡­ you know¡­" Jonathan said awkwardly, moving his hands around.


    "Please exin," Nick said. "I want you to be clear."


    Jonathan scratched the back of his head in difort.


    "You kinda have to let it¡­ have its way with you, if you know what I mean," Jonathan said awkwardly.


    Jenny immediately became disgusted.


    Trevor looked ufortable.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "Please be more specific," Nick said.


    Jonathan really seemed ufortable.


    "Well, first, you take your pants off," he slowly exined. "Then, you sit down. It will slowlye closer to you and go for your¡­ thing¡­ and also your butthole."


    The three of them became more disgusted and ufortable by the minute.


    "It starts to do its thing, and while it is happening, you will feel surprisingly¡­ good¡­"


    "While that is happening, it will release a lot of gas that makes you see hallucinations."


    "The hallucinations will be of¡­ ufortable things."


    "Corpses, blood, feces, urine, violence, tragedy, and many different things."


    "Yet, even though you really don''t like these things, the Lover somehow manages to make you feel really, really good."


    "Stephen and Ardum talked with several doctors about this, and while it hasn''t happened yet, the doctors said that repeated exposure can make it so that your mind associates these things with pleasure."


    "So, in the long run, your¡­ preferences¡­ might get changed into somethingpletely different."


    Jonathan scratched the back of his head.


    "And after you¡­ you know¡­ finish¡­ it will leave you alone, and you can leave again."


    Silence.


    Nick, Jenny, and Trevor were really ufortable.


    They were supposed to let some worm thing jerk them off while it was showing them images of decapitated bodies and stuff?


    Nick could deal with the nightmares and the cuts, but he wouldn''t want to force any of his employees to work with the Lover.


    "How often does it have to be worked with?" Nick asked.


    "Theoretically, you can work with it about ten times a day, which will produce a lot of Zephyx."


    "But that also seems to encourage it and increases the pleasure it gives the Extractor, making the perversion even stronger."


    "We worked with it once a day, which seemed to be a good rate."


    "Compared to the Bleeding Lady and the Dreamer, the Lover is only an Early Hatchling, and it only produces about five grams of Zephyx per session, but that should increase when it bes stronger."


    Nick frowned.


    He really didn''t want to, but as the Chief Zephyx Extractor, he had to know how to work with every Specter of Dark Dream.


    So, Nick took a deep breath.


    "I''ll check it out."


    And walked in.

 Chapter 176 176 – Not a Problem

    <h4>Chapter 176 Chapter 176 ¨C Not a Problem</h4>


    Nick walked out of the Containment Unit into the small locker room.


    His four employees were waiting outside the locker room.


    Right now, Nick was alone.


    As soon as Nick entered the locker room, he sat down near a wall and looked at the ground.


    The mix of emotions he was currently feeling was intense.


    Physically, he felt amazing, but that was exactly what made him feel terrible mentally.


    It felt disgusting to have such strong feelings for something this horrible.


    While the Lover had been doing its thing, Nick had seen visions of a group of men cutting holes into a limbless torso and fucking them.


    The vision drew Nick in, and he almost felt like he had been one of the men.


    He had been so incredibly disgusted.


    But it had felt so good.


    It was horrible.


    Working with the Lover was absolutely horrible.


    Of all the Specters that Dark Dream owned, Nick wanted to work with the Lover the least.


    As Nick sat on the ground, he only looked forward with a lifeless expression.


    He felt like shit.


    After a while, Nick started to think about how to deal with the Lover.


    He couldn''t possibly force any of his employees to work with it.


    It was just that bad.


    However, hiring normal people would also be impossible.


    First of all, normal humans didn''t have the mental fortitude to resist something like the Lover, and most likely, after just working with it once, the normal person would find their sexual desires irrevocably and permanently changed.


    Even more, the normal people would then know about the Lover, making it easier for other Extractors and Manufacturers to n something.


    Additionally, Nick would feel horrible about the damage the normal people would receive.


    Just for a couple of grams of Zephyx, a life would be destroyed.


    One had to remember that this was different from feeding the Screaming Coffin corpses.


    After all, they purchased the corpses from the city, and the corpses weren''t created because Dark Dream asked for them.


    These were simply the corpses of people who died of whatever.


    Dark Dream buying corpses did not result in new corpses being produced.


    But with the Lover, it would be different.


    Dark Dream would actively ruin the lives of many people.


    Extractors had the mental fortitude to resist the Lover, but they would need breaks.


    Working with it every day was bad.


    ''I can''t make anyone work with it,'' Nick thought. ''I just can''t.''


    After a bit more thinking, Nick released a sigh and left the locker room.


    When he left, everyone was looking at him with worry and interest.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "It''s bad," he said.


    Trevor and Jenny looked with difort and fear at Nick.


    "You don''t have to work with it," Nick told the two of them, which surprised them.


    "It''s so bad that I can''t ask any of you to make this sacrifice. I wouldn''t be able to live with myself," Nick said with a sigh.


    "If you are desperate for money and really want to take care of it, you may do so, but I will never ask any of you to go in there."


    "It only produces five grams of Zephyx per day. I would rather not have those instead of asking you to go through something like this."


    Kiara and Jonathan were quite surprised.


    Back in Cycle, Stephen had said that working with the Lover was a necessary evil and a part of the job.


    But now, Nick was saying that it wasn''t necessary.


    Jenny and Trevor looked with concern at Nick, but they also seemed relieved.


    What they had heard about the Lover seemed terrifying.


    "The Lover is actually not a problem," Kiara said.


    Jonathan raised an eyebrow as he looked at Kiara.


    It seemed like he hadn''t expected her toe forward.


    "What do you mean?" Nick asked.


    "Well," Kiara slowly said before she took a deep breath.


    "I was specifically hired to work with the Lover back then."


    Trevor, Jenny, and Nick looked with surprise and shock at Kiara.


    "During my job interview, Stephen asked me many personal questions. Back then, I was quite angry, but I needed the job, which was why I answered."


    "Then, he told me what would happen to me if I epted the job."


    Kiara looked to the side.


    "I wanted to make something of myself, which was why I epted."


    "I''ve been working with the Lover almost every day for about two months."


    The other four looked with sympathy at Kiara.


    "You don''t have to do this," Nick said. "I felt firsthand what something like this can do to you."


    Kiara shook her head. "It doesn''t matter anymore."


    "It''s toote anyway," she said with a quiet and ufortable voice.


    The others realized what Kiara meant, and they felt horrible for her.


    "I''m already used to it," Kiara said. "The bad part is already there. By now, it''s just switching from one bad part to another."


    Kiara took a deep breath.


    "But the good thing is that my job is essentially secure. I''m the only one that can work with it, which gives me a unique position. So, it''s not all bad," she said with a more positive voice.


    Silence.


    "But do you want to work with it?" Nick asked with furrowed brows.


    "What''s the alternative?" Kiara asked with a shrug.


    "Not working with it," Nick said.


    "That''s not a choice," she said.


    "Yes, it is," Nick said.


    "No, it isn''t," Kiara answered. "With the three new recruitsing, we will be seven Extractors, excluding you. The Screaming Coffin, the Dung Heap, and the Bleeding Lady barely need any work, leaving only the Dreamer and the Lover for us."


    "If I don''t work with the Lover, nobody will. Then what? Am I supposed to fight over the Dreamer with six other Extractors?"


    "I would rather work with the Lover," she said with annoyance.


    Nick looked with concern at Kiara, who refused to look at Nick.


    In the end, Nick released a sigh.


    "If that is truly what you want, you are free to do so."


    "But if you need a break or anything simr, you have to tell me, okay?" he urged.


    Kiara furrowed her brows but still didn''t look at Nick.


    "Sure."

 Chapter 177 177 – First Day

    <h4>Chapter 177 Chapter 177 ¨C First Day</h4>


    Nick wasn''t happy with it, but Kiara had solved the problem with the Lover.


    He just didn''t know how to feel about it.


    Working with the Lover was horrible and would permanently change people into something that they would probably perceive to be disgusting.


    And yet, Kiara was willing to work with it.


    Additionally, it wasn''t difficult to tell that Kiara didn''t feel great about that.


    But her exnation also made sense.


    She was in a unique position to work with the Lover, which made her special and important to Dark Dream.


    Sadly, there was no way to change the current dynamic without literally forcing Kiara not to work with the Lover, which was also not something that Nick wanted to do.


    "That only leaves the Dung Heap," Nick said.


    Jonathan nodded. "That one isn''t troublesome. It''s just disgusting."


    "Show us," Nick said.


    Everyone walked towards the second floor, and they could already smell the Dung Heap when they arrived.


    The entire floor smelled like a garbage dump on a midsummer day.


    Luckily, all of the present people could deal with that smell.


    Jonathan and Kiara could deal with it since they had been around the Dung Heap for a long time already, and the other three came from the Dregs.


    The pungent smell of the sewers nketed the Dregs, and the other three had spent years in the Dregs.


    The Dung Heap only smelled slightly worse.


    "Oh, by the way, do we have food?" Jonathan asked.


    "The delivery of the food for the Dung Heap hasn''t been set up yet," Nick said.


    "That might be bad," Jonathan said. "Just like the Bleeding Lady, the Dung Heap needs to be worked with regrly. If it doesn''t get its food, it starts getting aggressive."


    "The Containment Unit is strong enough to keep it contained, but anyone that enters would get attacked."


    Nick nodded in understanding.


    It was important to remember that the Dung Heap wasn''t truly a Possession Specter.


    If it wanted, it could probably attack someone.


    It might not be the most powerful Specter on its level, but it could probably still overwhelm a Newbie since it was already an Adolescent.


    "Maybe it''s better we wait until the food delivery has been set up then," Nick said.


    "That''s probably for the better," Jonathan answered.


    The others agreed as well.


    "Then, let me set up the schedule for who is going to work with what," Nick said.


    The others nodded.


    "Kiara, you''re going to work with the Lover daily. I will leave the frequency of how much you work with it up to you, but it has to be once a day," Nick said as he looked at Kiara.


    "Yes, boss," she answered.


    "The Dreamer is being worked with by Jenny, Trevor, and Jonathan. The order in which you work will be left to you, but I want three shifts of eight hours per day."


    "Sure thing, boss," Jenny said with a smile.


    "I will be delivering the food to the Dung Heap, the corpses to the Screaming Coffing, and I will also be working with the Bleeding Lady."


    "From now on, I might only asionally be in the building since I also have to set up a team of Investigators and search for more Specters myself."


    "If there are any urgent matters and I''m not here, you can tell Wyntor, but try not to disturb him with matters that can wait until the next day."


    The others nodded again.


    "Then, that should be everything for today. Starting tomorrow, that''s how we are going to proceed," Nick said.


    After a bit more talking, the group split apart, and Nick went to Wyntor to talk about some matters regarding Dark Dream.


    Wyntor told Nick that the food thing had actually already been set up, but the deliveries would only start the next day.


    Nick told him about how he had set up his employees'' shifts, and Wyntor nodded.


    But then, he added something.


    "Nick, I think you got this," Wyntor said. "You don''t need to tell me about the shifts of the Extractors anymore. You have shown that you can manage them."


    "I trust your skills."


    "Just write it down somewhere and give me the schedule in case I am in need of an Extractor. With more people and more Specters, I also can''t keep these things in my head anymore."


    Nick smiled when he heard that and nodded.


    "Of course."


    Some minutester, Nick left Wyntor''s new office and looked through the building again, getting more familiar with it.


    Eventually, it was time to leave and train with Reynold.


    The next day, Nick went into Dark Dream''s new building and saw one of Dark Dream''s clerks at the front desk.


    The receptionist greeted Nick politely and wished him a good morning.


    Nick talked with her for a bit before he checked up on the people and the Specters.


    First, Nick went to the second floor.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    As soon as Nick arrived, he heard the sound of something heavy hitting one of the walls.


    It came from the Dung Heap''s Containment Unit.


    ''Guess it really wants some food,'' Nick thought. ''The delivery wille at nine a.m. There shouldn''t be an issue.''


    Then, Nick checked up on the Screaming Coffin.


    ''Still digesting the fat man,'' Nick thought as he looked at the unmoving Specter.


    Nick went out of the Containment Unit and essed the Zephyx storage of the Screaming Coffin.


    He took the Zephyx container with him and put in a new one.


    Then, Nick checked on the Dung Heap''s Zephyx container.


    ''Nothing, as expected.''


    After that, Nick went to the third floor and checked the Bleeding Lady''s Zephyx container.


    ''65 grams!'' Nick thought with surprise. ''All that cutting yesterday was worth it!''


    Nick also took that Zephyx container and entered the fifth floor.


    The Lover''s Containment Unit had six grams of Zephyx, which was what Nick produced yesterday.


    Nick also checked if someone was in the Containment Unit, which he could easily do by looking at a sign at the entrance.


    ''She''s not here yet.''


    Then, Nick went to the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    The sign said that someone was working with it, which was to be expected.


    Nick didn''t know who was working with it, but it also didn''t really matter.


    ''About 12 grams of Zephyx,'' Nick thought.


    Nick changed the containers of that Containment Unit as well and went to the top floor.


    There, Nick put the containers in a special location that only he and Wyntor had ess to.


    After that, Nick wrote down how much Zephyx each Specter had produced and put the sheet of paper in Wyntor''s office.


    Lastly, Nick went to the third floor and worked with the Bleeding Lady.


    There were no issues.


    For the next couple of hours, Nick thought about how to create and manage a team of Inspectors.


    And finally, the food delivery arrived for the Dung Heap.

 Chapter 178 178 – The Dung Heap

    <h4>Chapter 178 Chapter 178 ¨C The Dung Heap</h4>


    "Sir, the food delivery is here," the cute girl from the front desk said after entering Nick''s office.


    Naturally, as the Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick had his own office on the top floor.


    "I''lle," Nick said after standing up from his chair.


    The two of them walked down the stairs and entered the first floor.


    On the first floor, Nick saw a guy dressed in a sharp suit.


    ''He doesn''t look like a food delivery man,'' Nick thought.


    "Hello, nice to meet you," the guy said, offering his hand to Nick. "My name is Braun, and I have a delivery of a bit more than 240 kilos of food waste."


    Nick nodded and shook Braun''s hand. "Nice to meet you. I''m Nick, the Chief Zephyx Extractor. No offense, but you don''t look like someone who delivers food."


    Braunughed. "Ipletely understand," he said. "That''s because I am the middleman. I gather all the food waste from many different food providers and sell it."


    ''So, he''s a merchant,'' Nick thought. ''That''s more in line with how he dresses.''


    A bitter, Braun led Nick outside and showed him a cart.


    Two men were standing in front of the cart, andpared to Braun, they looked dirty and muscr.


    On the cart, Nick saw a steaming and stinking pile of garbage.


    Eggshells, rotten eggs, bones, insects, rancid meat, rancid cheese.


    Yet, there were no maggots crawling in the pile, which meant that it was fresh garbage.


    Nick nodded after looking at the pile.


    "Thank you. Can I use the cart to transport it?" he asked.


    "You can keep the cart," Braun said. "When Ie with the next delivery tomorrow, you can give me the cart from today."


    Nick nodded. "Sounds great. Thank you."


    "Of course," Braun said.


    After a bit more talking, Braun handed Nick a sheet of paper with all the food waste and the amount written on it.


    Nick read through it and signed.


    Then, Braun quickly said his goodbyes and left.


    Nick didn''t need to pay him since Wyntor had a contractual agreement with Braun.


    Braun would simply take the sheet of paper and get his money from Dark Dream''s bank ount.


    Nick pulled the stinking pile of garbage into Dark Dream and walked to the stairs.


    That was when he realized that he had an issue.


    How would he get 240 kilos of waste up the stairs?


    Nick could lift that, but the cart was so big and cumbersome, making it difficult.


    Eventually, Nick managed to get the cart onto the staircase and closed the door behind him.


    His ability activated.


    Then, Nick easily lifted it over his head and ran up the stairs.


    He put it down on the second floor and opened the door.


    ''Well, that works,'' Nick thought.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    The walls of the Dung Heap''s Containment Unit were still shaking.


    Nick walked into the locker room in front of the Dung Heap''s Containment Unit and readied himself.


    Slowly, Nick opened the employee door.


    WHOOOM! WHOOOM! WHOOM!


    Immediately, the rm rang.


    While the Containment Unit could iste Specters from going through the opened employee entrance, it used up Zephyx to do that, which was the reason for the rm.


    Nick watched through a blue forcefield as the Dung Heap tried to get through the opened employee entrance.


    The Dung Heappletely covered the ground of the five-by-five-meter Containment Unit, and it was nearly two meters high at its peak.


    And it looked strange.


    It looked like a rancid and decaying pile of garbage, but Nick couldn''t even identify a single specific piece of garbage.


    It was like looking at a mass of people and not being able to point out a single face.


    Right now, the Dung Heap was swaying back and forth like a viscous liquid.


    With each sway, it gathered strength and rammed the force field of the opened employee door.


    Surprisingly, even though Nick was looking at the Dung Heap, his ability was still active.


    Apparently, the Dung Heap couldn''t see or hear.


    Nick quickly grabbed some handfuls of garbage and chucked them into the Containment Unit.


    BANG!


    The garbage ball exploded on the other side of the Containment Unit and fell onto the Dung Heap.


    "Stopining! I got your food right here!" Nick shouted before throwing in another handful of "food".


    RUUUUUUUH!


    At that point, a low rumbling noise came from the Dung Heap, and it started to shake a bit.


    It slowly stopped moving, and the rm of the Containment Unit stopped.


    Nick chucked a couple more balls of garbage into the Containment Unit before he grabbed the cart and lifted it.


    Earlier, the Dung Heap had essentially blocked the majority of the employee entrance, and if Nick had dumped the entire cart there, the Dung Heap would have tried even more to get out since the garbage would have been just past the barrier.


    The next moment, Nick pulled the cart back before shoving it forward.


    SPLASH!


    A huge pile of garbage fell from the cart.


    RUUUUUUU!


    The pile shook again while releasing its deep vibrating sound.


    ''I guess it''s happy,'' Nick thought.


    Next, the surface of the Dung Heap started to move, and the pile of garbage was spread across the entire Containment Unit.


    ''It seemed to have calmed down,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick lifted the cart and walked into the Containment Unit.


    As his feet stepped onto the Dung Heap, he felt like he was walking on a humongous and fat person.


    There was a lot of give, but he didn''t really sink.


    The Dung Heap was one entity.


    It just looked like a huge pile of trash.


    When he was inside the Containment Unit, Nick dumped the cart onto the Dung Heap.


    Naturally, after Nick had stepped onto the Dung Heap, his ability deactivated, but the cart had be much lighter by that point.


    In just a couple of seconds, Nick emptied the cart and walked out again.


    The Dung Heap released a couple more deep murmurs while moving the trash around.


    After exiting, Nick closed the door and put the cart at one end of the locker room.


    Then, he released a sigh.


    ''It seems easy enough to manage,'' Nick thought. ''It hadn''t been fed for several days, which made it problematic, but I think it won''t be an issue starting from tomorrow.''

 Chapter 179 179 – Six Months Later

    <h4>Chapter 179 Chapter 179 ¨C Six Months Later</h4>


    Nick stood in front of a door on the third floor of Dark Dream and sighed.


    He was not looking forward to this.


    Nick''s big, muscr hand pushed open the door to the locker room, and he entered.


    It had been six months since Dark Dream had moved to this building, and Nick had just recently be 17 years old.


    Over thest couple of months, not a lot had happened.


    Nick had taught his three new colleagues and focused on day-to-day matters.


    One of the matters had been the establishment of an Investigator team and the search for the next Specter.


    The Investigation team had been fully formed about four months ago, and the profits of Dark Dream shrank a lot in consequence.


    Dark Dream hired over 20 Investigators, and these 20 Investigators focused mostly on the Dregs.


    Paying so many highly skilled people was not cheap.


    But it had been worth it.


    The Investigators had found the trace of a Specter, and the people of Dark Dream had captured it.


    Surprisingly, capturing the Specter had been rather easy due to its nature, but it had still been incredibly painful.


    Mainly for Nick.


    And now, it was time for Nick to find out how to work with the Specter.


    He already had a good idea about how to work with it, but he still needed to confirm it and check how much Zephyx it produced.


    The good thing was that the Specter was already a Peak Hatchling since its identity had been a secret for a long time.


    Many people knew and had met the Specter, but none had suspected that it actually was one.


    The Investigators had only noticed that something might be wrong when they didn''t know what to look for and just randomly started tobine information and clues.


    One of these clues had been the abundance of feelings of weakness and sickness in the Dregs.


    Naturally, due to the Dregs'' dirty and unclean environment, getting sick wasn''t anything unusual, and the blood tax made sure that nearly no one didn''t feel weak.


    Because of that, nobody had thought about cross-referencing the sick and weak people.


    Nevertheless, the Investigators did that.


    After a lot of information gathering, they found something.


    While the sickness was evenly spread across the Dregs, the weak people mostly concentrated around one block of houses.


    For several days, the Investigators kept a watch over the block of houses and kept interviewing people.


    Yet, it was impossible to find the Specter.


    And then, the Investigators who were stationed there started to feel weak.


    At that point, the Investigators were certain that they were onto a Specter.


    That was when Nick also got involved and looked for the Specter as well.


    But nobody could find the Specter.


    And then, Nick started to feel extremely weak.


    But bizarrely enough, the Investigators regained their strength.


    On top of that, the normal people also regained their strength.


    And finally, they found out what had been going on.


    Animals weremon in the Dregs.


    Rats, wild dogs, cats, roons, plenty of insects, and so on.


    And this particr group of houses had one of these as a pet.


    It was a dirty but cute puppy.


    It didn''t belong to anyone in particr and was just being taken care of by themunity.


    When the Investigators arrived, they also yed with the puppy from time to time.


    And when Nick appeared, the puppy immediately took a liking to him and begged him to hug it.


    Nick did so and basically carried the puppy around while he was there.


    When Nick finally got sick, many people realized that it was the puppy.


    After all, it had been with Nick for several days by then.


    Nick had quickly taken the puppy away with him after contacting the other Extractors.


    Yet, when the puppy noticed that several strong people were surrounding it, its behavior changed.


    It started to whine pitifully.


    At that point, Nick immediately felt like chunks of his insides were being torn out.


    The group put a Zephyx Suppressor on the puppy, but it still managed to hurt people through the Zephyx Suppressor, albeit with less intensity.


    After dumping the puppy into the Containment Unit, Nick went home to recover.


    It was bad.


    Real bad.


    Nick felt like his heart was beating without a rhythm, and he kept going in and out of consciousness.


    He kept sweating bullets while feeling extremely cold and hot.


    Even more, Nick had puked blood a couple of times.


    It took almost two entire days for Nick to recover.


    Of course, Nick wanted to go to the hospital, but he couldn''t risk unveiling the nature of their newest Specter.


    He was quite sure that he would survive due to his high level of regeneration.


    And he did.


    But now, it was time to work with the puppy.


    Fittingly, Nick decided to call the Specter the Puppy.


    ''I''m pretty sure the Puppy gains power by converting the vitality of people into Zephyx, which is quite different from getting injured or exerting myself.''


    ''It is much more difficult to repair this kind of damage, and it is much more chaotic since the damage is all over my body.''


    ''I am also not sure whether or not there is a maniptive factor since nobody seems to be able to resist the Puppy''s charm. Everyone there wanted to hug it and hold it.''


    ''Although, it could also just be that it is very cute.''


    ''But even if there is a maniption aspect to the Puppy, I want to make sure and leave it here. If any of the employees start asking me or the other Extractors about the new Specter, I know for sure.''


    Next, Nick thought about how to go about finding out how to work with the Puppy.


    Should he just stay by its side or provoke the crying?


    He didn''t know, and it was his job to find out.


    That was what a Chief Zephyx Extractor was supposed to do.


    Nick took a deep breath and entered the Containment Unit.

 Chapter 180 180 – The Puppy

    <h4>Chapter 180 Chapter 180 ¨C The Puppy</h4>


    After opening the door, Nick looked at the other end of the Containment Unit with an uncertain expression.


    In one of the corners of the room was a perfectly white and fluffy little dog.


    Funnily enough, the dog had been pretty dirty all the time while it had been in the Dregs, but as soon as it arrived here, all the dirt vanished.


    ''Most likely a camouging ability,'' Nick thought as he took another deep breath.


    The Puppy was lying on the ground and whimpering silently.


    The sound made Nick feel like his heart was being torn apart.


    The poor thing.


    Was it in pain?


    However, Nick kept his mind under control and kept telling himself that this was a Specter.


    The Puppy might be fluffy, white, cute, adorable¡­


    He had to stay in control.


    Nick wanted to do nothing but walk over to hug andfort it.


    He just wanted to tell it that everything was going to be okay.


    But Nick kept himself in check.


    The Puppy slowly turned its big and wet eyes to look at Nick.


    Nick took yet another deep breath and remained stationary.


    The Puppy whimpered a bit and slowly started to walk closer.


    Then, it stumbled over its feet and fell over with an adorable little yelp.


    But it quickly stood up again and moved towards Nick while its tail was wagging slowly and carefully.


    There was hope, begging, and loneliness in its eyes.


    Nick took another deep breath.


    ''For now, I should see how much Zephyx it produces the normal way,'' Nick thought.


    As soon as Nick thought about spending time with the Puppy, he started to feel excited and giddy.


    Yet, he kept telling himself that this was a Specter and that he had to be careful.


    Nick kneeled down and slowly extended his hand.


    The Puppy came closer and sniffed it.


    Finally, it rubbed its head on Nick''s hand in happiness.


    Nick felt like his heart was melting.


    It was just so adorable!


    Nick slowly picked it up and held it in his arms.


    Then, Nick walked to one of the walls, sat down, andbed the Puppy''s fur with his fingers.


    The Puppy gave off some sounds of happiness and closed its eyes in pleasure.


    Nick felt calm inside.


    It was so difficult for him to feel calm in his life.


    The entire finality and pointlessness of his future still weighed heavily on Nick, and whenever he had a quiet moment, his mind automatically went back to thinking about these things.


    There generally was no such thing as calm for Nick.


    Either he was doing something, or he was worrying about something.


    But here, with the Puppy, Nick felt calm.


    He felt content.


    It was so nice to be with it.


    At that moment, the door opened, and Nick looked over with surprise.


    "Boss?" Jenny asked after she opened the door.


    "Yes?" Nick asked.


    "You asked me to get you after eight hours," she said.


    "Yes, I did," Nick said, still petting the Puppy.


    Silence.


    "Eight hours are over," she said.


    Nick''s eyes widened in shock.


    What?


    Hadn''t he just sat down?


    "Are you serious?" Nick asked.


    "Yes, boss, I''m serious," she said with an urgent voice. "It''s been eight hours."


    Nick took a deep breath and looked at the Puppy.


    The Puppy looked at Jenny with curiosity and happiness.


    "I gotta go," Nick told the Puppy before he slowly put it to the ground.


    The Puppy begged for Nick to stay with its whimpers.


    Nick felt terrible for leaving the Puppy alone, but he knew that it was just a Specter.


    After some promises toe back, Nick left the Containment Unit, and Jenny closed the door behind him.


    When Nick was in the locker room, he took a deep breath.


    And that was when he felt his insides shake.


    Nick was all too familiar with this feeling.


    He had felt this feeling many times while he had been living in the Dregs.


    It was the feeling of not having eaten anything for a long time.


    It was a feeling of weakness and loss of control as his limbs started to shake.


    On top of that, Nick felt a headacheing on.


    Luckily, it wasn''t nearly as strong as when the Puppy had whimpered.


    "Boss? Everything okay?" Jenny asked.


    "It''s fine," Nick said. "I just feel weak. It''s the effect of the Specter."


    "If anyone on your team works with it, another person MUST force them to leave. While I was in there, it felt like only ten minutes had passed."


    "You have to instruct your people and make absolutely certain that they don''t spend more than the allotted time with it," Nick urged.


    "I will tell them, Boss," Jenny said.


    About four months ago, Nick had made Jenny the team leader of the one and only team of Zephyx Extractors.


    Nick wanted to make Trevor the team leader, but Wyntor said that Trevor had to be on the down-low since he would one day be their spy and underground agent.


    A team leader was too conspicuous.


    Because of that, Nick made Jenny the team leader.


    And she had done an excellent job until now.


    Her team liked her, and there had been no incidents.


    "Let''s check how much Zephyx we produced," Nick said as he walked out of the locker room with uncertain steps.


    Jenny followed Nick.


    After retrieving the container, Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "About nine grams," he said. "Not bad. I think we got a good one this time."


    "That''s quite a lot," Jenny said.


    Nick nodded. "I want to test something. Larry is still a Mid Newbie, right?"


    Jenny nodded.


    "I want him to work eight hours with the Puppy tomorrow. I will instruct him on what to do."


    "I suspect that the amount of Zephyx produced is not dependent on the Puppy''s level but on the Extractor''s level. I want someone on a lower level than me to work with it. Of course, I will stay beside him for the entire duration," Nick said.


    Jenny nodded. "I will tell him to go to your office tomorrow."


    The next day, Larry worked with the Puppy for eight hours, and just as expected, it only produced about four grams of Zephyx.


    The day after that, Nick tested how much the whimpering Puppy produced.


    The result was abysmal.


    After getting quite injured, Nick didn''t even find a single gram of Zephyx in the container.


    Some days of experimentingter, Nick finalized the method of working with the Puppy.


    The Extractor just had to spend a couple of hours petting it.


    The maximum amount of time was set to six hours. Otherwise, the Extractor wouldn''t recover by the next work day.


    Additionally, only Peak Newbies were allowed to work with the Puppy.


    Lastly, the next person scheduled to work with it had to force the person inside to leave punctually at all costs. If they refused, the team leader or Chief Zephyx Extractor had to be informed immediately.


    This was the first time that Nick had figured out how to work with a Specter truly on his own without any help.


    And it worked.


    By now, Nick had be fully used to being the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream.


    And Dark Dream was making a shitload of credits.

 Chapter 181 181 – 18

    <h4>Chapter 181 Chapter 181 ¨C 18</h4>


    Nick walked down the lonely street of the abandoned Dregs.


    This part of the Dregs had nearly nobody living in it. At most, some people who wanted to avoid the blood tax tried to hide here.


    And some of them actually managed to do that, but they were in the minority.


    Because of that, only the people who couldn''t afford to lose another two liters of blood would try that stunt.


    After all, if they were going to die with the next tax anyway, they might as well take their chances.


    But aside from these people, there was basically no one.


    The streets werepletely ruined, and walking on them was extremely dangerous.


    Nick had been walking through these streets for several days now, only leaving once a day to do his duties in Dark Dream and to sleep.


    Nick had be 18 years old recently, and he was finally ready to be a level two Extractor.


    A John.


    A couple of days ago, Nick had felt like some kind of energy inside of his body was ready to explode.


    That was the sign of an Extractor being ready to break through.


    The only thing they needed was toe into contact with an Adolescent Specter and have that energy explode forward.


    At that point, they would reach the next level while also mutating their ability with the support of the Adolescent Specter.


    Without being in contact with a fitting Specter, reaching the next level was impossible.


    Of course, Nick could juste into contact with the Dung Heap since that was also an Adolescent Specter, but Nick didn''t want that ability.


    It didn''t seem to fit the Null''s ability very well.


    So, Nick was trying toe into contact with a new Specter.


    One that he had known for almost two years.


    Back then, Wyntor had used it as an example for the category of Force Specters.


    The Fog.


    The Fog was a known Specter that lived in the abandoned Dregs inside Crimson Fungus City.


    Many people knew about it, but the bigger Manufacturers were not interested in capturing it.


    The issue was that the Fog was a Force Specter, which made it very difficult to catch and contain it.


    The Containment Unit necessary to contain such a Specter was so insanely expensive that it might even take years for the Specter to pay it off.


    25 million credits.


    That was the price of the Containment Unit.


    Something like the Fog would, at most, produce 50 grams of Zephyx a day, which was about 50,000 credits.


    Assuming there were no associated costs and 100% of the produced Zephyx went to repaying the Containment Unit, it would still take 500 days to repay the Containment Unit.


    But since Dark Dream only got to keep 60% of the Zephyx, it would take even longer.


    Now, if the Fog were an Adult Specter, things would be different.


    It would definitely produce over 100 grams of Zephyx a day, and they could still buy the same Containment Unit.


    The Containment Units for Force Specters weren''t built for weak Specters since it was not really profitable.


    The materials needed to contain an Adult Specter barely made up 10% of the price.


    The Containment Unit that Wyntor had bought had consumed an entire year of Dark Dream''s profits, and he had even needed to take out a loan.


    But for Nick, he was willing to pay that price.


    Nick had been an excellent Chief Zephyx Extractor, and on top of that, Wyntor fully trusted Nick.


    Naturally, Wyntor wouldn''t waste such a great employee as Nick, and he would continue to invest in him so that Nick could reach his full potential.


    The n to capture the Fog had been created over a year ago.


    Both of them realized that the Fog''s ability had a great affinity with Nick''s ability.


    On top of that, the Fog wasn''t an incredibly powerful Specter in battle.


    Force Specters like the Fog almost exclusively fought with their abilities since they didn''t really have bodies with which they could punch their opponents.


    But in turn, capturing them was insanely difficult.


    Nick knew that capturing the Fog was not a given.


    Of course, Nick would get his ability either way since he only needed toe into contact with the Specter, but not being able to catch the Fog would mean that Dark Dream''s investment would go up in mes.


    Because of that, there was still a lot of pressure on Nick''s shoulders.


    As Nick walked through the empty and damaged streets, he looked around with his sharp eyes.


    By now, Nick had reached a height of about 185 centimeters, and that was most likely where his growth was going to stop.


    Nick hadn''t been very tall before he had be a Zephyx Extractor, and it had seemed like he wouldn''t grow up to be tall.


    However, the Zephyx was essentially pure energy, and the body needed energy and nutrients to grow.


    The Zephyx Nick hade into contact with had allowed his body to grow to a respectable height.


    Of course, due to Nick''s brutal training, he had also grown frighteningly muscr.


    His body was almost identical to Reynold''s body.


    Any more muscle and Nick''s speed and flexibility would suffer.


    He was perfectly on the border between too little and too much muscle.


    Nick was so athletic that he could even carry all five of his spears and his fist weapons while also being able to jump with quite some agility.


    Nevertheless, Nick still only carried three of his spears with him since he didn''t want to suffer too much of a speed disadvantage.


    Nick had stopped training with Reynold and Man a couple of months ago.


    Both of them had essentially taught everything they knew about wielding their weapons to him.


    Now, Nick only needed to get actual practice in real scenarios.


    They were actually extremely impressed by Nick.


    Reynold had even said something quite surprising.


    "You do know that you are actually experienced and strong enough to join Kugelblitz, right? I could request an interview for you, and you would join my team within the week."


    However, Nick declined.


    Wyntor had never betrayed him and invested so much in him.


    Nick wouldn''t leave Wyntor like that.

 Chapter 182 182 – The Fog

    <h4>Chapter 182 Chapter 182 ¨C The Fog</h4>


    Nick kept walking down the streets with heavy and powerful steps as he kept looking around with care.


    Thest time someone had been reported missing had been around a month ago, and as far as everyone knew, the Fog took about a month to consume a human.


    People were notpletely certain what the Fog did.


    They only knew that it took someone and came back a monthter to get someone else.


    The specific way the Fog killed its victims was unknown.


    They just walked into the Fog and vanished.


    Naturally, Nick felt a certain amount of apprehension since the unknown was quite scary, but he was willing to take the risk.


    His future was worth it.


    Nick walked from one alleyway to the other.


    He was taking the same route he had been taking for days.


    Nothing special was happening.


    However, he was quite sure that he would meet the Fog soon.


    Three days ago, one of Nick''s old friends had visited him.


    Julian.


    The Expert Zephyx Extractor who had talked with Nick a day before he met Reynold.


    Julian had talked with Nick about his problems for some time, and while he was doing so, he had asked Nick what he had nned.


    Nick told him about the Fog.


    There was no need to keep it a secret since everyone basically knew about the Fog, and nobody was willing to spend the credits to capture it.


    When Julian heard that, he smiled slyly and told Nick which route he should take.


    He said that he had seen the Fog a couple of times before and that he had been one of the Extractors that created the profile of it.


    As always, Julian knew what he was talking about, and he was a pleasure to be around.


    Everyone liked Julian.


    Ever since then, Nick had been following this route.


    Nick trusted Julian.


    And Julian wouldn''t betray Nick''s trust.


    During the evening, Nick noticed that it became more difficult to find his way forward.


    It was like his sight was being obscured by a veil.


    Usually, Nick would just think that it was normal fog, but since he was specifically searching for the Fog, he knew that chances were high that this was actually the Specter.


    Nick''s heart rate increased, and his breathing quickened, but he did his best to appear calm.


    Nick wanted to be enveloped by the Fog.


    It was possible that the Fog would flee if Nick decided to attack.


    So, Nick just kept walking forward.


    Eventually, he couldn''t see anything anymore.


    The grey fog was so thick that Nick couldn''t even see his own hands anymore.


    Nick could feel how his hand touched his face, but he couldn''t see it.


    Even when Nick lightly touched his eyeball.


    It was almost like Nick didn''t have a body.


    It was like he was only a consciousness drifting through an empty void.


    Yet, Nick could still feel his body.


    When he punched his left arm with his right, he still felt the impact and the pain.


    Additionally, Nick could feel himself walking forward.


    However, the floor had changed.


    The floor had stopped making any sounds, and Nick couldn''t even hear his own steps.


    Additionally, it felt very even and even a bit soft.


    It was like Nick was walking on a featureless carpet.


    Even more, there were no walls whatsoever.


    Earlier, Nick had been walking through the abandoned Dregs, and there had been houses everywhere.


    But now, no matter in which direction Nick walked, he wouldn''t touch anything.


    It was like Nick''s body had left the world.


    ''So, this is what it does,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes.


    Since he was now well and truly captured, Nick decided to fight back and started to run.


    Nick sprinted with all of his strength and jumped from side to side.


    Nick was running at incredible speeds, but he still couldn''t touch anything.


    After that, Nick threw one of his spears into the distance.


    The Ghost Wire quickly tensed, and he let the spear fall to the ground in the distance.


    The spear hadn''t hit anything.


    Nick walked over to where the spear was lying on the ground and put it back onto his back.


    ''It''s like this world is limitless,'' Nick thought. ''I have no idea where I am, and I can''t evene into contact with the outside world by throwing a spear.''


    ''I am no longer in Crimson Fungus City.''


    ''At least, that''s what I would think if I didn''t know anything about Specters.''


    ''This is only an Adolescent, and I''m certain that it doesn''t have the power to transport me out of the city just like that.''


    ''It would have to be an Elder at the very least, and even then, it would be unlikely.''


    ''This means that I must still be inside Crimson Fungus City.''


    ''At most, it created a temporary domain that imitates an alien world.''


    ''Keeping this domain active is probably consuming Zephyx, but it is also most likely producing more Zephyx than it is using.''


    ''I can run and jump around as much as I want, and I won''t be able to get out of here.''


    ''The only way I can get out is to make it consume more Zephyx than it is producing.''


    ''That means I need to tear the world around me apart and destabilize the domain.''


    ''The best way is to just use a lot of power.''


    A momentter, Nick lifted his arm and pulled out his fist weapons.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Immediately, Nick started to rampage through his surroundings, kicking and punching everything around him.


    While he was doing so, he kept looking at his surroundings.


    That was when he noticed something.


    After a particrly fast kick, Nick noticed that the guard on his shin?had pulled the fog to the side a bit, revealing a small afterimage of a darker area.


    However, it was immediately closed again.


    ''Wyntor told me that my weapons can also interact with Force Specters, which is why they were so insanely expensive.''


    ''And sure enough, he was right. Without my weapons, I probably wouldn''t be able to break through the fog.''


    ''However, I am certain that this is not enough power to break through.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''And my ability isn''t active.''


    The Fog could perceive Nick, which meant that he was only as strong as a Peak Newbie.


    Although, with his body, he probably had the power of an average Initial John.


    ''If I want to break out of here, I have to get my ability to activate.''


    ''Let''s hope the Fog''s ability is good enough.''

 Chapter 183 183 – Hatchlings

    <h4>Chapter 183 Chapter 183 ¨C Hatchlings</h4>


    For a while longer, Nick kept punching and kicking the air.


    He knew that it wouldn''t help him, but he wanted to know what the Fog actually did.


    After all, he would most likely need to work with it in the future.


    Might as well learn more things about it right now since it wasn''t in a hurry to kill him.


    From time to time, Nick managed to push the Fog to the side, revealing a darker ce behind the bright grey.


    By the looks of things, Nick wasn''t in a ce with a lot of sunlight.


    The Fog wasn''t strong enough topletely transport Nick into a parallel dimension or world, which was why Nick had to be somewhere in Crimson Fungus City.


    Nick wasn''t sure how much time passed, but he started to get hungry.


    Surprisingly, even though Nick had moved around quite a lot, he didn''t get thirsty.


    ''The Fog is probably moisturizing my body, which means I need no water.''


    ''Based on the clear color of the piss I just took, it gives me quite a lot of water as well. That''s a healthy amount.''


    ''However, there is no food.''


    ''Is that how it kills its victims?''


    ''It traps them in an endless world of grey until they starve to death?''


    ''I wonder if that''s how it bes stronger or if it''s just corpses.''


    ''No, it''s probably not corpses. Otherwise, it wouldn''t feed me water.''


    ''Most likely, slowly starving inside its domain is what it actually gains power from.''


    ''Now, is it perpetually gaining power while I am in here, or does it only get a burst of power when I die?''


    This was an important question.


    If the Fog perpetually produced Zephyx by someone walking through its domain, working with the Fog would be easy. He would just need to send a Zephyx Extractor in there and take them out after a while.


    However, if the Fog only got the power after actually killing the people through starvation, Nick would have an issue at hand.


    This meant that he couldn''t ask any of his Zephyx Extractors to work with it.


    Even more, it meant that Nick needed to search for criminals or something like that. He couldn''t imagine just sending random people to their deaths like this.


    ''I can''t be sure, but I think it produces Zephyx during the process of being lost. Otherwise, it probably wouldn''t have been confident enough to trap me since I would have plenty of time to exhaust its Zephyx supply.''


    Nick decided to remain inside the Fog for two more hours to see whether or not it would unveil another aspect of itself.


    But nothing happened.


    Nick''s head was still clear, and even though he was sweaty from all the sports, his stamina had already recovered, which meant that the Fog wasn''t isting the Prephyx.


    This meant that Nick could heal and recover while lost in the Fog.


    ''That''s probably not something it can do yet, but I would imagine that it can learn something like that in the future.''


    ''After all, Veterans don''t need to eat or drink anything since the Prephyx in the atmosphere nourishes them. If a Veteran were lost in here, they would never die.''


    ''Maybe the Fog will one day learn the ability to iste Prephyx?''


    Scientists were sure that most Specters were born as Hatchlings, which meant that the Fog had also been a Hatchling before.


    They came to that conclusion because they had found buried data depicting a bloody room with two people fighting in it.


    They also found pictures of a bloody colosseum with teeth at its edges and several people fighting in it.


    The scientists were quite certain that these had been iterations of the Maw, one of the Eternals.


    ording to history, the Maw had once started out as just a random room, and it was eventually used as some sort of arena.


    At some point, humanity must have lost control over it, and it became the terror it was today.


    If the Maw had once been a Hatchling, chances were high that almost all Specters had once been Hatchlings.


    Except for one.


    The oldest Specter known to humanity was the Sun, and as far as they had heard, it had always been there.


    The Sun was probably the only Specter that hadn''t been a Hatchling.


    As a Hatchling, the Fog probably didn''t have the ability to nourish someone with water, which meant that it would need to get new victims quicker.


    Nick was building a profile on the Fog. After all, it was his job, and the more he knew about his Specters, the better.


    Seeing that nothing was changing, Nick decided to be active.


    First, he wanted to try if the locator worked.


    Naturally, Nick came prepared since he knew that he would meet with the Fog.


    Because of that, Nick had received a locator.


    He pulled a small rod out of one of his pockets and flipped it open, pulling out a couple of legs.


    Then, he ced it on the ground and pressed a button.


    The tip of the locator started to slowly shine yellow, which meant that it was starting up.


    For a couple of seconds, Nick watched the yellow light.


    And then, the light suddenly turned red.


    Nick just furrowed his brow. ''That''s to be expected, I suppose.''


    The red light meant that a foreign force of Zephyx was interfering with the signal.


    The locator worked by spreading a special kind of Zephyx, which could be picked up by certain instruments.


    However, the presence of the Specter kept the Zephyx from spreading.


    It was like a big man surrounding a small mouse with his hand.


    The mouse couldn''t move out of the hand since it was all around it, and it wasn''t strong enough to break through.


    ''I might be able to escape on my own with the new ability I''m about to obtain, but I can''t expect to capture the Fog on my own.''


    ''I need the help of Dark Dream, and for that, I need to activate the locator.''


    ''I guess it''s time to advance and get my new ability.''

 Chapter 184 184 – John

    <h4>Chapter 184 Chapter 184 ¨C John</h4>


    Nick sat down and closed his eyes.


    This would be his first advancement, and he wanted to make sure that nothing went wrong.


    Nick imagined himself pulling something out from deep inside of him.


    Almost immediately, Nick felt himself bing hotter, and he started to break out in sweat.


    All the Zephyx that his body had prepared for the breakthrough was being essed and burned.


    Nick''s muscles began to shake, and he felt like his heart was beating in his ear.


    His face turned red, and he started to grimace with strain.


    His breathing deepened.


    The next moment, Nick felt like something new appeared inside his body.


    It was a strange sensation.


    It was like something blue and calm was expanding inside of him.


    As the blue force expanded throughout Nick''s torso, he felt like he was bathing in the Recovery Bath again.


    It was so rxing.


    But at the same time, Nick felt like his confidence was shooting through the roof, and he felt like he had the ability to tear reality apart.


    Nick took a very deep breath, and the blue force exploded.


    It epassed his entire body.


    Nick kept breathing in without end.


    It was almost like all the air he was breathing in was vanishing!


    He just kept inhaling and inhaling, but his chest almost didn''t expand.


    The more he inhaled, the more he wanted to jump around and punch something.


    He was so full of energy!


    Half a minuteter, Nick stopped inhaling.


    Nick''s muscles flexed on their own, and he felt like he could punch a house into dust.


    At that point, the strange things happening to his body stopped.


    Naturally, Nick knew what that meant.


    ''I advanced!''


    ''I''m a level two Zephyx Extractor now!''


    ''Finally, I''m a John!''


    Nick jumped onto his feet with ease, even though he still carried his weapons on his body.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Immediately after, Nick started to rapidly punch and kick the air around him again.


    This time, the dark afterimage of his real surroundings appeared more frequently and clearer.


    But the next moment, the afterimages changed.


    Several corpses were looking at Nick through the gaps in the Fog.


    It was like Nick was surrounded by corpses that just kept looking at him.


    ''That''s troublesome,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    ''I think I know where I am.''


    Nick was quite certain that the corpses looking at him were not real.


    They were just illusions.


    Created by the Nightmare.


    At this moment, Nick was sure that he was surrounded by the Fog, which was surrounded by darkness.


    Specters didn''t suffer from the effects of the Nightmare, which was why it could simply be there.


    Additionally, it seemed to have the ability to iste Nick from the Nightmare''s influence.


    Yet, as soon as Nick managed to create small gaps in the Fog, the Nightmare''s influence could enter, which was what produced these images of the corpses watching him.


    ''Either I''m in some kind of room, or I''m in the sewers. I can''t be entirely sure,'' Nick thought.


    All of Nick''s hunger and exhaustion vanished after he turned into a John, and he took advantage of that and started tounch an assault on his surroundings.


    Due to Nick''s impressive body, his base strength was probably already on the level of an average Early John or maybe even Mid John.


    He didn''t know at what exact level the Fog was, which was why he was trying to break through the Fog right now.


    Nick was very disciplined and athletic, which allowed him tounch a perfect barrage of brutal attacks for an extended period of time.


    If he managed to exhaust the Fogpletely, it was probably only an Initial Adolescent or an Early Adolescent.


    But if it kept resisting, it was probably a Mid, Late, or Peak Adolescent.


    Over the next hours, Nick managed to create many gaps through which he could see images that seemed toe from hell.


    Yet, the Fog kept returning to its old form again and again.


    It didn''t matter how much Nick punched and kicked.


    It seemed to have no use.


    Even when Nick created a gap and pushed his arm through, the fog just closed in front of Nick''s arm again.


    While Nick was doing all of this, he kept an eye on the locator.


    The red light was sometimes getting weaker, but it always stayed red.


    That meant that the amount of foreign Zephyx isting the signal was sometimes reducing but never really vanishing.


    Eventually, Nick stopped and sat down again.


    ''No use,'' he thought with a sigh.


    ''I''m sure I''ve attacked it for over an hour, and it doesn''t behave any differently from the beginning.''


    ''It can probably withstand my attacks forever.''


    Nick gulped as his nervousness increased.


    He had been prepared for this eventuality, but he still felt nervous.


    His survival now depended on the ability he had acquired.


    If Nick''s mutated ability could activate the effect of the Null''s ability, he would be able to escape.


    But if it didn''t, Nick''s chances of survival would be slim.


    Dark Dream knew that Nick was captured by the Fog somewhere, and they were searching for him.


    Yet, the chances of Dark Dream finding him without the locator were slim.


    After all, not even Nick managed to find the Fog after days of searching for it.


    Nick closed his eyes and willed fog to appear from within him.


    The moment of truth had arrived.


    What kind of ability had Nick unlocked?


    Would Nick be able to create fog around him?


    Could Nick create fog somewhere else?


    Did Nick''s attacks attain some kind of steam effect?


    Could Nick manipte water?


    Many different kinds of mutations could have appeared within Nick''s ability, and he didn''t know which one he had received.


    What would his ability be?


    Would it be useful?


    Would it help him in this scenario?


    As Nick willed the fog to appear, he noticed the blue force inside of him again.


    Apparently, it hadn''t vanished after his breakthrough.


    But now, the blue force was reducing rapidly.


    Within less than a second, all of the blue force vanished.


    And Nick''s mutated ability activated.

 Chapter 185 185 – Mutated Ability

    <h4>Chapter 185 Chapter 185 ¨C Mutated Ability</h4>


    Nick couldn''t see what was happening due to all the fog, but he could feel his ability of Null activating!


    This meant that the Fog couldn''t perceive him anymore!


    Nick immediately jumped to his feet and released a terrifying kick.


    ¡­


    Nothing.


    The Fog showed no reaction.


    It was almost like Nick hadn''t used any kind of attack.


    Naturally, Nick released several more attacks, but the Fog just didn''t react.


    The next moment, Nick willed his ability to stop.


    The blue force appeared inside Nick''s chest again, and it returned to normal within less than a second.


    At the same time, Nick''s ability deactivated again.


    BANG!


    Nick unleashed a kick, and the Fog finally reacted again.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''It sucks that I can''t see my body right now. I want to know what is happening.''


    ''I should try around some more.''


    Nick experimented with his new ability a couple of times.


    Whoooosh!


    Suddenly, a huge gap appeared in the Fog, and Nick''s eyes widened.


    Just now, Nick had activated his new ability, and while unleashing an attack, he deactivated it again.


    By now, Nick had noticed that both of his abilities activated and deactivated at the same time.


    When his new ability was active, Nick''s old ability was also active.


    However, Nick''s old ability wasn''t active when his new ability wasn''t.


    This meant that his new ability hid Nick from the Fog''s perception, but when it deactivated, it perceived Nick again.


    Yet, kic energy and inertia were a thing.


    So, if Nick unleashed an attack with his ability active and deactivated it again, his attack would still have the kic energy of when his ability was active.


    This was how Nick had managed to unleash such a strong attack just now.


    Nick''s eyes narrowed, and he immediately started to unleash more attacks.


    The more he activated and deactivated his ability, the more familiar he became with it.


    By now, the activation and deactivation times were barely 0.1 seconds.


    This meant that Nick could attack the Fog like his ability was active.


    It took a bit of practice, but he became pretty good at it.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Nick kept hitting the Fog in front of him, and the gaps grewrger andrger.


    The color of the light on top of the locator changed from red to a weak red to a weak green.


    When Nick saw that, he felt even more energized, and he continued attacking.


    By now, each of Nick''s attacks created a huge gap.


    If he were fast enough, he could probably even jump through one of the gaps and escape.


    But there were two problems.


    First of all, the Nightmare was the ruler of the world in front of Nick.


    And second, Nick didn''t want the Fog to retreat.


    Sure, Nick was powerful and could escape from the Fog, but he was certain that he could neither kill nor contain it.


    It would be like catching smoke with his hands.


    This was the problem with Force Specters.


    They didn''t have bodies to fight with, but they were insanely difficult to catch, kill, and suppress.


    So, Nick just kept kicking and punching at the same opening he had already created.


    He needed his locator to remain active.


    The longer it remained active, the further its signal would spread.


    For over an hour, Nick just kept attacking the same spot.


    By now, Nick started to feel exhausted and tired.


    ''How long are they going to take?!''


    Slowly, the gap was bing smaller and smaller since Nick couldn''t keep attacking with all of his power.


    About 90 minutes after he started attacking, Nick stopped and sat down.


    The Fog closed around him again, and Nick breathed heavily.


    He waspletely exhausted.


    At least he had gotten more familiar with his new ability, even though he still couldn''t tell what exactly it was doing.


    He only knew that it could hide him from the Fog''s perception.


    ''I''ll continueter,'' he thought.


    For about an hour, Nick just recovered his strength.


    Then, he continued attacking the Fog and creating an opening.


    90 minutester, Nick had to take a break again.


    By now, Nick was getting tired.


    He had been awake for quite a while, and he had done a lot of sports.


    ''Should I sleep?'' Nick thought.


    He really didn''t like that idea.


    What if the Fog attacked him while he was sleeping?


    What if it had some kind of ability to poison him with some kind of gas during his sleep?


    ''I suspect that it probably won''t do something like that, but I''m not willing to take that risk outside a Containment Unit.''


    ''I have to continue.''


    Nick stood up again and continued punching and kicking.


    The world behind the Fog was just as terrifying as in the beginning.


    Luckily, it couldn''t enter the Fog''s world.


    In a way, the Fog was protecting Nick from the Nightmare.


    Nick wanted to know where he was, but he had no idea since the Nightmare just kept changing everything around him.


    He could be in a tiny dark closet or in the sewers.


    Only one thing was certain.


    It was dark.


    Dark enough to allow the Nightmare to use all its power.


    Nick was getting weak again, and he wasn''t sure how long he would need to rest this time.


    Moving his body had be very difficult due to all of the umted exhaustion.


    "Nick?"


    Nick felt like he heard someone calling him just now, but that could also just be the Nightmare.


    But then, the color of the gap changed.


    From a red and ck hell, it turned into an evening yellow.


    At that moment, Nick could finally see where he was.


    He was on top of a tall structure within the sewers.


    Nick changed the angle of his attacks and created a gap diagonally above him.


    There, he saw a big hole with several people looking through it.


    It was the people from Dark Dream!


    "Are you alright, Nick?" Wyntor shouted through the hole.


    "I''m good!" Nick shouted back through heavy breaths.


    Nick could see Wyntor through the gap, and Wyntor looked concerned.


    "You don''t look alright," Wyntor said. "You keep switching between blurry and normal."

 Chapter 186 186 – Repelling Cell

    <h4>Chapter 186 Chapter 186 ¨C Repelling Cell</h4>


    "I''m turning blurry?" Nick asked through his attacks.


    "Yes!" Wyntor shouted. "You''re turning blurry for just a very small instant before you turn solid again."


    "That should be my ability!" Nick shouted back. "But more importantly, what about the Repelling Cell?"


    "We got it!" Wyntor shouted back. "We''re going to prepare it, but it might take several hours! You can rest for a while!"


    "Okay, good," Nick shouted back. "I''lle out again in a couple of hours."


    Then, Nick stopped attacking the Fog, and all the gaps closed.


    Nick immediately sat down and started to heave heavily.


    He was so insanely exhausted, and he also started to be hungry again.


    His breakthrough had only temporarily filled his hunger.


    Fortunately, Nick didn''t feel as nervous anymore.


    After all, the people of Dark Dream had found him, and he only needed to wait now.


    Luckily, the Fog wasn''t really a conscious Specter, as shown by its passiveness in this situation.


    Any intelligent being would have noticed that Nick could have escaped from the Fog after activating his ability.


    But the fact that he didn''t leave meant that it would most likely be a bad idea to continue containing him.


    If the Fog were intelligent, it would have let go of Nick and would have run away.


    Even more, the discussion between Nick and Wyntor was also a dead giveaway that something was going to happen to the Fog.


    It seemed like the intelligence of the Fog was on about the same level as the intelligence of the Screaming Coffin.


    Maybe even less.


    Because of that, Dark Dream had all the time in the world to build something.


    For the next couple of hours, Nick just waited and recovered.


    He was so hungry and tired, but he couldn''t go to sleep yet.


    They had to capture the Fog first.


    Eventually, Nick stood up and started to attack his surroundings again.


    "We need two more hours," Trevor shouted at Nick as soon as he saw the gap.


    "Okay!" Nick shouted back before stopping.


    Just now, Nick had seen over five of Dark Dream''s Extractors working on creating a tform beside the Fog.


    Many metallic grates and tes had been bent into supportive beams for an eventual tform beside the Fog.


    The hole in the ceiling of the sewers had also been expanded by a lot, and Nick had seen several broken walls behind the hole.


    ''The Fog is probably below some big building in the Outer City. By the looks of things, Wyntor probably purchased the building and demolished the majority to make the hole,'' Nick thought.


    Nick took a deep breath and sat down.


    The more time advanced, the more difficult it was to wait.


    He just wanted to eat something and go to sleep.


    Sleeping felt so tempting right now, but Nick wanted to be certain that nothing would happen to him.


    Additionally, Nick would most likely sleep for more than just two hours.


    After some time, Nick unleashed some attacks again to check on everyone.


    "We''ll start in 30 minutes," Trevor shouted when he saw Nick kicking the Fog again.


    "Okay!"


    Nick stopped attacking and waited.


    Just now, he had seen that the tform had already been constructed, and everyone was testing the stability of it.


    Nick had seen several people punching the walls and jumping up and down.


    It was important that the tform they built was very sturdy.


    After all, the Repelling Cell was a heavy hunk of hard metal, which weighed over a ton.


    Nick prepared himself for 30 minutes.


    And then, it was finally time.


    Nick unleashed some attacks again, and he saw it.


    On a tform beside the Fog was a massive ck cube. Many light blue tubes and wires went through the walls of the cube, and there were four big cylinders filled with white liquid behind it.


    "We''re ready!" Wyntor shouted from outside the hole. "We''re going to activate the Repelling Cage!"


    A secondter, Wyntor nodded towards his employees on the tform.


    Trevor stood near the console of the Repelling Cell and nodded back.


    Trevor activated the Repelling Cell, and it started to give off a deep and powerful hum.


    The light blue tubes and wires turned white, and the cell started to shine.


    At the same time, the white liquid on the cylinders on the back lowered.


    The white liquid in the cylinders was pure Zephyx.


    Every cylinder had a full kilo of pure Zephyx inside it.


    This meant that just these four cylinders were worth four million credits!


    "Okay, you can bring it inside now!" Wyntor shouted at Nick.


    Nick nodded and narrowed his eyes.


    Then, he started to take tiny steps forward while he keptunching attacks.


    When there were no gaps within the Fog, Nick wouldn''t be able to move in the real world, no matter how far he ran inside the Fog''s world.


    But with several big gaps, Nick could move in the real world.


    Somewhat.


    It was still a bit awkward.


    Nick kicked open a hole and moved his hand slowly towards the opening while walking forward just a bit.


    The Fog needed to close itself behind Nick''s hand and body, which made it move backward just a tiny bit.


    If Nick just directly jumped out, the Fog would probably fly away and vanish.


    Slowly, over a couple of minutes, Nick managed to advance to the edge of the ruin he was on.


    Then, he continued.


    A minuteter, Nick was mostly on the tform that Dark Dream had built for him.


    He was directly in front of the Repelling Cell.


    He kept advancing, and two minutester, he was already inside the big cell.


    When he reached the back wall of the cell, he stopped advancing and opened a gap behind him so that he could talk to the people of Dark Dream.


    He saw almost all of his Extractors smiling with excitement at him.


    "We''re going to transport you with the Fog," Jenny shouted to him. "In two hours, you cane out!"


    "Okay!" Nick shouted before he stopped attacking.


    Outside, everyone was looking at Wyntor.


    "Activate it," he told Trevor.


    Trevor nodded and pressed a big red button on the Repelling Cell.


    Then, it activated.

 Chapter 187 187 – Elevated Status

    <h4>Chapter 187 Chapter 187 ¨C Elevated Status</h4>


    While Nick was resting inside the Fog''s domain, Trevor activated the Repelling Cell.


    WHOOOOOM!


    Immediately, the hum of the Repelling Cell became many times louder, and some of the Extractors even held their ears.


    The wires and tubes turned an iridescent white, and the cell seemingly turned white.


    Inside the cell, the white light pushed the Fog towards the center.


    At that moment, the Fog realized that something was going on, and it tried to flee.


    It moved in a random direction, but it could only move for about ten centimeters before it couldn''t proceed anymore.


    Naturally, it tried all the other directions, but the same thing happened.


    It was almost like it was surrounded by thick and durable wool.


    It could push into the wool, but at some point, the resistance of the wool was greater than the force the Fog could use.


    This effect was produced by the Zephyx running through the cell.


    Just like how the Fog had suppressed the locator with its own Zephyx, the Fog was now suppressed by the Repelling Cell with its own Zephyx.


    Just like the locator, the Fog tried to expand outward but couldn''t force its way through the overwhelmingly powerful and dense Zephyx around it.


    The walls, ceiling, and floor of the Repelling Cell couldn''t be touched by the Fog at all.


    In the end, the Fog turned into a smaller cube inside the bigger cube.


    At this moment, Nick''s feet were outside the Fog since it couldn''t touch the floor at all.


    Luckily, humans were immune to the effect of the Repelling Cage.


    In fact, almost all Physical and Possession Specters were also immune to the effect.


    The thing was that the Zephyx of the cell was simply denser than the Fog''s body, but its density couldn''t possiblypare to a human body.


    For Nick, walking through the Zephyx was marginally more difficult than walking through air but not nearly as difficult as walking through water.


    When Nick felt his feeting into contact with dry instead of moist air, he knew that the Repelling Cell was working.


    On the outside, the people saw the white light of the Repelling Cell bing stronger and weaker in different ces.


    This showed that something inside the cell was trying to escape.


    But that was to be expected.


    "Get it back to Dark Dream!" Wyntormanded.


    The Zephyx Extractors nodded and jumped onto the tform.


    The tform shook a bit, but it still held.


    "3, 2, 1," Jenny counted down.


    Then, four people lifted the cell on each corner.


    Trevor quickly ran under the cell and pushed upward from the middle.


    The cell was lifted, and after a bit of solving logistical issues, they managed to push it out of the big hole.


    As soon as they did, they almost copsed in exhaustion.


    They were all Peak Newbies by now, but that fucking thing was still so fucking heavy.


    Even more, Jenny and Trevor were Initial Johns already, but this thing was still so heavy.


    Jenny and Trevor were both assigned to the Dreamer, and the Dreamer had turned into an Adolescent about three months ago.


    This meant that their advancement had also sped up.


    Nick was still working with the Bleeding Lady, but he wasn''t producing as much Zephyx as Jenny or Trevor, which was why it took him longer to advance.


    Yet, despite having two Johns helping them, it was still not easy to move the Repelling Cell.


    "Come on, Boss is still in there," Trevor said through heavy breathing. "Let''s get this thing back to Dark Dream."


    The other Extractors nodded and lifted the Repelling Cell again.


    Some minutester, the Extractors were moving through the Outer City while carrying the Repelling Cell.


    Naturally, that created a lot of buzz, and the people were watching with interest.


    Obviously, almost all the other Manufacturers also noticed what was going on, and they sent their people to watch Dark Dream.


    All the Manufacturers knew what a Repelling Cell was, and they knew what it meant when several Extractors carried one through the streets.


    Especially when it was active.


    Most of the Manufacturers were impressed.


    Some of them had heard of Cycle and Dark Dream, but they hadn''t really paid any attention to them.


    They barely had any Specters or Extractors.


    However, the capture of a Force Specter acted as a kind of milestone for Manufacturers.


    Capturing a Force Specter was one of the most difficult things to do.


    It needed a ton of money, intense nning, and many powerful Extractors.


    That made Force Specters very valuable.


    While a Force Specter didn''t produce more Zephyx than any other kind of Specter, just the investment needed to capture them made them worth a lot.


    Some Manufacturers would probably even pay ten million credits.


    Since Dark Dream had managed to capture a Force Specter, it meant that they had be an actual Manufacturer in the eyes of the other Manufacturers.


    The Spartans, the Manufacturer just one ce above Dark Dream, only had a single Force Specter.


    One had to remember that the Spartans had four Veterans, over 20 Johns, and over 40 Newbies.


    They had over ten Specters, and one of their Specters was about to be an Adult.


    Yet, they only had a single Force Specter, which was also their main Specter.


    So, even though the size and power difference between Dark Dream and the Spartans was massive, the other Manufacturers now often put them together when talking about other Manufacturers.


    A Manufacturer that could capture a Force Specter was a good Manufacturer.


    Naturally, the other Manufacturers now paid more attention to Dark Dream.


    Dark Dream was actually bing interesting to them.


    Before the cell reached Dark Dream''s building, the other Manufacturers had already found out what kind of Specter was in the Repelling Cell.


    Everyone knew about the Fog, and everyone had seen where the Extractors from Dark Dream hade from.


    It was pretty obvious that the Fog was in there.


    The Manufacturers didn''t really care.


    No one really wanted to invest the money to capture the Fog anyway.


    They didn''t care that Dark Dream caught it.

 Chapter 188 188 – Captured

    <h4>Chapter 188 Chapter 188 ¨C Captured</h4>


    Nick felt the floor moving below him, and he knew that his people were currently carrying the cell to the building.


    He just wanted to go to sleep, but he kept himself awake.


    About an hourter, Nick felt like he was being pulled upwards, which told him that the Repelling Cell was getting pulled up.


    Naturally, Nick knew about the entire n, and he knew how they were going to pull the Repelling Cell upward.


    A pulley on the roof.


    The bad part was that this meant that all the onlookers knew on which floor the Fog would be contained, but there was nothing they could do about it.


    The Repelling Cell was too big and didn''t fit through the doors, and carrying it up the staircase would probably take hours.


    One had to know that every hour the cell was active used up a kilo of Zephyx.


    It wasn''t worth the millions of credits just to keep the floor a secret.


    So, they just pulled it up at the side of the building.


    When the cage reached the sixth floor, the Extractors removed the walls and pulled it inside.


    After that, they put the walls back.


    The group of onlookers talked with each other for a while before leaving since there was nothing to see anymore.


    On the sixth floor, the Extractors carried the cell to the expensive Containment Unit for the Fog.


    Since the Containment Units were all surrounded by the inner walls of the building, it didn''t look any different from the other Containment Units.


    However, if one stripped off the walls, it looked very different.


    First of all, there were many small windows with sensors and cameras on the wall.


    Additionally, there were so many expensive wires and tubes going around the Containment Unit.


    Lastly, the console was almost five times as big as the consoles of the other Containment Units.


    This thing had so many different functions that it couldn''t bepared to the other Containment Units anymore.


    This thing was a beast!


    Jenny and Nick had undergone a five-day long training course on how to operate this Containment Unit by its designers and creators.


    They were the only two who could operate this Containment Unit.


    The main door of the Containment Unit opened, and it sounded a loud and scary rm.


    Then, everyone waited.


    To ensure that no Specter was identally released, the Containment Unit would sound the rm for a full five minutes before opening.


    This was to make absolutely sure that no one was trying to secretly open it.


    Five minutester, a big part of the wall was opened, and the walls were moving into a form that seemed to mirror the Repelling Cell''s shape perfectly.


    The Repelling Cell and the Containment Unit were made by the samepany, and they were obviouslypatible with each other.


    The Extractors moved the Repelling Cell to the hole and heard several clicks.


    After making sure that all eight clicks sounded, they stepped away.


    Jenny went to the Containment Unit''s cell and pressed several buttons.


    Then, she nodded to Trevor.


    Trevor nodded back and pressed a button at the side of the Repelling Cell.


    The cell started to shine even brighter, and half of a cylinder of Zephyx emptied immediately.


    The humming turned even louder.


    BANG!


    The wall of the cell facing the Containment Unit shot open with incredible force.


    BOOOOOM!


    Then, the cell exploded in a bright white light, and all the Extractors had to protect their eyes.


    Inside the Repelling Cell, Nick''s eyes opened wide when he saw the Fog instantly vanish from around him.


    The next moment, Nick saw the Fog hitting the distant wall of the Containment Unit with wonder and surprise.


    BANG!


    The wall of the Containment Unit mmed shut with insane power, and the wires turned white and purple.


    Nick heard a low humming noiseing from the Containment Unit, but it couldn''t bepared to the ear-shattering noise of the Repelling Cell.


    Outside, Jenny pressed several buttons on the Containment Unit''s console and checked through all metrics.


    Everyone waited with bated breaths.


    About a minuteter, Jenny released a sigh.


    "Everything looks good," she said with a smile.


    Immediately, some of the Extractors sat on the floor in relief while a couple others were cheering.


    They had done it!


    "We can celebrateter," Jenny said. "Get Boss out of there first."


    The Extractors quickly walked up to the Repelling Cell, and Trevor pressed several buttons.


    After eight clinks, Trevor gestured for the Extractors to move the cage back, and they did just that.


    Inside the cage, Nick saw the cell getting moved away from the wall, and he released a sigh of relief.


    The next second, Trevor looked into the cell and smiled. "We got it!"


    Nick smiled back and walked out.


    As soon as he walked out, all the Extractors cheered.


    Their Chief Zephyx Extractor had done it!


    Without him, they wouldn''t have been able to capture the Fog.


    Nick had been the one that had located it, kept it busy, and moved it into the cage.


    He had also been the only one in true danger.


    Not even a single Extractor wasn''t proud of Nick at this moment, and they were happy that they had an actuallypetent boss.


    Nick smiled with embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head.


    "Well done, everyone!" Wyntor said with a couple of ps for his employees. "You all did amazing work today!"


    The Extractors smiled respectfully.


    Then, Wyntor walked over to Nick and put his hand on Nick''s shoulder.


    "Good job, Nick!" he said. "I knew it wasn''t a mistake to invest so much in you!"


    Naturally, Wyntor spoke thetter part quietly.


    "Thanks, Wyntor," Nick answered with a sigh. "I''m beat. I just want to eat something and go to sleep."


    Wyntor nodded with augh. "I can imagine! Then, I won''t keep you here any longer. Have a fun night, and we''re going to see each other the day after tomorrow."


    Nick and Wyntor had already agreed that Nick would get the day off after capturing the Fog.


    "Thanks, I really need that now," Nick said.


    Wyntor justughed.

 Chapter 189 189 – New Ability

    <h4>Chapter 189 Chapter 189 ¨C New Ability</h4>


    Nick left Dark Dream, got something to eat, and went to sleep.


    The next day, Nick went to the arena that he and Reynold had created over a year ago.


    By now, Reynold and Man had stopped training Nick, but he was still using their training grounds for his own training.


    Kugelblitz had its own training rooms, which were much better than these ces.


    Reynold and Man simply didn''t need to use these ces to train.


    After finishing his regr workout, Nick decided to test his new ability.


    He still wasn''t sure what his ability actually did.


    He quickly searched for an abandoned house and entered since he didn''t want anyone to find out what kind of ability he had.


    While his first ability was literally impossible to see, his new one could be seen.


    After all, Wyntor had said that Nick had turned blurry.


    Nick''s ability was active, which meant that nobody was seeing him currently.


    That was the best opportunity to test his new ability.


    Nick lifted his right arm, looked at it, and activated his ability.


    As soon as he activated the ability, his arm turned cloudy and almost transparent.


    Nick''s eyes widened, and he looked at the remainder of his body.


    Everything had turned cloudy and blurry.


    It was almost like Nick was looking at his body through an extremely dirty and grimy window.


    The next moment, he touched his left arm with his right hand.


    And his eyes widened in shock.


    His right arm passed through his left arm!


    Next, Nick moved his arm rapidly through his body, and that was when he noticed what was actually going on.


    Part of his blurry body was leaving him and being pushed away like smoke.


    ''I''m fog!'' Nick thought.


    Sure enough, Nick looked like some kind of colorful fog.


    The part of Nick''s body that had been pushed away slowly flew back to Nick''s body and reattached itself.


    Next, Nick started to move around.


    He could still keep his form while moving, but the faster he moved, the blurrier and less distinct his body''s shape became.


    It was like his body was trying to keep its shape but was too sluggish to do it rapidly and consistently.


    Even more, Nick started to feel weak, and his head started to ache.


    So, he deactivated his ability.


    In an instant, the fog turned solid, and Nick''s body reappeared.


    ''That''s how the Fog couldn''t notice me,'' Nick thought.


    ''The Fog didn''t have eyes, and it also probably couldn''t hear. This means that it could only perceive me by touch.''


    ''So, when I turned into Fog, it lost its perception of me.''


    ''It''s probably the same thing with humans. When I turn into fog, they can''t feel me with their bodies since I won''t feel any different from air.''


    ''But in that state, I also can''t interact with anything. I can''t use my weapons or damage anything.''


    ''Speaking of!''


    Nick activated his ability again and looked at his clothing and weapons.


    Surprisingly, his weapons and clothing also turned into fog.


    Even his Barrier turned into fog.


    It was very strange.


    Next, Nick pulled out one of his spears while he was in his fog-state and materialized again with his spear in his hand.


    ''This means I can manipte and change my body shape while I am fog,'' Nick thought.


    Nick experimented with his new fog-state for over an hour, and he finally managed to create a full profile on it.


    ''Sure enough, there has to be a weakness to my ability. It can''t all be this perfect all the time,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    When Nick had been inside the Fog, he had transformed his body many, many times, but he had never run out of Zephyx.


    This meant that deactivating and activating his ability didn''t cost any Zephyx.


    Yet, there had to be a Zephyx cost to this, and Nick had already found it.


    Keeping his body in one piece cost Zephyx.


    For example, if Nick were to just stand in the same position, he could permanently keep his fog-state active since he wasn''t using any Zephyx.


    However, when he moved, his body was using Zephyx to keep the fog clumped together.


    The more his fog moved, the more Zephyx his body used to pull it back together.


    It was a bit like a guy attached to two heavy weights lying on the ground. While the man was standing, he wouldn''t need to carry the weights, but when he moved in any direction, he needed to use power to move the weights.


    While he had been kicking inside the Fog, Nick had been using a bit of Zephyx, which was why he had be so hungry and exhausted, but it wasn''t a lot since the movement was controlled.


    But things would be very different if the movement became involuntary.


    Like getting punched, kicked, or shot.


    At that point, his body would be dispersed in many different directions, which would require a ton of Zephyx to fix.


    And if he didn''t have enough Zephyx?


    Nick wasn''t sure, but the most logical exnation was that he would automatically return to his normal form¡­


    At whatever location his body was.


    Nick had tested this by simply punching a wall while he was in his fog-state.


    As soon as Nick''s foggy hand hit the wall, it exploded and scattered across the wall.


    When Nick''s hand had returned to his body, he had felt quite exhausted.


    He assumed that he had used nearly 30% of his Zephyx storage to pull his hand back into ce.


    And that was him only punching a stationary wall.


    If someone kicked through his body¡­


    One had to remember that Zephyx Extractors were extraordinarily powerful.


    A proper kick from a John would create a huge gust of wind.


    That would disperse Nick''s entire body.


    Nick was almost certain that he would die in that situation.


    Using the fog-state in directbat was extremely risky.


    It was more useful for running away, repositioning, or just general movement.


    Luckily, there were not only bad things about this ability.


    Nick had also found quite a few useful things.

 Chapter 190 190 – Strengths and Weaknesses

    <h4>Chapter 190 Chapter 190 ¨C Strengths and Weaknesses</h4>


    For example, Nick noticed that moving was very different from normal.


    While Nick was many times slower in his fog-state, there were a couple of interesting things.


    For example, he could cling to any surface and move along it quietly.


    Nick could quietly slither up a huge building like a spider without any issues.


    Then, he could simply materialize on top of it with all of his equipment.


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t just fly.


    His fog needed to be attached to something, and it couldn''t move too fast, or Nick would lose a lot of Zephyx.


    Nick had tried to throw a spear and attach himself to his own spear while it was flying, but he immediately stopped when he felt his Zephyx vanish at insane speeds.


    The reason was the strong wind, mostly.


    After that, Nick took a while toe to terms with the fact that a strong gust of wind could kill him if he wasn''t careful.


    But there was one other thing that was quite interesting.


    Nick could fit through tiny openings as long as he moved through them very slowly.


    As long as Nick moved slowly through a small hole, he didn''t need to use as much Zephyx to recover his shape.


    For example, Nick had moved through one of the grates on the ground and entered the sewers.


    However, that move had cost him 20% of his Zephyx and took almost half a minute.


    But that was still impressive!


    After all, Nick could now easily enter the sewers, and even more, he could travel through it by clinging to the ceiling.


    This meant that the sewers had essentially transformed into pathways Nick could use.


    Well, as long as there was light.


    Traveling through the darkness was still dangerous.


    Nick had a lot more experience with the Nightmare, but traveling through its world was still extremely dangerous.


    If Nick identallymanded his body to move away from the ceiling, he would drop down into the sewers.


    It was possible that Nick would simplynd above the liquid since he wasn''t very dense, but it was also possible that he would fall into it, and his body would disperse.


    Nick didn''t want to find out.


    But, of course, this wasn''t the only use of this ability.


    For once, the Nightmare''s existence actually helped Nick.


    After all, nearly every single building in Crimson Fungus City had holes in its walls and ceiling so that the sunlight could enter.


    And Nick could fit through these holes.


    Sure, it would cost some Zephyx and would take a while, but it was possible.


    In summary, the ability was extraordinarily useful in nonbat scenarios but almost useless duringbat.


    Unless his opponent was blind and deaf.


    ''I would say it''s pretty useful,'' Nick thought. ''My battle style is already mostly reliant on finding ways to escape my opponent''s perception and attacking from that position.''


    ''And as far as I see it, this ability achieves just that.''


    ''But now, I wonder what kind of ability the normal one from the Fog is.''


    One had to remember that this was a mutation of Nick''s ability that had been granted by the Null.


    This was not the ability the Fog would give someone without an ability.


    One could see quite clearly that the ability that Nick had received worked to make it harder for people to perceive him, which was exactly what his main ability was all about.


    Almost all abilities Nick would receive from any Specter would somehow or some way try to reduce the ways Nick could be perceived.


    Some of them were simply more fitting than others.


    For example, the Fog''s ability was obviously very fitting to Nick''s main ability, which was to be expected.


    A less fitting one would have been the Lover, for example.


    Maybe the Lover would have made Nick invisible to people who wanted to have sex with him?


    Not very useful.


    After all, someone would actually need to see him in order to even think about having sex with him.


    Maybe the Dreamer would have made him very quiet for sleeping people?


    Also not very useful.


    Eventually, Nick finished all of his research and trained a bit more.


    Even though he had a free day, Nick still hated doing nothing.


    Over a year had passed since the incident, but Nick was still a bit scared of quiet and isted moments.


    Whenever he was alone with nothing to do, he felt nervous.


    This made sleeping difficult, but Nick managed to circumvent that problem by training so much that he was alwayspletely exhausted before going to sleep.


    Maybe once he managed to achieve his goal, these problems would vanish.


    Nick could only hope.


    So, after a lot of training and nning, Nick went to sleep.


    The next day, Nick entered Dark Dream again and did his daily duties.


    Get the Zephyx canisters.


    Measure the Zephyx.


    Put the canisters and the measurements into Wyntor''s office.


    Check if the Screaming Coffin needed a new corpse and potentially give it a new one.


    Get the pile of fresh garbage from the delivery man and dump it onto the Dung Heap.


    Work with the Bleeding Lady.


    Ask Jenny if anything of note happened.


    Those were the regr duties that Nick did every morning.


    When those were done, Nick either nned something for the Extractors, talked with Wyntor, searched for Specters, or coordinated with the Investigator Department of Dark Dream.


    But today, Nick would do something different.


    Someone had to find out the best way to work with the Fog, and that was Nick''s job.


    How long could someone survive in the Fog?


    Was it possible to sleep in it?


    Could more than one person enter?


    Would that produce more or less Zephyx?


    What was the easiest way to break out?


    How much Zephyx did it produce?


    There were many things Nick had to check.


    Any inuracies on his part, and Dark Dream might lose tens of thousands of credits in potential profits per day.


    When Nick was finally done with his daily duties, he told Jenny and Wyntor that he would be experimenting with the Fog.


    And then he went to the sixth floor.

 Chapter 191 191 – Nothingness

    <h4>Chapter 191 Chapter 191 ¨C Nothingness</h4>


    Nick looked at the entrance to the locker room leading to the Fog''s Containment Unit and sighed.


    He always felt a bit nervous before working with a Specter for the first time.


    He knew that he would be able to work with it just fine, but the unknown still made him feel a bit apprehensive.


    Next, Nick walked over to the huge console beside the entrance and inspected it.


    He knew how it worked, thanks to the training course, but he still wasn''tfortable working with it.


    Nick spent several minutes familiarizing himself with the console and looked at all the statistics.


    The Fog was contained without any issues, but its escape attempts had cost them some Zephyx.


    Obviously, keeping something like a Force Specter contained required Zephyx.


    After being locked in the Containment Unit for over an entire day, the Fog had cost them about seven grams of Zephyx.


    It was a necessary cost, but it wasn''t super high.


    One had to remember that the Fog was, at least, a Mid Adolescent, making it at least equal to the Dung Heap.


    The Dung Heap had been here for much longer, but the literal food it required to grow was ridiculous.


    The Dung Heap wasn''t growing at its maximum capacity due to the limited amount of food it was getting.


    Because of that, the Dung Heap had just recently be a Mid Adolescent.


    And the Fog was most likely a Mid or Late Adolescent, andpared to the Dung Heap, the Fog was actually dangerous.


    The most the Dung Heap did was try to consume a Zephyx Extractor, but it wasn''t very agile.


    Sure, if someone didn''t jump away immediately, they would get consumed, but all the Zephyx Extractors would obviously jump away as soon as the Dung Heap showed any signs of aggression.


    This made the Dung Heap as dangerous as a Mid Hatchling or something like that. Containing it wasn''t an issue.


    As long as it had its food, it didn''t even attempt to escape.


    It was just happy where it was.


    Meanwhile, the Fog would kill any Zephyx Extractor in Dark Dream except for Nick since none of them had the power to escape from its domain.


    Luckily, the Fog was killing them extremely slowly, which meant that Nick could still use others to work with it.


    ''Well, no need to dy the inevitable,'' Nick thought as he walked into the locker room.


    Nick left his spears at the side and walked in with only his fist weapons.


    As soon as he opened the door, the forcefield inside the Containment Unit suppressing the Fog intensified, pushing the Fog away from the entrance.


    Nick entered, and the door closed behind him.


    The forcefield retreated, and the Fog enveloped him.


    Nick immediately felt his ability deactivating, but that didn''t matter for now.


    Nick walked forward for about 50 meters, making sure that he was well and truly inside the Fog''s domain.


    The fact that he could walk forward for 50 meters inside a 5x5 meter room was proof enough that he was in the Fog''s domain.


    After that, Nick stopped moving.


    ''Well, now, we wait,'' Nick thought.


    Then, he scratched the back of his neck.


    Minutes passed.


    ''It''s a bit boring.''


    There wasn''t really much to do in an endless void of nothingness.


    ''I mean, I could train, but that would create gaps in the Fog, which would reduce the amount of Zephyx produced since it would need to repair the gaps.''


    In the end, Nick justy down and looked upwards.


    There was just nothing to do.


    Nick''s mind drifted through his memories.


    Whenever he thought of Horua, Nick felt like his insides were cramping up.


    ''I just have to redeem myself,'' Nick thought.


    ''I just have to help all the people of the Dregs, and this guilt will vanish.''


    But then, Julian''s words echoed through Nick''s mind.


    Would Horua really wish for something like that?


    How would helping others make Horua forgive him?


    Horua had been a child, and he probably wouldn''t sacrifice himself for a bunch of people who shunned and exploited him.


    Julian had said that Nick needed to ept that he hadmitted a mistake and live with it.


    Trying to redeem himself by helping others wouldn''t lessen the guilt Nick was feeling.


    Nick would just continue feeling guilty because he would never feel like he had done enough to redeem himself.


    And that feeling would be there because Nick wasn''t dealing with the root cause of the issue, Horua.


    ''Do I really need to repay the people of the Dregs?''


    ''So many of them stole my food when I was a child, and they even stole the little bit of credits I managed to collect.''


    ''Do they deserve a better life?''


    Nick wasn''t sure.


    He just kept looking into the nothingness.


    ''But if I don''t help the people, what''s the purpose of my life?''


    ''Why am I alive then?''


    ''To be rich? What''s the point of being rich when I can''t even feel happy?''


    ''To get a girlfriend? My guilt would still eat me up inside.''


    ''To be powerful? And then what? Great, I''m now powerful, and I can do whatever I want. But what''s the point of that when I still feel guilty?''


    ''What''s the point of anything if this darkness in my chest won''t vanish?''


    Nick felt like his chest was shaking with nervousness, stress, and anxiety.


    ''As long as this darkness in my chest still persists, all kinds of achievements are meaningless.''


    ''But how can I deal with it?''


    ''Julian said that helping the people of the Dregs won''t help with my guilt.''


    ''However, does it need to?''


    ''I mean, all my achievements won''t mean anything with this darkness, but that''s only if my goal is to be happy.''


    ''What if my goal is just to improve the lives of others?''


    ''A selfless goal, you know?''


    ''Couldn''t I have then said that living my life wasn''t a waste?''


    ''After all, who else can im to have helped so many people?''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''But I want to be happy¡­''


    ''No matter how grand my goal is, in the end, I still want happiness.''


    ''I don''t know¡­''

 Chapter 192 192 – A Lot of Zephyx

    <h4>Chapter 192 Chapter 192 ¨C A Lot of Zephyx</h4>


    After an unknown period of time, Nick started to feel tired.


    Obviously, night hadn''t arrived yet, but theck of any and all stimulus had tired Nick.


    Nick kept thinking about his life, but no matter how much he thought, he just couldn''t find a real solution to his problem.


    His mind kept trying and trying to find a way to make peace with everything, but it just kept going in circles.


    It was like Nick''s mind was caught in an inescapable maze.


    The more Nick thought, the more hopeless his situation seemed.


    After a while, his mind started to drift away and think about things that Nick couldn''t discern.


    He felt like his mind was working right now, but Nick had no idea what his mind was working on.


    For a long time, he just looked into the nothingness beside him.


    He started to get hungry, but it seemed so unimportant again.


    It was like all of Nick''s power and care had left him.


    None of this mattered.


    ''Sleeping in here might be dangerous,'' Nick thought as his eyes were closing.


    ''However, I don''t think that the Fog kills people in their sleep. At least, the chances are extremely small.''


    ''When we caught it, I kept attacking it for hours with my ability, and it still didn''t let me go, which means that it was producing a ton of Zephyx, which in turn means that it''s producing Zephyx by isting living beings.''


    ''Killing me would stop its Zephyx production, and that''s not what it wants.''


    Under normal circumstances, Nick still wouldn''t take the risk and go to sleep inside the Fog, but with his current mindset, he just didn''t care enough to spend more time inside its domain while being awake.


    So, he decided to go to sleep.


    Surprisingly, the Fog felt sofortable.


    Its temperature was just perfect, and Nick felt nice and warm.


    Even more, he didn''t even feel thirsty.


    Sure, he was starting to get hungry, but as someone who had grown up in the Dregs, Nick was used to sleeping while hungry.


    And finally, Nick fell asleep.


    A dreamless sleep.


    It was almost like no time had passed.


    When Nick opened his eyes again, he wasn''t even sure if he had actually fallen asleep or not.


    He had no idea howte it was.


    He had no idea how long he had been in here.


    Had he actually slept?


    ''I must have fallen asleep,'' Nick thought. ''I feel quite a bit hungrier.''


    Nick slowly sat up and took a deep breath.


    ''Well, I don''t know how long I have been in here, but I already learned one important thing.''


    ''People can sleep inside the Fog.''


    ''That means that the shifts can be extended.''


    ''Maybe we''ll go with one person going in for 24 hours and then getting two days of rest. I bet several of the Extractors would love such a timetable.''


    ''The Puppy and the Dreamer are both being worked with 24 hours a day in three eight-hour shifts. The Lover is being worked with by Kiara. That means that seven Extractors are constantly busy, and I only have seven Extractors.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''As far as I can see, the Fog needs another three.''


    ''Seems like I have to get at least three new people.''


    ''I might as well use the opportunity to find out what kind of abilities the Puppy, the Lover, and the Fog give to new Extractors.''


    ''But first, I need to check a couple of things.''


    After that, Nick stood up and readied himself.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Nick unleashed many punches and kicks while turning into fog and back.


    Huge gaps appeared in the Fog, and Nick rapidly moved forward while unleashing attacks.


    BOOM!


    Nick hit a wall, and his entire body vibrated.


    After that, Nick started to attack the wall while traveling along it.


    Eventually, he found the employee exit and the button for opening it.


    After unleashing a punch, Nick quickly pressed the button.


    WHOOOOM!


    The Fog around him was pushed to the back as the Containment Unit strengthened its forcefield.


    The door shot open, and Nick quickly walked through, which was followed by the door closing again.


    Then, Nick stretched a bit in rxation.


    He was d that he was done working with the Fog.


    Nick grabbed his things and walked to the lobby of the building.


    After asking the receptionist about the time, Nick knew how long he had been in there.


    ''About twelve hours,'' Nick thought. ''I guess that''s a good metric.''


    Nick walked back to the sixth floor and checked the Zephyx container.


    ''67 grams in twelve hours?!'' Nick thought with raised eyebrows.


    ''That''s good!''


    ''That''s like 130 grams per day. If we deduct the five grams or so needed to contain it per day, that''s still something like 125 grams or so.''


    ''The Dreamer is barely producing 70!''


    But then, Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''I need to test if the Fog always produces this much or if it is dependent on the power of the person inside it.''


    Nick reced the Zephyx container and walked to the third floor.


    After walking through two doors, Nick was greeted by a blondedy ying with a cute puppy.


    This was Marv, one of the Zephyx Extractors they had gotten from Ghosty''s Lab.


    When Marv saw the door open, she furrowed her brows.


    She had to stop already?


    But when she saw Nick, her eyes shot open.


    "I didn''t refuse to leave!" she immediately shouted defensively.


    "I know," Nick said. "I''m here for something else."


    "Am I in trouble?" she asked.


    "No," Nick answered. "I need you to test something for our new Specter. Are you fine with staying a couple hours longer today? You don''t have to if you don''t want to."


    "Oh? What for?" she asked.


    "I want to see if the Fog produces less Zephyx if it is working with weaker Extractors. I want you to stay inside the Fog for just as long as I have, which is twelve hours. Naturally, if there are any issues, I will get you out."


    Marv furrowed her brows.


    "Am I getting paid for that?"


    "Same thing as always," Nick said. "You get 10% of what you produce."


    "Hmmm," Marv uttered as she fell into thought.


    "Sure, but I need someone to tell my family that I won''t being home on time."


    "Of course," Nick said.

 Chapter 193 193 – New Timetable

    <h4>Chapter 193 Chapter 193 ¨C New Timetable</h4>


    A couple minutester, Marv entered the Containment Unit.


    Nick told her everything he knew about the Fog and also told her how to behave.


    As soon as she stepped through the employee entrance, she stopped moving.


    Right now, the Fog was being pushed away by the forcefield, and as soon as it deactivated, Marv would be enveloped by the Fog again.


    However, when it was time for her to leave, as long as she didn''t move from her spot, the forcefield should be able to pull her out again.


    Then, it would mean that Nick didn''t even need to get involved.


    A momentter, the door closed, and Marv was enveloped.


    Outside, Nick grabbed one of the clerks and told them to stay in the locker room.


    If they heard any kind of screams ormotioning from the console, they had to send someone to get Nick.


    After that, Nick left Dark Dream, grabbed something to eat, trained, and slept.


    Early the next morning, Nick entered Dark Dream again.


    In one hour, he had to get Marv.


    For the next hour, Nick dealt with his daily chores.


    Finally, it was time to get Marv.


    Nick walked to the locker room and opened the employee door.


    The Fog was pushed away and¡­


    Marv was gone.


    Nick furrowed his brows. ''Did she move?''


    Nick cracked his neck and readied himself.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Nick kept attacking his front and moving forward, making sure that he wasn''t hitting Marv on ident.


    For over a minute, Nick kept punching through the Fog, but he just couldn''t find Marv.


    By now, Nick became worried.


    Dunk!


    Suddenly, Nick nearly tripped over something.


    The thing on the ground quickly retreated in fright, and Nick realized that it was Marv.


    She had probably just slept, and Nick had woken her up.


    "Marv? Are you there?" Nick shouted.


    No reaction.


    ''Is she not hearing me?'' Nick thought. ''Or is she hearing me, but the Fog keeps isting her from me?''


    Nevertheless, Nick continued punching and kicking, and a couple of minutester, he felt her again.


    This time, she didn''t retreat.


    Nick grabbed her and asked her if everything was okay.


    No answer.


    ''She probably can''t hear me. Even our voices are probably isted.''


    Nick moved Marv''s hands to his belt, and she grabbed it.


    Then, Nick turned around and moved forward while unleashing kicks and punches.


    The hands were losing their grip whenever Nick turned into fog, making them desperately move forward in a panic.


    But after a while, they seemed to get used to Nick appearing and disappearing from their grasp.


    Several minutester, Nick hit one of the walls and did the same thing as when he had exited the Containment Unit the first time.


    Eventually, the forcefield activated, and Nick pulled Marv out of the Containment Unit.


    When Nick saw her, he could tell that she was quite spooked, but that was the only thing of concern.


    She didn''t seem unhealthy or injured otherwise.


    "Everything alright?" Nick asked.


    Marv breathed heavily but nodded. "Yeah, that was terrifying! I thought you were a second Specter or something earlier!"


    "Sorry," Nick said. "Anyway, what did you experience in there?"


    "Well, nothing, really," Marv said. "As soon as the Fog surrounded me, I just sat on the ground and leaned against the wall behind me."


    "I was thinking about random things and getting tired. At some point, I fell asleep, and I woke back up when you touched me."


    "I got startled and moved away, but I quickly realized that this was probably you, and well, you know the rest," she said.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "So, you didn''t move?"


    "No," Marv said, shaking her head. "I didn''t move a single step until you touched me."


    Nick scratched his chin. "Strange because I didn''t find you near the entrance. I had to look for you for several minutes."


    Marv''s eyes widened in shock and horror. "What?" she asked.


    Nick just nodded. "It seems like the Fog can move people without them noticing. Additionally, I don''t move slowly at all through the Fog. I can get from one end of the Containment Unit to the other in barely ten seconds."


    "Yet, it took me minutes to find you."


    Marv didn''t seem happy at all right now.


    Eventually, the two of them left the locker room, and Nick checked the Zephyx.


    "48 grams of Zephyx," Nick said.


    Marv''s eyes widened in shock.


    48 grams?!


    When she worked with the Puppy, she barely produced seven grams after eight hours!


    This was like an entire week of her sry in just one day of work!


    "That means the power of the Extractor is relevant to how much Zephyx the Fog produces," Nick muttered to himself.


    "Thanks, you can go home now," Nick told Marv.


    "Oh, okay," she said. "Do I get to work with the Fog again?"


    "Not sure," Nick said. "I have to talk with Wyntor and Jenny about this."


    The two of them said goodbye to each other, and Nick went to Wyntor''s office after calling Jenny over.


    Then, the three of them talked about everything Nick knew about the Fog.


    In the end, they created a new timetable for the employees.


    Since the Fog produced the most Zephyx, the Johns were assigned to it, which meant that Jenny and Trevor would stay inside it for 24 hours each, followed by two rest days.


    Of course, Jenny wouldn''t get two days off fully. She wouldn''t need to work with the Dreamer for the next two days, but she still needed to be avable in case one of her Extractors needed her for something.


    After some talking, they also decided on something else.


    They scrapped the n of making Trevor a spy.


    They needed a second team leader, and Trevor was the best candidate by far.


    So, Trevor was promoted to team leader position.


    When Jenny was with the Fog, Trevor would be the team leader, and when Trevor was inside, Jenny would be.


    Of course, they also needed a third employee who was working with the Fog, and in the end, they decided on Jonathan.


    Jonathan was the closest to bing the next John.


    Naturally, the duty of getting the employees out of the Fog was added to Nick''s daily list.


    So, Jenny, Trevor, and Jonathan worked with the Fog.


    The Dreamer would be worked with by Marv, Larry, and Constanze, the three people they had gotten from Ghosty''s Lab.


    The Lover would be worked with by Kiara.


    The Screaming Coffin, the Dung Heap, and the Bleeding Lady were for Nick.


    And the Puppy?


    That one would be left for the three new people Nick would be hiring very soon.


    The Puppy was, by far, the least dangerous and easiest to work with out of the group of rtively normal Specters, which made it perfect for new Extractors.

 Chapter 194 194 – Promotion

    <h4>Chapter 194 Chapter 194 ¨C Promotion</h4>


    "Good news, Boss said that he needs three more Extractors, and he''s nning on getting them from our team," a middle-aged man with ck hair said to a team of ten people in front of him.


    The others all looked at each other in surprise and excitement.


    Finally, they had a chance to be Extractors!


    This opportunity was one of the biggest reasons for epting this job.


    This was the Investigator team of Dark Dream.


    Naturally, as people who had already worked for Dark Dream and who had alreadye into contact with Specters, the Investigators were very often the favorite candidates for new Zephyx Extractor positions.


    In essence, bing a Zephyx Extractor was a big promotion.


    The Investigators already earned around 5,000 credits per month, which was quite a lot for the Outer City, but bing an Extractor often meant a tenfold increase in pay at minimum.


    Of course, the increase in power and status was even more valuable.


    As the Investigators looked around, they became more excited.


    Only ten of their people had been called into the meeting.


    In total, there were around 30 Investigators.


    So, did this mean that Boss would only look through the ten of them?


    If so, that would be amazing!


    "Will he choose one of us?" one of the men asked the leader in front of him.


    "Yes, one of you," the leader said with augh. "I already sent him all the files, and he said that everyone present is considered for the position."


    The ten of them grew more excited.


    All of them wanted to be Extractors.


    And three of them would achieve their dream today!


    Sadly, or luckily, depending on the viewpoint, the team leader and his two substitutes were not considered for the position, but that had been clear from the very beginning.


    In order to stop the team leaders from abusing their power and making them seem better for promotion, Wyntor and Nick had only hired rejected Zephyx Extractors for the team leader position.


    This meant that the team leaders already had gained an ability from a Specter, but the ability wasn''t good enough to be a Zephyx Extractor.


    But on the other hand, they were paid 9,000 credits instead of 5,000.


    Such arge number of credits made them part of the richest 5% of the Outer City.


    "When will we know who is chosen?" one of them asked.


    "By the end of today," the leader said with a smile.


    This made the Investigators even more excited, and they started to talk to each other animatedly.


    "How will he choose them?" another one asked.


    "Well¡­"


    At that moment, the door to the room opened, and a tall and extremely muscr person walked in.


    The Investigators all quieted down.


    Boss was here!


    Nick looked at all the gathered people with furrowed brows.


    Silence.


    "Aman,e to meeting room two," Nick said before leaving the room again.


    Everyone looked at one of the Investigators.


    Aman, the Investigator who had just been called, took a deep breath and left.


    Everyone else started to talk with each other.


    They were all talking about what kind of questions Boss would ask them and how to best answer them to be chosen.


    Should they say that they are brave and strong to show their confidence, or would that make them appear arrogant and difficult to manage?


    Should they lie about which Specters they hade into contact with to make them seem more experienced?


    Should they praise Boss to get into his good graces, or would that disgust him?


    Should they say they were outgoing and liked talking to others to make them seem like they fit well into a team, or would that make them appearzy and easily distracted?


    The Investigators had worked with Nick several times before, but they didn''t really talk a lot.


    Nick mostly talked to the team leaders, and the team leaders ryed his orders to the team.


    At most, they had made a small bit of small talk.


    Nick always seemed friendly and genuine, but was he really like that with his team?


    What if he was a tyrant who wanted total discipline from his team?


    After about ten minutes, the person that Nick had called came back.


    He seemed neutral, and the people couldn''t tell if he had done well or badly.


    "Cryon, you''re next," he said to someone. "He''s waiting in meeting room two."


    Cryon took a deep breath, nodded, and left the room.


    By now, the people could tell that Nick was calling them in alphabetical order.


    Cryon walked across the corridor and entered meeting room two.


    His heart was beating loudly in his chest, and he had already started to sweat out of anxiety.


    "Good morning, Cryon," the muscr and intimidating man said with a friendly tone and smile. "Please, take a seat."


    "Good morning, Boss," Cryon said as he sat down.


    Silence.


    "Now, how are you with Specters?" Boss asked with his deep voice.


    Cryon became even more nervous.


    This was such an open question!


    How was he supposed to answer that?!


    "I¡­" Cryon started.


    The intimidating man didn''t say anything and just waited.


    Cryon almost felt like he was sitting in front of a Specter.


    This was the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream!


    All in all, Dark Dream had over 50 employees, and the Chief Zephyx Extractor basically decided who got hired and fired among the Investigators and Extractors.


    And they were talking about Cryon''s future!


    If he messed up, he wouldn''t only not get his promotion but might even get fired!


    Cryon felt like his heart was beating in his head with untold intensity.


    There was only silence in the room for 20 full seconds.


    "I don''t know," Cryon eventually said with a nervous and awkward smile. "Except for the Puppy, I never met one."


    Nick wrote something down on a sheet of paper.


    "And what about the Puppy? How did you handle it?"


    Cryon''s mind froze again.


    He had no idea how to answer that question.

 Chapter 195 195 – Crushing the Puppy

    <h4>Chapter 195 Chapter 195 ¨C Crushing the Puppy</h4>


    "You already met the Puppy, right?" Trevor asked.


    Cryon nodded. "Yes, I had it in my arms for a couple of hours across a couple of days," he said.


    Right now, Cryon and Trevor were standing in front of the locker room leading to the Puppy''s Containment Unit.


    Surprisingly, Cryon got the promotion.


    He thought he had done horribly since he froze several times during the interview.


    He would have never expected that he would have been chosen.


    Yet, funnily enough, everyone else had felt the same way.


    All of them had been frozen solid during their talk with Nick, and some of them had even needed Nick to prod them to continue talking.


    In the end, Nick told the three lucky ones that he had used a bit of Zephyx during their talks, which made all of them nervous and scared.


    After thousands of years, humans had evolved to be scared when Zephyx was around them.


    Zephyx meant that there was a Specter, and humans that didn''t immediately flee from a Specter had a higher likelihood of dying.


    Together with the power imbnce between Nick and the Investigators, this achieved a result simr to sitting in front of a Specter.


    So, the fact that Cryon managed to answer the question after 20 seconds of silence was definitely not bad.


    "Good, so you know what to expect," Trevor said. "However, things will be a bit different this time."


    "How so?" Cryon asked.


    "Because we want to see the ability that the Puppy can give new Extractors," Trevor exined. "As you know, humans gain abilities by being in contact with Specters."


    Cryon nodded.


    "Yet, even though all of you held the Puppy for multiple hours, none of you have gained its ability."


    Cryon blinked a couple of times.


    Right!


    That was strange!


    Why hadn''t he thought of that?


    "This means that the normal way of working with it most likely won''t cut it," Trevor said. "We haven''t tested it yet, but we presume that you need to get it to cry out and injure you if you want its ability. At least, that''s what Boss believes."


    Cryon took a deep breath.


    When he had signed his new contract, he had already read that he would gain the Puppy''s ability, but he hadn''t thought much about it.


    "What happens when it cries?" Cryon asked nervously.


    "You''ve seen Boss when we caught the Puppy," Trevor said. "You know what happens."


    Cyron gulped.


    He had seen Nick being in intense pain back then.


    If someone as strong and intimidating as Boss was already in so much pain, how would he feel?!


    "Don''t worry," Trevor said with a smile. "I''ll be right beside you."


    Yet, Cryon was still scared.


    But for his future, he wouldn''t retreat now.


    "I know it''s a lot for your first day," Trevor said, "but at least you don''t have it as bad as Kerry."


    "Why? What''s with Kerry?" Cryon asked.


    Trevor sighed. "She''s going to get the Lover''s ability."


    "Is that bad?" Cryon asked.


    "The ability? I don''t know. The process of getting it? Yes, very much so," Trevor exined.


    Cryon just gulped again.


    "Let''s get right in, shall we?" Trevor said with a smile.


    Then, the two of them walked into the Containment Unit while Trevor exined how the Containment Units worked.


    Right now, nobody was working with the Puppy since all the more experienced Extractors were busy with the Fog and the Dreamer.


    As soon as they entered, the Puppy excitedly ran up to them.


    It seemed very happy.


    Trevor picked it up and held it in his arms for a bit.


    The Puppy couldn''t understand human speech, which was why Trevor didn''t even exin what was about to happen before he handed it to Cryon.


    Cryon held the Puppy awkwardly and looked at it.


    It was so difficult to associate this cute little doggy with a terrifying Specter.


    It was just so cute and helpless!


    "Crush it."


    "Huh?" Cryon asked as he looked at Trevor.


    "Crush it," Trevor said. "It''s a Specter. If you want it to cry, you have to attack it. If you''re worried about it, don''t be. It''s a Peak Hatchling. You couldn''t crush it even if you stood on its head."


    Cryon still looked at Trevor inplete confusion.


    Then, he looked at the Puppy.


    Crush it?


    This little and cute thing?


    A dark void appeared in Cryon''s chest.


    He felt like he was asked to do something impossible and unforgivable.


    "H-how?" Cryon asked.


    "Punch it, try to crush its head, tightly hug it, I don''t know," Trevor said. "Even though it is a Specter, it acts like a puppy. So, even though you can''t injure it, it will still act like it''s getting injured when you try."


    Cryon''s heart rate increased as he looked at the cute Puppy with nervousness and fear.


    He didn''t want to crush it!


    It was so cute!


    "Crush it!" Trevor shouted.


    Cryon looked around nervously.


    "Do it!"


    Cryon''s hands shook.


    "Crush it!"


    Then, Cryon tightly hugged the Puppy, and the Puppy started to yelp in difort.


    At that point, Cryon noticed how resilient and tough the Puppy''s body actually was, and his emotions finally epted that this was a Specter, not an innocent puppy.


    So, he used all his power to hug it tightly.


    The Puppy started to whimper and screech in terror and pain.


    "Aaaahhh!"


    Cryon also started to scream in pain as he felt like his insides were being torn apart.


    However, Cryon didn''t let go, and the two of them continued to scream in pain.


    "That''s enough!" Trevor shouted as he yanked the Puppy out of Cryon''s arms.


    The Puppy continued to cry, and Trevor just threw it to the side.


    Immediately, the Puppy retreated towards a corner and looked with fear at Trevor and Cryon.


    It looked so scared and vulnerable.


    Cryon''s entire body shook.


    And then, he puked vomit mixed with blood.


    Trevor took out a small vial of green liquid and dropped one drop into Cryon''s mouth.


    "This will keep you alive, but it will still take a while for you to recover. Boss said that the injuries can''t be healed by Recovery Liquid."


    "You get the next two days off."

 Chapter 196 196 – Abilities

    <h4>Chapter 196 Chapter 196 ¨C Abilities</h4>


    Cryon left Dark Dream in shock, pain, and horror.


    And for the next two days, he felt like he was going through hell.


    He was no longer bleeding or anything, but he felt like all his organs were inmed.


    Eating, drinking, breathing, and sleeping was painful.


    He would have immediately run to the hospital if Trevor hadn''t said that there was nothing they could do.


    Cryon just needed to hold out, and he would recover with time.


    Over the next couple of days, his family took care of him.


    Luckily, the love of his family made things easier.


    But on the second day, an incident urred.


    Cryon was recovering in bed when his sister identally pressed too hard on his stomach, which made him cry out in pain.


    At the same time, Cryon''s sister also cried out in pain as she retreated in panic, constantly looking at her hand in horror.


    After a quick argument between the two, they finally realized what had just happened.


    When Cryon''s sister had touched him, she had felt like her hand was submerged in acid.


    However, that was the only time it had happened.


    All the other times, things had been fine.


    The two of them experimented a bit, and they finally found out what was going on.


    When Cryon cried or screamed, his body became "dangerous".


    Anyone who touched him while he was screaming would feel like they had touched acid.


    When the two days of rxation were over, Cryon talked to his team leader, Trevor, about his ability.


    A bitter, Nick arrived and asked Cryon to use his ability on him, which he did.


    Cryon felt quite embarrassed shouting this loudly in front of others, but he did so anyway.


    After a while, Nick confirmed that it felt identical to the pain he had been in when they had captured the Puppy.


    This meant that, most likely, Cryon was tearing Zephyx out of whoever was touching him, which made it feel like his body consisted of acid to others.


    They experimented a bit more, and they found an additional aspect.


    The Zephyx that was torn out from the other person was absorbed by Cryon.


    Cryon was using Zephyx to use his ability, but he also recovered Zephyx by using it.


    This meant that Cryon could keep damaging his opponent as long as they touched and as long as his vocal cords didn''t give out.


    The only bad part was that the damage umted very slowly.


    It would probably take Cryon almost ten seconds of constant physical contact and screaming to severely injure someone at the same level as him.


    In the end, they noted the ability down and told Cryon to keep it a secret.


    Which Specter gave what ability was sensitive information.


    Eventually, Cryon was told his schedule, and he sighed.


    He had to work with the Puppy for eight hours a day.


    He just hoped that the Puppy wasn''t too angry at him.


    Meanwhile, Nick finished the document he had created about the Specters and their abilities.


    He now knew all the abilities his Specters gave to new Extractors.


    The Dreamer gave someone the ability to make them sleepy and read their dreams.


    The Bleeding Lady gave someone the ability to put an additional cutting effect on their attacks and weapons.


    The Dung Heap gave someone the ability to release poisonous gas in a big area.


    The Screaming Coffin gave no abilities.


    The Puppy gave someone the ability to tear Zephyx out of anyone who touched them, but one had to scream to activate it.


    The Lover had an interesting but also straightforward ability.


    It made others horny.


    That was it.


    There were a couple of uses for it.


    It could be used to subtly make someone believe that they were attracted to the person with the ability. After all, if someone constantly got horny while looking at the same person, they would think that they were attracted to them.


    This would be a good ability for spying on others and gaining information.


    However, it could also be used in a fight.


    When one was horny, one''s blood was gathered in one''sher regions, which meant that there was less for the brain. Additionally, the enemy would be quite confused.


    In the case of men, it could even act as a small hindrance to movement, based on the size of their thing.


    It would also embarrass them, making them more likely to make mistakes born out of emotion.


    However, if the one with the ability lost, their death might be quite a bit worse since the enemy might be motivated to relieve their lust.


    Lastly, the Fog gave one the ability tounch clouds of fog, which they could see through.


    Of course, only the person with the ability could see through the fog.


    Everyone else would be blinded by it.


    This had no direct offensive power, but the ability made it easier to escape and confuse the enemy.


    Nick was especially interested in the ability.


    If he had someone with him who couldunch fog, Nick could fight with much more power since his ability would be active for longer.


    Sadly, even though Nick''s ability had been augmented by the Fog, he still couldn''t see through the fog that had beenunched by someone who had the ability.


    Nick would have to see how things developed in the future.


    There were quite a couple of abilitybinations that seemed useful.


    During the next couple of days, the three new Extractors, Cryon, Kerry, and Taren, got familiar with their new jobs and settled down.


    All three of them belonged to Trevor''s team.


    Excluding Nick, Dark Dream had ten Extractors.


    Jenny led the advanced team, which consisted of Jonathan and the three people from Ghosty''s Lab: Constanze, Marv, and Larry.


    Trevor led the Newbie team, consisting of Cryon, Kerry, and Taren.


    Kiara was also part of Trevor''s team since she was working with the Lover and since Kerry had the Lover''s ability.


    And with that, Dark Dream could finally work with all of their Specters.

 Chapter 197 197 – The Layers

    <h4>Chapter 197 Chapter 197 ¨C The Layers</h4>


    "Hey, Wyntor," Nick said as he entered Wyntor''s office for his daily meeting.


    Every day, Nick and Wyntor would have a quick meeting in the afternoon to talk about things.


    "Hey," Wyntor answered as Nick sat down. "Got anything noteworthy?"


    "Not really," Nick said. "Just a bit of drama with the Puppy."


    "Oh? What''s it about?" Wyntor asked.


    "Kerry didn''t want to leave when she was supposed to, and Trevor had to get involved," Nick answered.


    Wyntor nodded. "Keep me posted on this. I don''t want any Extractors falling victim to the Puppy."


    "Of course," Nick answered.


    "Is that it?" Wyntor asked.


    "Yep, that''s everything."


    Wyntor nodded. "Then, let me tell you about something interesting."


    "Oh?" Nick uttered.


    "We got invited to the yearly meeting of Manufacturers," Wyntor said.


    Nick''s eyes widened. "There''s a yearly meeting? I don''t remember one happeningst year."


    "Because we didn''t get invited," Wyntor exined. "We were just a bunch of Newbies with some weak Specters."


    "Ever since we captured the Fog, things changed."


    "A Manufacturer that can catch and contain a Force Specter is a Manufacturer that has proven themselves."


    "Because of that, the other Manufacturers treat us as a new Manufacturer, although weak and inexperienced."


    "Makes sense," Nick said. "When''s the meeting?"


    "Late morning in three days. It''s on the middleyer of the Inner City," Wyntor said.


    "Inner City, huh," Nick repeated. "I''ve never been there."


    "It''s nothing too special," Wyntor said. "The loweryer is just like the Outer City but cleaner, and the middleyer is hard to navigate, but that''s the only special thing about it."


    "What about the upperyer?" Nick asked.


    "Difficult to exin," Wyntor said. "Why don''t you just see for yourself in the future?"


    Nick scratched the back of his head. "How do I get there?"


    "That''s going to take a while," Wyntor said with a chuckle. "There are two ways to move up in the Inner City: power and wealth."


    "If you want to live on the loweryer of the Inner City, you need to either be a level two Extractor or have a worth of over a million credits."


    Nick''s eyes widened in surprise.


    He knew that he could live in the Inner City as a John, but he hadn''t heard about the wealth requirement.


    "Of course, you only need one of the two," Wyntor said. "By the way, if you are living in the Inner City, you are allowed to live there with your parents, your partner, and your children. You are not allowed to bring your siblings, uncles, and so on."


    "At least, that''s how it works for Zephyx Extractors," Wyntor said.


    "It''s different for rich people?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "Every additional person that lives with you in the Inner City, assuming you live there due to your worth, requires another million of worth."


    "So, if you want to live in the Inner City with your wife and two children, you would have to have a worth of over four million credits."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Why?" he asked.


    Wyntor chuckled a bit. "The people living in the Inner City believe themselves to be vastly superior to everyone living in the Outer City, and they don''t like upstarts from the filthy Outer City to join their illustrious circles."


    Wyntor''s voice was quite sarcastic.


    "If you manage to get rich enough to join the Inner City, they can tolerate you, but they don''t want people that are worthless. Of course, most of the people thinking like that are living in the Inner City only because someone else pays for them," Wyntor said with a chuckle.


    Nick didn''t like what he was hearing.


    That sounded like a lot of hypocrisy.


    "Why doesn''t that apply to Zephyx Extractors?" he asked.


    "Can''t you tell?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick just blinked a couple of times.


    "Because Zephyx Extractors are scary and bring security."


    "With their power, they can protect the people living in the Inner City from Specters and threats, but they are also scary when you try to go against them."


    "None of the normal but rich people in the Inner City want to antagonize someone that can tear them into two pieces like they''re a piece of paper."


    Nick furrowed his brows and nodded.


    That made sense.


    "What about the middleyer?" he asked.


    "Level three Extractor or ten million credits," Wyntor said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Ten million credits was insane.


    "Naturally, the same policy applies here as well. If you want to live with your family in the middleyer, you better be even richer," Wyntor said with a chuckle.


    "Why is it so expensive?" Nick asked. "The amount of money required is ridiculous!"


    "Space," Wyntor answered.


    "Space?" Nick repeated.


    Wyntor nodded. "Over 60% of the Inner City consists of the loweryer, and only 30% of the city consist of the middleyer. Additionally, the middleyer is not on the ground, and the residences are also far bigger."


    "At most, a thousand people can fit onto the middleyer."


    Nick''s eyes widened in shock.


    "Wait, only a thousand?" he asked.


    Nick had seen the huge structure that was the Inner City almost every day.


    It was around five kilometers wide and three kilometers tall.


    Tens of thousands of people should fit in there!


    Yet, the middleyer could only hold about a thousand?!


    And that was 30% of the city?!


    "Only a thousand," Wyntor repeated. "Due to the requirements, only about 800 spots are filled, and that''s how they want it. It''s better to have more space than less."


    "Then, what about the upperyer?" Nick asked.


    "It has spots for about 300 people," Wyntor said, "and all those spots are filled. If someone new joins, someone old has to descend to the middleyer."


    "The poorest and the weakest are not allowed to live there."


    "Officially, you need to either be a level four Extractor or have a worth of over a hundred million credits, but practically, you need to belong to the stronger 20% of level four Extractors or have over 500 million credits."


    "Also, you don''t get to take your entire family with you."


    "You only get your significant other and up to two children."


    "If you want more, you better be vastly more powerful than the average of the upperyer."


    Nick had difficulties epting what he was hearing.


    "What about your family?" he asked.


    "We are ten people. My mother and father, their mothers and fathers, and me and my three siblings."


    "Oh, and our head butler and two head security guards. Everyone else has to travel to the upperyer for work."

 Chapter 198 198 – Horrifying World

    <h4>Chapter 198 Chapter 198 ¨C Horrifying World</h4>


    "So many people?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "We used to have our servants also live in the upperyer, but father decided to give up these ten spaces after seeing how much trouble one of his Zephyx Extractors had to find a spot."


    Nick knew that the Melfions were insanely influential, but once more, he had been shocked by their power.


    Wyntor''s father was so rich and powerful that he had dedicated over a billion credits just so that his servants didn''t have to travel so far to work.


    Such a mindset was unimaginable for Nick.


    Nick still felt nervous whenever he spent over a thousand credits on anything.


    Wyntor and Nick talked for a while longer and nned out everything for the meeting in three days.


    The next two days, Nick prepared for his trip.


    And then, it was time to go.


    At about eight a.m., Nick and Wyntor walked out of Dark Dream and traveled towards the huge structure in the middle of the city.


    The gigantic pyramid-like structure had be so normal for Nick, but today, it seemed more imposing and impressive than on other days.


    Nick had never been in there.


    Today would be his first time going into the Inner City.


    As the two of them approached the huge structure, Nick saw several guards.


    Four of them were standing by the entrance, and over ten more were stationed on different buildings around the entrance.


    Naturally, these people were the force of the city, the Extractors that the Manufacturers had to dedicate to the city.


    None of the guards reacted as the two of them approached.


    A momentter, Wyntor took out an emblem and just held it up.


    Nick became nervous and just kept walking.


    And then¡­


    Nothing.


    Nobody was stopping them.


    The doors opened, and the two of them had just walked in.


    "There''s a scanner," Wyntor said.


    "A scanner?" Nick asked.


    "There are scanners in the entrance that scan us. They saw my emblem and your uniform and let us through. The guards only react when the scanners tell them something''s wrong."


    "Oh," Nick uttered before looking forward.


    The doors had already opened, and Nick saw¡­


    Another door.


    The next moment, the door behind them closed, and Wyntor stopped walking.


    WRRRRRRR!


    Then, a loud sound came out of the walls, and blue liquid started to rain on them.


    "Cleansing Liquid?" Nick asked in shock.


    Wyntor nodded.


    The hall they were in was around ten meters long and four meters wide, and yet, all of it was being doused in Cleansing Liquid!


    That was insane!


    Some secondster, the Cleansing Liquid stopped appearing and was siphoned into the ground.


    Then, Nick felt several strong gusts of wind.


    A minuteter, the wind stopped, and the sounding from the walls also quietened.


    Nick''s nose moved a bit as he smelled something he had never smelled before.


    What was this smell?


    It was so¡­ strange.


    But alsoforting?


    Wyntor noticed Nick''s reaction.


    "It''s nts and trees," he said.


    Nick''s eyes widened. "That''s how trees smell?"


    Wyntor nodded.


    Nick had heard of trees, but he had never seen one in his life.


    The image of trees Nick had in his mind was unpleasant and terrifying.


    Huge hard and brown pirs that rose from the ground and were also alive?!


    That sounded like some Specter or some kind of monster from a horror story.


    And outside the city, they were apparently everywhere!


    Wasn''t that like some kind of army of huge teeth from some huge monster?!


    Also, since they were alive, they might even move!


    Nick just imagined a huge pir of metal bending and moving to look closer at him.


    Additionally, since when did nts smell so nice?


    The nts that grew on the metallic walls of buildings didn''t smell nice at all!


    The next moment, the big door in front of them opened, and Nick could finally see the Inner City.


    Green!


    There was so much green!


    It was like everything was covered with veggie cubes!


    The streets were made of stone, which was formed into many identical shapes instead of metal.


    It looked so fancy and beautiful but also unsafe.


    Nick craved the strength and certainty of steel.


    Stones didn''t seem safe.


    However, only parts of the street were covered in stone.


    The others were made of¡­ ground?


    A couple of parts in the Dregs and the Outer City are made of actual ground, but that ground was hard and resistant, while this ground looked green.


    But then, Nick noticed that the ground wasn''t actually green.


    It was just that the ground was covered in many little green hairs that swayed gently in an artificial breeze.


    Nick was immediately reminded of the hairy mold he once ate off a wall when he was younger.


    Was this mold?


    Why would anyone cover the ground in mold?!


    That''s disgusting!


    However, a momentter, Nick saw something even stranger.


    It was a big brown pir that had a big "umbre" of green growths.


    The growths were moving in the wind, and Nick started to feel nervous.


    Was that a tree?!


    And were these weird green things the leaves Nick had heard about?!


    Yet, before Nick could say anything, he noticed something else.


    Water!


    So much water!


    There was some kind of long and wide stream of water!


    It was over five meters wide and very deep, and the water constantly moved in one direction.


    That was when Nick realized how rich everyone in here was.


    So much clean water!


    Just being here!


    Without being used!


    This was insane!


    Wyntor looked at Nick with an amused expression as Nick just kept looking around in horror.


    It was like Nick had entered some kind of horrifying and alien world!


    "You''ll get used to it," Wyntor said.


    "What?" Nick asked as he looked at Wyntor.


    "Come," Wyntor said, gesturing with his head towards one of the grassy fields.


    Nick awkwardly followed Wyntor.


    Wyntor stepped onto the grass and sat down with a smile.


    Then, he gestured to the grass beside him.


    "Come, touch it."

 Chapter 199 199 – Lower Layer

    <h4>Chapter 199 Chapter 199 ¨C Lower Layer</h4>


    Nick looked at Wyntor and the grass with apprehension.


    He really didn''t want to touch it since it looked so unnatural.


    Having little green living things growing from the ground sounded like some kind of nightmare somebody thought up.


    However, Nick trusted Wyntor, and he eventually walked forward with apprehension.


    He carefully touched the green things on the ground.


    "It''s soft?" Nick said with uncertainty.


    That made it even worse!


    It was like little hairs were growing out of the ground.


    Nick felt like touching the grass was simr to petting some kind of huge and dangerous monster.


    "Just sit down," Wyntor said with some annoyance.


    Nick took a deep breath and eventually walked over to Wyntor.


    And then, he carefully sat down.


    "See? It''s not that hard," Wyntor said with a smile.


    Nick looked extremely ufortable.


    He didn''t like this sensation one bit.


    Humans weren''t supposed to touch grass.


    They were supposed to be surrounded by metal and ground.


    While Nick sat on the grass, he kept a lookout for the tree that was a couple of meters behind him.


    He didn''t feel safe with a tree so close to him.


    What if the tree bent down and attacked him?


    It was alive, after all.


    For a while, Nick just looked at the loweryer of the Inner City.


    He had been so overwhelmed with the grass, trees, and the river that he hadn''t even looked at the people.


    Nick saw several people with children sitting in different locations in the Inner City.


    Almost all of them were dressed very nicely, andughter filled the air.


    It was so strange.


    The people sounded¡­ happy.


    This was what Nick had always dreamed of.


    A world where humans could be happy.


    And it actually existed in the Inner City.


    ''But it''s actually not that surprising,'' he thought. ''After all, all of these people have a crazy amount of money. They can afford to be happypared to the people in the Outer City.''


    The people in the Outer City seemed more neutral.


    They didn''t seem happy but also not miserable.


    They saw the Inner City and knew that they could do better, but they also saw the Dregs and knew that they could do worse.


    Meanwhile, the people in the Dregs were miserable.


    Laughter was rarely heard in the Dregs, and everyone looked like they were fighting for their lives.


    Pressure and anxiety were constantpanions in the Dregs.


    And here?


    People looked so peaceful.


    Many people even sat on the grass while eating a couple of sandwiches, their kids ying in the grass just a bit of distance away from them.


    It looked like a paradise.


    It was like there was no danger.


    It seemed like they felt safe.


    After a while, Nick looked at the houses.


    They were made of stone instead of metal.


    Additionally, all the houses had windows made of actual ss on them.


    These houses looked so very different from the houses in the Outer City.


    Even more, almost all the houses had a little yard with grass on it.


    After that, Nick noticed that every house had at least one weird contraption in front of it.


    It was some kind of thing with two wheels and some pedals.


    Nick looked around a bit, and he could finally find one of these contraptions in action.


    Apparently, people pushed on the pedals, and the wheels moved forward, transporting the person on their back with quite some speed and ease.


    ''How are they not losing their bnce?'' Nick thought in wonder.


    Then, Nick noticed the next thing.


    It was bright everywhere.


    It was almost like Nick was outside, even though he was inside a huge structure.


    That was when Nick noticed that the ss windows of the huge structure were shining with gentle sunlight.


    It was like the rays of the sun were reflected off the panes of ss and dispersed across the city.


    Then, Nick noticed that the houses didn''t have the light holes that every house in the Outer City had.


    Instead, there were just a couple of tiny windows spread across the house.


    The tiny windows captured the sunlight and moved it along a small shaft of mirrors that kept reflecting the light and distributing it across all the rooms.


    All the rooms in the houses had a good amount of light spread throughout.


    That was when Nick noticed that almost all the people were almost pale white.


    In the Outer City and the Dregs, people were lightly browned due to the constant sunlight, but here, the people were almost pale.


    ''It''s probably because of the lower amount of light in the Inner City,'' Nick thought.


    There was still light everywhere, but it was more subdued and gentler.


    This made the people of the Inner City seem different from the people of the Outer City.


    It was almost like they were of a different species.


    It was such a different world.


    Different people, different roads, different ground, different houses, different light¡­


    It was so strange.


    The people even acted differently.


    Most of them acted like Nick didn''t exist. After all, Zephyx Extractors weremon in the Inner City.


    However, the few who took note of Nick showed a gentle smile and nodded in greeting, which Nick returned awkwardly.


    In the Outer City, everyone made way for Nick while seeming a bit scared and in awe.


    Here, it was like Nick was just another person.


    Suddenly, Nick felt something poke his shoulder, and he turned to Wyntor.


    Wyntor just gestured up, and Nick looked up.


    That was when Nick''s eyes widened in shock.


    Was this the middleyer of the Inner City?!


    In the loweryer of the Inner City were several huge and gigantic pirs.


    Some of them were even over a hundred meters wide!


    These pirs stretched upwards into what seemed to be infinity.


    And these pirs seemed to be the very foundation upon which the middleyer of the Inner City worked!


    At least from what Nick could see.

 Chapter 200 200 – Capsule

    <h4>Chapter 200 Chapter 200 ¨C Capsule</h4>


    Over a kilometer above Nick was aplex, chaotic, but beautiful array of structures.


    The huge pirs were surrounded by a couple of metallic tes, which Nick couldn''t see through.


    He guessed that these were tforms where the people of the middleyer lived.


    Surprisingly, almost 80% of the "sky" was blocked by these metallic tforms.


    In a way, Nick was reminded of when he had been swimming in the sewers and looking up at the ceiling.


    It was very simr here.


    One of the most important differences, though, was the fact that the "light streets" in the sewers were solid while the "streets" in the middleyer were actually empty spaces.


    Well, notpletely empty.


    Nick saw rails going along the streets.


    Every street had at least one rail going through it.


    It was like the sky was made of huge circles and a mesh of thin lines surrounding the big circles.


    Nick wanted to know what the rails were there for, and he looked around until he found his answer.


    Capsules?


    Nick saw a capsule moving along the rails.


    While it was moving, it was swaying back and forth a bit, which filled Nick with a bit of anxiety.


    There was a human in there, right?


    Didn''t they feel unsafe with the constant swaying of the capsule?


    From what Nick could tell, the capsules were not very big.


    At most, they were three meters long and only about a meter wide.


    Nick watched as the capsule moved upward along a rail until it was hidden behind one of the huge circles of metal.


    "Is that the middleyer?" Nick asked.


    "It is," Wyntor answered. "The big metallic tforms are where the people live, and the rails are for the vehicles."


    "What are these vehicles?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor smirked. "You''ll get to see one real soon since we''ll need one to get to the middleyer. Without them, we can''t get there."


    Nick just looked around the loweryer again.


    Earlier, Nick had been excited about going to the middleyer, but now, he didn''t want to anymore.


    What if he fell down?!


    What if one of these rails copsed?!


    Nick would be falling for an entire kilometer!


    He would die!


    "Come, we need to get going," Wyntor said as he stood up.


    Nick''s heart rate increased, and he took a deep breath.


    Then, he nervously stood up and followed after Wyntor.


    After walking along the river for a while, Nick saw something that shocked him.


    There were long moving things in the water!


    Was that an animal?!


    "What is that?!" Nick asked in shock, pointing at the thing in the water.


    "Oh, that''s a trout," Wyntor answered.


    "A trout?" Nick asked.


    "A fish," Wyntor borated.


    Nick blinked a couple of times. "Is that an animal?"


    Wyntor nodded. "It tastes pretty good. We can eat one after the meeting if you want."


    Nick just looked with wonder at the trout.


    How would something like that taste?


    Would it be as good as chicken or mosquitorvae?


    The two of them walked through the loweryer, and Nick kept looking at every two-wheeled contraption that drove by him.


    "It''s a bicycle," Wyntor said. "Or bike, for short. The people of the old world used them to move around in their cities."


    "A bicycle," Nick repeated absentmindedly.


    After a couple of minutes, the two of them closed in on some kind of building with several railsing out of it that seemed to go towards the sky.


    Nick saw one of the capsules exiting the building on the rails and driving towards the sky until it reached the middleyer.


    Was this how people traveled from the loweryer to the middleyer?


    The two of them walked over to the building, and Nick saw two guards casually chatting in front of the entrance.


    Compared to the guard presence between the border of the Inner City and Outer City, this was barely anything.


    Outside, there were many guards standing near the entrance, but here, there were just two who seemed quite rxed.


    Wyntor walked up to one of the guards while Nick followed him.


    "Ah, Mr. Melfion," one of the guards said with a polite smile. "Going back home?"


    "Not today," Wyntor answered with a smile. "We''re here for the yearly meeting."


    The eyebrows of the two guards raised in surprise. "Oh wow, you got an invite? Congrattions!"


    Wyntor nodded with a smile. "Thank you."


    "May I view the ticket?" one of the guards asked.


    "Of course," Wyntor said as he took out a small piece of paper, which he handed over to the guards.


    Naturally, Wyntor was allowed to go wherever he wanted, but Nick wasn''t.


    Because of that, an invite had been sent to Wyntor so that his Chief Zephyx Extractor could enter the middleyer.


    That was the first time something like this had happened.


    Chief Zephyx Extractors tended to be a bit stronger than Nick.


    They didn''t need invites to get to the middleyer.


    In fact, they could all also go to the upperyer, except for the one from the Spartans, who was only a Peak Veteran.


    The two guards looked at the ticket, nodded, and gave it back to Wyntor.


    "You can pass," one of them said.


    "Thanks," Wyntor said as he walked past them.


    Nick followed behind Wyntor without saying anything.


    The two guards were looking at Nick with strange expressions.


    The guards didn''t know what to feel about calling someone this weak a Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    An Initial John was about to meet the most powerful people in the city.


    This was so strange.


    Wyntor and Nick entered the building, and Nick immediately saw several capsules hanging from a couple of rails.


    Wyntor walked over to one of the capsules and opened them.


    Now, Nick could finally see the inside.


    He immediately recognized the pedals since he had just seen them on the bicycles.


    "This is a mode of transportation from the ancient world," Wyntor said. "Only very, very few have been found, which means that they have belonged to the most illustrious people."


    "We are pretty sure that they used to be status symbols."


    "Because of that, Crimson Fungus City uses them to move around. Additionally, they are great at moving vertically."


    "You simply lie in it, put your feet onto the pedals, and move the pedal. It''s very simple."


    "ording to documents we have recovered, these are called Shweebs, and only the richest and most powerful people used them."

 Chapter 201 201 – Many Layers

    <h4>Chapter 201 Chapter 201 ¨C Many Layers</h4>


    Nick looked with wonder at the Shweeb.


    The most powerful people in the past used to drive around in those?


    Wyntor exined in detail how to operate the Shweeb, and Nick listened intently.


    Eventually, Wyntor got into one and closed the door, and momentster, the Shweeb began to move forward.


    Nick had already entered the Shweeb behind Wyntor''s Shweeb and nervously moved his legs forward.


    The pedal moved forward without any resistance, and in a panic that he might have broken something, Nick pedaled faster.


    The Shweeb shot forward and quickly hit Wyntor''s Shweeb.


    Nick''s heart nearly stopped.


    Was Wyntor okay?!


    How expensive were these Shweebs?!


    Did he break them?!


    However, Wyntor''s Shweeb only shook from side to side a bit and continued moving forward as if nothing had happened.


    When Nick saw that, he released a sigh of relief.


    Luckily, these Shweebs seemed to be made of rather durable material.


    Slowly, Nick went back to pedaling, and after a while, he entered a steady rhythm.


    He was following behind Wyntor with a steady pace.


    The sides of the Shweeb were made of some kind of material that Nick could see through but wasn''t ss, and Nick could see himself climbing higher and higher.


    Very soon, Nick reached a height that he had never been to before.


    It was terrifying!


    If the Shweeb broke, he would die!


    The higher they climbed, the more anxious Nick became.


    People were not supposed to live in the sky!


    They were supposed to live on the ground, surrounded by metal.


    A bitter, Nick saw an intersectioning up and became even more nervous.


    Wyntor told him how to navigate the intersection, and Nick only hoped that he wouldn''t make a mistake.


    Nick put his hand on a lever to his right and moved it back.


    Some secondster, Wyntor''s Shweeb moved towards the rail on the right, and Nick only hoped that he hadn''tmitted a mistake.


    Luckily, his Shweeb also went to the rail on the right, relieving Nick.


    Working with any of the Specters was less stressful and scary than driving this damn thing!


    After some time, Nick and Wyntor went past the firstyer of huge metallic circles.


    And now, Nick could finally see the actual middleyer.


    Houses!


    Directly beside the gigantic pirs were huge houses made of brick!


    The houses were absolutely gigantic!


    Additionally, while the circles were metallic from the bottom, Nick couldn''t see any metal while looking at them from the top.


    The only things he could see were grass, trees, ponds, and pools.


    One of these huge circles had a couple of mansions surrounding the gigantic pir in the middle, and the outer parts of the circle were filled with greenery and water.


    Every mansion also had a rail leading out of it.


    That was probably where the Shweebs of the rich people were stored.


    Nick saw many children running around a little forest on one of the tforms, and he even saw them climbing the trees.


    It was so alien and strange.


    DUNK!


    Nick''s Shweeb shook, and his heart nearly stopped.


    He had been so distracted that he hadn''t noticed that he had gained speed, which resulted in him hitting Wyntor''s Shweeb again.


    Wyntor''s Shweeb was pushed forward a bit, but it easily entered another rail and continued on.


    Nick felt insanely nervous again.


    What if he killed Wyntor?!


    For a while, Nick only paid attention to the Shweeb in front of him until he got distracted again.


    Nick looked upwards, and he noticed something amazing.


    A blue sky!


    About 80% of the area above Nick was made of blue sky, while the remaining 20% were just the rails for the Shweebs again.


    Obviously, the "blue sky" was just the image reflected by the underside of the nextyer of tforms, which was strange.


    After all, the lowestyer of tforms didn''t create this image of a blue sky.


    But then, Nick got distracted by something else.


    He saw people running on top of the rails!


    Nick''s heart almost stopped when he saw how fast the people were running.


    Naturally, all of these people wore Extractor Uniforms, and since only Veterans and stronger could live here, they were all also quite powerful.


    All of them were running at crazy speeds across the rails, and some of them were even jumping from tform to tform.


    Yet, none of them fell.


    They all seemed to move with confidence and ease at speeds that Nick couldn''t even reach with his ability active.


    It was almost like they were shooting through the sky.


    Nick even saw one daredevil leaping from an upperyer of circles to a lower one, even though there were over a hundred meters between them!


    DUNK!


    Nick hit Wyntor''s Shweeb again, and he took a deep breath.


    Luckily, nothing happened.


    The two of them continued driving, and after a while, they went up anotheryer.


    That was when Nick noticed something.


    Now, the "blue sky" above them covered over 99%.


    This meant that the nextyer had no streets.


    After some minutes, Nick followed Wyntor onto thatyer via a rail that went along the side of the huge structure.


    As soon as they went past theyer, Nick''s eyes widened.


    Enormous!


    There was an absolutely gigantic building, over 200 meters wide and long!


    Nick immediately took note of the huge symbol adorning the front of the building.


    It was a ball with a scratch.


    It was Gemini''s symbol!


    Gemini was a Zephyx Manufacturer with three Experts, level four Extractors.


    This was where Gemini was located!


    That was when Nick took note of an even bigger building in the distance.


    Gemini actually only upied 20% of theyer.


    The other 80% were upied by the other building, and that building had the silhouette of a ghost on it.


    Ghosty''s Lab!


    DUNK!


    Nick hit Wyntor''s Shweeb again, but by now, he had gotten used to it.


    Nick kept looking at the two huge buildings, but before he had his fill, they vanished as Nick and Wyntor entered a newyer.


    This time, there was only a single building.


    It covered the entireyer and was over a hundred meters high!


    It was ridiculously big!


    Nick saw the symbol of a puppet on the front, which represented Anatomy, the second biggest Manufacturer.


    However, Wyntor''s Shweeb kept going upwards.


    Nick knew where they would end up next.

 Chapter 202 202 – Handshake

    <h4>Chapter 202 Chapter 202 ¨C Handshake</h4>


    Nick and Wyntor kept ascending towards the nextyer, and Nick knew exactly where they were going to end up.


    As soon as they passed by theyer, Nick was greeted with¡­ an entrance?


    The two were now in a station for Shweebs.


    Surprisingly, there wasn''t a lot to see.


    The station was only about a hundred meters long, and about 20 meters away from the rails was a normal entrance.


    It seemed just like any other entrance to a warehouse, just bigger.


    That was it.


    Nick was a bit disappointed that he couldn''t view the entire building of Kugelblitz.


    ''I guess the entire building is incorporated into the megastructure,'' Nick thought. ''That''s why I can only see an entrance.''


    Nick looked away from the tform and saw that the rail continued upward.


    That was probably where the upperyer started.


    As Wyntor''s Shweeb reached the end of the station, he slowly came to a stop.


    Shockingly, Nick didn''t bump into Wyntor''s Shweeb.


    The next moment, Wyntor''s Shweeb opened, and he stepped out with practiced ease.


    That was when Nick noticed a man walking up to Wyntor''s Shweeb with a polite smile.


    Wyntor nodded and walked past.


    The man nodded back and entered Wyntor''s Shweeb.


    The man drove the Shweeb into an adjacent rail, which led to a huge gate with many small railsing out.


    A small part of the gate opened, and the man drove Wyntor''s Shweeb into it.


    ''Is that where they store all the Shweebs?'' Nick thought.


    Dunk! Dunk!


    Wyntor knocked on Nick''s Shweeb and gestured for him toe out.


    Nick nervously opened the door and tried his best to get out naturally.


    Sadly, he just wasn''t used to driving something like this, and his exit could be called awkward at best.


    "Bumpy ride, huh?" Wyntormented.


    "Sorry! I''m so sorry!" Nick said with an almost panicked expression.


    "It''s fine," Wyntor said with a small chuckle. "I was expecting something like this. If I didn''t have faith in the Shweeb''s resilience, I wouldn''t have let you drive behind me."


    Nick still felt embarrassed, but he just answered with a nod.


    "Excuse me."


    Nick looked over and saw a man walking up to Nick with a polite smile.


    "Yes?" Nick asked.


    "I need your name," the man said.


    "Eh, Nick."


    The man nodded. "And yourst name?"


    Nick blinked a bit. "I don''t have ast name."


    The man also blinked in confusion, not knowing how to deal with this.


    "He really doesn''t have one," Wyntor said from the side. "He''s my Chief Zephyx Extractor. Just book him as that."


    "Of course, Mr. Melfion," the man said as he walked past him.


    He also performed a polite bow in front of Nick, who just nodded back.


    By now, Nick had gotten a bit used to people acting like this in front of him.


    After all, he was a Chief Zephyx Extractor, and Dark Dream had plenty of clerks who acted exactly like this.


    The man entered Nick''s Shweeb and drove it through the big gate as well.


    A momentter, Nick and Wyntor walked over to the entrance of Kugelblitz.


    There were two women standing at either side of the entrance, and surprisingly, they both wore the uniforms of the city forces.


    One would expect that Kugelblitz would have their own guards, but apparently not.


    The city was guarding the entrance.


    Yet, when Nick saw their emblems, his eyes widened in shock.


    Those were Experts, level four Extractors!


    They were as powerful as Julian and Albert!


    Yet, they only stood in front of Kugelblitz''s entrance!


    "Mary, Winona, it''s your turn?" Wyntor said with a smirk.


    "Ha ha," the one to the right said with a sarcastic tone. "Laugh it up, Wyntor."


    "Don''t mind if I do," Wyntor said with a chuckle.


    The woman to the left echoed Wyntor''s chuckle, which made the woman to the right throw a side eye at her.


    "We''re here for the yearly meeting," Wyntor said after a bit.


    "Oh, right. That''s today," the one to the left said. "No one else has arrived yet. You''re a bit early."


    "I want to show Nick around a bit," Wyntor said, gesturing to Nick, who was diagonally behind Wyntor.


    The two women looked directly at Nick with interested expressions, which made Nick feel a bit awkward.


    "That''s him, huh?" the one on the rightmented.


    "Sure is," Wyntor said.


    Then, he pulled Nick forward and gestured to the right one. "That''s Winona."


    "And that''s Mary," he said, gesturing to the left one.


    "Eh, hi, nice to meet you," Nick said, extending his right arm for a handshake.


    The two women looked at the outstretched hand and blinked in surprise.


    But after a second, Mary stretched her own hand forward with a smile and shook it. "Nice to meet you!"


    Winona furrowed her brows, but she also shook Nick''s hand.


    This was so bizarre to them.


    A handshake is usually a form of greeting between two rtively equal parties.


    The fact that they were shaking hands with an Initial John was very strange.


    After all, they were Experts.


    They were thousands of times stronger than normal humans.


    They could jump a distance of over an entire kilometer without a running start.


    If they put their minds to it, they could probably jump from one end of the Dregs to the other.


    And yet, this Initial John was on a simr level to them.


    Sure, just based on Nick''s power, his status was barely higher than a normal clerk''s, but the position of Chief Zephyx Extractor was extremely prestigious.


    For example, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of the Spartans, who was just a Veteran, had a slightly higher status than just a normal Expert, even though their strength couldn''tpare.


    Technically, Nick''s status wasparable to a normal Expert''s.


    Yet, it still felt so weird to them.


    But on the other hand, it also improved their perception of Nick.


    After all, Nick was bold enough to initiate a handshake with Experts.


    When someone initiated a handshake, it meant that they were either on a simr level as the other person or higher.


    An employee never offered their hand to their boss.


    Their boss always offered their hand first.


    Initiating a handshake meant either lowering oneself to speak at eye level with the other person or being at a simr level by default.


    The fact that Nick offered his hand showed a lot of courage and boldness.


    ''Why did they look at me like that?'' Nick thought. ''Isn''t that how people in the Inner City greet each other?''


    Nick had no idea.


    He just thought that everyone greeted each other like this.

 Chapter 203 203 – Floors

    <h4>Chapter 203 Chapter 203 ¨C Floors</h4>


    When Wyntor saw Nick shaking hands with Mary and Winona, he felt gratified.


    He knew exactly what was going on in Nick''s mind, but that didn''t matter.


    The fact that his Chief Zephyx Extractor initiated a handshake with two Experts was something to be proud of.


    Not everyone had such guts.


    "Mary, Winona, it was nice seeing you again," Wyntor said politely.


    "Oh, of course," Winona said like she had just remembered something.


    Then, she moved her hand behind her back and punched a button on the wall, which opened the entrance of Kugelblitz.


    "Thank you," Wyntor said with a smile before nodding at Mary and entering.


    Nick just nodded at the two of them as he walked by them, and they casually nodded back.


    After Nick entered, the door behind him closed.


    He was inside Kugelblitz, the biggest and most powerful Zephyx Manufacturer in Crimson Fungus City.


    The owner of the only captured Demon, the Crimson Fungus.


    A level six Specter!


    And yet, everything around Nick looked so normal.


    He had just entered a normal-sized corridor.


    Sure, the corridor was quite long, but that was about it.


    The only thing of note was that the corridor waspletely empty.


    It almost looked like the building was abandoned.


    "Winona and Mary are working for Kugelblitz," Wyntor suddenly said.


    "Huh?" Nick uttered as he looked at Wyntor.


    "Just like any other Manufacturer, Kugelblitz also has to dedicate 20% of all Zephyx Extractors to the city. But as the strongest Manufacturer, Kugelblitz also has great influence over the city''s politics."


    "Because of that, they managed to implement a policy that two of their Experts who were dedicated to the city''s forces would get to stand guard in front of Kugelblitz."


    "Naturally, using two Experts for something as mundane as that is a huge waste, but handing them over to the city is already a waste."


    "Might as well use 2% of their capabilities instead of 0%."


    At that moment, Wyntor smirked. "Of course, nobody wants this job because it''s so boring."


    Nick had thought that Kugelblitz had to be insanely powerful since they were using Experts as mere guards, but now he realized that he had been mistaken.


    Sure, Kugelblitz was still the most powerful Zephyx Manufacturer in the city, but they were not so crazy powerful that they would voluntarily use Experts as guards.


    ''But the initial impression I got is probably exactly why they are doing it,'' Nick thought.


    A momentter, Nick released a breath. "I got scared for a moment," he said in a half-joking tone.


    Wyntor just chuckled a bit as he led Nick down the hallway.


    "We''re currently on the administrative floor," Wyntor said, gesturing to the doors in the hallway.


    Nick looked at the doors and saw signs beside each one of them.


    1.12, Herbert Pelekies, Janitor, Stefan Mean, Janitor.


    1.14,?Julia Rander, Janitor, Melinda Bauer, Janitor.


    "A lot of janitors," Nick said.


    "It''s a big building," Wyntor answered.


    Nick kept looking at the signs beside the doors.


    Technician, technician, janitor, data entry, data entry, technician, janitor, assistant, assistant, transporter, transporter¡­


    There were so many people here!


    And all of them were normal people!


    After walking for a while, the two of them entered arger hallway with doors only on one side.


    Surprisingly, the doors didn''t have any signs beside them.


    "This is where we can get from floor to floor," Wyntor said. "Wanna see something interesting?"


    Nick just nodded wordlessly.


    Wyntor walked over to one of the doors and pressed one of the many buttons beside it.


    DING!


    Nick heard a sound, and the door opened.


    What was behind the door?


    An empty shaft.


    Nick went to the edge of the shaft and looked up.


    When he looked up, he felt some vertigo.


    It was so long!


    It was like the shaft extended into infinity!


    At the same time, Nick saw that one of the doors two floors higher was open.


    "This is a quick shaft for Extractors," Wyntor said before pulling Nick back.


    BANG!


    The door closed with a lot of power in front of Nick.


    "You say which floor you want to go to," Wyntor said as he gestured to the pad with the many buttons, "and you simply jump from wall to wall until you get there."


    "Of course, only Extractors can use it."


    Nick looked with wonder at the closed door.


    This was such a great idea!


    He was already jumping from floor to floor in Dark Dream''s building, but having such a shaft would make it even easier.


    "But we''re not going to use that," Wyntor said. "I''m not strong enough to use it."


    Wyntor walked over to a different door and opened it.


    And Nick was greeted with something very familiar.


    Stairs.


    Lots and lots of stairs.


    "Let''s go. We got a lot of stairs to climb," Wyntor said.


    Nick followed behind Wyntor as they took the stairs.


    When they reached the second floor, Wyntor gestured to the door. "That floor is for more regr employees."


    On the third floor. "That floor is for the offices and break rooms for Extractors."


    On the fourth floor. "Same thing again."


    On the fifth floor. "And again."


    "So many offices?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded as they kept climbing the stairs. "The offices are quite big, and they are spread over three floors to bring more security. If a Specter wants to escape, it needs to get through three floors of Extractors."


    Nick nodded. "Makes sense."


    On the sixth floor. "Training floor," Wyntor said. "It''s for the few level one and level two Extractors Kugelblitz has. There are a couple of weak Specters and ssrooms here."


    On the seventh floor. "Adult Specters," Wyntor said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Dark Dream didn''t even have a single Adult Specter.


    Nick hadn''t even seen one.


    "More Adult Specters," "Wyntor said on the eighth floor.


    "More Adult Specters."


    "And even more Adult Specters."


    Nick blinked in surprise. "Kugelblitz has so many Adult Specters?"


    Wyntorughed. "No, Kugelblitz just spreads all their Specters over a big area."


    "When you have so many different Specters, you have to consider that some of the Specters'' powers can influence Specters in adjacent Containment Units. That could result in mutations or the Spectersmunicating with each other."


    "It''s important to keep Specters with a very high affinity or very low affinity away from each other."


    Nick nodded in understanding.


    A couple of floors with Elders followed, level four Specters.


    There were probably over ten floors filled with them.


    After that, five floors with Fanatics followed.


    Level five Specters.


    And then, nothing.


    There was no door on the next floor.


    The same with the following floor.


    And finally, there was a door.


    "This one is for the Crimson Fungus," Wyntor said. "The Crimson Fungus is quite big, which is why it takes up several floors."


    Nick took a deep breath as he looked at the door.


    The Crimson Fungus.


    The most powerful Specter inside the city, except for the asional visit of Nurse Alice.

 Chapter 204 204 – Specialist

    <h4>Chapter 204 Chapter 204 ¨C Specialist</h4>


    Nick and Wyntor kept climbing floors.


    The next couple of floors were for Extractors again.


    Then, there were two more floors for normal personnel.


    And finally, Wyntor stopped in front of one of them.


    "This one is for meetings, managers, and owners," Wyntor said. "There are only two more floors above this one, and they are only for maintenance. This floor is essentially thest one of relevance."


    Nick nodded.


    The two of them had been climbing so many floors.


    This building was absolutely gigantic!


    Wyntor opened the door, and the two of them entered the hallway.


    This hallway looked identical to the first one, which surprised Nick a bit.


    Wasn''t this where all the important people from thepany stayed?


    ''I thought it would look more extravagant,'' Nick thought.


    As the two of them walked through the hallway, Nick looked at the signs again.


    Meeting room, another meeting room, another meeting room, storage, meeting room¡­


    Area manager.


    "What''s an area manager?" Nick asked.


    "A level five Extractor responsible for several level four Extractors, which are responsible for several level three Extractors," Wyntor exined.


    "There are five area managers. Two of them are responsible for all the level three Extractors via ten level four Extractors. The other three are responsible for only the level four Extractors."


    "The remaining level five Extractors don''t have any personnel responsibility and directly work with the level five Specters."


    As he listened to Wyntor, Nick looked at the door with wonder.


    A level five Extractor!


    He had never seen one in his life!


    This was someone who was even stronger than Albert, Julian, and the two women at Kugelblitz''s entrance!


    Next, Nick saw the office of another level five Extractor.


    The sign said Specialist, which was the unofficial title.


    Since this was not an area manager, this level five Extractor was working with Fanatics.


    How scary were Fanatics?


    Nick had no idea.


    Clink.


    Nick heard the sound of a closing door and looked forward.


    A young man with blue hair closed one of the doors and walked down the hallway towards the two of them.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    A real Specialist!


    There were less than 30 of those in the entirety of the city, and over two-thirds of them worked for Kugelblitz!


    The man raised an eyebrow when he saw the two of them.


    "Oh, Wyntor," the man said casually. "Here to see your dad?"


    Wyntor smiled politely. "Yes, how have things been?"


    "The usual, the bitch is being a bitch again," the man said.


    Wyntorughed loudly and politely.


    Nick looked at Wyntor.


    He had never seen Wyntor act this way before.


    Wyntor always had a very polite but confident Aura around him.


    But now, Wyntor looked like a child who tried their best to be polite to a visitor.


    He was so different.


    "And who is that?" the man asked, looking at Nick.


    "That''s my Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick," Wyntor answered politely.


    "Oh, eh, hi," Nick said.


    Then, Nick''s hand moved forward.


    SLAP!


    And Wyntor immediately pped it down before it could even attempt to extend towards the Specialist.


    Nick blinked in shock.


    The Specialist saw all that, and his eyebrows rose.


    If Wyntor hadn''t gone through years of training about how to properly conduct himself, he would have turnedpletely red in the face.


    ''That''s what I get for not telling Nick,'' he thought.


    "Oh, I see," the Specialist said with an amused chuckle. "You''re from the Outer City, right?"


    "Ah, yes, sir," Nick said carefully.


    Nick had no idea how he should address the person in front of him.


    "You might not know, but don''t offer your hand to any Expert or stronger. They might get offended by that," the Specialist exined.


    Nick''s eyes widened in shock. "Why?" he asked.


    "I''m sure Wyntor will exin it to you," the Specialist said before turning to Wyntor. "Anyway, have fun."


    "Of course, thank you, and good luck!" Wyntor said.


    "Thank you and good luck," Nick echoed Wyntor.


    The Specialist just waved a bit as he walked down the hallway.


    A momentter, Nick looked with confusion at Wyntor, who only sighed.


    As they continued walking down the hallway, Wyntor exined the thing about handshakes.


    "So, when I offered my hand to the two women earlier, I was telling them that I considered myself to be on their level?" Nick asked in shock.


    "Yes, but that''s not incorrect. As a Chief Zephyx Extractor, it''s not inappropriate to put yourself on the same level as an Expert. I didn''t tell you since I wanted you to assert yourself in front of such powerful people," Wyntor exined.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "You don''t think that I would do that if you had told me?"


    "I''m not sure," Wyntor said. "Nick, can we talk about thister? This is not exactly the right moment for this discussion."


    Nick took a deep breath but nodded.


    Wyntor was right.


    This could wait.


    They continued walking in silence, but while they were doing so, Nick remembered a couple of things.


    ''Right, Dark Dream is only a means to an end for Wyntor.''


    ''Wyntor started Dark Dream only to get enough money to buy enough shares of Kugelblitz to get his inheritance.''


    ''I think he needed about 20 million credits.''


    ''And if he sold Dark Dream to another Manufacturer, he could probably get that.''


    ''Maybe even more.''


    Nick looked at Wyntor from behind.


    ''Is he going to sell Dark Dream soon?''


    Then, Nick thought back to his interaction with Wyntor.


    Several times, Wyntor had deliberately kept information from Nick to achieve some kind of goal.


    This could be considered as manipting him.


    Wyntor also kept himself away from all the employees most of the time.


    Did Wyntor actually truly care about Dark Dream?


    Nick wasn''t sure anymore.


    The day before, he would have said yes, but now, he didn''t know.


    Some secondster, Wyntor stopped in front of an office.


    Nick looked at the sign beside the door and took a deep breath.


    Vernon Melfion, Senior Director.


    Then, Wyntor knocked on the door.

 Chapter 205 205 – Vernon

    <h4>Chapter 205 Chapter 205 ¨C Vernon</h4>


    Wyntor knocked on the door, but he didn''t even wait for an answer and entered anyway.


    Nick took a deep breath and followed Wyntor.


    "Ah, Wyntor, d you''re here."


    Nick heard the voice of a rtively young adult, which surprised him.


    The voice sounded like it came from somebody between the ages of 20 to 35.


    Wasn''t this Wyntor''s father?


    A momentter, Nick saw a man sitting at a desk.


    The man had blonde hair and looked to be in histe twenties.


    Nick wasn''t attracted to men, but even he could tell that this was probably the most beautiful man in the city.


    He had perfectly white and smooth skin, and his hair was thick and voluminous. It almost looked like his strands of hair didn''t cling to each other but hung individually from his head.


    He looked athletic, but his build leaned more towards stamina and speed than raw power.


    ''That''s not Wyntor''s father, right?'' Nick thought in shock.


    "Hey, Dad," Wyntor said neutrally.


    He didn''t seem happy or sad.


    He just seemed very nonchnt and normal.


    ''Wait, so that''s actually Wyntor''s father?!'' Nick thought.


    A momentter, Mr. Melfion stood up and walked around his desk.


    He put his hand on Wyntor''s shoulder and looked at Nick with a friendly smile. "You must be Nick, right? I''ve heard plenty about you."


    "Ah, yes, Mr. Melfion, sir," Nick said as he did his best to recover from the shock.


    Mr. Melfion justughed. "No need to be so formal and uptight. You''re my son''s friend! Just call me Vernon."


    Nick took a deep breath. His anxiety reduced, but he was still nervous.


    Even though Vernon had said that Nick didn''t need to be formal, he still didn''t want to make a mistake.


    "Thank you¡­ Vernon," Nick said with an awkward long pause.


    Vernon just smiled and held his hand out for a handshake.


    Nick reflexively grabbed the hand and shook it.


    Vernon''s hand was surprisingly firm, but he wasn''t using any power.


    As soon as Nick touched the hand, he immediately knew that Vernon was vastly more powerful than him.


    ''He''s definitely a Zephyx Extractor and not a weak one!'' Nick thought.


    "Did you find your way here all right?" Vernon asked.


    "Dad, I''m here all the time," Wyntor said.


    Vernon just smiled with embarrassment. "Oh wow, sorry. I identally slipped into corporate speak. It kind ofes with a new person being in my office."


    Vernon threw a quick smile at Nick.


    Surprisingly, that made Nick calm down quite a bit.


    Of course, he knew that Vernon was a human like everyone else, but when one sat in front of incredible power, it was difficult to remember that fact.


    Sure enough, Vernon was just a guy like any other.


    He just controlled the biggest force of Zephyx Extractors in the city, owned enough money to buy the Outer City, and could tear Nick apart with two fingers.


    But he was just a man.


    "Did you show him around?" Vernon asked Wyntor.


    Wyntor nodded. "I told him about the floors."


    "You should''ve taken him to the training floor. I bet he would have loved seeing that," Vernon said.


    Then, he turned to Nick. "Are you interested in seeing the training floor for Newbies and Johns? If you want, you can also stay for a while after the meeting and get familiar with it."


    In truth, Nick was actually really interested in the training floor.


    How did Kugelblitz train their powerful recruits?


    "Thank you for the offer, but I have to return soon. I have a lot of work waiting for me at Dark Dream," Nick said.


    "Of course, I forgot that you are a Chief Zephyx Extractor. I understand. Some other time, okay?" Vernon added.


    "Sure," Nick answered with a nod.


    After working for Dark Dream for nearly two years, Nick was no longer new to the corporate world, and he knew that Vernon was only being polite.


    If Nick actually epted that offer, Vernon would probably be a bit annoyed but would show him around anyway, just to be nice.


    Or he would just tell Wyntor to do it.


    "By the way, Nick," Vernon said, "have you thought about moving to the Inner City?"


    "Oh, no, not yet," Nick said. "I also don''t think I want to move there."


    "Howe? Do you like the bustling outside?" Vernon asked with a smile.


    Wyntor didn''t say anything and just walked to some kind of apparatus sitting on top of a small closet.


    "It''s more about Dark Dream being in the Outer City," Nick said. "I don''t like being too far from my workce, and I grew up in the Outer City."


    Wyntor pressed a couple of buttons on the apparatus.


    CRRRRRRRRRRRR!


    The apparatus made a loud grinding noise, and Nick looked with shock at the apparatus Wyntor was using.


    Why was that thing so loud?!


    "That''s just the coffee machine," Vernon said with a chuckle. "It''s loud, but the coffee is worth it! Wyntor, make one for Nick as well!"


    "Sure," Wyntor said casually. "You also want one?"


    "I had mine already," Vernon said.


    Wyntor just nodded.


    The next moment, Nick saw brown liquiding out of the machine and entering a cup.


    "You''re going to love this," Vernon said with a smirk. "No one has left my office hating my coffee."


    Nick looked with confusion at the brown liquiding out of the apparatus. "What''s coffee?"


    Vernon seemed a bit excited when Nick asked that question.


    "An entire life without coffee," Vernon mused. "You are going to think that you wasted your entire life after drinking this!"


    Nick just blinked a couple of times, not sure how to answer.


    "Coffee is a beverage made by filtering water through ground-up and toasted coffee beans. It has a strong and bitter taste, but the caffeine in it wakes you up and brings color and excitement back into a dreary morning filled with work!"


    "You see, the way this machine operates¡­"


    Nick just kept looking at Vernon in silence as he kept going on and on about coffee, its effects, how it was produced, how the machine worked, and so on.


    Nick had not expected that he would be listening to a lesson about some beverage when he had entered Vernon''s office.

 Chapter 206 206 – Chatting

    <h4>Chapter 206 Chapter 206 ¨C Chatting</h4>


    "Dad, bring it to a close," Wyntor said as he put a cup of coffee in front of Nick.


    Nick looked with surprise, interest, and a bit of awe at the cup of coffee in front of him.


    Vernon had sung its praises for over three minutes, and based on what he said, this thing seemed to be just as magical as Recovery Liquid.


    Vernon looked like he wanted to continue talking, but he just took a deep breath.


    "Sorry, I got carried away," he said, a friendly smile back on his face. "I just like my coffee."


    "No, no, it was interesting," Nick said quickly. "I never knew about beans and that they could be turned into liquid."


    Vernon slightly furrowed his brows. "Well, it''s technically not liquid beans."


    Nick blinked in confusion. "Didn''t you say it''s bean juice?"


    "It''s not," Wyntor said from the side, interjecting before Vernon could work himself into another sermon about coffee. "It''s water that filters through crushed beans. It''s like if you keep water in a very, very rusty container for a while, and it starts to be rusty and disgusting."


    "Except that this is actually good," Wyntor added.


    "Oh, I get it!" Nick said in realization as he looked at the coffee.


    When the water had left the apparatus, it had been brown, but when he looked at it in the cup, it looked deep ck.


    Changing color was quite magical.


    "Don''t you think sugar and milk would be better for his first time?" Vernon asked Wyntor.


    Nick looked up in confusion.


    What was sugar and milk?


    Wyntor just dismissively waved at Vernon while he put some kind of white liquid into his own coffee.


    Vernon just raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked with interest at Nick.


    He saw Nick sniffing the coffee.


    ''This is so interesting!'' both of them thought.


    "There''s nothing in there, right?" Nick asked.


    "No, just coffee," Wyntor answered. "Just drink it."


    However, Nick was still a bit apprehensive.


    After looking at the ck water, an image shot through Nick''s mind.


    An image of something that looked almost identical.


    This coffee looked like the liquid of the sewers.


    That was just as ck.


    ''Just get it over with,'' Nick thought.


    "Well, okay," Nick answered.


    Then, he lifted the cup by grabbing the bottom and took a big gulp.


    Nick was immediately assaulted by a bitter taste, but he didn''t mind much.


    The insects and mosquitorvae tasted simr.


    The bitter taste reminded Nick of the Dregs, and even better, it most likely wasn''t unhealthy or poisonous.


    Otherwise, Vernon and Wyntor probably wouldn''t drink it.


    Vernon''s eyes slightly widened in interest as he saw that Nick''s face didn''t scrunch up due to the bitterness.


    Nick took another gulp and sloshed it around in his mouth.


    Sure enough, it was just water.


    Bitter and ck water.


    Then, he just looked with interest at the remaining coffee in his cup.


    It was an interesting taste.


    He wasn''t opposed to it.


    "What do you think?" Vernon asked, almost nervously.


    "It''s¡­ good," Nick said, looking at Vernon. "I like it."


    Vernon smiled brightly when he heard that, and it was like his confidence exploded. "See? I told you it''s great!"


    Nick nodded.


    "Wyntor, quick, I want to see what he thinks of it if we add some milk and sugar!" Vernon said with some excitement.


    Wyntor just wordlessly grabbed Nick''s cup and added some milk and sugar.


    After some investigation, Nick decided to drink that as well.


    But this time, he was stunned into silence.


    So sweet!


    Holy shit!


    Fuck!


    What the fuck was this?!


    How was this so fucking good?!


    It was like Nick''s body cried out as it tasted the sugar.


    Immediately, Nick got the urge to consume all of it and get even more!


    Nick immediately downed it and looked at Vernon with widely opened eyes.


    "This is amazing!" he said.


    Vernon smiled in excitement and pride.


    He knew that his coffee was amazing!


    No one ever left his office without liking the coffee!


    "I''ll make you another cup," Vernon said as he stood up from his chair to walk to the coffee machine.


    "Yes, please. Thank you!" Nick said.


    For the next ten minutes, Nick and Vernon just kept talking about coffee while Wyntor just silently stood to the side, going through a couple of papers that Vernon had lying around in his office.


    "Did you get a new Fanatic?" Wyntor suddenly asked without looking up from the paper.


    Vernon smiled and looked at Wyntor. "Ah, you noticed?"


    Wyntor nodded. "Big increase in Zephyx without a major change among the teams. I guess one of the Elders became a Fanatic."


    Vernon just looked with pride at Wyntor. "Yep, the¡­ oh, sorry, forget it," Vernon said while turning to look at Nick.


    It seemed like Vernon wanted to talk about the Specter but kept himself in check when he remembered that Nick was also here.


    They continued talking for five more minutes.


    "Oh, right, I remember that we were talking about you moving into the Inner City earlier," Vernon said.


    "I''m not nning on moving there," Nick answered casually. By now, he was fully rxed and just casually chatted with Vernon.


    "Why not?" Vernon asked.


    "Because Dark Dream is in the Outer City," Nick said.


    "Yeah, sure, but I''m talking about after that," Vernon said.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "I''m not sure what you mean."


    Vernon raised an eyebrow. "I mean, Wyntor is going to sell Dark Dream to Kugelblitz, and all of you will be incorporated into the training program for new hires."


    "It would be a bit strange to have you living in the Outer City while you''re working for Kugelblitz," Vernon said casually.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Sure enough, his suspicions had been confirmed.


    Wyntor was going to sell Dark Dream to Kugelblitz.


    "You didn''t tell him?" Vernon asked Wyntor after noticing Nick''s reaction.


    Wyntor casually sipped on his coffee.


    Then, he put his coffee down and looked at Nick.

 Chapter 207 207 – Seat

    <h4>Chapter 207 Chapter 207 ¨C Seat</h4>


    Nick looked at the desk in front of him with furrowed brows as Wyntor looked at Nick.


    Then, Wyntor turned to Vernon.


    "When did I tell you?" Wyntor asked.


    Vernon''s eyebrows rose in confusion. "Eh, you didn''t."


    "So, why do you think I''m going to sell Dark Dream to Kugelblitz?" Wyntor asked casually.


    Vernon was taken aback, and his expression seemed like he had just heard the weirdest thing.


    "Why wouldn''t you? This is all about the inheritance anyway," Vernon said.


    "It used to be," Wyntor said.


    "So, it''s not anymore?" Vernon asked.


    Wyntor nodded.


    Nick almost felt like he couldn''t believe what he was hearing, and some hope appeared in his heart.


    "What am I supposed to do with 0.05% of Kugelblitz?" Wyntor asked. "Sit on my ass and just watch other people do the work for me?"


    Vernon chuckled a bit. "That''s what everyone wants, isn''t it?"


    "Then, why are you in this office?" Wyntor asked. "Do you really need to be here?"


    Vernon furrowed his brows.


    Plenty of arguments shot through his head.


    "I need to keep watch over my investment."


    "I need to make sure that everything runs."


    "It is my duty to oversee all of this."


    Yet, Vernon was a very experienced and powerful businessman.


    All of these arguments were disingenuous.


    He could easily delegate all of his duties to the area managers and chief executives, and thepany would not suffer one bit.


    "You want something to do? That can be arranged. Having you in business nning would help us a lot," Vernon said.


    Wyntor just chuckled. "Would you be proud of wealth that you inherited? Wealth and power that you had no hand in creating?"


    "Our positions are different," Vernon said with a neutral voice. "You can''t argue matters of taste with people with vastly different pasts."


    "I''m not," Wyntor said. "What''s there to argue about when we have the same taste in this thing?"


    "Are you saying that you''re not happy with the inheritance?" Vernon asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Happy or unhappy isn''t relevant," Wyntor said. "Having or not having isn''t important."


    Vernon remained silent as he looked at Wyntor with interest and skepticism.


    "Initially, I only did this for the inheritance," Wyntor said, "but things have changed."


    Vernon just listened.


    "When I saw Dark Dream taking form and bing bigger, I felt so aplished. This little thing that I created with Nick was growing bigger and more powerful."


    "I had more things to do, and I could feel that my decisions and actions had a great impact on the lives of others, mostly my employees."


    "I''ve never felt anything like this before, and I don''t think I want to give this up."


    Then, Wyntor smirked.


    "At least not until I have a simr level of power and responsibility somewhere else."


    Wyntor grabbed his own cup and also took Nick''s cup before walking to the coffee machine.


    "Now, if I got a seat on the board of directors, things would be different," Wyntor said with a devious smirk.


    "A seat on the board of directors," Vernon repeated with a t tone.


    Wyntor put the dirty cups beside the coffee machine and went back to his earlier spot.


    "Are you serious?" Vernon asked.


    "I am," Wyntor answered.


    "This is not some kind of trick to gain my sympathy or something?" Vernon asked.


    "Do I look like Ardum?" Wyntor asked.


    "You do. You''re brothers," Vernon said.


    Wyntor''s smile dropped as he looked at his father without amusement.


    "Yes, yes, just a joke," Vernon said with a small chuckle.


    Wyntor rolled his eyes.


    "Yes, I''m serious," Wyntor said. "I''m not interested in the inheritance. At least not while you and mom are still alive."


    Vernon leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his chin in thought.


    "So, you want to earn your money," Vernon said. "Because we both know that you''re not getting a seat on the board of directors with 0.05%."


    "You have to have at least 5% of equity in thepany."


    "To buy that, you would need to exchange about 50% of something the size of Ghosty''s Lab. That''s wealth that even I respect," Vernon said.


    "I know," Wyntor said casually.


    Vernon just looked at Wyntor for a while.


    While he was doing so, he was reminded of his own past.


    Vernon had been hired as a Zephyx Extractor in apany that didn''t exist anymore.


    At one point, he lost his job after messing up while working with a Specter.


    Sometimeter, he got scouted by a much smaller Manufacturer, and he joined as their Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Many yearster, he gave the job to someone else since he noticed that he was much more talented in the business end of things.


    Of course, that Manufacturer was Kugelblitz.


    Back when Vernon joined Kugelblitz, Kugelblitz was barely worth as much as Sce was worth today.


    Vernon often looked back on his life with a fond view.


    He was happy where he was today, but he also missed the days of rapid progress a bit.


    He had been so full of energy back then.


    Vernon looked at his coffee machine.


    Nowadays, the most exciting part of his day was drinking his coffee.


    He just sighed.


    "Are you sure about this?" Vernon asked, looking at Wyntor.


    Wyntor nodded. "I thought long and hard about this."


    Vernon sighed again.


    "I made you work so hard for the inheritance, and now that I can finally give it to you, you don''t even want it anymore," Vernon muttered.


    "Just give it to Samar," Wyntor said. "She''s already basically your assistant."


    "She''s an Extractor, not a businesswoman," Vernon said.


    "Even better," Wyntor answered. "At least she has the power to back up her wealth."


    Vernon snorted a quickugh before sighing again.


    After that, he looked at Nick.


    "Well, seems like you don''t need to move to the Inner City anymore," he said with a bitter smile.


    "And I was so excited to have someone who shares my passion for coffee."

 Chapter 208 208 – Meeting Room

    <h4>Chapter 208 Chapter 208 ¨C Meeting Room</h4>


    Nick didn''t immediately answer Vernon and just looked at Wyntor.


    Right now, Nick wasn''t sure how to feel.


    On one hand, he was so happy that Wyntor wasn''t selling Dark Dream, but on the other hand, Nick felt guilty.


    He felt like he had betrayed Wyntor a little bit.


    Although, it couldn''t really be called a betrayal.


    After all, Wyntor had made clear that he had only created Dark Dream for his inheritance.


    Earlier, when Nick had heard that he would be joining Kugelblitz and entering their training program, he had felt bad.


    Sure, Kugelblitz was amazing and powerful, but Nick would definitely lose his position as Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    He wouldn''t even be an area manager or team leader.


    He wouldn''t even be a "normal" Zephyx Extractor.


    He would just be a trainee.


    From Chief Zephyx Extractor to trainee.


    That would be a brutal drop in status.


    Even more, Nick most likely wouldn''t have the resources to work on his powers fully.


    Would Kugelblitz have caught the Fog just for him?


    No, definitely not.


    They also wouldn''t have given Nick two personal trainers like Man or Reynold.


    His weapons also wouldn''t have been as good.


    Sure, Nick''s path toward the third level would be without problems since everyone in Kugelblitz reached that level, but then, he would just be a normal employee.


    Even more, Nick would have to unveil his ability to the upper level of Kugelblitz, and he wasn''t sure if they were willing to put effort into researching his power to give it a good evolution.


    They might even decide to turn Nick into a spy.


    Sure, Nick''s skillset was quite good for a spy, but he didn''t want to be one.


    Metaphorically speaking, Nick''s personality was like light, but his skillset was like darkness.


    He wouldn''t be happy with being a spy or assassin or whatever.


    And now, he wouldn''t need to be.


    Nick enjoyed working with his colleagues and improving Dark Dream.


    Nick couldn''t help a small and peaceful smile forming on his face as he looked at the table.


    Even though Vernon hadn''t known Nick for long, he was experienced enough to tell what Nick was thinking about.


    "Wyntor is a good boss," Vernon told Nick.


    Nick just nodded.


    Wyntor didn''t show any reaction.


    The next moment, Vernon looked at a small thing he was wearing on his wrist.


    "It''s a bit early, but I think we can already start going to the meeting room," he said as he slowly stood up.


    Wyntor also stood up and put the scattered sheets of paper back into an orderly pile.


    Nick nodded and followed Vernon to the door.


    "Are you going to represent Kugelblitz today?" Nick asked.


    "Yes, I volunteered," Vernon said with augh. "I want to see Wyntor in action."


    "What''s there to see?" Wyntor asked with boredom. "Dark Dream is not truly part of any of this. We don''t even give the city any Extractors."


    "You two are part of the meeting, and that''s all that counts," Vernon said.


    Suddenly, Vernon stopped moving and opened a random door.


    "We''re already going to the meeting room," he spoke into the room.


    "I''ll join youter!"


    Nick heard the soft voice of a young womaning out of the room.


    "Sure," Vernon said before closing the door and continuing walking.


    Nick knew that every Zephyx Manufacturer was represented by the Chief Zephyx Extractor and an owner in the meeting, and since Vernon was taking part as the owner, it meant that the voice had most likely belonged to Kugelblitz''s Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    ''She sounded quite young,'' Nick thought.


    ''Vernon also seems quite young, even though he has several adult children.''


    ''Does the increased longevity of Zephyx really have such a strong effect?''


    The more powerful one became, the longer they could live.


    However, that effect only became apparent after one became an Expert.


    The effects of increased longevity weren''t very strong for level three or weaker Extractors.


    Nick had heard that an Expert would still be in fighting condition when they were already over a hundred years old, which was crazy!


    Most people in the Dregs died in their thirties, and only very few people managed to reach their fifties.


    The fact that Vernon looked so young while definitely being above 60 meant that he was, at least, an Expert.


    Yet, even the Chief Zephyx Extractor sounded so young.


    How long did it take to be a Hero, a level six Zephyx Extractor?


    Nick had already needed two years to be a John, and bing a Veteran would take even longer.


    How long would Nick take to be a Veteran?


    Five years?


    Ten years?


    What about bing an Expert?


    20 years?


    Specialist?


    30 years?


    40 years?


    A Hero?


    The Chief Zephyx Extractor had to be at least 100 years old.


    And yet, she sounded so young.


    Nick looked at Vernon, who was walking in front of him.


    Vernon looked like he was in histe 20s or early 30s.


    It was so strange toe to terms with the fact that these old people looked like young people.


    After a bit of walking, the three of them entered a meeting room.


    It was big!


    There was a huge and long table in the middle of the room, and there was probably space for over a hundred people on that table!


    Even more, Nick had no idea what the table was made out of.


    It seemed much¡­ softer? Nick wasn''t sure what word to use.


    It was still hard, but it felt a bit soft and warm.


    "Nobody''s here yet, just as expected," Vernon said as he walked to the end of the table.


    Yet, before he reached the end, he grabbed one of the chairs and sat down.


    Surprisingly, as the representative of Kugelblitz, he didn''t sit at the head of the table.


    However, he sat near the corner.


    The head of the table could fit over five people, but essentially, Vernon sat beside the head.


    "Your ces are over there," Vernon said, pointing diagonally toward the other end of the table.


    Wyntor wordlessly walked over and grabbed a seat near the end of the table.


    Then, he gestured for Nick to take the seat beside him, which was directly adjacent to the bottom of the table.


    "Sorry, but it''s policy during the yearly meeting," Vernon said with a bit of embarrassment.


    "I know," Wyntor said.


    Naturally, Nick knew what this meant.


    The people were arranged based on the prestige and power of theirpany.


    As the owner, Wyntor sat in front of Nick.


    The same thing would be true for Kugelblitz.


    Vernon would be sitting in front of the Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    As the most powerful Manufacturer, Kugelblitz would take the highest seat, while Dark Dream would take the lowest.


    Yet, surprisingly, the head and the bottom of the table were empty.


    Who would sit there?

 Chapter 209 209 – Aria

    <h4>Chapter 209 Chapter 209 ¨C Aria</h4>


    The three of them continued talking for a while more, but it was slightly more awkward since Vernon was essentially on the other side of the room.


    "By the way, Nick," Vernon said. "Don''t get surprised when I act like an arrogant asshole in the meeting. I have to do that since, officially, Kugelblitz can''t act like it''s on the same level as any other Manufacturer."


    "I understand," Nick said. "Thank you for warning me."


    Nick understood that, officially, Kugelblitz couldn''t act all buddy-buddy with a Manufacturer like Dark Dream.


    Nick looked at the big clock hanging on the wall inside the room.


    ''About 20 more minutes to go before the meeting,'' he thought.


    At that point, the door opened, and Nick looked over.


    He was quite excited about meeting all the powerful people in the world.


    After the door opened, Nick saw a young and beautiful smiling woman with blonde hair.


    She looked to be in her early 20s, and just like Vernon, her skin and hair were wless.


    As soon as she entered, Nick felt his heart stop, and the light in the room focused on her.


    He felt like she was the source of all the light in the room with her beautiful smile.


    Nick had never seen anyone this beautiful, and he waspletely stunned.


    When she entered, she threw a quick and polite nod at Nick, and Nick just answered in kind, but his nod was awkward.


    "Hey, Aria," Wyntor said nonchntly.


    "Hi, Wyntor," she answered with a motherly voice as she walked over to Vernon.


    Then, she sat down beside Vernon.


    ''So, she''s Kugelblitz'' Chief Zephyx Extractor,'' Nick thought as he took a deep breath.


    "How did it go?" Vernon asked casually.


    Aria just sighed. "As Koran always says, the bitch is being a bitch again," she said.


    Vernonughed loudly. "I''m so d I handed that job over to you."


    "It''s not all bad," Aria said with a chuckle. "It can also be a lot of fun."


    "Right?" she asked as she suddenly turned to Nick.


    Nick felt his heart rate speed up as soon as Aria addressed him.


    "Eh, yes, I guess?" Nick answered.


    "Are there any Specters you have issues with?" Aria asked. "You naturally don''t have to tell me any specifics since that''s confidential."


    Nick thought about the Specters they had.


    "Well, there''s no reason to keep the Fog a secret since everyone knows about that one," Nick said.


    Wyntor didn''t interject.


    Everyone knew that Dark Dream had the Fog.


    "Force Specters are always troublesome," Aria said. "What''s the issue with the Fog?"


    "You have to be stronger than it to escape from its grasp, and you have to be in its domain to work with it," Nick exined.


    "That''s an issue with most Force Specters," Aria exined. "Force Specters are not very smart, and they basically use all their power whenever they can."


    "Either they keep someone restrained, or they start attacking them with all their force. Either way, Force Specters almost always need very powerful Extractors."


    "But based on what I just heard, you''re actually in luck with the Fog. You can just send an Extractor in and then send a strong Extractor in to get them out when it is time. At least they don''t have to resist the assault of the Fog," Aria said.


    Nick nodded. "Yeah, sadly, that''s always me since I''m the only one strong enough for that."


    Aria''s eyes widened a bit.


    Then, she leaned back.


    "Right, I forgot that you guys are THIS new," she said. "A Specter that needs the Chief Zephyx Extractor to personally be active. I only have to get involved very rarely, and there are only two Specters that would do that."


    "Luckily, only the bitch requires me to go to her frequently, but it''s also not that frequently," Aria said with a chuckle.


    By now, Nick got very interested in whatever bitch they were talking about.


    That thing seemed to be a huge issue.


    "Your name is Nick, right?" Aria asked.


    "Oh, yes," Nick said.


    "Nice to meet you. I''m Aria," she said with a smile from the other side of the room. "I''m a bit far away for a handshake. Hope you don''t mind."


    "No, no, it''s fine!" Nick answered.


    For a while, Aria talked with Nick and Wyntor about just random things.


    She was almost like an aunt who was interested in her nephews'' little projects.


    Some minutester, the door opened again, and everyone looked over.


    Nick saw three men walking into the room.


    One of them was older and neatly dressed.


    One of them was middle-aged and dressed casually.


    Thest one¡­


    ''Hey, I know that guy!'' Nick thought.


    Nick remembered this guy and his entourage walking through the Dregs every couple of weeks several years ago.


    The guy had brown hair and wore a nice suit, and every couple of weeks, he would stand on a podium in the Dregs and talk about how he was going to improve the lives of the people living there.


    He would make it so that none of them had to be hungry anymore, and so on.


    Yet, nothing ever happened.


    He just kept talking and talking, but nothing actually happened.


    Sure, he sometimes donated some food, but it was only once every couple of weeks and less than five kilos for the entirety of the Dregs.


    Nick also remembered that the guy always asked the people to vote for him in some kind of election, but Nick had never really paid any attention.


    He had been too busy surviving, like 90% of the Dregs.


    As soon as the three of them entered, they bowed politely to Nick, Wyntor, Vernon, and Aria before taking their seat¡­


    At the bottom of the table.


    Nick looked to his side.


    He now sat directly beside the three of them.


    Two of them noticed Nick looking, and they just smiled back politely.


    Nick blinked a couple of times and whispered in Wyntor''s ear.


    "Who are those?" he asked.


    "Representatives of themon people," Wyntor answered. "We have one guy representing themon people of the middleyer, one guy representing the loweryer, and one guy representing the Outer City."


    "They''ve been added to the meeting several years ago so that themon people have an opportunity to make their opinions known."


    Nick looked with surprise at the three of them.


    Themon people had representation?


    That was good, right?


    "Of course, they don''t have any power whatsoever," Wyntor said.


    Nick was deted rather quickly.


    "Anyone of them that interjects in the meeting without being asked to gets reced by the next one."


    "Their job is to be here, watch, and keep the actual contents of the meeting secret."

 Chapter 210 210 – Nick Nick

    <h4>Chapter 210 Chapter 210 ¨C Nick Nick</h4>


    Nick could only sigh.


    And here he was, hoping that not everything was doom and gloom.


    How mistaken he had been.


    Surprisingly, Aria, Vernon, and Wyntor continued talking like the three people at the bottom of the table weren''t there.


    It was like they were just air.


    But that wasn''t even everything.


    Two of the people took out some kind of square object with many small sheets of paper in it and started reading.


    Nick had seen binders with sheets of paper in Wyntor''s office, but these squares seemed to be a bit different.


    The sheets of paper didn''t seem removable, and they were all covered in writing.


    Then, Nick remembered something that he had once heard.


    Was this a book?


    He had never seen a book!


    Nick just looked with wonder at the book that one of them was reading, making the reader feel quite ufortable.


    "It''s a book," Wyntor said after noticing Nick''s interest. "It has words in it."


    "I know that," Nick shot back with a bit of annoyance.


    On the other side of the room, Aria was chuckling, and Vernon was looking at Nick with interest.


    Someone that didn''t know what a book was¡­


    This was so interesting and unique!


    All three of the representatives took out some things to upy themselves with.


    It seemed like they didn''t even pretend to pay attention or take this seriously.


    Then, the door opened again, and two people walked in.


    The two of them wore grey uniforms with the emblem of an expanding room on their chest.


    Nick immediately recognized them by their color and the emblem.


    The Spartans.


    The Spartans were a newpany of three Veterans who left their old Manufacturers to create a new one.


    Nick had heard about them two years ago, and back then, they hadn''t had a level three Specter yet.


    He wondered if they had managed to capture one by now.


    Both of the Spartans looked quite simr. They both seemed to be in theirte 30s or early 40s, and they seemed quite serious.


    One of them had grey hair, and the other had ck hair.


    In a way, they looked a bit like brothers.


    The two of them looked at Vernon and Aria, giving a respectful greeting.


    Aria and Vernon just gave two short nods without any smiles, and Aria wordlessly pointed at two chairs near the end of the table.


    Butpared to thest meeting, they were not directly beside the bottom of the table.


    There were a couple of empty seats between them and the bottom.


    Wyntor stood up with a polite smile, and when Nick saw that, he copied Wyntor''s demeanor.


    "Nice to meet you. We''re Dark Dream, and we''re taking the lowest spot of the meeting this time," Wyntor said with a smile.


    The Spartan with the ck hair raised an eyebrow.


    Then, he extended his hand across the table for a handshake.


    Wyntor had to lean quite a bit across the table, making his position awkward, while the Spartan kept a straight back.


    This position was a bit humiliating for Wyntor.


    Then, the other Spartan offered his hand to Nick in the same way.


    Nick had already noticed what was going on, and he didn''t like it one bit.


    However, Nick had to be respectful and ept the hand.


    But he also didn''t want to bend over backward for them, almost literally.


    So¡­


    Nick sat on top of the table, scooted forward, and shook the hand while having a straight back.


    Cough, cough, hugh, crk.


    Vernon sounded like he had just inhaled a cup of coffee with his lungs, and Aria looked at Nick with surprise.


    Wyntor saw what Nick was doing, and his face became a bit red.


    But then, he covertly gritted his teeth.


    And sat on the table the same way as Nick.


    Now, all four of them could shake hands with straight backs.


    The two Spartans looked at Wyntor and Nick with confused expressions.


    They looked like they were deciding whether Wyntor''s and Nick''s actions were smart or insulting.


    In the end, their serious expressions returned, and the handshake ended naturally.


    On the other end of the table, Vernon scratched his face with his hand, covering most of it.


    However, behind his hand was an amused smile.


    Aria did her best to keep herughter in check.


    She found this quite hrious.


    "John Keyweather, CEO," the man with grey hair said.


    ''John?'' Nick thought. ''Then, wasn''t he John the John when he was a John?''


    ''Is that why he''s so angry all the time?''


    Sure enough, everyone had a history of past trauma.


    "Kallum Sondur, Chief Zephyx Extractor," the one with ck hair said.


    "Wyntor Melfion, CEO."


    "Nick¡­ Nick, Chief Zephyx Extractor."


    The two looked at Nick in surprise.


    Nick Nick?


    John Mayweather felt a slight feeling ofpanionship with Nick Nick, almost making him feel bad about asking Nick to assume such a humiliating position.


    Meanwhile, Vernon moved closer to Aria and whispered in her ear. "This is going to be a fun one."


    Aria nodded with a smile.


    John and Kallum took their seats on the table, and then¡­


    Silence.


    Nobody was talking anymore.


    Nick also noticed that Aria and Vernon seemed different from before.


    They appeared much more serious and hard to talk to.


    A minuteter, the door opened again, and two people walked in.


    It was a slightly olderdy with grey hair and a younger woman with blonde hair.


    The younger woman looked a bit simr to Aria, but there was a certain kind of purity missing.


    The two of them were wearing yellow uniforms with the symbol of a candle.


    They were obviously from Sce.


    Sce had several Veterans and even an Expert, but they didn''t own an Elder Specter yet, which made it difficult for them to continue growing.


    The two from Sce shook hands with the two from the Spartans, and then, they focused on Nick and Wyntor.


    The older woman smiled brightly as she bent over the desk to meet Wyntor in the middle.


    "Nice to see you finally here, Wyntor!" she said.


    Wyntor smiled as well and met her in the middle for a handshake. "Nice to be here, Ramona."


    The Chief Zephyx Extractor offered Nick a handshake in the same position, meeting him in the middle.


    Nick happily epted.


    "Hera Marion, Chief Zephyx Extractor, nice to meet you," she said with a slight smile.


    "Nick Nick, Chief Zephyx Extractor, nice to meet you," Nick answered.


    Wyntor wanted to look at Nick, but looking away now would be disrespectful.


    ''Is he actually intending to introduce himself like this? Why?'' Wyntor thought.


    Meanwhile, Nick just awkwardly smiled.


    ''It''s weird when everyone has a first andst name. If I just say my first name, they might think I''m trying to close the distance, but I don''t have ast name.''


    ''I gave myself Nick as my first name. Might as well give myself ast name as well.''


    ''The only thing I regret is that I didn''te up with a better one, but I already started with Nick Nick, and now I have to walk to the end with it.''


    ''From now on, I am Nick Nick, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream!''

 Chapter 211 211 – Family

    <h4>Chapter 211 Chapter 211 ¨C Family</h4>


    The two people from Sce, Ramona and Hera, sat back down and talked a bit amongst each other.


    "You know her?" Nick whispered to Wyntor.


    "They are the ones supplying us with the Arclights and the artificial lights for the cheap Containment Units," Wyntor answered without looking at him. "I''ve met Ramona a couple of times. If I didn''t know her, we wouldn''t be getting our light so cheaply."


    Nick nodded.


    He knew that Wyntor was always busy, but he never truly knew what he was doing.


    Yet, whenever Nick saw the results of Wyntor''s work, he was surprised.


    Wyntor was making Dark Dream so much money without even producing any Zephyx!


    Because of him, the lights were far cheaper.


    Because of him, the Zephyx they were selling was selling for a higher price.


    He was getting the Containment Units cheaply.


    On top of that, Wyntor seemed to know so many important people and had a good rtionship with them.


    Lastly, Wyntor''s family name was protecting Dark Dream from being ganged up on by several Manufacturers.


    Dark Dream had required Wyntor to survive in the beginning, and that fact hadn''t changed.


    If Wyntor left Dark Dream, Dark Dream would most likely go bankrupt within the year.


    The room was slowly filling up.


    By now, there were eleven people in the meeting room.


    However, the room had be even quieter than when there had only been three.


    Except for the asional greeting, nopany talked to another one.


    At most, the two people from onepany were quietly whispering to each other.


    "By the way, are you serious?" Wyntor asked.


    "With what?" Nick asked back.


    "With the Nick Nick thing," Wyntor said.


    Nick scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah. I noticed that everyone was introducing themselves with a first andst name, and I don''t have ast name."


    "It felt awkward to only introduce myself with my first name. What if one of them thinks I''m trying toe onto them?"


    Wyntor blinked a couple of times in confusion.


    "Okay, but why Nick Nick?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick smiled helplessly. "I had toe up with ast name on the spot, and then I remembered that I identally introduced myself with my first name twice when talking to the Spartans."


    "If I suddenly used anotherst name, wouldn''t they think that I made a joke of them? That might be troublesome for Dark Dream!"


    "So, I just ran with it."


    "But it''s not that bad. I also gave myself my first name."


    Wyntor looked at Nick with aplicated expression. "You gave yourself your own name?"


    "Didn''t I tell you?" Nick asked.


    "Not sure," Wyntor answered. "I don''t think so."


    Nick scratched his chin before shrugging. "Well, when I was ten and lost my memory, I started to live on the streets and came into contact with others."


    "I worked with a couple of them, and they wanted to know my name, and I just told them that I didn''t have one."


    "After that, they started to call me the nameless one as a joke, and I told them that I was getting embarrassed since they all kept calling each other by their nicknames instead of their full names."


    "So, they started to call me literally Nickname," Nick said.


    Wyntor looked at Nick.


    He could tell where this was going.


    "But Nickname was so long that they eventually just shortened it to Nick, and in the end, I started to introduce myself to others as Nick."


    "So, yeah. That''s why I''m Nick."


    Nick scratched the back of his neck. "Or Nick Nick now, I guess."


    Wyntor just took a deep breath.


    A couple of seconds of silence passed.


    "I''ll get a form from the city for a name change. Until now, I simply kept the field for yourst name empty," Wyntor said.


    Nick nodded in embarrassment.


    He also wasn''t the biggest fan of the new Nick Nick thing.


    But he had alreadymitted.


    A minuteter, the doors opened again, and two more people entered.


    Those two wore silver uniforms, and the symbol on their chest was of a ball with a scratch.


    They were from Gemini.


    Surprisingly, the two that entered looked almost identical, except for some slight differences in their hairstyles.


    They both had long silver hair, and they both seemed to be in their early 30s.


    They were obviously identical twins.


    The two of them greeted the otherpanies before they focused on Nick and Wyntor.


    "Mindy Wunder, CEO of Gemini," one of them said to them.


    "Cindy Wunder, CZE of Gemini," the other one said.


    Wyntor stood up, and Nick did the same shortly after.


    "Wyntor Melfion, CEO of Dark Dream," he said respectfully.


    "Nick Nick, CZE of Dark Dream," Nick said.


    The two from Gemini didn''t offer a handshake, and they just looked at the two of them with a bit of confusion and disgust.


    They looked like they were a bit offended that Nick and Wyntor were here.


    In the end, the two from Gemini just walked over to their seats and quietly sat down.


    Wyntor and Nick sat back down.


    Wyntor didn''t seem different from before, but Nick furrowed his brows.


    He felt a bit disrespected.


    But in the end, he could only sigh.


    ''Those two should be Experts. They actually don''t need to offer a handshake. Their power is worlds apart from ours.''


    Then, Nick looked at Wyntor.


    ''Or, more specifically, mine. Wyntor still has his family. I don''t.''


    At that moment, a concerned expression appeared on Nick''s face.


    ''Family.''


    ''Do I have one?''


    ''Did I have one?''


    ''I mean, I must have had one.''


    ''But they probably died when we identally came into contact with the Null.''


    ''At least, that''s what Albert thinks what happened.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''It doesn''t matter anymore.''


    Eventually, the door to the meeting room opened, and Nick saw another two people enter.


    Based on the emblem and the color of the uniforms, they were from Ghosty''s Lab.


    Surprisingly, as one of the two saw Nick, their eyes lit up in recognition.

 Chapter 212 212 – Last Person

    <h4>Chapter 212 Chapter 212 ¨C Last Person</h4>


    Two men entered the room.


    One of them looked quite old and had white hair.


    The other one looked middle-aged and had ck hair that seemed to turn grey at different spots.


    Nick was a bit surprised since those two looked to be the oldest people who walked into the room, but at least one of them had to be a Specialist.


    This meant that at least one of them could live for well over a hundred years without visibly aging.


    So, was one of them just very old?


    Chances were that they were even older than Vernon.


    At that point, Nick remembered Wyntor telling him that Ghosty''s Lab was the oldest Zephyx Manufacturer that was still in business.


    Apparently, it had been in business even before Kugelblitz had been founded.


    Every other Manufacturer had vanished.


    They had either been absorbed by one of the others or had been sold and rebranded.


    Two of them even got destroyed by their own Specters breaking out and wreaking havoc.


    The two people greeted everyone in the room, and they even talked quite a bit with Vernon and Aria.


    As the city''s third most powerful Zephyx Manufacturer and the numerically biggest, Ghosty''s Lab definitely had the status to casually talk to Kugelblitz.


    After greeting all the other Extractors, the two of them turned to Wyntor and Nick.


    Surprisingly, the two of them walked around the table to offer a handshake.


    Wyntor respectfully epted the handshake.


    "Herman Reichert, CEO of Ghosty''s Lab," the older man said.


    "George Meander, CZE of Ghosty''s Lab. People generally refer to me as Ghosty," the other man said.


    "Wyntor Melfion, CEO of Dark Dream," Wyntor said with a polite smile.


    "And you''re Nick, right?" Ghosty asked with a smirk as he looked at Nick.


    Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise.


    "You know me?" he asked.


    Ghosty chuckled slightly. "I remember your file. I was the one who told Albert about you."


    Nick''s eyes widened!


    It was him!


    He was the reason how Nick managed to be a Zephyx Extractor in the first ce!


    If Ghosty hadn''t sent Albert to Nick, Nick would have never understood his ability, and he would have never found Wyntor.


    He would have stayed in the Dregs for the remainder of his life.


    "You know Albert?" Nick asked.


    Ghosty nodded. "He used to work for us before he left to work for the city. He was one of the best Extractors I''ve ever had the pleasure to work with."


    "How is Albert doing?" Nick asked.


    Nick hadn''t seen Albert in almost two years.


    "He''s busy with some confidential things. Not even I know exactly what project he''s involved in. I only know that the city views it as very important," Ghosty said.


    "We can talk some other time," Ghosty said after seeing Herman motioning him to leave. "It''s a bit awkward to talk in such a crowded room."


    "Of course!" Nick said politely.


    Nick watched Ghosty with wonder.


    Obviously, Ghosty''s Lab was named after him, which meant that he was probably quite capable and famous.


    "He''s the second oldest person in the city," Wyntor whispered to Nick. "Many breakthroughs in how we deal with Specters exist only because of him. He also had a major hand in the creation of the modern Containment Units."


    "As far as we know, he''s the first person ever that managed to capture a Force Specter."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    This meant that he was essentially sitting at the same table as a living legend.


    However, Nick couldn''t think about these things for long since the doors opened again rather quickly.


    This time, two people with green uniforms and the emblem of a puppet walked into the room.


    The two of them were men with ck hair that looked to be in their thirties.


    As soon as Nick saw them, he felt nervous.


    He felt like he should not interact with those two.


    They felt dangerous.


    The two of them walked over and greeted Vernon and Aria.


    After that, they offered their hand to Ghosty and Herman.


    And then¡­


    They just sat down in their seats.


    They didn''t even look at the other Manufacturers.


    It was like they didn''t exist to them.


    "They are from Anatomy," Wyntor whispered to Nick. "The guy on the left is one of their directors, Zarren Harrow. As far as I know, he''s a Peak level four Zephyx Extractor."


    "The other one is their Chief Zephyx Extractor, Mundus Stairwell. He''s the only level six Zephyx Extractor that Anatomy has."


    Nick nodded. "They feel dangerous."


    "They are," Wyntor confirmed. "Try not toe into contact with them."


    Nick nodded and looked around the room.


    There were 17 people in the room now.


    Three normal people at the bottom.


    Nick and Wyntor near the bottom.


    John and Kallum from the Spartans.


    Hera and Ramona from Sce.


    Cindy and Mindy from Gemini.


    Herman and Ghosty from Ghosty''s Lab.


    Zarren and Mundus from Anatomy.


    Vernon and Aria from Kugelblitz.


    And yet, the head of the table was still empty.


    But everyone seemed to be present.


    All the major Zephyx Manufacturers in the city were present.


    So, Nick waited for the meeting to start.


    But it didn''t.


    Several minutes of silence passed.


    Nick looked around in confusion.


    "What are we waiting for?" Nick asked.


    "We''re still missing someone," Wyntor said.


    "Who?" Nick asked.


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick shook his head.


    "The governor," Wyntor said.


    "The governor? Who''s that?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor was immediately taken aback, and he looked at Nick in shock.


    "You don''t know who the governor is?" he asked in surprise.


    "I don''t even know what a governor is," Nick said.


    Wyntor rubbed the bridge of his nose.


    "How did you work for two years for me and never came into contact with the concept of a governor?"


    "I don''t know. I don''t even know what or who that is," Nick said with annoyance. "Don''t always act like I''m an idiot."


    Wyntor took a deep breath.


    "The governor is the oldest and officially most powerful person in the city, and he is the leader and ruler of Crimson Fungus City."


    "The only one that might be able to match his power is Aria, but I wouldn''t bet my money on her."


    Nick''s eyes widened in wonder.


    Then, the doors opened.

 Chapter 213 213 – Governor

    <h4>Chapter 213 Chapter 213 ¨C Governor</h4>


    A middle-aged man with ck hair entered the room.


    As soon as he did, the entire atmosphere seemed to change, and the temperature seemed to drop by several degrees.


    He wore a suit with the same colors as Nick''s uniform, which showed that he belonged to the city.


    The man took slow and methodical steps, and without greeting anyone, he walked towards the head of the table.


    "That''s Markus Julius, the strongest human in Crimson Fungus City and the owner of everything we know and love," Wyntor whispered.


    "Basically," Wyntor added for rification.


    As Nick looked at Markus, he couldn''t help but take deep breaths.


    He felt so powerful!


    Nick had never seen anyone this powerful before!


    After sitting down, Markus looked around the silent room.


    Everyone was respectfully looking at him in silence.


    Naturally, Wyntor also stopped talking and just waited for the governor to start the meeting.


    "The official meeting of all Manufacturers in the citymences," he said with a slow and deep voice.


    "Introduce yourselves," hemanded.


    Vernon immediately stood up and bowed politely. "Vernon Melfion, Senior Director of Kugelblitz."


    After that, Aria stood up. "Aria Light, Chief Zephyx Extractor of Kugelblitz."


    Then, the next person stood up. "Zarren Harrow, Senior Director of Anatomy."


    All the others introduced themselves as well, starting from the strongest person and going to the weakest.


    "Kallum Sondur, Chief Zephyx Extractor of the Spartans."


    "Wyntor Melfion, Chief Executive Officer of Dark Dream."


    "Nick Nick, Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream."


    Then, one of the people at the bottom of the table spoke up.


    "Zack Howitzer, representative of themon people from the middleyer."


    "Nirs Smark, representative of themon people from the loweryer."


    "Gungis Landrow, representative of themon people from the Outer City."


    And with that, everyone except for the governor had introduced themselves.


    Including the governor, there were now 18 people in the room.


    The room didn''t seem as empty anymore.


    Everyone sat back down, and the governor took out several sheets of paper.


    "First order of business: The taxes of all Manufacturers have been paid on time and in their full amount. Continue like this."


    No one answered.


    "Second, after many long discussions with my advisors, I have decided to call for another general round of inspection. The inspectors will arrive at your premises within the week."


    No one showed any reactions, but Nick could tell that the atmosphere in the room had be much tenser.


    And Nick wasn''t surprised in the least.


    While the specifics of the Specters were kept secret, they couldn''t be kept secret from the city.


    One of Nick''s duties was also to create thorough documentation about all the Specters Dark Dream owned.


    That included their names, their abilities, their powers, where they were kept, how to work with them, what abilities they granted others, and many other things.


    It included everything.


    And these documents had to be handed to the city biannually.


    This meant that the city knew everything about every Specter that was being kept in any Containment Unit inside the city.


    Naturally, this kind of information was kept top secret, and there hadn''t been a data breach within thest several decades.


    So, technically, there wasn''t a reason to feel scared about telling the city the truth about one''s Specters, right?


    Wrong.


    There were several reasons why a Manufacturer wouldn''t want to be honest.


    First, if they had fewer Specters, the city wouldn''t ask for high taxes.


    Second, while the city allowed almost every kind of method of working with a Specter, there were still a very select few that the city didn''t like.


    Specters that required children to work with them were one example.


    Another example were Specters that neededrge-scale destruction.


    Something like spreading a gue, and the more people caught the gue, the more Zephyx the Specter produced.


    Another reason why one might not be honest was when suppressing a Specter wasn''t very easy.


    A Manufacturer needed to show that they were able to suppress every Specter they owned.


    If the city found out that a Manufacturer might have issues suppressing a Specter they owned, the Specter would be confiscated by the city and handed to a morepetent Manufacturer.


    Kugelblitz had benefited from that policy several times.


    Yet, there was onest reason why a Manufacturer might not be fully honest with their documentation.


    As the strongest human in the city, the governor needed to regrly work with a Demon to be stronger, and the only suppressed Demon in the city was the Crimson Fungus.


    This meant that the governor was working with the Crimson Fungus regrly, and he was also officially one of the four Heroes working for Kugelblitz.


    While it was definitely the governor being in charge, people still didn''t feelfortable with the governor working for Kugelblitz.


    While there had not been a data breach yet, the Manufacturers were still suspicious.


    "Sir, please consider postponing the inspection," Zarren Harrow, the CEO of Anatomy, said.


    "Give me a reason," the governor demanded.


    "We are currently in the process of restructuring, which means moving many Specters from one Containment Unit to the other. Leading an inspector through all the Containment Units in this scenario is bound to lead to confusion and danger," Zarren calmly exined.


    "Why would that lead to confusion and danger? You can simply exin that to the team of inspectors," the governor asked coldly.


    "Due to a recent paradigm shift in working procedures, the documentation for the move is not centralized, and many localized reports could cloud the greater picture, leading to misunderstandings of us trying to keep information hidden from the city, which is not our intention," Zarren exined with a smooth voice.


    While Zarren sounded extremely confident and calm, what he said didn''t fully make sense to Nick''s ears.


    And if it didn''t make sense to Nick''s ears, it definitely didn''t fool any of the other people in the room.


    Except for the three representatives at the bottom of the table, of course.


    Everyone knew that Zarren was bullshitting.


    He just didn''t want to get investigated.

 Chapter 214 214 – Pressure

    <h4>Chapter 214 Chapter 214 ¨C Pressure</h4>


    The governor looked at Zarren Harrow with a solemn expression.


    "The number of Debilify cases has spiked in recent times," the governor said. "We are suspecting that one of the Manufacturers is keeping an illegal Specter."


    "These inspections are also a strain on the city''s forces, and if it weren''t for the high number of cases, I wouldn''t call for one."


    "So, no, I can''t reschedule the inspection," the governor exined.


    ''Debilify,'' Nick thought. ''Is that a disease?''


    "Sir, Anatomy is willing to investigate these cases and search for an effective method of prevention," Mundus Stairwell, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Anatomy, said.


    The governor looked at Mundus and remained silent for several seconds.


    "Many of the hotspots for Debilify are in areas where Extractors of Anatomy are already assigned to, and we have witnessed no progress in the investigation yet," the governor said.


    "Sir, we are not trying to keep some kind of secret from you, but if you go ahead with the inspection right now, we fear that our intentions will be misunderstood," Zarren Harrow said.


    "If there is no way for us to reschedule the inspection, we can only ask for a dy in exchange for results in the investigation of Debilify."


    The governor red at Zarren. "Exin."


    "We have recently found a preventive measure that seems to reduce the chance of suffering from Debilify."


    "Why have I not been informed until now?" the governor asked with an annoyed voice.


    "We are still in the testing phase. We have been running trials, but we are not yet sure if the preventative measure causes any secondary issues," Zarren exined.


    "Secondary issues worse than being unable to move and focus on anything for more than ten minutes a day?" the governor asked with an undertone of aggression.


    "No, but the secondary issues can impact people not suffering from Debilify, which might cause additional, unnecessary suffering," Zarren exined.


    "How long has the preventative measure been in the testing phase?" the director asked.


    Silence.


    "About seven years."


    The entire room seemed to turn to ice.


    Even some of the other Zephyx Extractors threw nces filled with hatred and rage at the two people from Anatomy.


    The re of the governor was so cold and intense that Nick felt the urge to run out of the room, even though he wasn''t the recipient of it.


    Silence.


    Eventually, the governor took a deep breath through his nose.


    "I expect the relevant files and documentation of this preventative cure on my desk before the evening," he spoke slowly and seriously. "If the preventative measure proves to be effective, I am willing to dy the inspection for a year."


    "I will deliver the documentation to you personallyter today, sir," Zarren Harrow said with a grateful voice. "Anatomy thanks you very much for your magnanimity."


    The governor just nced at Zarren Harrow without saying anything before turning to the middle of the room again.


    "Expect a message regarding this matter by the end of tomorrow," the governor told the other Manufacturers.


    The others nodded.


    "Next on the list: I have read through your documentation regarding the investigation of the False News Specter and the Parasite Specter and havee to the conclusion that not enough resources have been put into the investigation," the governor said.


    "Frankly, the pages upon pages of documentation boil down to nothing more than ''we don''t know''. I expect thebined force of over a thousand Zephyx Extractors to produce significantly more than that."


    "If, by the next meeting, I don''t see a significant improvement in the quality of the results, I will put a leash on the Extractors that are dedicated to the city but still unofficially spend surprisingly much time near their official ce of employment."


    The governor''s tone was reprimanding and annoyed.


    No one in the room answered him, but it was obvious that they had understood.


    "Naturally, Manufacturers without at least one level five Extractor are not involved in this matter," the governor added.


    Nick just kept listening to the meeting with rapt attention.


    He hadn''t been sure what exactly the meeting would be about, but he hadn''t expected it to be this serious and important.


    The governor was constantly talking about critical issues that were relevant for the entirety of Crimson Fungus City.


    This was less like a meeting betweenpanies and more like an official meeting between rulers!


    It was like the fate of Crimson Fungus City was being decided within this very meeting!


    The governor continued talking about one issue after the other, and by now, the tone of the meeting was all too obvious to Nick.


    The governor was putting a gigantic fire under the Zephyx Manufacturers'' asses!


    He was reprimanding them left and right while handing out threats without end.


    After talking for over an entire hour about city-wide issues, the governor started to turn to the Manufacturers individually.


    He kept giving out demands to all the Manufacturers, and the Manufacturers all acted subserviently andplied.


    "Dark Dream," he said with a serious tone as he looked at Wyntor and Nick.


    Nick''s heart rate shot through the roof, and he started to sweat profusely.


    This guy was putting immense pressure on even Kugelblitz and Anatomy, and now, he was focusing on them!


    "I realize that several of your level two Specters are special and do not pose a significant threat after they break out, but I still find theck of level two Extractors in yourpany worrisome," he said.


    "By the next meeting, I want to see at least six level two Extractors working for Dark Dream. Otherwise, the city will confiscate Specters until I feelfortable," he said with a serious tone.


    Below the table, Wyntor kicked Nick.


    Extractors were Nick''s job, not Wyntor''s, and he was supposed to answer.


    Nick quickly shot up from his chair.


    "Of course, sir! We will immediately get to fixing that issue, sir!" Nick spoke loudly and clearly.


    The governor nodded once, and Nick sat back down.


    After that, he turned to Wyntor.


    "With the addition of your newest Specter, you''ve entered the next bracket, and the contributions to the city you are expected to pay will increase by 2%," the governor said.


    Wyntor stood up and nodded. "There will be no issues in the payment, sir," he said respectfully and clearly.


    After that, the governor became silent for a couple of seconds.


    "That''s it for the matters regarding the city."

 Chapter 215 215 – Taxes

    <h4>Chapter 215 Chapter 215 ¨C Taxes</h4>


    "It is now your time for your matters," the governor said before turning to Aria and Vernon. "Kugelblitz first."


    "Thank you, sir," Vernon said with a smile while standing up.


    "The number of people paying their contributions via their blood has dropped by 2.4% this year," Vernon said. "While that is a great matter for the health of the city, it makes it more difficult for our Heroes to grow stronger."


    "At the same time, ording to several studies Kugelblitz has performed, the objective value of a credit has decreased by almost 4% within thest year."


    "Therefore, we would like to ask the city to increase the taxes of the outeryer of the Outer City by four to five credits," Vernon said.


    Nick''s eyes widened, and he almost felt like he had been thrown into an icy cold pool of water.


    Vernon had just asked the governor to raise the taxes for the people of the Dregs!


    Memories of the countless times Nick had seen people almost killing each other just for a couple of credits for the taxes shot through his head.


    The people of the Dregs were already beyond desperate!


    But now, Vernon was asking for even more money?!


    Was he trying to kill them?!


    At that moment, Nick came to a terrifying realization.


    Right, the blood from the Dregs was what allowed the Crimson Fungus to produce Zephyx.


    If the Dregs stopped producing blood, Kugelblitz would lose a huge chunk of its revenue, power, and growth potential.


    Naturally, Nick''s goal was to improve the lives of the people in the Dregs.


    But if that happened, he would essentially be threatening Kugelblitz''s power!


    The next words that were spoken didn''t register in Nick''s head as he kept thinking about what all of this meant.


    Earlier, Nick had expected that it wouldn''t be thaaat difficult to improve the lives of the people in the Dregs.


    He just needed to get some stands with free food, which would allow the people to save up a bit of money while also giving them more energy to earn money.


    Naturally, that wouldn''t solve the fundamental issue, but it would put a band-aid on it until a more permanent solution could be found.


    But after hearing Vernon, Nick realized that this wouldn''t work.


    Kugelblitz would notice the drop in revenue and would go to the governor for an adjustment in the taxes.


    Then, everything would return to how it was, and the people would still nearly die each month because of the taxes.


    And the worst thing was that this state could only be achieved if Nick kept helping them!


    The people would suffer just as much as they were suffering now.


    But if Nick then stopped helping¡­


    Terror!


    Chaos!


    Death!


    The people wouldn''t be able to pay their taxes anymore, and a huge number of them would die of blood loss!


    Of course, in the next meeting, the taxes would be adjusted again to the old level, but that wouldn''t bring all the dead people back.


    ''If I help them now, I am essentially taking out a loan of lives!'' Nick realized.


    ''I might be able to save a couple of lives now, but the same number, or even more, will die when it is time to repay the loan!''


    As Vernon and the governor kept talking, Nick kept thinking about what to do with his life now.


    He thought that he could start helping them now, and, in fact, he had done just that.


    He had given a bit of money to just a couple of people.


    Him getting rid of several members of the Riker Strikers had also helped with the overall health of the Dregs.


    And sure enough, the amount of blood paid had reduced!


    But now, Vernon was about to put it back to its old level!


    Or even higher!


    Nick started to pay attention to the meeting again, and he heard Vernon and the governor arguing about the value of a credit.


    Nick felt the overwhelming urge to get involved.


    This was his opportunity to make a difference!


    Wyntor looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    He was ready to intervene if Nick decided to do something stupid.


    Nick gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    Unending rage and hatred were building inside of him.


    Subconsciously, Nick''s eyes focused on Vernon in an intense re.


    He felt betrayed.


    He had liked Vernon!


    He had enjoyed talking to him a lot!


    But now, Vernon was casually dooming many innocent people to a life worse than hell!


    Nick''s clenched fists shook.


    Then, he clenched his teeth and looked away.


    He hated himself at this moment.


    He hated himself for looking away.


    So many people were being doomed right now, and Nick despised himself for looking away.


    ''But what am I supposed to do?!'' he thought in frustration and rage.


    ''If I get involved, it will cause trouble for Dark Dream.''


    ''If Dark Dream dies now, I will never be able to help the people of the Dregs!''


    ''I''m not strong enough!''


    Nick had never hated his own weakness this much in his life.


    He was so weak that none of the other Manufacturers even needed to pay attention to him.


    Wyntor kept looking at Nick calmly.


    He could tell what Nick was thinking about.


    Sadly, Wyntor couldn''t do more than Nick.


    In the end, he just sighed.


    "If the rate of blood donations sinks again this year, I will consider increasing the taxes," the governor said, "but I will not increase them this year. That is my final decision on the matter."


    "Of course, sir," Vernon said with a polite smile before he sat down again.


    When Nick heard that, he released a sigh of relief.


    At least the people of the Dregs didn''t need to suffer this time.


    ''But if I keep helping them like this, the governor will increase the taxes,'' Nick thought.


    ''If I want to help the people of the Dregs, I need to do it in a different way.''


    Nick nced at Vernon.


    ''Kugelblitz wants blood, but they don''t care where the bloodes from.''


    ''As long as I can increase the amount of blood, the taxes won''t increase.''

 Chapter 216 216 – End of the Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 216 Chapter 216 ¨C End of the Meeting</h4>


    After Vernon was done speaking, Aria stood up.


    She talked a bit about the Extractors that every Manufacturer needed to dedicate to the city and tried to change a couple of allocations.


    All these changes seemed to be unimportant and uninteresting to Nick. Especially since these changes were only relevant to people in the Inner City and bigger Manufacturers.


    After a couple of minutes, it was time for Anatomy to say their piece.


    Yet, surprisingly, they didn''t have to say anything.


    "They don''t want to challenge their luck," Wyntor whispered to Nick.


    Nick nodded in understanding.


    The governor had made it clear that he was suspicious of Anatomy earlier when they had talked about the inspection.


    Anatomy managed to buy a year of time, and they were not willing to risk that year just to ask the governor for some minor advantages.


    After that, it was time for Ghosty''s Lab.


    Ghosty''s Lab only talked a bit about their recent scientific research.


    Ghosty himself talked about the research for almost 20 minutes.


    Nick wasn''t sure what the point of all of that was until Ghosty talked about a new product.


    Ghosty''s Lab was developing a method of converting a normal Containment Unit into one that could suppress Force Specters without the need to relocate the Specter inside it.


    The product was still in its test phase, and Ghosty was asking for public funding for his research.


    The governor declined.


    However, Nick could tell that this had never been about the funding.


    Ghosty had simply used this opportunity to present his new product in detail to the important people of every Manufacturer.


    And sure enough, Nick saw a couple of people looking at Ghosty with interest.


    "Some Physical Specters can turn into Force Specters after they advance a level," Wyntor whispered to Nick after seeing his confused expression. "If that happens, that Specter will almost certainly breach, and in the best-case scenario, the city will demand hefty fines that are well in excess of the value of the Specter."


    Nick''s eyes widened in surprise.


    That was the first time he had heard about one kind of Specter changing into another kind.


    "That can happen?" Nick asked.


    "It is very rare, but there are precedence cases," Wyntor said. "If, by chance, something like this happens to one of the Manufacturers, the issue will not be the fine they will have to pay, but the loss of trust and confidence."


    "The city will start demanding more Extractors in rtion to Specters, which will essentially gut the profits of a Manufacturer for several years."


    "For Manufacturers like Kugelblitz and Anatomy, converting almost all their Containment Units to avoid this risk is worth it, and it''s also cheaper, based on what Ghosty said," Wyntor exined.


    Nick could only nod in agreement.


    After Ghosty''s Lab was done, Gemini talked about their strongest Specter, the Distortion.


    Surprisingly, they publicly said what kind of ability the Distortion granted people.


    It gave people the ability to distort their surroundings, which could disorient others.


    However, more importantly, that ability could be used in conjunction with others, which will result in much more power.


    And with enough power, Prephyx could even be partially isted from an area.


    As soon as the other Manufacturers heard that, they focused on Gemini with interest.


    Even Wyntor looked at the two from Gemini with interest.


    Nick knew how Specters worked, and he knew exactly why everyone was interested.


    Ghosty was the one that asked the question that was on Nick''s mind.


    "Does that help in suppressing Force Specters?"


    Mindy Wunder, the CEO of Gemini, only smirked.


    "Yes, it does."


    Immediately, the Chief Zephyx Extractors started to talk to their CEOs and Directors.


    The potential for this ability was immense!


    They could save millions of credits!


    On top of that, the base ability was also useful in many other fields and even had a great potential for future evolutions.


    Naturally, Gemini was using this opportunity to announce their new initiative of creating Newbies.


    Gemini had the second biggest number of Newbies, and now, they were going to get even more.


    Of course, they were getting more so that other Manufacturers would purchase them.


    The price?


    A million credits.


    Per Initial Newbie.


    That was quite a bit more expensive than what Ghosty''s Lab wanted for their Newbies, but the value of the Distortion spoke for itself.


    In the end, she just asked for some idiotic funding that would never get granted to make it a relevant topic for the meeting and stopped talking about it.


    But Gemini had achieved its goal.


    After that, Sce talked a bit about the Extractors they had to dedicate to the city.


    Apparently, they needed more Extractors for the next three months and asked for the city''s help.


    The governor said that they would only need to dedicate 10% of their Extractors to the city for the next six months, but he would expect 30% for the six months after that.


    Sce just thanked him and epted.


    Then, it was the turn of the Spartans.


    And they dropped a bomb.


    "We found a level four Specter within ten kilometers of Crimson Fungus City, and we are asking forpetitive protection due to our major investments in uncovering this Specter."


    The other Manufacturers became interested.


    "You don''t have the manpower necessary to suppress a level four Specter," the governor said. "I can only give you one if you find a partner with enough power and show me proof of your significant investments."


    "I can only give you a temporary one for one week. If I am not convinced by then, the information on your Specter will be publicized to the other Manufacturers," the governor said.


    The Spartans just thanked the governor and nodded.


    Naturally, this was also just an advertisement.


    The top five Manufacturers were all interested in an Elder Specter, especially Sce. After all, Sce already had an Expert but no Elder to increase their power.


    Meanwhile, Gemini wanted to keep Sce from joining the level of Manufacturers that owned an Elder.


    Everyone knew that a brutal bidding war would take ce between those two.


    Both of them would want to be the Spartans'' partner and im the right to capture the Specter.


    And finally, it was Dark Dream''s turn.


    "We have nothing," Wyntor said.


    Nobody reacted to Wyntor''s words.


    Then, one of the representatives stood up.


    "No issues here," he said.


    Some secondster, the governor stood up.


    "Meeting adjourned."

 Chapter 217 217 – Power to Change

    <h4>Chapter 217 Chapter 217 ¨C Power to Change</h4>


    The room started to empty, with the governor being the first to leave.


    After that, the Manufacturers left one at a time.


    Eventually, the representatives also left.


    Thest remaining people were Aria, Vernon, Wyntor, and Nick.


    Wyntor and Nick walked over to Vernon and Aria, who were just walking towards the exit as well.


    "Another uneventful meeting," Vernon said after yawning.


    Normally, Nick would haveughed a bit, but right now, he didn''t want tough at all.


    Nick just couldn''t view Vernon the same way as before the meeting.


    However, Nick didn''t decide to confront Vernon.


    While they had talked quite a bit, they were obviously not close enough for something like that.


    At most, they were acquaintances.


    "Why did you ask for an increase in taxes for the people in the Dregs?"


    Nick looked with surprise at Wyntor, who had just asked that question.


    "Didn''t I exin that well enough during the meeting?" Vernon asked.


    "Yes, but I want to know why you asked for the raise. I''m talking about you, not Kugelblitz," Wyntor said.


    Nick knew that Wyntor wouldn''t have asked these questions if it weren''t for him.


    Once more, Nick felt a bit guilty for doubting Wyntor.


    "What am I supposed to do otherwise?" Vernon asked with a shrug. "It''s my job."


    "While I have significant influence over the manner in which Kugelblitz is operated, I have to represent Kugelblitz in these meetings."


    "The decision to ask for an increase has already been made internally, and if I didn''t ask for it during the meeting, I might lose my job," Vernon exined.


    "It doesn''t matter what my opinion is. I only represent Kugelblitz as a whole in these meetings."


    When Nick heard that, he realized that things were moreplicated than he had expected.


    It was possible that Vernon actually didn''t want an increase in taxes.


    However, it was also still possible that he wanted it.


    Nevertheless, Nick realized something important.


    ''Not even Vernon has the power to change these things,'' Nick thought. ''He might represent 20% of Kugelblitz, but if 50% of the other 80% want something, he can justply.''


    ''It''s difficult to change anything.''


    ''If I want to permanently change the lives of the people in the Dregs for the positive, I need even more power than Vernon.''


    ''And there are only four ways to achieve that.''


    ''First, buy a significant portion of Kugelblitz. If I can change the way it operates, I can solve the issue, but that needs billions of credits.''


    ''Second, buy parts of Dark Dream and make it stronger than Kugelblitz. But to do that, I need to be a Hero and capture a Demon.''


    ''Third, be an extremely high member of the city government. With that, I can subtly change thews and make it better for the people in the Dregs. However, I probably also need to be a Hero to achieve that. At the very least, I need to be a powerful Specialist.''


    ''Lastly, be the strongest person in the city. If I am so powerful that nobody in the city can possibly hope to fight me, I can force the change on the Manufacturers. Yet, that also requires me to be an extremely powerful Hero, which means I have to work with a Demon, which means I have to catch one since I can''t rely on the Crimson Fungus if I want to go against Kugelblitz.''


    ''In the end, it all boils down to two things.''


    ''Money and power.''


    ''And to get such arge amount of money, I also need a great amount of power.''


    ''No matter how much I think about these things, it all boils down to power in the end.''


    "Nick?"


    Nick was taken out of his thoughts as Vernon called for him.


    "Yes?" Nick asked.


    "Do you want another cup of coffee?" he asked.


    Nick definitely loved coffee, but he couldn''t care less about it right now.


    The things he was thinking about were far more important to him, and he felt like he would be wasting his time by drinking coffee with Vernon.


    "No, thank you," Nick said. "I have to go back to Dark Dream and check up on my Extractors. I also have to think about how to properly increase the power of my Extractors since the governor wants Dark Dream to be stronger."


    Vernon just waved dismissively. "Oh, that? Markus is actually very happy with the progress of Dark Dream. He just has to be all tough in public and act like he is not happy with any of the Manufacturers."


    "If you have two or more Adolescents, you will easily get that number of level two Extractors in a year. Markus essentially only demanded Dark Dream to not shrink and be weaker within the year," Vernon exined.


    Usually, Nick would feel relieved, but he just didn''t care right now.


    "That might be, but I still have to go back to Dark Dream," Nick said.


    Vernon sighed. "Sure, I get it. The life of a Chief Zephyx Extractor is busy. Anyway, it was nice to get to know you, Nick. If you''re ever interested in some coffee, tell Wyntor, and I will try to find an opening in my schedule."


    "Of course," Nick said neutrally.


    "Then, I''ll no longer keep you," Vernon said.


    "Thank you. I learned a lot today," Nick said.


    Nick also nodded at Aria.


    "Do you need help getting to Dark Dream?" Wyntor asked.


    "No, I remember where to go," Nick said as he left the room.


    After Nick left the room, Vernon looked at the door with a bit of confusion and concern.


    "Did I say something wrong?" he asked.


    Wyntor looked at his father evenly. "He grew up in the Dregs, and you''ve asked for an increase in the taxes."


    "Oh," Vernon said as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.


    "I guess he''s still new to the world of business," Vernon said.


    Wyntor didn''t answer.


    "He''s still mixing business and private affairs."


    "He does," Wyntor said. "Anyway, I should follow him. He will probably get lost on his way back. See youter."


    The three of them said their goodbyes, and Wyntor also left the room.

 Chapter 218 218 – Shares

    <h4>Chapter 218 Chapter 218 ¨C Shares</h4>


    Nick quickly climbed down the stairs in Kugelblitz while he kept thinking about what to do regarding his future.


    He had to be powerful.


    There was no other way.


    For that, he needed stronger Specters, for which he needed more people, for which he needed more money, for which he needed more Zephyx, for which he needed more Specters.


    ''I have to buy parts of Dark Dream since that will be what I will be relying on to be stronger.''


    ''The stronger Dark Dream bes, the stronger I be.''


    ''And my first priority should be to get an Adolescent Specter that I can work with.''


    ''I am already a level two Extractor, and I need much more Zephyx to be stronger. Yet, while I''m technically working with three Specters, I am only absorbing Zephyx from one, the Bleeding Lady, and she''s not even an Adolescent.''


    ''I don''t have the time to work with the Fog or the Dreamer.''


    ''I need an Adolescent that produces a lot of Zephyx in a short time.''


    By now, Nick had reached the bottom of the stairs and walked towards the exit of Kugelblitz.


    Outside Kugelblitz, Nick looked for one of the people who were responsible for the Shweebs and told them to retrieve his Shweeb.


    "Learned something today?"


    Nick raised an eyebrow and looked to his right.


    Wyntor had just arrived.


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked downward.


    "I always knew that power was important, but I only realized today how important it is."


    "I know what you mean," Wyntor answered. "Everyone in the room could tell what you were thinking when dad asked for the increase in taxes."


    "Everyone could tell?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded. "It''s not difficult. Powerful Zephyx Extractors have terrifying senses, and your gnashing teeth were very audible to them. The only one that didn''t notice was dad since he was busy focusing on the governor."


    Nick didn''t know how to feel about that.


    He wanted to keep his feelings a secret from the others, but in the end, they still knew exactly what he was feeling.


    Wyntor looked at Nick and could tell what he was thinking about.


    "That might not have been a bad thing," Wyntor said.


    "Why?" Nick asked.


    "I can''t be sure, but there might be a possibility that your intense disy of emotions has swayed the governor''s decision in the matter."


    "It''s a long shot, and I can''t possibly be certain, but I''m certain the governor noticed," Wyntor said.


    Nick looked at Wyntor with a shocked expression.


    "I repeat, I can''t be sure, and I am only making a guess here. It is only a possibility," Wyntor said when he saw Nick''s expression. "But as far as I know, he generally doesn''t let issues like that hang. Dad had a very solid argument that was based on indisputable facts, but in the end, the governor said that he would make a decision on it next year."


    "Maybe he wanted to give a certain someone an opportunity to change things," Wyntor said.


    Nick''s mind was going wild with possibilities.


    Nick was easily earning enough to pay the taxes of every person living in the Dregs, which meant that he had the mary means to help them.


    The issue was the politics and the implications of interfering in this matter.


    Nick would probably be costing Kugelblitz tens of millions of credits per month if he went all out.


    Chances were high that Nick would "vanish" a couple of dayster.


    "He''s giving me an opportunity?" Nick asked.


    "Like I said, I can''t be sure," Wyntor answered. "It''s only a possibility."


    Nick furrowed his brows and kept thinking about how to proceed.


    ''I can only think about how to solve this issue when I know more about it.''


    ''For now, I should focus on my power. Every day without a good Adolescent Specter I can work with is a day wasted.''


    ''But first¡­''


    "I want to buy shares in Dark Dream," Nick said.


    "I was waiting for you to say that," Wyntor said with a smile. "It seems like the meeting has helped you a lot."


    Nick released a sigh.


    He was d that Wyntor knew him so well and was so agreeable.


    "Chief Zephyx Extractors usually own between 10% and 30% of a Manufacturer, and that is actually something that both sides want," Wyntor said.


    "Why both sides?" Nick asked.


    "Well, the Chief Zephyx Extractor wants some say in thepany, and they also know that they will increase the value of thepany. Because of that, investing in thepany is like just iming free money."


    "On the other side, thepany wants the Chief Zephyx Extractor to own a significant portion to bind them to thepany''s sess. If thepany fails, the Chief Zephyx Extractor will lose a lot of their wealth since a significant portion of it is tied to thepany. Therefore, Chief Zephyx Extractors are incentivized to do their absolute best for thepany," Wyntor exined.


    Nick looked at Wyntor with interest. "So, you''re willing to sell me some shares?"


    Wyntor nodded. "For now, I''m willing to sell you 30% of thepany, but that might get diluted in the future if we need significant funding for a project. But I can assure you that it will never fall below 20%."


    Nick nodded. "That sounds good. What''s the price?"


    "Naturally, since you are a significant reason for Dark Dream''s sess, I''m essentially gifting these shares to you."


    "You get 30% of thepany for 1.5 million credits. You should have that lying around," Wyntor said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    1.5 million credits were a huge chunk of his savings.


    However, Dark Dream could probably be sold for around 50 million credits currently.


    30% of that would be 15 million credits.


    Wyntor was essentially selling Dark Dream''s shares to Nick at 10% of their actual value.


    Nick and Wyntor ironed out the details of the deal before they drove back down to the loweryer.


    Some minutester, they left the Inner City.


    After Nick entered his office again, he immediately focused on the next point on his agenda.


    He took out a file from one of his drawers and looked at it with narrowed eyes.


    On the front of the file were only three words.


    The Riker Strikers.

 Chapter 219 219 – The Scary Outside

    <h4>Chapter 219 Chapter 219 ¨C The Scary Outside</h4>


    "You wanted to see me?" an older man asked as he walked into an office.


    "Yes, I''ve got something for you," Nick said as he put the file of the Riker Strikers onto the table.


    The older man was the leader of the Investigator team of Dark Dream, and he quickly walked over, sat on one of the chairs, and read through the file.


    As the Investigator kept reading, his eyebrows kept furrowing.


    "Do you think a Specter is involved, boss?" the man asked as he put the file down again.


    Nick nodded. "I''m pretty sure Riker himself is a Specter. Jenny and I have both noticed it. Additionally, Jenny said that when she met Riker personally, she felt like she was looking at her natural enemy. Naturally, that was before she became a Zephyx Extractor."


    The Investigator hummed a bit. "May I?" he asked while reaching for a piece of paper and a pen.


    Nick just gestured for him to take it.


    After that, the Investigator started to write down several things rted to the Dregs.


    The Investigators had been working in the Dregs for over a year, and they knew a terrifying amount about it.


    In fact, they knew more about the Dregs than even the people that lived there.


    After all, it was their job to know.


    The Investigator kept writing down several names and organizations before drawing lines and arrows between them that described their rtionships with each other.


    Nick just waited for the Investigator to finish writing.


    After a while, the Investigator just looked at the diagram he had created and furrowed his brows.


    "It''s possible," the Investigator said. "At least, nothing speaks against it."


    Then, he sighed. "To think that I overlooked such a huge lead. What have I been doing for the past year that I didn''t even notice any of the signs?"


    "And so did everyone else," Nick said. "Kugelblitz and the others also haven''t found out."


    The Investigator sighed and looked at the piece of paper for another couple of seconds.


    "It seems so obvious now," he said. "Yeah, he most likely is a Specter. I presume you want us to gather information?"


    Nick nodded. "Riker is very smart. About two years ago, I severely weakened the Riker Strikers by killing about ten of their people. The other gangs used that opportunity to go after him, but somehow, he managed to evade them and even managed to get his old gang to the same level of power as back then."


    "If you guys are not very careful, he will notice that a Manufacturer has be suspicious of him, and if he finds out, he will probably run out of the city and go to another one," Nick said.


    The Investigator nodded.


    This was always a danger when it came to hunting Specters.


    Almost nobody inside the city knew what the worlds beyond the huge city walls looked like.


    The only thing they knew was that it was extremely dangerous out there.


    Only level three Extractors and stronger dared to leave the city, and any information about the outside world was kept confidential.


    After all, every expedition into the outside world cost a huge amount of money, and the Manufacturers didn''t want others to benefit from their work.


    Humans very rarely entered the outside world, but except for the strong Extractors, there was another exception.


    Globalpanies.


    For example, the hospital that had treated Nick two times already was one of thesepanies.


    The Merchant, the Specter that the hospital used to get its Recovery Liquid, was at least a level six Specter. It might even be a level seven Specter.


    And the Merchant was not located in Crimson Fungus City.


    Every couple of months, a small caravan would enter the city to refill the stocks of the Cleansing and Recovery Liquids.


    There were also a couple of small groups of people that came to Crimson Fungus City and left again.


    Back then, Nick had had no idea why they were here, but now, he knew why.


    They were merchants.


    They sold stuff produced in a different city to Crimson Fungus City and bought the stuff that was produced here to sell somece else.


    The groups of peopleing from the outside world were all extremely powerful.


    It was extremely rare to see anyone weaker than an Expert in these groups, and there were also several Specialistsing to Crimson Fungus City every year.


    There had even been the odd Hero here and there.


    Obviously, traveling through the outside world required tremendous power.


    However, that was only true for humans.


    The Specters were not in danger in the outside world unless they came across a hunting group of Zephyx Extractors, but the chances of that were very low.


    The outside world was dangerous specifically because of the Specters, and the Specters didn''t attack each other.


    Riker could easily leave the city and enter another one.


    But that was still associated with a couple of risks.


    Riker needed to enter the other city either without being noticed or through a reputable group of merchants.


    Since almost nobody came from the outside world, all the Manufacturers in the other cities would look at the neer very closely.


    Even more, Riker would need to recreate his entire gang.


    Because of that, Riker didn''t just flee from Crimson Fungus City.


    But if he found out that a Manufacturer was getting suspicious of him, he would immediately run away.


    One Extractor wasn''t necessarily dangerous.


    But an entire Manufacturer was terrifying.


    "I''m going to be extra careful," the Investigator said. "I''ve investigated a human Specter before, many years ago. They''re the most troublesome to investigate since they are often even more intelligent than humans."


    "The investigation will be slow. Expect a proper profile in a month at the earliest," the Investigator said.


    Nick nodded. "Keep Wyntor and me informed," he said.


    "I will," the Investigator said before standing up.


    He grabbed the pieces of paper he had scribbled on and left Nick''s office.


    Meanwhile, Nick leaned back.


    ''Now, we have to wait.''

 Chapter 220 220 – Report

    <h4>Chapter 220 Chapter 220 ¨C Report</h4>


    Nick was sitting inside his office as he read through a file.


    The file was filled with detailed information about the Riker Strikers and was several times thicker than the original one.


    It had been about 40 days since Nick had tasked the Investigators to investigate the Riker Strikers, and they had finally gathered enough information to give Nick a major report.


    As Nick read through the file, he kept taking gulps from his mug.


    Coffee with sugar.


    A couple of weeks ago, Nick had ordered a coffee machine and also asked Wyntor where he could get sugar and milk.


    When Nick heard about the price of these things, his heart nearly stopped.


    The coffee machine, luckily, only cost around 30,000 credits.


    However, the amount of beans necessary to make one cup cost nearly 500 credits!


    Half a gram of Zephyx for one fucking cup of ck coffee!


    And the sugar was even more ridiculous!


    A tablespoon of sugar cost over 150 credits!


    And milk!


    Milk was 10,000 credits per cup!


    Nick had purchased all of this to see how it tasted, and he hated that it tasted so amazing.


    Because now, he had to spend a ton of money on this.


    But then, a twist of fate happened that made it much easier to bear.


    Nick found out that his bowels really weren''t the biggest fans of milk.


    That was when Wyntor told him that he knew that would happen.


    Apparently, there was something in milk that caused issues in people who weren''t used to drinking milk since childhood.


    People in the middle and topyers of the Inner City generally didn''t have that issue since they grew up with milk, but people in the loweryer and the Outer City would have issues whenever they drank some milk.


    However, there was a way to get rid of this problem.


    Bing a Veteran.


    The body of a Veteran had already changed so much that the thing inside the milk couldn''t upset the digestive system anymore.


    In the end, Nick decided against drinking milk. Maybe, when he finally became a Veteran, he would drink some milk again.


    But not for now.


    As Nick read through the report, he made a couple of interesting discoveries.


    ''There are more people in the Riker Strikers than I thought,'' he thought as he furrowed his brows.


    ''They have 50 main members and over 150 honorary members.''


    ording to the report, the main members were the ones who actively caused trouble in the Dregs.


    They were the ones that raped and robbed people in public.


    They often also just destroyed stuff without any reason whatsoever.


    ording to the report, the main members of the Riker Strikers were the craziest and most violent people in the Dregs.


    Not only was the environment promoting their craziness, but insane people from other ces could see that if they joined the Riker Strikers, they could live a life without having to suppress their innermost urges.


    There were not many rules among the main members.


    They just had to give a bit of money each month to Riker himself, and they needed to be "badasses".


    Thatst part was how Riker exined it.


    He said that only the 50 biggest badasses in the Dregs were allowed to be the main members of the Riker Strikers.


    And how did one be a badass?


    Show their strength!


    Rob someone!


    Rape someone!


    Kill someone without being noticed!


    Burn someone!


    Destroy things!


    Violence was hrious, and enacting violence on others made one feel great and superior!


    That was the philosophy that Riker hammered into his gang.


    Meanwhile, the honorary members wereprised of two kinds of people.


    First, people that wanted to prove themselves and be a main member.


    Second, people that were close to one of the main members.


    Parents, siblings, friends, and so on.


    Children were not included because having a child was perceived as soft, warm, and disgusting in the gang.


    Well, unless it was a child conceived by rape.


    At that point, it was seen more as a trophy since the victim would be constantly reminded of what happened whenever they looked at their child, which was hrious to the Riker Strikers.


    It was like tormenting someone without even being there.


    Nick remembered the time he had killed a woman who had been wearing the emblem of the Riker Strikers.


    ''She was most likely an honorary member. She was probably the rtive of one of the main members,'' he thought.


    After reading through the file for a while, Nick came to the most interesting part.


    ''Presumed way Riker bes more powerful,'' Nick thought.


    The Investigators had listed three possible ways in which Riker could be more powerful.


    Number one: Fear. The more people feared him and the stronger that fear was, the more Zephyx Riker produced.


    Number two: Suffering. The stronger the suffering of the people, the more Zephyx Riker produced.


    Number three: Money.


    Number three was a surprising one since it was very different from the first two.


    However, there was a good reason why it could also be money.


    Riker was getting a lot of money from his gang members.


    And the most interesting thing about that¡­


    The money never reappeared.


    Riker almost never bought anything.


    He didn''t have any close ones that used his money.


    Nothing.


    Riker was getting a ton of money, but that money had seemingly just vanished.


    Either Riker was sitting on a literal hill of credits somewhere, or the money was being destroyed.


    ''But it doesn''t really make perfect sense,'' Nick thought.


    ''If Riker were only interested in making money, he would create a gang simr to the Peddlers, the Hub, or the Insurance Gang. He would make far more money like this.''


    ''On top of that, from the looks of things, the Riker Strikers mainly exist to cause as much mayhem as possible.''


    ''The entire money thing seems secondary.''


    After reading through that part, Nick read through the closing thoughts in the report, and when he read a certain line, his eyes narrowed.


    It might be possible that Riker is in cahoots with a Manufacturer. In exchange for letting Riker do his thing, they were pocketing all the money he stole.


    ''It''s possible,'' Nick thought.

 Chapter 221 221 – Where’s My Money?

    <h4>Chapter 221 Chapter 221 ¨C Where''s My Money?</h4>


    "And then, she suddenly starts puking!" a guy shouted in disgust.


    "That''s disgusting!" a guy shouted back throughughs.


    "Yeah, the fucking bitch went limp, and the wire choked her out. Whore only needed to make me cum before she choked! Fucking bitch couldn''t even do that!"


    "Yeah," another guy said with augh. "She even had the entire dying thing going on. Isn''t that your thing?"


    "Yes, fucking shit!" the first guy shouted in anger. "Imagine dying with my dick in your vagina and not even managing to make me cum like that! How pathetic do you have to be?"


    "Like, that''s so fucking sad that I would even kill myself out of shame if that happened."


    "Because of that, I took the wire off. Killing her off would be doing her a favor!" the guy shouted with annoyance.


    "Pfft, you''re just scared of the guards," another guy said.


    "Shut the fuck up, David!"


    BANG!


    At that moment, Nick heard the sound of a metallic object hitting the wall.


    Right now, Nick was below the Riker Striker''s headquarters as a cloud of fog.


    Nick couldn''t look into the room above him since the holes in the floor were so small, but he could hear everything.


    What he had heard so far made even him shocked and disgusted.


    "I killed that stupid fucking brat that kept bugging me for food!" the first guy shouted with rage. "I managed to fucking kill her, and the city never got my ass! Why would I be scared of killing some useless bitch that can''t even choke a dick to save her life?!"


    "You wanna fuck with me, rot dick?!" the other guy shouted back in anger.


    "So what if I do?!" the first guy said.


    Bomp. Bomp.


    Nick heard the sounds of bodies getting shoved back and forth.


    BANG!


    And the sound of a punch.


    "Shut the fuck up!"


    BANG!


    BANG!


    "I''ll fuck your shit up!"


    BANG!


    CRASH!


    "SHUUUT UUUUUP!"


    Suddenly, the room above Nick quieted down as the shrill but aggressive shout of a woman thundered throughout it.


    "What?" one of the earlier men asked with a bit of annoyance but also apprehension.


    He sounded like he was intimidated by whoever had just entered the room.


    "Go fight with your cocks outside!" the woman shouted aggressively. "There are people here that need a good day''s rest after actually getting the money that you live off of!"


    "Shut up, Monica! I earn my own money!" a guy shouted.


    "Oh, what was that?!" Nick heard the woman shout.


    Then, he heard several steps.


    p!


    The sound of a p.


    "What did you say?! Huh?!"


    "I-"


    p!


    "Shut up!"


    p!


    "Okay, okay, okay!" the guy from earlier shouted, all the rage in his voice gone and reced by submission.


    "Where''s my fucking money?!" the woman shouted with anger.


    "I already paid you three days-"


    "Do I look like I give a shit?! Where''s my money, bitch?!" the woman shouted.


    "That''s not fair!"


    p!


    Dunk!


    Bang!


    Then, Nick heard the sounds of severe coughing.


    "Okay."


    The voice that had just said these words sounded like it had barely managed to choke that single word out before copsing.


    "So, where is it?!" the woman asked aggressively.


    The sound of some shuffling.


    "What am I supposed to do with 37 fucking credits?!" the woman shouted in outrage.


    "I''m sorry! I''ll get more!" one of the guys shouted.


    Over the next ten minutes, Nick listened to the woman humiliating and berating one of the two guys.


    "And you! You were just as loud as this guy!" the woman said, obviously talking to the other man in the room.


    "I want a hundred credits within the next five days!"


    "Of course," the other guy said with a polite tone.


    "Good! And now, shut up and be quiet!"


    BANG!


    The door mmed shut loudly.


    A couple of seconds passed.


    "She''s so fucking lucky that she has an ability!" one of the two whispered in aggression. "I would give my left nut just to choke her to death with my dick!"


    "Fuck, I feel like she just fucking broke my arm!"


    That was thest thing that Nick heard while he was floating along the ceiling of the sewers.


    When that woman entered the room and asked about money, Nick knew that he had finally found a lead for why he was there.


    Nick was there because he wanted to find out where all the money went.


    While the Riker Strikers focused on causing terror, they also made a lot of money, and that money seemed to vanish.


    ''She asked for a lot of money, and by the looks of things, that isn''t the first time she asked for it.''


    ''If she demands money from all the main members, she is most likely the one that makes all the money vanish.''


    Nick kept following the sounds of footsteps.


    Eventually, the woman entered a room at the end of the long hallway.


    Sadly, Nick had to stay below the floor in the hallway.


    The room that the woman had entered had no holes in the ground.


    This meant everything below the floor was pitch ck.


    Entering the darkness was always extremely dangerous, and it would be even more dangerous while Nick was in his fog-state.


    ''This should be Riker''s room,'' Nick thought. ''Sadly, I can''t hear anything.''


    For now, Nick decided to wait in front of the room until the woman came back out.


    Sure enough, about ten minutester, the door opened again, and the woman walked out of the room.


    ''Did she deliver the money to Riker?'' Nick thought.


    Sadly, credits were made of paper and didn''t exactly make a lot of noise.


    Because of that, Nick couldn''t tell whether or not the woman had delivered the credits to Riker or not.


    ''However, I''m sure that she''s the key. If I keep following her, I will most likely find out what''s happening to the money.''


    ''If I want to take down Riker, I have to be sure that no Manufacturer is involved in this!''


    ''And if they are¡­''


    ''I''ll make sure that the governor finds out!''

 Chapter 222 222 – Room

    <h4>Chapter 222 Chapter 222 ¨C Room</h4>


    ''She''s with Riker again,'' Nick thought.


    This was Nick''s fifth day of observing the Riker Striker''s headquarters and, more specifically, the woman.


    Or Monica.


    By now, Nick had learned quite a bit about Monica.


    First, she was the only female main member of the Riker Strikers.


    Second, she was physically quite a lot stronger than the average member of the Riker Strikers.


    ording to the members, Monica was so strong because she had an attuned Zephyx Synchronizer.


    She essentially handled the men of the Riker Strikers like children.


    While this wasn''t suspicious to the Riker Strikers, it was very suspicious to Nick.


    After all, there were almost no abilities that just tly increased an Extractor''s physical power.


    The only one Nick had heard of was his own, and that increase in strength also only appeared when certain conditions were fulfilled.


    Based on what he had seen and heard, Monica was at least three times as strong as an adult man at any given moment in time.


    Nick had also seen her a couple of times, and Monica definitely didn''t look as physically imposing as Man or anything like that.


    She looked rather beautiful and wasn''t even that big or muscr.


    Yet, she handled men like they were toys.


    ''Either she has an ability vastly superior to mine in every way, or she''s not a normal human with an ability,'' Nick thought.


    ''She''s most likely an ex-Zephyx Extractor.''


    ''Alternatively, she may have been around Riker so much that her body absorbed Zephyx he was giving off, which turned her into a Peak Newbie after a couple of months or years.''


    Either way, Monica was the most dangerous person inside the gang, except for Riker himself.


    She was also Riker''s personal bodyguard.


    Whenever anyone made problems, Monica would take care of them.


    Naturally, when someone created a vtile pot of violence, such as the Riker Strikers, they would find themselves on the receiving end of violence at some point.


    What stopped the insane people of the Riker Strikers from just banding together and killing Riker?


    Monica.


    She was what stopped them.


    From what Nick had heard, Monica had also killed more than one member of the Riker Strikers before, and none of the corpses had ever been found.


    Nick presumed that she had just thrown them into the sewers, and the Parasite ate them.


    Naturally, none of the Riker Strikers would dare to go to the city guards.


    Lest the city guards also investigate them.


    After following Monica for a couple of days, Nick was certain that she was the person who made all the money vanish.


    In these five days, Monica had confiscated over 2,500 credits from all the members of the Riker Strikers.


    She hadn''t left the headquarters during that time.


    She had not used the money in any way.


    Nick had also searched through her room while she was gone, and he hadn''t found any credits anywhere.


    He was also quite sure that Monica didn''t just casually carry thousands of credits with her all the time.


    This meant that the credits could only be in one ce.


    Riker''s room.


    Nick hadn''t seen Riker''s room yet since he wanted to be sure that Riker wouldn''t notice him.


    He would only try to enter after Riker left his room.


    From time to time, Riker left his room, but Nick hadn''t found a good opportunity yet.


    Additionally, he had been busy following Monica.


    But now, Nick would turn his attention to Riker''s room.


    Monica had just entered Riker''s room, and Nick was quite sure that Riker would leave soon.


    He hadn''t left his room in two days, which was unusual for him.


    He had toe out and show his face to his people.


    "Well, let''s hope they''re not causing too few issues," a charismatic, smooth, but dangerous voice said.


    Naturally, this was Riker''s voice.


    A momentter, Nick heard Monica and Riker walking away from his room, and Nick started to be active.


    ''There''s no opening in the floor,'' Nick thought. ''The door in the hallway is also locked and without any holes. They would definitely notice that I have been in there if I break the door open.''


    Nick went to the neighboring rooms but noticed that the walls between them and Riker''s room were extremely thick and without any holes.


    ''Can''t go from below. Can''t go from the front. Can''t go from the sides,'' Nick thought.


    Nick "left" the headquarters and floated towards the space behind the headquarters.


    Riker''s room faced outward at the back, and Nick searched for an opening there.


    ''Nothing. Just a solid wall.''


    ''That means there has to be a way to get in from above. Monica is a human, and she needs light. There has to be a light source inside Riker''s room,'' Nick thought.


    Nick left the sewers and stealthily made his way back to the Dregs.


    The building the Riker Strikers were in was quite big, and the headquarters had several floors.


    Nick turned into fog and slowly floated through a window on the second floor.


    Luckily, Nick had already looked around this floor earlier, and he knew about a room that was almost always empty since the upant was constantly outside with his friends.


    A couple of minutester, Nick stood in front of the door leading to the room above Riker''s room.


    The door was extremely solid, and there were no openings.


    Nick also noticed that there was a ton of dust on the door, which meant that it hadn''t been used in a long while.


    But instead of breaking in, Nick decided to go to the third floor.


    Sure enough, the room on top of that room was open, and Nick entered.


    There was a big bed in the room, and Nick squeezed himself halfway below the bed.


    It was a bit dark here, but not so dark that the Nightmare could use all of its powers.


    At most, Nick was hearing a couple of voices that weren''t there.


    Then, Nick used the de of his fist weapon to make a small cut in the ground.


    After that, he looked through the cut into the room above Riker''s room.


    And what he saw shocked him.

 Chapter 223 223 – Risk

    <h4>Chapter 223 Chapter 223 ¨C Risk</h4>


    It was dark!


    The room waspletely dark!


    Except for the one cut that Nick had just created, the room had no openings through which light could enter.


    At that moment, the n for the headquarters shot through Nick''s mind.


    No light could enter into Riker''s room through the bottom, front, left, right, or back.


    All of these sides werepletely blocked off and solid.


    Additionally, since the room above Riker''s room waspletely dark, no light coulde into Riker''s room through that as well.


    Artificial light that could keep the Nightmare at bay cost a ridiculous amount of money, and the money Monica was confiscating wouldn''t evene close to paying for that.


    On top of that, Nick was quite certain that there were also no reflective shafts of light.


    These shafts were lined with mirrors, and mirrors were insanely expensive.


    Just the materials would cost tens of thousands of credits, and then it would also need specialized personnel to create the shaft.


    Installing something this pricy in a shitty house in the Dregs would raise a couple of eyebrows.


    Why not just make a hole in the wall?


    They weren''t keeping Specters here.


    There was no reason to spend that much money on something that could be solved with a drill and five minutes of work.


    Nick was 99% sure that Riker''s room was dark.


    That wouldn''t seem surprising since Riker was a Specter.


    However¡­


    Monica was also in the room frequently and for several minutes.


    Either she was getting tortured to death over and over again several times per day or¡­


    She was also a Specter.


    This hadn''t even urred to Nick until now.


    He had expected Riker''s room to have light for the same reason why everyone else had expected it.


    Because why wouldn''t there be light?


    There was no reason to have no light.


    Having a room with no light was already very suspicious in and of itself.


    Having a room with no light that someone asionally went to was a risk.


    Because what if someone found out?


    What if one of the Riker Strikers decided to sneak into the room when Riker was away to steal something?


    Then, the member would find out that the room waspletely dark.


    And they would very quickly suspect Riker of being a Specter.


    At that point, it wouldn''t even be a question of what happened.


    The person would immediately run to an Investigator working for a Zephyx Manufacturer.


    Clues that led to the capture of a Specter gave someone so much money that they could leave the Dregs and live in the Outer City.


    Even more, every human was scared shitless of Specters.


    While these men were fine with fighting with others and raping children, they did not want toe into contact with any kind of Specter.


    Specters were the natural predators of humanity, and there was nothing that humans feared more.


    Even without the reward, the person would be so paranoid that Riker would find out that they had been in his room that they would run to the closest Manufacturer.


    Just having this lightless room was already dangerous for Riker.


    So, then, why did he have it?


    ''There''s only one thing I can think of,'' Nick thought.


    ''A ce that can''t possibly be overheard by others.''


    ''There is something going on in that room that he can''t allow anyone to find out!''


    ''Being overheard through one of the light holes has to be much worse than being suspected of being a Specter!''


    Nick''s mind was going wild.


    ''What could possibly be worse?!''


    ''What could be worse than the danger of being locked up for the remainder of your existence?''


    ''Why would he take such a huge risk?''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    He had no idea.


    ''I have to find out what''s going on, but I need to be careful.''


    ''If there is something in the room, I have to make sure that I can find out what it is without being noticed.''


    ''It''s already been several minutes since Riker left his room. I''m not sure when he will return, and I can''t possibly enter when he''s in there.''


    Nick''s heart rate increased as he thought about what this might mean.


    Something that was even more important to a Specter than their own future.


    This had to be something special.


    ''Or they just don''t want to be overheard while talking,'' Nick thought. ''That would be a bit anticlimactic.''


    ''Anyway, I should leave for now.''


    Nick grabbed something and put it over the cut that he had created in the floor to hide it.


    Then, he left the Riker Striker''s headquarters and went back to Dark Dream.


    The next day, Nick went to Wyntor''s office.


    "Got any news?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick nodded with a serious expression.


    "I''m not sure, but there is something very strange going on with Riker," Nick said.


    After that, Nick told Wyntor what he had found out.


    When Wyntor heard that there was most likely a second Specter, he became very interested and excited.


    Most likely, Monica was also an Adolescent.


    That would make two Adolescents that Dark Dream could potentially capture.


    And then, Nick told Wyntor about the dark room and what his thoughts were.


    Wyntor started to frown and kept thinking.


    "And you are sure that there is no light source?" Wyntor asked.


    "I''m 99% sure," Nick said.


    "No window?"


    "No."


    "No holes?"


    "No."


    "No artificial lights?"


    "Too expensive."


    "No light shaft?"


    "That is the only possibility, but I am almost certain that it''s impossible," Nick said.


    Wyntor just kept looking at his desk with furrowed brows.


    "Maybe they just didn''t want to be overheard. After all, they are both Specters," Wyntor said.


    "They could talk anywhere," Nick said. "They could just create a trapdoor in the room and go to a dark part of the sewers to talk."


    Wyntor remained silent for a while and looked forward.


    Nick looked at Wyntor with interest.


    "Do you know why they would take such a risk?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor shook his head.


    "I have no idea."

 Chapter 224 224 – Entering

    <h4>Chapter 224 Chapter 224 ¨C Entering</h4>


    "You don''t know?" Nick asked in surprise.


    Wyntor just shook his head.


    Nick just kept looking at Wyntor in shock.


    After a while, Wyntor looked at Nick, and his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "What''s with that expression?" he asked.


    "I''m just surprised," Nick said. "You always have an answer. Whenever I ask you something, you have an answer."


    "It''s just weird seeing you not have one for once."


    Wyntor snorted. "I''m not all-knowing, Nick. I know more things than normal people due to my background and my familiarity with Kugelblitz, but I still don''t know everything."


    "I''ve never heard of anything that a Specter would value more than their own life."


    "Getting captured by a Manufacturer is essentially dying to a Specter. I have no idea what a Specter would value above that."


    At that point, Wyntor moved backward and scratched his chin.


    "But I wouldn''t rule that possibility out either," he added.


    "So, how do you want to proceed?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor remained silent for a while.


    "I want to talk to dad first," Wyntor said.


    Nick nodded.


    "I will talk to him during the evening, and I will tell you what to do tomorrow," Wyntor said. "Just keep observing the Riker Strikers. Also, I want you to make sure that there is truly no opening for light to enter the room. I don''t want to worry this much about something just to find out that you overlooked a hole in the wall."


    "Of course," Nick said.


    The two nodded, and Nick left Wyntor''s office.


    Nick went back to the Riker Strikers and made sure that he hadn''t overlooked anything.


    He even climbed all over the house to make sure that there were no openings for some kind of hidden light shaft.


    After over an hour of searching through everything, Nick was certain that there was no way for any kind of light to enter the room.


    Eventually, Nick went back to Dark Dream and worked normally for the remainder of the day.


    The next day, Nick met Wyntor in his office again.


    "So, what''s up?" Nick asked, sitting down in one of the chairs in Wyntor''s office.


    Wyntor looked a bit annoyed.


    "Dad kept deflecting," Wyntor said.


    "Deflecting?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "When I asked him if there is anything that a Specter would value over their entire existence, he looked at me with this expression that means he thinks I found something out that I shouldn''t have," Wyntor said.


    "He kept asking questions, but I refused to tell him any details. After all, this is about mypany. If this is something that''s worth a lot of money, I''m certainly not going to hand it to Kugelblitz."


    "He kept assuring me that he isn''t trying to steal my Specter and that he only wants me to stay safe, but I''m not buying that," Wyntor said.


    "So? Is there something that a Specter values more than their life?" Nick asked.


    "Dad didn''t deny that there was," Wyntor said.


    A momentter, Wyntor took something out and put it on the table.


    It was some kind of red stick that was barely 30 centimeters long.


    "He gave me this," Wyntor said.


    "What''s that?" Nick asked.


    "It''s an emergency signal for city guards," Wyntor exined. "Infuse it with your own Zephyx and break it. The signal is used for when a powerful Specter has been found outside a Containment Unit."


    "The misuse of the signal is punishable by death, and dad made very sure to tell me that several times."


    Nick took the red stick and looked at it in wonder.


    "I should take that with me?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "Dad said that if you are unsure of whether you should use it or not, you should not use it."


    "If you need to use it, you will be absolutely sure that you will need to use it. That''s how he phrased it," Wyntor said.


    Nick took a deep breath, but in the end, he pocketed the thing.


    The words that Wyntor had spoken made Nick very worried.


    "And now?" Nick asked.


    "Now, you are going to break into that room and find out what''s in there," Wyntor said.


    Nick took another deep breath and nodded.


    The two of them ironed out the details of how they were going to proceed, and then it was time for Nick to leave.


    "Nick, don''t die," Wyntor said.


    "I''ll do my best not to," Nick answered with a nod.


    Eventually, Nick went to the headquarters of the Riker Strikers again.


    By now, the headquarters felt much darker and more dangerous to Nick.


    The closer he got to actually entering the room, the more nervous he felt.


    The way Vernon had talked to Wyntor made it seem like Nick was getting involved in something that was vastly beyond his level.


    Nick kept watch over the entrance to Riker''s room for several hours.


    Eventually, Riker left the room again with Monica.


    Nick took a deep breath and quickly entered the room on the third floor.


    Quickly, Nick created several holes in the floor below the bed.


    He had to make sure that enough light fell into the room below this one.


    After all, Nick didn''t want toe into contact with the Nightmare right now.


    Then, Nick turned into fog again and slowly moved through the cuts he had made.


    He turned back into his corporeal form and readied his de.


    Nick''s heart rate reached incredible speeds.


    This was it!


    Nick rammed his de into the corner of the room and made a long cut.


    Nick''s eyes narrowed when he saw nothing through the cut.


    This confirmed it.


    The room waspletely dark!


    Additionally, Nick felt that his ability was still active, which meant that nobody had noticed him.


    ''There''s no way back now!''


    Nick created several more cuts in the floor to make sure that Riker''s room had enough light for Nick.


    And then, Nick turned into fog and floated into the room.


    Now, Nick could finally see the room.


    It was empty.


    No desks, beds, chairs, or whatever.


    It waspletely empty.


    Except for one thing.


    In the middle of the room was some kind of¡­ stone circle.


    There were four big stones in the middle, which were surrounded by seven stones in a circle.


    Outside the stone circle was another stone, but this one was quite bigger than the others.


    It was almost perfectly round and nearly 20 centimeters high.


    Nick did not like what he was seeing.


    It felt insanely creepy.


    Eventually, Nick turned back into his human form andnded in the room.


    ''Is this what Vernon talked about?'' Nick thought.


    Nick wasn''tpletely sure.


    He thought this would be what Vernon meant.


    ''Vernon said that I would know without a doubt if I had to use the signal, and right now, I''m not sure.''


    Nick looked around the room.


    Eventually, Nick gritted his teeth.


    He had to confirm it.


    Nick took out the signal he had received from Wyntor.


    And then, he moved his hand towards the stone circle.


    CRRRRK!


    The hairs on the back of Nick''s neck stood up as he saw the big stone in the room changing shape.


    A momentter, the shape of the stone had changed into the shape of a starving child sitting on the ground.


    The statue of the child looked so real!


    It was almost like Nick was looking at a real starving child!


    And then¡­


    The statue''s eyes opened.


    And Nick''s ability deactivated!


    The statue looked at Nick, its eyespletely ck.


    Nick felt like he had been flung into eternal darkness.


    "You have the power of the Eternal."


    The child''s voice echoed throughout the room.


    "I will take that power from you!"


    "Your power is mine!"

 Chapter 225 225 – Starving Child

    <h4>Chapter 225 Chapter 225 ¨C Starving Child</h4>


    Terror.


    Pure terror.


    In his entire life, Nick had never been this scared before!


    Something deep inside of him told him that there was no way he could survive.


    Something told him that he couldn''t possibly resist the power of this child.


    There was only death waiting for him.


    The entire room seemed to warp.


    It seemingly spun and distorted until there was only a contorted hallway remaining, with Nick and the child at opposite ends.


    And then, Nick felt like the darkness inside the hallway was pulling the light out of him.


    He felt like the core of his being was getting pulled toward the starving child.


    He was vanishing!


    He was disappearing!


    He was dying!


    Crack.


    Nick''s right hand strengthened a bit, and a momentter, the sound of something cracking reverberated throughout the hallway.


    WHOOOOOOOOOOOOM!


    It was like a gigantic explosion suddenly appeared in the room!


    Red!


    The entire room was filled with a fiery red!


    Nick saw the storm of fiery red shooting past him at insane speeds, and he felt like he had fallen through a mountain made of fire.


    And yet, while Nick could see the red mass, he couldn''t feel it.


    It was almost like it wasn''t real.


    Nevertheless, it had to be real.


    After all, Nick felt the room turn to normal, and he no longer felt like he was being consumed by the darkness.


    The starving child kept looking at Nick.


    "Your power will be mine," the child repeated.


    "I will consume the power of the Eternal."


    "I will kill you."


    "The haven you call Crimson Fungus City will cease to exist."


    "You will be mine!"


    At that moment, the expression of the starving child turned into a mad grin, and Nick felt like something had taken hold of his heart.


    The darkness in the child''s eyes seemed to extend towards Nick, and a momentter, he felt like the darkness was surrounding him.


    "You are mine!" the voice of the child thundered.


    And then, Nick felt like something that he couldn''t afford to lose was leaving his mouth and eyes.


    A momentter, he saw a gentle white misting out of his body.


    Nick recognized the mass.


    It was Zephyx!


    ''No!'' Nick thought. ''You''re not taking it!''


    But it didn''t matter.


    Nick felt the essence of his being getting pulled out and extending towards the child.


    He was dying!


    At that moment, the door to the room exploded, and two people ran in.


    Although, people was the wrong word.


    Nick saw a man with ck hair and dark eyes on one side and a young woman with blonde hair on the other.


    Riker and Monica.


    "Master!" Monica shouted with urgency.


    "You failed me," the starving child said.


    "Your existence is no longer required."


    The two of them looked at the starving child.


    If they were human, they would probably be terrified.


    But they weren''t.


    They were Specters, and Specters couldn''t feel fear.


    When someone was standing in front of someone who wanted to kill them, there were only three things they could do.


    Fight.


    Flight.


    Surrender.


    Since surrendering didn''t work, there were only two options left for Riker and Monica.


    Monica ran forward and stopped behind Nick, who couldn''t move at that moment.


    And then, Nick suddenly felt some kind of force pulling him backward.


    The next moment, Nick saw the white mist in front of him halt.


    It was no longer moving towards the starving child.


    That was when Nick noticed that the sucking force hade from Monica''s hand.


    It was like Monica''s hand was consuming all the Zephyx in the surroundings.


    "Shouldn''t have told us that you were going to kill us," Riker''s charming, cold, and calm voice came from beside Nick.


    WHOOOM!


    Suddenly, a ck wind, filled with tormented faces, left Riker''s hand and shot towards the starving child.


    However, as soon as the ck wind reached the starving child, it flowed around it.


    It was like the starving child was a solid and massive rock in the middle of a small river.


    Obviously, the ck wind didn''t do anything to the starving child, but it did aplish something else.


    The darkness that was pulling the Zephyx out of Nick was weakening, and Nick even saw the white mist flowing back into his body.


    "Meaningless resistance," the starving child said.


    "It doesn''t matter when I get what I want."


    "It only matters that I get it."


    WHOOOOM!


    Suddenly, the darkness inside the child exploded outward, and the ck wind leaving Riker was annihted.


    Then, the darkness shot forward.


    But then, it suddenly stopped.


    That was because Riker and Monica had hidden behind Nick.


    They knew that their master would have long since killed Nick under normal circumstances.


    The fact that he was trying to consume Nick''s power meant that he was extremely interested in Nick''s power.


    If Nick died, his power would disperse, which made it impossible for their master to absorb it.


    So, they had bet on the fact that their master wouldn''t dare to kill Nick.


    And they had bet correctly.


    The power the starving child had released this time was very different from the one he had used to absorb Nick''s power.


    This was something that could kill Nick in an instant.


    Right now, Nick felt like some kind of force was in front of him that could extinguish him as easily as an ant.


    He couldn''t possibly resist it.


    For just a moment, everything inside the room paused.


    "Just wait," the child said calmly.


    "I''ll soon be there."


    Then, the darkness started to slowly move towards the starving child.


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!


    Nick felt like time had stopped.


    What the fuck had just happened?!


    What had he just seen?!


    A moment ago, the starving child had still been there, but now¡­


    He was in the middle of the Dregs!


    Yet, he hadn''t left the room.


    In fact, his half of the room was still there¡­


    But the other half had vanished.


    Just like everything else in a 20-meter radius!

 Chapter 226 226 – Arrested

    <h4>Chapter 226 Chapter 226 ¨C Arrested</h4>


    There was just a crater in front of Nick!


    Right now, Nick could see the sewers through the gigantic hole in front of him, and he could also see gigantic waves crashing against each other in the sewers.


    Then, Nick noticed that half the building in front of him vanished.


    It was like a 40-meter-wide conicalser had shot through the building, leaving behind a trail of destruction.


    Nick was bathed in sunlight, and he felt the wind of the outside brush against his skin.


    A momentter, Nick realized what had happened.


    By following the pathway of the destruction, Nick''s gaze was directed towards the megastructure that was the Inner City.


    80% up the structure, on a balcony, Nick could see the distant silhouette of a person.


    Nick wasn''t sure, but he thought that the person held a huge rifle in front of them.


    The only things Nick could properly see were their red hair and their uniform, which signified that they belonged to the city.


    "We want to enter Kugelblitz."


    Nick turned around and looked at Riker and Monica.


    Both of them looked extremely calm.


    It was almost like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.


    When Nick saw their demeanors, he was reminded of the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer acted the same way as them all the time.


    BANG!


    Nick''s gaze turned forward again as he suddenly saw someonending in front of him.


    It was a young man with red hair, and he was wearing the uniform of a Zephyx Extractor working for the city.


    However, Nick noticed two things that shocked him to his core.


    First of all, the emblem of the guard!


    There was one huge fungus on it, two medium-sized ones, and two small ones.


    This was a level five Extractor!


    A Specialist!


    The other thing that Nick noticed was the rifle in the man''s hand!


    It looked exactly like the one that Nick had seen in the hands of the man on the balcony of the Inner City.


    Nick quickly looked to the balcony.


    The man was gone!


    Did this man move from over halfway up the megastructure towards the Dregs in less than five seconds?!


    That was a distance of over 4 kilometers!


    The man looked at Nick and the two people behind him.


    The next moment, the man''s barrier projected several diagrams and figures in front of the man''s eyes.


    "We are willing to join Kugelblitz," Riker spoke calmly.


    The man furrowed his brows.


    Then, he turned to Nick.


    "You fired the signal?" he asked calmly.


    Nick remembered the red storm that had consumed him.


    That should have been the signal.


    "Yes," Nick said weakly.


    His feelings finally came to terms with the fact that he wasn''t going to die, and he suddenly lost all his power.


    Nick almost fell over.


    "You and the two Specters behind you will be taken into custody," the man said.


    SHING! SHING! SHING!


    The next moment, five more people arrived, which surrounded Nick and the two Specters.


    Nick could see that all five of these people were Experts.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    The only thing he felt was relief.


    He had survived!


    Two of the Experts put Zephyx Suppressors around the Specters, and one of them lifted Nick over his shoulder.


    The next moment, Nick felt like his body was being torn apart as he elerated to speeds he could have never imagined.


    Nick could only tell that the Expert, who was carrying him, jumped and entered the Inner City through some kind of exit partway up the megastructure.


    Then, Nick saw the blurry images of tracks flying by him.


    He guessed that the Expert was rapidly jumping from tform to tform on the middleyer of the Inner City.


    In less than a minute, Nick found himself standing in front of a huge column on the middleyer of the Inner City.


    The gigantic column looked just like any of the other columns, except for the fact that it was hollowed out.


    Nick could see several windows on the column, and he could also see a couple of people standing in front of a set of doors.


    That was when Nick noticed a huge sign.


    City Guard Headquarters.


    However, Nick couldn''t admire the building for long since he was pushed through the door almost immediately.


    The Expert had already put Nick down, and now, he shoved Nick forward.


    About a minuteter, Nick entered one of the rooms, and he quickly recognized where he was.


    A Containment Unit.


    "The captain will be with you shortly," the Expert said before he exited the Containment Unit.


    The next moment, Nick heard the Containment Unit power up.


    By the sounds of it, this Containment Unit was not cheap.


    It could probably even contain a Force Specter.


    There was definitely no way for Nick to escape.


    Nick took a deep breath and looked around.


    The entire room was stark white, and the only furniture was a table with four chairs in the middle of the room.


    Nick slowly walked over to one of the chairs and sat down.


    Silence.


    Only silence surrounded Nick.


    At that moment, Nick realized how tense he had actually been.


    It was like his chest had finally rxed.


    And yet, Nick couldn''t fully rx.


    There was something deep inside of him that told him that he would soon die.


    The image of the starving child entered Nick''s mind again.


    It had proimed that it would consume Nick.


    It had said that it would destroy Crimson Fungus City.


    And worst of all, it had said that it would soone.


    This meant that it hadn''t truly been there.


    Had it used some kind of way to manifest its power over a great distance?


    If so, how powerful was this thing?!


    How far away was it?!


    ''It even recognized my power! It said I have the power of an Eternal!'' Nick thought.


    How powerful was this thing?!


    Was Crimson Fungus City safe?!


    Could he even escape?!


    Nick''s mind was going wild.


    He hadn''t even noticed that over 20 minutes had passed.

 Chapter 227 227 – The Captain

    <h4>Chapter 227 Chapter 227 ¨C The Captain</h4>


    The door of the Containment Unit suddenly opened, and Nick''s entire body twitched as he was startled.


    Nick looked over at the person who had entered and saw a middle-aged man with ck hair.


    He was wearing the uniform of a member of the city, and, ording to his emblem, he was an Expert.


    The man calmly walked over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs.


    "Nick Nick, Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream," the man said calmly. "Is that correct?"


    "Yes," Nick said nervously.


    "Marder Sansen, Captain of the city guards," the man said.


    Nick nodded. "H-hello," he said absentmindedly.


    "From where did you obtain the signal?" the man asked immediately.


    "Wyntor gave it to me after getting it from his father," Nick said.


    "With Wyntor, you mean Wyntor Melfion?" the man asked.


    "C-correct," Nick said.


    "Why would he hand you the signal?"


    "Because his father told him to," Nick answered.


    "Why would Vernon Melfion tell his son to hand you the signal?" the man asked.


    "He didn''t tell Wyntor a lot," Nick said. "He was very vague. He said that the misuse of the signal is punishable by death."


    "He also said that if I am unsure whether to use it or not, I should not use it. He said I will be certain that I have to use it if I need to use it."


    The man furrowed his brows.


    "Why were there two Specters with you?" the man asked.


    "That''s a long story," Nick said.


    "I have the entire day," the man said, leaning back on his chair.


    "Okay, well, a bit over two years ago, I hired a new employee. Her name is Jenny, and¡­"


    Nick started at the very beginning and told the captain about the Riker Strikers.


    The captain didn''t even ask why Nick hadn''t told the guards about the Specter.


    It was normal for a Manufacturer to keep the identities of Specters hidden.


    After all, they didn''t want anyone else to benefit from their work.


    "The record says that the two Specters stood behind you and that there was no sign of aggression," the captain interrupted Nick. "That doesn''t conform with what you were telling me."


    "I''m getting to that," Nick said, his voice still shaky and nervous.


    Nick arrived at the moment when he told Wyntor about the dark room, and the captain seemed to be much more interested.


    "There is no way that there is a way for light to enter?" the captain asked.


    "No, and spection isn''t important anymore," Nick said. "I have already been in the room, and it was dark."


    The captain furrowed his brows.


    "What did you think made Riker decide to take such a risk?" the captain asked.


    "I had no idea," Nick said. "I couldn''t imagine anything worse than essentially dying. I just went to Wyntor since he always knows what to do."


    "But not even he had any idea what this was about."


    "So, he went to his father and asked him."


    Then, Nick told the captain what Wyntor had told him what his father had told him.


    At that point, the captain started to ask many questions.


    Did Vernon say anything more?


    Did Vernon hint at anything?


    Why did Vernon not do this or that?


    Nick gave quick answers, which mostly boiled down to him saying that he didn''t know.


    After a while, the captain wrote something on a sheet of paper, but Nick couldn''t see what the captain had written down.


    "Tell me what happened earlier today," the man said.


    Nick nodded and told the man about when he had entered the room above Riker''s room.


    When Nick reached the part in which he had entered Riker''s room, the captain looked deeply into his eyes.


    As Nick retold what he had seen, the image of the starving child entered his mind again.


    Nick''s heart rate shot up, and his breathing quickened.


    He felt deep terror inside of his chest whenever he thought of the starving child.


    He almost felt like the starving child inside his mind was moving of its own volition.


    It was like the starving child had power over Nick''s mind and was trying to kill him.


    The darkness in its eyes stretched out until it clouded all of Nick''s senses.


    The darkness was everywhere!


    It was consuming him!


    BANG!


    Nick almost shot out of his chair as a hand mmed on the table in front of him.


    "I need to know what happened!" the captain demanded as he looked deeply into Nick''s eyes.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    The starving child wasn''t there.


    It couldn''t hurt him right now.


    ''Calm down, Nick,'' he thought. ''It''s not here. Calm down. The quicker the city knows about this, the safer I am.''


    Nick took another deep breath.


    "I saw four big stones that were surrounded by a circle made of seven stones," Nick said.


    At that moment, the captain took a deep breath as well.


    Nick looked at the captain, and he could see that the captain had started to sweat.


    Naturally, the captain was doing his best to seem calm, but Nick could see that the captain was anything but calm right now.


    Of course, this made Nick''s fear return.


    "There was a big spherical stone in front of the circle of stones," Nick continued. "There was nothing else in the room, and when I saw the stone, I felt like I had stumbled upon something very bad."


    The captain remained silent.


    "I was thinking about activating the signal, but I wasn''t sure if I needed to use it or not, and since Vernon said that I should only use it when I was sure, I didn''t," Nick continued.


    "So, I moved my hand forward, and the spherical stone suddenly started to transform."


    "Stop!" the captain suddenly said.


    Nick was taken aback and looked at the captain.


    Why had the captain interrupted him?


    "Are you telling the truth?" the man asked.


    Nick just wordlessly nodded.


    "Are you willing to bet your life on that?"


    Nick blinked a couple of times.


    "Yes, I mean, I''m telling the truth. I''m more concerned with why you are asking all of a sudden," Nick said.


    The captain looked into Nick''s eyes for several seconds.


    "Our interview ends here," the captain suddenly said.


    Nick''s eyebrows rose in surprise.


    The next moment, the captain stood up and walked towards the door.


    "Somebody else will be talking to you soon. Until then, don''t say anything about what you have seen. Not even in here."


    This made Nick even more nervous.


    "Why? Why are you leaving?" Nick asked.


    The captain opened the door with a solemn expression.


    "I''m not sure if I am allowed to know these things."


    Then, the door closed, and Nick was left alone in the Containment Unit.

 Chapter 228 228 – Envy

    <h4>Chapter 228 Chapter 228 ¨C Envy</h4>


    The next couple of minutes were horrible for Nick.


    His mind was going wild with fear and nervousness.


    What had he witnessed?!


    How powerful was the starving child that even an Expert working for the city left voluntarily?!


    The possibilities of what could happen to Nick shot through his mind.


    Who was this starving child?!


    How powerful was it?!


    Was Nick safe?!


    Could Crimson Fungus City protect him?!


    Should he run?!


    Would he soon die?!


    Nick''s sense of time became distorted, and he had no idea if he had been inside the Containment Unit for only a minute or for an hour.


    The unending whiteness of the walls made Nick feel like he was beingpressed.


    He wanted to run away but couldn''t!


    There was no way he could get out of this room!


    Nick''s legs began to shake as the urge to run overtook them.


    He had to leave!


    Now!


    And then, the door opened.


    Nick looked over in panic, and he saw a familiar face.


    However, he wasn''t sure if seeing that face in this scenario was a good or a bad thing.


    It was the governor.


    Markus Julius.


    Nick had seen the governor about two months ago in the yearly meeting.


    And now, he was meeting him again.


    But the governor wasn''t the only person.


    There was a second person entering the room behind him, and Nick also recognized that person.


    It was Aria Light, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Kugelblitz!


    Two Heroes!


    Two level six Extractors were meeting Nick because of what he had seen today!


    Who the fuck was this starving child?!


    The governor and Aria sat down on the other end of the table.


    Both of their expressions were the epitome of seriousness.


    "Tell me exactly what you have seen in that room," the governor ordered as soon as he sat down.


    He didn''t even greet Nick.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    The two of them just looked at Nick with solemn expressions.


    "Four stones surrounded by a stone circleprised of seven stones," Nick said.


    "Was there something else?" the governor immediately asked.


    "A round stone in front of the stone circle," Nick said.


    "How big was the round stone?"


    "About 30 centimeters. Maybe a bit less," Nick said.


    "What did you do?" the governor asked.


    "I wasn''t sure if I should activate the signal," Nick said. "So, I moved my hand towards the stone circle."


    The atmosphere in the room intensified as Nick continued speaking.


    "The stone started to transform," Nick said, his voice bing shaky as the image of the starving child appeared inside his mind.


    "What did it transform into?" the governor asked, his voice cold, serious, and urgent.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "It transformed into a starving child," Nick said.


    Nick felt like the room had turned to ice.


    The expressions of the governor and Aria couldn''t get any more solemn.


    "Did he say anything?!" the governor said, his voice having a deep feeling of urgency to it.


    The governor didn''t even ask Nick what happened next, and he immediately referred to the starving child as he.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "I need to know what he said!" the governor spoke loudly, almost shouting.


    Nick''s insides shook.


    "He said my power will be his," Nick said, avoiding the part in which the starving child had said that Nick had the power of an Eternal.


    "Did he say anything about the city?!" the governor asked, speaking rapidly.


    "Yes, but onlyter-"


    "What did he say?!" the governor said, standing up from his chair as he red into Nick''s eyes.


    Nick''s body shook.


    "He, he, he sa-said that the haven I call Crimson Fungus City will cease to exist, and and that he will soon be here," Nick said.


    "Get all the details out of him!" the governor shouted towards Aria before he ran out of the Containment Unit.


    At this moment, Nick''s heart started to shake, and fear took hold of him.


    What the fuck was going on?!


    Who was this starving child?!


    What was this starving child?!


    "Nick."


    Nick''s head shot towards Aria, his face pale, and his eyes opened wide.


    "I need to know what happened," Aria said with a soothing tone.


    However, Nick could hear something else.


    There was a certain feeling of insecurity in Aria''s voice.


    The governor''s actions and Aria''s tone¡­


    The starving child was so dangerous that he could even evoke fear in the two strongest humans in Crimson Fungus City?!


    Nick just kept looking into Aria''s eyes.


    His mind was all over the ce at this moment.


    "Nick!" Aria said with a serious tone. "Get it together!"


    Nick shook his head.


    "He-he said that he wants my power," Nick said.


    "He said that my power will be his."


    "He said that he ising for me!"


    "Nick, you have to calm down!" Aria said. "He said those things to cause terror in you. That''s what Specters do. They cause fear and terror in people."


    "Someone like him wouldn''t be interested in the power of a level two Extractor," Aria said.


    Nick didn''t know if he should tell Aria.


    If he told her about his power, something bad might happen.


    Right now, Aria thought that Nick''s power couldn''t possibly interest the starving child.


    But if they realized that Nick''s power was most likely the very thing that drew the starving child over, they might decide to kill Nick.


    The starving child was extremely powerful, based on how the governor and Aria were acting.


    If they could stop it froming by killing one level two Extractor¡­


    Nick wouldn''t tell them.


    He didn''t want to die.


    "Who is he?" Nick asked.


    Aria furrowed her brows.


    "He told me he was going to kill me, and I was the one that found him!" Nick said with a louder voice.


    "He told me I am his target!"


    "I want to know who he is!"


    Aria seemed a bit uncertain.


    She remained silent for a couple of seconds.


    "What I am going to tell you must never enter the ears of anyone below the level of a Specialist. Only Specialists and stronger are allowed to know about these things," she said solemnly.


    "Even if an Expert working for the city demands that you tell them, you are not allowed to tell them!"


    "Do you understand?" she asked solemnly.


    Nick nodded.


    Aria took another deep breath.


    "The starving child that you have seen is the manifestation of a Fallen."


    Nick felt like his heart froze.


    A Fallen.


    A level seven Specter.


    "Its name is Envy, and it is the servant of an Adversary."


    An Adversary!


    A level eight Specter!


    Nick remembered what Envy had told him.


    It was going to take his power!


    Nick had be the target of a level seven Specter!

 Chapter 229 229 – Conflict

    Chapter229 229 ¨C Conflict


    Nick looked at the table with a crestfallen expression.


    A Fallen.


    An Adversary.


    Level seven and level eight Specters were the biggest enemies of humanity.


    One would think that the Eternals would be the true enemies, but it wasn''t as simple as that.


    While the Eternals did whatever they wanted, many of the Adversaries actually tried to eradicate all of humanity.


    This difference in mindset and action could bepared to how an aggressive animal would treat its territory.


    If something of a simr size or slightly smaller size entered its territory, the animal would aggressively defend its territory and kill the invader.


    21:26


    However, if something vastly smaller and weaker than it entered its territory, it would mostly just ignore it.


    After all, that thing was no danger whatsoever.


    Rats would kill other rats, but they wouldn''t care about a tiny fruit fly. In the same way, the Adversaries were far more aggressive towards humanity than the Eternals.


    The Eternals just did their thing and terrorized humanity like it was a small hobby or a daily chore.


    Meanwhile, the Adversaries actually wanted to attack and destroy humanity since the seven level eight Extractors in the world could fight and kill them.


    Even more, if the level eight Extractors managed to capture an Adversary, they could attempt to use the Adversary to be level nine Extractors.


    Because of that, Adversaries were more of a direct threat to humanity, while the Eternals just represented an inevitable rule of nature.


    And now, a servant of one of these Adversaries had set Nick as its target.


    Envy.


    A Fallen.


    A level seven Specter.


    It was stronger than any Specter in the city.


    It was stronger than any human in the city.


    If it were to appear at this instant, all of Crimson Fungus City would be doomed.


    The only possibility of survival would be the Heroes uniting and fighting Envy in a group.


    However, there was still a huge gap between them, most likely.


    Nick wasn''t sure, but he assumed that Envy wasn''t an Initial Fallen but stronger.


    "Nick," Aria said, taking Nick out of his thoughts. "Envy isn''t interested in you. You''re only a level two Extractor. We''re all in this together."


    Nick looked at Aria.


    He knew that Envy was after him. After all, Envy had stated that Nick had the power of an Eternal and that it was very interested in Nick''s power.


    But he couldn''t tell her!


    He had seen how the leaders of the Manufacturers acted.


    Vernon casually doomed thousands of people to a worse life by increasing their taxes, and he didn''t even care about that.


    Why would someone like him care about a single weak Extractor?!


    If they killed Nick and if they managed to somehow fend off Envy for a bit, it was sure to leave since the thing it wanted no longer existed inside the city, making it not worth the effort.


    However, if Nick survived, Envy would keep attacking and persisting.


    While Aria tried to calm him down, Nick just kept looking at the table.


    ''A Fallen ising!''


    ''It''sing for me!''


    ''It said it will raze Crimson Fungus City to the ground!''


    ''All because of me!''


    At that moment, a certain thought entered Nick''s mind.


    ''All because of me,'' he thought with a cold and sudden calm.


    ''I am the cause of this.''


    ''If I were to die¡­''


    Nick imagined a terrifyingly powerful cloud of darkness falling over the city and everyone suffering.


    Elderly, adults, children, and everyone else were dying.


    Crimson Fungus City would transform into ruins.


    Eventually, it would copse and join the ruins in the sewers.


    The ce where Nick had spent his entire life had vanished, and only silence remained.


    All because of him.


    He would cause the death of all these people.


    Nick looked at the table in front of him with unmoving eyes.


    Aria kept trying to get his attention, but Nick just kept looking at the table.


    ''It''s because of me.''


    ''Because of me, thousands of people will die.''


    ''Wasn''t my goal to improve the lives of everyone in the Dregs?''


    ''And now, I will be the cause of all their deaths!''


    Nick''s mind was going wild.


    ''I need to die.''


    ''If I don''t die, I will doom the entire city.''


    ''But if I choose to die, I will save thousands of lives.''


    ''But what if I don''t?!'' Nick suddenly thought with more urgency.


    ''What if Envy will still destroy Crimson Fungus City, even though I am dead?!''


    ''All of my scenarios are built on the assumption that Crimson Fungus City can defend itself against Envy!''


    ''What if it actually can''t?!''


    ''Shut up, Nick!'' Nick thought with gritted teeth.


    ''You''re just trying to avoid responsibility!''


    ''Who the fuck cares whether or not Crimson Fungus City manages to defend itself?! If you don''t kill yourself, there will be no hope!''


    ''But it''s only a chance!''


    ''It''s only a chance!''


    ''So what?! A chance is better than no chance!''


    BANG!


    Nick felt something knock on his head, and his eyes shot towards Aria, who had just knocked on his head.


    It hadn''t been painful, but it had gotten Nick''s attention.


    "Nick! Pull yourself together!" Aria shouted. "If you want to keep wallowing in irrational fear, be my guest, but I still need to know what happened when you talked to Envy!"


    Nick looked at the table.


    Aria''s eyes narrowed.


    "What will happen now?" Nick asked.


    "I need to know what happened, Nick! We don''t have time for that!" Aria shouted with urgency.


    Nick closed his eyes with a pained expression.


    ''I''m so selfish.''


    Then, he took a deep breath.


    "Sure," he said.


    Nick started to narrate his conversation with Envy and what happened but avoided talking about his power.


    ''I don''t need to make a decision right now,'' Nick thought, his mind having calmed down quite significantly.


    ''Making this decision can wait until the city actually manages to defend.''


    ''If it actually manages to defend against Envy, I can still go through with it.''


    ''And then, I will know whether survival is just a chance or a certainty.''

 Chapter 230 230 – Aegis

    Chapter230 230 ¨C Aegis


    Nick told Aria basically everything about what had happened inside the room.


    Aria didn''t seem surprised when she heard how Riker and Monica reacted after Envy told them that they had be useless.


    Since Specters couldn''t feel fear and since appeasing Envy wouldn''t help in this case, the two Specters just fought back to enter the city''s good graces.


    They wanted to get put in a Containment Unit instead of killed.


    This was the same reason why they didn''t run away as soon as they had noticed what happened.


    As Envy''s servants, Riker and Monica knew what the signal that Nick had activated meant.


    Nick hadn''t noticed it, but when the red storm of the signal washed over him, it had actually coated the surrounding 200 meters in brightly shining red Zephyx.


    Every Veteran and stronger within the city, except those in a Containment Unit at that moment, felt the massive amount of Zephyx getting dumped into the surroundings in the Dregs.


    These signals were extremely expensive and caused huge disturbances as soon as they were activated, which was why only the strongest and most influential people had them.


    When Monica and Riker felt the dense red Zephyx around them, they knew that they wouldn''t be able to escape.


    Within seconds, Veterans, Experts, and Specialists would look at the Dregs, and the two of them knew that they couldn''t possibly flee from any of them.


    And if they tried, they might just get shot, which would end their existence.


    It was better to just go to their master and ask what to do.


    After a while, Nick was done with narrating the events inside Riker''s room.


    This time, it was Aria who looked at the table with furrowed brows.


    "What will happen now?" Nick asked.


    Aria kept looking at the table for a couple more seconds.


    Then, she sighed.


    "I don''t know," she said with a helpless tone. "Matters regarding Fallen are too big for even me."


    "In front of Envy, I am just as helpless as you, Nick," she added.


    Nick looked at Aria with difort.


    "Will we die?" he asked.


    Surprisingly, Aria shook her head.


    "If we are going to die, it very likely won''t be today," she said.


    "Howe?" Nick asked.


    Aria looked like she wasn''t sure whether or not she wanted to tell Nick something.


    But then she realized that she had already told Nick a lot of confidential information.


    Telling him more made no difference anymore.


    "Someone as powerful as Envy can cross several kilometers per second," Aria said. "The time between your conversation with him and the start of your conversation with us was a bit over 40 minutes."


    "Within 40 minutes, he could have reached us from basically anywhere."


    Nick felt his heart pump in his chest.


    If Envy had immediately started traveling toward Crimson Fungus City, the city would have already turned to ash.


    Aplicated mix of emotions appeared inside Nick''s chest.


    Relief and terror.


    "And now, Envy probably doesn''t have the chance to attack us directly anymore," Aria said.


    Nick''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "If Envy can move that quickly, our Protectors can also move that quickly," Aria said.


    "When Markus left about 20 minutes ago, he contacted the Aegis."


    At that moment, Aria saw Nick''s confused expression.


    "The Aegis is humanity''s united front against the Specters, and it is being led by the seven Shields of humanity," she exined.


    "Most likely, a Protector has already arrived."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    A Protector.


    A level seven Extractor was here!


    Crimson Fungus City could actually survive and fight back!


    Naturally, the Aegis and the Adversaries had been bitter rivals for a really, really long time.


    This fight was so brutal and long that everyone basically already knew everyone else on the other side.


    Aegis knew who Envy was and how it operated.


    But on the flip side, Envy knew how Aegis operated.


    While Envy''s attention represented a great cmity to Crimson Fungus City, in the grand scheme of things, it was only switching battlefields.


    Instead of fighting in some other city, Envy would fight Aegis here.


    This meant that all of this had no impact on the greater whole.


    And yet, for Crimson Fungus City, it was probably the most significant event since its foundation.


    "Are you sure a Protector is already here?" Nick asked.


    "95%," Aria said. "Aegis doesn''t have any resources to waste since they are fighting an uphill battle, but going after Envy is most definitely not considered a waste of resources."


    "I don''t know the specifics since I am not part of Aegis, but I know that Envy is considered extremely important amongst all the Fallen in the world."


    "How so?" Nick asked.


    "Because of its superior, which is actively trying to destroy humanity," Aria exined. "There are many Fallen, and most of them just do what they need to do to be more powerful."


    "While that includes a lot of suffering for many people, it generally doesn''t include a threat to humanity as a whole."


    "Normal Fallen steal some of your food. The dangerous Fallen want to sew your mouth shut."


    "One''s bad and annoying. The other one is terrifying and lethal."


    "That''s the difference between most Fallen and a Fallen like Envy," Aria exined.


    Nick nodded.


    ''This means that I am safe for now.''


    A feeling of relief washed over Nick.


    Yet, the feeling was quickly drowned out by an overwhelming feeling of disgust.


    ''I¡­ I just thought that I was safe.''


    ''I didn''t even think about the city.''


    ''I only thought about myself.''


    Nick looked at the table again with difort and annoyance.


    ''This means there is a chance, actually.''


    ''With a Protector, Crimson Fungus City will most likely be able to survive.''


    ''If I kill myself now, I will probably end up saving thousands of lives.''


    Nick looked to the side.


    ''Isn''t that what I wanted to achieve?''


    ''Save thousands of lives to redeem myself for what I have done to Horua.''


    Then, Nick looked at Aria, who seemed quite distracted.


    ''I only need to tell her about my power.

 Chapter 231 231 – Simon Francium

    <h4>Chapter 231 Chapter 231 ¨C Simon Francium</h4>


    Nick just kept thinking about telling Aria about his power.


    ''I just have to tell them,'' Nick repeated inside his mind.


    ''Just tell them.''


    ''If you tell them, everything you have done will be repaid.''


    ''Just tell her.''


    Nick started to grit his teeth, and Aria kept looking at him with a contrasting mixture of understanding and disgust.


    On the one hand, she could understand that Nick waspletely beside himself since a Fallen had said that Nick was its target.


    But on the other hand, Nick had been working with Specters for years, and he was even a Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Someone in such a position should be able to distinguish between rational and irrational fear.


    Obviously, Envy wasn''t targeting Nick. After all, he was only a John.


    Aria expected that someone like a Chief Zephyx Extractor would be able to keep their cool in this situation.


    For several minutes, none of them said anything.


    ''Just do it!'' Nick thought with gritted teeth.


    ''Do it!''


    ''Tell them!''


    ''Stop being such a pussy!''


    ''Stop being so selfish!''


    Ding!


    Then, the door opened, and Nick looked over.


    There were two people entering the Containment Unit.


    One of them was the governor.


    The other one was a man who looked to be in his thirties.


    The man had bright red hair, which resembled a burning me.


    He wore a white uniform that looked very different from the uniforms of the Zephyx Extractors.


    There was an emblem on his uniform, which depicted a shield with seven stars inside of it.


    Nick could tell who that was, and he took a deep breath.


    The man with red hair walked forward and looked at Nick with a serious expression.


    "You saw the ry?" he asked.


    "Ry?" Nick asked.


    "The stone circle," the governor borated.


    "Yes, I saw that," Nick said.


    The man nodded.


    "My name is Simon Francium. I''m a Protector from Aegis," he said.


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought.


    "Tell me what happened after you came into contact with the ry," the man ordered.


    Nick nodded andplied.


    As Nick narrated his encounter with Envy once again, Simon just kept looking at him.


    Nick told him everything except for the thing about the Eternal.


    Everything became quiet after Nick was done narrating his story.


    Simon just kept rubbing his chin in thought as he looked downward with furrowed brows.


    "Alright, you may leave," Simon said.


    Nick''s eyebrows rose in surprise.


    He could leave?


    Just like that?


    "I hope I don''t need to mention that all of this has to be kept a secret," Simon said.


    "Eh, no, sir," Nick answered.


    "Good. Then, go," Simon said, gesturing to the door.


    Nick just looked at the table in shock.


    ''Right.''


    ''I''m just a John.''


    ''These things are far beyond my level.''


    ''There is no reason for them to talk to me or include me in the investigation.''


    ''I''m just someone that reported a crime.''


    ''That doesn''t mean that I will immediately join the investigators.''


    "If you''re worried about Envy''s words, don''t be," Simon said after noticing that Nick hadn''t left. "Envy lies all the time just to cause confusion and panic."


    "While Envy is definitely angry that you uncovered his little undercover operation, I doubt that he will actuallye here."


    "Right now, Envy is stuck in a secret ce with several Protectors besieging it."


    "Trying to escape right now would be dumb and dangerous."


    "He might have even told you that he would destroy this city just to lure one of us away from a different battlefield."


    "At this moment, Envy is practically contained. While he is not contained within an actual Containment Unit and while we can''t work with him, he can''t leave his current location."


    "As long as nothing significant happens that frees Envy, there is no chance that he will appear here, and even if he somehow manages to attain freedom, he won''te here."


    "He already told you that he woulde here, which means that Aegis keeps an eye on this city."


    "Chances are that, if hees here, he will just get surrounded again, and this time, he might even truly get suppressed."


    "There''s no reason for you to worry," Simon said calmly.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    While some parts of Simon''s speech calmed him, other parts only made him more nervous.


    Envy actually truly had a reason to appear here!


    Once more, Nick''s heart rate spiked.


    Seconds passed.


    "I said you can leave," Simon said with some annoyance.


    Nick gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    "He said that you should leave," the governor said as he walked around the table to grab Nick by the arm.


    The governor pulled lightly, but Nick refused to move, which made the governor furrow his brows.


    Was Nick truly only scared?


    He had shown a lot of fear until now, but it was starting to get ridiculous.


    "Nick," the governor said with a low voice.


    "Is there something that you are afraid of telling us?" he asked.


    The other two looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    Was there more?


    If so, didn''t he know that keeping things secret in this situation could endanger everyone?!


    Nick''s body was shaking.


    It was like he was standing in front of an abyss.


    He had to jump!


    He had to jump!


    He had to jump!


    If he didn''t jump, the Protector would leave, and all of Crimson Fungus City would get destroyed as soon as Envy managed to escape.


    Even worse, what if Envy somehow managed to tell one of the other Fallen or even its superior about Nick''s ability?!


    Sure, Envy was upied, but another Fallen might decide to capture Nick and absorb his power.


    The next moment, Nick grabbed two fistfuls of his hair while his arms shook, his eyes exposing an internal conflict of monumental proportions.


    By now, the present people could see that something was going on.


    "Leave the room."


    The governor and Aria looked at Simon with surprise.


    This time, Simon had addressed them instead of Nick.


    "And cut the power to the Containment Unit," Simon added. "I don''t want any of this to get recorded."


    Aria and the Governor looked at each other with uncertainty, but Simon just threw a serious nce at them.


    "Of course," the governor said.


    He and Aria threw a nce at Nick before they left.


    Some momentster, the soundsing from within the Containment Unit''s walls fell silent, and Simon sat down in a chair in front of Nick.


    "Tell me what you''re so desperate to say."

 Chapter 232 232 – Not the First

    <h4>Chapter 232 Chapter 232 ¨C Not the First</h4>


    Nick felt like the room became far darker.


    There was no way out anymore.


    Yet, for some reason, Nick also felt calmer.


    His inner conflict had vanished.


    Right now, Nick only felt eptance.


    He had jumped into the abyss, and now, he was falling, waiting for the bottom.


    There was no way back.


    ''Maybe it''s better this way,'' Nick thought as he looked at the wall with mncholy.


    He felt like he was saying goodbye to his life.


    He was saying goodbye to all his things and experiences.


    Then, he took a deep breath.


    "Envy didn''t lie," Nick said.


    "What makes you so certain?" Simon asked calmly.


    "He said one more sentence to me. One that I haven''t told you about," Nick said.


    Simon calmly looked at Nick. "What makes you think that this sentence wasn''t also a lie?" he asked.


    "Because he spoke the truth," Nick said calmly.


    Then, Nick looked at Simon.


    "He said that I have the power of an Eternal."


    Simon furrowed his brows.


    "And which Eternal would that be?" he asked.


    "The Null," Nick said.


    At this moment, Nick felt like he had been freed.


    He had done it.


    He had done the right thing.


    The appearance of Crimson Fungus City shot through Nick''s mind.


    The picture was filled with contrast.


    There was so much suffering, but Nick also had many people that he called friends.


    Almost all of them were in Dark Dream.


    "You have the power of the Null?" Simon asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Nick nodded.


    "Show me," Simon said calmly.


    "I can''t," Nick said.


    Simon raised an eyebrow, showing his skepticism.


    Nick sighed.


    "My physical power increases by a factor of five, but only as long as no human or Specter can perceive me."


    A light appeared in Simon''s eyes.


    "When did you get that power?" he asked.


    "I woke up in the Dregs without any memories when I was ten," Nick said.


    "I don''t have any family, and I don''t remember anything from before I was ten."


    "One of the Experts in the city suspected that my family and I have met the Null. The Null killed my family. This experience was probably so bad that my brain shut down and deleted all the memories from that day."


    "And since all my memories of the Null are gone, I don''t know anything about it, which means that the Null doesn''t need to kill me," Nick exined.


    Simon looked at Nick for a while.


    It seemed like Simon was evaluating something.


    "I believe you," Simon said calmly.


    Nick was surprised that Simon believed him this easily.


    "Surprised?" Simon asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "It''s because you''re not the first one."


    "Huh?" Nick uttered in confusion.


    "There was someone with the Null''s power before you," Simon said.


    "You''re not the first person that has received the Null''s power."


    Nick just looked at Simon with shock.


    "There was one other person," Simon said. "She was an orphan in a different city, and she went through something very simr."


    "Was?" Nick asked.


    Simon nodded. "She became a Zephyx Extractor and died while hunting a Specter. I think she was either a John or a Veteran. One of the two."


    "We only learned about her power after she died. For obvious reasons, her Manufacturer kept her powers secret while she was alive."


    "But when she died, they used the knowledge of her power and her corpse as a way to make some money, which was how we found out about her."


    Nick looked at Simon with interest.


    He had never expected that there had been someone else who had received the Null''s power.


    "How did she evolve her power?" Nick asked in interest.


    Simon scratched the side of his head.


    "Now that I think about it, she was a Veteran, based on how her power evolved," he said.


    "ording to the Manufacturer''s information, she could imitate the colors of her surroundings. If she remained stationary, it would be extremely difficult to see her."


    "Additionally, her attacks created sparks whenever they hit an enemy. The sparks increased the damage of her attacks and also confused the enemy. As far as I remember, she used sniper rifles."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "That''s strange," he said. "Using a sniper rifle shouldn''t take advantage of her power since our ability only increases our physical strength."


    "It doesn''t?" Simon asked with furrowed brows.


    Nick shook his head. "It''s only our physical strength, not our Zephyx."


    A momentter, Nick pulled out one of the spears on his back.


    "That''s why I use throwing spears."


    Simon looked with interest at Nick.


    "How did you evolve your power?" he asked.


    The next moment, Nick turned translucent as he became fog.


    Simon furrowed his brows while looking at Nick.


    "Your current evolution is not the most useful," he said.


    Nick turned back.


    "But," Simon added. "It has a great potential for evolution, and your two abilities have a high level ofpatibility."


    "While the current effect of your ability isn''t the best, it acts as a foundation for your future."


    Nick became quite interested in what Simon was saying.


    After all, this was a Protector who was telling Nick about how he should increase his power.


    But then, Nick remembered something.


    He most likely wouldn''t survive the day.


    In the end, Nick only took a shaky breath.


    Simon could see Nick''s reaction and a small glimmer appeared in his eyes.


    "You assume we will kill you," hemented.


    Nick took another deep breath and nodded.


    "Why?" Simon asked.


    "I''ve seen how powerful people view the world," Nick said calmly. "Rich people only want more money from the poor people. Powerful people want to consume the power of the weak people."


    "Envy is interested in my power. If I die, Envy won''t attack the city."


    "With my death, thousands of lives will be saved."


    "No one would exchange a city full of people for a single level two Extractor," Nick said.


    Simon looked into Nick''s eyes.


    He saw hopelessness and eptance in them.


    Simon closed his eyes.


    "You''re right," he said as he stood up.


    Nick''s heart rate increased.


    "Killing you might save the entire city. You''re right when you said that," Simon said.


    "However, you were wrong with one thing."


    Nick looked at Simon with confusion and a bit of hope.


    "We''re not going to kill you," he said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "You''re going to kill yourself."

 Chapter 233 233 – Conviction

    <h4>Chapter 233 Chapter 233 ¨C Conviction</h4>


    Nick looked with terror at Simon.


    "That is, when you fail," Simon added.


    Nick felt like his emotions were going crazy.


    "What do you mean?" Nick asked nervously.


    "Your perception of the world and powerful people is correct," Simon said.


    "I would exchange a John for a city."


    "I would be willing to kill you for the good of Crimson Fungus City."


    "Your death would stop Envy from trying to get here."


    "Right now, getting your power is probably one of Envy''s highest priorities."


    Simon sat back down.


    "Envy''s ability is the absorption of human abilities," Simon exined.


    Nick blinked a couple of times in confusion.


    "The Zephyx Synchronizer below your neck can somewhat copy the ability of a Zephyx, and Envy can absorb the Zephyx Synchronizer of a human and obtain a blueprint of whichever Specter acted as the blueprint for the Extractor''s ability."


    "Envy has consumed hundreds of different abilities, giving him an iparably vast arsenal of different powers."


    "However, the powers that Envy absorbed can''t grow past the base level of the original Specter from which the power came."


    "Because of that, most of Envy''s powers aren''t even useful against Protectors on their own."


    "He has to use tens of abilities at the same time to endanger a Protector."


    "However, he also has five abilities from Fallen, which already make him extremely dangerous."


    "If Envy were to get the power of an Eternal, his power would rival the power of an average Adversary without even being one, and even worse, he would be able to more easily be an Adversary."


    "Essentially, Envy would transform from the servant of a very powerful Adversary to a new very powerful Adversary."


    "That might actually be the very thing that breaks the bnce of the war."


    "If Envy manages to consume your power, all of humanity will get endangered."


    The more Nick heard, the more he felt like he should die.


    Just by existing, he was endangering all of humanity.


    Silence.


    "So, I should kill myself?" he asked.


    "If you fail," Simon said.


    "I''m not sure what you mean," Nick answered.


    "What''s your name?" Simon asked.


    "Nick."


    "Nick, you knew very well what it meant to tell me about your ability," Simon said. "You knew that your death would be almost certain."


    "What do you think? How many people would have done that?" Simon asked.


    Nick looked at the table with furrowed brows.


    "I don''t know," he said.


    "Nearly nobody," Simon said. "Nearly everyone would have tried everything in their power to keep their power a secret."


    "They wouldn''t care about how many people they endanger. As long as they could live for a bit longer, they would be willing to sacrifice thousands of people."


    "But you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of a city."


    "I know how cities are, and I can tell you that Crimson Fungus City is neither one of the best cities nor one of the worst. It''s in the middle in terms of quality of life formon people."


    "Someone that grew up in the slums of the city, or the Dregs as you call it, will only see the worst parts of the city."


    "And yet, you were still willing to sacrifice yourself," Simon said.


    The tone of Simon''s voice had turned warmer.


    "You are what Aegis strives to be," Simon said with a sigh.


    Nick just looked with difort at Simon.


    "No organization is without internal conflicts, and Aegis is not an exception," Simon said. "Many of the Protectors are forced to fight for humanity. Without the Shields keeping them suppressed, most of the Protectors would just stay inside a city and keep being normal Extractors."


    "They wouldn''t even try to fight against the Specters that view humanity as their enemy."


    "They would only care about catching Demons and normal Fallen to increase their power and the weight of their pockets."


    "Nick, you are what Aegis needs," Simon said.


    "You are what humanity needs."


    Nick felt nervous and ufortable.


    He couldn''t view himself like Simon was viewing him.


    He had hesitated for so long, and he had done horrible things in his past.


    He definitely didn''t represent what humanity needed.


    "Because of that," Simon continued talking, "I am willing to trust you."


    Nick just looked at Simon with uncertainty.


    "If you were willing to sacrifice yourself for a city that has not shown its nicest side to you, I know that you will be willing to sacrifice yourself for humanity as a whole," Simon exined.


    Simon stood up again and walked to Nick.


    "Nick, I will put a considerable amount of Zephyx into your mind. If Envy ever catches you, he will make sure that you can''t speak the Sentence. He''s used to doing that."


    "However, he won''t stop you from thinking. He enjoys humanity''s suffering too much to do that."


    "And if you ever find yourself in Envy''s grasp," Simon slowly said as he put his hand on Nick''s shoulder.


    "I know that you will have the conviction and strength to trigger the Zephyx."


    Silence.


    "When you activate the Zephyx, your head and torso will explode into a storm of fire, killing you instantly and incinerating your Zephyx Synchronizer."


    "Your death will be instantaneous, and Envy won''t be able to absorb your power."


    Nick looked in shock at Simon.


    He could continue living?


    He didn''t need to die?


    "You showed me your conviction and selflessness, and I will never betray those," Simon said with conviction.


    "I will never forsake someone like you!"


    "If humanity ever wants to escape the grasp of the Specters, we need people like you!"


    Nick just looked at Simon.


    He had never met anyone like this.


    Almost everyone he had met in the Dregs was selfish, and the few people who weren''t outright selfish were still morally grey and apathetic.


    In the Outer City or Inner City, Nick had seen more nice people, but none of them were willing to lower their own standards of living to help the ones weaker than them.


    Even more, the Manufacturers were squeezing every bit of money and health out of people in the Dregs.


    The entire world was filled with selfishness and greed.


    Nick had even thought that he might be the only one who wanted to help others.


    And today, he had finally met someone like him.

 Chapter 234 234 – Humanity and Cities

    <h4>Chapter 234 Chapter 234 ¨C Humanity and Cities</h4>


    And yet, Nick still felt ufortable and uncertain.


    "I don''t feel that''s urate," Nick said. "I''ve done things that I am not proud of."


    "Like everyone," Simon said. "Everyone has done bad things in their past, but not everyone regrets doing these bad things, and not everyone will stop doing them."


    "I don''t know what you have done in the past, but will you do these things again?" Simon asked.


    Nick thought of Horua.


    "No," Nick answered very quickly. "Never."


    "And do you want to rectify the things you have done?" Simon asked.


    "More than anything," Nick answered.


    Simon nodded. "That''s everything you can do and what we can ask for. As long as you try your best to redeem yourself, no one will fault you."


    "You can''t ask for more than the best."


    Yet, Nick still felt uncertain.


    Simon knew what Nick was thinking about.


    Simon was very old, and he had seen many people in his lifetime.


    "Are you okay with the Zephyx?" Simon asked.


    Nick knew what Simon was referring to and nodded. "Of course," he answered.


    Simon moved his right hand to Nick''s head and touched his forehead with his index finger.


    Nick closed his eyes and felt some kind of warm force entering his mind.


    "All done," Simon said, taking his finger away. "Can you feel it?"


    Nick tried to find the foreign Zephyx inside his mind.


    Sure enough, Nick quickly found something at the end of his neck.


    As soon as Nick sensed it, he felt an incredible feeling of danger and fear.


    He felt like he would die if he provoked that force, which was actually exactly what would happen.


    "I can feel it," Nick said.


    Simon nodded. "If everything fails and you feel like you are about to endanger humanity, just reach out to it. Your end will be instantaneous and painless."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Having an explosive in one''s mind seemed to be a scary thing, but Nick just felt relieved.


    The explosive signified that Nick could continue living without endangering humanity.


    But then, Nick remembered something.


    ''Wait, yes, I am not endangering humanity anymore, but I am still endangering Crimson Fungus City by staying alive,'' Nick thought.


    Almost immediately, the pressure in Nick''s chest returned.


    "What are you thinking about?" Simon asked after he noticed Nick''s change in demeanor.


    Nick released a sigh.


    "While I am no longer endangering humanity, my existence is still endangering Crimson Fungus City," Nick said.


    Simon nodded. "Yes, you''re correct, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn''t make a difference."


    "What do you mean?" Nick asked.


    "Envy''s target is humanity, and the easiest way to deal with humanity is to destroy our cities."


    "Because of that, Envy is basically always targeting a city."


    "That means if you get Envy toe here and endanger this city, you are removing the danger from another city."


    "You are not really endangering more or less of humanity."


    "You are simply switching Envy''s targets."


    "If everyone knew the truth, there would be thousands upon thousands of people in Crimson Fungus City that would hate and despise you, but at the same time, there would be thousands upon thousands of people in a different city that would cry in happiness because of your actions."


    Nick felt ufortable.


    He understood what Simon meant, but he had no emotional attachment to a city he had never seen, while he had a strong emotional attachment to Crimson Fungus City.


    ''But that actually doesn''t matter,'' Nick thought as he looked to the side.


    ''In the end, humanity fights against the Specters.''


    ''In the end, the fates of individual cities do not matter.''


    ''It doesn''t matter which city gets destroyed.''


    ''My feelings are unimportant in this regard.''


    Nick looked at Simon, who looked at Nick with an encouraging expression.


    ''His viewpoint is much grander.''


    ''The leaders of Crimson Fungus City care about the fate of Crimson Fungus City, but the leaders of humanity care about the fate of humanity.''


    ''In the end, what''s more important?''


    ''Humanity or Crimson Fungus City?''


    ''There''s no difference.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "You''re right," Nick said. "Thank you."


    Simon nodded. "No problem. Is there anything else you want to know?"


    It was obvious that Simon''s demeanor toward Nick had changedpletely after he found out that Nick was willing to sacrifice himself for a city that hadn''t treated him very well.


    "What will happen now?" Nick asked.


    Simon sighed. "Not much," he said. "Aegis is very shorthanded, and all the Protectors are working all the time."


    "If Envy''s arrival were certain, there would be no issues with me staying here."


    "But due to Envy''s current situation, it isn''t, and Aegis can''t send a Protector because of a maybe."


    Nick looked with concern at Simon. "So, you''re leaving?"


    Simon nodded. "I am one of the Protectors that are watching over Envy. I have to go back and continue watching over Envy."


    "For now, Envy is not a direct danger to Crimson Fungus City."


    "However, his servants are," Simon said.


    "Servants?" Nick asked.


    Simon nodded. "Envy has many servants all across the world. The ry you have seen is a device that allows Specters to talk with each other over great distances."


    "Envy''s servants use these rys tomunicate with him and ept orders."


    "By the way," Nick interjected, "why would Specters want to follow other Specters? I thought Specters were selfish."


    "They are," Simon said. "It''s actually very simple."


    "Envy contacts a weaker Specter and tells them that they are now his servant."


    "They get no pay, and if they refuse, Envy will either kill them himself or send one of his other servants to kill them."


    "In essence, you have to follow or die."


    "So, as soon as you have been chosen as Envy''s servant, you are stuck."


    "Follow his orders or die."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    Now, Riker''s and Monica''s conduct made sense.


    Refusing to follow Envy''s orders represented certain death, while being captured by a Manufacturer only represented metaphorical and potential death.


    "Speaking of," Simon said, "I may have a job for you."


    "Huh?" Nick asked.

 Chapter 235 235 – Secret Mission

    <h4>Chapter 235 Chapter 235 ¨C Secret Mission</h4>


    Nick looked with surprise at Simon.


    He had a job for him?


    Why?


    Nick was only an Initial John.


    What could he possibly do that the governor couldn''t?


    "Are you interested?" Simon asked.


    Nick looked uncertain. "Why? What can I do that the governor can''t?"


    "It''s not about you being able to do something that he can''t," Simon said.


    "It''s whether or not he will actually do it."


    Nick raised his eyebrows.


    "I don''t trust anyone in this city," Simon said.


    "Humans are selfish creatures, and the stronger they be, the more their selfishness grows and manifests."


    "Aegis doesn''t have the resources to send anyone into the city, which means that we can only ask the leaders of the city for help."


    "But in the end, the leaders of a city are only interested in their own prosperity most of the time," Simon said with a sigh.


    "If I ask them to investigate something that might end up reducing the power of the city, I will most likely get no results whatsoever."


    Nick looked at Simon with uncertainty.


    ''So, if I ept this task, I might end up weakening Crimson Fungus City?''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''Humanity is more important,'' Nick repeated to himself.


    "What do you want me to do?" Nick asked.


    Simon showed a small smile.


    "This is not something that you have to prioritize immediately. I know that what I am asking for you most likely won''t be aplished within this decade or even the one after that."


    Nick took another deep breath and continued listening.


    "It''s concerning the ry," Simon said.


    "What you have seen is a greater ry, which is different from a normal one."


    "A normal ry can only transmit Envy''s voice, while a greater ry can even transmit parts of Envy''s power."


    "With a greater ry, Envy''s servants can capture Extractors and feed Envy new abilities without getting to him. Because of that, greater rys are vastly more dangerous than normal ones, and every appearance of a greater ry is a significant event."


    "However, a greater ry is much more difficult to produce than a normal one," Simon said.


    "A normal ry can be produced by an Adolescent or stronger, but a greater ry can only be produced by a very strong Elder or stronger," Simon said.


    ''An Elder?'' Nick thought. ''A level four Specter?''


    "But Riker and Monica are only Adolescents," Nick said.


    Simon nodded. "And that''s the issue."


    "There must be a powerful Elder or even a Fanatic in this city that has created the greater ry."


    "And yet, it wasn''t anywhere near the ry, and the ry was held and used by two Adolescents," Simon said.


    Nick looked with concern at Simon.


    "Could it have been smuggled in?" he asked.


    "Very unlikely," Simon said. "It''s not that easy to get a greater ry into a city. It''s much easier to create it over a long period of time inside the city."


    "I am quite certain that a strong Elder or a Fanatic belonging to Envy''s forces is inside the city."


    At that point, Simon narrowed his eyes.


    "And I am also quite certain that it has been captured by a Manufacturer."


    "Otherwise, the Specter would have never handed the greater ry to a weaker one."


    "Most likely, the Specter realized that it had been found out by a Manufacturer and chose to negotiate with the Manufacturer."


    "I believe that the Specter entered a Containment Unit willingly in exchange for keeping the greater ry safe."


    "Or maybe the Specter threatened a great number of Extractors while the two Adolescents secretly carried the ry away."


    "But in the end, it doesn''t matter. The fact is that the Manufacturer had to have known that they were dealing with one of Envy''s powerful servants, and they also must have known that they needed to contact Aegis because of that."


    "But they didn''t," Simon said with annoyance and disgust.


    "Why?" Nick asked.


    "Because they would lose the Specter," Simon said. "There is only one fate for a Specter that can create a greater ry."


    "Death."


    "In short, the Manufacturer didn''t want to lose the Specter."


    Simon looked at Nick.


    "I need you to find out which Manufacturer holds Envy''s servant."


    "I can''t trust anyone that has the power to suppress an Elder since they are suspects as well."


    "If the leading Manufacturer of the city has it, neither the governor nor the most powerful people of the city will produce any results since they won''t even investigate."


    "And even if the servant isn''t with the leading Manufacturer, the Manufacturer that has it will just bribe them. Maybe they will also share the Specter."


    "I can''t trust them. Even if they don''t have the Specter, they are still selfish and bribable."


    "That''s why I need you," Simon said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "To summarize," Nick said. "One of the Manufacturers must have one of Envy''s servants, and you want me to find out which one, right?"


    Simon nodded.


    "Is there anything you can tell me that might help me in finding out which Manufacturer might have it?" Nick asked.


    "Only one thing," Simon said. "If they have it, they are definitely keeping it secret. Most likely, not even the city knows of the Specter."


    "Its existence must be kept even more confidential than any other Specter the Manufacturer owns."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    This definitely wasn''t easy.


    There were only five potential forces that could have captured the Specter.


    Kugelblitz.


    Anatomy.


    Ghosty''s Lab.


    Gemini.


    And the city itself.


    While Sce might have the strength to capture an Elder, it most definitely didn''t have the power to capture a very strong Elder, and based on what Simon said, an Elder that could create a greater ry must be very powerful.


    One of these five must have the Specter.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "I don''t know how long it will take, but I will do my best," he said.


    Simon nodded. "I know that it will take a long time and that I am asking much of you, but know that I will not overlook your readiness to help humanity."


    "There''s not much I can do for you, but that doesn''t mean that there is nothing."

 Chapter 236 236 – Reward

    <h4>Chapter 236 Chapter 236 ¨C Reward</h4>


    Nick looked at Simon with interest.


    "What do you mean?" Nick asked.


    "You will see," Simon said with a small chuckle.


    Then, Simon walked over to the entrance of the Containment Unit and opened it.


    After opening it, Simon could see Aria and the governor waiting for him.


    "Sir," the governor and Aria said in greeting.


    Simon nodded with a serious expression. "The level two Extractor has delivered valuable intel to Aegis."


    The governor and Aria had expected something like that.


    After all, Simon and Nick had been inside the Containment Unit for quite a while.


    "I''m d to hear that," the governor said with a nod.


    "Aegis has taken an interest in him, and we don''t want our people to tragically die in an ident. Am I understood?" Simon said with narrowed eyes.


    The faces of the governor and Aria turned white in horror.


    "O-of course!" the governor said.


    Aria also nodded several times.


    "Good," Simon said. "Also, the Extractor has performed a tremendous service for the city and humanity. Aegis will always reward such exemry people."


    "Who has taken the two Specters that have been captured?" Simon asked.


    "The city, sir," the governor said.


    "What will happen to them?" Simon asked.


    "We are not entirely sure, but the one called Riker seems too dangerous to work with," the governor said. "From what we can tell, Riker grows more powerful by causing fear in people. The more people fear him, the stronger he bes."


    "Such a Specter is causing too much damage, and we will most likely grind him down into Zephyx."


    Nick remembered when Albert had talked to the Dreamer about exactly that.


    If a Specter was very difficult to work with, a Manufacturer could also just grind a big part of their body into Zephyx. After that, the Specter would get a couple of days to recover, and when they were fully healed, they would be ground down again.


    The Specter wouldn''t be able to grow in power, and the method also didn''t give a lot of Zephyx.


    Yet, it was better than nothing.


    "What about the other one?" Simon asked.


    "ording to her, she gains power by consuming wealth," the governor said. "She will stay with the city and improve the power of our forces."


    Simon nodded.


    "If it weren''t for the level two Extractor, the city wouldn''t have ess to these Specters. Confiscating them from him would be equivalent to punishing someone who has helped the city."


    "I expect that the wealth Specter is handed to the level two Extractor. Additionally, Aegis wants the Extractor to get another Specter of equal value to the wealth Specter," Simon said.


    When the governor had heard the beginning, he had not shown any reaction, but near the end, his eyes widened a bit.


    "Sir, don''t you mean equal to the other Specter?" the governor asked.


    "No, I mean equal to the wealth Specter," Simon said. "The two Specters are already his. If he only received those two, it wouldn''t be a reward."


    "I understand that you have to keep the other Specter due to its danger. Because of that, I want the city to give the Extractor a Specter of equal value to the wealth Specter. That will be his reward for helping Aegis and humanity."


    "I am assuming that Crimson Fungus City wants to help Aegis and humanity, right?" Simon asked with a solemn expression.


    The governor took a deep breath.


    Whenever Nick had seen the governor, he had seemed so powerful and in control.


    But in front of Simon, the governor appeared quite nervous and scared.


    ''Does he know about Envy''s powerful servant?'' Nick thought as he looked at the governor.


    "Of course, sir," the governor said with a nod. "The Extractor''s Manufacturer will be rewarded with a Specter of equal value to the wealth Specter."


    "I said that he gets it, not his Manufacturer," Simon said with annoyance. "The capture of the Specter must be solely his achievement."


    Naturally, there was a difference between the city handing a Specter to a Manufacturer and an Extractor handing a Specter to a Manufacturer.


    If it were the city, the Manufacturer could talk themselves out of properly rewarding the Extractor.


    But this time, there was something that Simon didn''t know.


    The governor and Aria looked at Simon awkwardly.


    "Sir," the governor said.


    "What?" Simon asked with annoyance.


    "The Extractor is the Chief Zephyx Extractor of the Manufacturer," the governor said.


    Simon''s eyes shot open in surprise.


    Then, he looked at Nick.


    Nick nodded.


    Simon blinked a couple of times in surprise before his gaze turned serious again.


    Well, since Nick was the Chief Zephyx Extractor, it didn''t make any difference.


    He could just reward himself.


    ''A Chief Zephyx Extractor,'' Simon thought in surprise.


    Simon wasn''t sure if he had ever seen a Chief Zephyx Extractor that was so weak and young.


    However, that was actually a good thing.


    Since Nick was in charge of the Extractors of hispany, hispany couldn''t be that bad.


    He wondered what a Manufacturer led by someone like Nick would be like.


    "Fine," Simon said.


    Then, Simon turned to Nick.


    "You can leave now," he said in a serious voice.


    Nick quickly stood up and bowed politely.


    "Of course, sir," Nick said before walking past Simon and exiting the Containment Unit.


    Nick looked at the governor and Aria.


    Aria nodded at Nick with praise, and the governor looked with seriousness at Nick.


    "I will contact Dark Dream in the next couple of days regarding the Specters," the governor said.


    "Of course. Thank you, governor," Nick said politely.


    The governor nodded and gestured for Nick to leave.


    "Now, we have to talk about some issues," Nick heard Simon say as he was leaving.


    "We have a greater ry but no fitting Specter."


    That was thest sentence that Nick heard before he was out of earshot.


    Naturally, even though Simon had already given Nick the mission to find the Specter, he still acted like he was expecting the governor to find it.


    As Nick left the building, he took a deep breath.


    So much had happened today.

 Chapter 237 237 – Can’t Tell

    <h4>Chapter 237 Chapter 237 ¨C Can''t Tell</h4>


    Nick quickly found a Shweeb that he could rent and left the headquarters of the city guards.


    A couple minutester, he left the Inner City and walked towards Dark Dream.


    The things that had happened today reappeared in Nick''s head one after the other.


    It had all started with Nick going into the dark room.


    Then, he met Envy and was saved by Riker and Monica.


    After that, he talked with the most powerful people in the city and even with a Protector from Aegis.


    And he even got a mission.


    ''But I have no idea how to find Envy''s servant,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows while he was walking towards Dark Dream.


    ''Someone in this city must have Envy''s servant, but I have no idea who.''


    ''It could theoretically be any of the four biggest Zephyx Extractors or the city, but there are obviously differences.''


    ''While Gemini could theoretically suppress and capture a strong Elder, I don''t think that it would have been easy, and such a great mobilization of forces must have been noticed by other Manufacturers.''


    ''Even more, since Gemini would be working with the Specter, the number of new Experts appearing in theirpany would drastically increase, which would be too conspicuous.''


    ''While it isn''t impossible that Gemini has the servant, the chances are extremely low.''


    ''For now, I should ignore Gemini unless they suddenly start gaining new Experts rapidly.''


    ''The chances of the city having Envy''s servant is not very high. It''s too much of a weak spot.''


    ''If anyone wanted to get rid of the governor, they would only need to report to Aegis about Envy''s servant.''


    ''For example, Anatomy definitely has some issues with the governor. Additionally, they have many people in the city forces due to their power.''


    ''It would be much safer for the governor to hand over the servant.''


    ''That means I can also ignore the city for now, but I should still keep an eye on them.''


    ''That leaves Kugelblitz, Anatomy, and Ghosty''s Lab.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''It could be any of those, really.''


    ''Obviously, the most suspicious Manufacturer is Anatomy. They really didn''t want to get investigated, and no one would notice it if five of their Experts vanished for a bit to capture a Specter.''


    ''Additionally, if they suddenly get more Experts, nobody would bat an eye.''


    Nick looked to the side as another thought appeared in his mind.


    ''Although, I am constantly assuming that Envy''s servant is a strong Elder when that is actually just the bare minimum.''


    ''It is very possible that the Specter is actually a Fanatic.''


    ''It might even be a Demon.''


    Nick thought about how powerful a Fanatic would be andpared that power to the Manufacturers.


    ''Ghosty''s Lab only has two Specialists.''


    ''I wonder, as the oldest Extractor in the city, how powerful is Ghosty? Could he suppress a Fanatic on his own?''


    Nick kept walking with furrowed brows.


    Eventually, he only sighed.


    ''It''s too early. If I could find the perpetrator by conjecture, Simon wouldn''t need me.''


    ''In the end, if I want to investigate, I have to be a Veteran first. At that point, I can assign myself to the city''s forces and investigate.''


    ''As a member of the city''s forces, it would be my job to find criminals and to protect the city.''


    Nick looked forward and saw the tall building that was Dark Dream.


    ''That''s something for the future. For now, I have to deal with the things that are in front of me.''


    ''The two new Specters I will be getting and the new people I will need for them.''


    ''I didn''t expect that I would gain two Adolescents at once. With them, Dark Dream now has five Adolescents.''


    ''And we only have three Johns.''


    Nick released a sigh.


    ''Luckily, Jonathan and Kiara will very soon be Johns. Constanze, Marv, and Larry will also be Johns within the next 6 months.''


    Nick furrowed his brows again.


    ''But the Bleeding Lady and the Lover will also advance to be Adolescents within the year.''


    ''That leaves the Puppy as the only reliable Specter for Newbies, which means Dark Dream can only train three Newbies at a time.''


    ''We need more Hatchlings so that we can raise more Newbies.''


    Nick rubbed his forehead as one problem after the other appeared in his mind.


    Being a Chief Zephyx Extractor wasn''t easy.


    Nick entered Dark Dream and directly went to Wyntor''s office.


    As soon as Nick entered, Wyntor put everything to the side and looked at him with seriousness.


    "I heard that you used the signal," Wyntor said. "What happened?"


    Nick sat down in front of Wyntor and sighed.


    "A lot."


    Wyntor nodded and waited for Nick to tell him what happened.


    Yet, there was an issue.


    "Sadly, I am not allowed to tell you the details," Nick said.


    Wyntor narrowed his eyes. "Why not?" he asked.


    "Well, let me phrase it like this¡­"


    "I spoke to a Protector today."


    Wyntor''s eyes shot open in shock.


    "What?" he asked. "Do you know what a Protector is?"


    "Yes, Wyntor. I''m not dumb," Nick said with a bit of annoyance. "It was a Protector from Aegis, and I talked to him for quite a while because of what I found in Riker''s room."


    "The Governor, Aria Light, and the Protector all told me that I am not allowed to tell anyone about what I have seen today, including you."


    "I''m sorry, Wyntor. I really want to tell you, but I can''t," Nick said with regret.


    Wyntor rubbed the bridge of his nose.


    "Give me a couple of minutes," he said. "I have to think about this."


    "Sure," Nick said.


    Then, several minutes of silence passed while Nick went to grab a coffee from his office.


    "Okay," Wyntor said after taking a deep breath. "I really, really, really want to know, but even my father refused to tell me anything. If even my father doesn''t trust me enough to tell me, I can''t expect you to tell me."


    Nick nodded. "Sorry, Wyntor."


    "Please, at least tell me that Dark Dream got something out of this," Wyntor said.


    Nick smiled.


    "Two very valuable Adolescents!"

 Chapter 238 238 – Monica

    <h4>Chapter 238 Chapter 238 ¨C Monica</h4>


    "And that''s that," a blonde woman wearing the city''s uniform said with a smile.


    The emblem on her uniform identified her as a Veteran working for the city, and right now, she was standing in front of one of Dark Dream''s Containment Units.


    "Thank you," Nick answered with a smile.


    "Dark Dream really lucked out this time," she said. "I''m not sure what you paid, but it must have been a lot. I thought the city would keep that one for all eternity."


    "Well, I can only say that we are happy with how things turned out," Nick said with a chuckle.


    The woman also chuckled a bit. "Anyway, have fun. I wish we could have this one. Oh, with we, I mean Gemini."


    "Thank you," Nick said before leading her out.


    The Veteran left, and Nick went back into the building.


    The Veteran had just delivered the two Specters that the governor had promised Nick.


    Naturally, one of them was Monica, and the other one was one of equivalent value to Monica.


    Dark Dream now had five Adolescents and a total of nine Specters.


    Nick remembered how he and Wyntor had captured the Dreamer inside the sewers and how they had kept it inside a Containment Unit in a warehouse.


    Now, Dark Dream actually had a huge building with nine Specters.


    ''Well, time to get to work!'' Nick thought as he walked to the third floor.


    Trevor and Jenny were already waiting in front of a Containment Unit, and Nick nodded at them.


    "You ready?" he asked.


    The two of them nodded.


    "This should be easy, but we still have to be careful," Nick said as he walked into the Containment Unit.


    Jenny and Trevor followed after him.


    The door closed behind them, and the three of them were now eye to eye with a young woman with blonde hair.


    The woman seemed bored and apathetic, but she didn''t seem too strange otherwise.


    Just by looking at her, nobody would believe that she was an Early Adolescent, a Specter.


    Monica just leaned on one of the walls.


    Jenny and Trevor waited near the entrance.


    Jenny had her gun in her hand, and Trevor had already taken out his spear.


    Monica acted like the two of them didn''t exist and just looked at Nick.


    "Scared?" she asked with a bored but dark tone.


    "Just careful," Nick said. "We don''t know each other yet."


    Monica just looked at Nick in silence for a while.


    "What do you want?" she asked.


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Nick asked. "I want toe to an agreement with you."


    "For?" she asked.


    "What else? Zephyx extraction," Nick said.


    "Why would you need an agreement? I can''t escape anyway. I don''t even want to escape," she said.


    Trevor and Jenny didn''t believe her.


    Every Specter wanted to escape since they couldn''t grow as quickly inside a Containment Unit.


    However, Nick believed her.


    He was quite sure that Monica didn''t want to escape.


    Envy wanted to kill her, and the safest ce was inside a Containment Unit right now.


    After all, Envy would send a Specter, and the worst ce a Specter could be in was a Containment Unit.


    "You were with the Riker Strikers for a while," Nick said. "You have seen how the gangs in the Dregs operate."


    "It is much easier for both sides when wee to an agreement."


    "If I just force everything on you, you might decide to kill an Extractor at some point out of protest, and then we would be forced to do other things."


    "In the end, all of us would lose out."


    "So, why note to an agreement right now?" Nick asked.


    Monica''s expression didn''t change.


    In fact, her expression hadn''t changed ever since she had been captured several days ago.


    She felt just like the Dreamer, with the only difference being that she could actually talk.


    If the Dreamer could talk, it would probably talk very simrly to Monica.


    "Fine," Monica said with a bored tone. "Exin to me what you want."


    Jenny and Trevor watched with interest.


    This was the first Specter they could actually have a conversation with.


    Sure, the Bleeding Lady could also talk, but she wasn''t much of a talker.


    She generally just said that she was going to kill someone.


    She wasn''t much for thoughtful conversations.


    "As a Manufacturer, we are interested in three things," Nick said.


    "First of all, we want Zephyx so that we can sell it and earn a lot of money."


    "Second, we want our Extractors to be stronger."


    "And third, this might surprise you, but we also want our Specters to be stronger."


    Monica''s expression didn''t change.


    "Why?" she asked with boredom.


    Monica had heard about Manufacturers, but she had never talked to any Extractor, and she also didn''t know how Manufacturers operated.


    She genuinely had no idea why a Manufacturer would want to increase the power of a Specter.


    Yet, since she couldn''t feel emotions, her question seemed like she just wanted to argue, even though she genuinely just wanted to know why.


    Luckily, Nick had a lot of experience with Specters and knew what Monica meant.


    "If you are stronger, you produce more Zephyx, and the Extractors that work with you also benefit more," Nick said.


    Monica''s expression didn''t change. "For profit, you are willing to increase the power of your natural predator?"


    "Yes," Nick said with a smile.


    Monica looked at Nick for a while.


    This wasn''t actually as bad as she had anticipated.


    "What do you have in mind?" she asked.


    "Usually, we confiscate 90% of the Zephyx you produce, but I am willing to go down to 80% for you," Nick said.


    "However, I am only doing this because I am trusting in the fact that you won''t kill any of my weaker Extractors."


    "If one of my Extractors dies, it will be back to 90%, and maybe we will even sell you to another Manufacturer, and I can guarantee that they are not as nice as us."


    Monica''s expression didn''t change.


    She just looked at Nick for a while.

 Chapter 239 239 – The Money Sink

    <h4>Chapter 239 Chapter 239 ¨C The Money Sink</h4>


    "Okay," Monica said.


    As a Specter that had lived amongst humans for quite a while, Monica was very good at gauging someone''s personality.


    Knowing how someone thought and acted made it easier to get their valuables, which was what Monica was after.


    In her mind, Nick was someone who stood by his principles.


    Someone like him either didn''t like lying or was horrible at it.


    Her instincts told her that Nick was honest.


    Well, as honest as humans came.


    "Good to hear," Nick said. "So, how can we improve your power?"


    Nick usually needed to try stuff until he found the optimal way to work with a Specter.


    But with Monica, he could just ask.


    "Valuables," Monica said. "Anything that humans consider valuable, I can consume to be stronger."


    "Can you give me some examples?" Nick asked politely.


    "Credits, gems, weapons, food. If a human can own it and would feel pain from losing it, I can consume it," Monica said evenly.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "What about food waste?" he asked.


    Nick wanted to make sure that there was no ovep with the Dung Heap.


    "No human would care about food waste since it can''t be eaten nor traded," Monica exined. "So, no."


    "What about loved ones?" Nick asked.


    "No," Monica said.


    "Pets?"


    "No."


    "So, only objects?" Nick asked.


    "Yes," Monica answered.


    "What about sentimental value?" Nick asked.


    "What do you mean?"


    "For example, if the mother of a young child dies and the young child only has a drawing of his mother. The little child doesn''t want to lose the drawing since this object is thest thing left by its mother. Therefore, this object holds a lot of value to the child but is worthless to others," Nick said.


    Surprisingly, Monica didn''t immediately answer.


    "I don''t know," she said.


    "You don''t know?" Nick repeated in surprise.


    Trevor and Jenny were just as surprised.


    "I don''t know," Monica repeated.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Can we try?"


    "Yes," Monica answered evenly.


    Nick nodded and turned to Trevor.


    After giving Trevor some instructions, Trevor left.


    A couple of minutester, Trevor came back and gave Nick something.


    A nket.


    Nick took a deep breath when he saw the nket.


    This was the nket that had been on Horua''s bed about two years ago.


    Nick had kept it.


    "Try this," Nick said as he put the nket on the ground.


    Monica looked at it and extended her arm towards it.


    The next moment, the nket slowly turned into dust and flew towards Monica''s hand.


    The dust became smaller and smaller until it vanished when it touched Monica''s hand.


    Monica remained silent.


    The other three also remained silent.


    "No," Monica said. "No difference."


    "So, you are only interested in objects that are valuable for a great number of people," Nick said.


    "Yes," Monica answered.


    "Is there some kind of diminishing return?" Nick asked.


    "If there is, I haven''t noticed," Monica said evenly.


    Nick nodded.


    "Then, we''re going to test that," Nick said. "I''m going to get some money ande backter."


    Monica didn''t say anything and just kept leaning on the wall.


    Nick left and got about 100,000 credits in cash from thepany card.


    He was willing to use up all of this to properly test Monica''s power.


    Nick went back to Monica and grabbed 10,000 credits.


    This was the first time Monica had ever seen so many credits at once.


    Since Monica had been working in the Dregs, she was never around a lot of money.


    At most, she got around 2,000 credits per day.


    But now, someone was handing her 10,000 credits.


    Maybe it actually wasn''t so bad to be captured.


    If she got 10,000 credits every day, she might grow even faster than before she had been captured.


    Monica absorbed the credits just like she had absorbed the nket.


    It only took a couple of seconds.


    A momentter, the eyes of the three Extractors opened wide in surprise.


    They could actually feel the Zephyx in the air increasing!


    They hadn''t felt that from any of their Specters before!


    Naturally, the Zephyx in the air reduced again since it was absorbed by the Containment Unit.


    Nick walked out and checked the Zephyx storage.


    And when he saw the Zephyx, his eyes widened in shock.


    ''50 grams!'' he thought.


    ''She just turned 10,000 credits into 50,000 credits!''


    Nick''s mind was going crazy.


    ''There has to be a downside! If not, she could produce more Zephyx than the Crimson Fungus!''


    Nick took a deep breath and walked back in.


    He gave her another 10,000 credits and looked at the storage again.


    Nick''s eyes shone.


    ''25 grams,'' he thought. ''Half as much as the first 10,000.''


    ''So, if I give her another 10,000 credits, it will reduce to about 12.5 grams.''


    Nick handed Monica another 10,000 credits and checked again.


    ''Sure enough, 12.5 grams,'' he thought as he scratched his chin.


    For the next couple of minutes, Nick gave Monica less and less money and always checked the amount of Zephyx she produced.


    After all of his observations, he went to Wyntor to talk with him.


    While it was definitely Nick''s job to decide how the Extractors worked with the Specters, he wanted to know what Wyntor thought about this.


    Wyntor was far better at the financial aspect of thepany.


    After talking to Wyntor, Nick performed more tests on Monica.


    And eventually, they knew what to do.


    Every day, Monica would receive 33,000 credits from thepany card.


    The 33,000 credits would be converted to about 90 grams of Zephyx, which would amount to 90,000 credits of revenue.


    This meant that Monica would give thepany a profit of about 57,000 credits per day.


    Even more, it was extremely easy to work with Monica, and she didn''t even want to escape.


    On top of that, she could also give an ability.


    She was the perfect Specter!


    In the end, Nick decided on a fitting but ironic name for her.


    From now on, Monica''s codename would be the Money Sink.

 Chapter 240 240 – Special Containment Unit

    <h4>Chapter 240 Chapter 240 ¨C Special Containment Unit</h4>


    After dealing with the Money Sink, Nick went to the other Specter they had received.


    It was already evening, but Nick didn''t have other things to do.


    Luckily, the Veteran who had delivered the other Specter had already exined all the details to Nick.


    This Specter had been suppressed by the city for several years already, and the process of working with it had already been perfected.


    The city didn''t act uncooperatively and directly told Dark Dream how to work with it.


    Many Extractors had already worked with it.


    The process of working with it wasn''t nice, but it produced a ton of Zephyx with no real danger.


    Nick himself wouldn''t be working with this Specter regrly, but he still wanted to work with it at least once to know what his employees would go through.


    Nick entered the second floor of Dark Dream, the floor for Possession Specters.


    Then, Nick walked to one of the Containment Units, but instead of entering directly, Nick typed several things into the Containment Unit.


    The city had told Dark Dream that they needed a special Containment Unit for this Specter.


    The Containment Unit was a bit more expensive than the normal version, but it made this specific Specter essentially harmless.


    This Containment Unit had three special functions.


    The first one was that it couldn''t be opened from the inside.


    Not even Extractors could open it from the inside.


    If someone wanted to get out, they would need to destroy the Containment Unit, or someone from the outside would have to open it.


    The second function was a timer.


    When the timer was up, the third function of the Containment Unit would be active, and the exit would open.


    The city said that shifts with this Specter should be 24 hours long and that nobody should work more than one shift every week with this Specter.


    Preferably not more than once every two weeks.


    For now, Nick put in a timer of five hours.


    He wasn''t really here to work with it but to see how it would feel to work with it properly.


    Nick opened the door and entered.


    BANG!


    The door behind him closed, and it wouldn''t open for five hours.


    Nick inspected the door from the inside.


    ''Sure enough, no way to get out,'' he thought.


    Then, Nick looked at the center of the Containment Unit.


    On the floor was a small object.


    Nick walked forward and picked it up.


    It was a pair of sses.


    They looked as inconspicuous as one could imagine.


    This was the Specter.


    Nick looked at them for a while before he put them on.


    Then, he looked around and waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    ''Not much going on, huh?'' Nick thought.


    ''Well, they did say that it takes around an hour for them to really show their effect.''


    For an hour, Nick just waited in boredom.


    "Nick!"


    Nick was startled back to consciousness as he heard the speakers in the Containment Unit speak his name.


    It was Wyntor''s voice!


    "The Dreamer has broken out!" Wyntor shouted.


    Nick''s eyes widened in shock.


    "What? How?!" he shouted.


    "It gained a mental ability that hypnotized one of our Extractors, who let him out! We have to catch it!" Wyntor shouted.


    Nick took a deep breath, took off the sses, and ran towards the exit.


    Then, he remembered that he couldn''t get out on his own.


    "Wyntor, let me out!" Nick shouted.


    Silence.


    "Wyntor!"


    Silence.


    Nick looked at the speakers¡­


    But saw no speakers.


    For a moment, Nick was confused.


    "Wait, what?" Nick uttered.


    Then, Nick remembered that this Containment Unit actually didn''t have any speakers and looked at the sses.


    ''They got me,'' Nick thought with a sigh.


    The sses, which were officially called the sses, distorted someone''s reality.


    They created voices that weren''t there.


    They created smells that weren''t there.


    They could even create visions.


    Luckily, the sses mainly created auditory hallucinations.


    Visual hallucinations were quite rare, and when they appeared, they were rather mild.


    It was more confusing and perplexing than horrifying.


    After a bit, Nick chuckled and put the sses back on.


    This was how an Extractor worked with the sses.


    They put them on, went through a couple of hallucinations for 24 hours, and then left.


    Some minutester, Nick felt like the room was bing a bit blurry until, eventually, it became foggy.


    Nick felt like he was inside the Fog''s Containment Unit.


    For about two hours, Nick felt like he was in the Fog''s Containment Unit.


    Then, the fog vanished.


    After that, Nick felt like Jenny and Trevor were talking to him from just outside his vision.


    Nick even held a conversation with them.


    Of course, Nick kept telling himself that the conversation hadn''t really happened.


    Another hourter, Nick''s nose scrunched up as the smell of the Dung Heap appeared in the Containment Unit.


    He really wasn''t a fan of that one.


    Eventually, Nick put the sses to the side.


    Five hours were close to being up, and Nick just waited for thest couple of minutes.


    Nick leaned against the wall for thest few minutes.


    And then, the third unique function of the Containment Unit appeared.


    WHOOOOOSH!


    A strong gust of wind pushed Nick to the side, almost making him fall to the ground.


    When the timer ended, the Containment Unit created this powerful gust of wind to remove the sses from the Extractor''s face.


    And when the gust of wind appeared, Nick''s eyes widened in shock.


    Just now, he had seen the sses flying away from his eyes!


    But how?!


    He had taken them off earlier!


    He had heard that there had been instances of Extractors thinking that they had taken the sses off when, in reality, they hadn''t, but he hadn''t expected that the illusions were THAT convincing!


    In shock, Nick just looked at the sses getting flung against the wall of the Containment Unit with quite a bit of force.


    Luckily, they were far more durable than normal sses.


    Some secondster, the wind stopped, and the exit opened.


    Nick walked out and closed the Containment Unit.


    Then, he looked at the Zephyx he had produced.


    ''Twelve grams,'' Nick thought. ''Seems about right.''


    The sses produced Zephyx based on the amount of time they had been worn and on the power of the person wearing them.


    The upper limit was a Mid John.


    24 hours of being worn by a Mid John produced about 95 grams of Zephyx.


    If Nick wore them for 24 hours, they would produce about 60 grams of Zephyx.


    ''It''s definitely weird working with them, but I think people would rather work with this than with the Bleeding Lady, the Lover, or the Dreamer.''


    ''And it also produces a lot of Zephyx.''


    ''Sure enough, the sses are a great Specter!''

 Chapter 241 241 – New People

    <h4>Chapter 241 Chapter 241 ¨C New People</h4>


    Time passed, and Dark Dream became bigger.


    With the amount of money Dark Dream was producing, they could afford to hire more people who had been scouted by Ghosty''s Lab.


    In the past, Nick had been surprised that Ghosty''s Lab was selling so many new recruits, but now, they found themselves buying these recruits.


    Even more, Dark Dream also purchased three special recruits from Gemini.


    The ability of the Distortion was just too valuable.


    An ability that could iste Zephyx and even suppress Force Specters.


    Even more, the strength of the ability increased when there were more people with the same ability.


    However, that wasn''t everything.


    Nick also hired another three people but decided to give them the abilities of some of their Specters.


    First, Nick wanted to see what kind of ability the Money Sink could grant people, and from what he could see, the Money Sink could give people the ability to absorb Zephyx.


    Of course, this kind of absorption was different from the normal one that everyone had.


    When someone used the ability, they could pull all the Zephyx from an area towards them at a steady stream.


    Nick decided to try it out on the Screaming Coffin.


    As soon as the new person used their ability, the Screaming Coffin started to stand up and run away.


    Or, at least, it tried to run away.


    This meant that the Screaming Coffin saw this as an attack.


    A couple secondster, the Screaming Coffin lost its power and became much slower.


    Nick stopped the experiment at that point and left with the new hire.


    Next, Nick tried the ability on one of the new recruits.


    And that ended up in the new person almost dying!


    The new hire was an Initial Newbie, just like the one that had used the ability.


    This meant that they barely had any Zephyx inside their body.


    In barely a second or two, all the Zephyx of the other person had been absorbed¡­


    And then, the ability started to attack the body.


    At that point, Nick had to intervene immediately.


    Luckily, the other person had only lost quite some skin, but that would regrow with time.


    The ability was obviously extremely strong.


    Some dayster, Nick tried the ability out on an Early Newbie that he had bought from Gemini.


    This time, things were manageable.


    It took the Newbie almost ten seconds to get through all the Zephyx of the Early Newbie.


    That calmed Nick down.


    When Nick had seen how the ability could drain someone on the same level dry within two seconds, he had been shocked.


    That ability was too strong!


    That ability would be even stronger than his own!


    However, after more experimentation, Nick found out that it was special for Initial Newbies.


    After all, Initial Newbies had just started to gather Zephyx.


    This meant that an Initial Newbie had barely any Zephyx inside their body, while an Early Newbie already had quite a bit.


    When he was done with all the experimentations for the new ability, Nick summarized that the ability could probably drain someone of the same level of all Zephyx within five to eight seconds.


    That was still extremely strong and fast, but it allowed the enemy to counterattack.


    In order to use the ability, one had to remain motionless.


    While it had a range of over five meters, six seconds was still more than enough to close the distance and attack the user of the ability.


    However, the ability was still extremely strong.


    It was so strong that Nick gave the same ability to a second person.


    The third person got the ability of the Fog.


    Nick thought that the guy could probably help him during a fight.


    After hiring these nine people, Nick decided to stop hiring new personnel for now.


    Dark Dream now had 20 Zephyx Extractors, including Nick.


    20 Extractors.


    When Nick thought about it, it almost seemed unreal.


    He felt like they had left the warehouse justst week.


    As time passed, Dark Dream also gained five more Johns.


    Jonathan, Kiara, Constanze, Marv, and Larry managed to be Johns.


    Together with Trevor, Jenny and Nick, Dark Dream now had eight Johns.


    It had barely been six months since the meeting, and Dark Dream had already fulfilled the goal that the governor had for them.


    Another two monthster, the Lover became an Adolescent.


    The Lover was working with Kiara, who had already be a John.


    Apparently, it was benefiting quite a bit from working with her.


    But the Lover wasn''t the only Specter that became an Adolescent.


    The Bleeding Lady also became one.


    This was proving to be troublesome.


    Sure, it was great that these two Specters produced more Zephyx now, but it was much more difficult for Newbies to work with them now.


    The Lover''s effect on the mentality of a Newbie had increased significantly. Sending a Newbie to work with it could result in the Newbie''s sex life getting ruined permanently.


    Luckily, Kiara was taking care of it.


    Sadly, the Bleeding Lady was also now inessible to Newbies.


    One small cut of hers had already nearly cut someone''s arm off, and the sight of so much blood and bone seemed to distress the Bleeding Lady.


    When Nick had brought one of the Peak Newbies to work with the Bleeding Lady, he ended up fighting her just two minutester.


    Fortunately, Nick was already a Mid John, and he was extremely skilled at fighting.


    The Bleeding Lady shot several powerful cuts at Nick, but he just sidestepped and bisected her horizontally.


    This weakened the Bleeding Lady significantly, and Nick could bring the new agent out of the Containment Unit.


    The Bleeding Lady would need a couple of days to recover, during which nobody could work with her.


    Dark Dream now had seven Adolescents and only two Hatchlings, and one of the Hatchlings couldn''t even be properly worked with since it was a Possession Specter.


    That made it difficult to increase the power of the recruits.


    ''Is that why so many Manufacturers have so few Newbies? Is it because their Specters turn that quickly into Adolescents?'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    In the end, Nick decided to focus on finding a Hatchling instead of an Adolescent.

 Chapter 242 242 – Empath

    <h4>Chapter 242 Chapter 242 ¨C Empath</h4>


    Two monthster, Nick managed to find and capture a Mid Hatchling.


    As always, Nick found the Specter in the Dregs.


    Funnily enough, the Specter was revealed by ident.


    There was this guy in the Dregs who was considered to be one of the sickest people in existence.


    Back when the entire thing with Envy happened, this guy had been just an honorary member of the Riker Strikers.


    After the Riker Strikers copsed, the guy started to find his victims on his own.


    From what people had been saying, the guy was apparently capturing entire families and then forcing the members of the family to severely injure each other.


    Nobody died during the process, but many people got crippled and traumatized.


    While this could be considered strange, it wasn''t unheard of in the Dregs.


    Sick and twisted people were everywhere in the Dregs.


    But then, the guy had the worst luck imaginable.


    He kidnapped the family of a friend of one of Dark Dream''s new Extractors.


    Naturally, the Extractor asked their team leader, Trevor, for help.


    Trevor quickly told Nick, and Nick told the Investigator department.


    It didn''t even take half a day to find the guy.


    By now, Dark Dream had over 50 Investigators, and all of them knew the Dregs very well.


    When they found the guy, they told Nick, who told Trevor, who told the new employee.


    Naturally, the new employee ran to beat the shit out of the guy.


    And then, things turned chaotic.


    The guy was extremely strong and overwhelmed the Extractor.


    Sadly, the Extractor was only an Initial Newbie, and the guy, who was a Specter, was already a Mid Hatchling.


    The Investigators had still kept an eye on the ce, and when they saw the brutal fight, they immediately realized that this was a Specter or some kind of rogue Extractor.


    The Investigators all got their weapons out and ran at the Specter.


    Naturally, after seeing so many people with weapons, the Specter realized that it had to flee.


    Sure, it was far more powerful than a normal human, but it couldn''t fight ten humans at once who all held guns in their hands.


    A chase ensued.


    Chaos broke out in the Dregs.


    BANG!


    And then, the guy''s lower body was turned into dust as the sound of a gunshot thundered throughout the Dregs.


    The child that Nick, Jonathan, and Kiara had found about two years ago was visiting one of her friends in the Dregs, and to make sure that nothing happened to her, Kiara had apanied her.


    Naturally, Kiara noticed themotion, and when she saw Dark Dream''s Investigators chasing after a guy who was jumping suspiciously far and high, she knew what was going on.


    As an Initial John, it wasn''t very difficult for her to stop the Specter.


    She just shot once, and the guy was done.


    After that, she just grabbed the Specter and carried it to Dark Dream under the protection of over 20 Investigators.


    The guy was dumped into a Containment Unit, and Nick quickly went to experiment with him.


    Turns out, even though the new Specter was a human Specter, talking to him was about as effective as talking to the Bleeding Lady.


    The guy constantly acted like an unstable drug addict who kept screaming random, violent things at everyone who was present.


    Even more, after a while of not getting what he wanted, the guy became so aggressive that he attacked everyone he saw.


    Nevertheless, Nick found out what the guy needed to grow stronger.


    Apparently, he gained power by forcing people to hurt their loved ones.


    The stronger the love for that person and the greater the damage, the more Zephyx was produced.


    Working with it would be very difficult.


    On top of that, Nick was already not the biggest fan of this Specter.


    After all, the Extractor that had initially fought the guy didn''te out unscathed.


    He lost one of his arms.


    Sadly, the body of a normal person wasn''t strong enough to resist the side effects of regrowing a limb.


    It was possible to regrow a limb with some advanced medicine, but the stress of regrowing the limb would kill the person.


    One had to be an Initial Veteran first.


    While Nick felt horrible for their new Extractor, he couldn''t push a new employee like that towards bing a Veteran.


    Additionally, many Specters could perceive weakness.


    For example, the Bleeding Lady would probably go crazy if she saw a one-armed person.


    So, in the end, Nick moved the guy to the Investigator department with good pay.


    All of this considered, Nick really wasn''t the biggest fan of their newest Specter.


    Nevertheless, Nick wanted to, at least, find out what kind of ability it could hand out.


    He decided that he would hire two new Extractors, a husband and a wife, both from the Outer City.


    The two of them would work with the new Specter, which Nick had dubbed the Empath, once.


    The work was stressful and difficult, but the two new Extractors managed to gain the Empath''s ability.


    The ability was very interesting.


    People with the ability could transfer injuries and damage to other people with the ability.


    For example, if someone were to stab the wife, she could will it so that her wound disappeared while an identical one appeared on her husband''s body.


    With only two people, this ability was nice but nothing special.


    However, Nick could see the great potential for this ability.


    What if there were a hundred people?


    If a huge explosion appeared in the middle of them, would everyone just receive a couple of burns instead of being blown to smithereens?


    In the end, Nick handed the Empath to Wyntor, who would sell it.


    The Empath was the first Specter that Dark Dream would sell or exchange, depending on the offer.


    Working with it was just too difficult.


    The only thing it was good for was the creation of many new recruits with the same ability, and Dark Dream didn''t have the luxury of producing Newbies and selling them or growing them themselves.


    Luckily, the ability was very good, which meant that they could exchange the Empath for a good Specter.


    At least, that was what they had thought.


    In the end, the city showed great interest in the Empath due to its power and offered something.


    A pair of Specters.


    Both of them were very simr, and they solved Dark Dream''s problems of not having enough Specters for their Newbies.

 Chapter 243 243 – Blood Hawk

    <h4>Chapter 243 Chapter 243 ¨C Blood Hawk</h4>


    Nick stood in front of a Containment Unit with narrowed eyes.


    The two new Specters had been delivered today, and the Empath had also already been handed over to the city.


    The two Specters that Dark Dream had received in return were very simr to each other, and the way a Zephyx Extractor had to work with them was identical.


    Nick was a bit nervous as he stood in front of the Containment Unit on the fourth floor.


    He knew that the Specters couldn''t possibly endanger him, but he was still a bit nervous.


    Nick pressed a couple of buttons on the console and took some steps back.


    The Containment Units they had bought for these two Specters were quite cheap, but they still had some unique features.


    These were Containment Units that supported rapid opening and rapid closing of the employee entrance.


    For these kinds of Specters, such a function was a must.


    A momentter, Nick narrowed his eyes.


    BANG!


    And exploded forward, running towards the closed entrance.


    BANG!


    The door opened with an explosive sound in less than half a second.


    Nick ran through the opened door.


    BANG!


    And the door closed with incredible speed!


    As soon as he entered, Nick immediately noticed the Specter.


    It was almostpletely red.


    It was a hawk that was over a meter tall, but instead of skin and feathers, it was fully made of flesh.


    Even its wings were only made of long flesh membranes.


    Its beak and talons were made of some kind of flesh that had hardened.


    On top of that, it also didn''t have any eyes.


    Its entire head was encased in flesh.


    This was the Blood Hawk, one of the several Blood Specters.


    Nick took note of all of these characteristics in less than a second since the Blood Hawk was already starting to attack.


    Blood Specters were all extremely aggressive and very stupid.


    They attacked any human they found, no matter how powerful.


    They attacked babies, children, adults, elders, Newbies, Johns, Veterans, Experts, and so on.


    As long as they found any human, they immediately attacked.


    The Blood Hawk readied its ws and shot towards Nick.


    BANG!


    The Blood Hawk hit the wall of the Containment Unit since Nick had easily sidestepped the attack.


    By now, Nick was a Mid John.


    It had been nearly a full year since the great meeting, and Nick managed to advance two levels.


    That was quite fast.


    One had to remember that most Extractors never managed to be Veterans.


    Most of them were stuck in the second level.


    Usually, advancing one level took at least a year, and bing a Veteran took even longer.


    There were people who had been working with Specters for over 30 years who still hadn''t managed to be Veterans.


    There were a couple of reasons for that, but those weren''t important right now.


    The important thing was that Nick advanced so quickly in levels since he had two distinct advantages over other Johns.


    First, Nick was a Chief Zephyx Extractor, and he was working with an incredible Specter, the Money Sink.


    Nick was no longer working with the Bleeding Lady since he also had to leave some Zephyx for his employees.


    Nick had also handed his tasks of feeding the Dung Heap and the Screaming Coffin to his team leaders.


    These days, Nick only worked with the Money Sink, and that was all he needed.


    The terrifying thing about the Money Sink was that it produced an insane amount of Zephyx in barely a couple of minutes.


    So, in just a couple of minutes, Nick essentially got the benefit of having a Specter produce around 90 grams of Zephyx.


    That was far more than normal Johns got after working with a Specter for 24 hours.


    Even more, Nick didn''t need to take any days off.


    The second reason why Nick was advancing so quickly was the method that Man had taught Nick back then.


    By pushing himself with intense exercise, Nick could advance a level while only having around 85% to 90% of the required Zephyx.


    That saved him a couple of months as well.


    Because of these two things, Nick managed to be a Mid John after only a year, while his two team leaders had only recently advanced to be Early Johns.


    So, Nick was a Mid John now.


    What about the Blood Hawk?


    It was an Early Hatchling.


    Even without his ability, Nick''s body was around ten times stronger than the Blood Hawk''s body.


    If Nick didn''t resist and let the Blood Hawk attack him, it would only manage to make him bleed a little with a couple of surface-level cuts.


    But that was basically it.


    If it wanted to kill Nick, it would need minutes.


    BANG!


    Nick stepped to the side again as the hawk kept attacking.


    Nick just watched the hawk and took note of its attacking pattern.


    After watching it for over a minute, Nick realized that it basically had no strategy while attacking.


    Most of the time, it was just charging forward while extending its talons towards Nick.


    A couple of times, it was trying to peck him.


    When Nick was in a fitting position, the Blood Hawk even tried to swat him with its wings.


    But that was basically it.


    "Alright," Nick said.


    BANG!


    Nick punched the hawk in the chest, and its back hit the wall of the Containment Unit.


    Since Nick knew that he was much more powerful than the Blood Hawk, he hadn''t taken his weapons with him.


    After all, if he used his weapons, he might identally kill the Blood Hawk.


    When the Blood Hawk hit the walls, Nick only heard the squelching sound of some wet meat hitting the wall.


    Surprisingly, the wall didn''t get discolored by any kind of blood.


    It seemed like the Blood Hawk had some kind of film over its body that kept its blood inside, even though it looked very bloody all of the time.


    Additionally, based on the sound, Nick guessed that the Blood Hawk didn''t even have any bones.


    ''Interesting,'' Nick thought.

 Chapter 244 244 – Hyper Regeneration

    <h4>Chapter 244 Chapter 244 ¨C Hyper Regeneration</h4>


    The Blood Hawk fell to the ground, but it didn''t immediately stand up.


    Obviously, the hit had dealt quite some damage to it.


    That was when Nick noticed that the surface of the Blood Hawk seemed to vibrate and move like it was wavy water.


    Nick just watched.


    About ten secondster, the hawk stood up and charged at Nick again.


    During this entire time, it hadn''t made a single sound.


    The Blood Hawk waspletely quiet all the time unless it hit one of the walls by ident.


    Nick easily grabbed both its talons and forced them into his left hand.


    He was essentially holding the Blood Hawk like a chicken.


    The hawk tried to attack him, but Nick just waved it around so that it couldn''t.


    A momentter, Nick grabbed one of the wings.


    RIIIIIIP!


    Nick tore the wing off and threw it to the side.


    The Specter didn''t even react.


    It was almost like nothing had happened, even though it had lost a wing.


    RIIIIIP!


    Nick also tore the other wing off.


    BANG!


    And then threw the hawk against the wall again.


    The Blood Hawk slumped to the ground, and the surface of its body started to move again.


    Nick watched as tendrils slowly came out of the spots where the hawk''s wings used to be.


    Within 20 seconds, the hawk jumped up again and attacked Nick, fully recovered, including its wings.


    This was the unique ability of Blood Specters.


    Hyper Regeneration.


    Blood Specters could transform Prephyx into Zephyx at insane rates.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the hawk against the wall again while watching the two wings he had torn off earlier.


    The wings were already turning ck and vanishing.


    ording to research, the appendages of Blood Specters were simr to blood vessels.


    They were not storing much Zephyx inside of them, but they had a lot of Zephyx traveling through them.


    So, when they were cut off, most of the Zephyx entered the Blood Specter''s body again, leaving barely any Zephyx inside the appendage.


    Because of that, the appendage decayed rapidly.


    After all, Specters were not really made of flesh and bone.


    They just looked like they were.


    Within a minute, the two wings had vanished.


    Nick kept injuring the Blood Hawk for about five minutes.


    At that point, Nick noticed that the regeneration speed of the Blood Hawk had taken a massive hit.


    Thest time, it needed almost 40 seconds to recover after being thrown against the wall again.


    But that was to be expected.


    The Hyper Regeneration also had its limits.


    Every Blood Specter had a Blood Core somewhere inside their body.


    In essence, the Blood Core was the actual Specter, and all the Zephyx was stored there.


    After getting injured a lot in a short timeframe, the Blood Core experienced some kind of Zephyx saturation, which made it difficult to produce Zephyx.


    Essentially, the Blood Core was overheating and needed about a day of rest to recover.


    The good thing, or bad thing, depending on the viewpoint, was that Blood Specters were probably the hardest Specters to kill since one needed to either destroy the Blood Core or incinerate around 90% of their body.


    This meant that it was very difficult to identally kill a Blood Specter unless one was vastly more powerful.


    After throwing the Blood Hawk against the wall onest time, Nick walked out of the Containment Unit.


    He had been inside the Containment Unit for a collective ten minutes and had thoroughly exhausted the Blood Hawk.


    After exiting the Containment Unit, Nick checked how much Zephyx had been produced.


    "Eight grams," Nick said with furrowed brows. "I guess that''s to be expected from an Early Hatchling."


    The Blood Hawk was delivering less than a tenth of the Zephyx that the Money Sink produced.


    Back when Dark Dream was still just a warehouse with two Specters, Nick would have looked at eight grams with tion.


    Now, it was barely anything.


    ''But that''s a good thing, actually,'' Nick thought. ''After all, we''re not increasing their power.''


    This was another special thing about Blood Specters.


    They also produced a lot of Zephyx when they were recovering.


    Obviously, getting injured and recovering from said injury was not how a Blood Specter became more powerful.


    The actual way they became more powerful was via straight-up just killing people.


    If Nick wanted to increase the power of the Blood Hawk, he would need to send people in to get ughtered.


    Obviously, producing Zephyx in such a way was not only horrible but would also cost more money than it made.


    Luckily, Blood Specters also made Zephyx by recovering from injuries, and they also didn''t be more powerful that way.


    This meant that Dark Dream could produce Zephyx with the Blood Hawk without turning it into an Adolescent.


    Usually, Manufacturers wanted their Specters to be more powerful since they produced more Zephyx that way.


    However, Nick didn''t get these two new Specters for their Zephyx.


    He got them for his Newbies.


    First of all, the Newbies would absorb some of the Zephyx that the Blood Hawk used to recover, which increased their power.


    Second, they got some great training.


    Fighting a Specter was always terrifying, and the first time was the most dangerous time.


    By letting the Newbies fight a Specter inside a Containment Unit without wasting any Zephyx, the strength of the Newbies would increase.


    While Nick was thinking about these things, he could only sigh.


    ''The new guys have it so good,'' he thought. ''Back then, I had to swim through a literal sea of shit and fight a Mid Hatchling while also running from the Nightmare.''


    ''Meanwhile, they get to fight a dumb hawk inside an enclosed space with people watching.''


    ''But that''s a good thing, I suppose. Just because I went through shit doesn''t mean that others also have to go through it.''


    ''Humans are supposed to make the lives of the next generation better than the lives of their generation, right?''


    ''There''s no reason to force them to go through the same shit I had to go through.''


    Nick shook his head.


    ''Anyway, I should check on the other one.''

 Chapter 245 245 – Blood Horse and Blood Ancestor

    <h4>Chapter 245 Chapter 245 ¨C Blood Horse and Blood Ancestor</h4>


    Nick walked over to the Containment Unit that was across from the Blood Hawk''s Containment Unit.


    After fiddling with the console for a bit, Nick jumped through the entrance again.


    Nick immediately saw a big figure in the middle of the Containment Unit.


    Just like the Blood Hawk, this one was also made of blood and flesh.


    Except that this one was a horse without a head.


    Nick had never seen or heard of horses before, but the city had dubbed this Specter the Blood Horse, which probably meant that horses existed.


    The Blood Horse''s tail was made of strings of meat, and its hooves were also made of some kind of hardened meat.


    At the ce where its neck should be was just nothing.


    Its front looked just like its back, minus the fleshy tail.


    Nick immediately had to evade to the right as soon as he entered.


    BANG!


    One of the horse''s hooves hit the closed employee entrance with an explosive sound.


    The Blood Horse was quite a bit faster than the Blood Hawk, but that was to be expected.


    After all, this one was a Late Hatchling.


    Just like with the Blood Hawk, Nick watched the Blood Horse attack for a couple of minutes.


    Its attack pattern was about asplex as the Blood Hawk''s attack pattern.


    Most of the time, it just tried to kick Nick with its hooves.


    Sometimes, it charged at Nick with its front, trying to barrel through him.


    Whenever it did that, though, it hit the wall with quite a lot of force and fell to the ground.


    It even got injured a bit during the process.


    However, there was one time when Nick nearly got hit.


    Sometimes, the Blood Horse straightened its weird fleshy tail and tried to cut Nick with it by swinging its ass towards him.


    But that was the only surprise.


    For several minutes, the Blood Horse showed no other attacks.


    Although its size and power were already very dangerous.


    After all, the Blood Horse, even without a head, was already as tall as Nick, and since the base level of a body was also relevant to one''s power, the Blood Horse was definitely not weak.


    The Blood Hawk would probably need to be a Peak Hatchling if it wanted to rival the Blood Horse''s physical power.


    But in exchange, the Blood Hawk was nimbler and more flexible.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the horse against the wall, and the entire Containment Unit shook.


    The Blood Horse was HEAVY!


    Within two seconds, it had already stood up again, and its surface barely moved, which meant that it didn''t need to recover a lot.


    The defense of the Blood Horse was quite strong.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked himself off the wall of the Containment Unit and kicked the Blood Horse with his other foot.


    BOOOOOM!


    The Containment Unit shook quite a bit as the horse was thrown against the wall with an insane amount of power.


    This time, the horse needed around 20 seconds to recover, which meant that it had been severely injured by that impact.


    However, that was to be expected.


    Nick had used around 50% of his power with that kick.


    The fact that the Blood Horse could survive such a hit from Nick showed how strong its defense was.


    Most likely, not a single Newbie in Dark Dream could force the horse to move in a direction it didn''t want to.


    Its body was massive and strong.


    However, one had to remember that humans fought with weapons.


    While the Blood Horse''s defenses were very strong, a strong hit with a sword would still cause severe injuries.


    Due to its mass, the Blood Horse was very resilient to blunt force, but its defense against cutting and piercing weapons was just average.


    If the Newbies just kept stabbing and cutting it, its Blood Core would be overheated at some point.


    Even more, the horse was also sometimes injuring itself by running against the wall.


    After punching and kicking the horse for a couple of minutes, two things happened.


    First, the horse''s recovery slowed down tremendously.


    Second, Nick felt quite energetic.


    Kicking this Specter was fun!


    Eventually, Nick left the Containment Unit and looked at the Zephyx that had been produced.


    ''15 grams,'' Nick thought. ''Not bad.''


    ''I get why so many Manufacturers are buying these Blood Specters. I bet Ghosty''s Lab is probably raking in loads of credits with the Blood Ancestors.''


    Specters were all unique, and yet, the Blood Specters were so very simr.


    Why?


    The reason was that they were not Specters that had been created by "nature".


    In fact, Blood Specters were Specters that had been created by another Specter, namely the Blood Ancestor.


    The Blood Ancestor was the most powerful Specter that Ghosty''s Lab owned.


    It was a Fanatic, a level five Specter, and the only level five Specter that Ghosty''s Lab owned.


    The Blood Ancestor was a huge blob of blood, and it could create Blood Specters.


    First, the Blood Ancestor gathered Zephyx by killing people.


    When it had enough Zephyx, it spat out a Blood Core, which would then turn into a Blood Specter.


    Whenever it produced a Blood Core, a huge amount of Prephyx would be absorbed by it, and it would advance a level.


    So, for every Blood Specter that was produced, the Blood Ancestor became more powerful.


    Even more, the Blood Specters that the Blood Ancestor produced also became more powerful with time.


    The Blood Hawk and the Blood Horse had been one of the earliest, which was why they were so weak.


    But by now, the Blood Ancestor was already producing Adult Specters.


    Naturally, Ghosty''s Lab got a shitload of money whenever the Blood Ancestor advanced a level, but they also got another shitload of money by selling the Blood Specters to other Manufacturers.


    The Blood Specters were great training dummies, and Manufacturers wanted them.


    The Blood Ancestor was probably the most profitable Fanatic in all of Crimson Fungus City.


    Luckily, it was already contained.


    If it were free¡­


    Things could be very troublesome.

 Chapter 246 246 – Office Problems

    <h4>Chapter 246 Chapter 246 ¨C Office Problems</h4>


    With the Blood Hawk and the Blood Horse, Dark Dream now officially had ten Specters.


    Within three years, Dark Dream had grown from one Specter to ten!


    Even more, they also had 21 Zephyx Extractors, which was nothing to scoff at.


    Back then, Cycle had seemed dangerous with their six Newbies and two Johns.


    But now, Dark Dream had eight Johns and 13 Newbies.


    Funnily enough, Dark Dream had even more Newbies than Kugelblitz.


    Nick''s workload had also changed.


    Back then, he had been working with all of their Specters, and he hadn''t needed to talk to his employees a lot since there hadn''t been many.


    But now, Nick was having a meeting with his team leaders daily about the teams and the issues.


    Naturally, the bigger thepany became, the more interpersonal issues cropped up.


    One Extractor didn''t like how another Extractor talked to them.


    An Extractor came a bitte, which made the other Extractor mad.


    An Extractorined about another Extractor constantly criticizing them and telling them what to do even though they were not their superior.


    On top of that, the issue of equipment and money also appeared more often.


    Yes, the Extractors were earning insanely well in Dark Dreampared to other Manufacturers, but the fact that they had to buy their equipmentpletely on their own still left a bad taste in their mouths.


    Some of the Extractors alsoined about the Specters they were assigned to.


    Of course, theseints mostly came from the weaker Extractors.


    There were three Late Newbies that Trevor had assigned to work with the Blood Horse, and these three were not happy in the slightest.


    They had to fight for their lives every single day!


    One mistake, and they could die!


    Yes, there was always a stronger Extractor watching them from outside the Containment Unit, but they could still die!


    These three all came from Ghosty''s Lab, and they believed that they were being treated unfairly.


    Naturally, they also started talking to other Extractors, and they found some like-minded individuals.


    The three Early Newbies from Gemini, who were dealing with the Blood Hawk, felt the same way.


    They knew that being an Extractor was dangerous, but they were not supposed to risk their lives every single day!


    Theints were piling up, and it was even possible that Dark Dream would get their first protest.


    In the end, Nick decided to give them what they wanted.


    The three Late Newbies got sent to work with the Fog.


    The Fog was definitely one of the easier ones to work with.


    It just took a lot of time and was very boring.


    When the three of them heard that, they felt ted.


    Finally, they didn''t have to risk their lives anymore!


    Every one of them worked for 24 hours on the Fog, got two days off, and worked with it again.


    In the beginning, they preferred this to fighting for their lives.


    But after about two weeks, they became very annoyed.


    They barely had any free time!


    When they had been fighting the Blood Horse, they had been busy for one hour at most.


    But now, they didn''t have time for anything anymore!


    So, theyined again.


    They wanted another Specter.


    Nick didn''t argue and gave them the Dung Heap.


    The Dung Heap didn''t need to get worked with, but it still produced Zephyx.


    This meant that being near it still increased an Extractor''s power.


    Since Dark Dream had so many people, they could spare three of them for the Dung Heap.


    It didn''t even take a single day before the three of themined again.


    The Dung Heap''s odor was terrifyingly bad!


    Also, walking on it felt insanely dangerous.


    At that point, Nick became annoyed.


    He didn''t want to force the new employees to go through the same shit he did, but it was genuinely getting annoying.


    After a talk with Wyntor, Nick decided to listen to them once more.


    They don''t want to fight?


    They don''t want to waste 24 hours every three days?


    They didn''t want to get bored with nothing to do?


    Fine!


    Nick assigned them to the Dreamer.


    By now, the Dreamer had be an Early Adolescent.


    For three years, it hadn''t caused a single issue.


    Ever since the incident with Horua, nothing bad had happened.


    However, before he let them work with the Dreamer, Nick wanted them to sign new contracts.


    In these contracts, they agreed to work with the Dreamer, even though Dark Dream did not think that it was a good idea to work with it.


    Of course, before signing, they asked why they weren''t getting the Puppy. ording to what they had heard, working with the Puppy was the easiest.


    Nick told them that they would be working with the Puppy anyway as soon as they became Peak Newbies and that everyone wanted to work with the Puppy.


    He had to be fair in this regard.


    In the end, they signed.


    When Nick saw their signatures, he released a sigh.


    He really didn''t like doing this.


    When Nick had talked with Wyntor, Wyntor had said that he had expected something like this to happen.


    They were treating their employees too well, which spoiled them.


    Because of that, Wyntor decided on the quickest way to solve the issue.


    Yes, the Dreamer hadn''t made issues in three years.


    However, Dark Dream also hadn''t sent anyone weaker than it to work with it in three years.


    Until now.


    The most vocal of the three Extractors was sent to work with the Dreamer first.


    Everything seemed to work normally.


    And then he started to have a seizure.


    Naturally, Trevor had been keeping an eye on them, and he immediately ran in and brought the guy to a hospital.


    As Trevor rushed the guy out, the Dreamer only looked after him with expressionless eyes.


    Some hourster, the news came in.


    He was dead.


    His mind had shut down.


    The two other Extractors felt a cold shiver run down their backs, and they refused to work with the Dreamer.


    Naturally, lots ofints followed, which prompted an appearance from Wyntor.


    Wyntor only waved the contract they had signed.


    And then, he told them to work with the Blood Horse or leave.


    Surprisingly, the two of them still keptining, which was not what Wyntor had expected.


    He had expected that they would falter and work with the Blood Horse.


    Wyntor did not like that one bit!

 Chapter 247 247 – Troublemakers

    <h4>Chapter 247 Chapter 247 ¨C Troublemakers</h4>


    "Nick," Wyntor said with an annoyed expression as he entered Nick''s office, "I need you."


    When Nick saw Wyntor''s expression, he furrowed his brows. "What''s up?"


    "The two of them stillin and refuse to back down," Wyntor said.


    Nick''s eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Still?!" he shouted.


    Wyntor nodded. "I''m not sure if I''m overthinking or not, but this seems suspicious."


    "Imagine one of your closest colleagues or friends died at work. It would probably take a couple of days or hours toe to terms with it. I don''t think you would immediately startining about not wanting to work and wanting to see a new Specter."


    "If I were in their shoes, I would shut up and work with the Blood Horse for at least a couple of days. If I still had issues by then, I would slowly find a way to deal with it."


    "Yet, they don''t want to work with the Blood Horse even once!" Wyntor shouted with annoyance.


    "Even I have worked with it!" Wyntor added.


    Yes, Wyntor had worked with the Blood Horse.


    While Wyntor wasn''t working as an Extractor, he still was a Mid Newbie, and if Dark Dream could afford it, it would definitely help to improve the power of their CEO.


    A more powerful CEO was smarter, harder to kill, and could live for longer.


    The CEOs were never amongst the most powerful Extractors of the Manufacturer, but they were at least of average power.


    Because of that, Wyntor worked with the Blood Horse from time to time.


    "Do you really think so?" Nick asked with furrowed brows. "Maybe they are just insanely unreasonable."


    Surprisingly, Wyntor didn''t immediately answer.


    Instead, he rubbed his chin in thought.


    "Maybe," he said. "We bought the three of them from Ghosty''s Lab. Maybe they just gave us a bad batch?"


    "They definitely have what it takes to be an Extractor. After all, they worked with several Specters already without any major incidents."


    "But it''s also possible that they might be spies."


    "Spies?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "What if they just want to see as many Specters as possible so that they can create a profile? Learning all about how to work with our Specters might save lives when another Manufacturer takes them."


    Wyntor sighed.


    "Or they are just THAT unreasonable. Nevertheless, we have to deal with the issue."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "What do you want me to do?"


    Wyntor looked into Nick''s eyes. "If I had the power, I would do it myself."


    Nick could already tell what Wyntor was about to say.


    "I need you to knock them out."


    Nick''s eyebrows rose.


    "I thought you wanted me to kill them," Nick said.


    "The Dreamer is going to do that," Wyntor said.


    "Oh," Nick uttered before looking at the table with an ufortable expression.


    Silence.


    "Can''t we just fire them?" Nick asked.


    "That''s what they want," Wyntor said. "At least, that''s what I assume they want. I can''t see any other reason for acting this obnoxious and problematic after one of them died."


    "Now that they know so much about our Specters, they probably want to get fired and then join another Manufacturer with the information they gathered."


    "They know that they have to give up all their equipment if they quit while also going into debt, which is why they want to use this information to get a good offer from another Manufacturer."


    "At least, that''s what I''m assuming."


    "Nick, if we don''t want to get trampled by our own people, we need to set an example."


    "They agreed to work with the Dreamer. I have that in writing."


    "If anyone asks, I can simply show the contract, and their cause of death will also check out."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He was reminded of Pator.


    "Fine," Nick said.


    Luckily, this was different from when Nick had to kill Pator.


    First of all, these were adults.


    Second of all, they were Extractors.


    Third, they were assholes.


    Fourth, Nick was older and more mature.


    Andstly, Nick wasn''t the one killing them.


    He was only killing them indirectly.


    ''I guess I have to get used to this,'' Nick thought with a sigh.


    Wyntor nodded. "Thank you, Nick. I''m sorry that I have to ask you to do this."


    "It''s fine," Nick said as he slowly stood up. "It''s part of the job, I suppose."


    A momentter, Wyntor and Nick left Nick''s office and entered Wyntor''s office.


    As soon as they entered, they saw two young men sitting on two chairs in front of Wyntor''s desk.


    One of them looked at Wyntor with furrowed brows. "Sir, we don''t feelfortable with being left alone in your office like this."


    Wyntor walked to his desk and sat down.


    Meanwhile, Nick closed the door to the office behind him and waited in front of it.


    "Why?" Wyntor asked.


    "Because we don''t want to needlessly be suspected of going through confidential documents," the same guy said. "We''re not using of anything, but what if you misremember how a piece of paper has been ced and wrongfully assume that we snooped around in this office?"


    Wyntor just chuckled.


    "This entire room is under constant surveince. I was going to check the footage after our meeting anyway. If you had gone through my stuff, you would be working with the Screaming Coffin for the next couple of days," Wyntor said casually.


    "Oh, never mind, then," the same guy said.


    Meanwhile, Nick narrowed his eyes.


    He knew exactly that Wyntor''s office wasn''t under surveince, which meant that Wyntor was bluffing.


    And sure enough, it had worked.


    As a Mid John, Nick''s senses were superior to the average human''s, and even though the two of them did their best, Nick definitely noticed a couple of signs of fear and panic in them.


    "Nevertheless, we think that leaving us alone is disrespectful and humiliating!" the same guy said again,ining even though he had just said never mind.


    ''Are they trying to get fired before Wyntor checks his so-called surveince footage?'' Nick thought.

 Chapter 248 248 – Unconscious

    <h4>Chapter 248 Chapter 248 ¨C Unconscious</h4>


    After seeing their reactions to Wyntor''s bluff, Nick was convinced that these two wanted to get fired.


    He wasn''t certain whether or not they were spies, though.


    Although, that didn''t exactly matter since they would be "spies" anyway.


    After all, they would tell the other Manufacturers about Dark Dream''s Specters.


    Nick looked at the two of them from behind with narrowed eyes.


    "And why do you think it is disrespectful and humiliating?" Wyntor asked with a polite smile.


    "Be-because this is your office, and we feel ufortable in a stranger''s office," the same guy said again.


    The other one hadn''t said anything yet.


    "Is that so?" Wyntor asked, looking at them.


    Nick could tell that the two of them were bing more agitated, and they even started ncing at Nick more times.


    "I''m sorry forining so much," the same guy said again,pletely changing his tune.


    They were obviously panicked and grasping for straws.


    The guy was saying anything that could get him out of the building.


    "I-I-I think, w-we can work with the B-Blood Horse, right?" the second guy said nervously as he nced between Wyntor and his friend.


    "We were just a bit stressed, you see?" he said as he looked at Nick with a nervous chuckle. "Our friend died, and w-weshed out, okay?"


    The first guy nced rapidly between Wyntor and his friend.


    "Yes, we are fine with working with the Blood Horse," the first guy said again. "Now, since that issue has been solved, I think we should get back to work."


    Then, he stood up and pulled his friend upwards with him.


    He walked up to Nick and nervously looked at him.


    The guy had seen Nick a couple of times, but he had never viewed Nick as intimidating.


    After all, Nick had this friendly and innocent Aura to him.


    But now, Nick''s huge body made the guy feel small and insignificant.


    "E-excuse me," the guy said with a smile as he slowly moved his hand to the door behind Nick. "Can we pass?"


    Nick just looked into the guy''s eyes without moving.


    Suddenly, the two guys heard some chuckling from behind them and turned to Wyntor.


    Wyntor just chuckled a bit.


    "Can we pass," Wyntor repeated.


    "What a fitting choice of words."


    The two guys felt their hearts fall into an abyss of ice.


    Wyntor looked at Nick and moved his head slightly to his right, gesturing towards the direction of one of them.


    The guy''s eyes widened.


    CRK!


    Nick''s hand mped around the guy''s throat and squeezed.


    In an instant, the guy''s mouth opened wide in terror as his throat waspressed to a scary degree.


    The guy lost his footing as Nick lifted him by his neck, his limbs iling in panic.


    The other guy froze in terror.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the other guy, and his body hit the wall with insane power.


    Several of his bones broke.


    While the other guy was busy recovering physically and mentally from having his back smashed against the wall, the first guy was busy going unconscious as the cirction of blood to his brain was cut off.


    Nick looked at the guy he was lifting with narrowed eyes.


    Then, he thought about something.


    ''How long do I have to cut off his cirction to make him stay unconscious for a while without killing him?''


    Nick let go, and the guy dropped to the ground.


    Then, he started coughing, and a couple of secondster, he started to regain consciousness.


    ''Okay, longer,'' Nick thought as he grabbed his throat again.


    While Nick was busy choking the guy again, Wyntor turned to the other person.


    "Now, how about we talk some more?" he asked with a polite smile.


    The other guy was on the ground, curled up like a shrimp.


    He didn''t answer.


    Wyntor turned to look at Nick again, and Nick looked back.


    Wyntor gestured to the guy on the ground.


    Nick thought for a bit and nodded.


    Then, he grabbed the other guy and choked him as well.


    "No!" Wyntor shouted. "That''s not what I meant!"


    BANG!


    The other guy fell to the ground as Nick let go.


    "What?" Nick asked.


    "I wanted you to put him in the chair again since I want to talk to him. I can''t talk to an unconscious person," Wyntor said.


    "Well, why didn''t you just say so?" Nick asked. "Can''t you just talk like a normal person?"


    Wyntor took a deep breath as the other guy started coughing and retching on the ground.


    "Forget it," Wyntor said with a sigh. "Just put him in the chair, please."


    "Sure," Nick said as he grabbed the guy and unceremoniously dumped him onto the chair.


    "Also, I think the other guy is about done," Wyntor said.


    Nick looked at the guy he was still choking and let go.


    The guy fell to the ground.


    BANG!


    And hit his head on the floor.


    Then, quite a bit of blood came out of his head as Nick blinked in surprise.


    "Is he still alive?" Nick asked, kneeling down to look at the guy more closely.


    "Does he have a heartbeat?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick put his head on the guy''s chest.


    "Yeah," he said.


    "Then, he should still be alive. He also didn''t start seizing, which means his brain hasn''t been scrambled beyond repair. He probably just has a very strong concussion."


    Nick nodded without answering and looked at the guy.


    He wanted to know how long the guy would remain unconscious.


    "Now, onto you," Wyntor said as he turned to the guy who was sitting in front of him.


    The guy breathed heavily and was slumped over, his face a mask of terror and disbelief.


    Wyntor just looked at the guy with a friendly smile.


    "Hey, Wyntor. How long do I have to choke someone so that they remain unconscious for a long while?" Nick suddenly asked.


    Wyntor''s friendly smile vanished and was reced with annoyance.


    "You can''t do that," Wyntor said. "As soon as you let go of your hold, their brain gets oxygen again, which makes them wake up in a couple of seconds."


    "Wait, I can''t do that?" Nick asked in surprise.


    "No, you can''t," Wyntor said. "If you want to knock someone out, I would suggest something like 30 seconds of choking and a severe concussion."


    Then, Wyntor pointed at the unconscious guy. "Like with him."


    "Oh, okay," Nick said as he kept looking at the unconscious guy.


    "Now, where were we?" Wyntor asked as he looked back at the guy in the chair with a smile.

 Chapter 249 249 – Shady Business

    <h4>Chapter 249 Chapter 249 ¨C Shady Business</h4>


    It took a while for the guy to regain his bearings, but as soon as he did, he immediately started talking with no end in sight.


    He and the guy who was already dead had been friends for a long time.


    They had met each other as kids in the Dregs, and they pulled many scams to get ahead in the Dregs.


    But then, they managed to be Extractors and decided to stop being crooks. After all, Manufacturers were scary.


    They had intended to be normal employees when they hade to Dark Dream.


    However, when they met Nick, they thought he was a pushover.


    Nick was so young, and he acted so nicely.


    It was like he was a na?ve child.


    Additionally, the fact that one of the two team leaders was a woman also didn''t fill them with a lot of confidence.


    On top of that, Wyntor looked just as young as Nick.


    The only scary person was Trevor, in their opinion.


    Dark Dream looked like an easy target for a scam.


    So, they started on their n.


    Learn as much about Specters as possible before convincing another Manufacturer to buy them off of Dark Dream for the information.


    The one who hade up with the n was the dead guy, and when he died, the two of them felt like headless chickens.


    What were they supposed to do?!


    So, they decided to get fired as quickly as possible.


    At that point, the guy turned around as he heard the loud sound of a crash.


    The first guy had woken up, and Nick tried to put him unconscious again by ramming his head against the floor.


    Nick rammed the guy''s head down, lifted it, looked at the guy''s face, realized that he was still conscious, and rammed him against the floor again.


    The other guy had never been so scared before!


    This was supposed to be a pushover?!


    In the guy''s eyes, Nick looked like some kind of colossal ogre that just "yed" with a weak child.


    Wyntor beckoned him to continue, and the guy reluctantly continued talking.


    After recounting everything that had happened, he started to give one apology after the other while trying to get to his knees, which wasn''t easy since several of his bones were broken.


    He kept begging and begging.


    He would work for free!


    He was willing to follow them forever!


    He would tell them anything they wanted to hear!


    He had a wife!


    He had children!


    Wyntor just looked at the guy wordlessly with a cold expression for a while.


    Then, Wyntor straightened his posture.


    BANG!


    "Nick!" Wyntor shouted with annoyance.


    "What? The guy keeps regaining consciousness," Nick answered with annoyance.


    "Then, let him regain consciousness. He can''t escape anyway," Wyntor said.


    Nick looked at the unconscious guy for a while.


    "No need. I think I finally got him. He''s not moving at all," Nick said.


    Wyntor took a deep breath before standing up.


    "Follow me," he ordered as he walked past the groveling guy.


    The groveling guy stood up as quickly as he could and followed Wyntor out of the office.


    Nick grabbed the unconscious guy by the hair and followed Wyntor as well.


    The injured guy kept breathing heavily and looking behind him at Nick, who was pulling the unconscious guy behind him by the hair like a sack of garbage.


    Then, they saw Trevor walking out of the staircase.


    When Trevor saw the four of them, his eyebrows rose in surprise.


    Wyntor wordlessly nodded towards him in greeting, and Trevor answered in kind.


    Trevor walked past Wyntor as he took a deep breath.


    The guy in the middle shot a terrified and begging nce at Trevor.


    Trevor just ignored him.


    "Oh hey, I need to talk to youter," Nick said casually to Trevor.


    "Of course," Trevor answered. "I''ll be in my office for the next two hours."


    "Sure," Nick said, and Trevor walked past him.


    A momentter, Trevor sighed.


    ''I told them that they shouldn''t try to pull any shady business with Boss or Mr. Melfion,'' Trevor thought.


    ''Now, Cryon, Kerry, and Taren have to pull double duty and also work with the Blood Horse.''


    ''Or maybe Mr. Melfion will just take care of it from now on.''


    While Trevor nned the new schedule for his team, the other four walked down the staircase.


    The body of the unconscious person kept bumping on the stairs as they descended the staircase.


    When the guy in the middle saw Wyntor entering the fifth floor, he felt like he was going to die.


    There were only two Specters on the fifth floor.


    The Dreamer and an unknown Specter that had been assigned to the same Extractor for years.


    The guy looked back and saw Nick''s uninterested eyes looking at him, waiting for him to continue walking.


    Yet, the guy just couldn''t continue walking.


    He was too afraid.


    He didn''t want to die!


    Nick lifted the unconscious guy by the hair and showed him to the other one.


    The message was clear.


    Walk or join him.


    Eventually, the guy continued walking, but he walked very slowly.


    Every single second that passed felt so precious to him.


    He only had seconds left to live.


    He didn''t want to die!


    He didn''t want to die!


    He didn''t want to die!


    Then, he started to cry quietly as he walked behind Wyntor.


    Wyntor walked into the locker room of the Dreamer, and the others followed after him.


    A momentter, the door to the Containment Unit opened.


    The guy just looked with cold terror at the Dreamer.


    He had never seen the Dreamer before.


    When he saw the emotionless eyes of the owl, he felt like he was encased in ice.


    Bang.


    Nick threw the unconscious guy to the ground and took a vial of green liquid out of his pocket.


    After putting a small drop of green liquid on the unconscious guy, the guy''s body started to recover rapidly.


    Then, Nick grabbed the other guy and put a drop on him as well.


    All the bones in the guy''s body recovered, and hope returned.


    Were they going to let them go?


    "You can kill them, but don''t injure them."


    Yet, when Wyntor said these words, all the hope died.


    A momentter, Wyntor walked out of the Containment Unit, and Nick followed after him.


    Then, they locked the Containment Unit from the outside.


    Meanwhile, on the inside, the unconscious guy opened his eyes.


    The other guy was just frozen in the middle of the Containment Unit.


    And on the other end, the Dreamer just looked at them.

 Chapter 250 250 – The End of the Incident

    <h4>Chapter 250 Chapter 250 ¨C The End of the Incident</h4>


    The next day, Nick entered the Dreamer''s Containment Unit to retrieve the two "sleeping" bodies.


    Sure enough, they were not injured.


    They just looked like they were sleeping peacefully, except for the fact that they weren''t breathing.


    Nick nodded at the Dreamer. "Long time no see."


    The Dreamer just looked at Nick without saying anything.


    "Don''t kill the next ones. These ones were a treat," Nick said as he pulled the two out of the Containment Unit.


    The Dreamer just looked at the employee entrance for a long time with neutral eyes.


    Nick pulled the two of them to the sixth floor and entered his office.


    Surprisingly, a middle-aged woman was waiting in his office.


    Nick just dumped the two corpses in front of her.


    "Here you go," he said.


    Then, he went to his desk and looked through a couple of documents.


    The woman furrowed her brows and started to examine the two of them.


    She was a doctor.


    Some minutester, she put her tools away.


    "Just like the other one," she said.


    Nick nodded. "They all died to the same Specter."


    Naturally, the doctor noticed that Nick didn''t give even the smallest shit about his three dead employees.


    The picture was all too clear for the doctor.


    These three employees were considered problematic by Dark Dream, and Dark Dream had gotten rid of them.


    However, the doctor''s opinion wasn''t important in this matter.


    Her only job was to determine the cause of death and create a death certificate.


    Obviously, killing random people was against thew, but the city decided who was guilty or not.


    Sadly, it took a huge incident for the city to start investigating the death of an Extractor.


    Unofficially, the Extractors'' lives were in the hands of the Manufacturers.


    And even when the city started an investigation, they would just look at the Specter and the death certificate while also asking why the Extractors had been working with that Specter.


    Naturally, Wyntor had an answer for all of these questions, and the city wouldn''t ask any further questions.


    One had to remember that the Manufacturers held all the power.


    Even the governor wouldn''t be able to be more powerful without Kugelblitz.


    Bing an Extractor represented bing something far superior to a normal human, and the Manufacturers were the ones that allowed normal people to be Extractors.


    They could create Extractors¡­


    And they could also destroy them.


    Whether or not that was moral and ethical didn''t matter.


    Morals and ethics had no relevance with such a power difference between two parties.


    The doctor created the certificates of death and left Dark Dream.


    After she left, Nick grabbed the two corpses and pulled them out of his office.


    Then, he pulled them toward the second floor and walked into the Screaming Coffin''s Containment Unit.


    When the door opened, Nick was greeted by an unmoving coffin and a young woman with a shocked expression.


    The young woman was one of the three people Dark Dream had purchased from Gemini.


    The three from Gemini had joined the three from Ghosty''s Lab inining.


    Naturally, since the three from Ghosty''s Lab got what they wanted, the three from Gemini also got what they wanted.


    Nick had simply assigned them to sit beside the Screaming Coffin for eight hours a day each.


    They didn''t need to be there, but there was no other Specter they could "work with" as Early Newbies.


    When the girl saw the two corpses Nick was pulling in, she took a deep breath and put her hand in front of her mouth.


    Naturally, she recognized the two corpses.


    Nick wordlessly walked towards one of the corners and dumped the two corpses there.


    "If the Screaming Coffin gets hungry, throw one of these two towards it," Nick said as he turned towards the exit again.


    The woman didn''t dare to answer as she just looked at the corpses in shock.


    "You get tomorrow off," Nick said, prompting the woman to look at him again in shock. "The day after, it''s back to work with the Blood Hawk."


    "Tell your two friends to contact Jenny or Trevor for further information."


    "Am I understood?" Nick asked coldly with narrowed eyes.


    A cold shiver ran down the woman''s back.


    "Y-y-yes, of course, B-Boss!" she shouted.


    Nick nodded.


    "Have fun!" he said as he left the Containment Unit.


    The woman just turned to the two corpses again in horror.


    For the remainder of her shift, she would need to stay in the same room as the corpses of two of her colleagues.


    Naturally, her two friends from Gemini didn''t have it any better.


    Trevor told them that they would get one shift with the Screaming Coffin before it was time to work with the Blood Hawk again.


    The two of them also had to stay eight hours in the same room as the two corpses.


    Naturally, the three of them didn''t dare toin anymore and quietly started to work with the Blood Hawk again.


    With that, the incident was over.


    Theints Nick and his team leaders received dropped drastically, and everyone seemed to be much "happier" to work for Dark Dream.


    Dark Dream had lost a couple million credits with the execution of three of their employees, but it was a necessary expenditure.


    The things that had happened here these couple of days were turned into stories, which every employee in Dark Dream heard.


    Even yearster, new employees would hear these stories.


    While theints eventually returned, theints that did return were all somewhat rational.


    The newer employees knew that Dark Dream was a great working cepared to other Manufacturers, but they also understood that Dark Dream was not a pushover.


    They had killed three of their employees, and if it was necessary, they would kill three more.


    Obviously, things like this also happened in the other Manufacturers.


    Manufacturers regrly killed employees who were too troublesome.


    Dark Dream wasn''t any different from them.


    Except that they paid better, which made them better than most Manufacturers in the eyes of new employees.

 Chapter 251 251 – Gloom

    <h4>Chapter 251 Chapter 251 ¨C Gloom</h4>


    More time passed, and eventually, Nick became 20 years old.


    It was crazy to think that Dark Dream was already four years old and that Nick had been working as a Chief Zephyx Extractor for an equally long time.


    Dark Dream hadn''t gained any new Specters for a while since they wanted to focus on their strength for now.


    They still only had eight Johns, and they needed more.


    After all, the number of Adolescents in Dark Dream was rising.


    Even the Puppy had be an Adolescent now.


    This meant that Dark Dream had seven Adolescents and only three Hatchlings.


    Luckily, the three Hatchlings would never be Adolescents.


    Everything seemed to be working out great.


    Nick was bing stronger.


    Dark Dream was growing.


    They were earning insane amounts of money.


    Yet, there was always something in the back of Nick''s head bothering him.


    Envy.


    It had been over a year now since the incident with Envy, and nothing had happened yet.


    However, that didn''t mean that Envy wasn''t targeting Nick anymore.


    It probably just took a long while to get to Nick.


    First of all, Envy probably didn''t have that many servants.


    Specters were incapable of feeling fear, and as long as Envy wasn''t free to move, it wasn''t a threat to any Specters.


    One had to remember that Envy gained servants by threatening to kill them.


    But as long as Envy couldn''t move, it wasn''t a threat.


    The only threat was the servants it already had.


    This meant that Envy could gain a servant by talking to them via a ry and only if that Specter was, at most, a Fanatic.


    As a powerful Fallen, Envy probably had several Demons and maybe even other Fallen as servants.


    Envy could send a Demon towards a Fanatic that refused to be a servant and kill it.


    However, these servants were probably also already busy with something.


    After all, Envy was waging a war against humanity.


    Nick knew these things since it was all pretty logical, and he guessed that this was one of the reasons why no Specter had shown up to capture Nick yet.


    The other reason was that Envy didn''t know Nick.


    Envy knew that Nick was in Crimson Fungus City, that he was a John, and that he had the power of the Null.


    But that was it.


    No name, no address, no workce.


    There were tens of thousands of people in Crimson Fungus City.


    Finding Nick wasn''t easy.


    ''If only things could stay this way,'' Nick thought as he looked at the wall while leaning on his elbow in his office.


    For a long time after the meeting, Nick had been insanely paranoid and nervous.


    Sleeping had been very difficult, and whenever he had a quiet moment, he felt his heart rate spike.


    Just after Nick had gotten used to the constant outbursts of guilt regarding Horua, the paranoia and panic from the issue with Envy came.


    Inside Dark Dream, Nick felt so strong, but at home, he felt so weak.


    But he knew that this was all just an illusion.


    Nick knew that he was a general amongst dwarves.


    He was only powerfulpared to his environment.


    Most Veterans could kill Nick.


    An Adult Specter could threaten Dark Dream, and an Elder would ensure its demise.


    How many Elders did Envy have as servants?


    Probably a lot.


    Nick felt like he was waiting for his end.


    It could appear any day.


    But it just didn''t.


    Sometimes, Nick wished that this agonizing wait would just end.


    Luckily, he was rational enough to not vocalize that wish.


    When was it time?


    When would Envy''s servant show up?


    Or what if Envy managed to break free and arrived itself?


    Nick sighed once again.


    He had worked in his dream job for four years, but not even a single one of them was filled with light or happiness.


    All because of his stupidity.


    All because he offered an eleven-year-old a position as a Zephyx Extractor.


    Nick was getting tired.


    He didn''t want to feel this guilt anymore.


    He didn''t want to feel Envy''s pressure anymore.


    What was the point of bing more powerful at this point?


    At any moment, a Specter would appear that didn''t care whether Nick was a John or a Veteran.


    And if Nick told anyone in the city, he would be killed.


    Sure, Simon was fine with letting Envy target Crimson Fungus City since that would take the heat off a different city, but the inhabitants of the city obviously didn''t think like that.


    Nick''s mind stretched towards the ball of foreign Zephyx in his body.


    He felt the warm but also threatening heat from Simon''s Zephyx.


    ''At least, even if I get captured, Envy won''t gain anything.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''Additionally, I get to go out on my terms.''


    Whenever Nick felt like the pressure and terror overwhelmed him, he looked at the foreign Zephyx in his body.


    This was his way out.


    He wasn''t stuck in this situation.


    Even if his entire life spiraled out of control, he still had control over the end of his life.


    And when Nick looked at the foreign Zephyx, it calmed him down.


    He still had some agency left in this world, however small it was.


    After a break, Nick decided to return to work and continued writing things on some sheets of paper.


    By now, Nick had be very good at reading and writing.


    Knock, knock.


    Nick was startled as someone knocked on his door.


    Ever since that incident with Envy, it was much easier for Nick to get startled.


    But within a second, Nick calmed down again.


    "Come in," he said with a neutral tone.


    The door opened, and one of the clerks greeted Nick with a bright smile.


    "Boss, you got a visitor!" she said with some happiness.


    Nick raised an eyebrow before he saw someone walk through the door.


    It was a young man with blue hair who was smiling with deep kindness.


    When Nick saw him, he also got excited.


    "Julian!" Nick shouted with a wide grin as he stood up.


    Julian smiled back. "Long time no see, Nick."

 Chapter 252 252 – Opening Up

    <h4>Chapter 252 Chapter 252 ¨C Opening Up</h4>


    "Come in! Come in!" Nick shouted as he gestured to one of the chairs before nodding towards the clerk.


    The clerk nodded back, closed the door behind Julian, and went back to her workce.


    Julianughed a bit and sat down. "It''s still difficult for me to view you as a Chief Zephyx Extractor."


    "And yet, you obviously are one."


    Nickughed. "I know, it''s a bit strange. I think many people think like that but don''t want to tell me."


    "By the way," Nick added after he remembered something. "I heard that you managed to be a Specialist. Is that true?"


    Julianughed a bit in embarrassment. "Where did you hear that from?"


    "From Wyntor," Nick answered.


    "I wanted to keep it a secret for longer," Julian said, but his tone indicated that he didn''t mind. "I knew that I shouldn''t have told Vernon. He''s such a bbermouth."


    After Julian said that, Nick seemed to lose some of his high spirits.


    Nick was thinking about his second big meeting with the Manufacturers, which had happened several months ago.


    However, Nick couldn''t talk about these things since these meetings were highly confidential.


    "You seem troubled," Julian said with a peaceful tone.


    Nick looked at Julian.


    Then, he sighed.


    "Yeah. It''s just that during thest meeting, Vernon brought up the matter about raising the taxes in the Dregs once again, and this time, the governor epted the proposal," Nick answered.


    "The people in the Dregs now have to pay 104 credits per month."


    "Luckily, with the Riker Strikers and the Money Sink gone, the people of the Dregs have it quite a bit easier to gather credits."


    "After all, the Riker Strikers no longer keep stealing to give credits to the Money Sink."


    "So, even though the taxes have increased, the actual strain they have on the Dregs has lessened."


    Julian looked at Nick. "That sounds like a good thing. Why would that make you feel like this?"


    Nick sighed again. "Because it''s only momentary."


    "Kugelblitz won''t dare to ask about a raise in taxes yet since they just got a raisest meeting, but within the next three years, the taxes will probably get raised once again, which will put the Dregs back into its old position."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "I just don''t understand how someone can live with dooming so many innocent lives."


    Julian looked deeply into Nick''s eyes.


    "It''s how the world works, Nick," Julian said.


    Nick looked at Julian.


    "To be frank, I still don''t understand why you are so dead set on improving the lives of people who couldn''t care less about you," Julian added.


    "The people in the Dregs stole from you when you were at your weakest."


    "When you were stronger, they feared and despised you."


    "When you were poor, they hated you for owning nothing."


    "When you were rich, they hated you for owning too much."


    "No matter what you do or what you own, the people in the Dregs will hate you."


    Nick looked at the table with a conflicted expression.


    He couldn''t see how several mouths opened all over Julian''s face.


    "Why save people that hate you?" the mouths spoke in an enchanting cadence.


    "What has Crimson Fungus City ever done for you?"


    "No one would me you if you just ignored all these people that hate and despise you."


    "The poor are poor because they can''t see with rational eyes."


    "They are blinded by hate and envy."


    At that moment, Nick''s body shook a bit, and Julian stopped talking.


    Julian realized that he had said something that caused some kind of reaction in Nick.


    However, that didn''t matter for now.


    Julian kept talking about how terrible the Dregs treated Nick for a couple of minutes while Nick just silently listened.


    After a minute, the Zephyx in the room rose to extremely dense levels, but nobody inside Dark Dream noticed, including Nick.


    Suddenly, all the Zephyx entered Nick''s head and weaved around his mind.


    Some secondster, everything returned to normal, and the additional mouths on Julian''s face vanished as well.


    Nick sighed and looked at Julian, who was just looking at Nick with concern.


    "I don''t know. Maybe you''re right, but I can''t make a decision on that right now," Nick said.


    A small glimmer of coldness shot through Julian''s eyes, but it didn''t affect his friendly smile.


    "Don''t worry," Julian said. "These things take time. Just listen to your heart, and if you decide to change your mind, tell me. I''m always there to help."


    "Of course," Nick said, a bit of cheer back in his expression.


    Julian nodded but then remembered something.


    "Earlier, you reacted rather strongly to something I said."


    Nick looked at Julian with confusion.


    "It was when I said that the people of the Dregs are filled with hate and envy," Julian said.


    Nick''s body shook slightly again, and Julian noticed.


    "What is this about?" Julian asked.


    Nick sighed.


    "You know, in a way, I''m already endangering Crimson Fungus City at this moment," Nick said.


    Julian looked with more intensity at Nick, but his friendly smile was still there. "What could you do that could threaten Crimson Fungus City?"


    Nick grimaced and didn''t answer.


    Julian''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    "Come on, you can tell me. I won''t tell anyone else," Julian spoke in a special rhythm.


    Nick seemed to struggle with something, and Julian leaned forward.


    "I wouldn''t hurt you."


    "I wouldn''t tell anyone."


    "Come on, you can trust me."


    Several seconds of silence passed.


    Eventually, Nick sighed.


    "Do you know Envy?" Nick asked.


    Julian''s smile brightened when he noticed that the conflict inside Nick had vanished.


    "No, who''s that?" he asked.


    "Envy is a Fallen," Nick said.


    Julian blinked a couple of times in surprise. "A Fallen, you say?"


    Nick nodded. "And not just a weak one. Apparently, Envy is the servant of an Adversary that is at war with humanity."


    Julian''s smile widened, which made his eyes narrow.


    "Oh? And why would someone like that be interested in you?" Julian asked.


    "Envy can absorb the powers of Extractors," Nick said.


    "You already know what kind of power I have."


    "So, yeah. That''s why Envy is interested in me."


    When Julian heard that, an expression of realization appeared on his face.


    Several things made sense to him now, and one of them was something that Julian hadn''t originally connected to Nick.


    "Nick, did you know that several Veterans and even some Experts have gone missing within thest six months?" Julian asked.

 Chapter 253 253 – His City

    <h4>Chapter 253 Chapter 253 ¨C His City</h4>


    "Huh?" Nick uttered as he looked at Julian. "No, I didn''t know about that."


    Julian kept looking at Nick.


    "I''m in contact with many different people within the city, and I also help out here and there," Julian said.


    "But most of the time, I am walking around with the guards."


    "About seven months ago, a Veteran vanished. Something like that isn''t that unusual. A Veteran in the city vanishes about once every couple of years. Most of the time, they die to a Specter that surprised them."


    "Because of that, nobody really cared."


    "But then, a monthter, another Veteran vanished."


    "Sure, that was more than normal, but that could just be a coincidence."


    "And then, another one vanished a monthter."


    Nick looked at Julian with worry. "That doesn''t sound like a coincidence."


    Julian chuckled. "I can assure you, it''s not."


    "Everyone became much more careful, and we also realized that there was a pattern."


    "First, all the Veterans who vanished worked for the city guards."


    "Second, a couple of days before they vanished, they acted very strangely."


    "They didn''t want to go to work, and they constantly talked about feeling like someone was following them."


    "They started to stay away from anyone who knew them until they finally vanished."


    Nick''s heart rate increased.


    That sounded quite scary.


    "Eventually, an Expert vanished," Julian said. "Just like the others, he worked for the city guards. He was a captain, and he was responsible for interrogating prisoners."


    Nick felt like a cold shiver ran down his back.


    The image of the captain who had interrogated Nick shot through his mind.


    "And just two days ago," Julian continued, "another captain vanished. He was someone that I knew very well and someone who was very valuable to me."


    After that, Julian described the captain''s appearance.


    The appearance perfectly matched the image Nick had of the captain that had interrogated him back then.


    Obviously, they were talking about the same person.


    "Do you two know each other?" Julian asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yes, he was the one that interrogated me back then."


    A quick light of realization shot through Julian''s eyes.


    "Why did he interrogate you?" Julian asked. "Just tell me everything surrounding the incident."


    "Oh, sure," Nick said absentmindedly. "A while ago, I was investigating the Riker Strikers because I suspected that their leader was a Specter¡­"


    Nick told everything that had happened to Julian.


    The Money Sink.


    The dark room.


    The greater ry.


    His meeting with Aria and the Governor.


    His meeting with Simon.


    Everything he knew about Aegis.


    The foreign force of Zephyx in his body that allowed him to blow himself up.


    Everything.


    The more Julian heard, the more his smile turned sinister.


    All of this made a lot of sense now.


    A foreign Specter hade to the city, and it tried to find out who Nick was and where to find him.


    Julian had already known that something like that had happened.


    As a powerful Specter himself, he knew very well what it took to be powerful and how these Specters acted.


    Julian knew almost all the Specters within the city, and he didn''t know of any Specter that could make Veterans and Experts vanish just like this without leaving any trace.


    However, Julian hadn''t been sure why such a Specter had shown up or what they were searching for.


    Usually, such powerful Specters had it much more difficult when entering a city than a weak one.


    The reason was that they disced a lot of Zephyx while moving.


    Every city had innumerable advanced devices that scanned everyone and everything that entered the city.


    A higher density of Zephyx would be picked up much more clearly by these devices.


    Because of that, Specters didn''t want to leave the cities in which they had be powerful.


    Even more, very powerful Specters needed very powerful food, and when they fed, the entire city would notice and be wary.


    This made it extremely difficult to feed more than once unless the Specter knew exactly how and where to hide inside the city.


    When the Veterans had vanished, the city had started looking for Adults and Elders.


    When the Experts had vanished, the city had started looking for Elders and Fanatics.


    After all, since feeding was so difficult, a Specter wouldn''t waste their feeding opportunity on weak food.


    However, that was true only under normal circumstances.


    What if the Specter''s goal wasn''t actually bing more powerful?


    What if it was information gathering?


    A series of events shot through Julian''s mind.


    A servant of Envy was tasked to find Nick within Crimson Fungus City.


    Not knowing who he was, the servant started to abduct city guards. After all, the city guards should have some kind of central registry for people, and they probably also saw many people.


    Eventually, the Specter found out that a huge incident had happened, which should be the incident the servant had heard about when Envy had seen Nick.


    After that, the Specter found out that a captain must have interrogated the target.


    So, the Specter abducted a captain but found out that it had been the wrong one.


    However, the captured captain knew who the right captain was.


    And just two days ago, the Specter had gotten that captain.


    And now¡­


    Julian looked at Nick.


    The Specter knew who Nick was.


    If everything continued happening the same way, Nick would vanish in something like 28 days.


    Even more, Julian was quite certain that Nick wasn''t the target of an Adult, Elder, or Fanatic.


    No, Nick was most likely the target of a Demon.


    A level six Specter.


    Julian grinned maliciously as he looked at Nick, while Nick realized that his time was approaching.


    Envy''s servant was here!


    Within a month, Nick would vanish!


    When Julian saw the terror in Nick''s eyes, he grew annoyed.


    "Nick, all of this is unimportant. You can just forget about all of this," Julian said.


    Nick looked with confusion at Julian.


    "Huh?" he uttered.


    "What were you talking about?" Julian asked.


    "What?" Nick asked back. "I was talking about something?"


    Julian nodded with a chuckle. "You seem to be quite scatterbrained recently. You were just telling me about your ns for the next big meeting."


    "Oh?" Nick asked. "Oh, yeah, right!"


    "Actually, I don''t really have a n for that meeting," Nick said.


    Julian chuckled a bit. "Then why did you bring it up?"


    "I don''t know," Nick said with augh.


    After a bit of small talk, Julian left Dark Dream.


    He finally knew which Specter kept stealing his food.


    One of the Veterans and one of the Experts who vanished had had running wagers with Julian, which would have soon paid out.


    Someone had dared to grab Julian''s food not once but twice!


    And now, it wanted to grab a third piece!


    This was Julian''s city!


    Even the Parasite had to follow his rules!


    If this unknown Specter had just asked Julian for Nick, Julian would have most likely handed him over, but that fucker ate a Veteran and even an Expert!


    Those were valuable pieces of food!


    Julian narrowed his eyes.


    Even though he was only a Fanatic, Julian had his ways of dealing with intruders.

 Chapter 254 254 – Dreams

    <h4>Chapter 254 Chapter 254 ¨C Dreams</h4>


    After Julian left, Nick returned to working with an improved mood.


    His talk with Julian helped Nick forget about all the troubles and the stress.


    Sure, Envy was probably still searching for him, but for now, there was no sign of any of Envy''s servants being anywhere close to the city.


    Who knew? Maybe it would take another decade for them to turn up.


    Julian said not to worry, and Nick believed in Julian.


    There probably wasn''t much to worry about for now.


    The day passed without any incidents, and eventually, it was time for Nick to go to sleep.


    For a change, it was surprisingly easy to fall asleep today.


    Nick just didn''t feel as worried as usual, and he fell asleep rather quickly.


    "We hate you!"


    "You don''t deserve your wealth!"


    "You don''t deserve your power!"


    Nick was on top of a small mound of corpses, and a mob of people were wing at his feet in hatred.


    Nick held a bar of gold in his hands, and he looked at the people below him with worry.


    The people of the Dregs.


    They hated him.


    They wanted to kill him.


    They despised him.


    Nick looked into the distance.


    There, he saw several fat people sitting on mountains of gold.


    These rich people sometimes extended their hands towards one of the people of the Dregs and shook them until a piece of gold fell out, whichnded on their mountain of gold.


    After that, the person was thrown back to the ground, after which they stood up and ran towards Nick with aggression.


    The mountains of gold were so high that the people on the ground couldn''t even see the rich people on top of them.


    The only things they witnessed were their empty pockets, Nick sitting on a mound of corpses, and Nick holding a gold bar.


    Obviously, Nick was killing everyone and gathering their wealth.


    They hated Nick!


    He deserved to die!


    Nick was terrified as hundreds of people wed at his feet.


    "I''m sorry!" Nick shouted.


    "I want to help you!"


    "Please, just give me a bit!"


    "I will improve your lives!"


    Yet, the people just kept shouting for his death.


    Nick gritted his teeth, tore a piece off his gold bar, and threw it into the crowd.


    The people nced at the cold piece.


    Then, they noticed that the gold piece in Nick''s hands was bigger than the one on the ground.


    "You''re greedy!"


    "You don''t deserve your wealth!"


    The people ignored the gold on the ground and wed at Nick''s feet again.


    One of the rich people climbed down from their mountain, grabbed the piece of gold on the ground, and returned to their mountain.


    Nick tore more and more off his gold bar and threw it into the crowd.


    Yet, the crowd always found a reason to attack Nick.


    Eventually, Nick threw incredible amounts of gold at all the people in the Dregs, and all their pockets were filled with gold.


    While the crowd kept attacking Nick, more and more rich people grabbed poor people to shake their money out of their pockets.


    The poor people became more and more injured by the continued shaking, and the more injured they became, the more they hated Nick.


    They despised Nick!


    They hated him!


    They wanted to kill him!


    Nick''s fists began to shake.


    He was so furious!


    Why were they this stupid?!


    Were they animals?!


    Could they not see the true cause?!


    What had he done to them?!


    Why did they hate him?!


    Did he deserve to be hated that much?


    Nick started to hate the people as well.


    CRACK!


    Nick rammed a gold bar into someone''s skull, killing them.


    The corpse fell onto Nick''s mound of corpses, making it a bit bigger.


    The crowd of people only became angrier.


    Their wing intensified, and Nick was pulled down from his mound.


    An army of hate-filled expressions approached his face and bit into his flesh.


    "AH!"


    Nick shouted as he suddenly shot up from his bed.


    He was covered in sweat.


    His eyes were teary.


    His heart was racing.


    For a while, Nick just looked downward.


    "It was just a dream," Nick said.


    And yet, it didn''t feel like a dream.


    Nick felt like what he had just experienced was real.


    After regaining his bearings, Nick went back to sleep.


    But as soon as he fell asleep, the same dream appeared.


    Eventually, he shot up again after a short cry.


    Later, the dream reappeared a third time.


    After that, Nick couldn''t fall back asleep again and decided to start the day early.


    The day went by as usual.


    When it was time to sleep again, Nick had the same dream.


    And again.


    And again.


    Days passed.


    Nick became unfocused.


    He was constantly tired.


    He felt like the world was weighing on his shoulders.


    Small problems looked like huge problems.


    Whenever Nick saw someone from the Dregs, the images from his dreams seemed to ovep with them.


    He saw the creatures of his dreams in the people.


    They hated him.


    They despised him.


    For no reason.


    He was trying to help them, but they still secretly hated and despised him.


    No matter what he did, he could never be a part of them.


    Couldn''t they see that he was trying to help?


    Why did they hate him?!


    "Hey!"


    Nick was taken out of his thoughts as he heard something.


    He looked around but couldn''t find the person that spoke to him.


    "Hey! Hey, buddy! Down here!"


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked at the floor.


    Right now, Nick was standing on top of a grate, and through the small slits, he could see something.


    A rat.


    "What?" Nick asked.


    "You''ve been having some troubles recently, eh?" the Parasite whispered through the grate.


    Nick took a deep breath and just continued walking.


    "Hey, hey, hey! Don''t just walk away," the rat shouted.


    Nick ignored the rat.


    The Parasite was a gue upon this city.


    If he could, Nick would kill the Parasite right here and now.


    "I know how to get rid of your nightmares!"


    Nick stopped walking.


    "Interested?" the Parasite asked, and Nick could hear the grin in its voice.


    Nick took a deep breath and walked back to the grate.


    "I know what to do," the rat said. "I also know what''s happening to you."


    "What?" Nick asked coldly.


    "Well, I''m not just going to tell you," the rat said.


    "I want something in return."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    He knew exactly what the Parasite wanted.

 Chapter 255 255 – Honesty

    Chapter255 255 ¨C Honesty


    Nick looked down at the grate.


    He wasn''t sure if he should believe the Parasite.


    The Parasite was a gue upon the city, and he was only interested in corpses.


    Nick hadn''t given any corpses to the Parasite in years.


    It was very possible that the Parasite just wanted ast load of corpses since he believed that Nick and Dark Dream would never ask the Parasite for some clues regarding a Specter again.


    "Why should I believe you?" Nick asked.


    "Because of my reputation," the rat said with a smirk from below the grate. "Hey, let''s talk somewhere else. I don''t think you want to be seen with me in public."


    Nick looked around and saw a couple of people walking around.


    Without saying anything, Nick walked over to an abandoned house.


    Some seconds after he entered, one of the grates started to move to the side, but Nick just stepped on it.


    Ssh!


    The distant sound of something hitting the water in the sewers could be heard.


    "What''s your problem?!" the Parasite shouted a couple of secondster.


    "I don''t want you toe out. Someone might see us," Nick whispered.


    "Say that earlier!" the Parasite shouted with annoyance.


    "So? Why should I trust you?" Nick said.


    "Nick, Nick, Nick," the rat said with a sing-song voice. "I am a merchant by trade, and Dark Dream isn''t my only customer."


    "If I start to renege on my promises, my other customers won''t ask me for another trade."


    "Nick, have you ever heard that I didn''t fulfill my end of the deal from anywhere?" the Parasite asked.


    "No, but that doesn''t mean anything," he answered.


    "But it does," the Parasite answered. "Crimson Fungus City is one of my favorite territories for getting corpses. I have many more customers here than in many other cities."


    Nick wasn''t surprised by that.


    From what he had heard, the Parasite''s actual body was outside the city, which meant that it could work in multiple cities at the same time.


    "There is a reason why you haven''t heard that I have ever broken a promise, and there''s also a reason why I am still in this city," the Parasite said.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "Crimson Fungus City and I are trading partners, and we both have bottom lines that can''t be crossed. If they get crossed, we can''t work together anymore."


    "My bottom line is that nobody is allowed to besmirch my image. You may call me greedy, cruel, an opportunist, a psychopath, whatever. I don''t care."


    "But you are not allowed to call me dishonest! My trades are fair!" the rat shouted with conviction.


    Whenever Nick heard the Parasite, it was difficult for him to believe that Specters almost had no emotions whatsoever.


    "If anyone crosses my bottom line, I will go after them!" the rat shouted. "I might not have the power to kill them, but I know a looooot of things."


    "Maybe I''ll tell your greatestpetition the locations of several powerful Specters for free."


    "Maybe I''ll tell them some secrets I know about you."


    "I might not have a lot of hard power, but I have a lot of soft power!" the Parasite proimed with confidence.


    "Okay," Nick answered, unimpressed. "So, nobody is allowed to call you dishonest. However, that doesn''t mean you are honest. I can threaten someone''s life and force them to tell everyone else that I am not threatening their life. Seems like the same thing to me."


    Surprisingly, the rat chuckled a bit. "Nick, I was talking about my bottom line."


    "What about Crimson Fungus City''s bottom line?"


    Nick furrowed his brows but didn''t answer.


    "Do you really think it''s that hard to get rid of me?" the Parasite asked. "Do you really think an entire city filled with powerful Extractors can''t get rid of a couple of rats?"


    "Just send a couple hundred Johns and Veterans into the Sewers to kill the rats. Get some expensive equipment that can find life so that you don''t miss any. Go stuff all the holes in the wall. Go poison the waters of the sewers with rat poison."


    "You might not get rid of all of my rats, but the effort of getting into Crimson Fungus City would be far greater than what I would get out of it. That would mean that trying to get into Crimson Fungus City represents wasting more Zephyx than I could potentially get."


    "Sure, it''s a big act and all, but isn''t it worth it? After all, ording to everyone, I''m one of the biggest nuisances in the city."


    Nick thought about the Parasite''s words.


    If the city guards actually put their minds to it, they could probably eradicate the Parasite''s presence within a couple of days or weeks.


    Like this, they would have gotten rid of one of the biggest tumors of Crimson Fungus City.


    But they didn''t.


    They could, but they didn''t do that.


    Nick remembered that the governor had asked several times about the investigation status regarding the Parasite in the yearly meetings.


    Yet, all the Manufacturers barely delivered any information.


    Had the governor asked for forces to eradicate the Parasite in the past?


    Had the Manufacturers simply answered with excuses about why they couldn''t help?


    Nick didn''t know.


    However, one thing was certain.


    Getting the Parasite out of the city wasn''t impossible, and it also didn''t need a genius toe up with these solutions.


    Yet, the solutions were not used.


    That could mean only one thing.


    The city didn''t want to get rid of the Parasite.


    Or, more precisely, not the city but the Manufacturers.


    And why was that?


    Because trading with the Parasite was advantageous.


    The Parasite made them money.


    And that meant that the Parasite held his end of the bargain every time.


    Otherwise, the Manufacturers would have gotten rid of him already.


    Nick''s question had been answered.


    The fact that the Parasite was still in Crimson Fungus City after decades of being inside it meant that it was honest and delivered on its promises.


    The Manufacturers didn''t want to get rid of it.


    "Alright," Nick said. "Then, what''s the deal?"

 Chapter 256 256 – Trade Offer

    Chapter256 256 ¨C Trade Offer


    "Alright, so, I will give you a surefire way of dealing with these little nightmares of yours, and even if they return in the future, that way will still work," the Parasite said.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "You also said that you know what''s happening to me. I want to know that first."


    "Eeeehh," the Parasite uttered in uncertainty. "I mean, I know what''s happening to you, but I can''t really tell you a lot of details."


    Nick narrowed his eyes. "Why not?"


    "Telling you might endanger my presence here in Crimson Fungus City," the Parasite said. "If you want to know everyst detail, you gotta buy me out of the city since I can''t trade with anyone here anymore."


    "Buy you out of the city?" Nick asked with furrowed brows. "That''s possible?"


    "Of course! Everything has its price," the Parasite said.


    "And how much would that be?" Nick asked.


    He knew fully well that he couldn''t afford that, but he wanted to know how much the Parasite asked for anyway.


    "Three Specialists, 30 Experts, 300 Veterans, 3,000 Johns, or 30,000 normal people. Your pick."


    Nick had been prepared for an astronomical sum, but he hadn''t expected it to be this high.


    "So, if I want to know what is happening to me, I have to pay that, right?" Nick asked.


    "I will tell you what''s happening to you, but I will just not reveal any details," the Parasite said. "I''m not aplete monster, you know?"


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Fine, what do you want, and what''s happening to me?" Nick asked.


    "Okay, I can tell you what''s happening to you right now since that won''t endanger the trade, but before I tell you, I want you and the little Melfion boy to ept the trade. After all, I want a couple more corpses than back then," the Parasite said.


    "How many do you want?" Nick asked.


    "Energy equivalent to 50 normal people."


    "That means 50 normal people, ten Peak Newbies, five Initial Johns, or one Peak John. You can also mix and match, but in the end, everything has to add up to at least 50 normal people of power," the Parasite exined.


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    That many corpses just to get rid of his nightmares.


    "Just to get rid of the nightmares?" Nick asked with fury.


    "These nightmares are not just nightmares, Nick," the rat said. "I can tell you one thing with 100% confidence."


    "If you do not get rid of these nightmares, you will die within a couple of months."


    "I absolutely assure you that these nightmares will kill you."


    Nick''s eyes widened in horror and shock.


    Yes, the nightmares were bad, but how could they kill him?


    At most, Nick would remain tired, grumpy, and angry all the time, but that wasn''t a death sentence.


    "How?" Nick asked.


    "I can''t reveal that detail," the Parasite said. "I can tell you that the nightmares are not the knife that''s going to pierce through your heart. More urately, the nightmares are what will push you towards the knife."


    Nick blinked a couple of times with narrowed eyes. "You mean they will make memit suicide?"


    "No, that''s not it," the Parasite said with insecurity. "It''s more that they will make you do something that will make a specific someone kill you."


    "Why would they make someone kill me?" Nick asked with annoyance. "Why wouldn''t that someone kill me directly?"


    "Because they''re a Specter. There, I said it! You happy now?!" the rat shouted with annoyance. "You get that piece of information free of charge, but I want you to ept my trade, or I''m going to plunge all of Dark Dream into a nightmare, got it?!"


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    "A Specter?" he repeated in shock.


    "Yes!" the rat shouted. "You''re being targeted by a Specter. An extremely powerful one at that. He''s so powerful that you can''t even hope to fight back."


    "But lucky for you, he doesn''t gain power from killing people. Otherwise, you would already be dead."


    "However, if he feeds on you, you will end up dead."


    Nick could hear the rat sigh.


    "Listen, I''m already on very thin ice after telling you all of this. I seriously can''t tell you more."


    "I''ll keep one of my rats below Dark Dream. Tell me how you will deliver the corpses to meter."


    "And hurry up!"


    After the rat said all these things, Nick heard it scurrying away.


    Nick narrowed his eyes as he looked at one of the walls of the abandoned house.


    A powerful Specter had targeted him.


    Nick had thought that the nightmares were just because of all the stress regarding Envy and wanting to help the Dregs.


    Yet, they had actually been caused by a Specter.


    This exined why it was so hard for Nick to deal with them.


    When it came to things like nightmares, there were things that one could do against them.


    However, when these same nightmares were caused by a Specter, there was nothing one could do unless one killed the Specter.


    But the Parasite said that the Specter was extremely powerful and that Nick had no hope of fighting against it.


    ''I need more details,'' Nick thought as he exited the abandoned house.


    Halfway to Dark Dream, Nick had a thought.


    ''Wait! If the nightmares are caused by a Specter, can another Specter get rid of them?''


    ''Could the Dreamer get rid of them?''


    ''That''s most likely the solution to my problem and also why the Parasite demands the corpses now instead of asking for them.''


    ''After knowing that this is caused by a Specter, it''s not very difficult toe to that solution, which means that the Parasite basically already told me what to do.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''I guess there''s no way around it anymore.''


    ''I have to send 50 corpses to the Parasite.''


    Nick released a sigh and entered Dark Dream.


    It was already quitete today, and Wyntor was already at home.


    ''One more night of nightmares won''t kill me. Otherwise, the Parasite would have been much more urgent about all of this.''


    After another night full of nightmares, Nick entered Wyntor''s office to talk to him.

 Chapter 257 257 – The Parasites Influence

    Chapter257 257 ¨C The Parasite''s Influence


    Nick and Wyntor talked about Nick''s nightmares for a while.


    "I actually noticed that you seemed different from usual," Wyntormented. "I thought that the stress was getting to you."


    Nick sighed.


    "I thought the same thing."


    "Nick, if you''re targeted by a powerful Specter, what stops that Specter from just killing you?" Wyntor asked.


    "I don''t know. Apparently, it doesn''t get power from killing people, but when it gets power, the process will kill a person," Nick said.


    "So, what do we do about this?" Nick asked.


    "What else?" Wyntor answered with a shrug. "You basically already agreed to the trade on Dark Dream''s behalf. We have to give the Parasite his corpses now, or Dark Dream will be in serious trouble."


    Nick sighed.


    "I''m sorry, Wyntor."


    "Oh, don''t sweat it," Wyntor said with a dismissive wave. "I would''ve agreed to the trade anyway. You''re worth much more than 50 corpses."


    Sadly, that only marginally reduced Nick''s guilt.


    "Is it true?" Nick asked.


    "What?"


    "That basically everyone is trading with the Parasite."


    Wyntor nodded. "Yep. I didn''t want you to know, but basically all the Manufacturers are regrly trading with the Parasite, and they''re giving him a lot of corpses."


    "Many of the Manufacturers are even indebted to him. The number of corpses the Parasite asks for is based on how many a Manufacturer can provide, which means that a more powerful Manufacturer has to pay more."


    "Naturally, getting that many corpses without arousing suspicion is extremely difficult, which is why the Parasite epts them in installments."


    "Some of the Manufacturers have to pay off their debt over months."


    "Of course, the Parasite is smart enough not to put too much debt on everyone. Otherwise, the Manufacturers might unite to get rid of him so that they don''t need to repay the debt."


    "Whether you like it or not, the Parasite''s existence is deeply woven into the foundation of Crimson Fungus City," Wyntor exined.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He hadn''t thought that the Parasite''s power was this great.


    Everyone knew the Parasite.


    Even the people in the Dregs.


    Yet, all the normal people and even the normal Extractors didn''t know the true extent of the Parasite''s power.


    Everyone thought that the city tried to get rid of the Parasite.


    But it wasn''t.


    "So, how do we get the corpses?" Nick asked.


    "I''ll simply reroute the Screaming Coffin''s corpses to the Parasite," Wyntor said calmly. "The Screaming Coffin won''t die because of ack of corpses, and it also isn''t nearly strong enough to break out of its Containment Unit."


    "It can just walk in circles inside its Containment Unit for 50 days or so."


    Nick sighed once again.


    He hated that he was improving the Parasite''s power just so that he could survive.


    It felt so selfish.


    It felt so dirty.


    ''I MUST improve the lives of the people in the future!'' Nick thought with conviction.


    ''I have already taken out so many moral and ethical loans that it feels difficult for me to repay them, but I have to give it my all!''


    "Tell him that he will get his corpses every day at 10 a.m.," Wyntor said.


    Nick nodded.


    The two of them talked for a bit more before Nick left Wyntor''s office to talk to the Parasite.


    On the first floor inside the building was an empty room, which no one was allowed to walk into.


    When Nick and Wyntor had received the building after dealing with Cycle, they had seen that one of the tes on the ground was loose inside this room.


    Wyntor immediately knew that this was where Ardum traded with the Parasite back when he had still been the owner of Cycle.


    Wyntor decided to leave the room like this since they might need to contact the Parasite again in the future.


    Nick walked into the room and moved the metal te to the side.


    After moving a couple more things below the metal te, Nick could see the sewers below him.


    "Hey!"


    Suddenly, a rat''s head popped up from around the corner before looking around.


    "Where are my corpses?" it asked.


    "We don''t have that many in storage right now," Nick said. "We epted your offer. Every day at 10 a.m., you will get one corpse. That will continue for the next 50 days. The corpses wille through here."


    The rat seemed a bit disappointed but quickly perked up again. "Sure, no problem."


    "So, what about the solution?" Nick asked.


    The rat blinked a couple of times. "I thought you would have already realized the solution."


    "Do you mean the Dreamer?" Nick asked.


    "So, you did!" the rat said. "Yes, the Dreamer deals with dreams, and it doesn''t like when other Specters step into its domain."


    "The Specter that''s targeting you is much more powerful than the Dreamer, but even he can''t fight it inside a dream."


    "With that other Specter influencing your mind while you sleep, the Dreamer can''t feed, which is why it will get rid of the foreign influence."


    "Work with the Dreamer once, and your issue will be solved, and if it ever starts again, just do the same thing."


    Nick released a sigh of relief.


    "So, I won''t die?" Nick asked.


    "Eeehhh," the Parasite muttered. "That can still happen, but the chances are much lower. The Specter will just try to push you towards the knife via another way."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    Naturally, he wasn''t happy with that.


    However, there was one more thing that he wanted to ask the Parasite.


    "Is the Specter that''s targeting me a servant of a Fallen or an Adversary?" Nick asked.


    "Pffft," the rat sputtered. "Hell no! If he were, I wouldn''t be here, and you would all be dead!"


    "He''s just like me, a free agent. No allegiances whatsoever."


    Nick took a deep breath and sighed.


    He wasn''t sure whether he should be happy or not.


    He honestly didn''t know what option he would prefer.


    Nevertheless, it was time to wait for Envy''s servant to strike again.


    But before that, Nick needed to pay the Dreamer a visit.

 Chapter 258 258 – Renegotiation

    Chapter258 258 ¨C Renegotiation


    Nick told Jenny that he would take one shift of working with the Dreamer today.


    As a reason, he said that he wanted to be familiar with all the Specters and that he hadn''t worked with the Dreamer for a long time.


    Naturally, Jenny immediately gave Nick the next shift, and a couple of hourster, Nick walked into the Dreamer''s Containment Unit.


    Jonathan was the one who had just been working with the Dreamer, and Nick woke him up as soon as he entered.


    Obviously, Jonathan immediately became panicked when he saw Nick.


    Why was Nick here?!


    Did Jonathan do something wrong?!


    However, Nick quickly calmed Jonathan down, and Jonathan left the Containment Unit.


    Now, only Nick and the Dreamer were left inside the Containment Unit.


    Nick looked at the Dreamer, who only silently looked back.


    "Today, we''re going to work together," Nick said.


    The Dreamer didn''t answer.


    Nicky down near one of the walls and closed his eyes.


    Some secondster, Nick felt the Dreamer standing beside him.


    Some seconds passed.


    And some more seconds.


    And even more.


    After several minutes, Nick opened his eyes and furrowed them as he looked at the Dreamer beside him.


    "Is there an issue?" Nick asked.


    The Dreamer, who stood directly beside Nick, just looked at him.


    Nick just looked back with annoyance.


    "I''ll ask again. Is there an issue?" Nick asked.


    Scratch.


    Nick looked down and saw that the Dreamer had scratched the floor with one of its talons.


    "Do you want to say something?" Nick asked.


    Scratch scratch.


    The Dreamer''s talons scratched twice.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He hadn''t thought that it would actually happen, but he had thought about something like this happening.


    A change in power dynamic.


    It had always been Nick and Dark Dream that dictated the rules, not the Dreamer.


    But now, things were different.


    After looking through all the memories of all the people who had worked with the Dreamer, it knew that Nick was the Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    It knew that Nick was far more important than normal employees.


    "Alright," Nick said. "One scratch for yes. Two scratches for no. Three scratches for that this question isn''t important. Do you understand?"


    Scratch.


    The Dreamer just kept looking at Nick with its dead stare, but it still scratched once to show that it understood.


    Nick sighed.


    "Do you know why I am actually here?" Nick asked.


    Scratch.


    ''Just as I thought,'' Nick thought.


    "Do you want to negotiate something?" Nick asked.


    Scratch.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Do you see the influence of a strong Specter on me?" Nick asked.


    Scratch.


    "Can you get rid of it?"


    Scratch.


    Nick took another deep breath.


    "Do you want to get out?"


    Scratch scratch.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "You answered with a no instead of an irrelevant. Do you actually want to stay here, or is it just not important? One scratch for wanting to stay, two for not important."


    Scratch.


    Nick looked at the Dreamer for a while.


    The Dreamer had just said that it didn''t even want to leave.


    Of course, Nick didn''t fully trust it, but he was willing to believe it.


    While 85% of all the Zephyx it produced was confiscated, it could still feed on Johns every single minute of every single day.


    This basically made Dark Dream an ideal ce to feed.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Alright. So, you want to stay. You''re saying that you wouldn''t want to escape, even if you were not inside a Containment Unit. Is that right?"


    Scratch.


    "Obviously, I''m not letting you out," Nick said. "If you were in my ce, you also wouldn''t let yourself out."


    Scratch.


    ''At least it''s honest,'' Nick thought.


    Nick took another deep breath.


    "Alright, don''t think of me as barbaric," Nick said. "I could theoretically go the hard-ass route and say that it''s my way or the highway, but I''m not going to do that."


    "You have been with us for four years, and there haven''t been any incidents. The only people you killed are the ones that you were told to kill, right?" Nick asked.


    Scratch.


    "For four years, you have produced Zephyx without causing any issues. On top of that, you know that you are basically the only one who can help me out of my current predicament, I presume."


    Scratch.


    "So, now, you want to renegotiate with all of these things considered, right?"


    Scratch.


    "Alright," Nick said. "You are currently getting 15% of the Zephyx, and you are already an Early Adolescent. You have to know that it won''t help either of us if you get too powerful. After all, if you get too strong, it gets too dangerous to work with you."


    Scratch scratch.


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that you bing more powerful won''t endanger weaker employees?"


    Scratch.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Just to make sure. If I were to send an Initial Newbie with little willpower to you, they won''t die?"


    Scratch.


    "But I guess you won''t produce as much Zephyx," Nick said.


    Scratch.


    "So, you can stop working with someone before they die, right?"


    Scratch.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Alright," he said. "Then, let''s talk about your future terms."


    "I will still prioritize Johns when choosing who works with you, but I am also allowed to send Peak Newbies to you. Working with you should help them in bing Johns quicker."


    "In exchange, your share of Zephyx gets increased from 15% to 25%. That''s the deal."


    "I honestly can''t give you more. Otherwise, you would only be working for eight hours a day because you be so strong that nobody can work with you, and sadly, I''m too busy."


    "Do you agree?"


    Scratch.


    Nick''s eyebrows rose.


    ''That was¡­ easy.''


    Nick repeated the terms of the new agreement, and the Dreamer once more confirmed that it epted.


    "Alright," Nick said. "Then, we have a deal. Let me go outside and change the settings on the Containment Unit."


    Nick stood up, changed the settings of the Containment Unit, and came back in.


    "All good," Nick said. Then, hey down beside the Dreamer.


    "Now, can we start?"


    The Dreamer looked at Nick, and Nick started to be tired very quickly.


    As soon as Nick fell asleep, the nightmare returned.


    For just a couple of seconds, the Dreamer looked at the nightmare.


    And then, the nightmare was dispersed, reced by the Dreamer''s own creation.


    Nick''s issue with the nightmares has been solved.

 Chapter 259 259 – Caravan

    Chapter259 259 ¨C Caravan


    "How much will it be this time?"


    A man wearing a luxurious suit looked at another man wearing some kind of silver armor.


    The two of them were located near the middle of the Inner City.


    Behind the man in armor were several more people and a huge wagon.


    The huge wagon was over 20 meters long and nearly five meters high, carried by over 20 gigantic tires.


    Just by the looks of things, the wagon probably weighed several tons.


    The lower half of the wagon was solid steel with no openings, but the upper half had a couple of openings to let light in.


    If one looked through the openings, one would see a luxurious interior filled with several beds.


    Four people stood in front of the wagon, near several grabbable parts.


    Usually, people would feel shocked after seeing the four people. After all, all four of them were Experts.


    Yet, no one even batted an eye at the wagon and the people since they were here every month.


    It was a trading caravan.


    And the four Experts were there to pull the wagon.


    Yes, their only job was to pull it.


    Around the wagon were five other people, looking at the interior of the Inner City with boredom.


    All five of them were Specialists.


    Level five Extractors.


    But there was one more person.


    The one in the silver armor. The one who was currently talking to the person in the suit.


    This person had a shocking identity.


    He was a Hero.


    A level six Extractor!


    And he was the leader and owner of the trading caravan.


    They moved from city to city, buying the local specialties at a low price and selling them at a much higher price.


    There was a lot of money to be made this way.


    After all, traveling through the outside world was supremely dangerous.


    In general, there were four kinds of Specters outside the cities.


    First, freshly born Specters. Naturally, these kinds of Specters were very weak and valuable. Almost all of them were Hatchlings.


    Second, Specters that had to flee from a city to survive. Those ranged from Hatchlings to Fanatics and even to the asional Demon.


    Third, Specters that operated from outside any cities, like the Parasite. Those Specters tended to be very dangerous, and something like this was generally only considered possible after a Specter became a Fanatic.


    Lastly, Specters that had destroyed a city. Almost all of them were Fallen, and they were very rare.


    If one was lucky, one wouldn''t meet any Specters except for some Hatchlings, which could be sold for a ton of money in any city.


    However, if one was unlucky, one coulde across an extremely powerful Specter, and even if the Specter was so powerful that it didn''t care about the group, it might decide to use the group of humans to sneak into a new city.


    After which, the group would die, of course.


    Going outside was extremely dangerous.


    But that was why trading between cities was so valuable.


    And these people earned their living this way.


    "The food has proven to be a great hit," the man in the silver armor said to the man in the suit.


    The man in the suit was a representative from the city, sent to negotiate with the trading caravan.


    "We''re d to hear that!" the man in the suit said with a friendly smile. "I presume you want more this time?"


    The man in the silver armor nodded. "Not many people are interested in the big mosquitorvae of this city, but the few that have tried them loved them. I think I''ll take a stock of about 150 kg of those this time."


    The man in the suit nodded and wrote something on a small piece of paper.


    "People also love your rusty cubes. I keep telling them that they are called mixed meat cubes, but they just keep referring to them as rusty cubes due to their color," the man in the silver armor said with augh.


    "I get it," the other man answered with augh.


    "Put me down for 800 kg of those."


    For a couple of minutes, the man kept asking for more and more things.


    In the end, he bought over three tons of food and another eight tons of misceneous goods.


    The man in the suit created a contract, and after some negotiation, they agreed on the terms.


    After the contract was signed, the man in the armor took out several white crystals.


    Each crystal represented five kilograms of solidified Zephyx!


    The crystals were carefully put into a suitcase, which was being guarded by a Specialist.


    A momentter, several people appeared in the za, all carrying crates filled with different items.


    "Anything interesting happentely?" the man in the silver armor asked casually.


    "Not much. Everything''s basically the same," the man in the suit answered.


    "Oh, right! I''ve heard that there is a new Manufacturer in the city," the man in the silver armormented.


    The man in the suit furrowed his brows. "Is there?" he asked in confusion.


    "I think so," the man answered. "At least, I''ve heard someone say it. What was their name again? Dark Dream?"


    "Oh, right," the man in the suit said. "I would say they are kind of new. Although, I thought you would have already heard about them. They''ve been here for a couple of years already."


    "How are they doing?" the man in the silver armor asked.


    "Pretty good, as far as I can tell, but that''s to be expected. The owner of Dark Dream is the son of Vernon Melfion."


    "Oh?" the man in silver armor uttered. "Then, things make sense. I was surprised since it is so rare to see a new Manufacturer appearing in any city. Are they here in the Inner City?"


    "No, they''re in the Outer City," the guy in the suit said casually. "Pretty big building in the south. You basically can''t miss it."


    "Interesting," the man in the silver armor said.

 Chapter 260 – The Prison

    Chapter 260 260 ¨C The Prison


    When all the wares were loaded into the wagon, the caravan turned around and traveled out of the Inner City.


    In the Outer City, they followed one of the major roads towards the south.


    The leading man of the caravan looked a bit to the west, and he saw a couple of big buildings.


    Yet, one of them was quite a bit taller than all the other ones.


    With his powerful senses, he could read the sign of the distant building.


    Dark Dream.


    "We''re going to continue traveling tomorrow," the leading man dered. The other people in the caravan just nodded and started talking to each other before they split up to look at the city.


    The leading man went into the huge wagon and looked at the distant building of Dark Dream.


    His eyes were scanning the entrance of the building at all times.


    As soon as the target appeared, he would get it.


    He had been on this mission for over a year now, and he looked forward to going back to his normal routine.


    However, some minutester, something unexpected happened.


    The man looked towards the gate of the Inner City.


    Just now, a young blue-haired man walked out of the gate.


    And by the looks of things, he was walking right towards the caravan.


    Even more, the distant young man looked directly at the man in the silver armor inside the huge wagon.


    The silver man noticed that and furrowed his brows.


    A Specialist?


    What did a Specialist want from him?


    Well, with luck, the Specialist wanted to join them.


    The blue-haired man stopped about five meters away from the wagon and looked at it with a smile.


    One of the Specialists of the caravan noticed that and rudely stepped between the blue-haired man and the wagon.


    "Hey! You''re not allowed to be here!" he reprimanded.


    The blue-haired man didn''t even turn to the Specialist.


    Instead, he just looked at the wagon.


    "You really don''t want the following words to reach the ears of any onlookers," Julian, the blue-haired man, said.


    Inside the caravan, the man in silver armor furrowed his brows.


    He wasn''t sure what the blue-haired man wanted, but he still used his Zephyx to create a barrier that isted sound.


    Something like that wasn''t difficult to achieve when one had many years of experience with manipting Zephyx.


    Julian just smiled politely.


    Then, more and more mouths opened on his face.


    The eyes of the man in silver armor turned lifeless and absentminded.


    "What do you want?" a terrifyingly deep voice came out of the wagon itself.


    There was no reason to hide anymore.


    The blue-haired man obviously knew the wagon''s true identity.


    "You''ve taken my prey," the many mouths spoke at the same time, their lips beautiful and their teeth immactely white.


    "And why should I care?" the wagon asked. "You''re no threat to me."


    The Zephyx in the surroundings increased, and everything around Julian and the wagon seemed to turn blurry.


    From the outside, it looked like a blue-haired man was just politely talking to a man in silver armor.


    But in truth, an amalgamation of beautiful mouths was facing a transforming wagon of steel.


    The man in the silver armor vanished, just like all of the furniture inside the top of the wagon.


    The wagon expanded upward, and its "skin" split apart into the shape of several windows with metal bars.


    Inside each window were several malnourished humans of all ages, sexes, sizes, and power levels.


    All of them were just hopelessly looking outside at Crimson Fungus City.


    A select few of them were shouting loudly, hoping that anyone on the outside would notice their pleas, but based on theck of enthusiasm of the other humans, it was probably hopeless.


    The top of the wagon grew until it revealed a long and gaunt figure of tes, wires, and razors.


    Finally, its true form was unveiled.


    Its humongous torso was an amalgamation of prisons, and several long and powerful arms of steel extended out of the prisons, all controlled by the gaunt figure of metal growing out of the top of the prisons.


    Most shocking of all was that all the humans in the prisons were real.


    They were actual humans that were being imprisoned.


    This was the Prison, a Demon.


    It was a Mid Demon, and it gained power by imprisoning people.


    The more powerful and numerous the people were, the more Zephyx it gained.


    With its incredible illusion powers, it traveled from city to city, acting like a trading caravan.


    The ten people traveling with the wagon were all illusions.


    And how did it hide from the sensors in every city?


    The Zephyx crystals.


    Naturally, the sensors always alerted the city that something with a lot of Zephyx was moving through the gate.


    The only thing the Prison had to do was to show the crystals.


    Obviously, the crystals were the reason for the rm.


    Like this, the Prison traveled from city to city, and whenever it saw a good target, it would consume it, which would end up with the target being trapped inside one of the cells of its abdomen.


    And to make sure that nobody connected the disappearances with the caravan, the Prison left an illusion of said person behind for a couple of days.


    Lastly, it was also one of Envy''s most powerful servants.


    "Why should I care?" the Prison repeated, its voice dark and metallic.


    "I am a servant of Lord Envy, general of the almighty Famine!"


    "Crawl back to wherever you came from!" the Prison shouted with its metallic voice.


    "You have barely reached the fifth level. While you might be powerful in this little city of yours, your power is worthless in the wider world," the Prison said.


    "I am a servant of Lord Envy, general of the almighty Famine!"


    "Crawl back to wherever you came from!" the Prison shouted with its metallic voice.


    "And be d that I am not forcing you to be my servant right now!"


    Silence.


    But then, all the mouths started to grin andugh.


    "Lord Envy," the mouths said.


    "Almighty Famine."


    "True, I am far weaker than any of those."


    "I am even weaker than you."


    "But this is my city!"

 Chapter 261 261 – Mouths

    Chapter 261 261 ¨C Mouths


    "Your city?" the Prison repeated in a mocking tone.


    "You live in hiding just like any other Specter."


    "This is a city controlled by the humans."


    However, the mouths justughed.


    And then, the amalgamation of mouths walked away from the wagon.


    The Prison witnessed as the amalgamation of mouths walked out of the Prison''s illusory domain.


    At this moment, the amalgamation of mouths was walking through the Outer City without any disguise.


    "Hey, Julian! Haven''t seen you in a while!" one of the stall owners said with an excited smile as she looked at the amalgamation of mouths.


    "I''ve been busy recently, sorry," one of the mouths facing the stall owner said with a friendly tone.


    "Of course! I get it! Hey, congrattions on bing a Specialist!" the woman said.


    "Thanks, Charlotte," the mouth said.


    It slowly became bigger until it eventually assumed the form of a tree.


    The trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits of the tree were made ofughing mouths.


    The amalgamation of mouths flowed up one of the buildings and extended towards the sky.


    It slowly became bigger until it eventually assumed the form of a tree.


    The trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits of the tree were made ofughing mouths.


    At this moment, the tree could probably be seen from all across the Outer City.


    "This is my city!" the mouths said in a special rhythm.


    "If I want to be seen, I will be seen."


    "If I don''t want to be seen, I won''t be seen."


    "Everyone that I have talked to is under my control."


    "And the few that aren''t¡­"


    The mouths chuckled as two people in the streets started to run away, shouting in panic that there was a gigantic monster on one of the roofs.


    Yet, all the people just looked at the two of them like they were crazy.


    The two of them kept shouting that the blue-haired man had turned into a huge monster.


    "Julian? He''s not a Specter!" everyone answered with dark tones, annoyed that some people were badmouthing their good friend.


    Two of the mouths on the tree extended towards the two panicked individuals.


    "You seem a bit confused," they said. "Hi, I''m Julian! I think we haven''t met yet."


    The more the mouths talked, the calmer the two people became.


    Eventually, the two of them casually talked with the mouths.


    "This city is mine," Julian repeated.


    "You might be more powerful than me¡­"


    "But are you more powerful than the city?" the mouths asked.


    While the mouths were talking, more and more of them fell off the tree, traveling towards panicked and concerned people.


    By the end, over a hundred mouths were flowing through the city, stopping asionally to exchange a couple of words with someone.


    The metallic figure on top of the cells looked with a neutral expression at the tree of mouths.


    The Prison knew that it was much more powerful than Julian.


    In a direct fight, the Prison could tear Julian apart like paper.


    However, while keeping its illusions active in a calm scenario was easy, the same thing didn''t apply when the Prison was in a battle.


    With enough havoc, even the Heroes woulde out of the Inner City to look at what was going on.


    At that point, the Prison was bound to be found out.


    While the chances of its escape were high, it would never be able to return to Crimson Fungus City, and even worse, Crimson Fungus City would warn all the other cities.


    "You are putting on a strong front," the Prison said with its dark and metallic voice.


    "While you can control these weak people, I am certain that you can''t do the same to the Heroes."


    "If we battle, you will also be found out."


    "I have a shot at survival and even one at actually winning against the city."


    "You don''t."


    The mouths keptughing.


    "Which is why I haven''t sent Kugelblitz after you yet," the mouths spoke in unison.


    "If they find you, they might be more careful, which will make it harder for me to stay hidden."


    "We both have something to lose."


    "And that is why you will leave my city and never return," the mouths spoke.


    The metallic figure on top of the cells looked at the tree of mouths.


    The Prison often received opposition in cities.


    Surprisingly, it had far more conflicts with Specters than with humans.


    Many of the cities were secretly controlled by powerful Specters, and these powerful Specters didn''t want to share their food with the Prison.


    And it almost always ended the same way.


    "What do you want?" the Prison asked.


    A trade agreement.


    The Prison would deliver food and incredible goods that resulted in the production of more humans, which resulted in more food for the Specters.


    "What do I want?" the mouths repeated with friendlyughter.


    "I want you to go and never return," they said.


    The Prison looked at the tree of mouths.


    "You are not willing topromise?" it asked.


    "No," the mouths answered.


    Silence.


    "Fine," the Prison answered with a neutral voice, "but I have to take onest person."


    "No, you won''t," the tree of mouths said.


    "This is not for me," the Prison said. "This is for-"


    "Envy, yes?" the mouths interrupted. "You want Nick."


    "The one with the power of the Null."


    The Prison looked with a neutral gaze at the tree of mouths.


    If it were human, it would have felt some shock and surprise.


    "Yes," the Prison said. "Lord Envy desires the power of the Null."


    The mouths chuckled.


    "And why should I care?" they answered, throwing the Prison''s words back at it.


    "Because Lord Envy will kill you if you refuse toply," the Prison said.


    "Lord Envy is vastly more powerful than this puny little Crimson Fungus City."


    "Lord Envy even has two Fallen as servants."


    "You have no choice in the matter."


    "Keeping the Null''s power for yourself will only end your existence," the Prison dered.


    Yet, the mouths just keptughing.


    "Theoretically, yes," the mouths said.


    "Practically, no."


    "Lucky for me, Envy and its most powerful servants are busy fighting Aegis at this moment."


    "Why should I be afraid of a sharp knife in your hand when you are so far away?"

 Chapter 262 262 – Future Eternal

    Chapter262 262 ¨C Future Eternal


    The Prison looked at Julian for quite a while.


    It hadn''t expected for Julian to know that Envy was stuck fighting Aegis.


    It was true.


    Envy couldn''t spare any of its powerful servants since Aegis was putting enormous pressure on it.


    However¡­


    "That will not always be the case," the Prison said. "You are making a decision out of a momentary situation that will have permanent consequences."


    The mouths chuckled.


    "It''s not permanent," they answered.


    "The rate of my growth is unmatched."


    "I only need to be a Demon, after which I will take control of the leadership of this city."


    "And then, my power will not only be contained in this city."


    "The governor can call Aegis."


    "Is your lord willing to risk its powerful servants for a desire for revenge?"


    The smiles on the mouths turned cocky.


    "Is your lord that human?"


    The Prison just looked evenly at the tree of mouths.


    "I will ask onest time. Are you not willing to hand over a weak human to ensure your survival?" the Prison asked.


    "If you had asked me before taking my food, I would have handed him over," the tree said.


    "But you and your lord have taken from my te without asking."


    "Maybe I have been under humans too much, but I think I should feel offended and disrespected by that."


    "And I also think I should now make irrational decisions borne out of anger."


    The mouths snickered.


    "Being a human is much more fun than being a Specter."


    The Prison just kept looking at the tree.


    "You are dead-set on making an irrational decision?" the Prison asked with a nd tone.


    The mouths stoppedughing but didn''t stop grinning maliciously.


    "When you are an Eternal, can any decision be irrational?" they asked.


    "When there are no negative consequences to your actions, do your actions even matter?"


    "You are not an Eternal," the Prison answered immediately.


    "But I will be," the mouths answered.


    Silence.


    "Look at the city."


    "Everyone knows me, but nobody knows of my true existence."


    "I am inside everyone''s mind, but everyone will ignore the truth." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Every single person sees me."


    "But not a single person can see me."


    "In this city, am I not the Sun and the Null at the same time?" the mouths spoke arrogantly.


    "And what when I be a Fallen?"


    "What when I be an Adversary?"


    "When I be an Adversary, I can stop the Shields from seeing me."


    "Then, only the Specters can be my enemies."


    "But since I will be amongst the strongest of humanity, I am safe as long as humanity is safe."


    "Do you understand what this means?"


    "This means that when I be an Adversary, it is only a matter of time until I be an Eternal!"


    "As a Demon, I can feed on every city! I can leave this one and go to another one without any issues!"


    "As a Fallen, I can feed on Aegis'' strongholds!"


    "And as an Adversary, I can feed on all of humanity!"


    "Humanity will be my weapon, my shield, and my food."


    "So, why should I care about some Fallen called Envy?"


    "It is not me that should surrender in front of Envy so that I won''t be killed."


    "It is Envy that should surrender in front of me so that I won''t kill it."


    The Prison just kept looking at the tree of mouths.


    "You are not the first to speak such grand words," the Prison said evenly.


    "And you won''t be thest."


    "Specters like you always fall to your own hubris."


    "And most of the time, it happens on the hands of the very things you consider as food."


    "Bing human will never work out."


    "Specters are not human."


    The mouths chuckled.


    "What about Nurse Alice?" the mouths asked.


    "She is an Eternal. She is different," the Prison said calmly.


    "If she can be human, why can''t I be human?" the mouths asked.


    The Prison just looked at the tree of mouths.


    And then, it gave up.


    It had seen a couple of Specters just like this one.


    The Prison had been to many cities, and some of them had Specters just like this one.


    Specters that thought that their rise was unstoppable and unavoidable.


    And then, they became Fallen, and things suddenly started to be very difficult.


    A Fallen could only properly grow by feeding on Protectors, and all Protectors belonged to Aegis.


    And Aegis was damn good at finding and fighting Fallen.


    While it was easy for a Fallen to survive, it was almost impossible for a Fallen to reliably grow.


    For one simple reason.


    The Fallen''s food source was its most dangerous enemy.


    Since Specters didn''t suffer from the weakness of biological matter, they didn''t naturally expire.


    There were Fallen that were tens of thousands of years old, and yet, they still didn''t manage to be Adversaries.


    That was because these Fallen were forced into feeding extremely rarely and carefully.


    Fallen that fed rapidly didn''t tend to live long.


    The Prison could see the tree of mouths joining thetter group of Fallen.


    Of course, the Prison didn''t care about the tree''s fate.


    Unfortunately, the tree''s arrogance made it irrational, which made it impossible for the Prison to leave with its target.


    But there were other things the Prison could do.


    "There is no value to be had in this conversation," the Prison said.


    A momentter, all the different people who had left the wagon came back.


    "Change of ns. We''re going to leave now," the man in silver armor shouted.


    The Experts went to the front and started to pull the wagon towards the exit of the city.


    But in truth, the Prison was just slowly floating down the streets.


    "Until we meet again, future Eternal," the Prison said in a mocking tone.


    The mouths just kept chuckling.


    Then, the tree shrunk, and all the mouths gathered in one spot again before turning back into the figure of a blue-haired man.


    Eventually, the Prison left the city.


    A Specter generally only cared about its own survival, and the Prison wasn''t an exception.


    So, as long as the Prison was far away from the city, Julian''s power didn''t matter.


    Envy was the servant of Famine.


    The Prison was the servant of Envy.


    Naturally, just like the other two, the Prison had servants of its own.


    And it didn''t care about their survival.

 Chapter 263 263 – The Can

    Chapter263 263 ¨C The Can


    Nobody noticed the confrontation between Julian and the Prison.


    However, the confrontation had asting effect on Crimson Fungus City, even though the effect wasn''t very strong.


    The caravan never reappeared again.


    One monthter, the people were waiting for the caravan''s arrival.


    But it never came.


    In the end, they guessed that something must have happened to the caravan.


    The city made less Zephyx as a result, which was bad for the economy.


    However, the people in the Outer City and the Dregs were happy. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    While they didn''t know what happened, the people in the Outer City noticed that the prices of mixed meat cubes had sunk.


    So, they bought more of those, and since they tasted better than the veggie cubes, they preferred them.


    But that left more veggie cubes, which reduced their prices by a bit.


    The end result was that the food in the Dregs had be marginally cheaper, which made the people in the Dregs quite happy.


    While all of this was going on, Nick just kept working at his job.


    He had not noticed that Envy''s powerful servant had already arrived and left.


    Once more, Nick was stuck in the limbo.


    At some point, Envy or one of its servants woulde for him.


    The paranoia and fear never left.


    Luckily, the paranoia and fear were not as strong anymore after Julian had said that Nick didn''t need to worry.


    Time continued to pass.


    Soon, another year had passed.


    Nick was now 21 years old, and he recently managed to be a Peak John.


    During that year, the people of Dark Dream also became much stronger.


    Including Nick, there were now eleven Johns in Dark Dream.


    Nick was a Peak John.


    Jenny and Trevor were Mid Johns.


    Jonathan, Constanze, Marv, Larry, and Kiara were Early Johns.


    Cryon, Kerry, and Taren were Initial Johns.


    On top of that, Dark Dream had seven Peak Newbies, and three of them would also soon be Johns.


    Aside from that, Dark Dream had hired six new employees.


    Three of them were Late Newbies, and three of them were Early Newbies.


    Nick decided that he would always hire new people in groups of three.


    He had noticed that working with the Blood Hawk and Blood Horse was most efficient with three people.


    If there were only two people, the number ofints increased drastically.


    Sadly, Dark Dream only managed to get one more Specter this year.


    The newest Specter was a strange one.


    It was a Possession Specter called the Can.


    It looked like a rusty can made of metal, and the fact that Dark Dream managed to get this one was extremely lucky.


    One day, one of the Investigators of Dark Dream walked home and saw a can on their way home.


    In boredom, they just kicked it.


    Tragically, their angle was slightly off, and they basically hit the ground in front of the can, which resulted in their big toe being broken.


    Luckily, they could still walk and work.


    Some dayster, another Inspector wasing home, and they also saw a can.


    At that point, they remembered that one of their colleagues had broken their toe while kicking a metal can andughed.


    What if that also happened to them?


    With augh, they kicked the can.


    CRK!


    Yet, when they kicked the can, it got stuck in a rusty part of the ground, and the Inspector felt like they hit a pir of metal.


    Naturally, their big toe broke.


    In the end, they just looked at the can in absolute shock.


    "I refuse to believe that I''m that bad at kicking!" they shouted in anger.


    Then, they grabbed the can and walked toward Dark Dream.


    After waiting near the entrance for a while, the Inspector grabbed the first Extractor that came out, which was one of the Peak Newbies.


    The Inspector said that the Extractor should kick the can.


    Naturally, the Extractor was confused and asked what was going on.


    The Inspector said that two Inspectors had broken their toes while kicking a can and that they refused to believe that they broke their toes on an ordinary can.


    This had to be a Specter!


    The Extractor didn''t believe them, chuckled, and kicked the can.


    BANG!


    Tragically, they missed their kick and hit the hard building, breaking their toe.


    "Ah! You see?! I knew it!" the Inspector shouted.


    The Extractor just looked with shock at the can.


    Then, the two of them waited in front of the entrance for the next Extractor.


    The next Extractor that came out was an Initial John, and they asked them to kick the can.


    The Initial John was perplexed, but after hearing that three people had already broken their toes, they also became suspicious.


    Nervously, the Initial John kicked the can.


    BANG!


    The Initial John perfectly hit the can, and the can fell over.


    The other two looked with surprise at the fallen can.


    But then, the Initial John started to grab their feet in pain.


    "What the fuck is this thing made of?!" they shouted in horror.


    They removed their shoes, and everyone could see a bloody toe.


    Everyone just looked with shock at the toe.


    The Extractor had perfectly hit the can.


    Yet, their toe broke.


    The toe of an Initial John broke after kicking a random metal can.


    That settled it.


    This had to be a Possession Specter!


    They immediately threw it into thest free Containment Unit on the second floor and stationed an Extractor in front of it.


    The next day, they reported to Nick, and Nick inspected the can.


    He kicked it lightly, but nothing happened.


    Then, he used more and more force.


    The can acted like a normal metal can, except for the fact that it didn''t get dented by Nick''s kicks.


    BOOOOM!


    Suddenly, Nick gritted his teeth.


    Just now, the can had be insanely tough!


    Yet, the can also hit the wall of the Containment Unit with a ton of force, and it also received a big dent.


    After removing his shoes, Nick looked at his bleeding toe.


    Luckily, it wasn''t broken.


    This meant that the can was weaker than a Peak Adolescent, but stronger than an Initial Adolescent.

 Chapter 264 264 – New Home

    <h4>Chapter 264 Chapter 264 ¨C New Home </h4>


    ?264 Chapter 264 ¨C New Home


    After using several Extractors to test the can, Nick came to a conclusion.


    The can was most likely a Mid Adolescent.


    It managed to break Trevor''s toe, but it also hit the wall with a lot of force, scratching its outside.


    Luckily, the dents and scratches vanished after a couple of hours.


    The next few days were not the happiest for the Extractors.


    A great number of them had broken toes since Nick experimented with the can by using his employees.


    Luckily, Peak Newbies could recover from a broken toe within two weeks due to their faster regeneration.


    Nick only needed about three days to recover.


    After some days, Nick finally finished experimenting on the can.


    First of all, he gave it the official designation of the Can.


    The Can produced Zephyx ording to the number and strength of broken toes.


    If Nick broke a toe, it would produce around 50 grams of Zephyx.


    If an Initial John broke their toe, it produced about ten grams.


    There was no hard limit to the times someone could work with the Can.


    The only limit was the number of remaining healthy toes and the health of the Can.


    The Can could be kicked by thousands of people thousands of times a day without receiving damage.


    However, after Trevor sacrificed his toes, it became clear that Mid Johns could only kick the Can a maximum of three times a day before its condition became too damaged.


    In the end, Nick decided to not assign anyone to the Can.


    Instead, he made working with it an option for every Extractor working for Dark Dream.


    Forcing someone to break one of their bones regrly was not something Nick wasfortable with.


    Even though it could be perceived as humorous to break one''s toes while kicking a can, it was legitimately painful.


    So, Nick left the Can open.


    If anyone wanted to advance faster in level and earn some extra Zephyx, they were allowed to work with the Can.


    However, their assigned duties were not allowed to suffer as a result.


    In the beginning, almost everyone worked with the Can at least once.


    It was a couple thousand credits for one kick.


    But over the weeks, things calmed down.


    In the end, only a couple of Extractors regrly kicked the Can.


    Those were the ones who wanted to be stronger quickly.


    With the addition of the Can, Dark Dream now had twelve Specters.


    Dark Dream had grown a lot.


    Twelve Specters, 24 Zephyx Extractors, 50 Investigators, over 30 clerks, 25 guards.


    Dark Dream had over 120 employees.


    There were so many employees that Nick even started to have trouble remembering all the names.


    Eventually, he only focused on remembering the names of the Zephyx Extractors.


    As Nick was walking home, he sighed.


    He felt like he was shirking his responsibilities by not remembering all the names.


    Of course, he knew that it wasn''t his responsibility to know the name of every employee, but he still felt like he wasn''t doing his best.


    Nick walked towards the east for a couple of minutes.


    Naturally, he was no longer living in the hotel across the street from the old warehouse.


    After a while of walking, Nick reached his home.


    At the edge between the Outer City and the Dregs was a two-


    story house made of metal.


    While all the metal in the surroundings was rusty, the metal the house was made out of wasn''t.


    Additionally, the house also looked beautiful and clean.


    In fact, it looked even better than the average house in the Outer City.


    Nick hadmissioned someone to construct this house about two years ago.


    Naturally, with his status and his wealth, Nick could splurge a lot.


    For example, the house was made of steel instead of metal.


    Steel was so hard that even a Peak Newbie couldn''t break through it with just their fists.


    Nick could damage it, but he needed to actually try to damage it.


    However, that wasn''t the expensive part of the house.


    As Nick reached his home, he jumped up andnded on its roof.


    From there, Nick could see his backyard.


    It was over 50 meters long and wide, and the floor was made of stainless steel!


    This was the expensive part of the house!


    While no one needed to buy space in the Dregs, this location was too close to the Outer City.


    Every month, Nick had to pay a couple thousand credits to the city for his backyard, but that barely tickled him.


    By now, Nick was earning almost a million credits per month.


    He was earning more than 90% of the people in the loweryer of the Inner City.


    But he didn''t care that much about it.


    Nick''s focus was still on his power and Dark Dream''s power.


    The more powerful he and Dark Dream were, the more they could do to improve the lives of people.


    After taking some breaths, Nick jumped into his backyard.


    At the moment, his backyard was filled with several huge pieces of rusty metal.


    Nick had been using these pieces as punching bags.


    Sadly, most of them had be too damaged to use them as punching bags, which meant that Nick had to clean his backyard now.


    After Nicknded in his backyard, he grabbed one of the pieces to move it.


    The piece was surprisingly heavy.


    Usually, he could just throw them to the side.


    That was when Nick realized that his ability hadn''t reactivated.


    It was normal for Nick''s ability to be deactivated while he was walking home or standing on his house, but it always reactivated when he was in his backyard.


    After all, it was surrounded by big walls made of steel.


    It was very unusual for Nick''s ability to still be deactivated while inside his backyard.


    Nick quickly looked around.


    No one was on top of his steel walls.


    No one was in his backyard.


    Then, Nick looked at his house.


    ''Someone is definitely here, and the fact that they have not greeted me yet means that they are not here just to talk!''

 Chapter 265 265 – Shots

    <h4>Chapter 265 Chapter 265 ¨C Shots </h4>


    ?265 Chapter 265 ¨C Shots


    ''Is it a Specter or a human?'' Nick thought.


    ''Is it one of Envy''s servants? If so, I have to escape immediately!''


    Luckily, nothing had happened yet.


    Another lucky thing was that Nick always walked around with all of his weapons.


    By now, Nick''s strength had be so powerful that he could throw his heavy spears like they were sticks.


    Nick smoothly took out one of his spears and held it in his hands.


    ''No one has attacked me yet,'' Nick thought as he covertly nced around his backyard.


    Slowly, Nick started to walk around one of the big piles of rusty metal.


    Silence.


    The entire backyard was silent, except for the sound of Nick''s steps.


    When Nick walked to the other side of the heap of metal, his ability still hadn''t deactivated.


    ''They''re not looking at me from above. The walls are behind me. The floor is closed with no openings. That means that they are seeing me through the heap of metal.''


    ''Well, this is as good of a time as any,'' Nick thought as he narrowed his eyes.


    About two years ago, Nick had decided to wear a uniform with an added red coat that extended up to his knees.


    Manufacturers were allowed to produce these kinds of uniforms due to popr demand.


    The reason why many Manufacturers wore these kinds of uniforms was the ability to keep weapons and useful trinkets secret.


    The uniform naturally also came with an advanced and very practical toolbelt.


    Nick covertly moved his free hand to the back of his pants, his body slowly getting filled with adrenaline.


    Crk.


    Nick heard the extremely subtle sound of leather boots slightly scraping against steel from the other side of the heap of metal.


    Up until now, there hadn''t been a single sound, and the chances of one of Nick''s attackers slipping up were minuscule.


    This meant that the other side was getting agitated.


    Most likely, they were about to attack, the thought of which made them subconsciously tighten their grip on their weapons and lower their stance, which produced the sound.


    This little sound was enough to tell Nick that his opponent was most likely human, which he hadn''t expected.


    There was no reason to attack Dark Dream.


    The city had no reason to since they could simply disband Dark Dream if they wanted.


    Kugelblitz had no interest since Vernon Melfion was standing behind Dark Dream''s CEO.


    And all the other Manufacturers also wouldn''t attack since they didn''t want to start beef with Vernon.


    Even more, Dark Dream kept to itself and didn''t antagonize any of the Manufacturers.


    So, why would a human be interested in attacking the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream?


    Sadly, right now wasn''t the right time to think about this.


    As soon as Nick heard the sound, he pulled a ck ball out from behind his back and threw it at the ground with all of his power.


    WHOOOOOOM!


    An explosion of smoke consumed Nick and a huge part of his backyard.


    A smoke bomb.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Immediately, a barrage of bullets punched through the heaps of iron.


    While normal guns wouldn''t be able to break through so much iron, these were definitely not normal guns.


    Based on their power, these guns were wielded by at least a Mid John.


    These kinds of guns used an Extractor''s Zephyx as propulsion and sometimes also as ammunition.


    The bullets left holes behind in the huge heap of iron, and Nick could tell that the projectiles flying past him had quite a bit of Zephyx on them.


    This meant that the person who fired the gun had an ability that allowed them to enchant their bullets.


    Another thing Nick noticed was that all the bullets were aimed at a height below Nick''s chest, which was strange.


    If the goal was to kill Nick, they would want to hit his chest or head.


    Yet, the bullets were aiming for Nick''s lower abdomen and legs.


    ''They don''t want to kill me?'' Nick thought with furrowed brows as he jumped to the side.


    Naturally, he had expected to be attacked immediately after he used his smoke bomb, which was why he had already jumped to the side.


    ''All the fire ising through the heap of metal, and the Zephyx on the bullets seem simr. That means only one person is shooting at me. Not sure if they are using a rapid-fire gun or just using two guns at the same time, though.''


    DING!


    One of the bullets was about to hit Nick''s leg, but then, a small green forcefield appeared.


    Naturally, with his wealth, Nick had bought a far better Barrier than his trashy old one.


    This one was perpetually active, and it used a negligible amount of Zephyx to stay ready.


    Additionally, the Barrier epassed his body at a distance of about ten centimeters.


    Like this, his Barrier wouldn''t waste Zephyx blocking attacks that would have missed Nick.


    It was far better than his old one.


    Sadly, it was still worlds away from Wyntor''s and Ardum''s Barriers.


    For example, the Barrier didn''t cling to his skin perfectly, and it also couldn''t reshape itself to redirect attacks or diminish the attacking force.


    Naturally, it also didn''t have any of the fancy features that Ardum''s Barrier had.


    When the bullet hit Nick''s Barrier, Nick could see the light of his green Barrier taking on a slightly ck tone.


    ''That''s the Zephyx on the bullets. Probably some kind of debilitating or poisoning effect,'' Nick thought.


    ''I feel some drain on my Zephyx, but it''s manageable. That probably means they are a Late or Peak John.''


    ''That''s someone I can kill.''


    ''But is the gunner the only attacker, or are there more?'' Nick thought.


    Finally, Nicknded over five meters to the side, away from the lump of rusty metal.


    Yet, when hended, Nick seemed to copse into himself.


    Nick''s body turned into mist, and he rapidly slithered forward, close to the ground.


    Right now, Nick was at the northern edge of his backyard, with his house being at the southern edge.


    The shots hade from the direction of Nick''s house, and Nick was slithering towards the northwestern corner of his backyard.


    Step, step!


    But then, Nick heard stepsing from in front of him, and by the sounds of things, they were moving towards the ce where Nick had just been.


    ''They''re not alone,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes.


    This was troublesome.


    There could be two, but there could also be 200.

 Chapter 266 266 – Specter Cage

    <h4>Chapter 266 Chapter 266 ¨C Specter Cage </h4>


    ?266 Chapter 266 ¨C Specter Cage


    Nick silently slithered to the side and looked towards the direction of the steps.


    The smoke was dense, but it was still possible to see rough shapes about one or two meters away.


    The steps were loud and powerful, which meant that the person was charging forward with all their power.


    If the gunner was a strong Extractor, this was probably someone of equal power, which meant that this person was moving at probably over 60 kph.


    Nick had to make a quick decision.


    Observe or attack?


    Nick narrowed his eyes, and his fog-like bodypressed.


    An outline of Nick''s body could be seen, and it was in a crouching position, ready to explode forward.


    However, since Nick''s was made out of fog, he still wasn''t perceivable.


    Smoke and fog looked very simr.


    By now, the sounds of shots had vanished.


    Nick put his right foot onto the steel wall of his backyard while looking forward with focused, intense, and narrowed eyes.


    Then¡­


    A faint outline of a running person!


    BOOOOM!


    Nick turned corporeal and used all of his power to explode forward.


    Naturally, since no one could currently see him, his ability was active.


    With his athletic body and his ability, Nick had the physical power of a Late Veteran right now.


    Yet, even though Nick used an unreal amount of strength to shoot forward, the only noticeable effect of this power on the wall was a light gust of wind that extended outward from the spot that Nick had touched with his right foot.


    Meanwhile, Nick exploded forward with unreal speed, his right arm pulled back.


    It was almost like Nick''s target was standing still.


    Nick punched forward with his right arm, the de on it already extended forward.


    BANG!


    An orange glow appeared in front of Nick''s de, which quickly broke into shards and splinters.


    Nick felt his ability deactivate at that point, but it didn''t matter.


    The kic force had already been created.


    SHING!


    Nick''s de easily went through the side of the figure''s head.


    If they were human, they were definitely dead!


    And sure enough, Nick''s ability immediately reactivated.


    Since the force of his jump wasn''t yet used up, Nick essentially flew into his opponent''s upper body.


    The two of them were falling over, but Nick used his left hand to catch himself and the body silently.


    In a fluid motion, Nick rolled forward while pulling the corpse over himself until it was in front of Nick.


    BANG!


    And Nick kicked it towards the east, at the northeastern corner of his backyard.


    BOOOM!


    A secondter, the sound of a loud crash came from the northeastern corner of Nick''s backyard.


    Naturally, Nick did this to make the enemy think that he was currently fighting someone in the northeastern corner, which was close to the ce he had been in when the battle started.


    Meanwhile, Nick jumped towards the west again while turning into fog, which slithered across the ground.


    A secondter, Nick reached the edge of the smoke, which was around five meters away from the western wall.


    In his fog-state, Nick nced around the western side of his backyard.


    He couldn''t see anyone.


    The next moment, Nick materialized again in a crouching position.


    BANG!


    And jumped diagonally forward as hard as he could.


    With Nick''s power, jumping a distance of over 50 meters wasn''t difficult.


    Like a cannonball, Nick diagonally shot past the wall of his backyard.


    He was doing the smartest thing.


    Running away.


    He didn''t know who was attacking him, and the top priority was to survive, not to kill his enemy.


    Even more, this was an ambush, and fighting in the middle of an ambush was stupid.


    He had to reset the battlefield to a neutral one.


    While Nick was flying through the air, he felt his ability deactivate again.


    In the air, he quickly looked around.


    That was when he saw someone looking at him outside his backyard.


    This person was probably insurance, and their job most likely was to catch Nick if he managed to escape from his backyard.


    ''If there''s one guy in the west, there''s probably another one in the north and another one in the south. There might be even more,'' Nick thought. ''Together with the gunner and the dead one, that makes at least five people.''


    The person Nick saw was cloaked in a mantle with a grey color that almost perfectly imitated the grey of Nick''s walls.


    The only identifying feature of the person was the long spear in their hands.


    Nick could barely see a bit of their face as their eyes met, but he could tell that the person was a man and that they didn''t seem scared.


    But then, Nick''s attention was pulled forward.


    Some white gas gathered in front of Nick''s jumping path.


    When Nick saw that, he gnashed his teeth.


    ''A Specter Cage!'' Nick thought with frustration.


    Naturally, when big Manufacturers intended to capture a powerful Specter, they often readied Specter Cages.


    These kinds of devices looked like big boxes of steel.


    If one ced one of these boxes of steel somewhere, gave it a lot of Zephyx, and activated it, it would project a powerful barrier in a circle at a certain distance.


    If anything approached the barrier, it would gather Zephyx at that spot and harden it.


    There were only three ways to break through such a barrier.


    First, destroy the steel box in the middle of the cage projecting the barrier.


    Second, attack the barrier until all the Zephyx is used up. The more the barrier had to block, the more Zephyx it used.


    Third, unleash an attack so powerful that the barrier can''t possibly block it. Sadly, that was generally viewed as impossible since Specter Cages were made to withstand a lot of power.


    In the end, one thing was certain.


    Nick was stuck here until he got rid of the Specter Cage.


    ''Whoever wants to kill me is willing to spend kilos upon kilos of Zephyx,'' Nick realized.


    While Nick was about to reach the barrier, the person on the ground shouted something.


    "He''s over here!"


    Nick gritted his teeth.

 Chapter 267 267 – West to East

    <h4>Chapter 267 Chapter 267 ¨C West to East </h4>


    ?267 Chapter 267 ¨C West to East


    BANG!


    Nicknded on the hardened Zephyx of the Specter Cage with his legs first.


    With one nce, Nick overlooked the battlefield.


    Half of his backyard was covered in smoke.


    There was a Specter Cage surrounding his house and backyard.


    There was a person with a spear below him who had just alerted everyone to Nick''s position.


    The next moment, Nick readied one of his spears and threw it at the person below him with all of his power, his body pushing into the barrier due to the force of the throw.


    Nick had never stopped practicing with his spears, and even though the angle and his position were awkward, Nick still managed to throw with a lot of power and uracy.


    BANG!


    However, the person below Nick simply jumped to the side, avoiding the attack, and Nick''s spear shot through the floor into the sewers.


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick jumped toward the direction of his house, which was behind the guy on the ground.


    BANG!


    The guy on the ground immediately jumped upward with his spear pointed at Nick, ready to intercept him.


    Nick''s eyes shone, and his right arm pulled upward with a lot of force.


    BANG!


    Nick''s spear shot out of the ground with a lot of force as he pulled it back with his Ghost Wire.


    The next moment, the guy thrust his spear at Nick''s torso.


    But then, his eyes widened in shock.


    Nick''s trajectory had changed!


    He was much lower than he was supposed to be!


    Of course, that was due to Nick pulling his spear back with all of his power while flying.


    For every action, there''s an equal and opposite reaction.


    Nick barely managed to fly below the spear, and he pointed his de at the guy''s torso.


    BANG!


    A yellow Barrier appeared in Nick''s path.


    The man''s face turned white, but the Barrier managed to hold.


    After all, Nick''s ability hadn''t been active.


    However, the Barrier apparently wasn''t the kind that also absorbed kic energy.


    Nick''s forward momentumpletely halted, turning him stationary in the air for just an instant while the guy''s body was shot into the distance, right towards Nick''s house.


    BANG!


    The guy''s Barrier activated again as he hit Nick''s house, putting a sizable dent into the wall.


    At that moment, Nick could see the Barrier flickering, which was a sign that it was nearly out of Zephyx.


    Even though Nick hadn''t managed to kill him, the guy was most likely out of the fight since moving without Zephyx was nearly impossible.


    The stronger an Extractor became, the more their body relied on Zephyx, and without Zephyx, moving became very difficult.


    As Nick looked at the man, who was now tumbling down the side of Nick''s house, he noticed a small gleam of lighting from one of his windows.


    BOOOM!


    Nick''s green Barrier appeared in front of him, blocking an extremely long and dense bullet.


    The next moment, Nick felt like someone had just punched him in the chest, and the deafening sound of a huge sniper rifle being fired rang out from Nick''s house.


    This was the feeling of losing a huge amount of Zephyx in an instant.


    ''That''s a different person!'' Nick realized with gritted teeth. ''That''s not the gunner from earlier!''


    The difference in power between the earlier gunner and this one was huge!


    However, judging by the sound and the look of the bullet, it wasn''t that this gunner was stronger but that this gunner simply unleashed much more power in one shot.


    The gunner probably unloaded something like 50% of their Zephyx with this shot.


    And that wasn''t even everything.


    Nick''s Barrier canceled kic energy.


    This meant that Nick was still in the middle of the air, just starting to fall to the ground.


    He was a sitting duck!


    Nick quickly grabbed one of his spears and performed a Hip Throw.


    The spear shot through the window where the sniper was supposed to be.


    Nick didn''t expect his throw to hit.


    The sniper had probably immediately retreated after firing their shot, but Nick wanted to make sure.


    If they decided to stay there and shoot another one, Nick might die.


    After throwing his spear, Nick cut the Ghost Wire.


    He didn''t want to show anyone where he was going by pulling it back.


    Due to the Hip Throw, Nick was thrown towards the barrier again.


    Afternding, he angled himself downward and diagonally jumped towards the ground.


    Just before Nick managed to dive past the roofs of the neighboring houses, he saw two people jumping onto the wall of his backyard.


    One of them came from the north, and one came from the east.


    Those were probably the two people responsible for guarding the north and east.


    For just an instant, Nick''s ability deactivated, but it quickly reactivated.


    BANG!


    Surprisingly, Nick didn''t weaken the impact of his fall this time, and he shot through the metallic grates on the ground,nding on the barrier of the Specter Cage.


    The Specter Cage projected a barrier in a sphere, which meant that it was also extending below the ground.


    Nick quickly pulled something out from his toolbelt and crushed it in his hand.


    An instantter, the thing started to shine brightly like the sun, and Nick put it in a pocket on the chest area of his uniform.


    The light was so bright that it shone through the pocket, but the light was quite subdued now.


    Nick had met the Nightmare more than once during important battles, and he had decided to invest in this trinket.


    It was essentially an Arclight but in a round form.


    Nick immediately jumped forward with all of his power.


    Since his ability was active, Nick could cross the entire distance of the Specter Cage in one jump.


    Three secondster, Nicknded below the ground on the eastern side of the Specter Cage.


    The next moment, Nick rammed his de into the floor above him and cut a hole in it.


    Then, he grabbed the Arclight in his pocket and threw it into the sewer water.


    Naturally, the Specter Cage epassed quite a lot of sewer water as well below it.


    Nick had thrown his Arclight into the sewer waters since it was very noticeable on him.


    The light of the Arclight was immediately consumed by the ck sewer waters, and Nick jumped out of the sewers.


    Now, Nick was outside the eastern wall of his backyard while everyone was rushing towards the west.

 Chapter 268 268 – House

    <h4>Chapter 268 Chapter 268 ¨C House </h4>


    ?268 Chapter 268 ¨C House


    As soon as Nick came to the surface again, he saw someone.


    There was a tall man standing on top of the eastern wall of Nick''s backyard.


    Luckily, the guy was looking towards the west, which meant his back was turned to Nick.


    With narrowed eyes, Nick could see a throwing spear in the guy''s right hand and a couple more on his back.


    It seemed like this was one of the few people who chose throwing spears, just like Nick.


    Nick quickly thought about how to take him down without being noticed.


    A bitter, Nick grabbed three of his spears and carefully and silently stabbed them through the ground behind him.


    Then, he ran forward and jumped with all of his power.


    With his ability active, Nick jumped with incredible power at the person on the wall, his right arm extended.


    BANG!


    The orange Barrier appeared and broke apart before Nick''s de entered the back of the guy''s head.


    For just an instant, Nick''s ability deactivated, but it quickly reactivated again.


    The next moment, the three Ghost Wires became taut as the sides of the three spears pushed against the ground.


    Nick''s body stopped in the air behind the guy.


    Nick pulled his de out of the guy''s head and grabbed him with his hands before pulling himself back.


    The corpse and Nick sunk behind the eastern wall of Nick''s backyard.


    Thanks to his ability, Nick could tell that nobody had seen this. Probably because everyone was busy running and looking toward the west.


    Nick would have loved to look at the corpse and find out who was attacking him, but he didn''t really have the time.


    Someone might have already noticed the hole he had made in the west, and remaining in the same spot for too long was extremely dangerous in his situation.


    Nick quickly smashed the corpse into a random ruin of a house and ran towards the south.


    He knew that his biggest strength in this situation was his incredible speed.


    With his ability, Nick could run as fast as a Late Veteran!


    In barely a second, Nick reached the northeastern corner of his house, which was also the southeastern corner of his backyard.


    Nick turned into fog, climbed the corner, and peeped over the wall.


    He didn''t like what he saw.


    There were five people at the western wall of his backyard, and two of them were in the process of jumping over it.


    ''The sniper is not among them. That means there are at least ten people in total in this ambush, and as far as I can tell, all of them are Mid Johns at least!'' Nick thought with gritted teeth.


    That was a huge number of people just to get rid of Nick!


    "He''s not in the west! Fan out and defend!"


    The next moment, Nick heard someone shouting from beyond the wall.


    ''Based on the fact that he''s shouting with such authority and ordering everyone around, he''s probably the leader,'' Nick thought.


    Nick remembered the person who had jumped over the northern wall when the guy in the west had shouted earlier.


    He hadn''t seen that person among the five currently in the backyard.


    ''The guy that guarded the north is most likely the leader, and he''s currently to the west of my backyard.''


    The next moment, Nick turned corporeal, grabbed something from his toolbelt, and threw it into the backyard.


    BOOOOM!


    The smoke bomb Nick had thrown at the northwestern corner of the backyard exploded, putting nearly everyone in the backyard in a cloud of smoke.


    "He''s here!" someone inside the backyard shouted.


    However, Nick had not entered the backyard.


    He had just thrown the smoke bomb in there to make them think that he was in there.


    Instead, Nick jumped towards the eastern wall of his house and turned into fog.


    Naturally, since this was Nick''s house, it had a couple of nice additions.


    Normal people wouldn''t really notice the true purpose of these things.


    Every house in the Outer City had light holes. After all, the people didn''t want to get attacked by the Nightmare.


    However, Nick''s house had bigger light holes.


    The light holes in Nick''s house were over ten centimeters wide, but there were fewer of them.


    Normal people would just think that this was a stylistic choice.


    But in truth, these light holes made it very easy and convenient for Nick to move from one room to the other in his fog-state.


    Moving through a slit or small holes cost a lot of Zephyx and took a while, but it was barely an issue to move through such big holes.


    Nick easily entered through one of the light holes and slithered across the ceiling of the first floor.


    He rapidly moved from room to room, passing through big light holes near the ceiling.


    Some secondster, Nick finally found his target.


    In one of the rooms on the second floor, Nick saw a grey-haired young woman with a humongous rifle.


    She was currently looking at the backyard.


    Nick materialized behind her, pulled his arm back, and punched her with a hook.


    The de of Nick''s arm hit her orange barrier, which immediately broke into pieces.


    BANG!


    Her head separated from her shoulders and shattered against the steel wall.


    Naturally, that made a lot of noise, and Nick was sure that everyone had noticed what was going on.


    However, before they could turn to look at the house, Nick and the corpse had already vanished from the window.


    The headless corpse was lying below the window, and Nick was slithering through the light holes near the ground.


    BANG!


    The front door shot open as someone kicked it, and Nick saw the entering person with shock.


    ''Wait, isn''t that the guy that ran out of Zephyx after I punched him in the west?!'' Nick thought.


    Yes, it was the guy that Nick had thrown against his house.


    Yet, here he was, storming into the house with a lot of energy!


    It was almost like he hadn''t lost any Zephyx whatsoever!


    Nick decided against engaging the guy since that might take too long.


    After all, everyone else was probably already running towards the house, and Nick had to leave.


    So, Nick just slithered out of his house.


    Luckily, the guy was too busy charging towards the second floor to notice the small cloud of fog in the room.

 Chapter 269 269 – Different Perspective

    <h4>Chapter 269 Chapter 269 ¨C Different Perspective </h4>


    ?269 Chapter 269 ¨C Different Perspective


    After Nick slithered out of his house, he saw someone carefully running towards it from outside.


    Nick hadn''t seen that person before.


    It was a petite figure with a gun, and Nick could see a couple of green strands of hair poking out from her cloak.


    It was most likely a woman.


    ''She came from the ce where the guynded earlier. Is she the reason why he recovered so quickly? Does she have some kind of healing ability?'' Nick thought.


    The woman was too busy running into the house behind the other guy to take note of the cloud of fog clinging to the outside wall on the second floor of the house.


    Nick rapidly jumped over her andnded on the ground behind her.


    As she reached the entrance, Nick materialized in a crouching position behind her.


    BOOOM!


    Her Barrier materialized and broke apart.


    This time, Nick was careful not to make too much noise.


    So, instead of using all his power to bury his de into her skull, he simply grabbed her hair through her cloak, pulled her head back, and buried his de in her neck.


    It took half a second longer than normal, but she died silently.


    Next, Nick ran towards the west of his house and came around the corner.


    And his ability deactivated!


    Just five meters in front of Nick was the guy from the north, the probable leader of the ambush!


    Their eyes met.


    Nick couldn''t fully see the guy''s face, but for some reason, he felt familiar.


    Nick felt like he had seen this guy before.


    The man immediately pulled his spear back and assumed a defensive stance with his empty left arm in front of him.


    However, instead of attacking the guy, as the guy had thought, Nick actually turned around and vanished behind the corner again.


    "He''s south of the house!" the guy shouted as he ran after Nick.


    The guy passed the corner and¡­


    Nick was gone.


    However, the guy knew where Nick went.


    He was an experienced fighter, and the gust of wind he had just felt almost certainly came from a strong jump.


    He looked up, but he only saw the white of the Specter Cage slowly vanishing, which meant that something had just been near it.


    Had Nick just jumped towards the barrier and then jumped over the house, toward the backyard, in just the single second it had taken the leader to shout and round the corner?


    That would have needed an insane level of speed to pull off!


    This ambush was not going as nned!


    This fucker was so slippery, it was unreasonable!


    "He''s on top of the building!" the leader shouted.


    BANG! BANG!


    The sound of gunshots came from the backyard.


    After that, he went into a crouching position and jumped towards the roof of the house.


    Yet, when he arrived, he saw nobody!


    The leader gritted his teeth and ran towards the northern edge of the roof, the one pointing towards the backyard.


    But when the leader saw the backyard, he had to take a deep breath in shock.


    "Samara," he whispered under his breath.


    Someone''s body was on the northern wall of Nick''s backyard.


    The body was impaled by a spear going through its head!


    Beside the corpsey two ck guns.


    "East!" someone inside the backyard shouted before two people in cloaks ran towards the eastern wall.


    The leader narrowed his eyes and also ran towards the east.


    He was far faster than everyone else, and even though the two in the backyard started earlier, the leader arrived in the east first.


    However, what greeted him was a huge cloud of smoke covering the area east of the backyard.


    The leader and the two from the backyard quickly searched through the area.


    "There''s a hole!" someone shouted.


    The leader quickly reached that spot and saw a big hole in the ground.


    At that moment, he realized what had happened in the beginning.


    He imagined Nick running from the west to the east after escaping the initial ambush.


    So, that was how he managed to get into the house!


    And then, the leader''s eyes widened as he realized that the target must have done the same but in reverse just now!


    Even worse, they had just wasted nearly five seconds searching for Nick in the cloud of smoke!


    "Gillian! Disperse the cloud of smoke in the east! Everyone else, he''sing from the west!" the leader shouted.


    "Coming!" a deep voice shouted from inside Nick''s backyard.


    BOOOM!


    But then, the leader and the two people beside him heard a loud banging from the wall of Nick''s backyard!


    The three of them ran towards the backyard, but then, the leader saw a bloody spear poking out of the eastern wall of the backyard.


    He knew very well what was on the other side of the wall.


    The leader felt like the situation was going out of control.


    He had to regain control immediately!


    "EVERYONE, ASSEMBLE IN THE CENTER OF THE BACKYARD!" the leader shouted with all of his power, his voice booming throughout the surroundings.


    Meanwhile, the leader himself jumped over the wall andnded in the middle of the backyard.


    The two people who had apanied him to the east quickly arrived by his side.


    BANG!


    The sound of something powerful hitting something thundered out of the house.


    The two people beside the leader immediately charged towards the south.


    "Stop!"


    However, they immediately stopped moving after their leader ordered them to stop.


    This entire mess had started with them chasing their target''s tail like a cat!


    The leader wouldn''t make the same mistake again!


    The leader stepped between the two of them.


    "Follow me closely! We can''t allow ourselves to get separated!"


    The two of them nodded.


    Until now, the two of them had been locked onto their target with tunnel vision, and they hadn''t noticed their surroundings.


    Only now did they realize how bad the situation actually was.


    Their leader had called for everyone to gather in the backyard, but they were the only ones there!


    Three people in total, including the leader.


    This meant that their target had killed eight of their colleagues!


    What the fuck were they fighting?!

 Chapter 270 270 – Scattering

    <h4>Chapter 270 Chapter 270 ¨C Scattering </h4>


    ?270 Chapter 270 ¨C Scattering


    Nick watched the three remaining people slowly walking towards his house.


    Right now, Nick was in his fog state inside one of the heaps of rusted metal in his backyard.


    ''Eleven people in total, huh?'' he thought as he watched them with narrowed eyes.


    For a while, Nick just looked at the three of them.


    They were constantly on the lookout and didn''t dare to split apart.


    Nick could attempt killing one with a spear throw, but he decided against it.


    ''That one sniper shot and the three shots I took from the gunner already exhausted over 80% of my Zephyx,'' he thought.


    ''Entering battle in my state is stupid.''


    ''I have to remember that I am still at a numbers disadvantage and that the strongest of them is still alive.''


    ''From what I could tell, all of the assassins have been Peak Johns, and the leader is most likely a Veteran.''


    ''If he were alone, I might attempt it, but not with the two guys beside him.''


    Nick watched as the three of them carefully entered his house.


    Then, Nick slowly slithered from one heap of metal to the next.


    ''I think it should be here,'' Nick thought as he looked through the heap of rusted metal.


    Then, Nick finally found it!


    At the bottom of the heap was a ck box of steel with several buttons on it.


    ''The Specter Cage!'' Nick thought.


    After that, Nick came out of the northern side of the heap and went to another heap.


    He threw a nce at the building.


    Nobody there.


    The next moment, Nick materialized and immediately threw a spear at the heap of metal hiding the Specter Cage.


    BOOOM!


    The spear shot through the metal and sank into the sewers.


    Since Nick wanted to keep his location secret, he had cut the Ghost Wire of the spear.


    The next moment, a huge amount of Zephyx exploded out of the heap of metal, and the barrier surrounding Nick''s home vanished.


    Meanwhile, the three people inside the house ran out, and when they felt the huge amount of Zephyx in the backyard, they knew what had happened.


    They had failed!


    They hadn''t been able to catch Nick inside a cage, so how could they possibly catch him outside of one?


    The leader gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.


    "Mission failure! Get rid of the evidence before the guards show up!" the leader ordered.


    The next moment, the leader retrieved some kind of device.


    The two people beside the leader pulled out a round object and handed it to him.


    The next moment, the three of them jumped over the backyard wall and ran towards the east for a couple of seconds.


    The leader quickly pressed a couple of buttons on the round things and pocketed them.


    After that, the leader pressed a button on the device he had pulled out.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Eight powerful explosions appeared all around Nick''s distant home.


    Huge chunks of his steel walls were blown off, and even Nick''s house was blown to pieces.


    The round objects the two guys had given to their leader were bombs.


    In case the mission failed, they would be used to get rid of the evidence.


    At most, the guards would find scraps of Zephyx and metal.


    Naturally, everyone had also been forbidden from bringing belongings with them that could possibly be linked to their person or their ce of employment.


    The three of them threw onest nce at the resting ce of their eight colleagues before quickly running toward the east.


    They zigzagged through different alleys while jumping and running through houses.


    Suddenly, only two of them were left, but they weren''t worried.


    They split up in designated positions.


    After all, if Nick talked to the guards, he would tell them that three cloaked people had attacked him and that they were running away currently.


    Because of that, they split up while taking off their cloaks.


    Suddenly, only the leader was left.


    For several minutes, the leader kept running at his full speed while subtly changing his appearance.


    Eventually, he transformed into someone who didn''t look any different from a random citizen of the Dregs.


    He would travel through public ces now while mingling with the people.


    Only when he was 100% certain did he actually slowly restore his real appearance.


    Eventually, he slowly walked toward the Inner City.


    His bored eyes looked at the entrance and the people beside it.


    "Sir, please wait a moment," one of the guards told the leader.


    "What?" the leader asked with boredom.


    "Sorry to disturb you, but something happened in the Outer City, and we are supposed to investigate every level two and level three Extractoring from the Outer City," the guard said respectfully.


    "What is this about?" the leader asked in boredom.


    "The Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream was attacked by several level two Extractors and a level three Extractor. Do you know anything about this?" the guard asked.


    "I heard themotion, but I thought it was just a battle between some gangs," the leader said in boredom.


    "Where have you been for thest two hours?" the guard asked.


    "I was meeting the head of my Investigation department," the leader said with annoyance.


    "Are there any witnesses?" the guard asked.


    "Almost my entire Investigation department saw me," the leader said calmly.


    "Alright, thank you for cooperating," the guard said. "Onest thing."


    Then, the guard pointed at somebody sitting on the ground with their head lowered.


    "Do you know this person?" the guard asked.


    The leader furrowed his brows, walked forward, and lifted the body''s head by the hair.


    It was a corpse.


    It was the corpse of one of the two people that had fled with the leader.


    It seemed like Nick had followed them, killed them, and brought them to the guard.


    "Mergur Mender," the leader said. "He quit ourpany around four months ago. I''ve seen him on the streets here and there, but I haven''t talked to him since then."


    "Sir, we would like to talk more about this at the station. I know that it wasn''t you, but we have to follow all the leads. You knowing one of the culprits sadly makes you a suspect," the guard said carefully.


    The leader just nodded. "I get it. Lead the way."


    The leader wasn''t really worried.


    Everything for today had been meticulously nned.


    There were tons of witnesses who could give him an alibi.


    Also, no one would expect that he would personally go out to kill some level two Extractor.


    After all, he was Kallum Sondur, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of the Spartans.

 Chapter 271 271 – Frustrating

    <h4>Chapter 271 Chapter 271 ¨C Frustrating </h4>


    ?271 Chapter 271 ¨C Frustrating


    The atmosphere inside the meeting room was solemn, and the four people in attendance were silent.


    Just now, Nick had told Wyntor, Jenny, and Trevor about what had happened yesterday evening.


    For the remainder of yesterday, Nick had stayed with the guards.


    After the assants had left, Nick had followed one of them.


    He would have liked to follow the leader, but Nick decided that security was more important than a potential high return for high risk.


    Because of that, Nick had followed one of the other two.


    But then, he had been put in front of another choice.


    Should he kill the guy right away and keep his body as evidence or follow him?


    Since someone with that power almost certainly lived in the Inner City, Nick decided to kill the person immediately. After all, he wouldn''t be able to stalk and kill the guy in the Inner City since he didn''t have any proof.


    Even more, Nick was certain that the enemy had already prepared for an eventual failure of the mission, which meant that everyone probably had alibis.


    Because of that, Nick decided to use theck of witnesses to his advantage.


    He killed the guy, brought his corpse to the guards, and told them that he had killed the guy during the battle, not after it.


    Naturally, that was a lie, but the only way to disprove that was for the perpetrator toe forward and say that Nick was lying.


    Obviously, the enemy wouldn''t do that.


    After delivering the corpse to the guards, the guards immediately became active and started to investigate everything.


    However, Nick knew that the investigation wouldn''t produce any concrete results.


    Skirmishes happened from time to time between Manufacturers, but almost all of them were kept secret.


    After all, most of the time, both sides had something to hide, and if the guards got involved, the victim''s secrets mighte to light, which could be troublesome.


    Additionally, they most likely wouldn''t find much.


    Yet, Dark Dream was about as honest as possible.


    They didn''t hide any Specters, and they didn''t hide any of their people.


    The only shady thing they were doing was to trade with the Parasite from time to time.


    Because of that, Dark Dream wasn''t afraid of involving the guards.


    After several hours, the guards had finished a list of every powerful Extractor that had been in the Outer City during the attack.


    There had been surprisingly many.


    It turned out that the market for Newbies had been open on this evening, and there had even been a couple of events.


    Over ten Veterans had been in the Outer City during the attack, and since the guards had nothing to go on, they couldn''t make an arrest.


    After all, only one of the ten Veterans had been part of the attack.


    They couldn''t arrest all of them.


    Even more, due to Nick belonging to a Manufacturer and even being the Chief Zephyx Extractor, things became troublesome.


    What if the guards gathered the Veterans, and Nick told them that one of the Veterans of an enemy Manufacturer had attacked him, even though they hadn''t been involved at all?


    Sometimes, it was more profitable to let the attacker go while taking down someone innocent.


    For example, what if Dark Dream decided to me someone like the Chief Zephyx Extractor of the Spartans? That wouldpletely destabilize the Spartans and might even result in them losing their footing.


    Naturally, as the victim, Dark Dream would most likely get a couple, if not all, of their Specters.


    It was always risky to believe the victims when the victims were executives and the perpetrator was one of their rivals.


    After spending the day and night working with the guards, Nick came back to Dark Dream and immediately called a meeting.


    When he was done rying all the information, the room fell silent.


    Trevor looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    Naturally, he wasn''t angry at Nick but for Nick.


    Jenny could only grit her teeth in frustration.


    Wyntor was looking at the table with furrowed brows, deep in thought.


    "How did you do it?" Trevor asked with concern after a while.


    "Do what?" Nick asked neutrally.


    "Win against so many powerful people," Trevor said. "You said that there were ten Peak Johns and even a Veteran. Not only were you outnumbered eleven-to-one, but they also got the drop on you."


    "No matter how much I think about it, I can''t imagine someone getting out of such a situation alive," Trevor said.


    Jenny also looked at Nick.


    Naturally, she also wanted to know.


    "I can''t tell you," Nick said. "It''s rted to my power."


    Even after all these years, neither Trevor nor Jenny knew about Nick''s power.


    Only three people in the entire city knew about it.


    Wyntor, Albert, and Julian.


    The people from Ghosty''s Lab only knew that his power was strange, but they didn''t know the specifics.


    "Is your ability that powerful?" Trevor asked.


    Wyntor shot an annoyed nce at Trevor. As the CEO, he also had a vested interest in Nick''s power remaining a secret.


    However, Wyntor didn''t reprimand Trevor since he was still busy trying to figure out several things.


    "In the right circumstances, it is very powerful," Nick said, "but in the wrong circumstances, it is almost useless. That is why it is so important for me to keep the circumstances a secret."


    "If someone knows how my power works, it might bepletely useless," Nick exined.


    Trevor could only sigh.


    "Sorry for asking such personal questions, Boss," Trevor said. "It''s just that it''s so frustrating."


    Nick raised an eyebrow as Trevor continued speaking.


    "We constantly see you doing things that are unimaginably difficult and dangerous."


    "You dealt with Cycle on your own while we were only looking on, cowering inside the warehouse."


    "You captured the Fog while we were just waiting."


    "You brought the sses and the Money Sink to Dark Dream after some kind of incident while we were only doing our day-


    to-day work."


    "And now, you survived an overwhelmingly powerful ambush while we were resting at home."


    Trevor sighed again.


    "I just feel like I''m superfluous."

 Chapter 272 272 – The Perpetrator

    <h4>Chapter 272 Chapter 272 ¨C The Perpetrator </h4>


    ?272 Chapter 272 ¨C The Perpetrator


    Nick scratched the back of his head.


    "I mean, I can see where you areing from, but there isn''t really much I can do about that," he said.


    "I couldn''t have known about this ambush. If I had known about that, I would have brought you two with me."


    At that point, Nick furrowed his brows.


    A thought had appeared inside his mind.


    Yes, he would have brought Jenny and Trevor with him, but¡­


    Would that have actually improved the result?


    With Nick constantly running around, the enemy couldn''t fully make use of their power, but if Jenny and Trevor were there, they could.


    The enemy would have probably killed Jenny and Trevor with their overwhelming numbers advantage, and since Nick would have realized the danger, he would have probably be extremely nervous, which might have resulted in him attacking an enemy without being certain that he could kill them.


    Nick''s expression became more awkward and sympathetic.


    ''Honestly, if I had brought the two of them, I might have actually died,'' he thought.


    Trevor noticed that Nick''s expression was changing.


    Trevor was a pretty intelligent guy, and he had an inkling about what Nick might be thinking.


    "Let''s drop this topic," Wyntor suddenly said. "We have more important things to talk about."


    Trevor and Jenny looked at Wyntor before sighing.


    Right, there were more important things to discuss.


    "Nick, do you have any idea about why another Manufacturer would want you dead?" Wyntor asked, turning to Nick. "No matter how much I think about it, there doesn''t seem to be any valid reason to attack you."


    "It''s not the city since they need to stay neutral."


    "It''s definitely not Kugelblitz."


    "Anatomy and Ghosty''s Lab are too big to care about Dark Dream. Even more, they wouldn''t want to offend my father just for a couple of Adolescents."


    "Gemini is very secure right now, and they need to consolidate after acquiring their Elder. Additionally, they also wouldn''t want to offend Kugelblitz."


    "Sce wants an Elder, not more Adolescents. The thing that keeps them in the lower levels is only theirck of an Elder, and using their resources for anything else would be a huge waste."


    "And the Spartans can''t afford to fight us for even more reasons. They just recently got their first Adult, and they need to consolidate just like Gemini. On top of that, the difference in strength between us isn''t that huge, which would make a fight very troublesome."


    "No matter how much I think about it, I can''t find any reason why a Manufacturer would want to attack you."


    "It doesn''t matter who it is. It would be a dumb decision from any of them," Wyntor exined.


    Nick looked at the table with furrowed brows.


    There were four important pieces of information that Wyntor didn''t know.


    First, Wyntor didn''t know that Nick had been given the task of finding Envy''s captured servant in Crimson Fungus City from Simon Francium.


    While the details of Nick''s talk with Simon were unknown, people knew that Nick had talked to a Protector.


    What if the Manufacturer that suppressed Envy''s servant became suspicious of Nick?


    That would be a reason to kill him.


    Second, Nick didn''t mention one important piece of information.


    He hadn''t forgotten how the first hail of bullets from the gunner had been aimed at his legs and lower abdomen. In fact, even the sniper bullet was aimed at his lower torso.


    This meant that the enemy didn''t want to kill Nick.


    They wanted to capture him alive, which led to the third piece of information Nick had kept from Wyntor.


    This entire business with Envy.


    Wyntor didn''t know that Envy wanted to capture Nick.


    With these three pieces of information, Nick could already tell who the mastermind behind this incident was.


    Envy.


    Or, more precisely, Envy''s servant.


    If Envy were here personally, it could probably just strut into the city, kill everyone, and grab Nick.


    So, it couldn''t be Envy itself, which only left its servant.


    Nick was over 95% sure that this was the doing of one of Envy''s servants.


    Sadly, there were still a couple of open questions.


    Envy''s servant had to be extremely powerful.


    Capturing Nick shouldn''t be very difficult.


    So, why didn''t Envy''s servant grab Nick on its own?


    Why use Extractors?


    Even more, if Envy''s servant could manipte Extractors to such a degree, why wouldn''t it directly manipte Dark Dream''s Extractors?


    And finally, there was one more piece of information Nick kept secret.


    He already knew who the Extractors belonged to.


    The guards had shared their findings with Nick, which included the list of Veterans found in the Outer City and the identity of the corpse Nick had handed over.


    The corpse had been of an Extractor who had once belonged to the Spartans.


    Even more, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of the Spartans had been in the Outer City.


    On top of that, Nick remembered the spear in the leader''s hand and his battle stance.


    Lastly, when Nick had seen Kallum Sondur''s name, his face popped into Nick''s mind.


    While it had been difficult to see the leader''s face under his cloak, Nick had seen enough to say that the leader of the ambush and Kallum Sondur looked very, very simr, both in Aura and in appearance.


    Nick was 98% certain that he had been attacked by the Spartans.


    One of Envy''s servants must have entered the city, but instead of grabbing Nick themselves, they infiltrated the Spartans and somehow caused them to attack Nick.


    Did the Specter control their minds?


    Did it offer a favorable trade?


    Nick couldn''t be sure about the specifics.


    ''They attacked me once and failed,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''I''m not sure if they will do that again.''


    ''There has to be a reason why Envy''s servant can''t directly enter Dark Dream.''


    ''Okay, assuming there is something or someone in Dark Dream that keeps Envy''s servant at bay, what could they do to get to me?''


    ''They could try to directly grab me, which was what they did yesterday.''


    ''However, there''s also something else they can do.''


    ''Destroy Dark Dream.''


    ''If you can''t get someone out of the house, why not destroy the house itself?''

 Chapter 273 273 – I Trust You

    <h4>Chapter 273 Chapter 273 ¨C I Trust You </h4>


    ?273 Chapter 273 ¨C I Trust You


    "Nick, you''ve been silent for a while," Wyntor said.


    Nick looked at Wyntor and sighed.


    "I don''t know," he said.


    Wyntor furrowed his brows as he looked at Nick.


    Trevor and Jenny also looked at Nick with uncertainty.


    Nick was not a good liar.


    After a while, Wyntor sighed. "Meeting adjourned. I will give new orderster," he said.


    Jenny and Trevor looked at each other, conflict visible in their eyes.


    They knew what Wyntor meant.


    Sadly, there was nothing they could do about it.


    In the end, they stood up, said their goodbyes, and exited the room.


    Yet, neither Nick nor Wyntor stood up.


    Nick avoided looking into Wyntor''s eyes, while Wyntor was looking at Nick with a furious and prating gaze.


    "Can you tell me now?" Wyntor asked with repressed anger.


    Nick felt quite ufortable.


    "I know who the perpetrator is," Nick said, "but I can''t tell you the reason why it''s them."


    Wyntor slowly closed his eyes and took a very deep breath to calm his anger.


    "Okay," he said after some seconds. "Then, tell me what you can tell me."


    Nick also didn''t feel great right now.


    He felt like he should tell Wyntor, but he also knew that it would most likely end in his death.


    Sure, Wyntor and Nick were great friends, but Nick didn''t think that Wyntor would be willing to sacrifice his life for Nick.


    "I saw the face of their leader during the battle," Nick said. "Together with the report from the guards, everything points towards one target."


    "The Spartans."


    Wyntor narrowed his eyes. "How certain are you?"


    "Very certain," Nick answered. "The leader of the ambush was their Chief Zephyx Extractor, Kallum Sondur. Additionally, Kallum Sondur was also in the Outer City during the battle, ording to the guards."


    Wyntor looked at the table with furrowed brows.


    Obviously, he was thinking about something.


    "Do you think it''s possible that they let you win and escape on purpose?" Wyntor asked.


    Now, it was Nick''s time to furrow his eyebrows. "Why do you think so?"


    "Everything just fits too well," Wyntor said. "You escape from such a brutal ambush. You see the face of the leader. You manage to grab one of their corpses. The leader openly went to the Outer City."


    "This smells like a huge setup. Everything just seems way too convenient."


    "Wyntor, I killed nine people," Nick said. "Do you really think that all nine of these people joined the mission, knowing that they would give their lives?"


    "Do you really think that they didn''t fight for their survival?"


    "And what about the leader himself? Was he also here to kill himself to keep the secret?"


    Wyntor just kept looking at the table with furrowed brows.


    He could see Nick''s logic, but it just felt so unreal.


    How could anyone survive such an ambush?


    All of the attackers were at least as powerful as Nick, and there had been eleven of them.


    So, while Nick''s words made sense, it just felt so unreal.


    It was way more likely for the enemy to have nned for Nick to escape so that he would me the wrong target.


    Maybe Sce sacrificed a couple of their Johns to make Dark Dream me and attack the Spartans?


    If everything worked out, Sce would gain a lot of Specters without angering Kugelblitz.


    Was it really that simple?


    Was it really just the Spartans?


    "Wyntor, I killed nine people," Nick said with annoyance. "All nine of them wanted to survive. None of them wanted to die."


    "This was not some kind of setup."


    "They honestly tried to get me."


    "Get you?" Wyntor repeated.


    "Tried to kill me, whatever," Nick said with annoyance.


    Wyntor looked into Nick''s eyes.


    The fact that Nick had said get instead of kill seemed suspicious.


    Wyntor had known Nick for years, and he felt that Nick would have used kill instead of get in this circumstance.


    "Were they really trying to kill you?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    "No, they tried to disable me," Nick said with annoyance, "but that is really not important."


    "How is this not important?" Wyntor asked, also annoyed. "This gives way more credibility to my theory of someone setting us up!"


    "Nick, do you honestly think you would have been able to survive if they really tried to kill you?"


    "Yes!" Nick shouted in anger as he stood up. "I am absolutely certain I can! That would not have made any difference!"


    Wyntor looked deeply into Nick''s eyes.


    Silence.


    "Are you sure?" Wyntor asked.


    "Yes, I am," Nick slowly spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with anger.


    Silence.


    Wyntor took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose.


    "Do you know why they didn''t want to kill you?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick sat down again.


    "Yes," he said two secondster.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "Are you absolutely certain it is not a setup?" he asked.


    Nick nodded solemnly. "I am."


    Wyntor took another deep breath.


    Then, he sighed.


    "Fine," he said. "Then, I believe you. Even though I am dying to know what is going on here, I trust you."


    "Thank you," Nick answered after sighing himself.


    "So, what will they do next? Do you know that?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick looked at the table.


    Telling Wyntor was risky.


    This was very simr to his situation with the city.


    If Wyntor had known that Nick was the target, not Dark Dream, there would have been a possibility that Wyntor would have just fired Nick to get the huge target off his back.


    After all, Dark Dream became a target just by being affiliated with Nick.


    Right now, Wyntor was under the impression that Dark Dream was the true target, not Nick.


    Nick looked at Wyntor for a bit.


    Wyntor could tell that Nick knew what the Spartans would do next.


    Nick thought about his next words for a while.


    "Yes, I know what they are most likely going to do," Nick said.


    "Their target is me, not Dark Dream, but they will most likely target Dark Dream now to get to me."

 Chapter 274 274 – Assassinations

    <h4>Chapter 274 Chapter 274 ¨C Assassinations </h4>


    ?274 Chapter 274 ¨C Assassinations


    Yes, Nick had decided to tell Wyntor the truth.


    At least regarding the Spartans'' target.


    Wyntor furrowed his brows. "You''re their target?" he asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "They do not want to attack Dark Dream. They want to capture me," Nick said.


    Wyntor just looked at Nick for a while.


    That sounded unrealistic.


    Yet, he hadn''t lied when he said that he trusted Nick.


    Nick seemed extremely confident earlier, and Wyntor didn''t feel like he was lying.


    So, the Spartans were actually interested in capturing Nick?


    They weren''t actually after Dark Dream?


    "Are they the only ones after you?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "Well, there''s someone that wants to get me, but they don''t have the luxury ofing here themselves, which is why they are using the Spartans."


    After Nick said that, Wyntor realized something.


    If they couldn''te here themselves, it most likely meant that someone from outside of the city was targeting Nick.


    Someone from Aegis?


    Maybe a Specter?


    "So, as long as we don''t deal with the actual person, the Spartans won''t be the only ones going after you?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick took a deep breath and nodded.


    Wyntor scratched his chin as he looked to the side for a couple of seconds.


    "Why did they send the Spartans after you? The Spartans barely have five Veterans. Why not ask Sce to go after you? After all, they have over 20 Veterans and even two Experts," he asked.


    "I''m not entirely sure," Nick said.


    A couple of seconds of silence passed.


    And then, Wyntor realized something.


    "If you are being targeted by a Specter, I could see a reason why they used the Spartans," Wyntor said.


    Nick took a deep breath and nodded.


    The more information he gave Wyntor, the more nervous Nick became.


    "Alright, so you are being targeted by a strong Specter that even has the power to manipte Veterans, right?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick just nodded.


    "And you didn''t want to tell me because you felt like I would fire you to protect Dark Dream, right?"


    Nick released a sigh and nodded again.


    "Understandable," Wyntor said. "If I had some kind of issue with you, this would be the best moment to get rid of you."


    "But I don''t have any issues with you. In fact, after surviving such a brutal ambush, you''ve only be more valuable."


    "You are the most powerful level two Extractor I have ever heard of, and the speed at which you are growing is also extremely impressive."


    "You are valuable enough to risk everything."


    "My goal is not to just survive but to be big enough to get a seat on Kugelblitz, and without an outstanding Chief Zephyx Extractor, that won''t be possible."


    "I''m not going to abandon you," Wyntor said.


    Nick hadn''t expected that Wyntor would actually be willing to put himself and hispany in that much danger just for Nick.


    Right now, Nick only felt relieved and a bit guilty for keeping these things secret.


    "However," Wyntor said with furrowed brows, "I''m more surprised that you''re still here of your own volition."


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"


    "You are being targeted by a Specter beyond your power, and you''re not looking for shelter or someone to protect you," Wyntor said.


    "If I were in your situation, I would have sold my shares in Dark Dream and joined Kugelblitz."


    "I don''t think there''s a safer location within the city than Kugelblitz. Even level six Specters would need to be extremely careful in there," Wyntor said.


    Nick looked with uncertainty at Wyntor.


    "I don''t want to abandon what we''ve built," Nick said. "Additionally, I don''t want to join any other Manufacturers."


    "It might sound stupid and na?ve, but I don''t want to work for somebody that''s exploiting people."


    "At least here, I can control what happens."


    Nick sighed.


    "Lastly, I want to be powerful as quickly as possible to redeem myself."


    Wyntor looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    He had talked with Nick several times about this entire Horua business.


    Yes, Nick had been a dumbass, but he had done his best to repay the boy, and he had also just been 16 years old.


    It wasn''t like he had been a fully grown adult himself.


    Yet, no matter what Wyntor said, Nick just kept on insisting that he had to redeem himself.


    That was why Wyntor didn''t bring up the topic anymore.


    "So, you''re not going to go to another Manufacturer," Wyntor said.


    "Right," Nick answered.


    "Alright," Wyntor said before standing up.


    "Give me a second," Wyntor said before leaving the room.


    About a minuteter, Wyntor came back with several sheets of paper.


    "Around 15 Newbies, a bit over 20 Johns, and five Veterans," Wyntor said, reading from one of the sheets.


    "That''s what the Spartans have."


    Nick looked at Wyntor with a determined gaze.


    These numbers didn''t scare him.


    "Lucky for us," Wyntor continued, "they only recently got their first Adult."


    "The three brothers who are leading the Spartans left their old ce of employment after they became Early Veterans. At most, there''s one Mid Veteran amongst them."


    "The other two Veterans advanced within thest four years, and I''m quite certain that they are still Initial Veterans."


    "In an open battle, they will roll over us."


    "Fortunately, due to the city''sws, an open battle is impossible."


    "In the end, this will most likely go ording to how these things always go."


    "They will try to reduce our numbers in secret, and we are going to try to reduce their numbers in secret."


    "It''s a battle of assassinations and intelligence."


    "On top of that, they were the ones that initiated the attack first, which means that I have more leverage in deciding how this will happen."


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"


    "Simple," Wyntor said. "I''m Vernon Melfion''s son, and the Spartans decided to attack mypany."


    "I''m going to tell dad, and he''s going to put a lot of pressure on them."


    "Either they agree to my terms, or they will lose all business rtions with Kugelblitz."


    "That would mean their end."

 Chapter 275 275 – Shadow Shroud

    <h4>Chapter 275 Chapter 275 ¨C Shadow Shroud </h4>


    ?275 Chapter 275 ¨C Shadow Shroud


    Darkness.


    Up above, an endless ne of steel tes.


    Below, ck water.


    In this space, nearly nothing lived.


    No insects, no fish, no animals, no humans.


    This was a space that rarely saw life.


    But at this moment, apletely ck figure crawled across the endless ceiling of steel.


    If anyone saw the ck figure, they would immediately run away in terror.


    It had no features, and its entire body was covered in some kind of ck cloth.


    And yet, it seemed to shine in the eternal darkness.


    It was almost like light wasing out from the ck figure, giving it an ethereal feel.


    Slowly, the ck figure buried its ws in the ceiling of steel, leaving behind small holes.


    The figure had been traveling like this for several minutes.


    Finally, it came to a halt in front of one specific te, which didn''t seem any different from any other.


    "That''s it!" the rat riding on the figure''s torso said. "Gimme a second!"


    The next moment, the rat crawled away from the ck figure andtched onto a small crevice in the ceiling.


    "Hey! Hey!" the rat shouted. "I''ve got a deal for ya!"


    Silence.


    "I know you guys have someone stationed here! This is a once-


    in-a-lifetime opportunity! I''ve got a fresh new Adult, and if you''re not getting it, I''m giving it to Sce!" the rat shouted.


    The figure in ck didn''t move.


    Suddenly, the sound of steel being moved resounded from behind the big te.


    And then, the big te of steel moved to the side.


    A person with a grey uniform of a Zephyx Extractor belonging to the Spartans looked down into the hole.


    "You got an offer?" the guy asked with uncertainty.


    The rat looked at him. "Really?" the rat asked with annoyance. "You guys seriously only have a Newbie guarding this hole?"


    The Newbie looked at the rat with difort.


    This was the Parasite.


    The Newbie had heard a lot about the Parasite, but he had never talked to it before.


    "Should I call the supervisor?" the Newbie asked.


    "Yes!" the rat said with excitement. "I got a great offer!"


    The Newbie still felt quite insecure in front of the Parasite.


    This was a level five Specter, a Fanatic!


    "Okay, give me a second," the Newbie said before turning around.


    As the Newbie walked towards the entrance of the small room, a ck mist came out from the hole behind him.


    Sadly, the Newbie didn''t notice.


    The Newbie opened the door, walked outside, and closed the door.


    As soon as the Newbie exited, the artificial light in the room vanished.


    After all, keeping these artificial lights running was extremely expensive.


    A momentter, a ck figure seemed to manifest in one of the upper corners of the room.


    Even though it waspletely ck, it somehow seemed to shine in the darkness.


    "Hey, the supervisor also counts as a guard, okay?!" the rat shouted at the ck figure.


    "Sure," Nick said neutrally.


    Naturally, the ck figure was Nick.


    Yet, no matter how one looked at the ck figure, it didn''t resemble Nick at all.


    The ck cloth covering him looked torn, and it didn''t feel natural at all.


    In fact, it felt very simr to Specters.


    Even more, the ck nails at the end of Nick''s ck hands felt just as strange.


    Well, that was because Nick was essentially covered in things made of Specters.


    The ck cloth covering Nick''s body was made from materials harvested from the Fiend of Darkness.


    The Fiend of Darkness was a floating ck cloak in the shape of a person, and it gained power by enveloping someone in darkness.


    It was one of the rare few Specters that gained power by using an Eternal.


    When the Fiend of Darkness saw a victim, it rushed towards them and enveloped them with its body.


    A secondter, the person seemed topletely vanish, and the Fiend of Darkness regained its old appearance.


    The fact was that the victim was transported into a ne of darkness, in which they lived until the Nightmare killed them.


    It was almost like the Fiend of Darkness sacrificed people to the Nightmare.


    The Fiend of Darkness had been a blight upon Crimson Fungus City a couple of decades ago.


    Luckily, it was eventually contained.


    The ck cloth covering Nick''s body was made of the Fiend of Darkness'' cloth.


    The nails on the end of Nick''s fingertips were harvested from the ck Nail.


    The ck Nail was a bleeding pile of flesh with dozens of big iron nails hammered into its body.


    When it saw a victim, it floated over, summoned ck nails, and slowly inserted them in their body until they died.


    Death usually took several hours to arrive.


    The ck Nail was very good at killing its victims slowly.


    Meanwhile, there were several lines shining with artificial light on the inside of the ck cloth.


    These were shining strings harvested from the Blinding Light, the Specter from which Wyntor had received his ability.


    The lines of light used external Zephyx to produce light.


    The ck clothpletely blocked all of the light.


    The ck nails were used as weapons and to move silently.


    With all of these thingsbined, one could move through the darkness without being noticed and without being influenced by the Nightmare.


    This suit was a marvel of technology, and it was very, very expensive.


    The Blinding Light was a level three Specter.


    The ck Nail was a level four Specter.


    And the Fiend of Darkness was a level five Specter.


    Naturally, the price would be high for something made of these three Specters.


    So high, in fact, that it was worth about as much as all of Dark Dream.


    The suit Nick was wearing at the moment didn''t belong to him.


    It was a loan from Vernon.


    All the aforementioned Specters were owned by Kugelblitz, and only they had these kinds of suits.


    Every Specialist and a couple of Experts working for Kugelblitz owned one of these suits.


    They were used for espionage, reconnaissance, and assassination.


    They were called Shadow Shrouds.

 Chapter 276 276 – Infiltration

    <h4>Chapter 276 Chapter 276 ¨C Infiltration</h4>


    ?276 Chapter 276 ¨C Infiltration


    In one of the upper corners of the room, Nick just waited in the darkness.


    Silence.


    Eventually, the light in the room activated again, and a momentter, the door opened.


    A man with silver hair and silver eyebrows walked into the room with a serious expression.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, a yellow Barrier appeared around the man, but an instantter, the Barrier broke into pieces.


    Before the guy could even tell what happened, five long ck nails rammed into the side of his head, leaving five deep holes.


    As soon as the ck figurended, it immediately turned towards the entrance of the room.


    The Newbie from earlier just looked forward in stunned silence.


    He wanted to scream, but he couldn''t possibly react faster than Nick.


    In a fluid motion, Nick jumped towards the Newbie.


    The Newbie didn''t even have a Barrier.


    In one quick swoop, Nick grabbed the Newbie''s head, crushed it, and pulled the body back into the room before closing the door.


    "Gimme, gimme, gimme!" the rat shouted in excitement.


    Nick remained near the closed door for a while longer, just listening.


    Nothing.


    Then, he threw the two corpses towards the hole.


    He didn''t even check whether or not the corpses had any valuables with them.


    The reason was that everything they owned was too "hot".


    Everyone had their wealth in their bank ount, and Nick wouldn''t be able to ess their bank ounts since they required authentication.


    Their Barriers and other equipment also couldn''t be sold since big Manufacturers custom-ordered their Barriers.


    This meant that if someone sold the Barrier of someone from the Spartans, they had killed one of them.


    And since killing people was illegal, this could be troublesome very quickly.


    So, there was no reason to look through the corpses.


    "Oh, yeah!" the rat shouted with excitement as it used all of its power to shove the two corpses into the hole. "Hey, these two count as the guards, okay?"


    Nick nodded.


    The rat smiled. "Happy to do business with you!"


    Ssh!


    One of the corpses fell into the sewers, and a momentter, the sound of tens of rats tearing at the body appeared.


    "Any further corpses will count towards our next trade!" the rat said with a friendly and excited tone.


    Nick just nodded before he slowly slithered out of the room.


    "Keep the lights on!" the rat shouted.


    Ding!


    And the lights turned off.


    The rat just frowned with annoyance.


    Well, even though it had to use a lot of Zephyx to keep its rats from dying in the darkness, the Parasite was still getting a lot out of this trade.


    It had not even been 24 hours since Nick''s conversation with Wyntor.


    After the two of them were done talking, Wyntor quickly devised a n to strike back.


    The longer they waited, the more time the Spartans had to prepare.


    As a possible suspect, Kallum Sondur had spent several hours in the guard station, and he had only been able to leave early morning on the next day.


    Since Veterans no longer needed to sleep, he probably immediately went to work to report the oue of his mission to the other two leaders of the Spartans.


    That should have happened about twelve hours ago.


    Right now, it was ten p.m., the day after the attack on Nick''s residence.


    In thest twelve hours, Wyntor had created a n of attack, had talked to his father, had gotten the Shadow Shroud, and had given Nick his orders.


    Nick''s job was to strike back.


    There hadn''t been a deration of war, but that didn''t matter.


    Talking with the Spartans before attacking them would only increase their vignce.


    Right now, the Spartans probably felt very safe.


    The reason for that was that the enemy had just gone through a huge battle yesterday.


    No normal person would immediately rush into battle again after escaping from such a devastating ambush.


    Even more, how would the enemy even attack them?


    The Spartans were located in the loweryer of the Inner City, at the edge of the megastructure.


    Powerful guards and Extractors were everywhere in the Inner City.


    The only two ways to get into the building of the Spartans were through the entrance from the Inner City or the entrance from the Outer City, and both of them were heavily guarded.


    Additionally, the Spartans had five Veterans and 20 Johns!


    Attacking them was impossible for something as weak as Dark Dream.


    Sadly for them, they had overlooked a third entrance.


    The ce where they traded with the Parasite.


    But that was to be expected.


    After all, all the steel tes below the Inner City looked the same, and nobody could tell which one led to their trading ce.


    Additionally, there was no light at all, which made it impossible for any human to get there.


    Lastly, the room of the trading spot was almost as hard as a strong Containment Unit and could only be opened from the outside.


    The Spartans didn''t fear anyoneing through that ce.


    Sadly for them, Wyntor was their enemy.


    Wyntor had quickly thought of a good way to enter the building.


    After he thought of that way, he immediately contacted the Parasite.


    Naturally, the Parasite wasn''t interested in betraying one of his customers, but Wyntor managed to convince him.


    "The Spartans will get eradicated soon. You will lose a customer regardless. Might as well turn the customer into food," Wyntor said.


    In the end, the Parasite agreed.


    However, it wanted something in return.


    The Parasite would lead Nick to the entrance, but in exchange, it would get the guards for free, and it would also gain priority over all the corpses Nick would create during his mission.


    Lastly, Wyntor had asked Vernon for a Shadow Shroud.


    Usually, Kugelblitz would never hand one of their valuable Shadow Shrouds to anyone else.


    They didn''t even give them to the city.


    However, Vernon was quite angry for several reasons.


    First, Dark Dream was essentially one of Kugelblitz''s crops. After all, Dark Dream would one day be sold to Kugelblitz.


    Second, Dark Dream belonged to Vernon''s son, and fathers generally weren''t the biggest fans of people attacking their children.


    Andstly, Vernon had made it clear that Dark Dream was under his protection.


    And yet, someone had attacked Dark Dream anyway.


    If he didn''t do anything now, no one would take his words seriously anymore.


    Because of that, Vernon had loaned his personal Shadow Shroud to Nick.


    Yet, Vernon didn''t expect much.


    He was more intent on making life hell for the Spartans.


    He had handed his Shadow Shroud to Nick solely because Wyntor had asked for it.


    Vernonplied, but he didn''t think that Nick would achieve anything.


    Sure, Nick managed to survive a brutal ambush, but that was because he had been fighting inside his house.


    He had the terrain advantage.


    Things were different when the battlefield was moved to the Spartans.


    What could a sole Peak John possibly do against the Spartans?

 Chapter 277 277 – Abnormality

    <h4>Chapter 277 Chapter 277 ¨C Abnormality </h4>


    ?277 Chapter 277 ¨C Abnormality


    Outside the room, Nick found himself in a small and secluded hallway.


    Natural light from the outside shone through holes in the light shaft in the ceiling.


    The walls, ceiling, and floor were made out of uniform steel with no gaps.


    The hallway was long, and there was no space for anyone to hide.


    The ck figure in the brightly lit hallway seemed to copse into ck smoke, which moved along the edge of the ceiling.


    At the end of the hallway, a set of stairs led upwards, but before the ck smoke reached the stairs, it stopped.


    A shadow.


    There was the shadow of a person on the stairs.


    Naturally, the supervisor whom Nick had killed had asked for backup before going in.


    It was illegal to trade with the Parasite, and the supervisor wanted to make sure that nobody identally walked into this hallway and saw something that they shouldn''t.


    The ck smoke looked at the shadow for a while.


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t tell which way the guard was facing based on the shadow alone, and he couldn''t check.


    If the guard was looking down the stairs, they would see the ck smokeing out of the brightly lit hallway.


    And even if Nick managed to kill the guy before he could ring the rm, there was the possibility that a second guy was looking at the first guy.


    After some deliberation, Nick decided that it wasn''t worth the risk.


    So, Nick decided to change his approach.


    A momentter, the ck smoke gathered in one of the small light holes before very slowly passing through it.


    It took over 30 seconds, but eventually, all the smoke passed through the small light hole.


    Nick found himself in an extremely bright and reflective shaft, which was about ten by ten centimeters wide.


    While Nick was inside the light shaft, the light in the corridor below him dimmed a slight bit.


    Luckily, it wasn''t very noticeable.


    Then, Nick floated forward.


    As he moved, the light brightened and darkened.


    When he approached the stairs, Nick''s speed slowed to an absolute crawl.


    He was barely moving one centimeter per second.


    Minutester, Nick finally arrived on top of the person casting the shadow.


    It was a level two Extractor that was looking towards the stairs leading to the hallway where Nick had just been.


    However, Nick noticed something else as well.


    There was actually a ss door between the guy and the stairs.


    If Nick had charged forward, he would have needed to break through the ss door, and that would have most likely triggered an rm.


    "What''s he even doing there?"


    Also, there was a second person in the room.


    There was a woman with fiery red hair sitting on the ground in the little guard room, snacking on some chips in boredom.


    Based on her demeanor, she didn''t give a shit about how she looked to the other person in the room.


    "Don''t ask questions you don''t want the answer to," the other guy said.


    The other guy was a man with brown and grey hair, and he looked with a serious expression through the ss door leading to the small staircase.


    "Oh,e on. Just tell me!" the woman said.


    Surprisingly, the woman wore the uniform of a Newbie, while the man wore the uniform of a John.


    One would think it was the other way around based on how the two of them acted.


    "No, I''m not telling you," the man said. "You have to learn to keep your mouth shut when ites to thepany''s secrets."


    "Oh, so it''s a secret!" the woman said with excitement as she threw another chip into her mouth.


    "Obviously," the guy said. "Why else would we be here?"


    "Is it a Specter?" the woman asked.


    Silence.


    "Oh,e on! Just give me a little bit of the secret. Pretty please! With sugar on top!" the woman said.


    The guy just kept looking at the staircase, but his expression turned more annoyed.


    "I want to know! I want to know! I want to know! I want to know!" the woman kept shouting like a little child, but based on her tone, it was clear that she was half-joking.


    Maybe she thought that was adorable.


    "Shhh, shut up for a second!" the guy said with a serious tone as he narrowed his eyes. "Do you see this?"


    "What?" the woman asked, her "cute" demeanor gone.


    "Come over," the man said as he slowly pulled out a gun from behind him.


    The woman realized that the guy was serious when he pulled his gun out, and she stopped joking around.


    She stood up, walked over, and looked at the same thing that the guy was looking at.


    When she looked towards the small set of stairs, her eyebrows rose in surprise.


    "Is the light supposed to do that?" she asked.


    At this moment, the light in the stairwell seemed to pulse slowly.


    The light became dim and bright, and one such cycle took about five seconds.


    However, it only happened in the small room with stairs.


    There was no flickering light in the hallway or their room.


    The man narrowed his eyes and raised his gun.


    "Something is going on in there," the man said. "Call Adam!"


    "Of course!" the woman said seriously before turning around and running towards the exit.


    Surprisingly, the exit was another ss door.


    When she reached the door, the woman swiped her right hand over a small piece of shining metal beside the door before opening it.


    Then, she ran through the door.


    CRK!


    Suddenly, a ck object pierced her head from above, and she stopped running, her eyes opened wide.


    In a fluid motion, a ck figurended on the ground, lifted the body, and stepped into the guard room.


    The guard kept looking towards the stairs.


    It had been bright for over three seconds, which was different from before.


    CRACK!


    Suddenly, an orange Barrier appeared around the guard before breaking.


    Sadly, the Barrier wasn''t the only thing that broke.

 Chapter 278 278 – Light Layer

    <h4>Chapter 278 Chapter 278 ¨C Light Layer</h4>


    ?278 Chapter 278 ¨C Light Layer


    Earlier, Nick had scouted the room through the light holes and had seen that there was another exit leading into another brightly lit hallway.


    Just like the first exit, this one also had a ss door.


    Apparently, ss doors were normal in this building.


    After scouting out the area, Nick noticed that it was impossible to kill the two of them while they were inside the room.


    However, Nick had to kill them.


    Since he had moved so slowly earlier, nearly five minutes had already passed since the infiltration had begun.


    The guard probably knew what was going on, and if more time passed without the supervisoring out, the guard would probably be suspicious and check things out.


    Because of that, Nick had to kill them.


    He needed more time.


    So, he devised a n.


    If something strange were going on in the stairwell, they would definitely call for reinforcements.


    However, they wouldn''t sound the rm.


    What if it was only something getting stuck in the light shaft?


    This meant that one of them would have to run to get reinforcements, which meant that they would split up.


    And since there was only one other exit, they had to leave through there.


    So, Nick had decided to expand his body.


    His lower body would expand and contract in the light shaft near the stairs, and his upper body woulde out of a light hole in the hallway behind the other exit.


    Then, when he heard the guy tell the woman to get reinforcements, Nick pulled his lower body towards himself and fully materialized.


    Luckily, the hallway was higher than the door, which meant that there was a blind spot above the door.


    Lastly, he killed the woman passing below him, pulled her body into the room, and killed the other guy.


    ''That was risky!'' Nick thought as his heart rapidly beat in his ears.


    Nick had used up over 50% of his Zephyx with this maneuver, and if he had messed anything up, he would need to abort the mission.


    Even more, there were now two corpses in the room, and Nick needed to get rid of them before somebody decided toe into the hallway and look in this direction.


    A momentter, Nick inspected the right hand of the guy.


    Earlier, Nick had seen how the woman had paused in front of the door before doing something that Nick couldn''t see, and only then had she opened the door.


    This meant that the doors were secured in some way.


    After a bit, Nick noticed the gloves.


    Or, more precisely, the glove.


    The guy was wearing one fingerless glove on his right hand, and on the band of the glove was some kind of small metal te.


    Nick grabbed the glove, put it on his right hand, and moved the back of his hand over the small sensor beside the door.


    Click.


    The quiet noise of something metallic moving came from the door, and Nick pushed on it.


    Sure enough, the door opened.


    Nick quickly grabbed the two corpses and ran into the hallway.


    Then, he opened the door to the trading ce and saw a rat.


    When the rat saw Nick enter with two corpses, a bright smile appeared on its face.


    "You eating that?" the rat asked.


    Nick just wordlessly threw the two corpses towards the hole in the middle before running out of the room and closing the door.


    When Nick looked down the corridor, he gritted his teeth.


    He left a trail of blood behind by carrying the corpses down here.


    Then, Nick took something out of the Shadow Shroud.


    It was a small bottle with red powder.


    Nick carefully opened it and dropped a bit of the red powder as he kept moving along the trail of blood.


    The trail of blood vanished!


    The contents of the bottle were spores from the Crimson Fungus, and if they touched blood, they converted the blood into Zephyx.


    However, pure Zephyx wasn''t stable in the normal atmosphere, which was why it was always stored either as crystals or in special containers.


    If Zephyx wasn''t stored in such a ce, it turned back into Prephyx after a couple of seconds.


    And Prephyx was everywhere.


    This meant that, essentially, the trail of blood turned into nothing.


    Nick opened the door with his new glove and left the guard room behind.


    This ce should have been some kind of small outpost, which meant that Nick was inside the actual office now.


    A momentter, Nick turned into smoke again and entered the light shaft.


    At the end of the corridor, the light shaft expanded dramatically.


    Now, the light shaft was no longer a light shaft but a lightyer.


    It was like Nick had entered a very thin world of light.


    Nick could see the light shafts that led to the edge of the megastructure.


    The light from these light shafts entered thisyer of reflective materials and bounced around until it found one of the exits.


    Sadly, there was now an issue.


    There were no more light holes.


    There were only small windows.


    Nick couldn''t turn corporeal within such a thinyer, which meant that he couldn''t damage or break the small windows leading out of theyer of light.


    As Nick kept slithering through the lightyer, he saw a couple of people passing beneath him, but they were mostly guards and some cleaning people.


    It was nighttime currently, and most clerks worked during the day.


    ''I don''t want to walk through the building in my corporeal form,'' Nick thought. ''The hallways are too straight and well-lit.''


    Because of that, Nick kept searching through theyer of light, going down different light shafts anding back out again.


    Sadly, no matter how much he searched, he couldn''t find any light holes.


    It seemed like the Spartans only had windows.


    For minutes, Nick kept searching.


    Finally, he found something interesting.


    Nick found himself on top of a window, but this one was much bigger than the others.


    And he wasn''t sure what he should think about the thing he saw below him.

 Chapter 279 279 – Hole

    <h4>Chapter 279 Chapter 279 ¨C Hole </h4>


    ?279 Chapter 279 ¨C Hole


    Nick was above a Containment Unit.


    Due to security reasons, Containment Units didn''t have their entire ceiling covered in ss.


    Or, more specifically, the cheap ones didn''t.


    The expensive ones were made of materials either treated with Zephyx or directly harvested from powerful Specters.


    After all, level three Specters and higher could basically break through any kind of material that was created in the traditional sense.


    Since the materials were treated with Zephyx, windows, entrances, and walls weren''t really any different for the expensive Containment Units.


    The only difference was the price, and the difference wasn''t even that big.


    This Containment Unit didn''t count as one of the expensive ones.


    The Containment Unit was lit up by one window on the ceiling, about one-by-one meters wide.


    Even more, the window was over two meters lower than the lightyer.


    This meant that there was essentially an empty space above the window, about one by one by two meters in size.


    Nick could materialize here without any issues.


    However, there was no exit from this empty space.


    When Nick looked through the window, he saw the Specter inside the Containment Unit.


    It was a small grey ball with eight metallic legsing out of it.


    In a way, it looked like a cyber spider without eyes.


    Nick wasn''t sure what kind of Specter this was or what it could do.


    Manufacturers kept their Specters secret, except for their biggest Specter.


    For the Spartans, their biggest Specter should be their only Adult Specter, but it used to be the Grey Room.


    Nick was certain that the Specter was not their sole Adult since the Containment Unit could only keep Adolescent Specters securely locked away.


    An Adult would be able to break out of here with a bit of effort.


    Nick also didn''t think that this was the Grey Room.


    It wasn''t that it was impossible, but that Nick didn''t think that he was that lucky.


    For a while, Nick just looked at the Specter.


    ''I can''t find a good exit from the light shaft, which means I have to go back to the entrance and enter the traditional way.''


    Nick furrowed his eyes.


    ''But that''s risky.''


    He just kept looking at the Specter.


    ''Or¡­''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    A momentter, Nick looked at the window more closely.


    He was searching for something specific.


    After a while, he found it.


    ''Eight connection points,'' Nick thought.


    Naturally, as a Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick needed to know how Containment Units worked, and he was making good use of that knowledge.


    ''The Specter is barely ten centimeters wide. I think I can get it through the connections.''


    ''But only if it is cooperative and listens.''


    The next moment, Nick turned corporeal, and his ability deactivated immediately.


    After all, he was now blocking a big part of the light shaft, which made a huge shadow appear in the middle of the Containment Unit.


    The small Specter moved to the side of the Containment Unit.


    It didn''t have any eyes, but Nick was sure that it was perceiving him right now.


    The next moment, one of Nick''s metallic nails dug a hole in the middle of the window.


    Naturally, the nails were made by an Elder.


    Nick didn''t even need to use a lot of power to poke a tiny, smooth hole into the window.


    However, Nick deliberately didn''t make the hole too big.


    "Are you sentient?" Nick whispered through the hole.


    The Specter just continued standing at the edge of the Containment Unit without saying anything.


    "If you understand what I''m saying, make a scratching noise with your right leg."


    The Specter didn''t do anything.


    "Listen, I''m not here to scout you out. I''m here to damage the Spartans. I wouldn''t break such a valuable Containment Unit just to ask you questions."


    "Do you want to go out and kill a couple of them or not?" Nick asked.


    The Specter didn''t move.


    Nick waited for a bit.


    Scratch.


    Nick''s eyes shone when he saw the front right leg of the Specter scratching on the ground.


    "Alright, you understand me, right?" Nick asked.


    Another scratch.


    "Good," Nick said. "Are you willing to cooperate with me temporarily? Right scratch means yes, left scratch means no."


    Right scratch.


    "Alright," Nick said. "I am going to get you out of here. After that, we''ll be traveling through the building and doing a couple of things. Maybe kill a couple of people. In exchange for your help, I''ll let you escape out of the building on your own."


    "Deal?"


    Right scratch.


    "Good to hear," Nick said with a smirk. "Can you climb the walls?"


    The next moment, the small grey cyber spider scurried up the wall with impressive speed until it stopped below the window.


    Right now, Nick was looking at the grey spider from up close, just a window between them.


    "Move to the side a bit," Nick said. "These kinds of windows are connected with thin electrical wires."


    "There are eight connection spots at the edge. Here, here, here, here, and on the opposite sides of them."


    "Every spot has a wireing out of it, leading into a mash in the middle that connects all the spots."


    "If any of these wires get exposed to air, their current will change, which will trigger the rm. We don''t want that, obviously."


    After Nick exined all of these things, the spider moved out of the way.


    "I''m going to make a hole in the middle. When you move through the open spaceter, you have to be very careful not to crack the window."


    A momentter, Nick put one of his nails on the window.


    And then, he started to create smooth cuts in the middle of the window.


    Without these extremely advanced and powerful nails, Nick wouldn''t be able to cut a hole in the window without creating any cracks.


    It took over three minutes until Nick finally managed to remove theyers of ss.


    In the end, there was a hole about 30 centimeters in diameter in the middle of the window.


    "Alright, you cane out," Nick said.


    Then, the spider moved slowly and carefully towards the hole.

 Chapter 280 280 – Office

    <h4>Chapter 280 Chapter 280 ¨C Office</h4>


    ?280 Chapter 280 ¨C Office


    Due to the Shadow Shroud, it was impossible to see Nick''s expression, but he was very nervous right now.


    Specters couldn''t feel empathy, and their own gain was their highest priority.


    Even more, many Specters werepletely insane.


    The Empath and the Bleeding Lady were good examples.


    It was very possible that the Specter would immediately attack Nick after he freed it.


    Nick watched as the Specter slowly and carefully moved through the hole.


    Nick''s heart rate increased, and he was ready to strike at a moment''s notice.


    After moving through the hole, the Specter slowly moved to the wall of the light shaft.


    And then, it just waited.


    Scratch, scratch.


    It scratched the wall twice with one of its right feet.


    Nick nodded.


    "Good to have you on board," he said. "First, I need to find a good ce to exit. I''ll need your help in creating an opening for me."


    The next moment, Nick turned into ck smoke again, but he kept looking at the Specter.


    Nick knew that the Specter didn''t know about his abilities, but he still felt nervous when he was in his most vulnerable form in front of a Specter.


    Luckily, the Specter didn''t do anything.


    Nick slowly floated upwards and entered the lightyer.


    Crkcrkcrkcrk.


    The spider was quickly and quietly following behind Nick, only the sounds of its scratchy feet audible.


    Nick kept looking back at the Specter from time to time, but it wasn''t doing anything suspicious.


    He was d that the Specter was small enough to fit into the light shaft.


    Nick directly flew towards one of the offices on the edge of the hallway.


    When Nick had searched for an opening earlier, he had found this office.


    When they reached a good spot above the office, Nick created a circle with his smoke body.


    The Specter understood what Nick meant and moved into the middle.


    After putting its eight feet on the ground¡­


    SHING!


    It quickly rotated in ce, and a perfect circr cut was made.


    The Specter rapidly grabbed the loose piece of ceiling and pulled it back into the lightyer.


    Then, Nick moved through the hole.


    Since it was so big, Nick moved very quickly, and he didn''t even need to use any Zephyx.


    Naturally, there were no people in the office except for Nick.


    Nick became corporeal again and looked through the papers in the office.


    "Give me a second. Maybe there''s something valuable here," he said.


    The Specter just climbed through the hole and stopped on the ceiling of the office.


    For about a minute, Nick searched through different files and folders.


    By looking at the manner of documents and the names on them, Nick could tell where he was.


    It was the office of a team leader.


    The person in question was either a Peak John or an Initial Veteran.


    Eventually, Nick found something very valuable to him.


    A map!


    A map of this entire building!


    The first thing Nick did was to check up on the Specter he had broken out.


    "Wait, you''re the Grey Room?" Nick asked.


    Scratch.


    The Specter''s right leg scratched.


    "That means you''re a Peak Adolescent," Nick said. "I didn''t expect them to keep you in such a cheap Containment Unit."


    The Specter didn''t answer.


    "Are you confident in quickly taking down a Peak level two Extractor very quickly, even with their Barrier active?"


    Scratch, scratch.


    Surprisingly, the Grey Room scratched once with one of its left and once with one of its right legs.


    "Does that mean it depends?" Nick asked.


    Right leg scratch.


    "What if you get the drop on them?"


    Right leg scratch.


    "And if it''s a direct battle?"


    Left leg scratch.


    "Okay, understood," Nick said as he looked back at the map.


    Nick could see all the Containment Units with all the Specters on the map.


    This map was amazing!


    ording to the map, the Spartans had ten Hatchlings and eight Adolescents.


    There were also many empty Containment Units.


    ''Shouldn''t they have an Adult?'' Nick thought with furrowed brows as he looked through the map.


    Surprisingly, Nick couldn''t find a level three Specter anywhere on the map.


    However, there was one Containment Unitpletely painted in red.


    Nick assumed that this was the Containment Unit for the Adult and that the team leader didn''t have the authority to know any details.


    Sadly, he couldn''t be sure.


    Nick pocketed the map and grabbed a couple more documents that seemed interesting.


    He would take them with him so that Wyntor could look at them.


    The next moment, Nick turned towards the Specter.


    "I want to know what kind of Specter the red Containment Unit has," Nick said, pointing at the red spot on the map.


    "After that, we''re going to scout the surroundings and cause some chaos."


    The Grey Room just scratched the wall once.


    Nick nodded and turned into fog again before entering the lightyer again.


    Naturally, the Grey Room followed Nick.


    While Nick was traveling towards the red Containment Unit, he kept looking at different rooms and offices.


    About two minutester, Nick and the Grey Room arrived above the red Containment Unit.


    Compared to the Containment Unit housing the Grey Room, this one was actually one of the expensive ones.


    Instead of only having a small window, the entire ceiling of this Containment Unit was made of ss.


    This would usually allow people from the outside to see the entire Containment Unit, giving them valuable intel about the inside.


    After all, what if there was a dangerous Specter in there that waited above the entrance to kill any Extractor that entered?


    However, some Manufacturers didn''t care about that functionality and simply shoved the Containment Units below a wall.


    Dark Dream was one of these Manufacturers.


    When Nick arrived above the Containment Unit, he looked inside.


    And what he saw shocked him.


    Nothing!


    It was empty!


    There was absolutely nothing inside the Containment Unit!


    Not even fog, smoke, water, distortions, or whatever.


    It waspletely clear.


    ''Why is it empty?!''


    ''Where is their Adult?!''

 Chapter 281 281 – Team Leaders

    <h4>Chapter 281 Chapter 281 ¨C Team Leaders </h4>


    ?281 Chapter 281 ¨C Team Leaders


    Nick kept looking at the empty Containment Unit for a while.


    ''This was the only Containment Unit on the map that could possibly house their Adult,'' Nick thought.


    ''All other Containment Units are either upied by weaker Specters or are empty. Additionally, this is a very expensive Containment Unit, and they wouldn''t just keep it empty like this. That''s a waste of an investment.''


    ''Is there truly nothing in there?''


    Nick decided to check and moved around the ceiling for a bit.


    ''Sure enough, I don''t hear any hum from the electronics,'' Nick thought. ''The Containment Unit isn''t even on!''


    ''Does that mean that their Adult is somewhere else?''


    ''Nah, as far as I can see, the map makes sense, and there are no suspicious empty spaces. Additionally, why would you want to keep your strongest Specter this secret? Sure, you don''t want others to know about it, but you don''t even want your team leaders to know? That''s strange.''


    ''Also, why was this Containment Unit marked red on the map?''


    At that moment, Nick became suspicious.


    ''Do they even have an Adult?''


    ''Based on what Wyntor said, the Spartans were originally a group of three Veterans that left Kugelblitz to create their own business.''


    ''They quickly managed to get a couple of Adolescents and Newbies, but for several years, they couldn''t get an Adult.''


    ''And then, about half a year ago, they announced that they had caught an Adult.''


    ''But did they?''


    ''I''ve never heard any details about this Adult.''


    ''Yet, the power of the leaders increased. John Keyweather even demonstrated his power as a Mid Veteran.''


    ''They shouldn''t be able to do that without an Adult.''


    If Nick were corporeal, he would be furrowing his brows right about now.


    ''Something is going on,'' Nick thought.


    ''As far as I can see, there is no Adult in any of the Containment Units, but the powers of the Veterans still increased.''


    ''But that''s impossible without an Adult.''


    Suddenly, Nick had a revtion.


    ''But what if they do have one?''


    ''What if it''s just not inside any Containment Unit?!''


    ''What if it is walking around, disguised as a normal human?''


    ''Obviously, the Spartans have been contacted by one of Envy''s servants. Otherwise, the ambush wouldn''t have happened.''


    ''Assuming the servant contacted them six to twelve months ago, it would make sense that they announced they finally caught an Adult.''


    ''I''m not sure if the servant is bribing, controlling, ckmailing, or trading with them, but one thing is clear.''


    ''The servant is increasing the overall power of the Veterans.''


    ''However, working together with a Specter like this is about as illegal as it gets, and if anyone finds out, they will all be killed.''


    ''Because of that, they have to keep everything secret, and they''re telling their team leaders and normal Extractors that they caught an Adult.''


    ''To make it believable, they said that their most expensive Containment Unit, this one, is housing the Specter, but they''re not giving them any details.''


    ''That would exin why the team leader marked this Containment Unit red while he didn''t mark any of the other empty Containment Units.''


    ''He thinks that an Adult is contained here!''


    ''But there isn''t!''


    ''So, where is the Adult?''


    ''Among the employees!''


    Nick didn''t like that thought one bit.


    This meant that a venomous snake was hiding in a bunch of harmless snakes.


    If Nick grabbed the wrong one¡­


    Eventually, Nick turned around and went back into the lightyer above the hallway.


    Yes, there was a dangerous Specter amongst the enemies, but he still couldn''t just leave.


    Additionally, Nick only needed to be careful.


    It was possible that the Specter wasn''t really among the employees but just some kind of visitor or external consultant.


    Eventually, Nick stopped above one of the offices, but this one was different from the previous one.


    This one was upied.


    A beautiful blonde woman was sitting inside her office, writing something on a sheet of paper.


    Based on the size and the look of the office, Nick could tell that she was another team leader.


    Nick''s smoke body stopped above her head and created a circle.


    His message was clear.


    The Grey Room moved towards the ce and waited.


    Nick moved to the side.


    Silence.


    BANG!


    The Grey Room cut through the floor and pushed itself downward by jumping off the ceiling.


    The woman became startled, but before she could even look around, the Grey Roomnded on her head.


    Her Barrier wasn''t active!


    Even though these Barriers were expensive, the slight drain of Zephyx could still annoy a couple of people.


    Most of them kept their Barriers active and just dealt with the annoying feeling, but some of them, especially when they felt safe, deactivated their Barriers.


    And, well, this team leader was sitting inside her office.


    There was probably no safer location from her perspective.


    As soon as the Grey Roomnded on her head, her eyes became unfocused, and she fell forward, her head hitting the table.


    Nick came through the hole and materialized, looking at the team leader.


    She didn''t move.


    Yet, she was still alive.


    Even more, she didn''t seem injured.


    It was all too clear to Nick that the Grey Room was feeding.


    Nick wasn''t sure how the Grey Room fed, but the team leader''s state was too abnormal right now.


    Nick furrowed his brows, grabbed her neck, and broke it.


    "We''re here to kill. I told you that I would let you escape the building, but in exchange, you have to help me," he said.


    The Grey Room didn''t move for a while, but eventually, it went back to the walls.


    It didn''tmunicate in any way.


    The next moment, Nick looked at the dead team leader.


    ''This should be the third one.''


    ''The first one should have been the guy with the yellow Barrier during my ambush. He was the only one with a yellow one, while everyone else had orange ones.''


    ''I didn''t originally pay the color any mind, but the supervisor I killed near the trading post earlier also had a yellow one. He was probably also a team leader.''


    ''So, she should be the third.''


    ''I don''t know how many teams the Spartans have, but I''m sure almost all of their team leaders are dead.''

 Chapter 282 282 – Guards

    <h4>Chapter 282 Chapter 282 ¨C Guards</h4>


    ?282 Chapter 282 ¨C Guards


    It was quite funny that the Spartans used to have around 30 Johns, but even though Nick had not even killed half of them, he had most likely gotten all or most of the team leaders.


    Nick looked around the office for a bit and gathered a couple of documents that seemed important.


    "Alright," Nick said to the Grey Room. "Let me check how the outside looks. I''ll be back soon."


    Then, Nick turned into smoke and entered the lightyer again.


    About half a minuteter, he returned.


    "I know what we''re going to do," he said. "First, we need to clear the hallway. One of the Extractors is currently walking to one of the offices here. You can take care of him."


    Nick grabbed the glove on the right hand of the dead team leader and put it over his right arm, stuffing the old glove into the pockets of the corpse.


    Then, Nick opened the door with the glove.


    Lastly, Nick pointed down the hallway.


    "Down there. He should round the corner soon. I''ll check the other side," Nick said.


    The Grey Room quickly scrambled through the open door and ran down the corridor before waiting near the edge.


    Nick looked towards the other side, keeping watch over all the doors.


    If even one of them opened, he would kill whoever walked out.


    CRRRRR!


    Nick turned around and saw the Grey Room spinning on top of the orange Barrier of the person who had just rounded the corner.


    An instantter, the Barrier broke, and the Grey Roomnded on the guy''s head.


    Nick nodded, went back into the office, grabbed the corpse, came out, and walked over to the Grey Room.


    "You can stay on him for a bit longer," Nick said as he lifted the living body with the Grey Room still on top of it.


    The reason why Nick didn''t immediately kill the corpse was that he didn''t want to make a mess.


    A blood stter in the hallway would give his presence away immediately.


    Nick looked around the corner and saw an empty hallway.


    Then, he silently charged down the hallway, opened the door, charged down another hallway, opened another door, went through the guard room, opened yet another door, went down the stairs, ran down another corridor, and opened thest door.


    "Oh! That looks good!" the rat shouted with excitement.


    Naturally, Nick had brought the two corpses to the Parasite.


    Every corpse was valuable.


    A Peak John was worth 50 normal corpses.


    Nick broke the neck of the living body and threw it forward.


    The Grey Room jumped away from the corpse andnded on the wall.


    The rat looked with interest at the little grey Specter. "Oh, you found a friend," itmented.


    Nick nced at the motionless Grey Room and pointed at the exit.


    "Later, when we''re done, you can escape through here. This leads into the sewers. However, I have to remind you that you should keep to our promise. For now, you still have to help me," Nick said.


    The rat grinned.


    With a helper, Nick would bring more corpses.


    "Yeah, you should listen to him," the rat told the grey Specter. "He''s pretty honest, and he''s never broken a promise. If he said he''ll let you go, he will do just that. Also, you shouldn''t anger him. He''s much more dangerous than he seems."


    The Grey Room didn''t say anything but slowly walked back towards the entrance.


    Its intentions were clear.


    "Good," Nick said before running out of the room again with the Grey Room.


    When the lights turned off, the rat looked at the two corpses.


    "Today is a good day!"


    Meanwhile, Nick and the Grey Room ran down the hallway again.


    On their way, Nick told the Grey Room about his n, and the next moment, the Grey Room seemingly vanished.


    Nick stealthily rounded a couple of corners until he stood beside a door.


    Compared to most other doors, this one was made of metal.


    Instead of breaking into the room, Nick just waited beside the door.


    CRASH!


    Suddenly, the sound of metal being destroyed came from behind the door.


    "AAAAHHH!"


    "A Specter!"


    "The rm!"


    "Run!"


    Many different voices came from behind the door.


    Suddenly, the door opened.


    BANG!


    Nick killed the person who was running out and smoothly pulled the corpse into the room behind him.


    Seven people were inside the room, and a couple of them were blindly running towards Nick without even looking at him.


    Right now, their attention was focused on the other end of the room.


    The Grey Room had broken through the ceiling,nded on top of someone''s head, and waited there.


    And it just so happened to be directly beside the rm.


    The people in this room were clothed in tactical gear.


    They were not Extractors but guards.


    Naturally, the guards knew that they couldn''t possibly fight against a Specter, which was why their first instinct was to ring the rm and run away.


    Sadly, none of them dared to reach for the rm.


    Instead, they ran outside.


    Right into Nick''s arms.


    Nick killed all of them in less than five seconds.


    Naturally, this was the gathering ce for most of the guards.


    When they were not currently patrolling, they were in here, resting.


    These people were the biggest obstacle for Nick in his mission.


    After all, if a guard noticed that several people were missing while going on their tour, they would sound the rm.


    Nick quickly gathered all of the corpses.


    Luckily, he had killed them very carefully so that they didn''t lose any blood.


    After a bit of improvisation, Nick had essentially knotted parts of their clothing together, creating a small rope with which he could pull the entire pile.


    Then, Nick slowly exited the room and carefully made his way down the hallway.


    SHING!


    But then, one of the doors on the side of the hallway opened, and an Extractor walked out.


    Nick stopped.


    He was over 30 meters away from the person, and he was pulling a huge pile of corpses behind him.


    This was problematic.

 Chapter 283 283 – The Screamer

    <h4>Chapter 283 Chapter 283 ¨C The Screamer </h4>


    ?283 Chapter 283 ¨C The Screamer


    Nick didn''t have any of his spears or fist weapons with him since they could identify him, which meant that he didn''t have a range weapon.


    Nick had to make a decision.


    There was no time for hesitation!


    Without thinking, he grabbed the grey spider to his right and threw it at the Extractor.


    The Extractor barely turned to Nick before her vision was filled with the grey Specter.


    The next moment, an orange Barrier appeared around her.


    CRK!


    Yet, the Grey Room started to spin and broke the Barrier.


    When the Extractor lost all her Zephyx, she lost her power and copsed.


    The Grey Roomnded on her, walked up to her head, and plopped down on it.


    Nick released a sigh of relief.


    "Sorry," he said. "I had to act quickly."


    The Grey Room didn''t answer and just kept sitting on top of the unconscious Extractor''s head.


    Nick guessed that the Grey Room didn''t have anyints.


    After putting the woman on top of the pile, Nick continued running towards the exit.


    "Ooooh, that looks nice!" the Parasite said as he saw Nick entering the room with eight corpses.


    "Sorry, time''s up," Nick said as he killed the Extractor.


    Naturally, Nick was speaking to the Grey Room since it had still been feeding on the Extractor.


    He quickly dumped all the corpses in the hole and heard a cacophony of sshes and crunching noisesing from the sewers.


    "Man, I knew it was the right decision to ept this deal," the Parasite said after Nick left the room again.


    "This city is quickly bing one of my best hunting grounds!"


    Nick and the Grey Room quickly reached the central hallways again.


    On their way, they found a person cleaning the hallway.


    ''Got no time! Can''t get found out!''


    Nick quickly killed the cleaningdy and carried her corpse with him.


    After that, Nick decided to clean the hallways of all the people cleaning right now and gathered two more corpses.


    He delivered the three corpses to the Parasite and went back inside.


    A momentter, Nick decided to kill most of the clerks in their offices.


    What if one of them was searching for someone?


    In the next ten minutes, Nick killed around 15 clerks and delivered them to the Parasite.


    By now, Nick had killed 15 clerks, seven guards, three cleaning people, and six Extractors.


    The more people Nick killed, the more he thought about the ambush from yesterday.


    These people all wanted to kill him, and this was what they deserved!


    Nick had been inside the Spartans'' building for over 30 minutes now.


    Eventually, Nick cleared out most of the offices.


    The only offices remaining were those of the executives, and Nick specifically avoided those.


    If he attacked a Veteran, he would most likely get found out.


    Another area that Nick had avoided was the two entrances to the building.


    There were bound to be several people there.


    "Alright," Nick said to the Grey Room. "Change of ns."


    Nick took out the map and looked at it for a bit.


    Then, he walked towards one of the doors and opened it.


    This door was quite a bit thicker than the others, and Nick found himself in a small room with another door.


    After that, he fidgeted with a console for a bit and opened the other door.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"


    An absolutely terrifying and ear-grating screech reverberated throughout the entire room.


    Nick felt like his heart stopped.


    He had just opened the door to a Containment Unit.


    In the corner of the room was a hysteric but beautiful woman, and she was shouting in absolute terror at the top of her lungs.


    ''That''s why she''s called the Screamer,'' Nick thought.


    There was also a young woman sitting in the corner with a very ufortable and stressed expression.


    She was an Extractor, and based on her uniform, she was a Newbie.


    Funnily enough, she was so focused on resisting the screaming that she didn''t even notice that the door opened.


    Nick ran into the Containment Unit and killed the Extractor.


    The Specter just kept screaming.


    "Hey! Can you hear me?!" Nick shouted at the Screamer, his voice getting droned out by the high-pitched screams.


    The Specter just kept screaming.


    "If you''re sentient, you need to tell me! Otherwise, I''m going to kill you!"


    More screaming.


    It was like the Specter waspletely beside herself in panic.


    "Alright then!" Nick shouted.


    BANG!


    The Screamer''s shouts stopped as Nick punched her in the face.


    Then, Nick grabbed her head and tore it into pieces.


    Pieces of flesh and blood sttered onto the walls and floor of the Containment Unit.


    To make sure that the Specter was truly dead, Nick tore her into multiple pieces.


    Specters were very resilient.


    When Nick was certain that the Specter was dead, he released a sigh.


    ''The first Specter I ever killed,'' he thought as he looked at the gory pieces.


    Naturally, Nick''s goal was to damage the Spartans as much as possible, and besides killing their employees, getting rid of their Specters was the next best thing.


    Nick had already taken their old primary Specter, the Grey Room, with him, and now he had killed one of their Specters.


    Nick left the pieces of the Specter inside the Containment Unit and left with the Extractor''s corpse.


    Luckily, the outer doors were soundproof, which meant that nobody in the building heard the Specter.


    However, that couldn''t really be considered luck since every Manufacturer would iste this Specter with a soundproof wall.


    Startling the entire building every time someone entered the Containment Unit was not the nicest thing to do.


    Nick closed the door to the Containment Unit and turned to the Grey Room, which was waiting on the wall.


    "Not sentient," Nick said before the two of them exited.


    After delivering the corpse, Nick went to the next Containment Unit.


    With the team leader''s card, it wasn''t difficult to enter all of the Containment Units.


    Nick would make sure that the Spartans regretted attacking him!

 Chapter 284 284 – The Approaching Finale

    <h4>Chapter 284 Chapter 284 ¨C The Approaching Finale</h4>


    ?284 Chapter 284 ¨C The Approaching Finale


    When Nick entered the next Containment Unit, he wasn''t surprised to see a big fleshy worm.


    However, he was surprised to see two people looking at him inside the Containment Unit.


    Nick just looked back, stepped forward, and closed the entrance behind him.


    The two of them were Newbies, and they had been working with the Blood Worm.


    Naturally, Nick killed the two of them quickly and then tore the Blood Worm apart.


    No descendants of the Blood Ancestor were sentient, and any non-sentient Specter would be killed by Nick.


    After killing the Specter, Nick delivered the two corpses to the Parasite.


    Then, Nick entered the next Containment Unit.


    This time, he found half a torso in the Containment Unit.


    The torso belonged to a man, and he just nced at Nick emotionlessly without saying anything.


    When he saw Nick''s get-up, he raised an eyebrow, but he didn''t say anything.


    This Specter was called the Agonizing Wait, and Nick hadn''t expected to find a humanoid Specter in here.


    The name didn''t sound very human.


    "Hey, you''re sentient, right?" Nick asked.


    The man just looked at Nick.


    "You better answer, or I''m going to kill you," Nick said.


    The Specter didn''t answer.


    "Alrighty then," Nick said.


    BOOOOM!


    Nick exploded forward.


    CRRRRKK!


    Nick''s nails hit the wall as the torso threw itself to the side with its arms.


    "I didn''t think you were serious," the torso said with narrowed eyes, not seeming very perturbed. "What''s this about?"


    "So, you are sentient," Nickmented.


    "I am," the Agonizing Wait said.


    "Good," Nick said with a nod. "I''m not part of these people. In fact, I''m their enemy, and I want to cause them as much damage as possible."


    "I killed a couple of their non-sentient Specters already. As for the sentient ones, I''m offering a trade."


    "A bit of your help for your freedom."


    "You''re not the first one joining me."


    The Agonizing Wait looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    "Fine, I''lle with you," he said. "However, I don''t know how you''re going to get me out of here."


    Nick pointed at the light window on the ceiling. "If this is anything like the other Containment Units, I can create a 30-


    centimeter-wide hole without sounding the rm. If we get rid of one of your arms, we can get you through it."


    The Agonizing Wait still seemed suspicious.


    "Alright, make the hole," he said.


    Nick nodded. "Give me a second."


    Then, Nick left the Containment Unit, closed the door, and went to the other side of the light shaft by traveling through the lightyer as fog.


    When he arrived, Nick created a hole at the side first and dug through ayer of metal, which eventually led to the hallway.


    Nick hadn''t done this with the Grey Room since such a hole would be noticeable, but since there were now not as many people walking around, he decided to take the risk.


    Additionally, he was nearly done here.


    When he was done, Nick entered the light shaft again and dug a hole in the window.


    "Alright, can you fit through this hole without damaging the window? If you damage it, the rm will go off," Nick said.


    The Agonizing Wait looked at the hole for a bit.


    Then, he tore one of his arms off, including the shoulder.


    A momentter, he tossed the arm through the hole before throwing himself through it with the other arm.


    From the small tunnel leading to the hallway, Nick watched the Agonizing Wait reattaching his arm.


    The two of them went back to the hallway.


    When the Agonizing Wait reached the hallway, he looked at the grey spider beside him with a neutral expression.


    Nick looked at the big hole he had made and became nervous.


    ''If anyone walks through here, they will immediately notice,'' Nick thought.


    ''We don''t have any time left.''


    Then, Nick turned in a specific direction.


    "Time for the finale," he said.


    "After you two help me with this one, you can leave through the hole."


    "The Grey Room knows where it is," Nick said to the Agonizing Wait.


    The Agonizing Wait didn''t answer.


    The next moment, the three of them ran down the hallway.


    When Nick reached a specific Containment Unit, he stopped and looked at it.


    ''Just as expected,'' he thought when he saw the huge andplex console controlling the Containment Unit.


    Nick knew that model since the Fog was contained in the same one.


    A momentter, Nick cut through the walls at a specific ce.


    Behind the wall was a panel with a lightning bolt on it.


    This was the central storage for the Zephyx operating the special Containment Unit.


    Containment Units capable of suppressing Force Specters required a constant supply of Zephyx to work, and this panel was hiding that supply.


    Nick carefully cut through the panel and saw four vials: two white, one half-white, and one clear.


    The white ones were filled to the brim with Zephyx, and every vial could hold one kilo of Zephyx.


    This meant that Nick had 2.5 kilos of Zephyx in front of him.


    Nick grinned.


    Yet, the next moment, he stepped away.


    "We''ll free our friendter," Nick said to the two other Specters. "We have to do something else first."


    Then, Nick led the three of them down the hallway and stopped in front of a couple of offices.


    "Go check if he''s still in there," Nick told the Grey Room.


    The Grey Room went up the wall and dug into the lightyer.


    Since the time for the finale was here, there was no longer any need to be stealthy.


    A couple secondster, the Grey Room crawled out again and scratched a bit with its right leg.


    Nick grinned.


    "I need you two in this fight. You don''t need to kill him. You just need to distract him."


    "Who''s in there?" the Agonizing Wait asked.


    "John Keyweather," Nick said. "The CEO."


    "And he''s a Mid Veteran."


    The next moment, Nick took a ck ball out of his pockets.


    He looked at the two Specters, which were waiting close by.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the door open and threw the ball to the ground.


    WHOOOOM!


    A cloud of ck smoke exploded out of the ball!

 Chapter 285 285 – The Red Sea

    <h4>Chapter 285 Chapter 285 ¨C The Red Sea </h4>


    ?285 Chapter 285 ¨C The Red Sea


    The Grey Room charged into the room by crawling along the wall.


    The Agonizing Wait threw itself in as well.


    "What?!"


    Nick heard a shocked shouting from inside the room.


    Nick immediately turned into ck smoke and joined the other ck smoke in the surroundings.


    For the first time in a while, Nick''s ability activated again.


    As he slithered across the walls, he heard the sound of things crashing.


    DING!


    Nick''s eyes narrowed when he saw a green sh.


    In an instant, Nick turned corporeal and jumped forward with all of his power.


    BANG!


    Nick''s metallic nails hit John Keyweather''s green Barrier, and another green sh appeared.


    Meanwhile, a middle-aged man with ck hair looked with terror at the ck figure that had just appeared in his sight.


    He had just lost over 40% of his Zephyx with that attack!


    Even more, the appearance of this ck figure was terrifying!


    It was like it was some kind of servant of death itself, and the ck nails were extremely frightening and powerful!


    Was this a Specter?!


    SHING!


    A white shield manifested in John''s left arm, and he moved it toward the ck figure with all of his power.


    Yet, just before he hit the ck figure, it seemed to disappear like smoke!


    DING!


    John''s Barrier activated again, and he saw the Grey Room attacking it from above again.


    ''How the fuck did those two break out?! What is that third Specter?!'' John thought in frustration, rage, and terror.


    John jumped to the side and used his shield to p the Grey Room to the side.


    The Grey Room was one of their most important Specters, and even though it was attacking him right now, he didn''t want to kill it.


    Then, John saw a hand wing at his Barrier, which activated again.


    BANG!


    John kicked the Agonizing Wait to the side.


    BOOOOOM!


    The ck figure appeared again, its ck nails brutally tearing at his Barrier.


    John''s face turned white as he felt himself running low on Zephyx.


    ''I have to flee!''


    John attacked the figure with his spear, but the figure just vanished again.


    Then, he turned to his right and punched the wall.


    BOOOOOM!


    The wall exploded, and the hallway was covered with pieces of metal and steel!


    Then, John immediately ran out.


    He left the smoke cloud and saw the Agonizing Wait and the Grey Room running down the hallway in front of him.


    ''They''re running away?!'' John thought in shock.


    Why were they running away?!


    BANG!


    John''s green Barrier appeared again, but the next moment, it broke into pieces under his shocked gaze.


    He couldn''t see it, but right now, a ck figure was behind him, and it had just left the ck cloud of smoke behind them.


    The ck figure''s nails stretched towards John''s head.


    And then, they engulfed it.


    CRKSH!


    The nails dug into John''s eyes, crushing them.


    Then, the nails rammed into his brain and violently moved around.


    The nails tore out by tearing the socket apart before finally burying into John''s head with one final attack.


    John was dead.


    The CEO of the Spartans had died.


    At this moment, two people ran out of an office in front of John.


    They were the two other founding members of the Spartans, and what they saw terrified them to the core.


    Apletely ck figure with terrifying nails was on top of their friend!


    The figure''s head turned forward, and for just an instant, time seemed to stand still as the two sides looked at each other.


    CRKSH!


    Then, the ck figure violently pulled the corpse back into the ck cloud.


    "JOHN!" Kallum shouted as he and his friend charged into the cloud of smoke.


    Kallum quickly found John''s corpse inside the ck cloud and looked at it.


    Since John''s head had faced the ground earlier, Kallum hadn''t seen the true extent of the damage.


    When Kallum saw the ravaged head of his friend, he felt like the world was ending.


    This was his friend!


    They had been best friends for decades!


    The next moment, a terrifyingly loud rm echoed throughout the building.


    The third founder had activated the rm as he searched through the ck cloud for the ck figure.


    More and more people came out of the rooms at the side.


    Suddenly, a second rm joined the first rm.


    When Kallum and his friend heard that rm, their eyes widened in horror.


    No!


    This was the rm of the Containment Unit suppressing the Crimson Sea malfunctioning!


    Momentster, the walls of a certain Containment Unit started to bleed, and the blood rapidly covered the floor around the Containment Unit.


    The people in the hallways looked with shock as a wave of blood gathered in the hallway before thundering towards them.


    Everyone started to flee in horror, but the wave still caught many of them.


    As soon as they were touched by the wave, they started to smoke.


    This was acid!


    The normal people dissolved within ten seconds, while the others took much longer to dissolve.


    The Peak Johns managed to run away from the water, but the Newbies weren''t as lucky.


    More and more red water filled the hallways.


    BOOOOM!


    Eventually, the two entrances of the building exploded outward as they couldn''t resist the pressure of the red water.


    In the Inner and Outer Cities, the bystanders looked with shock at the entrances.


    And then, they also got engulfed by the red water.


    There was more and more red water!


    It just didn''t stop!


    The guards quickly noticed and rang the city''s emergency alert.


    Meanwhile, a ck figure thundered through a door before closing the door behind it.


    "No corpses?" the rat asked, but before it could finish asking, Nick already jumped through the hole.


    The rat raised an eyebrow, but a momentter, the door broke down, and a wave of red acid covered the room.


    "Oh, fuck," the rat said before it was engulfed by the acid.


    The rat died almost immediately, and the red water entered the hole, flowing into the sewers.

 Chapter 286 286 – The Big Barrier

    <h4>Chapter 286 Chapter 286 ¨C The Big Barrier</h4>


    ?286 Chapter 286 ¨C The Big Barrier


    WHOOOM!


    A huge barrier appeared inside the Inner City.


    Surprisingly, it was only surrounding the Spartans'' building.


    The barrier was created by an Expert working for the city guards.


    Right now, the Expert was holding a huge machine in his hands, and he was pointing it at the Crimson Sea.


    The machine resonated with the megastructure that was the city, and the barrier extended towards the walls of the megastructure,pletely isting the Crimson Sea.


    Naturally, Crimson Fungus City had ways to deal with Force Specters, and this kind of barrier was one of these ways.


    BANG!


    The Crimson Sea hit the barrier and was stopped by it.


    "Help!" one of the Newbies from the Spartans shouted as she hammered on the barrier.


    By now, many parts of her skin had turned red, and on other parts, there wasn''t even any skin left.


    The Crimson Sea waspletely devouring her.


    More and more guards appeared behind the huge barrier.


    The reactions of the guards were mixed.


    Some of them got excited since one of theirpetitors was getting fucked, but some just felt sad and terrible.


    When they looked around, they could see that the Crimson Sea had already extended over 100 meters into the Inner City.


    Quite a few houses had been engulfed, and by now, the citizens in said houses were already dead.


    Three more Newbies came out from the Crimson Sea and started to bang on the barrier.


    "Follow protocol," one of the Experts shouted to the guards.


    The guards took deep breaths.


    Three of them jumped up andnded on the nted barrier.


    Then, they took out long rifles and pointed them at the barrier.


    Surprisingly, the barrier allowed the rifles to enter.


    The Newbies realized what was about to happen, and their terror intensified.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Two of the Newbies exploded in a shower of blood, leaving two more.


    The others were waiting for their deaths, but surprisingly, the guards didn''t shoot at them.


    BANG!


    One of the guards shot at the building, leaving a huge hole behind in the wall at a height of about ten meters.


    "Jump in there if you want to live!" one of the guards shouted.


    The Newbies didn''t hesitate and immediately started climbing.


    The reason why these two Newbies were left alive was because their Barriers were still active, which meant that they hadn''t been touched by the Specter.


    When a breach urred, it was protocol to kill every person who came into direct contact with any Specter.


    The two Newbies managed to climb into the hole, and they no longer were inside the Crimson Sea.


    Yet, the Crimson Sea continued expanding and rising.


    The guards looked with narrowed eyes at the growing Specter.


    Naturally, the Crimson Sea wasn''t endless.


    It had a finite size and couldn''t just grow like that.


    The reason why the amount of water was increasing was its food.


    If one wanted, one could categorize Specters into two kinds.


    Specters whose growth was limited by time, and Specters whose growth was limited by food.


    The Dreamer was a Specter whose growth was limited by time.


    This meant that it could only eat so much food in a given timeframe, which meant that it couldn''t just suddenly explode in power.


    In contrast, the Dung Heap was a Specter whose growth was limited by food.


    If 10,000 tons of fresh food were dumped onto the Dung Heap, it might immediately advance to bing an Adult, and that growth wouldn''t stop anytime soon.


    If one dumped a of food onto the Dung Heap, it might ascend to bing an Eternal very quickly.


    The Crimson Sea was one of these kinds of Specters.


    When it had broken out of its Containment Unit, it had consumed several clerks, cleaning people, guards, and even Zephyx Extractors.


    And unfortunately, the Crimson Sea became more powerful by killing people.


    Right now, there were still a few Zephyx Extractors remaining inside the building, and they were surrounded by the Crimson Sea.


    The normal people were already all dead.


    If a Newbie were still inside the building, they would have already run out of Zephyx.


    After killing the normal people, the Crimson Sea advanced to bing a Peak Adolescent, which increased its power and size.


    The Crimson Sea''s acid was growing in power, and even the few Johns still inside the building felt their Barriers getting weaker rapidly.


    SPLASH!


    A John jumped out of the Crimson Sea, but he hit the huge barrier.


    BANG!


    His head vanished as one of the guards killed the John.


    His Barrier had already been deactivated.


    Killing the John assured that the Crimson Sea didn''t gain anything from this kill.


    The Newbies high on the wall looked with horror as the Crimson Sea came closer and closer to their location.


    Suddenly, some red mist started to rise from the Crimson Sea.


    The Newbies looked with shock at the red mist.


    What was happening now?!


    The guards on the outside narrowed their eyes.


    They realized what this meant.


    The red mist entered the hole in which the two Newbies were.


    "My Zephyx is falling!" one of them shouted.


    "Mine too!" the other one shouted.


    BOOOM!


    At that moment, a new hole appeared at a height of about 30 meters, and an instantter, two figures jumped out from it.


    They were the two remaining founders of the Spartans!


    Kallum Sondur extended an emblem towards the barrier covering the building, and a momentter, a hole appeared inside the barrier.


    Kallum Sondur and his friend flew through the hole, and the barrier closed behind them.


    Naturally, both of them had already worked for the city once, and both of them had somemon equipment used by the guards.


    These kinds of emblems were used to get past these kinds of barriers.


    These barriers were meant to iste dangerous Specters and to keep them in ce.


    While the Specters were suppressed, Extractors would go in to deal with them.


    Kallum Sondur and his friendnded outside the barrier, but before they could release a sigh, several guards appeared in front of them.


    SHING!


    And then, another person appeared in front of the guards, who looked at Kallum Sondur.


    "Congrattions," the governor said with an unamused voice before gesturing to the Crimson Sea, which was still releasing red mist.


    "You have another Adult now."

 Chapter 287 287 – Suppression

    <h4>Chapter 287 Chapter 287 ¨C Suppression </h4>


    ?287 Chapter 287 ¨C Suppression


    The Crimson Sea was not a sentient Specter, which meant that it hadn''t kept its ability to produce acidic red mist a secret.


    And since the red mist hadn''t been there since the beginning, it meant that the Crimson Sea hadn''t had the ability to create the red mist before.


    Specters generally only gained new abilities when they advanced a level.


    The Crimson Sea had be an Adult.


    "Sir, this is not our fault!" Kallum Sondur immediately shouted with helpless frustration. "Someone sabotaged us!"


    "I don''t care about that right now," the governor said with a solemn tone. "I want to know the status inside the building!"


    Kallum took a deep breath.


    "The entire building is covered by the Crimson Sea," Kallum exined. "We dug through the megastructure to get here. Everything below the hole is lost."


    "What about the Containment Units?" the governor asked. "Can the Crimson Sea corrode Containment Units?"


    Kallum grimaced.


    That was all the governor needed to see.


    "I want Theresa and Stark to stay on standby near the other exit," the governor told one of the guards. "I don''t want any surprises to happen. They are to kill every Specter that they see. I don''t care about the potential lost profits."


    "Sir!" one of the guards shouted with a salute before jumping away to inform Theresa and Stark.


    Then, the governor turned back to look at the Crimson Sea.


    "How many of your people died?" he asked Kallum without looking at him.


    Kallum looked at his friend for a bit, and the two of them conferred for a bit.


    "We don''t have the specific numbers, but it should be something like 15 to 20 level one Extractors, 10 to 15 level two Extractors, between 30 and 50 normal people¡­"


    "And John Keyweather," Kallum said with a heavy tone.


    The governor furrowed his brows. "John Keyweather died? How?"


    "It was the saboteur," Kallum said. "It was a human,pletely covered by ck cloth. I saw them killing John with my own eyes."


    The governor continued looking at the building as he kept thinking about some things.


    By now, the two Newbies had died in the red mist, and the Crimson Sea expanded a bit more.


    But then, it stopped expanding.


    It had already killed everything inside the building.


    A huge crowd of people had gathered, and among them were the employees from the Spartans who hadn''t been on duty.


    They just looked with horror and shock at their workce, which was now being submerged in red acid.


    If they had been on duty¡­


    The thought was terrifying.


    "Sir, the two majors are in ce!" a guard told the governor.


    The governor nodded.


    "Start the suppression!" the governor ordered.


    The guards answered with a collective shout, and the next moment, several Experts gathered near the machine that created the barrier.


    On the other side of the megastructure, the same thing happened.


    Naturally, someone had also created a barrier on that side.


    The next moment, all the guards started to push forward.


    As they advanced, the barrier shrunk.


    From a radius of 100 meters, it shrunk to 90 meters.


    Over the next minutes, the barrier shrank to a radius of 30 meters.


    Surprisingly, the steel that had been submerged in the Crimson Sea didn''t show any kind of rust or damage.


    In fact, it looked like it had been cleaned.


    Naturally, since the Crimson Sea was a Specter, its acid wasn''t the same as traditional acid.


    When the barrier reached its current size, its speed of shrinking slowed down.


    That was because there was now no more air left inside the building and the barrier.


    Everything was covered by the Crimson Sea.


    "Start extermination," the governormanded.


    The guards answered and took out several big contraptions that looked like gigantic machine guns.


    A momentter, they put the heads of the contraptions through the barrier, and momentster, the heads began to spin.


    "Ready!"


    "Ready!"


    "Ready!"


    The governor noted that everyone was ready.


    "Fire!"


    BANG!


    An explosion of blue lightning came out of each of the contraptions, each destroying several meters of water.


    An instantter, the barrier shrunk by about a meter.


    The guards using the contraptions let go and stepped back.


    The power source that the contraptions used was their own Zephyx.


    Other guards approached the contraptions and pushed them into the barrier again.


    "Ready!"


    "Ready!"


    "Ready!"


    "Fire!"


    BANG!


    More water was destroyed, and the barrier shrunk even more.


    After a couple of minutes, the barriers tightly encased the building in the wall of the megastructure.


    The Crimson Sea was now contained within the Spartans'' building.


    "Is there ess to the sewers inside the building?" the governor asked without looking away from it.


    "No, sir," Kallum answered.


    The governor nodded. "That means things aren''t as bad as they initially seemed."


    Then, the governor turned to one of his guards. "Have there been sightings of any Specters on the other side?"


    "I will check, sir!" the guard said before he ran towards the Outer City.


    After that, the governor turned to the guards near the barrier again. "Secure the barrier and expand it. I don''t want any holes to suddenly appear outside the barrier!"


    Several guards left to do just that.


    For the next couple of minutes, not much happened since everyone was busy preparing for the push into the building.


    The barrier couldn''t extend through solid matter, which was why the barrier had to be manipted and reshaped with a lot of work.


    "Julius."


    The governor turned to his right and saw an older man looking at the device creating the barrier.


    "Yes, George?" the governor asked.


    It was George Meander, aka. Ghosty.


    Apparently, he had alsoe here, even though he wasn''t working for the city guards.


    "The Zephyx consumption of the barrier has increased," Ghosty said.


    "That''s to be expected," the governor answered. "The barrier is smaller, and the Crimson Sea''s power is more concentrated."


    "I know," Ghosty answered with furrowed brows, "I took these aspects into ount. I meant that the consumption of Zephyx has increased suspiciously much. Even after considering all of this."


    The governor looked at the red entrance of the building.


    "Maybe a Specter is attacking the barrier from within the Crimson Sea."


    "Maybe," Ghosty answered.


    "Or the Crimson Sea advanced to being an Early Adult."

 Chapter 288 288 – The Red Mist

    <h4>Chapter 288 Chapter 288 ¨C The Red Mist</h4>


    ?288 Chapter 288 ¨C The Red Mist


    "Maybe there was a level two Extractor that managed to survive until now," the governor said.


    "Could be," Ghosty said.


    A minute of silence passed before another guard told the governor that everyone was ready.


    Additionally, a second guard told the governor that the other side had not encountered any Specters yet.


    "That means the Crimson Sea probably hasn''t eaten through the Containment Units yet," the governor said before turning to his guards.


    "Start!"


    Nine guards were standing very close together at the entrance of the building.


    One of them was holding a smaller version of the big machine creating the barrier.


    Four others were holding small tes connected to the machine.


    The remaining four pushed the contraptions that released the blue lightning through the barrier.


    BOOOOM!


    The blue lightning exploded, clearing several meters of water.


    Simultaneously, the other five people jumped forward.


    The barrier morphed and changed shape.


    It adhered to the walls on the inside of the building before expanding again.


    The guards had created a bubble inside the building that was about two meters in diameter.


    BOOM!


    More blue lightning and the bubble expanded to the side.


    The protocol was to cover the walls of the building in the barrier first before pushing into the middle of the rooms.


    A couple minutester, the entire inside of the building''s entrance was free of water and covered by a thin film of the barrier.


    asionally, the guards looked at the bright red "wall" in front of them.


    It was like half of the big hallway was clean and bright while the other half had been devoured by a domain of red.


    Sadly, the guards didn''t have the time to admire the endless red in front of them.


    The governor looked at the entrance.


    Things were under control.


    "Sir," an Expert said as he arrived beside the governor. "The other side reports an increase of Zephyx expenditure that seems unanticipated."


    The governor furrowed his brows.


    "Not only their side," Ghosty said before the governor could say anything.


    The governor looked at Ghosty. "Ours as well?"


    Ghosty nodded as he fidgeted with a couple of devices.


    "Earlier, the Zephyx expenditure was twice as high as expected. Now, it''s almost three times as high," Ghosty said.


    "Either something is malfunctioning, more Specters are attacking the barrier, or the Crimson Sea advanced to be a Mid Adult," Ghosty exined.


    The governor became a bit worried. "I presume we can still deal with the expenditure?"


    "Absolutely," Ghosty said before the relevant guard could report. "It needs to be about ten times higher to be an issue."


    The governor nodded. "Then, things are still under control. The Crimson Sea should be weaker the more we advance."


    By now, the guards had cleared the entire entrance, and they were reaching the first hallways already.


    The same was true for the other side as well.


    "It increased again!" Ghosty suddenly said, his voice no longer as calm.


    "Again?" the governor asked with worry.


    Ghosty nodded. "It''s now nearly four times as high as expected. You should call more-"


    The governor looked at Ghosty, who just raised his eyebrows in shock.


    "It increased again!" Ghosty said.


    Now, there was definite worry in his voice.


    The governor turned to his personal guards. "Emergency alert! Gather all avable Experts! Get Aria here!" he shouted.


    "It increased again!" Ghosty shouted.


    Then, he charged to the entrance and grabbed the big contraption.


    With a powerful Specialist controlling the contraption now, the resistance of the barrier increased tremendously.


    "Theresa or Stark have to support the barrier on their side!" the governor shouted.


    Several guards immediately ran towards the Outer City to inform them.


    The next moment, the governor looked at the building with narrowed eyes.


    SHING!


    Suddenly, the governor vanished.


    BANG!


    A huge amount of red water was vaporized as an intense explosion of fire appeared inside the building.


    Ghosty, who was carrying the contraption, immediately ran into the building, the barrier adapting to his movements and stretching further in.


    They had to get rid of the Crimson Sea!


    "HAHAHAHAHAHA!"


    Silence.


    Ghosty, the governor, the guards, and the onlookers watched in stunned silence.


    It changed!


    Suddenly, the red wall was no longer just red!


    Now, there were hundreds ofughing faces in it!


    The faces moved across the red domain,ughing the entire time.


    The next moment, everyone could see bloody hands forming in the red domain, which were wing at the barrier.


    "It became an Elder!" Ghosty shouted in shock.


    "Impossible!" Kallum shouted from behind him. "There are no more people in there! The only things in there are our Specters!"


    At that moment, Ghosty''s eyes widened in realization.


    "Specters? Specters!" he shouted.


    Then, he turned to Kallum. "Have you ever tried feeding a Specter to it?"


    Kallum blinked in shock. "No, of course not!"


    Many things were going through Ghosty''s mind.


    He had a hypothesis that all ways in which Specters could gain power were intrinsically rted to human suffering.


    In his hypothesis, Specters were the manifestation of human suffering.


    Yet, they also represented prosperity since Manufacturers could suppress them and be more powerful thanks to them.


    ''So, isn''t it possible that killing Specters can also be considered causing suffering to humanity?'' Ghosty thought.


    The Crimson Sea''s advance in power.


    The fact that only Specters were left in the building.


    The fact that no Specter had tried to escape through the entrances.


    "It can gain power by consuming Specters!" Ghosty shouted at the governor.


    "It consumed all the Specters in the building, which is how it became so powerful!"


    The governor narrowed his eyes.


    At least, that meant that the Crimson Sea was done growing for now.


    The governor continued suppressing the Crimson Sea, but then, something shocking happened.


    The Crimson Sea was vanishing!


    The ceiling of the hallways was revealed as the water level lowered!


    During this entire time, the faces just keptughing.


    When the governor saw that, he felt like his heart had stopped.


    No!


    The water level quickly sunk to the bottom, and the water receded further into the building.


    The governor rapidly ran after the water and followed it.


    And when he entered a room on the lowest part of the building, he saw something terrifying.


    A hole!


    A huge hole!


    The Crimson Sea had entered the sewers!


    Meanwhile, on the border between the Outer City and the Dregs, someone clothed in a Zephyx Extractor uniform was looking with shock at the Dregs.


    It was Nick, who had already changed his appearance.


    ''What is that?'' Nick thought.


    Right now, Nick watched in shock as red mist started toe out of the rusty grates on the floor.


    All the people in the Dregs looked with concern and worry as their surroundings were covered in red mist.


    From a high building, Nick was watching¡­


    As the Dregs turned into a sea of red mist.

 Chapter 289 289 – Terror

    <h4>Chapter 289 Chapter 289 ¨C Terror </h4>


    ?289 Chapter 289 ¨C Terror


    On top of one of the big buildings, Nick looked at the Dregs, which were slowly getting filled with red mist.


    "What is this?" Nick said to himself in shock.


    The people of the Dregs looked with confusion and concern at the red mist.


    They had never seen anything like this before.


    Was this some kind of new thing the city was doing?


    "Ah, it burns!" a six-year-old child shouted as it scratched its arm.


    When the child scratched its arm, a red paste seemed to appear on top of its arm.


    Everyone looked over at the child¡­


    And its bone sticking out from beneath the red paste that had once been its blood, skin, and muscles.


    The next moment, everyone else started to feel a burning sensation, which spread all across their bodies.


    Then, it started.


    The hair of all the people started to get thinner, and several strands fell down.


    Nails were getting discolored.


    Clothing was turning ck and bing thinner.


    Shoes were starting to smoke.


    Skin was turning red.


    Eyes were turning red.


    "AAAAHHHH!"


    The screaming began.


    Panic.


    Terror.


    Thousands of people were running around in horror as they tried to escape from the red mist.


    Some of them were climbing up buildings.


    Some of them entered buildings.


    Some of them hid behind other people.


    Some were jumping into piles of rubble.


    Many were running towards the Inner City.


    Many more were running towards the city''s exit.


    Wailing filled the city.


    One man was running away in a panic and identally collided with a malnourished boy.


    SPLASH!


    The boy''s body split into clumps of flesh, covering the man, who just stopped running in shock and horror.


    "Mommy! It hurts! Help me!"


    Children were screaming as their mothers covered them with their bodies.


    One of the mothers hugged her daughter tightly.


    "It''s going to be-"


    She looked at her crying daughter but couldn''t continue speaking.


    Her daughter''s cheeks had holes in them, and her mother could see her daughter''s mrs through the holes.


    "Mommy. I''m sorry. It hurts," the daughter cried.


    The mother watched in horror as the child''s fingers were separating from her hands.


    The skin on her face was vanishing.


    Her eyes were filling with blood.


    "Mommy!" the daughter cried before her jaw fell from her skull.


    Her cries became iprehensible.


    The mother hugged her daughter tighter, but she felt almost no resistance.


    Her daughter was turning into a viscous red liquid of blood, meat, skin, and bones.


    In the end, the mother could only embrace a bloody stain of the outline of her daughter.


    She only looked down in disbelief.


    Her own skin was turning red, and she started to bleed all over her body.


    Her vision became blurrier and blurrier as the indescribable sensation of burning reached deeper and deeper into her being.


    At least the family wasn''t separated for long.


    The streets were covered in a viscous red film, which was slowly dripping into the sewers.


    The middle of the Dregs had be silent.


    The buildings and streets had been stained in red,plementing the spots of rust.


    Meanwhile, things were very different for the edge of the Dregs.


    Crimson Fungus City was surrounded by extremely tall walls, and a great number of people were trying to scale them.


    Luckily, the sewers were in the form of ake beneath the city, which meant that the edge of the city represented its shores.


    The very edge didn''t have metallic grates and tes as flooring but actual stone and dirt.


    A couple of meters near the walls was free of the red mist, and all the people who had fled found shelter there.


    BOOOOOOOM!


    The sound of a humongous explosion thundered through the city, but the people near the walls didn''t care.


    Many of the people were trying to climb up the walls, but it was impossible.


    The walls were made of extremely smooth steel, and there was no way to climb them.


    They were trapped like insects in a ss jar.


    Other people were trying to break through the doors leading into the insides of the walls, but there was no way to break them open.


    Nearly a thousand people were banging on the city walls.


    All of them were begging, pleading, and shouting.


    Some lucky ones were uninjured.


    Many of them were in various states of decay.


    Some were missing limbs.


    Some didn''t have any skin on their face anymore.


    Some were trying to keep their organs in their torso.


    People were climbing over each other.


    Children and weak people got trampled to death.


    On top of the walls, the guards were nearly as nervous.


    What were they supposed to do?


    They were not allowed to open the doors.


    But the people were dying!


    Was it safe for the guards?


    Many of the guards had already jumped over the wall into the outside world.


    Some of the guards tried to reason with the mass of people, trying to calm them down.


    One guard even opened one of the doors for the people.


    Sadly, only about 10% of people could enter through that door.


    The others couldn''t reach this location due to the red mist.


    BOOOOOOM!


    The distant sounds of powerful explosions continued.


    CRRRRRK!


    The people on the edges of the walls heard the sound of a lot of metal straining under stress and creaking.


    And then, many of the buildings began to shake.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The buildings broke apart, and the streets copsed.


    The people watched as the ce they had called home copsed into the sewers.


    Surprisingly, the debris fell for over 50 meters before touching anything.


    Had the sewers always been this far away from the city?


    Yet, before anyone could even think about this, they were confronted with an image of what could only be called hell.


    A swirling red mass.


    Over 50 meters lower than the ground was a swirling mass of liquid red faces.


    They were smiling.


    They wereughing.


    Arms, over 20 meters long, stretched out from the swirling red mass, trying to w at the survivors.


    Thousands of arms.


    Millions of faces.


    The red mass of faces illuminated the darkness of the sewers.


    Viscous red liquid was falling from the parts of the floor that still held.


    The people wouldn''t forget this image for their entire lives¡­


    However short they might be.

 Chapter 290 290 – The True City

    <h4>Chapter 290 Chapter 290 ¨C The True City</h4>


    ?290 Chapter 290 ¨C The True City


    "AAAAHHHH!"


    A mass of people was shouting in fear as the floor beneath them quaked intensely.


    While one part of the Dregs had fled to the walls, the other part had fled towards the Outer City.


    The red mist came through the grates and holes in the ground, and the Outer City barely had any holes.


    The only holes were the toilets, and not much red mist could get through there.


    On the edge between the Dregs and the Outer City was a wall of red mist that was rising upward.


    From time to time, red faces seemed to appear in the mist, but they were not nearly as numerous as the red faces in the Crimson Sea itself.


    BOOOOOOOM!


    The floor shook again, and the people ran closer to the Inner City.


    The Crimson Sea exploded upward, its liquid sshing against the floor of the Inner City.


    The governor was surrounded by a halo of fire, and the spear in his hand was rotating rapidly, leaving behind a trail of fire.


    The liquid that was about to hit the floor of the Outer City was burned away as a humongous beam of light swept past it.


    Above the governor was Aria Light, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Kugelblitz, and right now, her entire body was shining like the sun itself.


    Her eyes werepletely white, and she waved a very wide but t sword from side to side.


    The sword almost looked like a white fan.


    Whenever she moved her sword from side to side, a domain of white light extended into the distance, turning the red liquid into red steam.


    There were three more people flying through the air below the city.


    One of them was protecting the enormous shining pir that supported the megastructure.


    The other two were getting rid of the majority of hands and red mist.


    All five Heroes of the city were working together to protect it.


    The governor pulled his spear back and threw it towards the endless red sea.


    BOOOOM!


    Another explosion urred, and the water exploded outward.


    Yet, at the same time, the water around the location seemed to sink further.


    The governor was destroying the floor beneath the sewers.


    He still remembered when Crimson Fungus City had been established.


    Back then, he had only been a Veteran.


    Aegis had found the ruins of an ancient civilization in a round crater.


    The buildings were made of chrome-like metal, and the technology this city ran on was so advanced that Aegis could barely discern a little bit of how it worked.


    For a long time, Aegis researched the ruins.


    Apparently, from what the governor had heard, there were even more ruins below the visible ruins.


    Shockingly, these ruins werepletely different from the ruins on the surface.


    Different architecture.


    Different materials.


    Different technology.


    And there were even more ruins below these ruins!


    All the differentyers of the ruins were separated by a massive wall, which made the ruins deeper down almost impossible to ess.


    Eventually, Aegis established Crimson Fungus City.


    Aside from being a haven for humanity, Crimson Fungus City was also supposed to investigate the ruins.


    The ruins on the surface were not very important since these kinds of ruins were everywhere across the world.


    But the ruins below these ones were of quite some importance since those were rare.


    And the ones below those were even rarer.


    Yet, the only way to ess the deeper ruins was the secret elevator in the middle of the megastructure.


    That was until now.


    The governor used all his power to destroy the floor of the highest level of ruins.


    He couldn''t give less of a shit about the secrets of past civilizations when his people were dying in the thousands!


    The Crimson Sea advanced more and more in power as the red liquidprised of former humans flowed down.


    Its arms extended more and more towards the sky.


    Because of that, the governor had decided to destroy the floor of the ruin.


    He had destroyed the floor in many ces, and the Crimson Sea was sinking further and further.


    Theughing faces seemed to mock him endlessly as he kept attacking.


    Each attack created humongous explosions and shook the entire foundation of the city.


    Luckily, the megastructure was on top of the biggest structure of the ruins.


    The materials of the ruins on the highestyer were so hard that they could only be damaged by powerful Veterans.


    While such materials weren''t unconventional, it was almost unheard of to have an entire city made out of them.


    Even more surprising was that the materials of the ruins below these were even harder!


    And most shocking of all was that these materials hadn''t been produced with Zephyx!


    Aegis had no idea how such powerful materials could be created without the use of Zephyx.


    Luckily, this meant that the megastructure was extremely stable.


    Its foundation was even more robust than itself, and the foundation of this foundation was even harder!


    CRRRRR!


    The people on the edge of the Outer City ran towards the Inner City as the floor and building began to creak and crack.


    As the governor destroyed more and more of the ruins, more and more foundations supporting the Outer City were destroyed.


    The further away one was from the Inner City, the shakier and riskier things got.


    Some minutester, the true appearance of Crimson Fungus City was unveiled.


    When looking at it from a distance, one could see the megastructure, which had the form of an elliptical pyramid.


    In a way, it looked like a spearhead.


    Below the megastructure was an amalgamation of dense, chrome-like materials that had beenpressed into a round cylinder.


    This foundation was supporting the megastructure.


    More and more chrome-like buildings were unveiled as the Crimson Sea sunk through enormous holes in the ruins.


    Parts of the Outer City were copsing, falling into the ruins that were slowly revealed.


    And amongst these parts was a huge building.


    Dark Dream.


    The metal under the building shook and cracked.


    And then, it broke.


    The building started to fall.

 Chapter 291 291 – Traitor!

    <h4>Chapter 291 Chapter 291 ¨C Traitor! </h4>


    ?291 Chapter 291 ¨C Traitor!


    "ARIA!"


    The brightly shining woman looked at the person who had just shouted at her from one of the floor grates of the Outer City.


    It was Wyntor.


    Right now, Wyntor was pointing at the shaking building that was Dark Dream.


    Aria furrowed her brows.


    Dark Dream was apetitor.


    However, that thought only survived for a split second.


    ''If Dark Dream falls into the red sea, it will consume all the Specters inside it and be even stronger!'' Aria thought.


    Aria shot through the air and stopped below the building.


    Dark Dream was copsing and falling right on her!


    Whooom!


    Yet, Aria just stretched her hand upward, and a domain of light encased the building.


    Shockingly, the building stopped falling, and Aria calmly hovered below it.


    The governor looked over and saw what Aria was doing.


    After he realized the reason behind her action, the governor nodded.


    Aria nodded back and lifted the building further upward.


    Then, she looked for a good location and gently put the building on top of another building.


    Luckily, the building''s foundation was extremely solid, and Dark Dream''s building was also made out of very durable steel.


    If these buildings were made of stone, this would never have worked.


    Taking a multi-story building made of heavy steel and casually lifting it into the air¡­


    This was the power of a Hero.


    A momentter, she flew back to support the governor.


    "HAHAHAHAHA!"


    By now, the arms extended into the air for over 40 meters, and even the powerful Experts felt terror when looking at them.


    While it was extremely difficult to kill and contain the Crimson Sea, its actual power hadn''t been dangerous to even Veterans at the beginning.


    After all, it had only been an Adolescent.


    But now, every bloody hand made the Experts fear for their lives, even though they weren''t even close to them.


    The Crimson Sea had already killed thousands of people, and it had grown massively!


    While the normal people were busy hiding in the city, the guards were looking at what was happening below the city through the holes in the floor.


    From time to time, they saw people zip by andunch an attack at the endless red sea.


    It was almost like they were fighting against hell itself!


    Sometimes, people couldn''t flee quickly enough, and they fell into the red sea together with the copsing buildings.


    The fight continued.


    The governor had destroyed the majority of the firstyers of ruins below the city by now, and the Crimson Sea was now around 80 meters away from the actual city.


    The arms could only stretch for about 40 meters.


    The copse of the city had slowed down.


    Fortunately, the outer walls of the ruins were made of the same material as the ruins themselves, which meant that the Crimson Sea couldn''t escape.


    The governor took a deep breath.


    They were regaining control over the city.


    He threw a nce at the megastructure.


    It was stable and still holding.


    The Crimson Sea wasn''t damaging the foundation in any way.


    However, everything was still filled with red mist.


    The governor and the other Heroes didn''t care about the mist since it couldn''t even injure them, but the same thing wasn''t true for the other people.


    It seemed like they had to learn to live with the red mist until they could find a permanent solution for the Crimson Sea.


    Force Specters were extremely difficult to kill and suppress, and the Crimson Sea wasn''t different.


    Even though the governor was many times stronger, that didn''t help a lot.


    Dealing with Force Specters required very special equipment and special methods.


    Luckily, the city was still safe.


    "TRAITOR!"


    The governor looked back when he heard someone scream in absolute rage.


    Then, he saw something he would have never expected.


    In front of a big hole stood Kallum Sondur, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of the Spartans.


    And many meters below him, in the process of falling, was his friend.


    It was a man with red hair who was carrying a spear on his back.


    John Keyweather, Kallum Sondur, and this man had been the three founders of the Spartans.


    But now, Kallum was looking at the falling person with eyes filled with hatred, desperation, and rage.


    The person who had shouted was the one who was currently falling right toward the Crimson Sea.


    "This is all because of you!" Kallum shouted after the falling person with rage.


    The falling man raised his hands towards the distant Kallum.


    The next moment, a bracelet on his arm began to shine, and his entire arm turned ck.


    Eyes appeared in the ckness of his arm, and they all looked at the distant Kallum.


    And then, his arm suddenly expanded towards Kallum with frightening speed!


    Kallum''s eyes widened in shock.


    He knew that the bracelet had scary powers, but he hadn''t thought it could do that!


    About a year ago, the man with the red hair had found the bracelet in the Inner City.


    It was a Specter, and it gave Extractors power in exchange for a service.


    Sometimes, it wanted to consume Extractors.


    Other times, it just wanted someone to suffer.


    The bracelet always told them what it wanted, and when it got what it wanted, it bestowed a crazy amount of strength and Zephyx to the person wearing it.


    Thetest task was to capture Dark Dream''s Chief Zephyx Extractor alive.


    The Spartans had believed that the bracelet was a Possession Specter without any sort of consciousness or battle strength.


    But now, it had suddenly transformed into something that seemed very alive!


    Because of that, Kallum didn''t manage to react in time.


    The elongated ck w grabbed his head and pulled him down with the red-haired man.


    An instantter, the red-haired man was grabbed by the red handsing out of the Crimson Sea.


    The eyes inside the ck arm all turned to look at the hand that had just grabbed the man, and a momentter, the bracelet left the man''s arm.


    The bracelet vanished, and a ck figure with ws and wings appeared.


    At the same time, one of the hands also grabbed the falling Kallum.


    Everything had happened in less than two seconds, and the governor was still watching in shock.


    What was this ck figure?!


    A Specter?!


    That was when he remembered what Kallum had said earlier.


    Kallum had said that a ck figure had killed John Keyweather!


    Was this the one?


    Was this ck Specter the one that had released the Crimson Sea?!

 Chapter 292 292 – Crimson

    <h4>Chapter 292 Chapter 292 ¨C Crimson</h4>


    ?292 Chapter 292 ¨C Crimson


    The ck figure pped its wings and jumped away from the red hands.


    Apparently, it did not want to get close to any of the hands.


    The governor put his spear to the side.


    He would capture the Specter alive and interrogate it!


    CRACK!


    Time seemed to stand still.


    Everyone looked with shock at one of the red hands that had suddenly exploded forward to grab the ck Specter!


    The governor immediately took out his spear again and struck forward.


    WHOOOOM!


    The thousands of red hands were severed, including the one that held the ck Specter.


    But then, the red hands turned into red liquid.


    The red liquid epassed the red-haired man, Kallum, and the ck Specter.


    And they dissolved.


    "HAHAHAHAHA!"


    Theughter of the Crimson Sea seemed to be louder and brighter.


    "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


    And even louder.


    "HAHAHAHAHA-"


    And then, it suddenly stopped.


    Silence.


    A momentter, all the hands seemed to copse and fall into the sea.


    The faces in the Crimson Sea vanished.


    The Crimson Sea stopped moving.


    Right now, it just looked like a smooth sheet of red metal below the city.


    A moment of silence passed.


    And then, everything below the city seemed to turn red.


    Eyes!


    Millions of eyes opened on the surface of the Crimson Sea!


    In silence, the Crimson Sea was staring at Crimson Fungus City.


    The governor realized with horror what had happened.


    The Crimson Sea had advanced again!


    It was now a Fanatic!


    "Hahaha!"


    Suddenly, somebodyughed, but it was not the Crimson Sea.


    A man had suddenly jumped off the edge of the Outer City!


    He was the one who wasughing!


    "Hahaha!"


    "Hahaha!"


    "Hahaha!"


    More and more people started tough as they jumped off the edges of the city, right towards the Crimson Sea.


    A mere momentter, over 200 people were falling towards the Crimson Sea.


    "Catch them!" the governor shouted.


    The governor and the other Heroes quickly grabbed as many people as they could, but they could only hold so many people at once.


    On top of that, they couldn''t elerate or decelerate quickly since the g-forces would kill the people.


    In the end, the majority of peoplended in the Crimson Sea.


    Every person perfectlynded in the middle of one of the eyes.


    "It has the ability to control minds now! Do not look into the eyes!" Aria Light shouted at the people of the city.


    Everyone who thought about looking at the Crimson Sea immediately recoiled in horror.


    They didn''t dare to look at what was going on beneath them anymore.


    Suddenly, the millions of eyes gathered together into 100 huge eyes, every eye nearly a hundred meters wide.


    Luckily, none of the normal people were watching anymore, and the power of the Crimson Sea didn''t seem to work without eye contact.


    "Hahaha!"


    The governor felt the hair on his neck stand up as he heardughter from close by.


    Then, he watched four Experts jumping towards the Crimson Sea!


    For a moment, the governor couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    The Crimson Sea could even manipte Experts?!


    Luckily, Experts were not as fragile as normal people, and the governor could intercept the three of them easily.


    "No one is allowed to look at the red sea! That includes all guards!" the governor shouted solemnly.


    Everyone immediately turned away.


    Meanwhile, the Heroes gathered beside the governor.


    All five of them were hovering between the city and the Crimson Sea.


    Luckily, as Heroes, they were far more powerful than the Crimson Sea.


    After about five seconds of silence, the eyes gathered again.


    Now, there were five eyes left.


    And the five eyes all focused on the five people hovering above them.


    Silence.


    For several seconds, the Heroes and the Crimson Sea just looked at each other.


    Even though the Heroes had met many Specters in their lives, this one was definitely one of the scariest.


    The way the eyes were staring at them made them think that the Crimson Sea was sentient.


    Yet, they were certain that it wasn''t.


    This was all just instinct.


    The five of them were the only beings the eyes could see, which was why they only looked at them.


    Luckily, they were far stronger than the Crimson Sea.


    Its ability had no effect on them.


    But then, the five eyes gathered again.


    And in the end, only one enormous eye was left.


    The eye covered almost the entire Crimson Sea, and the pupil almost perfectly epassed the round shape of Crimson Fungus City''s foundation.


    When looking at everything from above, one would see Crimson Fungus City stabbing out of the middle of the humongous eye.


    Silence.


    The arms and theughing faces had vanished, but the red mist was stilling out of the Crimson Sea.


    The red mist was slowly rising from around the city.


    From far away, it looked like a wavy pir of red.


    From inside the city, it looked like a wall of red smoke.


    The entire Dregs had copsed.


    Over half of the Outer City had copsed.


    Only about a kilometer of Outer City stretched out from around the Inner City before breaking off into a domain of red smoke.


    The domain of red smoke was almost two kilometers wide and epassed the domain outside the new Outer City.


    For now, nobody could ess the outer world from the city and vice versa.


    The singr eye just silently and motionlessly stared at the city above it.


    The sewers were gone.


    The underground was gone.


    Instead of ck water in a dark and disgusting ce, there was now a silent and motionless red eye.


    The underside of the city was illuminated in an ominous crimson glow.


    Looking below the floor was forbidden now.


    Anyone who dared to poke a hole into the ground to look would die.


    Even though the governor had saved many people from their jumps into the Crimson Sea, they would never return to their normal selves.


    They continuedughing.


    They didn''t even stop to inhale.


    Theughing only stopped when they died of asphyxiation.

 Chapter 293 293 – Red Wall

    <h4>Chapter 293 Chapter 293 ¨C Red Wall </h4>


    ?Silence.


    There was no wind.


    The air stoodpletely still, and the sun shone down from above.


    A red wall of waving and moving mist was in front.


    Nick just looked at the red wall from the roof of a building without saying anything.


    The Dregs were gone.


    The Dregs had been consumed by the red mist before they copsed into the abyss below the city.


    So many people had died.


    When the red mist had appeared, Nick had watched with horror as the people of the Dregs had been killed.


    Thousands of people had died.


    After a while, Nick had to go further toward the Inner City since even parts of the Outer City were copsing.


    However, he hadn''t truly been in danger.


    Even though everything around him had been copsing, he never felt like he had been in danger.


    After all, he could just jump from building to building.


    Yet, all the normal people didn''t have that luxury.


    A random piece of metal that got disconnected from another piece of metal had enough power to break bones.


    While Nick wasn''t in danger, the normal people were fighting for their lives.


    At least the worst had passed.


    For the past 20 minutes, nothing crazy had happened.


    The people were slowly recovering and trying to deal with their new situation.


    About 800 people from the Dregs had arrived in the Outer City.


    Nick didn''t know if the people who had fled to the city walls survived.


    Right now, guards were patrolling around the current Outer City, making sure that nobody was causing any trouble.


    Crimson Fungus City had changed drastically.


    People could move, but houses couldn''t.


    All the metal of the Dregs and even a big chunk of the Outer City had copsed, which added up to about 60% of the entire area outside the Inner City.


    Yet, over 80% of people had survived.


    While metal had been extremely cheap and houses had been abundant in the past, these things were now rare and valuable.


    Almost all the houses in the Outer City were already upied.


    Together with the disced people from the copsed Outer City, there were now around 2,000 people without a home.


    The people in the Dregs had lived a brutal and cutthroat lifestyle, but they hadn''t been homeless.


    Things were different now.


    Groups upon groups of refugees were scattered across the Outer City now.


    Their future looked bleak.


    Nick had already seen Nurse Alice more than once today.


    Thest two hours reyed in Nick''s head again and again.


    He had infiltrated the Spartans and had dealt them tremendous damage.


    Then, he had freed an Adolescent Force Specter.


    Sure, it was difficult to capture a Force Specter, but this one had just been an Adolescent.


    As soon as the Force Specter broke out of the building, tons of powerful guards would suppress it.


    What could an Adolescent do against 50 Veterans and over 10 Experts?


    And sure enough, Nick hadn''t seen anything major happen in over 20 minutes.


    He had even had enough time to change his clothing and to deliver the Shadow Shroud to Wyntor in Dark Dream.


    After that, he had juste out to rx.


    And then, all of this happened.


    In the beginning, Nick hadn''t even been sure if this was truly the doing of that red Specter he had let out.


    Only when he had looked at the hands and the faces of the red abyss did he truly realize that this was the doing of the Specter he had released.


    But how?


    It was only an Adolescent!


    At most, it would eat enough to be an Adult, but that still wouldn''t be enough to do any significant damage.


    After all, the city had Experts, Specialists, and even Heroes.


    How had things turned out this way?


    How could releasing an Adolescent cause so much damage when it was surrounded by the entire power of the city?


    Not even level six Specters could run rampant here.


    It was difficult for Nick to connect his actions to the current state of the city.


    If it was so hard to suppress the Crimson Sea, how did the Spartans even capture it?


    ''I just released a rtively harmless Specter to cover my retreat and to cause a bit of chaos to the Spartans,'' Nick thought as he looked at the red wall with a concerned expression.


    ''And now, thousands of people died.''


    ''I wanted to save the Dregs.''


    ''But now, I destroyed the Dregs.''


    Nick just kept looking at the red wall.


    If the Dregs were still there, he would be looking at them right now.


    Everything was gone.


    "Boss, finally!"


    Nick didn''t turn to look at Jenny, who had justnded on the roof behind Nick.


    Jenny looked at Nick with a mix of frustration, anger, and panic. "What are you doing here?! Dark Dream is in chaos! We need you!"


    When Nick heard that, he furrowed his brows in worry.


    Dark Dream.


    Nick had just been responsible for thousands of innocent people dying.


    Why would he give a shit about work right now?


    When Jenny saw Nick''sck of a reaction, she gritted her teeth.


    "Nick," she shouted, using Nick''s name for once. "This is a bad time for everyone! We are all suffering!"


    "We all want to cry, but we have to deal with the urgent things first! Everyone else is currently doing their best to fix Dark Dream! As our Boss, you have to be an example to all of us and help as well!" Jenny shouted.


    She was angry that Nick became unresponsive during a moment of crisis.


    She always believed Nick to be reliable and responsible during a crisis.


    But, apparently, he wasn''t.


    Instead of helping like everyone else, he was just looking at the destroyed city.


    She was disappointed in Nick.


    Nick took a shaky breath.


    Then, he quickly shook his head and stood up.


    "Sorry," he said in a distracted tone. "What do you need?"


    "Come, I''ll show you where our office is now," Jenny said.


    Nick didn''t even ask about what Jenny meant.


    His mind was upied with other things.


    "Mr. Melfion is currently talking with the other Manufacturers and the city. I''m busy dealing with our remaining Extractors, and we need somebody to lead us until Mr. Melfion is back."


    Nick followed after Jenny, his mind distracted.


    "Where''s Trevor?" Nick asked absentmindedly.


    "He jumped."

 Chapter 294 294 – Assessing

    <h4>Chapter 294 Chapter 294 ¨C Assessing</h4>


    ?"That''s bad," Nick said absentmindedly.


    Jenny narrowed her eyes in rage and turned back to look at Nick.


    "Do you know what I mean?" she asked.


    "Yes," Nick said as he looked back with a neutral expression. "He jumped into the red Specter and died, right?"


    Jenny''s eyes became filled with fury, but instead of saying anything, she just kept quiet and continued going towards Dark Dream''s new location.


    Jenny had known Nick for over four years now, and she had always believed him to be reliable, dependable, nice, and empathetic.


    Yet, people only showed their true selves when they were in desperation.


    A loving mother might hold her child in front of her when a threat appeared.


    A strong man might run away and leave his family behind.


    A strict mother might protect her child with her own body.


    A weak man might fight a seemingly immortal foe to buy time for his friends and family.


    And Nick?


    He was always nice, strong, and dependable, but as soon as things became terrible, he just wallowed in self-pity.


    And when one of his closest friends died, he just gave a nonchnt response like he had just been told about the weather tomorrow.


    Jenny had believed that Nick cared about them.


    But obviously, he didn''t.


    She thought that Nick was different from all the other Manufacturers.


    In her career, she had heard a lot about other Manufacturers, and she always despised how cold and apathetic they were.


    She had always been happy that Dark Dream was different.


    But now, she only felt like a clown.


    Different?


    Of course not.


    Dark Dream was just like all the other Manufacturers.


    They were only interested in profits.


    Maybe she should reconsider the offers from other Manufacturers she had declined in the past.


    Nick silently followed Jenny for a bit.


    Eventually, the two of them arrived near the Inner City.


    Dark Dream''s building was sitting on top of three other buildings, and it was currently leaning against the megastructure.


    Luckily, Containment Units didn''t break easily, and Aria had been careful when putting down the building.


    In front of the building was a group of people.


    There were 13 Extractors and around 20 normal people.


    "I gathered all the Extractors," Jenny told Nick in a professional tone. "There might be more that survived, but these are the only ones we could find."


    13.


    There used to be 24 in Dark Dream.


    Nick absentmindedly looked at the people.


    A lot of the people he was familiar with weren''t there.


    For example, Jonathan and Cryon were missing.


    Yet, Nick just didn''t think about them.


    How were they any different from the thousands of other people he had just killed?


    What was the point of all of this?


    "What about the Specters?" Nick asked emotionlessly.


    "I didn''t see any breaches, but I didn''t look closely," Jenny said with a polite tone. "There are several Specters in the building that can kill me, and I believed it would be foolish for me to enter on my own."


    Nick just absentmindedly nodded and jumped towards the entrance of the building.


    "I''ll check," he said.


    The employees looked with worry at Nick, who entered the building.


    They were uncertain about their futures.


    Walking through the building wasn''t easy since it was leaning against the megastructure, making the floor very uneven.


    When he entered the lobby, Nick saw a couple of blood stters, and a momentter, he saw a corpse.


    It was one of the clerks.


    Her back was at an unnatural angle, and her body leaned on the wall.


    When the building had been falling, it had spun a bit.


    Most likely, the clerk had died during that.


    Nick looked at the body for a bit before going to the staircase and walking to the second floor.


    On the second floor, Nick immediately saw a huge hole in one of the Containment Units.


    However, he wasn''t very worried.


    Nick walked over and climbed through the hole.


    The "bottom" of the Containment Unit was covered in rubble, but there was one thing that was different.


    Several white arms were trying to push the rubble away, but they weren''t strong enough.


    This was the Containment Unit of the Screaming Coffin, and it was the least durable one in the building.


    Nick went to one of the rooms at the side of the floor and retrieved some rope and some equipment.


    Then, he jumped into the Containment Unit and freed the Screaming Coffin from all the rubble.


    Of course, as soon as the Screaming Coffin was free, it tried to consume Nick.


    Nick just tore all its arms out and put plenty of rope around it.


    Finally, Nick just put the Screaming Coffin on his back and carried it like a backpack.


    Next, Nick entered one of the other Containment Units and checked for holes.


    Luckily, there were none.


    The only thing he found was a pair of sses lying in the corner of the Containment Unit, which was to be expected.


    The Can''s Containment Unit also didn''t have any issues.


    The Dung Heap was quite upset and sloshing around, but there were also no holes there.


    After that, Nick went to the third floor.


    The floor was covered in blood.


    The distant wailing of a woman echoed throughout the floor.


    The next moment, Nick could see a white silhouette slowlying from around the corner.


    It was a bleeding woman, and she seemed quite upset.


    Nick just walked towards her calmly.


    "Did your home break?" Nick asked.


    The Bleeding Lady just looked at the floor, still crying.


    "Let me see," Nick said.


    Then, Nick went to the Bleeding Lady''s Containment Unit, and sure enough, one of the support beams had rammed through the walls of the Containment Unit.


    "Ah, I see," Nick said.


    Then, he walked to another one and pressed a couple of buttons on the console.


    "This will be a bit loud. Don''t worry. It''s supposed to be this loud."


    Nick pressed one button, and the entire floor started to resound with a loud rm.


    The Bleeding Lady seemed to get more agitated, but Nick just looked at the Containment Unit that was slowly opening.


    A bitter, the Containment Unit opened, and Nick pointed inside.


    "Here you go. You can paint it red if you want," Nick said.


    The Bleeding Lady just shook a bit.


    And then, she slowly walked into the new Containment Unit.


    A momentter, Nick just closed the Containment Unit again and resumed his tour.

 Chapter 295 295 – Status

    <h4>Chapter 295 Chapter 295 ¨C Status </h4>


    ?After the Bleeding Lady entered her new Containment Unit, Nick checked the next one.


    Everything seemed to be in order.


    The only thing in the Containment Unit was a distressed puppy.


    Nick just petted it for a bit before leaving.


    "Did your Containment Unit get damaged?" Nick asked the Money Sink, who was just leaning on a wall.


    "No," she answered. "What happened?"


    "An Adolescent Force Specter broke out and destroyed the Dregs and about half of the Outer City," Nick answered absentmindedly.


    "Am I in danger?" the Money Sink asked.


    "No, everything has already calmed down again," Nick said. "In fact, you''re very safe in here. The outside has be much more dangerous for Specters now."


    "There was a big announcement earlier. Apparently, everyone who looks at the new Specter will jump into it. They even said that it eats other Specters."


    The Money Sink furrowed her brows. "A Specter that eats other Specters. I''ve never heard of something like that."


    "It''s a big red sea," Nick said. "It reced the sewers. Want to take a look?"


    The Money Sink just looked at Nick with a neutral expression. "Didn''t you just say that taking a look would kill me?"


    "Yes," Nick said with a neutral voice. "It''s a joke. Ha ha."


    The Money Sink just looked at Nick with an even expression.


    "Alright, bye," Nick said before he exited the Containment Unit again.


    Nick walked up to the fourth floor and opened the door.


    BANG!


    Immediately, a red blur shot at Nick.


    BANG!


    But Nick just pped it.


    The red blur hit the wall andnded on the ground.


    ''The Blood Hawk broke out,'' Nick thought, looking at the red hawk.


    In the distance, Nick could also hear something heavy hitting the walls again and again.


    Nick walked over to the Blood Hawk, grabbed its throat, and carried it with him.


    The Blood Hawk tried to break out, but it was helplessly inferior to Nick.


    After rounding a corner, Nick saw a hole in the Blood Horse''s Containment Unit.


    However, the hole wasn''t big enough for it to fit through, and it was doing its best to widen the hole.


    Sadly, even though there already was a hole there, the Blood Horse''s power wasn''t nearly enough to widen it.


    Nick entered the Blood Horse''s Containment Unit and punched it once.


    Then, Nick took a metallic cord out from the equipment he had gotten earlier and put it around the Blood Horse.


    That was a Zephyx Suppressor, and it would keep the Blood Horse''s power suppressed for about six hours.


    Nick just wanted to make sure that it didn''t escape.


    After leaving the Containment Unit, Nick looked at the other ones on this floor.


    All of them were damaged.


    This floor had been reserved for the Newbies, and the Containment Units here were all pretty cheap.


    Sadly, this meant that none of them survived.


    Nick had no other choice but to carry the Blood Hawk with him to the fifth floor.


    Luckily, everything was fine on the fifth floor.


    Neither the Lover nor the Dreamer escaped.


    The Containment Units up here were also far more expensive.


    Nick opened one of them and threw the Blood Hawk into it.


    Then, he opened the other free one and dumped the Screaming Coffin.


    Lastly, Nick went to the sixth floor.


    Just as expected, the Fog didn''t break out.


    The Fog''s Containment Unit was by far the most expensive and durable one.


    The Zephyx fueling the Containment Unit also wasn''t an issue.


    After Nick had escaped from the Spartans, he had gotten rid of the 2.5 kg of Zephyx he had taken by simply adding them to the supply here.


    Lastly, Nick checked the seventh floor.


    Almost everything was destroyed, but that wasn''t a big deal.


    At least all of the Specters were contained again.


    Three Specters escaped, and one was stuck in a damaged Containment Unit.


    This could have been way worse.


    In silence, Nick looked at the destroyed seventh floor.


    With the urgent things dealt with, Nick had a quiet moment to himself.


    Everything felt like a dream.


    It just felt like everything that happened within thest hours was just some dream.


    Had these things truly happened?


    Had Nick really done all these terrible things?


    It just didn''t feel real.


    It was like Nick was navigating a dream or a fantastical scenario he had made up in his mind.


    Eventually, Nick just turned around and walked down the stairs again.


    When he exited the building, all the employees looked at Nick with worry.


    Nick also saw three new people in the group.


    Three guards.


    All Veterans.


    Nick jumped down from the entrance andnded in front of them.


    The leading guard nodded. "Are you the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream?" the guard asked.


    "Yes," Nick answered.


    "What is the status of the Containment Units?" the guard asked.


    "Six damaged Containment Units," Nick said.


    When the employees heard that, they felt a cold shudder run down their backs.


    They were very happy that Jenny hadn''t told them to go in.


    "But only four of them were upied," Nick added.


    "What about the four Specters?" the guard asked.


    "We had a couple of spare Containment Units," Nick said nonchntly. "I dumped three of them in stronger ones. Sadly, I don''t have one for thest one, but that''s not that big of an issue in the short term. It''s a Late Hatchling Physical Specter, and I put a Zephyx Suppressor around it."


    The guard furrowed his brows.


    "Please, show us," the guard said.


    Nick just gestured to the entrance. "Come with me, then."


    Nick and the three guards jumped into the building, and Nick showed them all the floors.


    The guards checked the monitors and Containment Units, and sure enough, the only problematic one was the one with the Blood Horse.


    A bitter, Nick and the three guards gathered in front of the building again.


    "Thank you," the leading guard said with less severity in his voice. "We''re going to send someone to repair one of the Containment Units on the fourth floor. Expect them within the next five hours. Until then, please keep an eye on the suppressed Specter."


    Nick nodded.


    Then, all the guards jumped away.

 Chapter 296 296 – Busy

    <h4>Chapter 296 Chapter 296 ¨C Busy</h4>


    ?Nick just absentmindedly watched the guards leave.


    Then, he looked back at the building, which was leaning against the megastructure.


    It still was difficult for him to ept that all of this had happened.


    "Boss?"


    Nick looked back at his employees.


    ''Right, I should probably give some orders,'' Nick thought.


    "Take the next day off," Nick said. "You cane back the day after tomorrow during the morning. I will tell you what to do then."


    Most of the people thanked Nick and quickly ran away.


    Almost all of them had some loved ones, and they were quite worried about them.


    The only reason why they had even showed up was to make sure that they still had a job and that the Specters didn''t escape.


    Jenny threw a neutral nce at Nick before she also left.


    After some time, Nick was left alone.


    For a couple of minutes, Nick just aimlessly stood in the middle of the street, looking around.


    Eventually, he jumped to the entrance of Dark Dream''s building again and sat down.


    The building was tilted by about 20¡ã, which made it a bit awkward sitting there, but Nick didn''t care.


    He just looked at the city from his elevated position.


    The city''s atmosphere had changed so much.


    The feeling the old city gave people was one of hidden and distant danger.


    Now, it gave a feeling of immediate threat and danger.


    The main contributor was the red mist surrounding the city like a wall.


    Over half an hour had passed since the incident, and the people were slowlying to terms with their new situation.


    Slowly, the shocked silence turned into heartbroken crying and aggressive shouting.


    The refugees were crying in desperation, and the people who were living here were slowly starting to shout in anger.


    They wouldn''t share their houses with these dirty people!


    Of course, there were also some people who wanted to help everyone, but those people were in the minority.


    As more minutes passed, one scuffle after the other broke out.


    People were ming each other.


    When humans felt like something unjust happened to them, they very quickly tried to find someone that they could me for this injustice.


    Sadly, nobody in the Outer City knew what had happened yet.


    ''I know whom they can me,'' Nick thought with self-ridicule.


    For a while, Nick just sat there.


    Over the next hours, a couple of missing employees showed up, but Nick just sent them away.


    Eventually, Nick felt like he needed something to do and decided to clean the inside of the building a bit.


    His first order of business was to feed the clerk''s corpse to the Screaming Coffin.


    After that, Nick grabbed the biggest pieces of rubble and moved them out of the building.


    Of course, cleaning the entire building was way too big of a task, and he barely made any progress over several hours.


    By now, a huge pile of debris had gathered below the building''s entrance, but Nick just felt like the rubble inside the building was endless.


    While Nick was cleaning the building, he constantly thought about the city, but it still didn''t feel real.


    At some point, Nick saw a couple of people waiting in front of the entrance.


    They were the people sent to repair one of the Containment Units.


    Nick brought them in and showed them the fourth floor.


    After a while, the people decided to repair one of the unupied Containment Units.


    Over the next hours, the people managed to repair it, and Nick transported the Blood Horse into the repaired Containment Unit.


    With that, all the Specters were officially contained again.


    The repair people left, and Nick was left alone again.


    By now, it was already morning again.


    Nick was still cleaning the building.


    At 8 a.m., one of Wyntor''s people showed up to tell Nick that Wyntor was still stuck in meetings.


    Apparently, he was talking to a crazy number of people because of many different things.


    Nick gave the man a rundown of what had happened in Dark Dream, and the guy left to tell Wyntor.


    More hours passed, and Nick was still busy cleaning the building.


    He didn''t drink, eat, or sleep.


    He was just cleaning the building absentmindedly.


    At 12 p.m., one of Wyntor''s people showed up again with a message.


    "Sir says that he has done his best, but he couldn''t get an exception for you," the man said.


    "Exception for what?" Nick asked.


    The man looked a bit surprised about that question.


    "The undercity work," the man said. "Sir didn''t get an exception for you, but you only have to do it oncepared to all the other Zephyx Extractors."


    "Sir has already dealt with the matter of security for thepany. When the guardse to take you, just follow their orders. You don''t have to worry about Dark Dream."


    "Sir also said that he will contact you personally when he finds the time."


    "He also told me to tell you that you shouldn''t do anything drastic and that the only reason why he could talk with so many people in such a short time was that he trusts you with Dark Dream in his absence."


    Nick''s expression turned a bit ufortable.


    "Thanks," Nick said.


    The man nodded and left Nick again.


    He still didn''t know what undercity work was, but it didn''t seem that important to Nick right now.


    In fact, nothing seemed important.


    What was the point of doing any of these things when he might as well be dead soon?


    Whenever Nick thought about the fact that the state of the city was his fault, he felt a deep feeling of foreboding.


    His heart was telling him that this was dangerous.


    It was like Nick was hiding from an extremely powerful Specter.


    Nick''s heart was telling him that he would die if he confronted the Specter.


    In the same way, Nick felt like he would die if he confronted the things that had happened yesterday.


    Absentmindedly, his mind went out to the foreign ball of Zephyx in his neck.


    The dangerous and explosive warmth of the foreign Zephyx calmed Nick down.


    If he just touched it¡­


    If he just moved it a bit¡­

 Chapter 297 297 – Outsider

    <h4>Chapter 297 Chapter 297 ¨C Outsider </h4>


    ?"Nick Nick, Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream?"


    Two Veterans working for the city arrived in front of Dark Dream and confronted Nick when he brought out yet another piece of rubble.


    "Yes, that''s me," Nick said neutrally.


    One of the guards handed over a sheet of paper, and Nick read through it.


    It was a written order signed by the governor.


    Nick was ordered to contact the guards at the southern entrance of the Inner City at 6 p.m. today.


    He was ordered to work one shift in the undercity.


    Nick looked at the clock and realized that it was already 5:30 p.m.


    "We will watch over thepany in your absence," one of the guards said with annoyance.


    Obviously, he wasn''t happy that he had to stand guard in front of Dark Dream for a couple of hours.


    Nick put the sheet of paper into one of his pockets and nodded. "Then, I will be going now."


    The two guards didn''t say anything and just went to the entrance of Dark Dream.


    Nick still didn''t know what undercity work was supposed to be, but he also didn''t care that much about it.


    He didn''t wait and immediately went to the southern entrance of the Inner City.


    As Nick traveled through the streets, he saw many people sitting outside.


    They were refugees, and they had lost everything.


    Nick also saw a ridiculous number of guards.


    He guessed that the governor had probably ordered all the guards to work overtime during this moment of crisis.


    Many of the people were walking through the streets in groups, and they were constantly throwing suspicious nces at the people sitting in the streets.


    Nick ignored all of the people while he was traveling through the streets.


    Eventually, Nick arrived at the southern entrance of the Inner City.


    When he arrived, he saw a group of 20 Extractors waiting at the side.


    Most of them belonged to Ghosty''s Lab, but there were also many from Anatomy.


    Surprisingly, every single one of them was a level two Extractor.


    Nick ignored them for now and walked up to one of the guards.


    There were about five times as many guards near this entrance as normal, and they all looked at Nick warily.


    Nick even noticed that several guns were directly pointed at him, which was unusual.


    When the guard read through the sheet of paper, he started to frown.


    Then, he snorted.


    "Lucky bastard," hemented before putting a stamp on the sheet of paper.


    Nick took the sheet of paper back, and the guard motioned for him to join the group of Extractors at the side.


    Nick didn''t answer and just walked to the side, joining the other Extractors.


    "Hey, you!"


    Nick met the eyes of one of the Extractors from Anatomy.


    He was a tall and wide man, filled with muscles.


    Behind him, the others were also ncing at Nick.


    "Yes?" Nick asked neutrally.


    "You''re wearing a neutral uniform," the manmented. "Who''s your employer?"


    "Dark Dream," Nick said.


    The man furrowed his brows and looked at someone in the group of Extractors.


    It was Kiara.


    Kiara just nodded. "Yes, he''s our Boss."


    That elicited a small chorus of ohs from the group.


    This was the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream?


    Naturally, almost all of them had heard of Nick.


    Not because of his power but because of theck of it.


    A Chief Zephyx Extractor who was also a John was so strange and abnormal that basically everyone talked about it.


    "Good, you can stay," the big man said.


    Nick was not sure what this was about.


    The city was in charge of everything, and Nick was quite sure that this guy didn''t have any kind of say in all of this.


    Nick didn''t say anything and just walked over to Kiara.


    "Boss," Kiara said in greeting. "I''m sorry that I couldn''t show up yesterday. I¡­ had things to do."


    Nick just nodded. "I understand."


    Silence.


    Some minutester, another Extractor showed up, and the big guy confronted them.


    Just like Nick, this Extractor wore a neutral uniform.


    "Who''s your employer?" the big guy asked.


    "Dark Dream," the woman said.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    He didn''t know this person.


    The big man looked back at Nick.


    "Is that true?" he asked.


    "I don''t know her," Nick said.


    That made everyone look back at the woman with narrowed eyes.


    "I work in a different department!" the woman shouted in anger at Nick. "I''ve also never seen you before, and yet I don''t im that you don''t work for Dark Dream."


    The watching people narrowed their eyes even further at the woman, who got more and more nervous.


    Then, Kiara let out a shortugh.


    "You im you work for Dark Dream, but you don''t even recognize our Chief Zephyx Extractor," she said.


    The woman''s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Nick.


    The tall guy from Anatomy red at the woman.


    Eventually, she walked to the group, but everyone kept a big distance from her.


    It was almost like she had some kind of deadly and contagious disease.


    "What''s this all about?" Nick asked Kiara. "Why are Extractors iming to work for us?"


    "They''re from the Spartans," Kiara said with disgust. "After all their executives died, the Spartans split up."


    "Everybody knows that the Spartans are the reason for the city''s current state, which is why they try to hide their identities. They wear normal uniforms and im to work for us."


    Nick looked at the isted Extractor while Kiara was talking.


    "She will most likely get into an¡­ ident¡­ter," Kiara said with apathy and disgust.


    Nick looked at the Extractor for a bit more.


    Then, he looked away.


    He didn''t feel bad for her in any way.


    She was a member of the Spartans, and the Spartans had tried to kill Nick.


    The only reason she was still alive was that she wasn''t working while Nick was killing all of them in their building.


    "It''s good that we have their Chief Zephyx Extractor here," the big manmented to one of his friends with augh.


    "At least that guy''s good for something now."

 Chapter 298 298 – Incident

    <h4>Chapter 298 Chapter 298 ¨C Incident</h4>


    ?Usually, Nick wouldn''t care about such ament.


    Yet, when he had heard thatment just now, his insides began to tense with rage, and he narrowed his eyes.


    Naturally, it was to be expected that several people weren''t happy with Nick''s sess.


    He was a John, just like them!


    What made him so special that he got such a prestigious position as Chief Zephyx Extractor?!


    Naturally, envy created resentment, and people wanted to voice that resentment.


    Nick understood all of these things, which was why he usually didn''t care.


    But things were different today.


    Nick had felt apprehensive and apathetic ever since the incident had urred, and the sudden burst of anger was the first real emotion he had felt since then.


    Kiara watched with surprise as Nick walked up to the big man.


    The big man''s friends noticed Nick''s approach and tapped the big guy on the shoulder, who turned to look at Nick with a raised eyebrow.


    Nick stopped in front of the big man and looked into his eyes.


    "What?" the big guy asked with annoyance.


    "What was thatment just now?" Nick asked with a threatening tone.


    The big man looked at Nick with surprise.


    Then, an arrogant and provocative grin appeared on his face.


    "I said that you''re at least good-"


    BOOOOOM!


    BANG!


    A green Barrier appeared before the big man''s body shot towards the walls of the megastructure, hitting them with an explosive sound!


    Everyone looked with shock at the man, who was now on his knees beside the Inner City wall.


    For just a moment, everything was silent.


    Then, the man''s friends turned to Nick aggressively.


    "What the fuck is-"


    But the guy that had just shouted stopped when he saw Nick.


    Nick''s eyes were absolutely bloodshot, and his teeth releasing cracking sounds.


    Everyone immediately had the same thought.


    ''This guy is insane!''


    This was not the expression of a sane and normal person.


    This was the expression of someone who lost all their marbles.


    The pure anger that Nick radiated at this moment made the onlookers feel apprehensive.


    Of course, the fact that his punch was so strong and fast that nobody even saw it yed a role in that.


    Naturally, Nick was quite intimidating as someone who had trained in hand-to-handbat for years while also having killed more than ten people inbat with his bare hands.


    Instead of shouting at Nick, the guy''s friends took some apprehensive steps back while covertly reaching for their weapons.


    "What''s going on over here?!"


    Everyone turned to look at one of the guards.


    Then, they noticed that several guns were now pointed at them.


    Nick nced at the guards.


    His demeanor had already returned to normal.


    It was almost like he hadn''t exploded in anger just now.


    "Nothing," Nick said.


    The guard frowned and looked at the big guy, who was currently walking back.


    The guy looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    "What''s going on?" the guard asked the big guy.


    The guy didn''t look away from Nick.


    "Nothing," he said.


    The guard narrowed his eyes. "You all have to work together today, and I don''t want to see something like this happen again. The next time something like this happens, the aggressor gets their shift doubled!"


    No one answered.


    A momentter, the guards turned and went back to their posts.


    After the guards left, four groups formed.


    One was Nick and Kiara.


    Another one was the big guy and his friends.


    The biggest group was the neutral people.


    And thest group was the lone Extractor from the Spartans.


    Kiara just looked at the big guy''s group without any fear, while Nick ignored them.


    The big guy kept ncing at Nick while he was talking with his friends quietly.


    Nick''s anger had vanished, but it was reced by fear and frustration.


    Nick knew exactly that his destiny had been in the big guy''s hands just now.


    If the big guy hadined to the guards, this incident would blow up.


    If this were just between two Extractors, this wouldn''t be a big deal, but this was between a Chief Zephyx Extractor and a normal Extractor.


    Everything Nick did reflected on Dark Dream and impacted their rtionship with other Manufacturers.


    Sure, the guy had provoked Nick, but that didn''t give Nick a justification for hitting the guy.


    Obviously, Nick had lost control over his anger, and losing control over anger was something that teenagers and stupid people did.


    This was unbing of a Chief Zephyx Extractor since it made Nick appear like a hormonal teenager.


    The fact that the big guy hadn''t told the guards about this saved Nick''s reputation and maybe even his career.


    Nick wasn''t sure why the guy hadn''t blown the incident up.


    Pride?


    Did he feel like running to the guards was a cowardly move?


    Fear?


    The guy would obviously also get some punishment since he had provoked Nick.


    Malice?


    What if he wanted to kill Nick in secret?


    Nick didn''t know.


    No matter what the reason for it was, the guy hadn''t blown the incident up.


    Since the incident hadn''t been blown up, this was just seen as a short conflict between two men.


    They didn''t want others to interfere.


    So the others wouldn''t interfere.


    Some tense minutes passed, and a couple more Extractors appeared.


    In the end, there were 33 Extractors.


    Eventually, a group of three people walked over to the group.


    "Everyone, pay attention, please!" the leading man shouted.


    The Extractors all looked at the man.


    "In five minutes, we will send all of you down into the undercity."


    "If you, at any point, look down, you will die."


    "If you lose your hold, you will die."


    "If you sabotage others, you will die."


    "Am I understood?" the guy said.


    No one answered.


    The leading guy gestured to one of the people beside him, who walked forward and handed out a couple of things.


    Every Extractor received a huge sack, a heavy hammer, and a smaller sack.


    The small sack was filled with nails, and the big sack was filled with grips that could be nailed into walls.


    "For the next four hours, your job is to nail these grips into the underside of the city."

 Chapter 299 299 – Not As Valuable

    <h4>Chapter 299 Chapter 299 ¨C Not As Valuable </h4>


    ?Nick finally found out what undercity work was.


    So, it was putting grips onto the underside of the city.


    The more Nick thought about it, the more sense it actually made.


    They would need to expand the city again at some point, and they couldn''t just attach a singleyer of steel. That would be far too unstable.


    The floor of the outer city was made of threeyers, and all threeyers added together were about a meter thick.


    The upperyer was made of the big metal tes that the people walked on.


    The middleyer was made of big and robust steel beams.


    The loweryer was made of the same metal tes as the upperyer.


    Originally, the entire floor of the Outer City was made of theseyers, but the floor of the Dregs deteriorated over the years.


    Parts of the Dregs had only had a singleyer of metal tes and grates.


    But that didn''t matter anymore.


    The Dregs were destroyed.


    Another reason why the city might want some grips on the bottom of the city was that some people might be able to catch themselves if a part of the floor broke.


    They didn''t need to be able to climb back up to survive.


    They just needed to hang on for a while so that other people could save them.


    Lastly, the stability of the city had changed.


    The Inner City wasn''t any more or less stable than before, but the same thing wasn''t true for the Outer City.


    In the past, many supporting pirs kept the Outer City stable.


    Sadly, over 80% of them had vanished, which was one of the main reasons why so much of the city had copsed.


    Most of the Outer City was hanging onto the support of the Inner City, and due to the lever principle, the further one went from the Inner City, the more dangerous it got.


    How much strain did a metal te put on the city''s support when it was an entire kilometer away from the closest support?


    This meant that the city needed to create diagonal supporting beams.


    Those were beams that connected to the bottom of the big pir and the underside of the city but further away from the central support.


    Bridges used these kinds of support beams very often.


    The city was currently cut off from the outside world, and the first order of business was to reestablish the connection.


    To do that, the city needed to expand again.


    And to expand, the city needed more support.


    And that support needed to be constructed on the city''s underside.


    And to start construction on the city''s underside, people first needed to be able to traverse the underside.


    Aka, the grips.


    Everyone looked at the sacks they had received.


    Most of them had already known what waited for them, but there were still some open questions.


    "Why are we being sent?" one of the Extractors asked with a bit of fear. "Can''t the normal people do this?"


    The older man looked at the Extractor neutrally. "And how are the normal people supposed to survive the red mist?"


    The Extractor''s eyes widened.


    He hadpletely forgotten about that!


    Right, the entire underside was covered in the thick red mist!


    "And how are we supposed to survive that?!" the same Extractor asked in fear.


    "You have Barriers," the man said calmly. "If you don''t have one, you can borrow a standard one with a 2:1 conversion rate."


    "This is madness!" the Extractor shouted. "Our Barriers won''t hold for several hours! Why aren''t the Veterans or Experts doing this?!"


    An annoyed expression appeared on the older man''s face.


    "Because it''s too dangerous," the man said.


    Silence.


    The faces of several Extractors turned white.


    The older man gestured forward, and all the guards pointed their guns at the Extractors.


    These were not just normal guns.


    Additionally, even though a level two Extractor could probably block over five shots with their Barriers, the sheer number of guns ensured that they would die.


    "The physical strength necessary to survive and work down there can only be achieved by level two Extractors," the older man said. "However, it''s not truly safe. If a te copses, even a level three Extractor will fall to their death."


    The older man didn''t say anything else, but his unspoken message was clear.


    The level two Extractors were not worth as much as level three Extractors.


    Someone had to do it, and the Johns had been chosen for this job.


    The Extractors obviously weren''t happy, but the city didn''t care about that.


    They had to work, or they would be executed.


    Several more questions were asked by multiple people, but those mostly pertained to the undercity work.


    Eventually, all the questions had been answered, and the older man left after ordering his assistants to lead the Extractors to their workce.


    The assistants led the Extractors through the entrance of the Inner City.


    Naturally, the Extractors followed without anyints.


    The city was not messing around.


    After they entered the megastructure, they were led into hallways in the megastructure''s walls.


    They followed the hallway for around 300 meters before they stopped in front of a big hole.


    In front of them was a hole that was around five meters wide.


    When Nick saw the hole, he felt his heart rate increase.


    The hole was in the middle of a bigger room, and Nick could see an ominous red glowing out of it.


    It was almost like the hole led right into hell.


    Yet, there was no red mist, strangely enough.


    In the room were three guards, and all three of them wore the uniforms of Veterans.


    The leading assistant told the Extractors to follow him before he jumped into the hole.


    He also assured everyone that they were not in danger yet.


    Nick took a deep breath, and together with a couple other Extractors, he jumped into the hole.


    Since the assistant had said that they were not in danger yet, Nick dared to look down.


    There was a metal te about five meters below him, and everyone easilynded on it.


    Then, Nick looked around.

 Chapter 300 300 – The Underside

    <h4>Chapter 300 Chapter 300 ¨C The Underside</h4>


    ?Nick had been below the city many times in the past, but he couldn''t associate the sewers with what he was currently seeing.


    The group of Extractors found themselves on a big tform, which was directly attached to the megastructure''s support.


    They were directly beside the humongous, chrome-like structure that supported the entire city.


    The tform they were standing on was made of metallic tes that extended to about a distance of ten meters from the central support pir, and from the looks of things, the tformpletely surrounded the pir, making it several kilometers long.


    When Nick looked to the outside, he saw a red world, but it looked quite different than the one Nick saw whenever he looked at the city''s edge.


    When one stood at the city''s edge, the next visible thing that wasn''t red mist was over a kilometer away.


    Because of that, the red mist looked like a red wall.


    But down here, one could look at the city''s underside.


    Nick realized that the red mist wasn''t actually as thick as it had seemed.


    The underside of the city was still visible at a distance of ten meters, but barely.


    At least, this meant that Nick didn''t need to be blind while working.


    The Extractors all looked at the red mist in silence.


    The mist was glowing crimson, and its luminescence changed from time to time.


    Sometimes, it was brighter.


    Sometimes, it was not as bright.


    "Look at the edge of the tform," the assistant said.


    Nick did just that.


    He noticed that the edge of the tform was actually about a meter higher than the ce where Nick was currently standing.


    A couple of tes had been put on the edge of the tform, creating a small wall.


    "We had to construct this divider because of the size of the Crimson Sea," the assistant said.


    "The edge of the Crimson Sea is around 2.5 kilometers away from here, and several people have already died because they saw the very edge of the Crimson Sea."


    "And no, the red mist does not block the view of the Crimson Sea."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Right, a tall person might be able to view the Crimson Sea from this location if there were no divider.


    "From now on, you can''t be careless anymore," the assistant said with severity. "If you see even a tiny part of the Crimson Sea below you, you will die."


    "Don''t even look forward since you might identally catch a glimpse of the Crimson Sea''s edge."


    "Keep your eyes locked onto the city''s underside."


    "We''ve already lost over 20 level two Extractors to the Crimson Sea during construction. It would be for the best if you didn''t join them," the assistant said.


    Naturally, the Extractors were quite nervous.


    Any nce downward, even by ident, would kill them.


    They were terrified.


    "Anthony Hawkins."


    One of the Extractors looked with confusion at the assistant, who had just called him by name.


    "You start from here," the assistant said, pointing at a spot on the ceiling, which already had four grips attached to it.


    The spot was about two meters away from a couple of grips leading into the red world.


    The four grips that were already attached were in a side-by-side position, creating two dders" that were offset.


    If one faced the ceiling while lying down, the first grip would be where one''s left foot ended.


    The second one would be at the right knee.


    The third one would be at the left hip.


    The fourth one would be at the right chest.


    It was obvious that the Extractors were supposed to continue this pattern.


    The Extractor walked to the spot below the grips and gulped.


    "Don''t start yet," the assistant said. "I will call the start and end of your shifts."


    After saying that, the assistant called out more names and pointed them toward more locations.


    "Nick Nick," the assistant said as he pointed at four grips.


    Nick walked over and stopped below his assigned spot.


    The assistant continued assigning spots.


    "Hahahahaha!"


    The Extractors turned to the side when they heard a distantugh.


    This kind ofughter was very familiar to them.


    All of them still remembered the cacophony ofughter from yesterday.


    Each time someoneughed, someone died.


    "If you were already working, you would all be dead," the assistant said.


    Nick''s heart nearly stopped.


    Right!


    If he were already working on the city''s underside, him turning his head to the right might have put the Crimson Sea into the right corner of his right eye.


    "Hahahaha!"


    "Hahahaha!"


    "Hahahaha!"


    Three moreughs came from the red world.


    "Laughter rarely urs alone," the assistant said evenly. "Just like with you all, many people forget the danger, and when someoneughs, they turn to look in that direction."


    "Whenever someone dies, between one and four others die as well."


    Silence.


    While the assistant continued assigning spots, Nick thought back to yesterday.


    It hadn''t even been 24 hours since the incident.


    Nick remembered the red water that hade out of the Containment Unit''s edges after he had grabbed the Zephyx containers.


    Sure, the red water was dangerous, but it was nothingpared to the endless terror that the current Crimson Sea instilled in the people.


    How could something this weak turn into something this terrifying in such a short amount of time?


    It just didn''t feel real.


    "Alright, get ready to start," the assistant said.


    Nick shook his head to get rid of the memories of yesterday and looked upward.


    Then, he jumped and grabbed two of the grips with his hands.


    "Look at the grips and how they have been nailed into the metal," the assistant said.


    Nick did just that.


    Every grip had four huge nails going through them.


    Yet, the nails were not straight.


    There was one nail in each corner, and the nail was hammered into the wall in such a way that it diagonally pointed outwards.


    "We expect you to do it the same way. If you hammer the nails straight into the wall, the grip isn''t nearly as stable."


    Then, the assistant looked at the time.


    "5:23 p.m."


    "Your shift starts¡­"


    "Now!"

 Chapter 301 301 – Manual Labor

    <h4>Chapter 301 Chapter 301 ¨C Manual Labor </h4>


    ?Nick took a deep breath and readied himself mentally.


    The world hadn''t felt real for the past day, but right now, Nick felt that the danger to his life was very real.


    All the things that happened yesterday and today vanished from Nick''s mind, allowing him to focus on the task at hand.


    The hammer Nick had received was hanging from his toolbelt, and the two sacks were hanging from his back.


    The first thing Nick did was to take one of the grips out of the sack, which wasn''t as easy as he had thought.


    The sack was hanging quite low, and Nick couldn''t reach it just by moving his arm backward.


    After a couple of seconds of fidgeting around, Nick noticed that the gap between the grips and the wall was wide enough for his ankle.


    Nick put both his feet through the gap and let go of the grips.


    The top of Nick''s feet were pressing against the metal while his heels were pressing against the grips.


    Keeping oneself straight in such a position would require incredible strength and put immense stress on one''s body.


    But that was exactly why the workers were level two Extractors.


    While an Extractor''s weight increased when they became more powerful, the increase wasn''t really that big.


    Nick was about 185 centimeters tall and quite muscr.


    A normal person with his build would weigh around 100 kg, but Nick actually weighed around 160 kg.


    That was extremely heavy for a normal person, but for someone with a body 50 times as powerful as the average male, this was barely anything.


    After Nick let go of the grips, he "straightened" his posture and made sure that the sacks didn''t slip off his body.


    Then, he extended his right arm "upward" and took out one of the grips and nails.


    At that moment, Nick noticed an issue.


    He needed one hand for the grip, one for the nail, and one for the hammer.


    If he just had to nail something to the ground, he could just position the grip, let go, and then hold the nail.


    If he had to nail something to a wall, he could use gravity and hold the lowest point of the thing he was holding while also hammering in the nail at that point.


    But here, things became difficult.


    The grip was around 30 centimeters wide and could easily fall down.


    Clink!


    At that moment, Nick heard the sound of something metallic falling to the ground.


    Someone must have dropped one of the grips.


    Nick looked-


    No!


    "Hahahaha!"


    Nick heard someoneughing from beside him, but he just kept focusing on the metallic "wall" in front of him.


    BANG!


    A gunshot rang through the atmosphere, and the sound of a body falling to the ground could be heard.


    Nick didn''t dare to look away from the metal in front of him.


    "Never look away from the ceiling," the assistant said. "No matter what. Don''t even look at where your tools are. If you drop a grip, ignore it and let it fall."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    This job was way more terrifying than working with Specters.


    Some secondster, Nick returned to solving the problem of how to attach the grips to the ceiling.


    Nick held the grip to the spot where it was supposed to go and held the nail to its corner.


    But when Nick tried to hold the grip to the wall with the hand holding the nail, it started to move and bend.


    Nick experimented with holding the grip for over two minutes, and slowly, fear was giving way to frustration.


    This was annoying.


    ''If I didn''t need the hammer, this would-''


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    Nick noticed that his ability had activated again, which gave him an idea.


    He held the grip in the middle with his left arm.


    Then, he held the nail on its wide back and moved it towards the hole.


    EEEEeeeee!


    The loud sound of metal pushing through metal appeared, but the sound became quite a bit quieter after half a second.


    Half a second after pushing the nail into the metal, Nick''s ability deactivated again.


    The assistant was probably looking at Nick from below.


    Nick had pushed the nail into the metal.


    Something like this was impossible to do for normal people but not impossible for Zephyx Extractors.


    Even though Nick''s ability had deactivated, his power was still strong enough to finish pushing in the nail.


    When Nick was done pushing the nail in, he noticed that the wide head wasn''t perfectly aligned with the holes of the grip, which made sense since the nail hadn''t been pushed into the ceiling at a 90¡ã angle.


    CRRR!


    Nick put his thumb onto the head and bent it so that it looked like it was hammered in straight.


    ''This probably works,'' Nick thought.


    Then, he grabbed another nail and did the same thing on the other end of the grip.


    Thest two nails were easily pushed in, and Nick looked at the finished grip.


    "Sir, is it okay like this?" Nick shouted without looking away.


    "Test it," Nick heard from below him. "I don''t care how you did it. In the end, it has to hold."


    Nick grabbed the hold he had just fixed to the ceiling and let go of the other holds.


    He was now hanging from the grip with one of his hands, his entire weight on the grip.


    Then, Nick slowly did some one-handed pull-ups.


    "Looks good," the assistant said from below Nick. "Fix all the others to the ceiling just like this, and you''re golden."


    Nick nodded and returned to his normal position on the ceiling.


    After Nick had received his feedback from the assistant, more of the Extractors started to ask the same question.


    Meanwhile, Nick grabbed the next grip and fixed it to the wall the same way.


    The second one took only about a minute, but he became progressively faster and faster.


    Whooom.


    A green gleam appeared around Nick after he moved forward a bit.


    His Barrier had activated, which could only mean one thing.


    Nick had reached the end of the tform, and he was now entering the red world.

 Chapter 302 302 – Red World

    <h4>Chapter 302 Chapter 302 ¨C Red World</h4>


    ?Nick took a deep breath and grabbed the next grip.


    He fixed that one onto the wall just like the other ones and continued moving forward.


    Two minutester, Nick''s entire Barrier was surrounded by red mist.


    Nick kept looking at the metal in front of him with a fixed gaze, but he could still see the mix of green and red in the corner of his eyes.


    Without asking for it, an image of how he most likely looked right now appeared in Nick''s mind.


    He was facing an endlessly "tall" wall of metal while he was "climbing" it by creating a longdder.


    The world around him was covered in red mist that seemed to blow towards the "wall".


    And in the opposite direction¡­


    An endless domain of red with eyes in it.


    An eye, over ten meters wide, was looking at Nick''s back.


    Its focus was unwavering, and its gaze intense.


    It kept looking at Nick.


    And looking.


    And looking.


    And looking.


    Never turning away.


    Never blinking.


    As Nick kept moving, the huge eye kept following him.


    Even though a world of mist was between them, the eye was very clearly visible.


    Ever since Nick had entered the red world, his ability had deactivated and hadn''t activated again.


    Something was looking at him.


    Always.


    The Specter that Nick had freed was looking at him.


    Usually, the power to notice when someone was looking at Nick was a great advantage.


    But right now, it only increased Nick''s terror.


    Nick could feel the eyes boring into the back of his head.


    He felt like somebody was directly behind him, constantly looking at him.


    Unwavering.


    Just waiting for Nick to make a mistake.


    The crimson glow around Nick pulsed slowly.


    There was more light and less light.


    Luckily, the Crimson Sea''s light kept the Nightmare at bay.


    Nevertheless, the crimson glow''s pulse made it seem like it was alive.


    Nick''s breathing had already quickened, and sweat was dripping down from his body.


    "Hahahaha!"


    Nick almost turned to look to his side when he heard theughter.


    "Hahahaha!"


    Nick didn''t look away from the metal in front of him.


    Ssh¡­ ssh.


    How many people had already died to the Crimson Sea?


    How much damage had Nick done to the city by freeing it?


    When his mind arrived at that thought, Nick immediately steered it away from it.


    He felt afraid.


    He felt afraid of thinking about yesterday.


    He couldn''t face his actions.


    He just couldn''t.


    Nick didn''t move for a long while as the red mist kept engulfing him.


    If he faced his actions¡­


    If he did it¡­


    He couldn''t!


    He didn''t want to die.


    He wanted to continue living.


    Nick felt the familiar dark hole in his chest expanding.


    Everything bright and positive in Nick''s life orbited the hole until it was absorbed, never to be seen again.


    Nick wanted to cry.


    He wanted to shout that he was sorry.


    He wanted to say that he would make it right.


    But he didn''t.


    He just couldn''t.


    The bright lights orbiting the ck hole lost some of their brightness, but at the same time, the hole seemed to be less prominent.


    It was still there, but with fewer lights highlighting it, it didn''t seem as powerful.


    Nick gritted his teeth before he took a deep breath.


    Then, he took out the next-


    Ding!


    The grip fell out of Nick''s right hand and fell away.


    Nick reflexively turned to-


    ''No!''


    Nick immediately pulled himself to the wall again with all of his power.


    CRACK!


    Yet, while the grips were stable, they couldn''t resist his full power, and he tore the grip in his left hand out of the ceiling.


    Nick''s eyes widened as he saw the wall in front of him falling away.


    The crimson world was bing brighter.


    BANG!


    Nick''s right leg shot through the hole of the grip it was on and worked as an anchor.


    At this moment, Nick was essentially kneeling on the ceiling.


    He was facing the gigantic eye in the crimson world.


    With closed eyes.


    Nick had shut his eyes with all of his strength.


    He could see a faint crimson glow through his eyelids, but that was it.


    Seconds passed.


    Then, Nick took a deep breath.


    ''I''m still alive,'' he thought.


    Nick moved closer to the ceiling again before he slowly and carefully opened his eyes again.


    He had never been so happy to have his vision filled by metal.


    After calming down for several seconds, Nick carefully looked at the damage.


    A couple of big tears were on the metal te in front of Nick.


    This was where Nick had torn out the grip.


    He couldn''t put another grip there.


    After some nning, Nick decided to create something he called a quick step.


    There was a bit less than a meter of distance between grips on the same side.


    Nick decided to avoid the damaged part by putting the grip at 75% of the usual distance and then putting another one also at 75% of the usual distance.


    Naturally, the grips on the other side mirrored the distance.


    Like this, the distance between grips would be smaller for a couple of steps, but it would quickly return to normal after getting past the point.


    He decided to do it like this since he preferred having more grips over having fewer grips.


    After a bit of work, he was done fixing his mistake and took a deep breath.


    Then, he continued fixing the grips to the ceiling.


    Some minutester, Nick noticed that he had lost around 40% of his Zephyx.


    ''I can survive for around 50 minutes in total in here,'' Nick realized.


    His left arm touched the inside of the big sack of grips for a bit.


    ''I have five more. I can finish putting them onto the ceiling. Then, I have to go back.''


    Nick continued putting the grips onto the wall.


    "Hahahaha!"


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    He wanted to look over, but he refused to turn his head.


    Instead, he only looked at the wall in front of him.


    For a while, he didn''t move.


    ''That sounded like Kiara.''

 Chapter 303 303 – End of the Ladder

    <h4>Chapter 303 Chapter 303 ¨C End of the Ladder </h4>


    ?Nick didn''t move for a while.


    That sounded like Kiara, but he wasn''t sure if that truly was her.


    The way the peopleughed was unlike their usualughter, making it sound alien.


    Because of that, Nick couldn''t be sure whether or not that was Kiara.


    He just hoped that it was someone else.


    He wanted to shout and ask, but Nick didn''t dare to.


    If he did, his voice would almost certainly cause people to look in his direction, which would kill them.


    Sadly, this meant that Nick had to continue with uncertainty.


    Some secondster, Nick was done putting thest grip on the ceiling and started moving back to the central support of the Inner City.


    He moved past the part where he had messed up and continued.


    Ding!


    Nick touched the wall of the central support and took a deep breath.


    Then, he dropped down without looking.


    Hended on the tform, and only then did he dare to open his eyes.


    Nick looked around and saw a couple of people standing around.


    They looked exhausted, which meant that they were probably very low on Zephyx.


    Surprisingly, all of them were eating some kind of stark white bread, which Nick hadn''t seen before.


    The next moment, Nick''s eyes met the assistant''s eyes, and the assistant walked over.


    The assistant noticed the limp sack hanging from Nick.


    "How many did you lose?" he asked, referring to the handles.


    "I dropped two handles and four nails," Nick said.


    The assistant''s eyebrows rose in slight surprise.


    "You put all the other ones onto the ceiling?" he asked.


    Nick nodded.


    The assistant turned to look at the dder" Nick had created.


    He couldn''t see its end through the red mist.


    "You were in there for quite a while," the assistant said. "You seem to have a good Barrier."


    Nick nodded.


    His Barrier had cost over five million credits.


    Only Kugelblitz had the funds to give their Johns Barriers that were this good.


    The assistant looked at Nick''sdder again and scratched his chin.


    "If you manage to put two more sacks of grips onto the wall, you may leave early. You are booked for six hours, but I am less interested in the number of hours you work for me than the result," the assistant exined.


    Nick nodded. "Sure."


    This was amon and effective trade that good supervisors gave their employees.


    When a bad supervisor saw a hard-working employee who worked more than others, they gave them even more work.


    In the short term, the amount of work finished increased, but in the long term, the hard-working employee''s motivation would get destroyed, and they would start doing the bare minimum at some point.


    Meanwhile, a good supervisor gave bargains.


    "If you do more than the average employee, you can leave early."


    This created an incentive for the employee to work even harder, and they would also feel like their hard work was being seen and appreciated.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t opposed to that offer.


    The assistant shot Nick a short smile and handed him a piece of stark white bread.


    "Eat this. It''s sugar bread that has been treated with Zephyx. In around 30 minutes, you should have fully recovered," the assistant exined.


    Nick took the bread and nodded before taking a bite out of it.


    Nick''s tastebuds were immediately assaulted with sugar.


    People who had grown up in the Inner City might find this overpowering taste of sugar disgusting, but Nick loved it.


    While Nick was eating the bread, he turned to look at thedder that Kiara had created.


    He couldn''t see the end of it, and he didn''t hear any hammeringing from there.


    Was she truly dead?


    "What about the girl working there? I heardughtering from there earlier," Nick asked the assistant.


    "She hasn''te back yet. Either she is dead or has a very good Barrier," the assistant said.


    Kiara was one of Dark Dream''s top earners since she had an Adolescent all to her own.


    It was possible that she was still alive.


    She definitely had the funds to buy a Barrierparable to Nick''s.


    Nick kept looking at thedder as he kept eating the bread.


    Kiara coulde back any moment now.


    As the minutes passed, Nick became more nervous.


    "Can I look for her?" Nick asked.


    The assistant''s brows furrowed. "Why?"


    "She''s my employee," Nick said.


    The assistant took out some sheets of paper and looked at them.


    When he saw Nick''s profile, his eyebrows rose.


    "Sure, but be quick," the assistant said.


    "Thank you," Nick said before jumping to Kiara''sdder.


    Then, he "climbed" it.


    "Kiara," Nick said carefully as he kept climbing.


    He kept climbing.


    And climbing.


    Nick''s heart rate increased as he kept climbing.


    There was no answer!


    Eventually, Nick couldn''t feel the next grip.


    He touched the ceiling in many different ces.


    There were no more grips.


    He was at the end of thedder.


    Nick just looked at the metallic wall in front of him.


    He felt horrible.


    Another one was gone.


    Trevor, Kiara, Cryon, Jonathan¡­


    All because of the Crimson Sea.


    All because of Nick¡­


    As Nick thought about Kiara, he remembered the little girl they had saved a couple of years ago.


    Kiara had been taking care of the little girl.


    A couple secondster, Nick moved back towards the center again.


    Hended on the tform with a forlorn expression.


    "I take it she jumped?" the assistant asked.


    Nick sighed and nodded.


    "Sorry for your loss," the assistant said neutrally.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    After a bit, he just grabbed one of the big sacks leaning against the central support and went back to his owndder.


    Nick didn''t feelfortable just sitting around.


    He wanted to do something to distract himself.


    Nick quickly went past the ce with the weird grips and reached the end of hisdder.


    Then, he just continued fixing grips to the ceiling in silence.


    A minuteter, Nick''s mind was upied with working again.

 Chapter 304 304 – Grips

    <h4>Chapter 304 Chapter 304 ¨C Grips</h4>


    ?Nick just kept on working, trying not to think about the bad parts of his life.


    Whenever his mind wandered to the Spartans or his employees, Nick told himself that he had to be careful while working and not get distracted.


    If he got distracted, he might actually die.


    It took Nick about 25 minutes to empty the second sack of grips, and he turned around again.


    ''Do the others really have so many issues with the grips?'' Nick thought.


    ''The assistant is willing to let me leave early after just putting three sacks of grips onto the ceiling. If I add the time it takes me to recover my Zephyx, fixing three sacks of grips to the ceiling barely takes me three hours. Not even, actually.''


    ''And our shift is supposed to go on for a total of six hours.''


    The answer was: yes, it took everyone else that long.


    First, not everyone was a Peak John. There were many Late Johns, a couple of Mid Johns, and even a few Early and Initial Johns.


    Their Zephyx was used up much faster than Nick''s.


    On top of that, not everyone had an expensive Barrier.


    A Mid John with an average Barrier could barely survive for ten minutes inside the red mist.


    Additionally, their physical strength wasn''t as high as Nick''s.


    They couldn''t just push the nails into the metal with their hand.


    They actually needed to use the hammers, and using the hammers in this position was very awkward, difficult, and time-consuming.


    The average worker here only fixed 1.5 to 2 sacks of grips to the ceiling after six full hours.


    Nick went past the spot with the strange grips and quickly reached the central support again.


    He saw a couple of people recovering their Zephyx.


    ''Should I recover my Zephyx as well? I''m still at around 70%,'' Nick thought.


    Nick thought a bit about it.


    Then, he grabbed one of the white breads, shoved it into his mouth, grabbed another sack of grips, and returned to work.


    The bread would increase his Zephyx recovery while working.


    It should easily be enough.


    By now, Nick only needed 30 seconds to fix a grip to the ceiling.


    Nick went past the part with the strange grips and quickly reached the end of hisdder.


    Then, he continued working.


    Ding.


    Nick stopped moving.


    Just now, he had heard something hitting some metal from the bottom of hisdder.


    Nobody was supposed to be on hisdder since he was working here right now.


    Crk!


    Nick heard metal getting bent and torn, which made him furrow his brows.


    Crk! Crk! Crk! Crk!


    More and more metal was being torn out, and surprisingly, the sound became more distant.


    ''I don''t like this,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    By now, the tearing of metal had stopped.


    Nick decided to turn around and go back early.


    Nick changed his position so that he was now "ascending" towards the bottom of thedder.


    He traveled for a couple of seconds, and then¡­


    Nothing!


    Nick''s arm was touching a hole in the ceiling.


    A grip was supposed to be there!


    Nick used his legs to bnce and searched for the next one.


    Also gone!


    That was when Nick realized what had happened.


    ''Somebody is trying to kill me by trapping me here!'' Nick thought. ''The sounds from earlier were them tearing my grips out of the wall!''


    ''I can''t jump forward since the force of my jump would break the grips I am currently holding.''


    ''If I shout for help, people might not arrive in time, and I would probably also end up killing several other Extractors, which would put me in trouble.''


    Nick moved his arm to his big sack and searched for grips.


    ''Seven left. I don''t think that''s enough to build a bridge back,'' Nick thought.


    ''Additionally, the workers beside me haven''t built as far as me, and the distance betweendders also increases since we are essentially traveling out from the middle of a circle.''


    ''Did they get here by jumping from anotherdder to this one near the beginning, where thedders are closer together?''


    ''Then, they probably moved forward and identally hit their hand on the space with the weird grips.''


    ''That made them abort their n and destroy mydder there instead ofing closer since I might have heard them.''


    ''Quite an ingenious n,'' Nick thought.


    At that moment, the image of the tall man that Nick had punched shot through his mind.


    ''Is it him?'' Nick thought.


    Nick narrowed his eyes in anger.


    ''Sadly for you, I don''t need the grips!''


    The next moment, Nick turned into fog and shot forward.


    Since he could adhere to the ceiling, moving like this wasn''t difficult.


    However, there was a reason why Nick hadn''t turned into fog here before this moment.


    Nick shot forward with all of his speed, and as soon as he came in contact with a grip again, he materialized.


    Nick''s face had turned white, and he looked insanely exhausted.


    When Nick was in his fog form, his Barrier didn''t work, which meant that the red mist was injuring him.


    Additionally, Nick''s defenses were insanely low in his fog form.


    He had barely been inside his fog form for two seconds, and he had already lost over 50% of his Zephyx!


    Naturally, as soon as he materialized again, his Barrier reactivated.


    A momentter, Nick shoved his legs through the metal, giving him a very stable hold.


    Then, he "stood up" and took out one of his spears.


    Nick''s eyes were closed, but he could envision the area in front of him.


    Throwing a spear without vision wasn''t anything new to Nick.


    An instantter, he threw his spear forward.


    BANG!


    Nick heard the sound of his spear hitting something hard in the distance.


    "AAAAaahahahaha!"


    The next moment, a scream appeared before turning intoughter.


    The good thing was that no otherughter was ringing out.


    The people in this shift had already experienced several deaths, and they had learned not to look around.


    Then, Nick went back to grab the grips and walked forward.

 Chapter 305 305 – Who?

    <h4>Chapter 305 Chapter 305 ¨C Who? </h4>


    ?Nick traveled forward a bit, and a couple of secondster, he noticed another hole.


    One of the grips had been torn out of the ceiling again, but this one was different.


    The others were torn out straight, basically just creating four long crevices near the edges, making them look rather symmetrical.


    This one, on the other hand, was uneven.


    Nick touched more of the ceiling in front of him.


    Another grip was missing.


    He leaned forward and found that a third one was missing as well.


    Then, he stretched forward to the limit and found a grip.


    He tested it out a bit and noted that it was still very stable.


    Nick let go of the grips near his feet and used the distant grip to swing him to the other side.


    ''That exins things,'' Nick thought with a smirk.


    He could imagine what had happened.


    The perpetrator had been walking back to the center when Nick''s spear hit them.


    Since Nick couldn''t put a lot of power into the throw, the spear couldn''t destroy the Barrier and was diverted to the Crimson Sea.


    However, the spear''s kic force was so strong that the grips the perpetrator was holding were torn out of the ceiling.


    They started to fall, screamed, spun in the air, saw the Crimson Sea,ughed, and fell into the Crimson Sea.


    ''It was the voice of a man,'' Nick thought. ''It was probably that tall guy from earlier.''


    That also exined why the tall guy didn''t blow up his little conflict with Nick.


    He didn''t want to ruin Nick''s life by damaging his own reputation.


    No, he wanted to kill Nick without damaging his own reputation.


    At least, that was what Nick thought had happened.


    Some secondster, Nick reached the end of thedder and dropped down.


    He was immediately greeted by several guards ring at him with their guns pointing at his face.


    The assistant was behind the guards and also red at Nick.


    "We saw someone falling from yourne. Exin!" the assistant demanded.


    Nick wasn''t surprised.


    The ce with the funny grips was at the halfway mark of Nick''sdder, and the ce from which the guy fell was near the first 20%.


    He was probably not even five meters away from the tform when he fell.


    "They tried to kill me first," Nick said without any guilt. "I only repaid the favor."


    "What happened?" the assistant demanded.


    "I was building mydder when I heard several noises of tearing metal," Nick said. "I turned around to check and found several grips on mydder missing. I had no way back. I''m certain that these grips didn''t just fall out randomly."


    "How did you manage to get back?" the assistant asked.


    "My ability, which I will not reveal," Nick said.


    The assistant looked at Nick for a while longer.


    "Wait here. Don''t let him leave!" the assistant ordered.


    The next moment, he jumped up and quickly moved down Nick''sne.


    Naturally, the assistant was also a Zephyx Extractor.


    Nick just looked at the guards in front of him.


    Over two minutes passed.


    And then, the assistant came back andnded on the tform.


    He looked at the guards and motioned for them to put their guns away.


    "The story checks out," the assistant said.


    "We also heard the sounds of metal you were referring to. Additionally, I found the ce with the missing grips, and I also found thedder being continued behind it."


    "Lastly, there was no reason for anyone to be on yourdder. He probably didn''t worry abouting out of yourdder since nobody pays attention to whoes from whichdder."


    "I amfortable with dropping this issue," the assistant said.


    It was not surprising that the assistant managed to reach the ce where Nick had been left to die.


    Since he had gotten this job, it most likely meant that he had some kind of ability that allowed him to traverse the underside of the city without the grips.


    However, Nick wasn''t really paying attention to the assistant.


    Right now, Nick was looking at someone with a surprised expression.


    Near the central support, someone was eating from a piece of white bread.


    It was the tall guy!


    ''But, didn''t he die just now?'' Nick thought in shock.


    ''I heard a man''s scream, and he''s the only one with a motive!''


    ''But then, how can he be here?!''


    As Nick looked at the man, the man nced back.


    Nick couldn''t tell what the man was feeling or thinking.


    He was just ncing at Nick with a neutral expression.


    There was no smile, anger, sadness, or whatever.


    ''Was it one of his friends?'' Nick thought.


    ''Was it someone else?''


    ''What is going on?''


    "Go fix yourdder."


    Nick was taken out of his thoughts and looked back at the assistant, who was holding out another sack of grips.


    "Fix the two big holes in yourdder, and you can go home," the assistant said.


    The guards had already gone back to their usual positions.


    Nick threw another nce at the big man, who was consuming the white bread.


    At that moment, the man furrowed his brows.


    Nick wasn''t sure what the man was thinking about.


    "Sure," Nick said as he absentmindedly grabbed the sack of grips.


    He also grabbed a new bag of nails and went back to hisdder.


    ''Who tried to kill me?'' Nick thought.


    ''The Spartans have been my only enemies, but they have been destroyed, and I am certain that they don''t know that it was me who destroyed their headquarters.''


    ''It''s also not some kind of powerful Extractor since only Johns are working here.''


    ''I also don''t think it''s some kind of old enmity or whatever since everyone is still busy adjusting to their new lives. It would be very strange if anyone chose this moment to get rid of me.''


    ''Who was it?''


    ''Who wants me dead this time?!''


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t think of anyone.


    The only two suspects were the tall man and the woman from the Spartans, but none of them could have been it.


    The tall man was still alive, and the voice of the person who fell down wasn''t nearly girly enough to belong to the woman.


    Nick had no idea who would want him dead and why.

 Chapter 306 306 – End of the Shift

    <h4>Chapter 306 Chapter 306 ¨C End of the Shift</h4>


    ?While Nick was fixing the holes, he kept thinking about the person who had just tried to kill him.


    Right now, the ever-present ck hole in his chest was covered by a red film of anger.


    Anger was a very good distraction from pain.


    After around half an hour, Nick managed to create adder leading around the damaged part.


    The metal tes where the old grips had been were just too damaged and unstable, which was why Nick had made a way around them.


    Finally, Nick returned to the center and told the assistant that he was done.


    "Let me check," the assistant said before quickly moving down Nick''sne.


    Around 30 secondster, he came back and nodded at Nick.


    "Good work. You can leave. We''ll see each other again next week," he said.


    At that moment, Nick furrowed his brows. "Next week?"


    "Yes," the assistant said. "Do you think this was the only time you were working here?"


    "Yes," Nick said, "the order said so."


    The assistant also furrowed his brows.


    Then, he held his hand out.


    "Show me."


    Nick took the order out and handed it over.


    The assistant read through it, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.


    "Huh," he said.


    Silence.


    "If I had known, I wouldn''t have made that offer to you," he added before sighing.


    "But well, we had an agreement. It''s my fault for not reading through your order carefully."


    Then, he handed the order back to Nick.


    Nick pocketed the order, nodded at the assistant, and went to the underground''s exit.


    The two guards standing beside the exit immediately pointed their guns at Nick as he approached.


    "He can leave," the assistant shouted from a distance.


    The guards put their guns down and nodded at Nick.


    Nick nodded back and jumped out of the hole.


    When Nick came out of the underground, his eyes had to adjust to the different light again.


    This was the longest Nick had been away from the sunlight in his entire life.


    The familiar rays of the sun calmed Nick down, and he released a sigh.


    Sadly, Nick''s mind very quickly became tense again as he was reminded of the attempted murder on him.


    ''Was it only one guy, or is a group behind this?'' Nick thought as he walked towards the exit of the megastructure.


    As Nick continued walking, he noticed that the guards kept ncing at him warily.


    He was quite sure that it wasn''t because of him specifically but because of his identity as a level two Extractor.


    He remembered that the guards had already been quite firm when Nick had shown up for the first time.


    Something like this hadn''t happened in the past.


    The guards generally seemed like rxed protectors, but ever since the Crimson Sea appeared, the guards seemed like soldiers whose job it was to suppress the people.


    ''But it''s probably only for Johns,'' Nick thought. ''All the Johns are being sent to work in an extremely dangerous location, and there have probably been instances where some of them tried to resist.''


    ''They are probably wary of all level two Extractors, fearing that they might act out.''


    As Nick left the megastructure, he saw the guards looking at him warily.


    Nick didn''t engage in any conversation with them.


    A couple minutester, Nick arrived at the bottom of Dark Dream and looked up.


    The two Veterans guarding Dark Dream were leaning against the wall.


    One of them noticed Nick and woke up the other one.


    "Back so early?" one of them asked.


    Nick nodded. "I did a good job and was allowed to leave early."


    The two guards looked at each other in confusion.


    They were supposed to be here for six hours.


    Should they stay here for a couple more hours, or could they leave?


    Nick could tell what they were thinking about.


    "You can leave," Nick said. "Thanks for keeping a lookout."


    The two guards shrugged, said their goodbyes, and left.


    Nick jumped to Dark Dream''s entrance and looked through it.


    He could still see rubble and blood.


    For a while, he didn''t know what to do.


    He wanted to rx a bit since thest three hours had been quite stressful, but whenever he tried to calm down, the memories returned.


    The fact that he was responsible for the city''s current state.


    Trevor''s face.


    Cryon''s face.


    Jonathan''s face.


    Kiara''s face.


    ''Right, I need someone to work with the Lover now,'' Nick thought as he tried his best to distract his mind.


    ''Kerry worked with it before. If she''s still alive, she might agree to work with it.''


    ''What if nobody wants to work with it?'' Nick asked himself.


    Silence.


    ''I guess that would mean that we couldn''t gain any Zephyx from it.''


    ''Should we sell it, then?''


    Nick shook his head.


    ''I should continue cleaning the building first.''


    A momentter, Nick returned to cleaning the building.


    Within a couple of minutes, he was upied with working again.


    A couple of hours passed.


    At around 11:30 p.m., someone appeared in front of Dark Dream''s entrance.


    When Nick saw the person, he immediately became nervous.


    It was a tall young man with disheveled brown hair and eyebags below his eyes.


    He looked extremely tired and exhausted.


    "Wyntor," Nick said.


    Wyntor looked at Nick, and Nick could see his red eyes.


    "How are the Specters?" Wyntor asked.


    "All good," Nick said. "The Bleeding Lady is stressed and needs some food soon, and the Dung Heap is rolling around in hunger, but there isn''t much I can do about that without some food waste. Otherwise, everything''s alright."


    Wyntor released a sigh and walked into Dark Dream.


    As he walked past Nick, he threw a nce at him.


    "We need to talk," Wyntor said as he went onto the staircase.


    Nick took a deep breath and walked after Wyntor.


    He had expected that this would happen.


    Wyntor knew that Nick had been inside the Spartans'' building yesterday, and he also knew of Nick''s capabilities.


    Wyntor definitely knew that Nick was the reason why the Crimson Sea had broken out.


    Nick had no idea what Wyntor had nned.

 Chapter 307 307 – Nick’s Fate

    <h4>Chapter 307 Chapter 307 ¨C Nick''s Fate </h4>


    ?Nick followed Wyntor up the staircase and into his office.


    When Wyntor opened the door to look into his office, he sighed.


    Everything was messed up.


    He walked forward and lifted something out of the rubble.


    The coffee machine.


    He turned it on and sighed in relief when he saw that it was mostly undamaged.


    For the next minute, Nick watched Wyntor making coffee.


    This was amongst the longest minutes Nick had ever experienced.


    Wyntor walked over to the ce where his chair usually was out of habit but stopped when he saw that it wasn''t there.


    In the end, Wyntor gave Nick a coffee and sat down in one of the corners.


    Usually, Wyntor would never do something like this since his image was important to him, but right now, he just didn''t care anymore.


    He was just too exhausted.


    Wyntor took a deep breath, and Nick became more nervous.


    "No, you''re not going to die," Wyntor said, "and no, you''re not being fired."


    It was like a humongous pressure had vanished from Nick''s heart, and his shoulders rxed.


    The next moment, Nick sat down in another corner of Wyntor''s office, exhausted.


    It was like Nick had lost all of his energy at that point.


    "We were lucky," Wyntor said. "For several reasons."


    "After the Crimson Sea broke out, father immediately came over here, asking if this was your doing," Wyntor said. "He had heard that a ck figure was responsible for this incident."


    "Naturally, he was worried that he would be implicated. If anyone saw you using the Shadow Shroud, things would be extremely troublesome for him."


    "Lucky for us, you came back before he arrived, and as soon as you put the Shadow Shroud back, I put it back into the briefcase."


    "Father immediately demanded the briefcase back, and when he saw the Shadow Shroud inside and you sitting on a random roof, he finally rxed."


    "After that, he quickly left again," Wyntor said.


    "He doesn''t know you''re responsible for all of this."


    Nick released a sigh.


    Vernon had been the biggest danger to Nick.


    While Wyntor had a connection with Nick, Vernon didn''t have one.


    He would have no issues throwing Nick to the people just to spare himself a bit of trouble.


    Additionally, Vernon was probably furious.


    The Dregs had been the very reason why Kugelblitz could produce so much Zephyx, and now, the Dregs were gone.


    If they wanted blood in the future, apletely new system would need to be implemented, and most likely, Kugelblitz wouldn''t get even nearly as much blood as before.


    By freeing the Crimson Sea, Nick had caused immense damage to Kugelblitz''s revenue.


    Of course, while one could me Nick for freeing the Crimson Sea, one couldn''t really me him for the extreme level of damage it had caused.


    No one could have predicted that something like this would happen.


    But that didn''t matter.


    The people wanted someone to me, and Nick would fit that bill.


    If they found out that Nick had been the one who freed the Crimson Sea, death would be certain, but only after a life worse than death.


    With Vernon out of the picture, only three people were left who knew that Nick was the responsible one.


    Nick, Wyntor, and the Parasite.


    "What about the Parasite?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor took a sip of his coffee.


    "At least one positive thing came out of all this," Wyntor said.


    "The Parasite''s rats have used the sewers as their home and way of traversing the city, but with the Crimson Sea now taking up the entire underside of the city, the rats can''t traverse the city anymore."


    "Since his rats are just minions, he needs to use Zephyx to give them the ability to resist a Specter''s influence."


    "Resisting the Nightmare isn''t very difficult for him since it only affects mentality."


    "But things are very different with the Crimson Sea."


    "A bit of red mist instantly turns a rat into soup."


    "On top of that, all the paths to the outside world have been cut off. That means the rats can''t transport any of the corpses out of the city."


    "Staying in the city equates to losing Zephyx for the Parasite."


    Wyntor took another sip.


    "No rats have been spotted since the incident."


    "We can say with high confidence that the Parasite is gone."


    When Nick heard that, he released a sigh of relief.


    The Parasite might be angry at him and want something in return.


    If the Parasite were a human, it would most likely immediately tell on Nick to take revenge, but Specters weren''t like that.


    The Parasite would probably ckmail Nick and Wyntor for a very long time.


    Luckily for them, the Parasite couldn''t operate in the city anymore.


    "At least one good thing came out of this," Nick said.


    Wyntor nodded. "In fact, while things seem disastrous now, there are actually several good things about the current situation."


    Nick perked up and looked at Wyntor in surprise.


    "Which are?" he asked.


    "The Parasite was a huge issue," Wyntor said. "Naturally, the Crimson Sea is also a huge issue, but there is a fundamental difference between the two."


    "We can''t deal with the Parasite, but we can deal with the Crimson Sea."


    "We can?" Nick asked in shock.


    Wyntor nodded. "We''ve alreadye up with a long-term n."


    "First, we make the underside of the city traversable."


    "Second, we create more support for the city."


    "Third, we create a bridge to the outside world."


    "And finally, wepletely cover the Crimson Sea."


    Nick''s eyebrows rose.


    "Cover it?" he asked.


    Wyntor nodded.


    "Wepletely encase it in steel. If there is no way to see the Crimson Sea, and if there is no way for its mist to enter the city, it might as well not exist."


    "Additionally, the Crimson Sea''s presence is a huge deterrent to Specters."


    "As far as we know, the Crimson Sea''s hypnotic powers also work on Specters."


    "This means that the Specters can''t use the underground of the city to hide from us anymore."


    "We expect the number of new Specters popping up in the city to be reduced by over 50%."

 Chapter 308 308 – Retelling

    <h4>Chapter 308 Chapter 308 ¨C Retelling</h4>


    ?When Nick heard that, his eyes widened in surprise.


    There would be far fewer Specters?


    At that moment, Wyntor chuckled in a ridiculing tone.


    "Of course, the Manufacturers are not happy about that," he added. "They all want Specters, and with fewer Specters appearing in the city, their growth will slow down."


    "But what are they supposed to do? They can''t get rid of the Crimson Sea that easily."


    "I expect that we are going to see much more importance being put on the wilderness."


    While Wyntor was talking, Nick thought about what this meant for the people living in the Outer City.


    With fewer Specters, people didn''t need to be as scared anymore.


    On top of that, the Dregs were gone.


    Many people of the Dregs hadn''t been able to integrate into the Outer City since nobody wanted toe into contact with them simply because they were from the Dregs.


    Maybe the survivors would have it easier integrating into the Outer City?


    Of course, that was only an optimistic musing.


    Maybe it would be even worse than before.


    Nevertheless, the future didn''t seem as grim anymore.


    For just an instant, a thought appeared in Nick''s mind.


    ''Did the death of around 2,000 people improve the quality of life for thousands more?''


    ''Is that such a bad trade?''


    But before Nick could think more about these things, Wyntor said something.


    "Now, I need to know what happened yesterday in detail. Don''t leave anything out," he said.


    Nick looked back at Wyntor and nodded.


    Then, he told Wyntor everything that had happened.


    Wyntor wasn''t surprised when Nick confirmed that he had released the Crimson Sea.


    He had expected as much.


    However, Wyntor was very surprised about a different thing.


    The sheer scale of damage Nick managed to inflict on the Spartans, even without the Crimson Sea.


    Nick had entered a tightly guarded building with five Veterans, 20 Johns, 20 Newbies, and many guards, while Nick was just a John.


    And as a normal John, he managed to kill a Veteran, several Johns, and tens of normal people.


    On top of that, Nick managed to free several Specters without raising the rm.


    This was absurd.


    In an open conflict, causing the enemy this much damage would require sacrificing about as many Extractors as Dark Dream had in total.


    But Nick hadn''t sacrificed anything.


    He had done all of this on his own.


    It was almost like Nick was a one-man army.


    Wyntor had never heard of any Extractor causing that much destruction in rtion to their power.


    It wasn''t even close!


    An Extractor was already extremely powerful if they could fight against five other Extractors on the same level.


    But Nick¡­


    Nick essentially destroyed an entire Manufacturer that was vastly more powerful than all of Dark Dream.


    Wyntor would have never thought that the dirty boy from the Dregs could have such immense talent.


    In Wyntor''s mind, Nick''s worth outweighed the worth of all of Dark Dream''s Zephyx Extractorsbined.


    As long as he had Nick, Dark Dream would rise.


    When Nick was done retelling what had happened, Wyntor told Nick about the things that he hadn''t seen.


    For example, how the city tried to contain the Crimson Sea, what the Spartans'' people said, and what had happened in the Inner City when everything became chaotic.


    When Nick heard about the ck figureing out of an armlet, his eyes shone.


    ''That must have been Envy''s servant,'' Nick thought.


    And when he heard that Envy''s servant fell into the Crimson Sea, he released a sigh of relief.


    With Envy''s servant destroyed and with Specters now having it much harder to enter the city, Nick could finally rx.


    Nick doubted that Envy had more than one servant inside Crimson Fungus City and that one servant had been destroyed.


    Additionally, since the outside world was cut off, no other servant could enter for the time being.


    Until the time the bridge to the outside was built, Nick wouldn''t need to fear Envy anymore.


    Nick''s mind finally rxed.


    Yet, as soon as it did, Nick felt his chest starting to ache.


    The more he rxed, the more terrible and guilty he felt.


    All of these possibilities and spections about the future were nice, but they didn''t change the most important thing.


    Nick had caused the death of over 2,000 people.


    He had caused the death of the very people he wanted to help.


    But as soon as these thoughts resurfaced, Nick shook his head to banish them.


    He couldn''t think about these things.


    He didn''t dare to.


    "I presume that ck Specter was what made the Spartans attack you?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick became a bit nervous when he heard that.


    He still hadn''t told Wyntor about Envy, and that wouldn''t change.


    Nevertheless, Nick nodded. "Yes."


    "Based on how much the Crimson Sea grew by absorbing the Specter, we estimate the ck Specter to have been an Elder," Wyntor said as he took another sip from his coffee.


    "No wonder you were so stressed out all this time."


    Nick nodded.


    "Luckily, the issue has been solved now," he added.


    Nick released a sigh of relief.


    "Tell me what happened in thest 24 hours," Wyntor said.


    Nick told Wyntor about everything that had happened and what he had done.


    "Someone tried to kill you again?" Wyntor asked with furrowed brows.


    Nick nodded. "I expected that it was the tall man from Anatomy, but he''s still alive."


    Naturally, Wyntor had heard about how Nick had punched the tall man.


    While Nick had definitelymitted quite a big mistake with that act, Wyntor wasn''t really angry with him.


    Anyone who managed to stay calm after going through all these things was more machine than human.


    "I still don''t know who tried to kill me," Nick said.


    Wyntor sipped more of his coffee.


    "It''s actually not that hard to figure out. You''re just missing a key piece of information," Wyntor said.


    Nick looked with surprise at Wyntor.


    "You know who tried to kill me?"


    Wyntor finished his coffee.


    "No."

 Chapter 309 309 – Back to Business

    <h4>Chapter 309 Chapter 309 ¨C Back to Business </h4>


    ?"But I know why they did it," Wyntor added.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    Wyntor didn''t know who tried to kill Nick, but he knew why?


    "The Crimson Sea," Wyntor said.


    "The Crimson Sea is a Specter, obviously, and Specters produce Zephyx when they grow more powerful, and when an Extractor is close to a Specter at that moment, they also grow more powerful, right?" Wyntor said.


    "Whenever anyone falls into the Crimson Sea, it produces a ton of Zephyx. However, since it''s not in a Containment Unit, we can''t harvest the Zephyx."


    "But Extractors can still grow more powerful by absorbing it."


    "This piece of information is highly confidential, but it''s not that difficult to figure out, actually. Veterans are already pretty good at sensing Zephyx, and they are bound to feel the burst of Zephyx whenever anyone falls into the Crimson Sea."


    "I''m quite certain that someone was trying to kill you so that they could absorb more Zephyx and be stronger."


    "You might not even have been their first target," Wyntor said.


    "They didn''t target you for yourself but for your identity as an Extractor."


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    That might have actually been it!


    Even more, maybe that man had been responsible for more deaths before he got to Nick?


    At that moment, Wyntor chuckled.


    "Remember the name of the Crimson Sea''s level?" Wyntor asked.


    "Fanatic," he added. "Fanatics are called as such because cults are often created around them."


    When he heard that, Nick imagined a couple of people in ck robes sacrificing other people to the Crimson Sea.


    That sounded quite dangerous.


    "I think I shouldn''t be surprised, but I still am surprised," Nick said with a slight chuckle.


    Wyntor nodded before standing up from his corner.


    "I''m going to deal with your issue with Anatomy," Wyntor said.


    Nick felt relieved but also a bit guilty.


    "Don''t stress yourself out about it," Wyntor said when he saw Nick''s expression. "You went through enough bad things for one day."


    "Get Dark Dream properly running again, and everything''s fine."


    "Thanks, Wyntor," Nick said as he also stood up.


    "Oh, by the way," Wyntor said as the two of them were leaving the office. "The governor will soon announce the new name of the city."


    "New name?" Nick asked. "Why?"


    "Names for cities are mostly used to create an image of the city in the minds of people who have never seen it. Usually, the strongest Specter in the city is the one that has the biggest impact on a city''s perception, which is why many cities are named after their strongest Specters."


    "While the Crimson Fungus is technically still the strongest Specter, it is definitely not the most troublesome or the one with the biggest impact."


    "However, the Crimson Sea also isn''t strong enough to get the entire city named after it."


    "Because of that, we decided on a hybrid name."


    "Crimson City."


    "Crimson City?" Nick asked.


    A momentter, Nick thought about the city as a whole.


    The underground was crimson.


    The mist was crimson.


    Even the big fungus was crimson.


    "I guess it makes sense," Nick said.


    Wyntor and Nick said their goodbyes, and Wyntor went back into the Inner City to get some well-earned sleep.


    Meanwhile, Nick stayed in Dark Dream and continued cleaning it.


    He didn''t feel hungry or sleepy.


    He hadn''t slept since the ambush on his home, which had happened over two days ago.


    Nick felt like the ambush had happened this morning.


    Slowly, Dark Dream was getting cleaner and cleaner.


    During the morning, only the seventh floor was still in chaos, and a huge hill of debris had been created in front of Dark Dream.


    Nick had used the debris from the building to create a ramp leading up to Dark Dream''s entrance.


    When Nick was finally done cleaning the floors, he looked at the building.


    It was much cleaner now, but it was still awkwardly leaning on the side of the megastructure.


    "Good morning, Boss."


    Nick looked over and saw one of the Peak Newbies arriving for work.


    Nick nodded. "Good morning. Jenny isn''t here yet. I can assign you some work if you want to earn some money."


    The Newbie nodded. "Yes, please."


    "Are you familiar with how to work with the Puppy?" Nick asked.


    The Newbie''s eyes shone in excitement. "Yes!"


    "Then, go to the third floor. I''ll send someone to get you in eight hours. The Puppy is still in the same Containment Unit as before."


    "Thanks, Boss!" the Newbie said with excitement before they left to work with the Puppy.


    Everyone wanted to work with the Puppy.


    Working with the Puppy was a lot of fun, and time passed very quickly while working with it.


    A couple minutester, three more Extractors came.


    They were the three that Dark Dream had gotten from Gemini some time ago.


    All three of them were Peak Newbies and were on their way to bing Initial Johns.


    Yet, when Nick assigned work to the three of them, they became terrified.


    The Dreamer?!


    None of them had worked with the Dreamer before!


    The reason was that the Dreamer produced Zephyx based on the level of the Extractor, and Dark Dream used to have plenty of Johns to work with it.


    Sadly, that was no longer the case.


    Nick assured them that it wasn''t dangerous.


    He even said that it made no sense to covertly get rid of them since they have been exemry employees ever since that little revolution a year or so ago.


    The first couple of clerks had also arrived, and Nick told the clerk manning the reception to tell the Extractors that he would be back to assign work soon.


    Then, Nick took the three Extractors to work with the Dreamer.


    He simply talked to the Dreamer a bit and told the three of them how to work with it.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t scared that the Dreamer would kill them.


    After all, Nick and the Dreamer had had a talk about a year ago.


    Two of the people from Gemini left since their shifts would startter.


    When Nick reached the entrance again, he saw over five Extractors.


    ''At least we still have a couple of people left. I thought it would be worse,'' he thought.

 Chapter 310 310 – Wrapping Up

    <h4>Chapter 310 Chapter 310 ¨C Wrapping Up</h4>


    ?Two hourster, Nick finally knew how many Extractors Dark Dream had in total.


    One Peak John, which was him.


    One Mid John, which was Jenny.


    Three Early Johns, who were Constanze, Marv, and Larry. The three of them had been the first recruits Nick had received from Ghosty''s Lab.


    Two Initial Johns.


    Five Peak Newbies.


    Two Late Newbies.


    Two Early Newbies.


    That was it.


    Seven Johns and Nine Newbies.


    Dark Dream used to have 24 Extractors, but now, they only had 16.


    Nick decided to send the three Early Johns to work with the Fog.


    In order to amodate Jenny''s increased workload as the only team leader for now, Nick only assigned her to the Bleeding Lady, which barely took 15 minutes out of her day.


    After talking with the two Initial Johns, Kerry agreed to work with the Lover from now on.


    While working with the Lover was definitely the worst job inside Dark Dream, it had many benefits.


    It didn''t take long.


    It paid very well.


    It gave a lot of security.


    It made the Extractor important.


    Thest John was assigned to work with the sses every four days while also getting a round with the Fog every four days.


    Obviously, that was more work than almost all other Extractors did since working with these two Specters was divided into 24-hour shifts.


    But that was because thest Initial John specifically requested this.


    His name was Taren, and he was the recruit that Nick used to test which ability the Fog gave new Extractors.


    Taren asked for more work for a couple of reasons, and he was very honest and direct about these reasons when talking to Nick.


    Taren had lost his girlfriend when the Crimson Sea broke out, and he now aimlessly walked through life.


    He wanted something to do that could distract him and give him a new purpose.


    He even jokingly said that he used to have conflicts with his girlfriend since he wanted to work more while she didn''t want him to.


    Taren kept saying that he wanted to put his everything to work and that Nick should consider him for the next position as team leader.


    After hearing all of this, Nick felt for Taren since Nick himself felt simrly.


    Wasn''t he also just searching for distractions?


    For now, Nick decided to give him more work.


    Taren had been with thepany for over two years now, and Nick hadn''t had any problems with him.


    Nick decided to talk to Wyntor and Jenny about this.


    The Newbies were also sent to work with all the different Specters.


    After another day, the food deliveries for the Dung Heap had also resumed.


    The delivery of corpses for the Screaming Coffin also resumed.


    The credits for the Money Sink had never been an issue.


    One day after everyone had resumed working, everything inside Dark Dream was going smoothly again.


    The only bad part was that Nick needed many more Johns now.


    Dark Dream only had seven Johns, while they had nine Adolescents.


    Luckily, two of them were Possession Specters, and one of them basically counted as one.


    Nevertheless, Dark Dream needed more people.


    Especially after another issue raised its head.


    The undercity work.


    Every John working for Dark Dream had to work six hours below the city every two weeks.


    Wyntor and Nick talked about the issue ofcking manpower, but in the end, they decided to speed up the growth of their people instead of buying Extractors from outside.


    The three guys from Gemini should be Johns within the month, which would alleviate a lot of pressure.


    After talking to Jenny, they decided that she would be the sole team leader for now.


    They decided against making Taren a team leader for now since they weren''t certain yet if he was ready.


    If his motivation remained after half a year, Nick would teach him how to be a team leader and then make him one.


    But for now, they wanted to see if Taren really wanted to devote himself to Dark Dream or if this was just a momentary fancy due to his girlfriend''s death.


    Another dayter, Wyntor told Nick that the official investigation into the Spartans had been concluded.


    Nobody even knew that Nick had been in the Spartans'' building or that Dark Dream was connected to the Crimson Sea''s escape.


    "By the way, we also found out how the Spartans originally obtained the Crimson Sea," Wyntor said. "Everyone wanted to know because the entire city failed in containing it, while a couple of Veterans apparently managed to do the impossible."


    Nick was very interested in hearing that.


    "Turns out¡­"


    "They never needed to suppress it."


    "They got some info about some kind of rogue Extractor that kept kidnapping and sacrificing people."


    "One of the founders killed the Extractor and found a hidden room in their houses."


    "In there, he found a red pool, and it was a Late Hatchling."


    "They simply carved the pool out of the building and moved it into a Containment Unit."


    "Originally, they believed it was a Possession Specter since it wasn''t doing much and worked normally with it."


    "But when it became an Adolescent, it suddenly started expanding by quite a bit."


    "Luckily for them, as a new Adolescent, it wasn''t very powerful."


    "The three founders were used to suppressing wild Specters, and they managed to quickly move it into a free Containment Unit for Force Specters."


    "From what we heard, they actually killed a level two Extractor and used their body to get the Crimson Sea to move."


    "They kind of used the body like a sponge."


    "The John was a couple of levels higher than the Crimson Sea, and the Crimson Sea needed all its power to absorb the body."


    "From what the witnesses said, the Crimson Sea gathered around the corpse like it was a sponge."


    "Lastly, they just threw the body into the Containment Unit, and the Crimson Sea was contained."


    "Over the next couple of years, the Crimson Sea advanced to be a Peak Adolescent, and that''s when it broke out."

 Chapter 311 311 – Zephosis

    <h4>Chapter 311 Chapter 311 ¨C Zephosis </h4>


    ?One week after the big incident, Nick was still working as usual.


    The working day was slowlying to a close, but Nick was still busy with his job.


    As he walked from his office to one of the Containment Units, he saw two people walking up the stairs.


    They were just regr employees.


    "Good evening, Boss," the two of them said.


    Nick just nodded. "Have a nice evening."


    After some friendly smiles, they walked past each other.


    "Man, work was horrible today," Nick heard from one of the two. "I didn''t sleep yesterday, and I felt like the day was going to continue forever. I swear, as soon as I''m home, I''m going to eat and immediately fall into bed. You can''t imagine how tired I am."


    When Nick heard that, he furrowed his brows.


    ''Sleep? Food?'' he thought as he thought back to thest seven days.


    ''When was thest time I slept or ate?''


    Nick tried to think back.


    ''I haven''t slept in over a week, and I''m pretty sure that I also haven''t eaten anything. I think I didn''t even drink anything.''


    Nick raised an eyebrow and looked at his arms and torso.


    He flexed them and checked if they had be thinner.


    At the same time, Nick imagined how it felt to drink water.


    The image he saw in his mind felt neutral.


    It was just like looking at the wall for him.


    ''Have I lost any weight?'' Nick thought.


    Nick quickly dealt with the thing he hade down to do and went to the central lounge.


    Since it was already evening, no one was left in the lounge, and Nick walked over to a scale.


    ''163.5 kg,'' Nick read. ''I actually gained a bit of weight.''


    At that point, Nick was also sure that he didn''t seem any lighter than before, even though he hadn''t drunk or eaten anything in over a week.


    He also didn''t feel as tired anymore.


    In the first two to three days, Nick had felt extremely tired, but after that, he got used to it.


    And now, he actually felt pretty good, physically speaking.


    Nick had a good idea about what was going on, but he was still quite surprised.


    ''Wyntor should still be here,'' Nick thought before he went to the seventh floor.


    "Hey, Wyntor," Nick said as he entered Wyntor''s office without knocking.


    Wyntor just nodded before he continued reading a couple sheets of paper.


    "What do you need?" he asked a secondter.


    "Well," Nick started, "I haven''t slept, drunk, or eaten anything in over a week."


    Wyntor''s eyebrows shot up, and he immediately looked at Nick.


    There were small eyebags below Nick''s eyes, but they weren''t ridiculous.


    Nick''s skin didn''t look dried out.


    He didn''t seem to have lost any weight or muscle.


    That was when Wyntor furrowed his brows in skepticism. "Are you saying you''re in Zephosis?" he asked.


    "I think so. I''m just as surprised as you," Nick answered.


    Wyntor still looked at Nick with skepticism. "Are you sure this is Zephosis and not some kind of self-destructive behavior due to trauma?"


    Nick''s heart rate increased when Wyntor reminded him of what had happened, but Nick quickly repressed the guilt again.


    "I think so," Nick said. "I don''t feel like drinking, eating, or sleeping."


    "Alright," Wyntor said before he grabbed something from below his desk.


    The next moment, Wyntor put a bottle of water onto the table.


    "Drink it," Wyntor said. "I want to be sure."


    Nick became a bit worried. "But wouldn''t that interrupt the Zephosis?"


    "No," Wyntor said. "If you weren''t in Zephosis, you would have already died of dehydration, which means that your Zephosis has already beenpleted, assuming you actually entered it."


    Nick looked at the bottle of water, took a deep breath, and drank.


    "Finish the entire thing," Wyntor said.


    Nick did just that.


    After downing about a liter of water, Nick put the bottle down again and looked at Wyntor.


    Silence.


    "So?" Wyntor asked.


    "Nothing," Nick said. "I don''t feel any different."


    When Wyntor heard that, a surprised expression appeared on his face as he leaned back in his chair.


    "I guess that proves it," Wyntor said.


    "I guess so," Nick answered as he scratched the back of his head.


    "That''s¡­ faster than I thought. I thought you would need two more years," Wyntor said.


    "You''re still 21, right?" Wyntor asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "21, huh?" Wyntor said.


    "A 21-year old Veteran, or soon to be. Whatever."


    Nick just awkwardly scratched the side of his head.


    Naturally, he knew what Zephosis was.


    Zephosis was the very thing that kept most of the Johns from bing Veterans.


    This thing was the very reason why there were so many Johns who had worked for decades with Specters without bing Veterans.


    Manufacturers could throw Specters and Zephyx at these people, and they still wouldn''t be able to be Veterans.


    The word Zephosis came from the word ketosis, which was a state that burned fat instead of sugar after having been deprived of carbs for some time.


    Compared to ketosis, Zephosis had a more fundamental effect.


    Zephosis was a state in which the body used Zephyx instead of food or water as fuel.


    Normal Peak Johns only used Zephyx as a sort of nitro-fuel, boosting their powers manifold.


    However, Peak Johns, who were in Zephosis, exclusively used Zephyx.


    While in this state, the Peak Johns would recover their Zephyx at double the speed, and their Zephyx storage also grew much quicker.


    If one wanted to be a Veteran, one needed to be in a state of Zephosis.


    Otherwise, the body wouldn''t be able to absorb and regenerate enough Zephyx to keep the person alive.


    It would be like having a body that required over 100,000 kilocalories per day while only having a normal-sized stomach.


    No matter how much one ate, one wouldn''t be able to consume enough food to reach 100,000 kilocalories.


    One would eventually die of starvation.


    Because of that, Zephosis was necessary to be a Veteran.

 Chapter 312 312 – Longevity

    <h4>Chapter 312 Chapter 312 ¨C Longevity</h4>


    ?After a while, Wyntor sighed again.


    "It''s unbelievable that you managed to enter Zephosis just like that," he said. "It''s usually such a brutal and strenuous process that barely a third of Peak level two Extractors can get through it."


    Nick just scratched the side of his head. "I guess so?" he answered with a bit of confusion.


    In order to enter Zephosis, someone had to undergo a cruel process.


    A Peak John who was ready to undergo Zephosis needed to stay awake for three days, and during those three days, they also weren''t allowed to eat or drink anything.


    No sleep, no water, no food.


    Naturally, before they actually entered Zephosis, their bodies still worked rtively normally.


    So, three days without sleep, food, or water wasn''t much different for them than for normal people.


    The only difference was that the Extractor wouldn''t enter a critical condition after three days.


    Nevertheless, the pain, suffering, and panic were still the same.


    Most Extractors cracked during the evening or night of the second day.


    The first day wasn''t very difficult, but on the second day, things became really painful and bad.


    Most people could stay up for over 24 hours, but starting at around 36 hours, theck of sleep really took its toll on the person.


    The period from the evening of the second day to the evening of the third day was the most difficult.


    After that, it would be easier, and things would continue to improve after that.


    Naturally, not everyone was willing to go through something this horrible just for their job.


    A Peak John could already livefortably in the Inner City.


    They already belonged to the top 10%.


    Additionally, bing a Veteran could alienate some people from their loved ones.


    After all, the Veteran would no longer have any desire to eat, drink, or sleep.


    A Veteran''s partner would always go to bed alone, and they would always eat alone.


    Additionally, Veterans were often expected to work more since they also didn''t need to sleep anymore.


    Instead of eight hours a day, most of them worked for twelve hours a day.


    As with everything, bing a Veteran had its advantages and disadvantages, and it depended on a person''s priorities in life whether or not to advance.


    Assuming they could get through the process of entering Zephosis.


    Nick had heard about this from his old teacher, Man.


    Apparently, her rtionship was ruined after she became a Veteran.


    Reynold, Nick''s other teacher, told Nick that having a rtionship was difficult, which was why he told Nick that he should only consider bing a Veteran if he valued his career over a rtionship.


    Sure, there were cases in which Veterans married each other, but these cases were rare.


    Due to conflicts of interest, Veterans were not allowed to marry Extractors from other Manufacturers, which meant that they had to choose from their immediate colleagues.


    And very often, there was no one that they clicked with.


    Especially since so many Veterans were not even interested in rtionships.


    In fact, almost 70% of Veterans were single.


    Lastly, there was one more reason why Veterans often didn''t enter long-term rtionships.


    Longevity.


    The more a body and Zephyxbined, the longer a person could live.


    Veterans generally lived up to 130 years, and their bodies and minds didn''t start deteriorating until they were around 110.


    A 110-year-old Veteran would look like a 50-year-old normal person who lived in the Inner City.


    Of course, things would get even crazierter.


    Experts could live for around 200 years.


    Specialists could live for around 300 years.


    Sadly, no one inside Crimson City knew for how long Heroes and stronger could live.


    The city hadn''t existed for that long yet.


    Nevertheless, being able to live for that long was a blessing but also a curse.


    Sure, one would live for much longer, which was considered a good thing, but that also meant that one would watch all their friends and family die unless they also were strong Extractors.


    One only needed to imagine a picture of a young mother cradling her newborn child andpare it to an image of the same mother holding the hand of a bedridden elderly person, with the mother maybe visibly having aged only ten years or so.


    Luckily, or unluckily, depending on the viewpoint, Nick didn''t have this issue.


    He didn''t have a significant other, and while he felt quite close to Wyntor, Nick didn''t feel some kind of extremely deep friendship with him.


    They had each other''s backs, but there was still this distance between them.


    Additionally, Nick didn''t have a family.


    Based on his memories, he never even had one.


    He just woke up in the streets one day.


    "Howe you are already able to enter Zephosis?" Wyntor asked. "I thought you needed to be about 80% of the way to advancing."


    Nick shrugged. "I don''t know. I think I should only be around 50% of the way to bing a Veteran. Maybe something happened?"


    Wyntor furrowed his brows. "The only way would be if some powerful Specter used a lot of Zephyx around you."


    Nick scratched his chin as he thought back.


    Sure, the Crimson Sea had released Zephyx while Nick had been working below the city, but that wouldn''t have been enough.


    None of Dark Dream''s Specters could have given Nick that much Zephyx.


    He also hadn''t been in contact long enough with any of the Spartans'' Specters.


    So, if there were some kind of powerful Specter that used a lot of Zephyx around Nick, it would have to be a wild one.


    At that moment, Nick remembered the nightmares he used to have.


    ''Didn''t the Parasite say that these nightmares came from a Specter?'' Nick thought. ''What if it''s that Specter?''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "By the way," Wyntor said, "do you know what kind of ability you want next?"


    Nick was pulled out of his thoughts and looked at Wyntor.


    Then, he nodded.


    "I already know what I want."

 Chapter 313 313 – Solace

    <h4>Chapter 313 Chapter 313 ¨C Sce </h4>


    ?Nick leaped over a wide gap andnded on a rtively thin rail of metal.


    The rail vibrated a little but didn''t break.


    Then, he continued running down the rail, dodging a long piece of metal that moved across the rail.


    Right now, Nick was running across the rails on the middleyer of the Inner City.


    As a Peak John, he had the strength to jump the gaps between the rails easily.


    Without needing to use Shweebs, moving across the middleyer of the city was actually very efficient and fast.


    After all, he could literally jump to wherever he wanted to be.


    In the past, Nick hadn''t dared to do something like this.


    Back then, he had felt that jumping from rail to rail was too dangerous.


    One wrong move, and he would fall for two kilometers or so.


    But now, Nick just wasn''t as afraid anymore.


    It just didn''t feel as big of a problem anymore.


    Nick kept going upward for a while as he looked around.


    After a bit, he finally found his target and ran towards the south of the middleyer.


    There, Nick saw a huge building over a hundred meters high and wide.


    The building was incorporated into the megastructure and hung from the wall like a wasp nest.


    Countless white lines came out of the building, which traveled across the city.


    Nick had seen these thin white lines before, and he knew what they were for.


    These were special Zephyx lines, and they were delivering artificial light made by a Specter to many different households and even Manufacturers.


    Naturally, only one Manufacturer in the city was known for delivering that much light to everyone.


    Sce.


    After jumping from rail to rail for a while longer, Nick took onest jump andnded on the big entrance tform of Sce.


    Surprisingly, there were no guards whatsoever.


    Although, Dark Dream also didn''t have any guards standing at the front door.


    The guards were only inside the building.


    Nick walked forward and entered the huge building.


    As soon as he entered, he saw a young woman reading something behind a table in the middle of the entrance hall.


    The young woman heard the sound of the door opening, calmly put the thing that she was reading away, and looked at Nick with a polite smile.


    "Wee to Sce! How can I help you?" she asked with a bright and friendly voice.


    Nick walked forward and nodded in greeting. "Hi, is Hera Marion avable? Could you tell her that Nick is here?"


    The woman looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow.


    She had never seen this person before, but he was asking for the Chief Zephyx Extractor?


    "Of course," she said a momentter. "Please wait here while I get my supervisor. I don''t have the authority to contact Miss Marion."


    Nick just nodded without saying anything and waited.


    The next moment, the receptionist walked to the side of the central hall and knocked on one of the doors.


    A middle-aged man opened the door, and the two of them talked with hushed voices.


    Then, the middle-aged man walked to the reception desk and looked at Nick with a polite tone.


    "Might I ask how you know Miss Marion? I''m sorry for the inconvenience, but we only want to disturb her if it is necessary. I hope you understand," he said.


    Nick wasn''t surprised about their reluctance.


    Hera probably had a lot to do.


    "I''m Nick Nick, and I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream. Hera told me that I should call for her if I ever decide to visit," Nick said.


    The eyes of the two widened in surprise.


    So, this was the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream!


    Obviously, almost the entire city knew about Dark Dream by now, but while the Outer City saw Nick on almost a daily basis, the Inner City very rarely saw him, which was why he was a bit of a mystery.


    Additionally, Chief Zephyx Extractors were usually more involved in business betweenpanies, and they often traveled from Manufacturer to Manufacturer.


    Meanwhile, almost all business-rted matters for Dark Dream were handled by Wyntor, which was why Nick so rarely visited other Manufacturers.


    "You''re Dark Dream''s Chief Zephyx Extractor?" the supervisor asked with surprise.


    Nick just nodded.


    "Then, please wait a moment. I will call Miss Marion right away," he said as he walked out of the central hall.


    Nick just waited.


    Naturally, all the Chief Zephyx Extractors saw each other at least once per year during the yearly meeting.


    Because of that, Nick had already built a connection with basically all of them, except for Anatomy.


    Even the twins from Gemini had warmed up to Dark Dream and didn''t treat them like annoying children anymore.


    Only Anatomy still acted like Dark Dream was unworthy of their notice, but that wasn''t anything special.


    They acted the same way to Sce and Gemini as well.


    Only Ghosty''s Lab and Kugelblitz could actually talk to Anatomy normally.


    Nick had met Hera Marion several times already, and they had even talked a couple of times.


    Compared to the Spartans and Gemini, Sce had immediately been friendly to Dark Dream, which made Dark Dream prefer Sce over the other two in business matters.


    Ramona Illium, the CEO of Sce, was actually quite a good friend of Wyntor''s by now.


    They even had a lunch date every two weeks in which they just ate lunch together and talked about all kinds of things.


    Nick waited for a couple of minutes in the central hall.


    Eventually, one of the doors opened, and two people walked through.


    One of them was the supervisor from earlier.


    The other one was a beautiful blonde woman who looked to be in her thirties.


    She had bright blonde hair, and her disposition put anyone at ease.


    She had this certain Aura that made one immediately feel rxed in her presence.


    When she saw Nick, a bright smile appeared on her lips.


    "Nick, wee to Sce!"

 Chapter 314 314 – Blood Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 314 Chapter 314 ¨C Blood Wolf</h4>


    ?"Thank you, Hera," Nick said with a smile of his own as he shook her hand in greeting.


    "Come, I''ll show you around," Hera said, leading Nick to the back of the hall.


    Naturally, Hera knew that Nick was here for some business-rted matters, but it wasmon courtesy to show someone around the facilities when they visited for the first time before getting down to business.


    "Of course. Thank you," Nick said politely.


    For the next couple of minutes, Hera introduced the building to Nick.


    Surprisingly, even though the building was much bigger than Dark Dream''s, it only had ten floors.


    However, each floor was almost ten meters high, which made Nick feel like he was in some huge and grand hall.


    Apparently, the floors were designed to be of this size so that Sce could hold huge Specters.


    Most Specters were not that big, but there were a few that were quite big.


    And if one didn''t have a Containment Unit of a fitting size, one wouldn''t be able to contain such a Specter.


    Having high ceilings allowed Sce to use Containment Units that were up to ten meters high, and a couple of them were already in use.


    "Do you want to have a little fight?" Hera asked suddenly as she stopped in front of one of the Containment Units.


    "Against you?" Nick asked in surprise.


    "No, of course not," Hera answered with augh.


    Hera was an Expert already.


    The next moment, she knocked on the door. "Against the thing in here. It''s a Blood Specter at the Late Adolescent level."


    Nick looked at the door a bit.


    In the past, fighting seemed exciting but also frightening to him.


    But ever since that huge incident happened, Nick hadn''t felt the same.


    He felt like all the fights had lost their stakes.


    The thing he would lose if he lost just wasn''t as valuable as it used to be, making the fightsck excitement.


    "Sure," Nick said neutrally.


    When Hera heard that, a small glimmer appeared in her eyes.


    Her asking the question had several purposes.


    First, politeness. Offering an Extractor a fight with a Specters was essentially giving them a bit of Zephyx.


    Second, information gathering. She wanted to know how Nick felt about fights and how he viewed them. And if Nick epted, she would also get to see how Nick would fight.


    Lastly, personal interest. Hera just wanted to see Nick fight because she was interested in him as a person.


    Not in a romantic way, but in a friendly way.


    Nick was someone from the former Dregs, and he had be a Chief Zephyx Extractor while being so young.


    Naturally, many people were interested in Nick.


    Nick''s most interesting aspect was that he hadn''t been reced yet.


    Wyntor was an heir to the Melfion family, and he had a scary number of connections with powerful people.


    While he hadn''t had the resources to get a good Chief Zephyx Extractor when Dark Dream was still new, the same thing wasn''t true anymore.


    Dark Dream had over ten Specters by now, and Wyntor could easily convince one of the Veteran team leaders from Kugelblitz to join as his Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Naturally, the difference between someone like that and Nick was huge.


    And yet, Wyntor kept using and relying on Nick as Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    There had to be something that made Nick special, but Hera hadn''t seen that special something yet.


    Nick was friendly, but he also seemed insecure in many things.


    He didn''t seem like a Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Of course, that made Hera interested in Nick.


    What was so special about him?


    "Good to hear!" Hera said with a smile. "I heard you got the Blood Hawk and Blood Horse from the city. So, you should know how to fight a Blood Specter."


    Nick wasn''t surprised that Hera knew about the Blood Hawk and Blood Horse.


    The Specters had belonged to the city, and everyone who worked for the city basically knew all the Specters that the city''s forces had ess to.


    The absence of two Specters definitely attracted attention, and it wouldn''t be difficult to find out where they were now.


    Nick just nodded.


    Hera opened the door and walked inside.


    "It should be in its recovery phase. Beating it once should be enough," she said.


    Nick entered as well and quickly saw a huge red wolf.


    It was almost three meters high and about five meters long.


    At this moment, Hera was calmly holding it back by just pushing it away whenever it tried to run forward.


    It was important to note that experienced Extractors could use their Zephyx to build a powerful connection with the ground.


    If Hera didn''t do that, she would be flung away, even though she was much more powerful than the Blood Wolf.


    It was simply a matter of weight.


    But by using her Zephyx to connect her to the ground, she could make perfect use of her power.


    "Ready?" she asked.


    "Sure," Nick said.


    "Here ites," Hera said as she jumped to the side.


    The huge Blood Wolf immediately ran aggressively towards Nick.


    It jumped forward and opened its mouth to consume him.


    But the Blood Wolf missed.


    Nick seemed to have vanished from its vision!


    In truth, Nick had simply sidestepped at an incredible speed just moments before the wolf mped down on him.


    At this moment, the wolf didn''t know where Nick was, and Hera was behind the wolf.


    She also didn''t know where Nick was.


    Nick''s ability activated, and he jumped forward.


    BOOOOOOM!


    Nick punched the Blood Wolf''s head, which separated from its body, hitting the wall.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick kicked the wolf''s body toward one of the walls, but since his ability wasn''t active anymore, the wolf basically only stumbled backward toward the wall.


    Then, its body copsed.


    It was in recovery mode.


    The head started to vanish rapidly.


    Nick turned to Hera and nodded.


    When Hera saw that, a gleam appeared in her eyes.

 Chapter 315 315 – Young

    <h4>Chapter 315 Chapter 315 ¨C Young </h4>


    ?Hera had expected that Nick would have, at least, some troubles with the Blood Wolf.


    Sure, the Blood Wolf was technically a level below Nick, but it was huge, and due to its size, its physical power was also very impressive.


    Due to its great power and fast regeneration, Sce always sent a team of four Late Johns to work with it.


    A single Peak John would most likely not win since the Blood Wolf would oust them.


    Specters very often were more powerful than Extractors on the same level.


    Hera had expected Nick to be stronger than the average Peak John, but she hadn''t expected Nick to be that much stronger.


    The Blood Wolf might as well have been a Hatchling with the way Nick dealt with it.


    Another interesting thing was Nick''s ability.


    Extractors almost exclusively fought with their abilities, and they rarely used their physical powers.


    Obviously, Nick had used his ability since a Peak John''s physical power wasn''t enough to decapitate the Blood Wolf.


    Yet, impressively enough, Hera basically didn''t learn anything new about Nick''s ability.


    Nick had used his ability perfectly when she couldn''t see it.


    The only thing Hera could say was that Nick''s ability had great potential for destruction since it managed to decapitate the Blood Wolf.


    Sadly, she hadn''t seen how exactly the ability decapitated the wolf.


    All of this information boiled down to one thing.


    ''He''s very experienced in fighting,'' Hera thought.


    Naturally, that hypothesis was backed by the fact that Nick didn''t seem even a slight bit nervous in front of the gigantic and terrifying Blood Wolf.


    "Impressive," Hera said as she opened the entrance again to walk out. "You''re really good at fighting."


    Nick nodded as he followed Hera outside. "Thanks."


    "You almost seemed like a Veteran during the fight with the way you dealt with the Blood Wolf," Hera said with a smile.


    "Well," Nick said. "That''s actually rted to why I''m here."


    Hera hadn''t finished the tour yet, but since Nick brought up the topic, she engaged with it.


    "Oh? Why are you here?" she asked, looking at Nick with interest.


    "I''m here to purchase an ability for myself," Nick said.


    Hera blinked in surprise. "Isn''t that a bit early?"


    "No," Nick answered. "In fact, I''ve been in Zephosis for about a month now. I''m ready to advance."


    Thispletely dumbfounded Hera.


    Wasn''t Dark Dream only five years old?


    Hadn''t Nick been a fresh Newbie just five years ago?


    And now, he was iming that he was about to be a Veteran?


    "Sorry, but I have to make sure that I heard you correctly," Hera said. "You said that you are ready to be a Veteran, right?"


    Nick nodded.


    "Right now," Hera added.


    Nick nodded again.


    Hera blinked a bit in surprise.


    "Sorry if this is a rather personal question, but how old are you?" she asked.


    "I recently turned 21," Nick said.


    Hera had no idea what she should think about.


    Most people only became Zephyx Extractors during that age.


    One of the harshest criteria in testing applicants for the position of Zephyx Extractor was courage without recklessness.


    Many teenagers didn''tck courage, but their courage was often apanied by recklessness.


    On the other hand, most adults didn''t have the required courage, but they also weren''t as reckless.


    Most Extractors only became Extractors between 19 and 28 years of age.


    It was rare to see someone older or younger be an Extractor.


    Hera knew that Nick was young, but she hadn''t known that he was this young!


    Based on her math, Nick would have needed to be Dark Dream''s Chief Zephyx Extractor when he was just 16!


    The next shocking thing was that Nick had managed to be a Veteran in just five years!


    The average time required to be an Initial John was around two years, and the average time required to be an Initial Veteran after bing an Initial John was seven years.


    Bing a Peak John after bing an Initial John generally took around three years, and gathering the Zephyx for Zephosis and achieving said Zephosis took around four years on average.


    So, all in all, bing an Initial Veteran after bing a Zephyx Extractor took nine years on average.


    If a 22-year-old became an Extractor, they would be an Initial Veteran at around the age of 31.


    But Nick was barely 21.


    He was about to be an Initial Veteran when others were just starting to be Extractors.


    This was a lot to take in.


    There had been cases where people as young as 14 managed to be Extractors, but they also tended to take about two years longer than the average to be Veterans, making them Veterans at around 25 years of age.


    That was already very impressive.


    But 21?


    Hera wasn''t sure if she had ever heard of anyone bing a Veteran at such a low age.


    It took her quite a while toe to terms with what she had just heard.


    "Sorry," Hera said after several seconds of silence. "I zoned out there."


    Then, she sighed. "A 21-year-old Veteran. That''s hard to believe, even for me."


    "That''s really impressive, Nick."


    Nick nodded. "Thanks."


    Hera gestured down the hallway.


    "Let''s keep the tour for another time," she said before walking down one of the hallways.


    Nick walked behind her, and after ascending a couple of floors, Hera led Nick into her office.


    Hera''s office was quite bright, and it was littered with different kinds of nts.


    nts were a luxury inside Crimson City, and Nick hadn''t seen that many yet.


    "Give me a second," Hera said as she opened one of the drawers.


    A momentter, she took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Nick.


    "Here, that''s what we have to offer," she said.


    Nick looked at the sheet.


    The sheet had the names and abilities of ten Specters on it.


    Naturally, Manufacturers also made money by selling abilities to other Manufacturers.


    It was some easy money for basically no investment.


    The only drawback was that the Specters were obviously going to be made public, which could be a security risk.


    When Nick looked at the ten Specters, his brows furrowed.


    "The one I want isn''t on this list."

 Chapter 316 316 – The Blinding Light

    <h4>Chapter 316 Chapter 316 ¨C The Blinding Light</h4>


    ?Hera''s brows furrowed when she heard Nick.


    Naturally, every Manufacturer gathered information on every other Manufacturer, and Manufacturers often knew about Specters that other Manufacturers didn''t want to be known.


    Nevertheless, spying on others was still seen as sneaky, and highlighting something that the other party obviously wanted to be kept a secret was quite rude.


    Highlighting something like that was like going through someone''s personal belongings behind their backs and then asking them about something they found.


    "And which one would that be?" she asked.


    "The Blinding Light," Nick said.


    Hera''s brows lifted in surprise, and her annoyance vanished.


    She had thought that Nick was about to ask for one of their more secretive Specters.


    Instead, Nick asked about a Specter that was actually quite high profile.


    The Blinding Light used to belong to Kugelblitz, and it was also the Specter that gave Wyntor his ability.


    About six months ago, Sce bought the Blinding Light from Kugelblitz for a hefty sum.


    Since Sce was in the business of selling artificial light, they wanted to see if they could expand it with the help of the Blinding Light.


    Sce''s biggest moneymaker was the Possession Specter, the Bright Candle.


    The Bright Candle was a Late Adult, and it looked just like a normal candle.


    When someone approached the Bright Candle, its light became brighter, but the body of the approaching person would start to catch fire.


    However, the fire was very different from normal fire.


    The burning person actually didn''t feel any pain during the process, and they actually didn''t receive any noticeable injuries.


    At least, that''s how it was for Extractors.


    Normal people would just vanish within two seconds.


    The reason for the difference was that the Bright Candle consumed Zephyx.


    An Extractor that touched the candle would have their Zephyx burned away in exchange for warm and calming light.


    Of course, if they actually ran out of Zephyx, they would still die.


    Five Veterans and 25 Johns were dedicated to working exclusively with the Bright Candle.


    People were constantly stationed around the Bright Candle, and the light it produced was sent across the entire city.


    This was how Sce earned most of its money.


    Some years ago, Sce got an idea for an upgrade.


    They already had built all these expensive lines for light to travel to, and they found a way to expand thatwork with only a little bit of investment.


    Like this, they could not only send light to people but also heat.


    People could warm their houses with the heat, and they could also use it to cook food.


    Making a fire was difficult and expensive due to theck of burnable materials.


    Most food was cooked by putting it below huge lenses that gathered the light.


    Naturally, there were many drawbacks to such a method.


    With Sce''s new service, people could just open a valve and have firee out.


    That would give people the possibility to cook their own food, which would improve the lives of many people¡­


    And also make Sce a shitload of credits.


    The most fitting Specter to produce the heat was the Blinding Light.


    Naturally, Kugelblitz knew that and asked for a brutal price.


    Three billion credits.


    For an Adult.


    That was ridiculous.


    But not really as ridiculous if one knew about the Shadow Shrouds.


    Without the Blinding Light, it would be much more difficult to create the Shadow Shrouds.


    In the end, Sce bit the bullet and paid the money.


    And now, they owned the Blinding Light.


    Because of the huge waves the acquisition made, everyone knew about the Blinding Light.


    "You want the Blinding Light''s ability?" Hera asked with surprise.


    Nick nodded.


    Hera looked at Nick with confusion and skepticism.


    The Blinding Light''s ability was not something that Extractors generally wanted.


    The Blinding Light''s basic ability allowed Extractors to create a burning domain, which had different effects based on where the enemy looked.


    If the enemy looked at the person using the ability, their eyes would be blind very quickly due to the insane brightness.


    But if the enemy looked away, their body would start to burn, which would result in the umtion of injuries.


    However, the burning effect wasn''t strong enough to be viable forbat.


    Because of that, the Blinding Light''s ability was only given to Extractors that only wanted to run away.


    When it came to fleeing, the Blinding Light''s ability was incredibly useful.


    Right now, Hera was confused as to why Nick would want such an ability.


    Sure, when advancing, a Specter''s ability would integrate into the Extractor''s main ability, which would create different effects, but even with all of that, the Blinding Light couldn''t be considered to be a fit for most Extractors.


    Nick seemed to be very experienced inbat, which meant that he most likely wasn''t someone who immediately ran from a confrontation.


    So, why did he want to have the Blinding Light''s ability?


    Hera had no idea.


    "Well," Hera said after a bit, "usually, we don''t just allow anyone to get any of our abilities."


    Nick just looked at Hera.


    "But since I know you, I''m willing to help you. Even if it''s against the rules I established," she said with a smile before walking to the door.


    Nick looked at Hera as she was leaving. "Thank you, Hera. This really means a lot to me."


    "How much is it?" he asked.


    Hera just waved dismissively. "Forget it. You''re getting it free of charge. View it as a favor from Sce."


    Nick''s eyes shone.


    While this seemed to be a nice gesture, it was actually a higher price than a couple of million credits.


    Trust was imperative in business rtionships.


    Because of that, if Sce asked for a favor in the future, Dark Dream would need to reciprocate.


    Otherwise, they would be viewed as disrespectful, sneaky, thankless, and untrustworthy.


    However, Nick and Wyntor had expected as much.


    After all, Nick was a Chief Zephyx Extractor, and Manufacturers were willing to fork over huge piles of money for their Chief Zephyx Extractors.


    "Then, thank you," Nick said, epting the offer.


    It was a high price, but it was worth it.


    Nick''s ability was just too important.


    A momentter, the two of them left Hera''s office and walked to the Blinding Light''s Containment Unit.

 Chapter 317 317 – Preparing for Work

    <h4>Chapter 317 Chapter 317 ¨C Preparing for Work </h4>


    ?"Here it is," Hera said after stopping in front of a huge door.


    Surprisingly, the two of them had descended the stairs instead of ascending them.


    Apparently, Sce was keeping the Blinding Light in their basement instead of their attic.


    Of course, since Sce was in the middleyer of the Inner City, the basement was still over a kilometer above the actual ground.


    The door Nick stood in front of was absolutely massive.


    It was ten meters high and ten meters wide, which was insane for the door of a Containment Unit.


    But it actually made sense if one thought about how much Sce had paid for the Blinding Light.


    If someone paid billions of credits for a Specter, saving a couple of million on the Containment Unit didn''t make a lot of sense.


    Nick didn''t know how strong the Containment Unit was, but he assumed that not even Elders would be able to break out of this one.


    Maybe not even Fanatics.


    On the walls of the Containment Unit, Nick could also see a ton of white lines and empty pipes.


    He assumed that Sce hadn''t yet managed to find a way to make the Blinding Light''s power usable by the general public.


    They were probably still experimenting with it.


    The next moment, Hera walked to the side of the Containment Unit and greeted two people standing in front of it.


    They were both level two Extractors.


    It seemed like Sce valued the Blinding Light so much that they even stationed two Johns in front of its Containment Unit just to be safe.


    The two Extractors respectfully greeted Hera and opened the door.


    They didn''t ask why someone not belonging to Sce was allowed to enter the most secure Containment Unit in the entire building.


    After all, their boss'' boss was escorting him.


    Surprisingly, Nick didn''t see any light when the employee entrance to the Containment Unit opened.


    He had expected that the Blinding Light''s light would immediately start frying him.


    Instead, Nick found himself in a small room.


    "You have a room inside a Containment Unit?" Nick asked in surprise.


    "Yes, we built this room as a buffer. We don''t want the light to burn anyone that walks past the entrance whenever the door is open," Hera exined.


    Nick had never seen a Containment Unit that had a small room inside of it.


    The door behind Nick had closed again, and the door in front of him had not yet opened.


    The only source of light was a small white line on the room''s ceiling.


    Since Sce provided the light to Crimson City, they didn''t need to pay for their own light.


    Even though their building had ess to sunlight, they preferred using their own light over the sunlight due to security concerns.


    "Have you worked with the Blinding Light before?" Hera asked.


    Nick shook his head.


    "Alright," Hera said. "The Blinding Light creates Zephyx whenever it blinds people, and it only blinds people whenever they look at it. Looking away from it will protect your eyes, but your body will start burning. Sadly, that process doesn''t produce any Zephyx."


    "That means that you have to be blind. Can you do that?" Hera asked.


    Naturally, Hera asked that since not every person had the willpower to look into a bright light until their eyes were destroyed.


    This process involved a lot of suffering and panic.


    Of course, even Nick wouldn''t have it easy.


    Yes, Nick had worked with many scary and powerful Specters, but bing blind was still terrifying in his mind.


    "Yes," Nick answered.


    Nevertheless, despite not liking it, he had to do it.


    Hera nodded and went to a small cupboard on the room''s wall.


    She took out a small green bottle and showed it to Nick. "Do you have Recovery Liquid?" she asked.


    Nick''s hand went to his toolbelt and retrieved a small green bottle, showing it to Hera.


    Hera nodded and put the green bottle back.


    Next, she went to a wardrobe and opened it.


    Inside the wardrobe were many big harnesses made of some kind of leathery material.


    "You have to put this on," Hera said as she approached Nick with one of the harnesses.


    Nick didn''t resist and allowed Hera to put the harness around him.


    That was when Nick noticed that the leathery harness also included hand, foot, neck, and head cuffs.


    "Human instinct is to protect your eyes," Hera said. "Because of that, we have to restrain you."


    "The harness is made of materials that can even hold me for quite a while. You don''t have to be scared of identally breaking something," she said as she finished putting the harness on Nick.


    Nick took a deep breath but didn''t answer.


    Then, Hera led Nick to the outer wall of the room, which had several tiny tforms hanging from a railing.


    "Stand here," Hera said as she pointed to the tform closest to the door.


    Nick did just that.


    Next, Hera connected the footcuffs to the tform.


    Then, she connected Nick''s handcuffs to the part hanging from the railing.


    After that, Nick''s torso was connected.


    Lastly, Hera grabbed a metal thing from the railing, which she then put around Nick''s chin and forehead.


    Nick''s heart was racing since he couldn''t move anymore.


    The panic of being powerless made being here almost unbearable.


    "Almost done," Hera said. "Onest thing."


    That''s when Hera retrieved two mps.


    Nick''s heart rate increased even more as he saw Hera''s fingere closer and closer to his eyes.


    He did his best to remain stationary.


    A minuteter, Nick''s eyes were forced open by the two mps.


    Even though his body was insanely powerful, Nick couldn''t damage any of the things restraining him.


    Hera nodded once. "That''s everything. Are you ready?"


    Nick took a deep breath and tried to nod.


    Of course, he couldn''t nod due to the thing holding his head in ce.


    "Yes," he answered after a bit.


    "Alright," Hera said as she approached a button near the door.


    "One session takes 15 minutes. When the time is up, you will automatically be returned to this room. I will be waiting here."


    "Have fun!" she said with a grin.


    Then, she pressed the button, and the door shot open.

 Chapter 318 318 – Veteran

    <h4>Chapter 318 Chapter 318 ¨C Veteran</h4>


    ?Nick''s body was rapidly pulled to the side as the tform started to shoot into the actual Containment Unit.


    As soon as the door opened, Hera had already vanished, her body hidden behind a wall of light that suddenly appeared between the two of them.


    Nick''s entire world had already been reced with white.


    The only way Nick could tell that he was moving was his sense of bnce since the white world in front of his eyes seemed unending and unchanging.


    DING!


    The tform stopped abruptly, and Nick finally saw something slightly different.


    It was very difficult to see, but there was one spot in Nick''s vision that was a bit whiter than the other spots.


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t tell how big or far away the spot was.


    The only thing that he could tell was that he was in immense difort.


    Nick had just seen the brightest thing in his entire life, and his reflexes acted ordingly.


    Nick''s eyelids wanted to close, but they couldn''t.


    Nick wanted to turn away from the light, but he couldn''t.


    Nick''s hands wanted to cover his face, but they couldn''t.


    "Ah, fuck!" Nick said with pain as his eyes tried their best to look to the side.


    Yet, his eyes perfectly pointed forward, and he couldn''t move his body.


    The next moment, he felt his eyes bing hotter and hotter.


    It felt like somebody was heating up the inside of his brain!


    Nick''s pupils had already turned into pinpricks, and the white eyeball surrounding his iris was turning red as it got filled with blood.


    Nick gritted his teeth as the pain got worse and worse.


    He felt like all the moisture was leaving his eyes!


    He wished for nothing more than to be able to rub them.


    Except for Nick''s groans of pain, everything else was silent inside the Containment Unit.


    Nick''s eyes had already started watering in an effort to keep them moist.


    But it didn''t matter.


    The water vanished in an instant.


    After an unknown period of pain and misery, Nick couldn''t see any white light anymore.


    He wasn''t even sure what color he saw.


    Was it grey?


    Was it white?


    Was it ck?


    It was like the things his eyes were delivering to him no longer made any sense.


    Nick assumed that the small part of the retinas behind the pupil had been destroyed and that the worst part was behind him.


    Sadly, that wasn''t true.


    Nick could still technically see by expanding his pupil, which meant that he wasn''t blind yet.


    He would only be blind when his eyeballs had be useless.


    So, it continued.


    Nick''s eyeballs lost more and more of their moisture until they actually sunk into his skull as shriveled bags.


    The pain was immense.


    At that moment, Nick remembered something.


    Wyntor had the Blinding Light''s ability.


    Additionally, Wyntor had needed to work with the Blinding Light several times to get it.


    Lastly, Wyntor had gotten that ability when he was just a child.


    This meant that Wyntor had gone through this thing several times when he was just twelve years old or something like that.


    Surprisingly, thinking about that made it easier for Nick.


    If even a child could do that several times, why couldn''t he?


    So, even though the pain Nick was feeling was immense, he still tried to focus on the Zephyx in the surroundings.


    Since Nick was in the process of bing blind, the Blinding Light had to be producing Zephyx.


    It wasn''t easy to focus, but Nick managed to feel the presence of Zephyx.


    Ever since he had entered Zephosis, Nick''s ability to perceive Zephyx had increased tremendously.


    He tried his best to rx his body and to let the Zephyx in the surroundings enter him.


    The pain still made him cramp up from time to time, but he was slowly making progress.


    Some timeter, Nick felt something near the bottom of his neck.


    Right in front of the foreign Zephyx that Simon Francium had given him was Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer.


    At this moment, Nick felt a feeling simr to having a stomach filled to the brim with water.


    It felt a bit like being hungry but being unable to eat.


    Nick focused on that feeling.


    The next moment, he felt the Zephyx in the surroundings rapidly entering him.


    It was like a whirlpool had suddenly opened up at the ce where his Zephyx Synchronizer was.


    At the same time, the muscles all over Nick''s body tensed.


    Between the brutal waves of pain, Nick could feel himself growing more powerful.


    He was doing it!


    He was advancing!


    At that moment, things became far easier.


    The pain was still there, but it no longer mattered as much.


    He was bing a Veteran!


    He wasing closer to his goal!


    And suddenly, he stopped moving.


    He just looked into the light aimlessly.


    His advancement was forgotten.


    His pain was forgotten.


    A couple of secondster, Nick advanced to bing a Veteran.


    And yet, he wasn''t even thinking about that.


    No, he was thinking about somethingpletely different.


    ''My goal?''


    Silence.


    ''What goal?'' he thought.


    ''Wasn''t my goal to help the people in the Dregs?''


    ''Didn''t I want to make things right for Horua?''


    Silence.


    ''But the people in the Dregs are dead.''


    ''They''re all dead.''


    ''And I killed them.''


    Nick just kept facing the light.


    ''I don''t have a goal anymore.''


    ''The only reason why I was doing all of this was to redeem myself.''


    ''But instead, I only made everything worse.''


    ''By trying to make things right, I only ended up making them worse.''


    Nick had finally be a Veteran after years of hard work.


    And yet, that didn''t matter.


    It made no difference to him.


    Nick wasn''t interested in power.


    He was interested in being happy and making things right.


    Sadly, he couldn''t do that anymore.


    So, what was the point of growing more powerful?


    ''Why am I even doing all of this?'' Nick asked himself again.


    ''I don''t even have a goal anymore.''


    Nick kept looking at the light in front of him aimlessly.


    There was so much light.


    Sadly, his eyes couldn''t see any of it.

 Chapter 319 319 – Apathy

    <h4>Chapter 319 Chapter 319 ¨C Apathy </h4>


    ?For the next few minutes, Nick didn''t even try to move.


    His eyes had already burned away.


    The only trace left of his eyes were a couple of ck spots at the bottom of his eye sockets.


    Nick had finally be a Veteran, but it just didn''t feel important.


    Power was never Nick''s goal.


    It was only a means to achieve his goal.


    Sadly, with his goal invalidated, attaining the means to achieve said invalid goal became meaningless.


    What was the point of bing stronger when Nick felt just as shit as before?


    Nick was stronger than 99% of all the people living in Crimson City.


    However, he was also unhappier than 99% of all the people living in Crimson City.


    The only ones feeling more miserable than him were people who were about to say the Sentence.


    ''I just don''t know what to do,'' Nick thought.


    From time to time, the image of the red mist engulfing the Dregs reappeared in Nick''s mind.


    This was his doing.


    This was what he had done.


    With Nick''s eyes unable to generate images, his mind was now the only thing generating them.


    The visualization of Nick''s past had never been this clear before.


    Horua.


    Pator.


    The people of the Dregs.


    Nick''s hands felt bloody.


    He couldn''t tell whether this was an illusion or reality created by his clenching fists.


    ''Why am I still alive?''


    ''Why am I still doing this?''


    ''Why am I still trying?''


    Nick felt his insides shake as the ck hole in his chest seemed to grow.


    He wanted to say the Sentence, but he didn''t even try.


    He knew that he wouldn''t be able to actually go through with it.


    ''I can''t even kill myself.''


    Silence.


    At that moment, the tform below Nick began to move, and he heard the door opening.


    "Wee back," Nick heard from in front of him. "Let me just take these things off."


    The next moment, Nick felt the harness and all the restraints being pulled off his body.


    "There we go," Hera said with a cheerful voice.


    Out of habit, Nick''s hand went to his toolbelt and retrieved the green bottle with Recovery Liquid.


    Nick wasn''t even actively thinking about healing his eyes as his hands put two drops of Recovery Liquid into his eye sockets.


    ''Why am I even doing this?'' Nick thought as his hand put the Recovery Liquid away with practiced ease.


    "So, how did it go?" Hera asked.


    "I''m a Veteran," Nick said without turning to her.


    Recovery Liquid took a couple of minutes to regrow limbs and organs, which was why Nick still couldn''t see Hera.


    "Congrattions!" Hera said with a slightly excited voice. "You''re probably the youngest Veteran we have ever had in the city!"


    Hera seemed to be genuinely surprised and excited, but Nick just didn''t feel it.


    "Thanks," he said absentmindedly.


    Hera looked at Nick with raised eyebrows.


    She had expected that Nick would be a bit more excited.


    Usually, she would think that Nick was just trying to act cool and talk like this wasn''t a big deal, but she could tell that Nick genuinely seemed disinterested.


    Hera had been an Extractor for decades, and she was very good at recognizing subtle signs of a person''s true thoughts and emotions.


    It wasn''t difficult for her to see that something major was troubling Nick.


    However, the reason why she didn''t ask was the same reason why Nick didn''tment about it.


    They barely knew each other, and they only had a business rtionship.


    It was not Hera''s ce to ask, even though she was interested.


    It was not Nick''s ce to burden Hera with his problems, even though he wanted to.


    In the end, Hera just made a couple of casualments, and Nick gave curt and disinterested answers.


    Eventually, Nick''s eyes recovered, and the two of them walked out of the Containment Unit.


    "Is there anything else you need?" Hera asked with a friendly smile.


    "No, thank you," Nick said, trying to sound polite but only sounding distracted.


    "Alright," Hera answered. "Then, excuse me, but I have to return to work. It was nice talking to you. When you visit next time, maybe we can finish that tour. How about it?"


    Nick just nodded. "Sure. Thanks. Bye."


    Nick''s disjointed manner of speech made Hera smile ufortably.


    The next moment, Nick just turned around and started to slowly walk towards Sce''s entrance.


    A momentter, two guards joined Nick and followed behind him.


    Even though Nick was considered a friend to Sce, they still wouldn''t allow him to walk around their headquarters alone.


    Hera looked at Nick for a bit, sighed, and turned around to leave.


    Nick walked out of Sce''s entrance a minuteter, and the guards wished him a good day before entering the building again.


    Meanwhile, Nick just stopped outside the building and looked at the middleyer of the Inner City.


    Nick''s hair swayed back and forth.


    He was thinking.


    But he didn''t know what he was thinking about.


    It was like his mind was trying to figure something out that he couldn''t describe or imagine.


    His mind was working, but he didn''t know what it was working on.


    For over five minutes, Nick just mindlessly looked at the city.


    Without thinking about it, Nick''s legs walked forward and carried him to the edge.


    He only stopped when the front halves of his feet were already past the edge.


    He wasn''t afraid.


    He wasn''t going tomit suicide.


    But if he just so happened to fall, it wouldn''t be so bad.


    Nick just stood at the edge without moving.


    His eyes looked down at the loweryer about a kilometer below him.


    He thought the image of the loweryer from this position looked enchanting.


    ''That''s quite far,'' was Nick''s first conscious thought in five minutes.


    ''I''m over a hundred times stronger than normal people, and I only weigh a bit more.''


    Nick just silently looked at the distant ground.


    ''I should be able to survive.''


    And then, Nick swayed forward.


    He started to fall.

 Chapter 320 320 – Investment

    <h4>Chapter 320 Chapter 320 ¨C Investment</h4>


    ?Nick''s feet left the huge pir that Sce''s building was built on, and Nick started to fall.


    He had never fallen from such an insane height.


    Nick felt the air hitting his face, and the sound of rushing winds thundered in his ears.


    The thought of falling from so high up used to terrify Nick, but right now, he felt somethingpletely different.


    It was some kind of freedom, but that word wasn''tpletely urate.


    Maybe it was some kind of calling?


    Maybe it was the feeling of something terrifying ending?


    Maybe it was the feeling of touching something extremely dangerous?


    Or maybe it was the feeling of touching something very warm and nice?


    No matter how it was described, Nick felt like something in his chest was bing warmer.


    Nick''s speed was picking up at a scary pace.


    The fall didn''t take as long as Nick had thought.


    He had anticipated that he would fall for a minute or so, but he reached the ground after only around 15 seconds.


    Nick was falling headfirst, and he was looking at the ground when he was just 50 meters away from it.


    The next moment, Nick repositioned himself so that his legs pointed downward.


    With practiced ease, Nick used the Zephyx in his legs to cushion the impact.


    BANG!


    The sound of something hard hitting the ground echoed throughout the street in which Nicknded, but the sound wasn''t as loud as one would have expected.


    At the same time, dents in the form of Nick''s shoes appeared on the metal of the street.


    Meanwhile, Nick''s legs just slightly buckled afternding.


    Nick felt like he had needed to use quite a bit of power to retain his bnce, but that was about it.


    It actually wasn''t as bad as he had imagined.


    One couldpare it to a mortal jumping into a pool of water from a height of ten meters or so.


    Sure, it was scary, and it would be dangerous if one hit the water in an uncontrolled manner, but as long as one hit the water in a safe manner, not much would happen.


    Some of the people on the streets turned to Nick, but they quickly lost interest again.


    Veterans and stronger often reached the loweryer by simply jumping from the middleyer.


    It was just that Nick''snding was a bit louder than the usual ones.


    Nick looked at the ground for a couple of seconds before he walked towards the Outer City.


    For just a couple of moments, his mood had improved.


    The rush of doing something dangerous distracted him from the things worrying him.


    Sadly, the rush didn''t stay for long, and Nick''s mood quickly reached rock bottom again.


    He left the Inner City and slowly walked towards Dark Dream.


    Without even thinking about it, Nick entered Dark Dream''s building.


    He had been inside the building for a month by now.


    Ever since he didn''t need to eat, drink, or sleep anymore, Nick had seen no point in buying a home.


    Dark Dream was his home.


    The building was his house, and the Specters were his pets.


    After entering the building, he mindlessly started checking the Zephyx containers.


    When he had collected all the containers, he brought them to Wyntor''s office.


    Wyntor just nodded without looking at Nick when he saw the containers.


    Nick turned around to leave the office.


    At that moment, Wyntor furrowed his brows.


    "Everything okay?" he asked as he looked at Nick''s back.


    "Huh?" Nick answered like he had just been woken up. "Eh, yeah, sure."


    Then, Nick opened the door to leave.


    "Wait a second," Wyntor said.


    "What?" Nick asked in confusion as he turned to Wyntor.


    Wyntor looked into Nick''s eyes for a bit.


    Then, he sighed.


    "Close the door," he said.


    Nick raised an eyebrow but did as he was told.


    "Come on, take a seat," Wyntor said, gesturing to one of the chairs in his office.


    Nick sat down and just looked at Wyntor with difort.


    "Is something the matter?" Nick asked.


    "That''s what I should ask you," Wyntor said. "You are lost in your head, and you barely react to anything. If you work like this, it''s only a matter of time until something bad happens."


    Nick furrowed his brows, guilt visible on his face.


    "Sorry," he said. "I''ll be more alert and careful from now on."


    Wyntor raised an eyebrow as he looked with skepticism at Nick.


    "What''s this about?" he asked. "Did you fail in advancing?"


    "No, I became a Veteran a couple of minutes ago," Nick said.


    "You did?" Wyntor asked in surprise. "Why didn''t you tell me?"


    Nick looked to the side.


    "It didn''t feel important."


    Wyntor looked at Nick like he had said something ridiculous.


    "I think it''s quite important that my Chief Zephyx Extractor managed to advance a level. That''s about as important as it gets, except for a security breach, maybe."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    Wyntor sighed.


    "Okay, what''s the issue?" he asked. "You weren''t like this yesterday. Did something happen in Sce?"


    "No, nothing happened," Nick answered.


    "Really?" Wyntor asked.


    "Yeah, everything''s okay," Nick said.


    At that moment, Wyntor narrowed his eyes.


    "Nick, I''m sick of these games. Stop being wishy-washy and tell me what''s bothering you. We''re friends!" Wyntor said with a voice loaded with annoyance.


    Nick looked at Wyntor.


    Wyntor always seemed so distant, but right now, he seemed like just a normal friend who was concerned with their friend.


    Nevertheless, Nick didn''t forget the constant distance that was usually between the two of them.


    Friend?


    That didn''t seem likely.


    Wyntor saw the doubt in Nick''s eyes, and his anger increased.


    "We are friends, right?" Wyntor asked with an almost threatening tone.


    Nick''s body moved back in his chair as he looked at Wyntor.


    "I don''t know," Nick said carefully. "Are we?"


    "Of course we are!" Wyntor almost shouted. "I jumped into the sewers for you! I covered for you so many times! I gave you your weapons and all of your tools!"


    Surprisingly, Nick didn''t show any strong reactions to Wyntor''s atypical outburst.


    "I don''t think that''s what a friend is," he said. "The first thing, maybe, but I''m not sure about the other things."


    "I think you view me as an investment, not a friend."

 Chapter 321 321 – Friends

    <h4>Chapter 321 Chapter 321 ¨C Friends </h4>


    ?Nick watched as Wyntor''s eyes exploded with rage.


    For almost ten seconds, Wyntor didn''t say anything.


    Then, he took a deep breath and sighed.


    "I''m sorry."


    Nick was taken aback when he heard that apology.


    That was not what he had expected Wyntor to do.


    Nick had thought that Wyntor would argue about the definition of a friend or something like that.


    Instead, he apologized after nearly exploding with anger.


    "I shouldn''t be angry at you," Wyntor said with exhaustion. "After all, you don''t know anything about my past."


    Nick realized that Wyntor was right.


    Nick only knew that Wyntor had gotten the Blinding Light''s ability and that he had learned a lot in the Melfion''s mansion.


    That was about it.


    "Nick, despite what you believe, I genuinely view you as my friend," Wyntor said.


    Nick raised his brows in uncertainty.


    "Before you say anything," Wyntor said with a raised hand, "let me exin."


    Nick nodded and remained silent.


    "Ever since I was small, my time was upied by teachers teaching me about all these things."


    "Politics, economics, psychology, Spectology, biology, and so on."


    "I wake up at six a.m., run for an hour, wash, eat breakfast, learn things, eat lunch, learn things, fight with my coach, eat dinner, prepare for tomorrow, sleep."


    "That was every day."


    "The entire day, I was busy learning things, and the only people I had contact with were experienced and intelligent adults."


    "The only other people I had around me were my family and servants."


    "Did you know that I haven''t talked to a single kid of my age until I was twelve?" Wyntor asked, looking to the side.


    "That was when I apanied my father to a visit to Anatomy, and I saw the daughter of one of their Extractors."


    "My entire life consisted of teachers, family, and servants."


    "I didn''t have a single friend until Pator was assigned to me."


    "And you know how that went."


    Nick looked with concern at Wyntor.


    Nick also didn''t have any real friends since nobody in the Dregs wanted to be friends with a suspicious kid.


    The parents of the few kids in the Dregs even told their kids to stay away from Nick, thinking that he was trying to worm his way into their family to have his blood tax paid.


    And when Nick finally started to look like an adult, no one wanted toe close to him because everyone knew that he and the gangs didn''t like each other.


    The first friend Nick had ever had was Horua, and that friendship wasn''t even a real one since there was a massive power imbnce and age gap.


    The first person that Nick had viewed as his friend was Wyntor, but Wyntor had always felt so distant.


    "That was my life until I met you, Nick," Wyntor said.


    "I''ve been taught how to run an entire Manufacturer business on my own."


    "I''ve been taught how to read people."


    "I''ve been taught how to manipte people to do my bidding."


    "I''ve been taught how to fight, build connections, get favorable trade deals, influence the government, and so on and so on."


    "But I''ve never been taught how to make a friend¡­"


    Silence.


    The two of them just looked at each other.


    "I don''t know how I should act and what I should do with friends."


    "When I first came into contact with you, I thought that you were an idiotic simpleton who had no idea what he was doing."


    "I thought I was better than you and that you were only the means to an end for me."


    "But when I saw you jumping into the sewers, I was genuinely impressed."


    "The idiotic simpleton was able to do something that I could never imagine doing myself."


    "I thought quite a lot about that while you were in the sewers, and when I saw you getting attacked by the Dreamer, I realized something."


    "Yes, jumping into the sewers was also to catch the Dreamer, but another reason was that I didn''t want to say goodbye to the first person in my life who didn''t belong to my family, servants, or teachers."


    "Over the following months, I saw more and more things that you can do, which I never imagined I would be able to do."


    "In a way, I felt inferior to you."


    "That''s nonsense!" Nick interrupted with furrowed brows.


    "You, inferior to me?" he asked with ridicule.


    "You are the one that runs this entire thing. You are the one that''s always in control."


    "If I have an issue, you solve it."


    "If we need something, you get it."


    "You have your life under control."


    Nick looked at the table.


    "While I don''t."


    "I don''t even know how to live," Nick said.


    "Nick," Wyntor said. "I am talking about emotions, not logic. You can argue and use logic all you want, but it won''t change emotions."


    "Also, that wasn''t my point," Wyntor said. "My point is that I view you as my first friend."


    "Today, I made a couple more friends, and I wouldn''t have been able to make them if you hadn''t taught me how to make them."


    Nick snorted.


    "Me? Teach you how to make friends?"


    "How can I teach you if I don''t even have any?" Nick asked.


    Wyntor looked at Nick with genuine confusion. "What are you talking about?"


    "What about Jenny, Constanze, Marv, Larry, Kerry, and Taren?"


    Nick looked to the side. "They''re my employees."


    "Nick, you might be their superior, but they are treating you as their superior only secondarily."


    "Primarily, they treat you as their friend."


    "All these people I mentioned would voluntarily help you in an extremely dangerous battle, and I''m certain that most of them would do that even if you didn''t belong to Dark Dream."


    "They would risk their lives for you."


    "I don''t know what standards you''re applying for Extractors, but it is notmon for Extractors to voluntarily put their lives on the line for the business."


    "In the end, this is just a job, and most people wouldn''t risk their lives for their job."


    "If someone that''s willing to risk their life for you isn''t a friend, then nobody in the world has any friends."

 Chapter 322 322 – Guilt

    <h4>Chapter 322 Chapter 322 ¨C Guilt</h4>


    ?Nick just looked at Wyntor with uncertainty.


    "It sounds like it makes sense, but it doesn''t feel right," he said.


    "As I''ve said, Nick. Logic and emotions don''t always go together," Wyntor said. "The fact is that many of our Extractors would be willing to fight for you with their lives on the line, and I don''t think they would be doing that for every person superior to them."


    "For example, I''m not sure if they would fight with their lives on the line for me."


    Nick could see where Wyntor wasing from, but he just didn''t feel it.


    He only talked with the Extractors whenever it was rted to business or when they were meeting each other in a hallway by coincidence.


    Nick couldn''t consider someone like that a friend.


    "How can someone like that be a friend?" Nick asked. "They don''t even know anything about me."


    "Because you don''t let anyone get close to you, Nick," Wyntor said.


    Nick raised his eyebrows.


    "Due to the power imbnce, they are scared of asking you personal questions. They most likely consider you their friend, but they are also intimidated by your status as their superior."


    "I''m sure that many of them would jump at the opportunity to get to know you better."


    Wyntor sighed.


    "It''s so easy when you see it from the outside," he said as he looked to the side. "But when you are in the middle, you often can''t see what outsiders see."


    Nick was still a bit uncertain about all of this.


    He had friends?


    He thought he was alone.


    "Nick," Wyntor said, making Nick look at him. "I''m sorry that I couldn''t be the friend that I wanted to be."


    "It''s just that, for my entire life, all the adults around me told me to never unveil more of my life than necessary. Any piece of personal information I give others can be used by a potential enemy."


    "If I tell someone that I consider you my friend, they might try to capture you to get to me."


    "If I tell someone the identity of one of my teachers, they might try to get more information out of them."


    Wyntor sighed again.


    "It''s difficult to change that habit," he said.


    Nick looked at Wyntor with concern and sympathy.


    With all of this context, Wyntor''s personality made a lot more sense.


    He actually wanted to be Nick''s friend, but the distance that Nick always felt between them was something that Wyntor couldn''t easily get rid of since he didn''t know how to make friends.


    Sadly, this revtion just didn''t have the impact that it should have had.


    ''Is this his real self, or is it just another way to manipte me?'' Nick thought.


    Wyntor was so good at manipting people that Nick wasn''t confident in his ability to tell the difference between his real self and his fake self.


    It was possible that Nick was viewing Wyntor''s real self right now, but it was also possible that this was just one of Wyntor''s masks that he put on to keep Nick working for him.


    Did Wyntor consider Nick his friend or not?


    Nick couldn''t tell.


    Sadly, there was something else that made this entire situation almost feel meaningless.


    It was great that Nick had a potential friend, but what did that change?


    His goal had still been invalidated, and Nick had still been the reason for the deaths of over a thousand innocent people.


    His entire reason for wanting to save the Dregs was to get rid of his guilt and redeem himself, but in the end, his guilt only grew heavier.


    What was the point of having a friend when Nick had turned into an irredeemable monster?


    He was responsible for more deaths than most Specters.


    So, what made him better than just another Specter?


    His intention of helping people?


    Sadly, intentions did not affect reality.


    Actions did.


    And Nick''s actions spoke for themselves.


    Wyntor saw Nick''s expression and sighed.


    "Nick, what''s going on?" he asked.


    Nick just looked at Wyntor in pain.


    ''What''s the point of telling him if I can''t even be certain that he gives a shit?''


    ''This might as well just be a random obstacle for him that endangers his profits.''


    "I want to know," Wyntor said.


    "Please."


    "The only thing I could do to prove my friendship to you in the past was to solve your problems and to give you the things you need."


    "But now, maybe I can help you by giving you advice."


    "It doesn''t matter whether or not you believe that I am genuinely your friend. In both cases, I can still help you with advice."


    Naturally, Wyntor had noticed what Nick had been thinking about earlier.


    He had known Nick for years, and reading Nick wasn''t very difficult for him.


    Wyntor knew that something was troubling Nick, but he couldn''t help him as long as he didn''t know what Nick was actually worried about.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "You know," Nick started as he looked to the side without any care, "for years, my goal has been to improve the lives of the people in the Dregs."


    "Because of me, Horua died. I was the one that''s responsible for his death."


    "Sorry to interrupt," Wyntor interjected. "But who was Horua again?"


    Nick''s eyes shot open as he looked at Wyntor with shock.


    Horua upied Nick''s thoughts almost daily.


    Meanwhile, Wyntor didn''t even remember who that was.


    ''I shouldn''t be surprised,'' Nick thought. ''He barely came into contact with him.''


    "The young boy that I sent to the Dreamer."


    When Wyntor heard that, his eyes shot open.


    The room turned silent.


    Wyntor''s expression became concerned.


    "You care that much about him?" he asked.


    Annoyance appeared in Nick''s eyes, but he didn''t voice it.


    "His death is the reason why I''ve been working so hard," Nick said.


    "I killed an innocent kid when that kid saw me as his onlypanion."


    "My responsibility was to protect him."


    "Instead," Nick said with a low voice as he looked at the wall, "I killed him."


    "I killed an innocent child, Wyntor."


    "How am I supposed to continue living without trying to somehow redeem myself?"


    Wyntor looked at Nick with an ufortable expression.


    Below the table, he clenched his fists.


    Silence.


    Wyntor looked at the ceiling.


    Then, he took a deep breath.


    "You didn''t kill him," Wyntor said.

 Chapter 323 323 – Hatred

    <h4>Chapter 323 Chapter 323 ¨C Hatred </h4>


    ?Silence.


    Nick looked at Wyntor with an unreadable expression.


    "What do you mean?" he asked, a slight bit of agitation audible in the back of his voice.


    Wyntor took a deep breath.


    "I killed the kid," Wyntor said, looking at Nick.


    Nick just looked into Wyntor''s eyes without blinking.


    "I told the Dreamer to kill him."


    "If he somehow woke up, I was sure that he would try to take revenge at some point. On top of that, I was sure that he would hate you, which would cause issues for you."


    "If he survived, you would never be able toe to terms with your past. Only if he-"


    BOOOOM!


    Nick grabbed the desk between them and threw it against the wall before his hand moved towards Wyntor''s neck.


    Instantly, a blue gleam appeared around Wyntor''s body.


    However, his Barrier couldn''t hold for more than two seconds against Nick, and it broke into pieces.


    Nick grabbed Wyntor''s neck and pushed him to the wall.


    Wyntor couldn''t breathe and looked into Nick''s eyes.


    Hate.


    Rage.


    Nick''s eyes were filled with nothing but hatred.


    "It was you!" Nick shouted, pushing Wyntor so hard against the wall that the steel started to bend.


    "You killed Horua!"


    "You made me believe I killed him!"


    "I nearly killed myself!"


    "I nearly said the Sentence!"


    "You took my happiness from me!"


    "I took care of him for months!"


    "I was willing to make my mistake right for years!"


    "But you made it impossible for me to ever do that!"


    "Because of you, I have to live with this guilt for the rest of my life!"


    Nick watched as Wyntor''s eyes moved upward and lost focus.


    He was unconscious.


    But Nick kept squeezing.


    His eyes were still filled with hatred.


    He hated Wyntor!


    He kept squeezing.


    He hated Wyntor!


    Nick''s arm shook.


    His teeth were gritted.


    He watched Wyntor''s face change color.


    He had killed so many people.


    What made this one different?


    It wasn''t difficult.


    Just use a bit more power, and his neck would break.


    Just a bit more.


    But then, Nick''s eyes lost most of their intensity.


    Instead, they became icy.


    BANG!


    Nick threw Wyntor at one of the walls.


    Wyntor''s body hit the wall and slid to the ground like a puppet.


    Nick looked at Wyntor with coldness.


    The next moment, Wyntor started to cough and move.


    Meanwhile, Nick walked out of the office before leaving Dark Dream.


    He didn''t pay attention to anyone greeting him.


    After jumping from building to building for a while, Nick finally stopped.


    He was near the edge of the city.


    The outermost perimeter of the city was cut off by a wall since it was possible to see the edge of the Crimson Sea from that location.


    Nick just stopped on top of a building in front of the wall, just watching the red wall of mist in front of him.


    This was an isted location, and Nick sometimes came here if he didn''t want to talk to anyone.


    He just looked at the red wall with cold eyes.


    Why had he left Wyntor alive?


    There was only one reason.


    ''I wish I could kill him,'' Nick thought.


    ''But if I kill him, his family will kill me.''


    Self-preservation.


    That was the sole reason why Nick had stopped choking Wyntor.


    Friendship?


    Humanity?


    Morals?


    None of these things mattered to Nick right now.


    Wyntor had fucked Nick''s life!


    For the past three to four years, Nick had always been gued by nightmares.


    He dreamt about murdering Horua.


    He dreamt about identally killing him.


    He dreamt about Horua getting killed by something and Nick being unable to save him.


    And in nearly every dream, Horua cried out to Nick, telling him that he was sorry.


    If the Parasite hadn''te to talk to Nick, he might have gotten the courage to actually say the Sentence back then.


    Nick hadn''t felt happy for even a single fucking minute for four years.


    He felt happy for a couple of seconds whenever anything positive happened, but then, he was immediately reminded of what he had done in the past.


    His entire life was consumed by this overpowering feeling of guilt and self-loathing.


    He couldn''t enjoy food.


    He couldn''t enjoypany.


    He couldn''t enjoy getting stronger.


    Everything had been absolutely miserable and horrible for almost four years!


    Nick had genuinely hated himself for years!


    And what was the reason?


    Horua''s death.


    ''Yes, I fucked up by considering Horua as a Zephyx Extractor!''


    ''Yes, that was dumb as fuck!''


    ''But he didn''t deserve to die because of that!''


    ''And if it were up to me, he wouldn''t be dead right now!''


    ''As soon as he ran out of the Containment Unit, I wanted to drop the matter.''


    ''Maybe, we can slowly teach him?''


    ''Maybe, we can give him some time to limate to working with the Dreamer?''


    ''And why couldn''t we do that?''


    ''Wyntor!''


    Nick remembered the day like it was yesterday.


    Wyntor had said that since Horua had signed the contract, he had to work.


    Wyntor was also the one who said that he would have Horua killed if he quit.


    After all, Horua knew about the Dreamer.


    ''Bullshit!'' Nick thought with gritted teeth.


    ''If knowing about the Dreamer was so bad, why the fuck did you name ourpany after it just two weekster and tell every single employee about it?!''


    ''The Dreamer is and was our gship Specter, and these kinds of Specters are never kept secret!''


    ''So, why is it suddenly a fucking issue that a random kid knows about that Specter?!''


    ''What''s so bad about waiting?''


    ''What''s so bad about allowing him to quit?''


    ''Would anyone even believe an 11-year-old when they im that they were once an Extractor?!''


    ''Yes, I fucked up by asking him, and I was willing to take responsibility!''


    ''But you were the one that killed him!''


    ''Twice!''


    ''I was the one that took Horua to Dark Dream, but you were the one that forced me to throw him to the Dreamer!''


    ''And when he survived, and when we finally had the opportunity to make it right, you killed him again by telling the Dreamer to kill him!''


    ''Why?''


    ''Because you didn''t want your favorite little toy to get distracted!''

 Chapter 324 324 – Wish

    <h4>Chapter 324 Chapter 324 ¨C Wish</h4>


    ?''You fucked me, Wyntor!''


    ''You fucked my life!''


    ''And why?''


    ''You wanted to teach me a lesson, right?''


    ''You wanted to show me that my actions have consequences, right?''


    ''Great, but I already realized that when I saw how Horua reacted to the Dreamer.''


    Nick just kept looking at the red wall with narrowed eyes.


    ''And then, you made it impossible for me to ever make things right!''


    ''You even made me believe that I maybe shouldn''t have shaken Horua''s body after the Dreamer tried to help him!''


    ''I thought that I might have gotten too worked up and somehow interrupted the Dreamer in helping him!''


    ''When, all this time, he was supposed to die!''


    ''You told the Dreamer to kill him!''


    Nick remembered the conversation he had with the Dreamer.


    The Dreamer had confirmed that it had only killed people that it was told to kill.


    In truth, Nick had actually noticed that the Dreamer''s answer hadn''t fully been urate with what Nick had thought to be true.


    However, Nick had just thought that the Dreamer might not have considered the little boy from years ago.


    Or maybe the Dreamer had nned to save Horua, and it was Nick who ended up killing him?


    Lastly, Nick also didn''t want to believe that Wyntor would order the Dreamer to kill Horua.


    But, of course, things always had to turn out in the worst way imaginable.


    For several minutes, Nick just kept looking at the red wall as his mind focused on how he had felt for thest four years.


    ''What should I do?'' Nick thought.


    ''How can I take revenge?''


    ''Wyntor fucked my life, and I want to take revenge.''


    ''But how?''


    ''I can''t kill him since I would die as well.''


    Nick just kept thinking.


    This was probably the first time in a month when the incident with the Crimson Sea was actually not forgotten but put in the back of Nick''s mind.


    For a month, Nick''s thoughts had only been in two states.


    Either hepletely forgot about the Crimson Sea, or the thought of it consumed Nick''s entire mind.


    But for the first time, Nick thought of the Crimson Sea but didn''t put much importance or emphasis on it.


    Right now, Nick''s mind was not filled with guilt but with the desire for revenge.


    Nick might not have considered Wyntor his friend, but he had still been the most significant person in his life.


    And this person had betrayed him.


    The pain Wyntor had caused him was unforgivable.


    Wyntor caused Nick the worst pain in his life and made it impossible for that pain to vanish.


    ''You know, I actually believe you,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes.


    ''I actually believe that you view me as your friend.''


    ''There is nothing positive you can gain out of telling me about Horua.''


    ''You felt guilty, right?''


    ''And you told me about what you have done to alleviate that guilt.''


    ''You wanted to make things right.''


    ''Isn''t that just like me?''


    ''Are you willing to atone for that act for the remainder of your life?''


    Nick snorted.


    ''You''re not such a person.''


    ''If I don''t forgive you, you will drop the matter and continue living.''


    ''No point in wasting resources on something unachievable, right?''


    ''Sucks that you can''t get it, but there''s no point inmenting over something that was impossible to achieve in the first ce.''


    ''You said that I''m your first friend.''


    ''I also believe that you consider me your closest friend.''


    ''Isn''t that just like the situation with Horua and me?''


    ''I did something horrible to Horua and want to make things right, and you did something horrible to me and want to make things right.''


    ''What irony.''


    ''However, there are two key differences.''


    ''First, you are actually also mainly responsible for Horua''s pain, not only my pain.''


    ''And second, you still have an opportunity to alleviate your pain and earn forgiveness since I am still alive.''


    ''I can''t.''


    ''Horua is dead.''


    ''I can never earn forgiveness.''


    ''You made it impossible for me to earn forgiveness.''


    ''So, why do you deserve any forgiveness from me?''


    ''Even if, for some reason, I stopped hating you, forgiving you and letting you live this thing down is an injustice to me and the situation you put me in.''


    ''I can''t escape my situation. So, you don''t deserve to escape yours!''


    Nick''s rage started to increase again.


    ''I will find a way!''


    ''Somehow, I will find a way to kill you!''


    ''Oh, is killing an overreaction? You don''t deserve to die for that?''


    ''Well, sucks to be you! You made me think I killed Horua! You made me kill Pator!''


    ''You wanted me to be a killer!''


    ''Well, there you go!''


    ''I''ve killed thousands of people now!''


    ''And killing one more won''t make a fucking difference!''


    "Someone seems upset," someone from behind Nick said.


    Nick recognized the voice, and while he was a bit happy to hear the voice of said person, he also didn''t care.


    "Can we talk some other time, Julian?" Nick said.


    Behind Nick stood a man with blue hair.


    "Nick, I have a question," Julian said.


    Nick got a bit annoyed. "What?" he asked.


    "If the Dregs were still there, would you still want to improve the lives of everyone?" he asked.


    That sentence made the guilt inside Nick return again.


    After some seconds, he sighed.


    "Of course," he said.


    Silence.


    "Alright," Julian said. "A deal''s a deal."


    "We had a wager."


    "If you still wanted to improve the lives of the people in the Dregs when you finally got the power to do so, you win."


    "If not, I win."


    "While the destruction of the Dregs should result in our wager bing void, I don''t want to take any chances."


    "So, here you go. You win."


    Nick furrowed his brows and turned to look at Julian.


    That was when Nick''s eyes widened.


    Julian''s face was nowhere to be seen.


    Instead, Nick only saw countless mouths.


    He knew what this meant.


    "You''re a Specter?" Nick asked in shock.


    "Yes," the mouths answered, "but that''s not important right now."


    "What''s important is that you won the wager."


    "If you lost, I would consume you."


    "But since you won, I won''t consume you, and you also get a prize."


    "One wish."


    "You get one wish."


    "So, tell me."


    "What do you wish for?"

 Chapter 325 325 – Want and Need

    <h4>Chapter 325 Chapter 325 ¨C Want and Need </h4>


    ?At this moment, the shock Nick felt after realizing that Julian was a Specter outweighed the rage he felt for what Wyntor had done.


    Nick had always looked forward to talking to Julian, and he had definitely enjoyed their talks.


    And he was a Specter?


    Nick immediately stopped considering Julian as a friend and narrowed his eyes.


    "Why are you not just killing me?" he asked.


    "I can''t," Julian said. "I will lose quite a lot of Zephyx if I kill you. What worth is a bargain if you end up dying either way?"


    The mouths all started to smile.


    "But just because I''m not killing you right now doesn''t mean that it''s impossible for me."


    "I just don''t want to lose that much Zephyx."


    "So, be careful about what you do."


    "This is my city, and if you try to change that, you will no longer be part of it."


    Nick just watched the mouths talk for a while.


    At the same time, he thought about what it meant for Julian to be a Specter.


    Julian had many friends, and he walked freely through the Inner City.


    On top of that, he could even enter Kugelblitz and walk through their building.


    Julian was a Specter who could do whatever he wanted.


    This might truly be his city.


    Of course, that was only true if one ignored the Crimson Sea.


    With the Crimson Sea here, things seemed very different.


    However, Nick was not about to provoke a powerful Specter.


    "Why are you telling me all of this?" Nick asked with furrowed brows. "Why would you unveil your status as a Specter to me? What do you have to gain from this?"


    "Nothing," the mouths on Julian''s face spoke. "I just don''t have the ability to keep my identity a secret from people who won a wager against me."


    "As long as you don''t try to unveil my identity, nothing will happen to you. I will leave you alone, and you will leave me alone."


    Nick didn''t know how much Zephyx Julian would lose if he killed Nick, but it seemed to be quite a significant sum if he was willing to take such a risk by leaving him alive.


    Of course, one also had to remember that Julian was the one in control.


    If Nick didn''t cooperate, Julian would still kill him.


    "You''re a Fanatic, right?" Nick asked.


    "Stop wasting my time," the mouths said with a bit of annoyance. "Tell me your wish."


    Nick looked at Julian for some time before turning around to look at the red wall again.


    There was no reason for Nick to keep watch over Julian or be careful around him.


    Julian was much more powerful than Nick, and if he wanted to, he could kill Nick easily.


    Being prepared for an attack or not being prepared made no difference.


    "You have to fulfill the wish?" Nick asked.


    "Technically, yes," Julian said. "But if it''s more expensive than the Zephyx I would lose by killing you, I might not fulfill it."


    Nick''s brows furrowed, and his heart rate increased.


    With the shock of Julian''s revtion having passed, Nick''s rage and hatred towards Wyntor returned.


    Just earlier, he had wished to have a way to kill Wyntor.


    And now¡­


    A way had presented itself.


    He could do it now if he so chose to.


    No one would be able to link Wyntor''s death to Nick.


    The mouths on Julian''s face had crafty smiles on them.


    Naturally, it wasn''t a coincidence that Julian just so happened to show up now.


    Ever since the Crimson Sea had broken free, Julian knew that he would lose the bet as soon as he talked to Nick again.


    So, he had avoided Nick ever since then.


    However, he knew that he would need to pay his debts at some point.


    Because of that, Julian kept a close watch over Nick from afar.


    He had to choose the right moment to appear.


    Naturally, when Julian had seen Nick charging out of Dark Dream, exploding with anger and hatred, he knew that the perfect time hade.


    There was only one thing that could make Nick this angry.


    Another human.


    If Julian approached Nick while he was calm, he might ask to work with Julian several times, which would increase his power by quite a lot.


    However, Zephyx couldn''t just appear out of nowhere, and Julian would need to put a lot of effort into the sessions.


    Or what if Nick asked for an Adult Specter?


    That would be quite expensive since Julian would either need to find a wild one, which was almost impossible with the city''s current state, or spend tens of millions of credits to buy one.


    Sure, as a Specter, Julian didn''t need credits, but since he lived amongst humans, the credits were still extremely useful.


    Of course, if Nick asked for something like an Elder, Julian would just kill him.


    That was way too much and also basically impossible for Julian to get.


    After all, since Julian was just acting like a Zephyx Extractor, he wasn''t really working with Specters, which meant that he wasn''t actively producing Zephyx.


    That meant he actually had fewer credits than one would think.


    Buying an Adult would already strain his pockets quite a lot.


    An Elder would be impossible for him to buy.


    Luckily, humans were very emotional creatures.


    Since Nick was so angry right now, chances were that he only had revenge on his mind.


    Killing a random human was way easier than working with Nick or getting him an Adult.


    And right now, Nick was evaluating just that.


    ''I could ask him to kill Wyntor,'' Nick thought.


    ''But what then?''


    ''With Wyntor dead, Dark Dream will copse, and I will lose everything that I''ve built.''


    ''I want to kill Wyntor, but I also need him.''


    ''I can''t have it both ways.''


    Nick was lost in thought for several minutes.


    He had such a great opportunity, but he just didn''t know how to make use of it.


    Eventually, Nick made a choice and looked at Julian.

 Chapter 326 326 – The Situation

    <h4>Chapter 326 Chapter 326 ¨C The Situation</h4>


    ?Nick walked back into Dark Dream.


    He didn''t seem different from usual at first nce, but if one looked a bit closer, one might notice a slight difference.


    Nick was still friendly, but there was a certain coldness to his gaze now.


    However, no one took notice of that difference.


    As soon as he returned, he went back to work.


    He was hiring new people, evaluating Specters, collecting Zephyx, and so on.


    It was almost like nothing strange had happened today.


    Everything had returned to normal.


    For the next couple of days, Nick avoided Wyntor.


    Whenever they identally saw each other, Nick looked and walked away.


    Wyntor could only sigh.


    If he had known that Nick would have been so hung up about Horua, he wouldn''t have asked the Dreamer to kill him.


    At the same time, Wyntor also regretted telling Nick.


    ''Did I do the right thing?'' Wyntor asked himself.


    ''Should I have told him?''


    ''In due time, he might have recovered.''


    ''But he also deserves to know the truth.''


    At this moment, several different facets of Wyntor''s personality shed.


    Wyntor had been taught to put profits and power first, and he had always acted ording to these principles.


    But when he had seen how much Nick had suffered from everything, he just felt guilty.


    Nick was his first real friend, and Wyntor felt horrible about putting him through so much pain.


    Wyntor felt like telling him was the right thing to do, but that might have alsopromised his profits.


    ''I just didn''t expect that he would be so hung up about this. I thought he would have gotten over it already,'' Wyntor thought.


    Wyntor remembered when Nick had choked him until he was unconscious a couple of days ago.


    At that moment, Wyntor had believed that he would die.


    That had probably been the most terrifying moment of his life.


    Of course, facing the Blinding Light when he was a child was also terrifying, but he knew that he wouldn''t die from that.


    Yes, jumping into the sewers and fighting the Dreamer was also scary, but Wyntor knew that he could get away thanks to his ability.


    But when Nick squeezed Wyntor''s neck, he felt like there was nothing he could do.


    Since his Barrier had been broken, he couldn''t even activate his ability.


    Nick''s extreme reaction had taken Wyntor by surprise.


    Sure, Nick would probably get angry and shout at him.


    Maybe he would avoid him for a couple of days.


    But then, everything should return to normal.


    That was how Wyntor had envisioned things would go down.


    But instead, Nick nearly killed him.


    That was not what Wyntor had expected.


    Wyntor generally viewed Nick as a friendly but mncholic person.


    Sure, Nick also had the capability to kill many people, but these people were all his enemies.


    And Wyntor wasn''t his enemy.


    Right?


    Yes, Wyntor had made a mistake when he was younger by essentially forcing Nick to grow up quicker, but he had just been 17 years old back then.


    Nick couldn''t fault him too much for that.


    He had also been just a child.


    ''Just leave him a couple more days to calm down,'' Wyntor thought. ''The worst part is behind us. Eventually, things will return to normal.''


    An entire month passed, and it was time for the yearly meeting of Manufacturers again.


    This year, it was Kugelblitz''s turn to host it again.


    Wyntor wanted to use the trip to the Inner City as an opportunity to talk to Nick.


    After all, they hadn''t talked even once in over a month, and things needed to return to normal at some point.


    There were several job-rted matters that Wyntor needed to tell Nick.


    Wyntor had worked more than usual topensate for theck ofmunication, but this couldn''t continue indefinitely.


    Sadly, when he arrived in Dark Dream, he heard from the receptionist that Nick had already gone to Kugelblitz over 30 minutes ago.


    Wyntor could only sigh and walk to Kugelblitz alone.


    Meanwhile, Nick was in Vernon''s office, drinking some coffee.


    "Alright," Vernon said after sitting down on his chair again. "What did you want to talk about, and why are you saying that you don''t want Wyntor to know of it?"


    Nick sighed and looked at Vernon.


    "Some things have happened," Nick said.


    Vernon looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow, but he didn''t say anything.


    Then, Nick told Vernon everything about what had happened with Horua.


    Vernon''s expression didn''t change much as he listened.


    Eventually, Nick was done retelling his story.


    "And why are you telling me this?" Vernon asked.


    Nick looked to the side and sighed.


    "I can''t work with Wyntor anymore," Nick said.


    "I realize that, when all of this happened, Wyntor was only 17 years old. While I probably won''t be able to forgive him, I can''t ignore the fact that he was just a kid who made a mistake."


    "For a month, I tried to get over this fact."


    "But whenever I see him, this unending ragees out, and the only thing I can do is to walk away."


    "Otherwise, I might do something I will regret."


    Vernon nodded as he kept listening.


    "And after thinking about all of this for a long time, I''vee to a decision," Nick said.


    "Wyntor owns 70% of Dark Dream, which means that he might as well own all of it."


    "Additionally, Dark Dream will eventually be sold to Kugelblitz."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "I''ve decided to quit Dark Dream."


    Vernon had already expected something like this.


    "What are you nning to do?" he asked.


    Of course, Vernon already had an inkling.


    "I''m selling my 30% of Dark Dream to Wyntor," Nick said.


    Vernon''s eyes shone.


    "And at the same time, I am applying for a job at Kugelblitz as Zephyx Extractor."


    Vernon looked at Nick with an interested expression.


    That was an interesting proposition.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, the door shot open, and Vernon immediately frowned.


    People were supposed to knock beforeing in!


    Vernon looked over and saw one of their receptionists.


    He wanted to admonish her, but her face was white, and she seemed like she had something urgent to say.


    "Yes?" Vernon asked, keeping his annoyance at her intrusion secret.


    "Sir!" the receptionist said urgently.


    Vernon looked at her as he started to get worried.


    Nick just looked forward.


    His eyes were cold.

 Chapter 327 327 – Death

    <h4>Chapter 327 Chapter 327 ¨C Death </h4>


    ?Vernon looked with a shocked expression at the scene in front of him.


    Vernon and Nick had immediately run towards Kugelblitz''s entrance when they heard what happened.


    Right now, there were over 20 people standing in front of Kugelblitz.


    To the side were several guards who were currently harshly interrogating a young-looking woman.


    The guards were Experts, and based on her uniform, the woman was a Veteran working for the city.


    Her eyes were showing deep panic and fear.


    A couple more guards were standing in the middle of the area.


    A couple of them were looking around, while some others were usingplicated devices to inspect the body in front of them.


    Everything from the toes to the bottom of the head looked normal, but the same thing couldn''t be said for the top of the head.


    The head ended at the top of the nose.


    Everything above thaty beside the body in bloody chunks.


    When Vernon saw the body, his face turned white, and he ran forward.


    "Wyntor!" he shouted.


    Yes, it was Wyntor''s body.


    The guards would have stopped anyone who was trying to get close to the body.


    But this was Vernon Melfion.


    Most of the present guards worked for Kugelblitz, and Vernon was one of their Senior Directors.


    They didn''t dare to tell Vernon what to do while he was emotionally unstable.


    So, they allowed Vernon to pass.


    Vernon''s hands shook as he carefully kneeled beside the body.


    He slowly reached forward and touched the body.


    It was still warm.


    When Vernon held his son''s hand, he felt like he was still alive.


    Sadly, that was only an illusion.


    Wyntor was dead, and it was impossible to revive him.


    The guards just sighed as they paused their investigation.


    In the distance, Nick just looked at Wyntor''s corpse with a conflicted expression.


    Wyntor''s fate had been decided about five weeks ago during Nick''s conversation with Julian.


    Naturally, if Nick hadn''t told Julian to kill Wyntor, Wyntor would still be alive.


    Nevertheless, Nick felt conflicted.


    Yes, the person that had caused him so much pain had died.


    He had finally gotten his revenge.


    However, Wyntor was also the closest person to a friend Nick had.


    The two of them had been working together for over five years now.


    They had created Dark Dream with their own hands.


    Nick thought about the time when Wyntor jumped into the sewers and how he had paid for Nick''s recovery bath afterward.


    But then, that scene was juxtaposed with the scene of Wyntor telling Nick that he would kill Horua if he didn''t work with the Dreamer right now.


    Nick thought about the time Wyntor had given Nick his weapons in exchange for a favor.


    Yet, that scene was contrasted with the time Wyntor told Nick to kill Pator.


    Nick thought of the time Wyntor told him that he genuinely was Nick''s friend.


    However, the next scene was of Wyntor telling the Dreamer to kill Horua.


    Nick''s opinion of Wyntor was very mixed.


    He had done a lot of good things for Nick, but he had also done a lot of horrible things.


    On one hand, Nick felt vindicated after seeing Wyntor''s corpse, but on the other hand, he also felt regret.


    Did Wyntor deserve to die?


    In Nick''s opinion, yes.


    If he didn''t, he would still be alive.


    Nick didn''t think that he made a mistake by telling Julian to kill Wyntor, but he regretted that he had to do it.


    ''You''ve always been so careful,'' Nick thought as he looked at the corpse, which was being hugged by Vernon.


    ''You kept everyone at arm''s length and had everyone in your control.''


    ''As far as I know, I''m the first person that you let close to you, and that person is the reason for your death.''


    ''Maybe it would have been for the better if you never told me the truth.''


    ''With your maniptive conduct, you took on so many emotional debts that you couldn''t possibly repay them.''


    ''I guess the only way you could have survived was to take on more emotional debts to repay your old ones until you be strong enough that you can default on them without any major repercussions.''


    ''What was that proverb again? Once you suppress a Specter, you can never let it go.''


    Nick just took a deep breath.


    ''Goodbye, Wyntor.''


    ''I don''t know if I regret meeting you or not.''


    Nick slowly walked forward and approached one of the guards as he kept staring at Vernon.


    "What happened?" Nick asked. "I only heard a quick summary of what happened."


    The guard looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    "This does not concern you," he said.


    "It does," Nick answered. "He''s my boss. I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream."


    The guard looked at Nick with surprise.


    "Alright," he said.


    "The Veteran over there," the guard said as he gestured to the fearful woman, "arrived here around 15 minutes ago. She''s working for Kugelblitz, and when she saw the two guards standing in front of Kugelblitz today, she started a conversation with them."


    "She talked with them for about ten minutes, which was when Wyntor Melfion came out of his Shweeb."


    "The woman looked over at Wyntor Melfion and immediately shouted that a Specter has broken out."


    "She took out her sniper rifle and released a shot at Wyntor Melfion."


    "ording to the guards, Wyntor Melfion''s Barrier broke, and he immediately died. You can see the oue," the guard exined.


    Nick looked at the corpse.


    Then, he turned to look at the distant woman.


    "Why?" he asked.


    "We are still investigating," the guard said. "Our hypothesis is that she was manipted by an Extractor or a Specter due to herck of self-preservation in the way shemitted the crime."


    "No sane Veteran would kill one of Melfion''s heirs in the middle of the day in front of several people. That is tantamount tomitting suicide."


    The guard noted that Nick seemed quite calm.


    "Do you know anyone who could have had a reason to kill him?"

 Chapter 328 328 – Goal

    <h4>Chapter 328 Chapter 328 ¨C Goal</h4>


    ?"A couple," Nick said.


    "Dark Dream is worth a lot of money," he said. "Everybody knows that Wyntor is the reason why Dark Dream was created and how it became so big in the first ce."


    "With Wyntor gone, Dark Dream is just a juicy piece of meat."


    The guard looked at Nick suspiciously.


    He wasn''t sure what it was exactly, but he felt suspicious of Nick.


    "Can you borate?" the guard asked.


    "Well, Dark Dream only managed to gain footing in the city thanks to Wyntor. Without Wyntor''s background, Dark Dream would have been consumed by one of the other Manufacturers as soon as we got our first couple of Specters."


    "Everybody knows that killing Wyntor means making Kugelblitz their enemy, and no one was willing to take that risk."


    "Until now, apparently," Nick added.


    The guard kept looking at Nick.


    "What about more personal reasons?" he asked.


    "Personal reasons?" Nick asked.


    "Everything you said so far makes it seem like his identity as Dark Dream''s CEO is the only reason why someone would want to kill him. But what if someone had a more personal reason?"


    "Like revenge," the man said.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "Hard to tell," he said. "Wyntor and I have worked together for five years, but he always kept his personal life a secret from me."


    Nick looked at the corpse for a while.


    "Although, there is one person I can think of."


    "Yes?" the guard asked.


    "Ardum Melfion," Nick said.


    This surprised the guard. "His brother?"


    Nick nodded. "Well, Dark Dream filed aint to the city around three to four years ago. It was aint about Cycle, Ardum''s Manufacturer business, not having the manpower to suppress their own Specters."


    "And naturally, as the CEO of Dark Dream, Wyntor was the one that filed theint, and as a result, Dark Dream got all of Cycle''s Specters, ruining Ardum''s chances of bing an official heir in the process."


    The guard looked at Nick for a while.


    He knew exactly what it meant when a Manufacturerined to the city about another Manufacturer not having enough people to suppress their own Specters.


    Such aint unveiled the fact that a secret war had been happening and that the war had ended.


    "What about you?" the guard asked.


    "Me?" Nick asked back.


    "You seem quite calm," the guard said. "You act like his death doesn''t concern you."


    Nick furrowed his brows as he kept looking at the corpse.


    "That''s because I am more concerned with my own life right now," Nick said.


    The guard raised an eyebrow.


    "I''m 90% sure that Dark Dream was the reason why Wyntor was killed," Nick said, "and with Wyntor now being dead, his shares of Dark Dream are now mine, which makes me the sole owner of Dark Dream."


    The guard''s suspicion of Nick skyrocketed after Nick said that sentence.


    "And since I am now the sole owner of Dark Dream, I will be their next target," Nick said. "If I die, anyone can just file aint, and they would get all of Dark Dream."


    "Even more, since Wyntor is now dead, Dark Dream is no longer protected by his family, which means that any random Expert or even Specialist can just kill me in secret without any repercussions."


    "You think I did it?" Nick asked as he calmly looked at the guard.


    The guard didn''t answer.


    "Wyntor''s death means my death," Nick said.


    "With Wyntor gone, what stops any Manufacturer from just secretly assassinating me and taking Dark Dream for themselves?"


    "I''m a dead man walking," Nick said.


    As the guard thought about what Nick said, his suspicion lessened.


    Everything Nick said made sense.


    If Nick was truly the sole owner of Dark Dream now, it would only be a matter of time until he was killed.


    Yet, the guard just couldn''t stop feeling suspicious of Nick.


    His mind was telling him that it couldn''t have been Nick, but his heart was telling him something else.


    A short momentter, Vernon approached Nick.


    Vernon looked horrible, and Nick could feel the grief emanating from him.


    A father had lost his son.


    However, Vernon''s suffering didn''t mean anything to Nick.


    Vernon was the reason why the Dregs had been suffering for decades.


    He and Kugelblitz had been the ones who caused so much misery for the people.


    Vernon hadn''t cared that his policies had doomed thousands of people into a life filled with suffering.


    So, why should Nick care about him?


    Over the past month, Nick had had a lot of time to think.


    And he hade to a couple of decisions.


    One of them was regarding Vernon and Kugelblitz.


    In the past, Nick had been a bit on the fence regarding this issue.


    Yes, Vernon was partially responsible for the pain of the Dregs, but what could he do?


    He was just one of the shareholders.


    After a lot of thinking, Nick came to a decision regarding that matter.


    Vernon wasplicit in the suffering of the Dregs.


    And people who took advantage of people far weaker than them deserved no mercy.


    ''I wanted to save a thousand people to repay the debt I owe to Horua,'' Nick thought.


    ''Now, I am responsible for the deaths of a thousand people.''


    ''I could kill myself, but that would just mean running away from my responsibility.''


    ''Instead, I will continue living.''


    ''And I will continue growing.''


    Nick looked at the grieving Vernon.


    ''And when I am finally powerful enough, I will kill everyone that exploits weaker people.''


    ''I will kill Vernon.''


    ''I will kill the governor.''


    ''I will destroy Kugelblitz.''


    ''I will destroy Anatomy.''


    ''I will take control of this city, and I will make this city a good ce to live in!''


    ''I''ve got enough of all of these powerful and rich people causing suffering for thousands of people just so that they can add another zero to their bank ount!''


    Meanwhile, Vernon sighed.


    "Nick, I know it''s a bad time right now, but we need to talk about some things."


    Nick nodded.


    "I understand."


    "Sorry for your loss."

 Chapter 329 329 – Contract

    <h4>Chapter 329 Chapter 329 ¨C Contract </h4>


    ?The guard watched Nick and Vernon entering Kugelblitz.


    The guard still thought that Nick acted suspiciously, but in the end, he just shrugged.


    He was not responsible for the investigation, and he was also one of the few guards who weren''t working for Kugelblitz.


    So, this didn''t concern him.


    He was just a bit interested.


    Nick followed Vernon in silence.


    Naturally, Nick was quite a bit nervous, even though he was trying his best to hide it.


    It was a fact that Nick was the reason why Wyntor was dead.


    He might not have killed him directly, but he had ordered his death.


    And he knew very well that several people were suspicious of him based on his history with Wyntor.


    The reason why Nick had ordered Wyntor''s death this morning was twofold.


    First, he wanted Wyntor to die while he had an alibi.


    And second, he wanted to show his motive for killing Wyntor before it actually happened.


    At first nce, the second part seemed stupid.


    After all, why would anyone want to tell others that they had a reason to kill someone?


    The reason was that Nick wanted to make it seem as unnned as possible.


    Additionally, Nick wanted to show that he already had a way out of this.


    If he knew that Wyntor was about to die, why would he ask for a job from Vernon?


    He already had a solution, and he had already made his peace with the oue.


    And then, Wyntor just suddenly died.


    But there was actually one more reason as to why Nick unveiled his conflict with Wyntor.


    Nick knew that he wasn''t a good actor, and he was sure that someone as experienced as Vernon would notice if Nick decided to fake his emotions.


    Now, since Nick had told Vernon about the broken rtionship between him and Wyntor, it would no longer be as suspicious if Nick didn''t seem as aggrieved.


    Nevertheless, Nick was still in a lot of danger.


    The next couple of hours were what would decide his future.


    After a long walk in silence, Vernon led Nick back into his office.


    The cup of coffee from earlier was still on the table.


    Vernon sat down and sighed.


    "I know a lot has happened, but we need to talk about Dark Dream first," Vernon said.


    Nick nodded.


    "I''m 90% sure that it was one of the other Manufacturers that killed my son, and if we don''t want them to gain anything out of this, we need to deal with the matter of Dark Dream''s ownership as quickly as possible."


    "Since they killed Wyntor, they will soon also kill you. Before that happens, we need to get you to a safe ce."


    Even though Nick saw Vernon as a cold and ruthless businessman, he was still a bit shocked that Vernon could talk about money mere minutes after he heard that his son died.


    Usually, parents wouldn''t want to deal with anything so quickly after their children died.


    Even more, except for a couple of minutes of grieving, Vernon looked quite normal and calm.


    Nick hadn''t expected that Vernon would be this cold to his family.


    "Since I now own 70% of Dark Dream, I''m willing to buy your 30% and hire you as a team leader for Kugelblitz," Vernon said. "Like this, you don''t have to fear anyone attacking you since there is nothing to gain from your death."


    Nick suppressed a smile.


    "That''s not right, Vernon," he said.


    Vernon raised an eyebrow.


    "You don''t own 70% of Dark Dream," Nick added. "I own 100% of Dark Dream now."


    Vernon furrowed his brows in confusion and annoyance.


    "I think you might have misunderstood thew," Vernon said after a sigh. "When somebody dies, their next-of-kin gets whatever they own. Since Wyntor does not have a wife or a child, all of his belongings go to me. That includes the 70% of Dark Dream."


    Nick''s eyes shone, and a suspicious expression appeared on his face.


    "I was under the impression that Wyntor showed you the ownership contract for Dark Dream''s shareholders," Nick said.


    "Yes, he did," Vernon answered. "It''s a standard contract that I personally drafted. I use it for all kinds of deals, and Wyntor borrowed it. He also gave me a copy for safekeeping.


    "And that contract doesn''t state anything in regards to the death of an owner of thepany, which means that the standard processes into effect."


    "That''s wrong," Nick said with furrowed brows. "I explicitly remember signing it about three to four years ago, and I am certain that there was a use in regards to the death of an owner."


    "I remember it saying that, in the case of a death, the other owners get the shares of the deceased owner."


    "I''m 100% certain that it is in the contract since I even remember bing suspicious. I was afraid that this use was in the contract so that Wyntor could, one day, kill me to get all my shares without having to pay me."


    Vernon started to be annoyed. "I have read through the contract, too, and I am certain that it is just the standard contract. I also told Wyntor to never create the specific use you are talking about since that would endanger his life."


    The two of them looked at each other in annoyance.


    "I have a copy here. Let''s just look at it and be done with it," Vernon said.


    Then, Vernon stood up and searched through one of his drawers for a folder, which he then opened.


    After about half a minute of going through the folder, Vernon put the folder on the table, the contract visible.


    "Read," Vernon said.


    Nick did so and looked through the contract.


    As he kept reading, his brows furrowed.


    Sure enough, there was no such use in the contract.


    But when Nick reached the end of the contract, his eyes widened in realization.


    Then, he pointed at his signature at the very end of the contract.


    "That is not my signature," he said.


    "I never signed this contract."


    "This is a fake."

 Chapter 330 330 – Dispute

    <h4>Chapter 330 Chapter 330 ¨C Dispute</h4>


    ?Vernon also furrowed his brows.


    "That''s not a fake," Vernon said with quite a lot of annoyance. "Wyntor gave me this just a couple of days after you bought 30% of Dark Dream."


    "But it''s fake," Nick interjected. "That''s not the contract I signed, and that''s also not my signature."


    Vernon''s annoyance rose.


    What the fuck was Nick talking about?!


    This was the contract!


    First, his son had died, and now, somebody was using him of falsifying contracts!


    Today was truly not his day.


    "Fine," Vernon said as he put the contract away again. "If we go to get your copy of the contract, will you finally ept and sell your shares?"


    Nick stood up. "Let''s go and get it."


    The next moment, Nick and Vernon started to walk out of Kugelblitz.


    They walked past Wyntor''s corpse and the guards without stopping.


    The only thing that Vernon did was sigh after throwing a nce at the corpse.


    Since Vernon was an Expert, he had no issues keeping up with Nick while he was jumping down from the top end of the middleyer.


    Less than a minuteter, the two of themnded on the loweryer and ran towards the Outer City.


    Then, they entered Dark Dream.


    After they went into Nick''s office, Nick searched through his documents for a while before he found the contract.


    He read through it, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face before he mmed the contract onto the table.


    "That''s the contract!"


    "That''s the use!" he shouted, pointing at the death use.


    "And that''s my signature!"


    Nick pointed at the bottom of the contract.


    Vernon''s eyes widened in shock before he started to read through the contract very carefully.


    Then, he red at Nick.


    "Was this your n?" Vernon asked.


    "What?" Nick asked.


    "You had this issue with my son, but you knew that you couldn''t kill him since he is the only reason why Dark Dream still exists. So-"


    "Don''t!" Nick shouted aggressively. "Do NOT use me of killing Wyntor!"


    "I did not kill Wyntor, and I did not fake this contract! You''re the one with the fake contract!"


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    "And I''m starting to think that you''re the one that nned all of this," he said with a threatening tone.


    A deep well of rage rose inside Vernon, but he kept it suppressed.


    "You faked your contract," Nick said. "And then, you killed Wyntor to get all of Dark Dream for free!"


    "You thought that you could just walk all over me since I am only a Veteran."


    "Silence!" Vernon shouted in anger. "This is a baseless usation! The fact that you insinuate that I would kill my own son for a couple of credits is insulting and disrespectful!"


    "Insulting and disrespectful?" Nick repeated with a snort. "For a father, you got over your son''s death really quick. Barely ten minutes passed before you were talking about money again!"


    BANG!


    Nick''s table broke under Vernon''s force. "Now, I''m certain! You instigated all of this! You killed my son!"


    "No, you killed Wyntor!" Nick shouted back, ring back into Vernon''s eyes.


    They red at each other for some seconds.


    And then, Vernon''s rage vanished as an icy coldness came over his face.


    "It doesn''t matter," he said calmly. "An upstart from the Dregs might not know this, but the city also has a copy of all important contracts for situations exactly like this."


    "We''ll just go to the city, demand the contract, and when we inevitably see my contract, your little scheme will crumble."


    Vernon looked at Nick.


    Surprisingly, Nick looked quite calm.


    "That''s what I should tell you. Sure, let''s go to the city."


    Then, Nick walked past Vernon, who looked at Nick with suspicion.


    Nick seemed very good at putting on a false front of confidence.


    But Vernon wouldn''t fall for it.


    Most likely, Nick would try to escape, and Vernon wouldn''t let him.


    The two of them left Dark Dream again and entered the Inner City.


    Vernon kept a close eye on Nick all the time.


    Eventually, the two of them reached the central administration building on the loweryer.


    When the clerks saw Vernon''s uniform, they immediately prioritized him and took the two of them into a room.


    Vernon told them why they were there, and the clerks left quickly to get the contract.


    Contracts regarding the ownership of Manufacturing businesses were not stored in such an insecure location.


    These kinds of important contracts were held in a secure ce in the upperyer of the Inner City.


    Nick and Vernon just stayed in the room.


    Vernon kept an eye on Nick since he was sure that he was getting desperate.


    Nearly half an hour of silence passed.


    During these 30 minutes, the two of them kept throwing aggressive nces at each other.


    Eventually, the door opened, and a big group of people entered.


    Vernon looked at the seven people who entered with annoyance. "Why are all of you here? This is just about a contract."


    Two from the group looked with suspicion at four others from the group, who seemed just as suspicious of the two from the group.


    The seventh andst person was the only one that seemed neutral.


    "We just want to make sure that everything is going ording to policy," one of them said.


    Even though all of them wore the city guard''s uniforms, there were still a couple of small signs that showed their identities.


    Four of them worked for Kugelblitz, and two of them worked for Anatomy.


    There were two Specialists, two Experts, and two Veterans.


    Thest person was the clerk from earlier, who was carrying the contract.


    "Good," Vernon said before motioning for the clerk to approach.


    The clerk walked to the table and revealed the contract.


    The guards looked suspiciously at each other, ready to attack.


    Nick and Vernon looked at the contract.


    A momentter, Vernon''s face became white as his eyes widened.


    Meanwhile, a victorious smirk appeared on Nick''s face.

 Chapter 331 331 – Exchange

    <h4>Chapter 331 Chapter 331 ¨C Exchange </h4>


    ?"I fucking told you!" Nick shouted as he stood up from the table. "I told you that you had a fake contract!"


    "You faked your version of the contract, you fucking scummy scam artist!"


    Nick shouted all of this while he pointed to Vernon''s face.


    Vernon became increasingly agitated, barely containing his rage.


    However, he was too shocked about the revtion to shout at Nick.


    He was 100% certain that he had the real contract!


    He had taught Wyntor to never include a death use in a contract!


    He had given Wyntor the contract!


    He had received the contract from Wyntor!


    Wyntor would never write such a use!


    It was idiotic!


    "You faked it!" Vernon shouted as he red at Nick with unending anger and hatred.


    "Fuck off!" Nick shouted back. "You were the one that wanted to ask the city! I''m just a mon upstart'' that doesn''t even know that the city has copies of the contract!"


    Vernon''s clenched fists had turned pure white.


    Then, he red at the two guards from Anatomy.


    The two guards had neutral expressions on their faces¡­


    Except for a couple of tiny smirks.


    Naturally, they were happy to see one of Kugelblitz''s owners losing to some random Veteran in a legal issue.


    When Vernon saw their tiny smirks, his rage increased even more.


    "You!" he shouted at them.


    Then, he pointed at Nick. "This is all a scheme to give Dark Dream to Anatomy!"


    "You betrayed Wyntor! You betrayed my son! You''re one of Anatomy''s agents!" Vernon shouted.


    "Now, now, Mr. Melfion," one of the two guards from Anatomy said as he slowly walked forward with a polite smile. "Let''s not throw usations around. Let''s all calm down and-"


    "No, this is a conspiracy!" Vernon shouted. "I am absolutely certain that my son would never create or sign such a contract! This has to be a fake! You must have exchanged it somehow!"


    "How?" Nick asked with a snort. "I''m amon upstart, and I''m just an Initial Veteran. I don''t even know where these contracts are located, and even if I knew, how could I even manage to exchange them?"


    Vernon narrowed his eyes even more before he red at the two guards from Anatomy.


    "You did this! You exchanged it on the way!" Vernon shouted.


    Surprisingly, the two guards didn''t show any reactions.


    They just kept their faces neutral.


    However, the other guards had ufortable expressions.


    "Sir," one of the guards from Kugelblitz said, "they couldn''t have exchanged it."


    Vernon looked with frustration at the guard.


    "Sir, as you know, anyone who wants ess to such important documents needs the permission of the two supervising Experts during that day, and they are never from the same Manufacturer."


    "All of us gathered before the safe was even opened, and we all watched the clerk and the contract very closely during the entire journey."


    "Sir, there was no way that anyone could have exchanged the contract during the journey," the guard said with an ufortable voice.


    Vernon was still clenching his fists in rage and frustration.


    "Then, it must have happened beforehand!"


    The guards didn''t answer.


    Naturally, that was just as impossible.


    The safe could only be opened with the keys of the supervising Experts, and no one could get into the safe without destroying it.


    Not even a Force Specter could get in there.


    Additionally, destroying the safe would require the full power of a Specialist, and it would be impossible to keep the destruction of the safe a secret.


    The entire upperyer would hear the explosion of the safe, and to top it all off, a loud rm would ring out throughout the city if the safe was touched just a bit too strongly.


    On top of that, there were even more security measures.


    It was an undeniable fact that nobody, except for the governor, could have exchanged the contract, and not even Vernon would suspect the governor.


    "Is your plot finally copsing?" Nick asked.


    "Maybe you thought that your Extractors could exchange the contract during the journey."


    "Or maybe this is just another plot?"


    "Maybe you want to act like you identally lose control and kill me in the process. Sure, it would damage your reputation, but you would recover due to your status."


    Nick slowly stood up and walked closer to the guards from Anatomy.


    The guards from Anatomy threw some nces at Nick, but they quickly focused on Vernon again.


    The guards from Kugelblitz seemed agitated and nervous.


    This might develop into something really horrible.


    The thing they were most scared of was that Vernon ordered them to silence everyone in the room.


    That would cause an uproar in the city.


    Vernon was barely hearing Nick''s words.


    He was too busy trying to figure out how Nick could have exchanged the contract stored by the city.


    However, no matter how much he thought about this, he simply couldn''t find a way.


    Not even Kugelblitz could exchange these kinds of contracts.


    So, how could Nick?


    The next moment, Vernon was looking at the guards from Anatomy.


    Or, how could Anatomy?


    Maybe a traitor?


    No, that wouldn''t be enough.


    There were also neutral people keeping watch over these things.


    To exchange such a contract would require having control over five powerful people from separate ces.


    While it was theoretically possible, no one would even attempt to do that unless there were billions upon billions of credits on the table.


    Dark Dream was not worth enough for something like that.


    "ept the truth," Nick said from beside one of Anatomy''s guards. "This is the real contract, and you faked yours!"


    "I DID NOT FAKE THE CONTRACT!" Vernon shouted in absolute rage, his voice thundering throughout the room.


    The guards became increasingly apprehensive.


    The situation became tenser and tenser.


    Nick just looked at Vernon from beside the guards from Anatomy.


    He believed Vernon.


    After all, Vernon''s contract was real.


    All the other contracts were fake.


    Even the one from the city.


    The contract in the city''s safe had been exchanged a couple of days earlier.


    Sadly, nobody knew that there were actually two people who could exchange the contract without getting noticed.


    One was the governor.


    The other was Julian.


    And who would suspect everyone''s best friend, Julian?

 Chapter 332 332 – Congratulations

    <h4>Chapter 332 Chapter 332 ¨C Congrattions</h4>


    ?Everyone just looked at each other nervously.


    Things could go bad real quick.


    For several seconds, everyone remained quiet.


    "Sir, this contract can''t be fake," one of the people from Kugelblitz said carefully.


    Vernon narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying I''m a scam artist?" he asked.


    "No, no, no!" the man quickly answered with fear. "Maybe¡­ your contract is fake¡­"


    Vernon''s eyes narrowed even further.


    "But you didn''t fake it?" the guy added carefully, almost wording it like a question.


    Vernon''s brows furrowed.


    The contract could be fake, but he didn''t fake it¡­


    Vernon looked at the contract in concentration.


    Only people who had signed the contract could give it to the city for safekeeping, and Vernon was certain that Wyntor would never allow Nick to give the contract to the city.


    This meant that it had been Wyntor who had given the city the contract.


    As for the apparent fake contract that Vernon had received, that had only been touched by Wyntor and Vernon.


    It was difficult for Vernon to ept, but the contract that the city had kept safe had to be the real one, which could only mean that his contract was fake.


    And since Vernon didn''t fake it¡­


    Vernon fell into thought.


    Why?


    The only exnation remaining was that Wyntor had given Vernon a fake contract.


    However, Vernon couldn''t think of a reason why Wyntor would give his own father a fake contract?


    What would he have to gain from it?


    "Are you saying that my son faked this?" Vernon asked the person from earlier with a thoughtful tone.


    "No, sir! I would never use your son of something like that!" the man replied rapidly.


    "Ah, that could be," Nick said casually from beside one of the guards. "At first nce, you seem like a nice guy, but I''ve seen how you act during big meetings."


    Vernon narrowed his eyes again, but he didn''t look at Nick.


    He only focused on the contract.


    "I also wouldn''t trust somebody like you," Nick said with a sneer. "Someone that managed to reach the top of Kugelblitz must have done some shady things."


    "Silence!" the Specialist from Kugelblitz shouted. "These are baseless usations! Consider this your only warning!"


    Nick looked at the Specialist with narrowed eyes.


    His rtionship with Kugelblitz was already irreparably damaged.


    He had already nned all of this, but it was still extremely dangerous.


    Everything was going just like Julian had predicted.


    The next moment, Nick looked at Vernon, who was still in thought.


    "Vernon," Nick said.


    Vernon didn''t react.


    "Evaluate the next question carefully."


    "If you were somebody else, would you trust yourself?"


    Vernon didn''t show any reactions, but Nick''s question still entered his mind.


    Would he trust himself?


    That answer was obvious.


    Of course not!


    He was a major shareholder of Kugelblitz.


    He was someone who had decades of experience in a ruthless market.


    Trusting him would be na?ve.


    ¡­


    And his son wasn''t na?ve¡­


    Vernon''s expression changed to difort.


    Wyntor was his son.


    Wasn''t it different with family?


    Vernon had raised Wyntor.


    He had given him everything.


    Did he make a mistake while raising him?


    ''No,'' Vernon realized. ''It''s not that I made a mistake while raising him.''


    ''It''s that I raised him too well.''


    ''I told him to doubt everyone.''


    ''I told him to be suspicious of everyone.''


    A pained expression appeared on Vernon''s face.


    After thinking about it for a while, Vernon realized something.


    Believing that Wyntor had trusted him was akin to insulting his intelligence.


    He did the smart thing by not trusting his father.


    Vernon should be proud of him!


    But¡­


    Then why did it hurt so much?


    Vernon took a deep breath.


    He believed it now.


    Wyntor had given a false contract to Vernon while submitting the real one to the city.


    As to why, Vernon couldn''t be sure.


    Maybe Wyntor had been afraid of some kind of takeover from Vernon.


    Or even worse, maybe Wyntor suspected that Vernon would kill him if he learned of the use, which would then give Nick all the shares, which would give Vernon an easy way to get all of Dark Dream for cheap.


    After all, Nick was just some idiotic and na?ve Extractor from the Dregs.


    It would be easy for Vernon to get an amazing deal from Nick.


    ''Did Wyntor really think that?'' Vernon asked himself. ''Did he really think that I would kill my own son?''


    Vernon took a deep breath.


    Then, he pushed the contract away from him and looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    Vernon realized that Nick was actually not wrong in using him of killing his own son.


    From Nick''s point of view, Vernon must have looked incredibly suspicious with the fake contract.


    But that didn''t matter!


    The things Nick had said to him were unforgivable!


    Nick used Vernon of killing his own son, called him shifty, and, worst of all, called him a scam artist!


    Vernon had always prided himself on his fairness!


    He would never scam anyone!


    It had been decades since Vernon had been disrespected this much, and it didn''t matter whether or not Nick had a good reason.


    Vernon hated Nick, and he wouldn''t forget what Nick had said to him today.


    One day, if the opportunity presented itself, Vernon would throw these words back at him.


    He could hardly wait.


    "Congrattions," Vernon said coldly to Nick. "You own all of Dark Dream."


    "I''m sure Dark Dream will-"


    "Thanks," Nick interjected, not allowing Vernon to end his sarcastic insult.


    Vernon''s eyes narrowed a bit.


    Then, he walked towards the door and left.


    Even though he couldn''t finish his insult, the meaning was still clear to everyone.


    With the name of Melfion no longer attached to Dark Dream, its shield had vanished.


    Dark Dream now had to openlypete with Sce, Gemini, Ghosty''s Lab, Anatomy, and Kugelblitz.


    All the Manufacturers had something that allowed them to exist.


    Kugelblitz and Anatomy were the most powerful.


    Ghosty''s Lab was the city''s bastion of technology and advancement. Its survival was vital.


    Gemini had the backing of Ghosty''s Lab, and the two sisters had proved to be extremely good at ying the political game.


    Sce was the provider of all the light in the city, and the city government held a protective hand over it.


    The Spartans had pledged themselves to Anatomy during their creation.


    And Dark Dream?


    Dark Dream had nothing.

 Chapter 333 333 – Entering Anatomy

    <h4>Chapter 333 Chapter 333 ¨C Entering Anatomy </h4>


    ?Vernon left the room, and the guards belonging to Kugelblitz also left after throwing a couple of nces at Nick.


    Nick silently watched them leave.


    Then, he turned to the two guards from Anatomy.


    "So, can I get a meeting with Mr. Harrow or Mr. Stairwell?" he asked. "I''m open to offers regarding Dark Dream."


    The eyebrows of the two guards lifted in surprise.


    They had expected that Dark Dream would be a target dummy for all of the Manufacturers and that it would be a matter of luck regarding who would get Dark Dream.


    As long as Nick died, Dark Dream would have no owner anymore, and if Nick didn''t have an adult child or wife, the ownership of Dark Dream would default to the city, which would then hand it over to another Manufacturer for safekeeping.


    Most likely Kugelblitz since they had just too much sway in the government.


    The two guards had expected that Dark Dream would quickly copse.


    But now, Nick asked for an offer.


    He was willing to sell Dark Dream?


    That would change everything!


    "You want to sell Dark Dream?" the Specialist from Anatomy asked.


    "Of course!" Nick answered. "I''m just going to die if I keep it."


    The two guards blinked a bit in surprise.


    Yeah, he was right, but this was a bit...


    "I can ask for a meeting," the Specialist said.


    Then, he turned to his colleague. "Get a couple more people and keep him safe. I don''t want any idents to happen to him!"


    The other guard nodded. "Of course!"


    After all, if Nick died, Kugelblitz would most likely get Dark Dream.


    The next moment, the guard left the room.


    "We should also leave," the Expert from Anatomy said before he also walked out of the door.


    Nick nodded and followed him.


    For the next several minutes, Nick saw five more people from Anatomy arriving beside him, but those were not wearing the city''s guard uniforms.


    They all introduced themselves with polite smiles since Nick was most likely going to be one of their colleagues.


    Nick also introduced himself.


    After that, the people from Anatomy led Nick to their headquarters.


    Since he was now a Veteran, Nick could just run along the rails of the Shweebs, which made it much easier to reach Anatomy.


    Anatomy had a gigantic building at the top of the middleyer.


    It was absolutely massive!


    It was over a hundred meters high and probably took up the entire width of the megastructure!


    A huge puppet hung on top of the entrance, making the building look quite intimidating.


    There were no guards.


    The couple of people from Anatomy led Nick into the building.


    The walls werepletely ck, and the artificial lighting out of the ceiling seemed to get swallowed by the ck walls.


    ''Speaking of,'' Nick thought as he looked at the artificial lights. ''Why is Anatomy using light from Sce instead of just building light shafts?''


    "Why are you guys using artificial light?" Nick asked.


    "Security," one of the people said. "Some Extractors can fit through tiny spaces, and light shafts would give them an easy way to travel throughout the building."


    "Oh, okay," Nick answered.


    ''So, it''s because of guys like me.''


    Nick felt very strange walking through Anatomy like this.


    For years, Anatomy felt like the most dangerous ce in the city.


    Anatomy was Kugelblitz''s biggest rival, and since Dark Dream had belonged to Kugelblitz, unofficially, Anatomy would have the biggest reason to attack Dark Dream.


    Additionally, the two leaders of Anatomy had treated Wyntor and Nick like they didn''t even exist.


    Lastly, the way Anatomy had fought against the city''s inspection made them appear even shadier.


    Of course, their sense of aesthetic also made them appear just a slight bit spooky.


    But now, Nick was using Anatomy to protect himself.


    Right now, Nick knew that Anatomy wanted him to survive, no matter what.


    Even if they, for some reason, didn''t get Dark Dream, they wouldn''t want Kugelblitz to get it.


    After leading Nick through corridor after corridor, they eventually told him to wait in front of a door.


    Everyone except for two guards left after that.


    There was no more reason to give Nick such a big escort while he was inside their headquarters.


    And then, it was time to wait.


    Neither Zarren Harrow nor Mundus Stairwell were in the building right now.


    The reason for their absence was as obvious as it was forgettable.


    The yearly meeting of Manufacturers was happening right at this moment.


    Surprisingly, Nick only needed to wait for 15 minutes.


    Nick saw two people with ck hair walking over to him.


    Both of them were tall men who seemed to be in their thirties, and their eyes were filled with a mix of coldness, calm, and confidence.


    One of them approached Nick.


    "I think we haven''t been properly introduced yet," he said neutrally as he offered his hand.


    "Zarren Harrow, Senior Director of Anatomy."


    Nick took the hand and shook it.


    "Nick Nick, Chief Zephyx Extractor and now also owner of Dark Dream," Nick said nervously.


    "For however long that may be," he added with an awkward smile.


    The two shook hands, and Zarren nodded once before letting the other person step forward.


    The other person also offered his hand. "Mundus Stairwell, Chief Zephyx Extractor of Anatomy."


    Nick also introduced himself to Mundus.


    "Let''s talk inside," Mundus said as he stepped into his office.


    Surprisingly, Zarren also walked into the office.


    Nick gulped.


    ''Seems like I''m going to talk with both of them,'' he thought before he entered as well.


    When he saw the office, he was a bit surprised.


    It was a bit cluttered and quite chaotic.


    There were many sheets of paper scattered around randomly, and Nick also saw many boxes without anybels on them.


    In a way, this office reminded Nick of his own office.


    The three of them sat down at the desk.


    Mundus sat behind the desk.


    Nick sat in front of the desk.


    Zarren was stuck sitting beside the desk since the backside of the desk was surrounded by random boxes, only leaving space for a single chair for Mundus.


    Since there were also only two chairs, Zarren had to sit on one of the boxes, but he didn''t seem to care about it.


    "So, you are willing to sell Dark Dream?" Mundus asked.

 Chapter 334 334 – Selling Dark Dream

    <h4>Chapter 334 Chapter 334 ¨C Selling Dark Dream</h4>


    ?Nick took a deep breath and nodded.


    "I have no other choice," he said.


    The two people from Anatomy didn''t say anything, subtly telling Nick that they wanted to hear more.


    "Quite frankly, I know that Kugelblitz wants to kill me as soon as possible," Nick said. "You''ve probably already heard about the fake contract, right?"


    The two of them nodded.


    "I think Vernon killed his son to get Dark Dream. I don''t know how things got this way, but I''m pretty sure about it."


    "I mean, he didn''t even grieve for ten minutes before he approached me to ask about my 30% of Dark Dream."


    "He probably thought that I was easy to manipte since I wasn''t born in the Inner City."


    Nick narrowed his eyes as he looked at the table.


    "But I''m not."


    Then, he shook his head.


    "Anyway, I know that I can''t protect Dark Dream since I am only an Initial Veteran. So, I have no other choice but to sell Dark Dream."


    The two from Anatomy looked silently at Nick, making him nervous.


    Then, they exchanged a nce.


    "We don''t think that''s what happened," Mundus said neutrally.


    Nick''s eyebrows rose in surprise.


    "While we wouldn''t put it past Melfion to kill his son for money, we also know that he''s more intelligent than that," Zarren said from the side.


    "The timing and manner of everything is too strange. Melfion also wouldn''t have made it so easy to disprove his contract."


    "If he had nned something like that, he would have sent someone to exchange your copy and his son''s copy in secret."


    "Additionally, he wouldn''t have killed his son right in front of his own ce of work."


    "Maybe there''s some kind of hidden plot or meaning tomit such a dumb act, but for the life of me, I can''t see it," Zarren exined.


    Behind the desk, Mundus chuckled a bit.


    "When looking at the facts, we''re way more suspicious than Melfion," he said with dry amusement.


    Nick looked at the two of them with a bit of anxiety.


    "But you didn''t do it, right?" he asked.


    The two of them looked at Nick for a couple of seconds.


    "Of course not," Zarren said calmly.


    If Nick wasn''t sure that he had been the one who killed Wyntor, he would think that they had killed him.


    They acted just way too sinister and untrustworthy.


    ''Do they want me to believe that it was them to intimidate me so that I wouldn''t ask for a lot of money?'' Nick thought.


    "How many Specters do you have, and how strong are they?" Mundus asked.


    Nick looked with difort at them.


    This was highly confidential.


    However, he had to tell them since he was about to sell Dark Dream anyway.


    "Nine Adolescents and three Hatchlings," Nick said.


    The two of them showed no reaction.


    For a couple of seconds, Mundus just wrote something on a sheet of paper.


    Then, he gave the sheet of paper to Zarren, who looked at it.


    Lastly, he nodded at Mundus.


    Mundus turned back to Nick.


    "80 million," he said. "Additionally, you get a spot as team leader, and we will also hire all of the current employees."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    That was a lot of money.


    Nick closed his eyes for a while.


    "Thank you," he said.


    "But I can''t give you a positive answer without asking Ghosty''s Lab, Gemini, and Sce for offers."


    The atmosphere in the room changed, and the two of them looked at Nick with cold eyes.


    Nick looked back.


    Over ten seconds of silence passed.


    Mundus looked at Zarren.


    Zarren furrowed his brows.


    "120 million," he said.


    Nick took another deep breath.


    "Thank you, but I still have to ask the others."


    The two of them looked at each other again.


    "Are you going to ask Kugelblitz as well?" Mundus asked after a while.


    "My goal is to survive," Nick said. "If I enter Kugelblitz, I might as well jump into the Crimson Sea right now."


    Mundus and Zarren looked at each other again.


    "Alright," Zarren said. "But just to be safe, we want you to decide by tomorrow, and we also want three of our people to guard you until then. None of us want you to die to some assassin from Kugelblitz."


    Nick nodded. "Thank you very much."


    The three of them nodded and left Mundus'' office.


    Nick quickly received three of Anatomy''s Experts as bodyguards and left the building.


    Next, Nick went to Ghosty''s Lab to talk to their CEO.


    Naturally, Ghosty''s Lab was also interested in purchasing Dark Dream.


    However, they only offered 90 million credits.


    Nick kept all the offers secret.


    Next, Nick went to Gemini and met with the twins.


    He was quite surprised when they offered 150 million credits.


    Nick thanked them for their offers and left to talk to Sce.


    His talk with Hera was the longest, and her offer was also quite unique.


    She would give Nick 10% of Sce in exchange for all of Dark Dream, making Nick a director.


    Additionally, Nick would also be one of their team leaders, working under Hera.


    Hera told Nick that she was quite impressed by him and that she had a very high opinion of him.


    She would love to work with him.


    Sce''s offer was incredible since 10% of Sce already represented about 300 million credits.


    It seemed like Sce put much more value on Nick as a person instead of Dark Dream.


    However, Sce might also not have the strength to protect Nick from Kugelblitz.


    After getting all of his offers, Nick returned to Dark Dream.


    The three people from Anatomy kept watch over Dark Dream, and several Veterans from Anatomy were scouting Dark Dream''s surroundings.


    They didn''t want any of Dark Dream''s employees toe to harm.


    Nick met a couple more people in his office over the day.


    The next day, in the early morning, Nick publicized his decision.


    And the decision shocked everyone!


    Nick wasn''t selling Dark Dream to Anatomy.


    He also wasn''t selling it to Ghosty''s Lab.


    He wasn''t selling it to Gemini.


    And he also wasn''t selling it to Sce.


    The entire city heard the news.


    60% of Dark Dream was sold to its new CEO.


    Julian!

 Chapter 335 335 – New CEO

    <h4>Chapter 335 Chapter 335 ¨C New CEO </h4>


    ?"And with the sad part out of the way, it is now my pleasure to introduce our new Chief Executive Officer. Some of you probably know him already."


    "Please, give a warm wee to Julian Nergiar!"


    After a lengthy talk in front of all of Dark Dream''s employees, Nick introduced their new CEO.


    Julian.


    Some of the employees felt a bit strange while they apuded, but most of them were actually quite excited.


    Naturally, when they heard that their previous CEO had died, they felt scared and sad.


    Wyntor had built Dark Dream from the ground up, and with him gone, the employees didn''t know what would happen to them.


    Would Dark Dream be sold?


    Would they have to work for another Manufacturer?


    Would they get killed?


    But when they heard that Julian bought 60% of Dark Dream, they felt quite excited.


    Everyone knew Julian, and everyone liked being in his presence.


    And now, they could work under Julian!


    Additionally, Julian was a Specialist!


    While it was still possible that another Manufacturer could kill most of Dark Dream''s workers and get it disbanded byining to the city about ack of security, it would be much more difficult.


    A Specialist was terrifyingly powerful.


    A Specialist was so powerful that they could capture an Expert without them even being able to kill themselves.


    One had to remember that fighting amongst Manufacturers was illegal and that the entire war thing had to happen in secret.


    So, if one of the attackers got captured and delivered to the guards, whoever sent the agent would have to pay absolutely brutal fines.


    These kinds of fines were not based on the damage done or by the agent the Manufacturer had sent but on what it would take to give said Manufacturer a fitting punishment.


    If a Veteran from Kugelblitz was found to have been sent to attack Nick, it might very well be possible that Kugelblitz would need to pay over 500 million credits.


    That obviously wouldn''t kill them, but it would cause them a lot of damage.


    Because of that, having someone like a Specialist present was insanely advantageous.


    The Extractors knew that which was why they were so excited.


    Having Julian as their CEO would give Dark Dream even more security than having Wyntor as their CEO.


    Julian walked towards the front and waved at the 100 or so gathered people in front of him.


    "Thank you for your warm wee," he said with a smile. "I''m looking forward to working with all of you. I consider several of you friends, and I''m excited that I can help all of you to achieve your dreams."


    Julian gave a long speech in front of the gathered employees, after which he walked forward to greet each and every one of them one by one.


    Surprisingly, Julian knew the names of over 60 of the employees, which positively surprised everyone.


    While he was greeting them, Julian also told them that he wanted to meet each and every one of them for a personal conversation.


    Within the next week, everyone shoulde to his office at some point. Of course, only when they had time.


    Julian would be in the office most of the time, and if he wasn''t present, he would tell his new assistant when he would be back.


    Wyntor had been an Early John, which meant that he had still needed to sleep, eat, and drink.


    Since Julian didn''t need that, he could spend much more time working.


    Sadly, the employees couldn''t talk for very long with Julian.


    They had to return to work.


    After a while, Julian and Nick left the big hall and walked towards the seventh floor.


    Nick had a neutral expression on his face as he walked past several mouths growing out of the walls in the stairwell.


    Julian had already "fully integrated".


    The walls and ceiling of the entire building were covered with smiling mouths.


    Yet, nobody noticed.


    Nick was the only one who could see them.


    It was quite ironic.


    A Specter was running a Manufacturer.


    Nick was not sure if he had done the right thing, but he had already made his choice.


    And now, he had to see it to the end.


    Several weeks ago, Nick had thought long and hard about what to wish.


    He wanted to kill Wyntor, but he also didn''t want to lose Dark Dream.


    "I wish for us to be allies."


    That was Nick''s wish.


    Julian had been quite surprised by that wish, and he had asked about what Nick meant specifically.


    "Simple. I help you, and in return, you help me, which makes me help you, which makes you help me, and so on," Nick said.


    After talking some more, Julian had gotten a new appreciation for Nick.


    Usually, Julian killed most people after granting them their wish.


    Sure, he would still lose some Zephyx after killing them, but it wouldn''t be as bad as when he killed the person before fulfilling their wish.


    There were a select few people who had won a bet against Julian and lived to tell the tale, but they were all rather weak.


    They were the only ones who knew about the city''s true ruler, but they couldn''t tell anyone.


    If they tried to tell just a single person, they would die.


    In a way, they felt cursed.


    They were the only ones who could see the truth, but they could never tell anyone the truth.


    Nick had joined these select few, butpared to them, Nick had a more personal connection with Julian now.


    They were going to be allies.


    Julian would help Nick be more powerful and increase the power of Dark Dream.


    In exchange, Nick would be Julian''s employee and do what he said.


    Of course, owning a Manufacturer also gave Julian something.


    He would earn a lot of money, and he would also have an official job.


    Everyone believed that Julian was working for one of the Manufacturers, but all of the Manufacturers thought he was working for one of the other ones.


    And since he now had his own business, he no longer needed to be afraid of being found out in this way.

 Chapter 336 336 – A Visit

    <h4>Chapter 336 Chapter 336 ¨C A Visit</h4>


    ?The two of them entered Julian''s new office.


    As soon as the door opened, Nick noticed that Julian''s office was covered in even more mouths.


    It was almost like the entire office was made of mouths.


    The only ce that didn''t have any mouths was the chair in front of the desk and a small pathway leading to it.


    Julian walked through the mouth-covered area, and the mouths seemed to phase through him.


    Then, he sat down behind the desk, seemingly fusing into the domain of mouths.


    Nick couldn''t see Julian anymore.


    "Come in," a chorus of friendly voices said.


    Nick''s eyes showed determination, and he stepped inside.


    He had made his choice.


    He had made his wish.


    This was what he had chosen.


    Regrets?


    Guilt?


    Fear?


    Feeling any of that would be an insult to his choice.


    This was the ugly face of his choice, and he had to look at it.


    Dark Dream had been handed over to a Specter.


    Something that was supposed to suppress Specters was now being run by a Specter.


    This was a betrayal of humanity.


    A human had willingly handed something like this to a Specter.


    Something like this happened very rarely.


    After all, even little kids knew that Specters were humanity''s greatest enemies.


    epting a deal with a Specter would only end in one''s death.


    ''But I need this!'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes.


    ''This is the only way I can achieve my goal!''


    ''If humanity ever wants to win against the Specters, humanity first needs to unite!''


    ''The same thing is true for this city.''


    ''As long as Kugelblitz, Anatomy, Ghosty''s Lab, and so on fight against each other, Crimson City will never get enough power to truly free themselves of Specters like Julian or the Parasite.''


    ''Getting rid of the Parasite would have just required them to work together, but that never happened.''


    ''In the end, the Parasite only vanished from the city after another Specter got rid of him.''


    ''Having Julian officially rule the city will cause less damage and misery than having the current leaders in charge.''


    ''I would much rather hand the entire city to him than have things continuing to be this way!''


    ''And when I am finally strong enough, I can take over.''


    ''Humanity needs to unite, and the strong must stop their exploitation of the weak!''


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    ''And if they refuse toply, they are humanity''s enemy!''


    "You''re not afraid?" the mouths in the room asked.


    "I made my choice," Nick said.


    The mouths chuckled.


    "Didn''t you always say that you hated how the weak suffered? And now, you''re handing a building filled with proverbial explosives to a Specter," the mouths said.


    "Your enemies are my enemies," Nick said. "The Heroes are the only ones that can see through your identity, and they are also the ones that were the reason why the Dregs had been so horrible."


    "You haven''t told me a lot about your power, but I know how Specters work. If you really want to be a Demon, you need to kill several Specialists after winning bets against them."


    "However, even if you win the bet and get the ability to easily kill them, every Specialist that dies also provokes a huge investigation."


    "You need a human that knows your true self and acts as your mouthpiece."


    Nick looked at the mouths with narrowed eyes.


    "If I had to choose between you and the current leaders of the city, I would choose you."


    "You have a selfish goal."


    "The current leaders have a selfish goal."


    "But your selfish goal will cause less misery and death."


    The more Nick thought about the absolute filth that was the mindset of Crimson City''s leaders, the angrier he got.


    "Handing humanity''s fate to a Specter might be better than handing humanity''s fate to a human."


    "I don''t regret giving you Dark Dream," Nick said. "If Wyntor kept being Dark Dream''s owner, it would have one day been sold to Kugelblitz, and I would need to join another Manufacturer."


    "I want to help humanity, and to do that, I need power."


    Nick looked at the eyes.


    "Just like how I am helping you be more powerful, you are helping me be more powerful."


    Silence.


    "Humans are so interesting," the smiling mouths said.


    "Your opinion of humanity is so low. Yet, your life''s mission is to help humanity."


    "Aren''t you also human?"


    "Will humanity have a better fate if you are its decider?"


    Nick looked at the mouths.


    "Yes," he said with conviction.


    Silence.


    The mouths chuckled.


    "How truly interesting," the mouths said.


    "Working with you might prove to be very entertaining."


    Silence.


    "Do you have a n for Dark Dream?" Nick asked. "You are now the CEO, and I am your employee. Is there anything you want me to do?"


    "Yes," the mouths answered.


    "Since we are now allies, I don''t want you to die. That would be bad for me."


    "I have seen how powerful you are. I saw the ambush of the Spartans."


    Nick''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    "I also know that you were the one that freed the Crimson Sea."


    "The Crimson Sea ate several pieces of my food, and it made it much harder for me to find opportunities to collect debts from lost bets."


    "You''re lucky I''m not a human, or I might have killed you out of anger."


    Nick didn''t say anything.


    "Nevertheless, your survival is now relevant to my power."


    "Because of that, I want to get rid of your weakness."


    "And while we''re at it, you may also prove your loyalty."


    Nick didn''t show any reactions.


    "Your power is terrifying, but only as long as the enemy doesn''t know how it works."


    "There is one person, aside from myself, that knows how your power works."


    "This person is your weakness."


    Nick''s jaw clenched.


    "Prove that what you said are not just empty words."


    "I made a wager with Albert."


    "I bet that you would visit him within the next two months at his home."


    Nick didn''t move, but his heart rate shot up.


    "I want you to visit him."


    Nick didn''t say anything as he silently clenched his fists.


    The smiles on the mouths seemed to widen.

 Chapter 337 337 – The Good of the City

    <h4>Chapter 337 Chapter 337 ¨C The Good of the City </h4>


    ?Nick left Dark Dream''s building after finishing his talk with his new superior.


    After Nick left the building, he went to the edge of the city again.


    Whenever he wasn''t certain about something or felt overwhelmed, he came here to look at the wall of red mist.


    Just as always, Nick looked at the red wall while lost in thought.


    At this moment, his heart was beating rapidly in his chest.


    ''My first kill was an adult woman who stole my credits in the Dregs, and I didn''t even kill her on purpose.''


    ''My second kill was someone from the Insurance Gang that tried to rough me up. This one wasn''t idental.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''It might not have been a kill, but the next time I felt something like this was when Horua became catatonic. In a way, that was idental.''


    ''Later, I killed several people belonging to the Riker Strikers.''


    ''Compared to my first kills, these were much easier.''


    ''They were causing suffering to innocent people, and no one would care if I killed them. Most people would probably even be thankful.''


    ''Then came Pator.''


    Nick remembered what Pator had said to Horua.


    While Pator had gone against Dark Dream, he was also helpless in the fact.


    In a way, Pator was just a child who had been exploited by a rich psychopath.


    Nick could see a definite trend in the people he killed.


    From identally killing an enemy.


    To purposefully killing an enemy.


    To identally killing a helpless person.


    To purposefully killing a child that was forced to be his enemy.


    After that, Nick thought about the day the Crimson Sea had escaped.


    He remembered the way all the innocent people turned into liquid while screaming in pain and terror.


    It was still difficult for him to think about it.


    The only way Nick could deal with the guilt was to keep telling himself that he would stop even more suffering from urring.


    Yet¡­


    ''And now, for the first time, I am going to kill an innocent person on purpose.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''Albert has never done anything against me. In fact, the opposite is true.''


    ''Albert is the reason why I even managed to be a Zephyx Extractor.''


    ''He trained and taught me for months.''


    Nick looked at the ground.


    ''And now, I''m going to essentially kill him. I might not be the one actively killing him, but my actions will result in his death.''


    Albert''s face shot through Nick''s mind.


    The nice old man.


    Naturally, he really didn''t want to kill Albert.


    He wanted Albert to be sessful and happy.


    Albert hadn''t even shown an inkling of wanting anything bad to happen to Nick.


    ''I don''t know,'' Nick thought.


    ''There''s just no way I can justify killing Albert.''


    ''It''s not right.''


    ''How am I different from the people I despise?''


    ''In order to further my goal, I am going to kill an innocent person.''


    Nick just kept looking at the floor.


    ''But what choice do I have?''


    ''Death.''


    ''If I don''t do it, I will die.''


    ''What then?''


    ''Will the deaths of all the innocent people be for nothing?''


    Silence.


    ''They will be.''


    ''If I die, all these people would have died for nothing.''


    ''But how many more innocent people will die until I finally reach my goal?''


    ''Albert might be the first innocent person that I will kill on purpose, but as long as I follow Julian, he most likely won''t be thest.''


    ''As long as I keep following Julian, I willmit more and more horrible acts.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''Nevertheless, what I told Julian was not a lie.''


    ''If he bes the true ruler of the city, the city will have it better than right now.''


    ''I only have three choices.''


    ''First, refuse and get killed off by Julian. This will make the city''s future uncertain. The deaths of the innocents might be for nothing.''


    ''Second, secretly visit the governor or a level six Extractor and unveil Julian. This will definitely result in Julian''s death, but I will also die. The fact that I sold him Dark Dream is already unforgivable. Albert will survive, the city will stay as it is now, and the deaths of the innocents will be for nothing.''


    ''Third, kill Albert. This has the highest chance of improving the city, but it will result in more innocent people dying. The debt of guilt will increase as time progresses, and the pressure of repaying said debt will increase.''


    Nick just kept thinking about the issue.


    ''It is an undisputable fact that Julian will improve the city in the long run. Especially if he also wants to please me a little bit to keep me loyal to him.''


    Nick looked at the red wall with focus.


    ''The best oue for the city is if I am the sole ruler.''


    ''The second best one is if Julian is the ruler with me as an important support.''


    ''The third best one is Julian being the ruler on his own.''


    ''And the worst one is if things stay this way.''


    ''The lives of themon people are morally more important than the lives of the Extractors.''


    ''The weak do not have the power to change the city. Only the strong people have the power.''


    ''A Newbie might be able to sway the way their new team works just a little bit.''


    ''A John can already work as a guard and not condone illegal things that happen around them.''


    ''A Veteran can change how teams operate.''


    ''An Expert has a lot of influence over how the guards and at least one Manufacturer operate.''


    ''And the influence every Extractor has over their surroundings only increases with power.''


    ''Which also increases their responsibility and guilt for why things are the way they are.''


    Nick looked at the red wall.


    ''As long as the city''s security isn''t majorlypromised, I would rather kill a Specialist than amoner.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He made his decision.


    ''Albert, you may have treated me well, and you are not my enemy, but this is bigger than you and me.''


    ''I don''t want to kill you.''


    ''But for the good of the city, I have to.''

 Chapter 338 338 – Entrance

    <h4>Chapter 338 Chapter 338 ¨C Entrance</h4>


    ?Nick entered the Inner City aftering to a decision.


    He knew that the longer he waited with his visit, the harder it would be and the more doubt would appear in his mind.


    ''I can''t afford to doubt myself now,'' Nick thought. ''I have made my decision, and I have to walk it to the end.''


    ''If I die on the way, I will have made the wrong decision and doomed many innocent people.''


    ''But if I manage to reach it, I will have made the right decision.''


    ''The correctness of my choice is connected to my sess.''


    ''That means I have to try my absolute hardest to achieve sess!''


    ''I no longer have the luxury of choice.''


    Nick looked for a Shweeb rail and jumped onto it from a distance.


    As a Veteran, jumping a distance of a couple hundred meters wasn''t difficult.


    He didn''t even need his ability for that.


    Afternding on the rail, Nick ran on top of it.


    If the rail became too steep, he simply grabbed the side and pulled himself upward.


    The rtion between his strength and his weight was so unbnced that Nick felt like there was almost no gravity.


    The inherent power of Zephyx was ridiculous and couldn''t bepared to anything.


    After a minute, Nick reached theyer where the big Manufacturers were.


    Some secondster, Nick reached theyer where Kugelblitz was.


    He threw a nce at the entrance but continued upward.


    Julian had told Nick where Albert lived.


    Albert lived in an older house on the upperyer of the city.


    For the first time, Nick would enter the upperyer of the city.


    Usually, Nick would feel a bit excited, but it was impossible for him to feel these kinds of emotions right now.


    Nick felt so much pressure that any other emotion barely registered.


    All the guilt that Nick had felt for his past actions was reced with pressure to seed.


    If he didn''t seed, everything would be for nothing, and he would count as one of the greatest monsters humanity had ever seen.


    His actions had resulted in over a thousand innocent people dying, and he had done nothing good in return.


    Because of that, he had to seed.


    Nothing was more important than improving the lives of themon people.


    He had to do it!


    There was literally nothing that was more important!


    Ironically, the more horrible things Nick did and the guiltier he felt, the more his own survival and power mattered to him.


    Nick was no longer living for himself.


    His life belonged to humanity.


    His life belonged to the world.


    Feeling excitement for seeing something new was iparably unimpactful and irrelevant.


    It didn''t matter.


    And since it didn''t matter, Nick couldn''t feel it.


    Nick continued ascending, and a couple of secondster, he saw the rails making a curve and entering several garages.


    He jumped down from the rail andnded on the floor, which was made of incredibly powerful and durable ck metal.


    The sunlight shone through the windows behind Nick.


    He was incredibly high up.


    After stopping for just a second, Nick walked towards the single person standing beside a small door.


    Almost everything in front of Nick was taken up by a solid and massive ck wall.


    The only thing that looked different was the small door made of wood, which contrasted with the cold feeling of the wall.


    When Nick saw the person standing beside the door, he couldn''t help taking a deep breath out of shock.


    The person was a woman with silver hair who calmly looked at Nick.


    She was wearing the uniform of an Extractor who worked exclusively for the city.


    These kinds of Extractors were quite rare, and they were tasked with the most important matters since they didn''t have any vested interests in any of the Manufacturers.


    But the thing that Nick was shocked by was the emblem on her chest.


    She was a Specialist.


    A level five Extractor that exclusively worked for the city.


    Nick didn''t even know that the city had someone like that.


    However, the most prominent feelings Nick had after his shock passed were anger and disgust.


    A Specialist!


    A Specialist was so powerful and could do so much for the city!


    Yet, the Specialist''s job was to guard a door!


    The reason for all of this was clear.


    The richest people in the city demanded absolute security for themselves!


    Even if their desire for absolute security put many others in danger.


    After all, they had the most money, and as people who had the most money, they deserved the best things.


    Nick didn''t have an issue with some luxury, but as soon as someone took so much that it negatively impacted a great number of people, he got angry.


    "I don''t know you," the woman said casually.


    She was neither rude nor friendly.


    "My name is Nick Nick, and I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream," he said.


    When the Specialist heard that, her eyebrows rose in positive surprise. "Oh, you''re Julian''s friend?" she asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yes."


    "How are things going for him in Dark Dream? I haven''t seen him in a while," she asked with interest.


    "He just took over Dark Dream, and he is currently getting familiar with it," Nick answered neutrally. "He seems to be doing quite well."


    The Specialist smiled. "That''s great to hear. Anyway, you want to enter the upperyer?" she asked.


    Nick nodded. "I''m here to visit an old friend I haven''t seen in a long while."


    "Who?" she asked.


    "Albert," Nick answered. "I don''t know hisst name."


    "It''s okay," the Specialist said. "I know everyone that lives in the upperyer, and there''s only one Albert."


    "You don''t have the wealth or power required to live in the upperyer, but it''s enough for a visit. I can let you through, but keep in mind that you must leave again within the next twelve hours, or you will forcefully be thrown out, and you will also have to pay a hefty fine."


    Nick nodded. "That''s fine."


    The Specialist also nodded, and a small needle suddenly appeared in her hand.


    "I must test your blood to see if you are human."

 Chapter 339 339 – The Upper Layer

    <h4>Chapter 339 Chapter 339 ¨C The Upper Layer </h4>


    ?Nick furrowed his brows, but he still extended one of his arms.


    Sure enough, the upperyer had ridiculous security levels.


    ''But even that is not enough since Julian managed to enter the upperyer,'' Nick thought.


    The copy of the contract that the city had stored had been in a safe on the upperyer, which meant that Julian must have managed to enter.


    ''Most likely, she just let Julian pass without testing him since he is her friend,'' Nick thought.


    The Specialist moved the needle to Nick''s right index finger and drew a bit of blood.


    A momentter, she put the needle into a small hole in the wall.


    DING!


    A green light appeared above the hole for three seconds before vanishing.


    The Specialist pocketed the needle and looked at Nick with a smile.


    "You may pass. Wee to the upperyer!" she said as she stepped to the side and gestured to the wooden door behind her.


    "Thank you," Nick answered with a nod before he walked to the door.


    "After you go through the door, please read the sign with the rules before entering."


    Nick nodded without answering.


    Nick put his hand on the door and pushed.


    The door opened easily, and as soon as it did, Nick felt a small gust of pleasant-smelling airing out.


    He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.


    When he saw where he was, he was a bit surprised.


    Nick found himself in a hall made of wood.


    The hall was about 50 meters long and 10 meters wide, and there were lockers everywhere!


    It reminded Nick of the rooms before the Containment Units in Dark Dream.


    Nick saw another wooden door on the other side of the hall and saw a big sign beside it with the rules on them.


    ''Shoes are forbidden.''


    ''Wearing outside clothing is discouraged.''


    ''Wearing weapons is forbidden.''


    ''Don''t be loud.''


    ''No running.''


    ''Be respectful.''


    ''Don''t ask personal questions without knowing the other person well.''


    ''Don''t enter private property without the permission of the owner.''


    There were a couple more rules, but those were the most important ones.


    Nick also saw a couple rules specifically for visitors, and when he was done reading them, he furrowed his brows.


    This was crazy.


    The next moment, Nick walked over to some lockers that were specifically for visitors.


    He opened one that was unupied and saw what he was soon going to wear.


    It was a brown shirt made of very soft fabric and somefortable brown pants made of the same fabric.


    When he touched these things, he had to take a deep breath.


    He had never touched anything so soft!


    The next moment, he took the clothing and entered a changing room at the side.


    In the changing room, he undressed and put all of his clothing in a basket before going into a shower with cleansing liquid.


    After showering, Nick put the warm and fuzzy clothing on before walking out of the changing room.


    He put the basket with his stuff into the locker before grabbing one of the keys and locking it.


    Then, he put the key around his arm and walked towards the exit.


    This was the first time in years in which Nick had been walking barefoot.


    He couldn''t help thinking about his past in the Dregs.


    The wooden floor felt warm and nice on his bare feet, and the clothing warmed his body.


    After reaching the door, Nick opened it and stepped through.


    For the first time, he entered the upperyer of the city, a ce where only people worth over 100 million credits could live.


    Nick''s feet stepped on a small path made of soft dirt.


    Beside the path was green grass.


    Basically everything around Nick was covered in grass!


    There were also quite a lot of trees with beautiful green leaves almost everywhere.


    The air smelled fresh and invigorating, and the sky was a beautiful bright blue.


    There were also a couple of small and white clouds slowly drifting across the sky.


    Even though it tried its best to hide, Nick''s senses could also pick up some kind of furry animal with a big bushy tail that was clinging to one of the trees with a nut in its mouth.


    Nick could also see animals with feathers and wings that could fly. These animals looked like smaller and thinner chickens.


    About 50 meters away, Nick could see a man, a woman, and two kids sitting on a nket in the middle of a small meadow.


    They were eating some sandwiches, which they had brought from home via a nice basket.


    Compared to Nick, all four of them wore white clothing instead of brown.


    The color of the clothing probably represented the difference between visitors and citizens.


    Nick saw the familyughing happily.


    He looked away from them and focused on the dirt path in front of him.


    Nick''s fists clenched.


    The contrast between the upperyer and the Outer City hit him like a ton of bricks.


    The upperyer was disgusting.


    The sheer amount of Zephyx required to make all of this possible had to be ridiculous.


    How much of the city''s wealth was wasted on creating this paradise for the richest one percent?


    The fact that these people couldugh all carefree in this paradise while the disced people of the Dregs were fighting for their lives in a world of blood and rust enraged Nick.


    Nick remembered how much he had suffered in the Dregs when he was younger.


    And while he had suffered, these people had enjoyed life in this paradise!


    He hated the upperyer.


    The upperyer perfectly represented what was wrong with the city.


    Nick took a deep breath and walked forward.


    As he kept walking, he passed by a couple of people wearing white clothes.


    One of them even started a casual conversation with him, but Nick only gave curt answers.


    He only asked the guy where he could find Albert.


    The man looked a bit offended by Nick''s tone, but he told Nick where he could find Albert.


    Nick just thanked him and left.


    Not even five minutester, he arrived at Albert''s house.

 Chapter 340 340 – Albert’s House

    <h4>Chapter 340 Chapter 340 ¨C Albert''s House</h4>


    ?After walking through what seemed to be a forest, Nick reached Albert''s house.


    Nick had seen a couple of houses on his way to Albert''s house.


    All the houses he had seen were made out of wood or mossy stone.


    Only when Nick saw Albert''s house did he realize that he hadn''t seen a single piece of metal until now.


    Albert''s house,pared to all the other houses, was made of ck metal.


    It was the same kind of metal that the entrance to the upperyer was made out of.


    Albert''s house was the only thing made of metal that Nick had seen in the upperyer.


    It was strange.


    In the Dregs and in the Outer City, everyone was surrounded by nothing but metal.


    The ground was metal.


    The houses were metal.


    Everything was metal.


    But here, nothing was made of metal.


    When Nick saw the house, his heart rate spiked again.


    This was it.


    This was the moment.


    As long as Nick went to the house, knocked, and saw Albert, he would doom him.


    He could still leave.


    Albert was not yet dead.


    Nick could still turn around.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He clenched his fists and did his best to focus on the house in front of him.


    Then, he walked forward.


    Nick felt like the world waspressing his head as he moved his arm towards the door.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    He had done it.


    He had knocked.


    Nick felt like the surroundings had darkened.


    That was it.


    There was no way back now.


    Some secondster, the door opened, and Nick came face to face with Albert.


    He looked just like the first day Nick had met him, except for the different clothing.


    Just like back then, Albert had mostly ck hair with a couple of grey streaks going through it.


    All in all, he looked to be in his fifties.


    However, that wouldn''t be urate for him since he was an Expert.


    Albert was probably already over a hundred years old.


    Nick still remembered how Albert had helped him analyze his abilities and trained him for a couple of months.


    Albert furrowed his brows as he looked at Nick.


    "Who are you?" he asked.


    Naturally, while Albert hadn''t changed, Nick had changed quite a bit.


    Thest time Albert saw Nick was when he captured the Dreamer.


    Back then, Albert had shown Nick how Chief Zephyx Extractors found ways to work with Specters.


    Thest time they had met, Nick was still a 16-year-old with above-average fitness.


    Now, Nick was 21.


    He had grown quite a bit, and his muscle mass had more than doubled.


    But the most noticeable change was Nick''s aura and demeanor.


    Back then, Nick had still seemed innocent, na?ve, and insecure.


    Now, Nick appeared solemn, serious, and intense.


    The wonder of seeing new things had been reced with disgust at these things'' moral and economic implications.


    The world that had once been colorful was now covered in a grey, ck, and red film.


    And just like the world had lost most of its colors, Nick also seemed far less colorful.


    When Nick saw Albert''s face, he felt like the ck hole in his chest had reopened again.


    He knew that he was looking at a dead man.


    It had been done.


    Albert had lost his bet, which meant that Julian could consume him anytime.


    Julian became stronger by making bets and winning them.


    When he won his bet, his powers while fighting the person who had lost would multiply, making him almost invincible.


    Julian was also an entire level above Albert.


    At this moment, it would be enough for Julian to send one of his many mouths to Albert.


    Albert wouldn''t be able to see or defend himself from the mouth, and the mouth would consume him whole.


    In essence, Albert would vanish.


    One day, while he was just sitting in his home, a mouth might appear below him and kill him.


    No one would notice.


    Nick had doomed Albert to this fate.


    "It''s me," Nick said, trying to keep his voice from quivering.


    "Nick."


    Albert''s eyebrows rose in surprise, and he looked Nick up and down.


    "Wow," Albert said after a bit. "You lookpletely different 02:50


    from back then."


    Then, Albertughed.


    "To think that you would still remember this old man!" he shouted with joy.


    "Come in!" Albert said as he made space for Nick.


    Nick nodded and walked past Albert.


    Inside the house, Nick saw a room filled with books.


    On one of the walls was a hole with a fire burning inside.


    Nick hadn''t seen a fire in years.


    Creating fire was extremely difficult since there was nothing one could burn.


    Wood didn''t exist.


    Paper was rare and made of materials that didn''t really catch fire.


    Clothing was mostly made of thin strands of bendy metal.


    Food was mostly cooked in big areas with clean metal tes that focused the light.


    And yet, Albert had a fire burning in his house.


    The fire gave the room a cozy and warm feeling, but every second it burned represented several credits.


    Nick looked at the room with aplex expression.


    Under normal circumstances, he would grow angry at the waste of credits happening right here, but he just couldn''t get angry at Albert.


    After all, he would soon be dead.


    "Nice ce," Nickmented.


    "It''s nothing special," Albert said as he walked over to a nice chair.


    "Come, sit down," Albert added as he pointed to another chair.


    Nick walked over and silently sat down.


    "You want something to drink? I have coffee," Albert said.


    Nick felt a desire for coffee.


    Sadly, that desire was quickly overwhelmed by a stinging feeling of guilt and hypocrisy.


    Coffee?


    He didn''t even need to drink anything to stay alive.


    He was a Veteran.


    Why would he need to drink anything?


    After also adding the ridiculous price of coffee¡­


    "No, thanks," Nick said.


    How could he possibly ept drinking coffee after solidifying his goal?


    Coffee would be a thing of the past for him.

 Chapter 341 341 – Chatting with Albert

    <h4>Chapter 341 Chapter 341 ¨C Chatting with Albert </h4>


    ?"Suit yourself," Albert said as he drank a cup of coffee that he had made before Nick had arrived.


    Nick just looked at one of the windows.


    He felt horrible.


    ''But I have to do it.''


    ''I did the right thing.''


    Nick turned to look at Albert.


    ''He must be sacrificed for the good of the city.''


    Albert hadn''t talked to Nick in years, but he could tell that something was up with him.


    Albert noticed that Nick seemed absentminded almost all of the time and that he looked in seemingly random directions without any purpose.


    There was also the fact that Nick said nearly nothing.


    Lastly, Nick probably wasn''t just here to casually chat.


    Albert could see that Nick was deeply troubled by something.


    "How are things going?" Albert asked, trying to get a conversation going. "I heard a couple of things, but I want to hear what happened after I left thest time. How''s the job? How are you? Did anything interesting happen?"


    Albert smirked. "Do you have a girlfriend?"


    Nick took a deep breath and sighed.


    He thought back to thest time they met.


    "Working with the Dreamer wasn''t difficult after you left," Nick narrated absentmindedly.


    For the next hour, Nick talked about things that had happened to Dark Dream while Albert asked some questions here and there.


    Overall, this could be seen as a pleasant and interesting conversation.


    When Nick talked about the first yearly meeting of Manufacturers, Albert became very interested.


    He asked several questions about the meeting.


    That was when Nick remembered that Albert had never been to these meetings, which made him feel weird.


    Albert was so much more powerful than Nick.


    And yet, he didn''t have the status to attend these meetings since he wasn''t the owner of a Manufacturer or a Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Something that Nick had done as a John was something that Albert couldn''t possibly do as a powerful Expert.


    The more Nick told Albert about the past years, the more shocked and impressed Albert became.


    Nick was really powerful, and it was insane how many real fights he had been in just five years.


    Albert was over a hundred years old, and he had needed to fight for his life for maybe a total of three times.


    When Nick heard that, he became skeptical.


    Only three times in a hundred years?


    "Yes, fights like that are very rare," Albert said. "Most Extractors die during their shifts. Only very few die to other Extractors."


    "I mean, in how many fights have your employees been?"


    Nick blinked in surprise.


    Actually, yes.


    There were only two times in which his employees were involved in fights.


    One was when Nick had fought against Cycle.


    Back then, Kiara and Jonathan had been in a fight.


    Nick sighed.


    Sadly, both of them were already dead.


    The other time was when they had chased after the Empath, and that wasn''t even a fight against another Extractor but a Specter.


    Sure enough, Dark Dream''s employees basically never really fought.


    And ording to Albert, that was the norm.


    Fights were very rare in Crimson City.


    "I think you have more battle experience than me," Albert said. "In fact, you might already have more experience overall."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "I can get the first statement, but the second one is ridiculous."


    "No, no, listen to me," Albert said. "The only thing that I did for over 80 years was to work with my assigned Specters."


    "I got an assignment from my team leader, did the assignment, got another assignment, did that assignment, and so on."


    "That''s all I did for over 80 years."


    "Have I seen more Specters than you? Absolutely, but that doesn''t say much."


    "I wasn''t the one that found out how to work with them."


    "I was very rarely involved in capturing them."


    "I just worked with them."


    "And when I finally quit, I joined the city''s forces."


    "Ever since then, I was basically cooped up in my littleb on the upperyer with my colleagues, researching things."


    "I know A LOT of theoretical things, but I don''t have much practical experience with said things."


    "I know perfectly how to use my weapons, but I''ve never truly used them."


    "I know exactly what to do if a huge containment breach happens, but I''ve never been in one. Ironically, I wasn''t on duty when the Crimson Sea broke out, which meant I wasn''t even part of that one."


    "Meanwhile, you captured several Specters, fought against them, had many fights with Extractors, and you also created ways how you can work with Specters."


    "Do you know more about how Specters and Zephyx work? Definitely not, but do you have more experience with these things? Yes, most likely."


    "That''s shocking," Albert said as he leaned back in his chair. "In just five years, you went through so many things."


    The next moment, Albert released a sigh.


    "You also saw your home getting destroyed when the Crimson Sea broke out. That was probably also hard to witness for you."


    The image of the melting people of the Dregs involuntarily shot through Nick''s mind.


    It was difficult to look at that image.


    "Yes, maybe," Nick answered absentmindedly.


    He couldn''t muster up the motivation to actually think about his answer and just stated it.


    Albert raised an eyebrow in a concerned expression.


    "Nick, why are you really here?" he asked in a soft voice.


    Nick''s heart rate spiked at the question, and his mind became alert immediately.


    "What?" Nick asked.


    "Why are you here?" Albert asked with a sigh. "I can tell that something is bothering you."


    "While it''s nice to think that you are just here to chat with an old man, that''s probably not the truth."


    "It''s not hard for me to see that something is bothering you. I''ve seen many people in my life, and I can see when someone needs help."


    Nick grimaced as he avoided Albert''s eyes.


    "Help?" he asked with a tone representing pointlessness.


    "Yes," Albert said. "While I don''t know what happened, I can tell one thing."


    "You might not realize it yourself, but your entire demeanor screams two words."


    "Help me."

 Chapter 342 342 – Discussion

    <h4>Chapter 342 Chapter 342 ¨C Discussion</h4>


    ?''Help me?'' Nick repeated in his mind.


    He became agitated when he thought about that short phrase.


    Help?


    Did he even deserve help?


    ''I don''t deserve help,'' Nick thought as his emotions calmed down again. ''I have done too many terrible things.''


    ''The time of receiving help is over.''


    ''I can only give help from now on.''


    Nick slowly shook his head.


    "I don''t want any help," he said.


    Albert raised an eyebrow.


    "Want or need?" he asked.


    "Does it matter?" Nick snapped back with some annoyance.


    Albert just silently looked at Nick with a worried expression.


    The more Albert looked at him, the more Nick felt guilty for his outburst.


    "Sorry," Nick answered. "It''s fine. I can manage on my own."


    Albert took a deep breath but hid it from Nick.


    "What''s on your mind?" he asked. "Even if you don''t need any help, you can tell me at least, right?"


    Nick looked at Albert.


    The caring expression on Albert''s face felt like a twisting knife in Nick''s heart.


    Nick just wanted to run out of the house.


    Everything was already over and done with.


    Albert would soon die.


    What was the point of staying here and talking to him?


    Yet, when Nick saw Albert, he just couldn''t run.


    "What do you think of this city?" Nick asked.


    Albert''s expression changed to interest at the question.


    "There are things that could be improved," he said. "I would say there''s a bit too much waste going on in general. There''s also quite a bit of corruption, but there''s not much you can do about that."


    "Is there really not?" Nick asked.


    "Not what?" Albert asked back.


    "Is there really nothing you can do about the corruption?" he asked.


    "I mean, you can do a little bit, but if you do too much, it might go in the other direction," Albert said.


    Nick just silently looked at Albert, waiting for him to continue.


    "You see, there are individual interests,mercial interests, and ss interests."


    "Individual interests are what individual people and their families want."


    "Commercial interests are what apany wants."


    "And ss interests are what a ss of people want."


    "When you go against someone''s individual interests, you have to contend with that individual and their family. Of course, for the city''s government, that''s not very difficult."


    "Going againstmercial interests is much harder, but the city can still do that."


    "You run into trouble when you go against ss interests."


    "For example, everyone knows that the Manufacturers are not squeaky clean. They are definitely doing illegal things below the guards'' noses."


    "If you stop one of these things, you can stop it, but if you try to stop all of them, you make an enemy out of all the Manufacturers."


    "At that point, an entire ss is against you, and the city needs that ss."


    "In a protest, the Manufacturers might deliberately cause damage to the city."


    "Oh? You want to stop me from this illegal deal? What if I kill a couple of people? What if I start secretly ransacking the homes of the people in the Outer City? Is that what you want?" Albert said, imitating an executive from a Manufacturer.


    "It''s difficult, Nick," Albert said with a sigh. "You can have all the veggie cubes in the soup, but if you don''t give others some of the broth, you will suffer."


    "The examples I named are not even that extreme. If things go really badly, the Heroes of Kugelblitz might decide to kill the governor outright in a rebellion."


    "The governor is the connection between the city and Aegis. While the city can''t resist Aegis, everything that happens inside the city is still under the city''s control."


    "What can Aegis do if every single person in the city says that the governor died heroically against an invading Demon?"


    "Aegis can''t just execute all the Heroes on a baseless suspicion."


    "So, all in all, yeah, the city could be better, but there''s not much you can do to improve the status quo," Albert said.


    Nick looked at Albert with furrowed brows.


    All of that made a lot of sense.


    However¡­


    "What if the governor were a Protector?" Nick asked.


    "Well," Albert answered. "The revolution wouldn''t be an issue anymore, but the silent crimes and the refusal to help the people would still persist."


    "What if the governor has total surveince over the city and deals with anyone that isn''t willing to help the city?" Nick asked.


    Albert looked a bit ufortable. "That would make him worse than the Manufacturers."


    "That would take all the freedom from the people, essentially turning them into nothing but productive machines."


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    "How is that different from havingws?" Nick asked. "The only difference would be that criminals wouldn''t be able to get away with their crimes."


    "You still have your home, your belongings, your power, and so on."


    Albert obviously wasn''t the biggest fan of this thought.


    "Fine," he said. "For the sake of the argument, let me concede that fact."


    "Another issue would be that the city''s destiny would be in the hands of one single individual, and if only a single individual had power, only that single individual would have their desires fulfilled."


    "You can''t just put all of the power into the hands of one person. People are wed. What if that person has some kind of unreasonable hatred for people from the Outer City? What if that person wants to kill all the Specters? What if that person is power hungry?"


    "Sure, dictatorship makes it easier to implement sweeping changes, but when only a single person decides all matters of a city, they are bound to make huge mistakes."


    Albert''s words didn''t do anything to deter Nick''s determination.


    "All of your arguments are based on the weakness of the person."


    "What if that person is very altruistic and wants to improve the lives of as many people as possible while also being verypetent in leading a big group of people?" he asked.


    Albert rolled his eyes.


    "Sure, if all of these things actually happen, and if such a good and nice person actually manages to climb to such a high position, it might prove to be a good thing for the city," he admitted with some annoyance.


    "But these people are basically nonexistent, and betting on a person to be one of these people without perfectly knowing them is a surefire way to lose your bet."

 Chapter 343 343 – Argument

    <h4>Chapter 343 Chapter 343 ¨C Argument</h4>


    ?"So, it is possible," Nick said.


    Albert groaned in annoyance. "Theoretically, yes, but it''s not practical. You can also say that a cockroach can be a Hero if it just so happens to be beside Specters all the time without getting killed or noticed."


    "You can also say you can theoretically be humanity''s first level nine Extractor, but that doesn''t mean that it will actually happen."


    "The chances of finding such a perfect and good dictator are insanely low. Mainly because such a person wouldn''t even have a high chance of reaching such a high position."


    "At some point, you need ruthlessness and flexible morals to advance," Albert said with a sigh.


    "Having flexible morals is sadly an advantage in this world, and when everyone around you makes use of that advantage, you are at a disadvantage if you don''t use it."


    "However, making use of that advantage wouldn''t make you much different from the others, in which case you wouldn''t fit the criteria for this perfect dictator."


    Albert noticed that Nick''s expression didn''t show any strong reactions.


    It was almost like Nick wasn''t even entertaining the arguments Albert presented.


    "Albert," Nick said after a bit. "If we ignore the practicality and just think about a world with endless possibilities¡­"


    Albert did his best to stop from rolling his eyes.


    "If you had the power to change the fate of the city right now, would you do it?" Nick asked.


    "Of course, I would," Albert said. "Many people would do that. Not everyone is solely focused on their own power."


    Nick nodded. "What if you needed to do horrible things to change the city, but you are sure that you will seed?"


    "Nick, the ends don''t justify the means," Albert said. "You can''t just kill one person, save ten people, and say that you did a good thing."


    Nick looked deeply into Albert''s eyes.


    "Maybe not," Nick said, "but let me ask you another question."


    "You said that killing one person to save a hundred would be wrong, right?" Nick asked.


    "Yes," Albert said.


    Nick nodded.


    "Now¡­"


    "If put before this decision, what would the hundred people vote on?"


    Albert looked a bit ufortable.


    Then, he sighed.


    "Obviously, they would want to save their own skin. There''s no way that a hundred people would sacrifice themselves for one person of their own volition."


    Nick didn''t look away from Albert''s eyes.


    "Would they consider it moral that the single person dies for them?" he asked.


    "Yes, but just because many people believe something doesn''t make it true or right," Albert answered.


    "So, most people are interested in their own survival, and if their survival is threatened, they would think that they were unjustly killed in the vast majority of cases. Is that about right?" Nick asked.


    "Sadly," Albert answered. "Many people talk about how nice and helpful they are to theirmunity, but as soon as their quality of life actually declines, all their words and opinions suddenly change."


    "If ites down to it, most humans will sacrifice many strangers to keep their own lives or to protect the lives of their loved ones."


    Nick just kept looking at Albert.


    "Then, doesn''t it make sense that the survival of the majority would be the most moral thing?" Nick asked.


    "No, because morality is objective," Albert said. "Things that are wrong are just inly wrong."


    Nick narrowed his eyes slightly.


    "Are you telling me that a starving child in the Dregs or the Outer City isn''t allowed to steal some food because stealing is wrong?" Nick asked.


    Surprisingly, Albert''s expression didn''t change.


    "That isn''t relevant because the child needs to have someone taking care of them. It is not the child''s responsibility to get the food. If the child starves, it''s the fault of their guardian. If their guardian is dead, the city has to take care of the child, and if it dies, the city is at fault."


    Some anger appeared in Nick''s eyes.


    "And if the city doesn''t take care of the child? Do you want it to starve?" Nick asked.


    "I don''t want the child to starve," Albert said. "If it really needs the food to survive, it will steal the food. However, that doesn''t mean that the child is without guilt."


    "It could have chosen not to steal the food."


    "And die?" Nick asked.


    Albert shrugged.


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    By now, he had gotten quite angry.


    ''Wasn''t he the one talking about practicality earlier? And now, he wants a child to starve because it isn''t allowed to steal.''


    Nick looked at Albert.


    ''If he were the child, he wouldn''t think like that.''


    ''I bet he would say that it would be absolutely okay for him to steal since the person he would be stealing from wasn''t starving and that they didn''t need this food to survive.''


    Nick nced around the cozy room.


    Warmth.


    The entire room spoke of warmth and calm.


    It was the room of an old person who hade to terms with life and had epted their position and situation.


    "How much are you paying each month to keep living here?" Nick asked after a couple of seconds.


    Albert''s eyes narrowed. "This does not concern you. In fact, I don''t think I want you inside my house anymore."


    Nick looked at Albert.


    "I wanted to help you, but instead of telling me what''s going on with you, you''re trying to posture your superior morality in front of me. You might not have said it clearly, but your intentions are obvious to me."


    "You think I''m well off and that I ignore the blight of themon people."


    "That might be true in your viewpoint, but I have earned all of this. I have worked my ass off for over 80 years for this!"


    "Compared to others, I''m not constantly demanding more and more things. I''m not even eating any of the delicious and expensive food since I view it as a waste of time."


    "There are way worse people out there, andpared to them, I''m a saint!"


    "Don''t forget that I helped you back then without expecting anything in return."


    "And after I did that for you, you''re suddenly talking to me like I''m some kind of monster."


    Albert stood up.


    "Get out of my house, and I don''t want to see you again until I get an apology for your ungratefulness!"

 Chapter 344 344 – They Are the Enemy

    <h4>Chapter 344 Chapter 344 ¨C They Are the Enemy</h4>


    ?"Fine," Nick said as he stood up.


    Then, he turned around and walked towards the door.


    Albert kept ring at him from his chair.


    Nick opened the door, stopped, and nced at Albert onest time.


    "Go!" Albert shouted.


    Nick turned around and left the house.


    Now, Albert was alone again.


    "Ungrateful brat," he grumbled to himself as he made another cup of coffee. "That''s why I don''t have children! They''re nothing but trouble!"


    Meanwhile, Nick slowly walked away from the house, his eyes filled with conviction.


    Nick''s resolve had been strengthened by talking to Albert.


    ''Morality is not objective,'' he thought.


    ''Things that are wrong in one ce might not necessarily be wrong in another ce.''


    ''And since morality is subjective, the worth of one''s morality is equal to the number of one''s lives, namely one.''


    ''If 49 people were to be sacrificed for 51 people, maybe the majority would believe it to be wrong since not everyone is the same.''


    ''However, if it is ten to a hundred, the chances of it fluctuating are minuscule. In almost every case, a majority of people would vote for the minority of people to get sacrificed for the majority''s survival.''


    Nick turned around and looked at Albert''s distant house.


    ''The more people survive, the more moral it is.''


    ''If I sacrifice a thousand people for the survival of over 10,000, I will have been right in my actions.''


    Nick turned away from Albert''s house and continued walking.


    ''I have already sacrificed over a thousand people.''


    ''I have already taken out a loan, and the interest is scarily high.''


    ''I can''t fail now.''


    ''If I fail now, I will be a monster.''


    ''But if I seed, I will be a savior.''


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    ''I can''t lose!''


    ''I can''t allow myself any distractions!''


    ''Right now, I am an absolute monster, but if I do it right, I won''t be anymore.''


    ''I can redeem myself!''


    ''It will just be very, very hard and will take a long time.''


    After talking with Albert, Nick''s guilt had lessened quite a bit.


    He still felt bad about killing him, but¡­


    ''I''m sorry, Albert, but for the good of the city, you have to be sacrificed.''


    ''I have already sacrificed over a thousand people.''


    ''One more won''t make a difference.''


    After a while, Nick reached the exit of the upperyer.


    He put the clothing for visitors away and put his old clothing on again.


    Even though the clothing for the visitors was much morefortable, Nick liked wearing his own clothing far more.


    After he put on his old clothing, Nick looked at the entrance to the upperyer again.


    ''Less than a thousand people are allowed to live in this utopia.''


    ''There were more people living in the Dregs than people living here.''


    ''And yet, one person living here could sacrifice just a bit of their wealth to vastly improve the lives of the people in the Dregs.''


    ''I don''t think that all one thousand of them are pure monsters. At least one of them would be willing to give a bit of their wealth for the poor.''


    ''But they can''t.''


    ''The greediest part of these people would make the lives of the less-greedy part hell.''


    ''And in the end, humans are more interested in their own gain.''


    ''Would they sacrifice their lives for a thousand people?''


    ''No.''


    ''The moral minority of people want to help the less fortunate, but the rulers of this city won''t allow them.''


    ''But if they get an opportunity to vocalize their opinions without any repercussions, they will show their support.''


    ''In the end, it''s all about Kugelblitz and Anatomy.''


    ''They are the enemy!''


    Nick stepped out of the wooden locker room.


    "Oh, already back?" the Specialist asked Nick.


    Nick looked at her and nodded.


    "How was your talk with Albert?" she asked.


    "We had a little argument," Nick answered. "If you''ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."


    "Sad to hear," she said with a friendly voice. "Come by again, okay?"


    "Sure," Nick said before he jumped onto the rails.


    About a minuteter, Nick reached the loweryer of the Inner City again, and he walked out of the southern exit.


    He reached Dark Dream pretty quickly.


    Nick felt like quite some time had passed, but in truth, not even three hours had passed since his talk with Julian.


    After he entered Dark Dream, Nick greeted the employees he met on the way and went to Julian''s office.


    He opened the door without knocking.


    There was no point in making his presence known since Julian''s presence was all over the building.


    Julian''s human body was currently talking to someone in another room, but that didn''t matter.


    Julian''s office was still inundated with mouths.


    Nick calmly walked to the chair in the middle of all the mouths and sat down.


    "It''s done," he said. "I visited Albert."


    "Yes, I can feel it," Julian said. "Well done. That goes a long way in proving your loyalty."


    Nick looked at the mouths with determined eyes.


    "Talking to Albert made me realize that I did the right thing."


    "I want to help the majority of people, and with you leading the city, more people will survive than now."


    "Yes, you will consume Experts, Specialists, and maybe even Heroes, but the number of lives you are going to take will be fewer than the number of lives those Experts, Specialists, and Heroes are taking."


    "I want to help you in achieving control over the city," Nick said with determination.


    The mouths in the room chuckled.


    "You would be fine with me killing powerful people as long as it meant that the weaker people would survive?" he asked.


    "A rich person''s death and a poor person''s death is not different," Nick said.


    "So, why would a powerful person''s death and a weak person''s death be any different?"


    The mouths chuckled again.


    "Lucky me, I suppose," they said.


    Nick remained silent for a couple of seconds.


    "Julian, there''s something I want," he said.


    "Oh? What is it?" Julian asked.


    "I am physically strong, but there are many things I don''t know."


    "I don''t know how Zephyx works exactly, and I also don''t know how to properly negotiate with others."


    "I don''t know how I can discern if someone is trying to manipte me or not."


    "If I want to achieve my dream, I need to rectify these mistakes."


    "Julian, can you please teach me these things?" Nick asked.


    The mouths didn''t say anything for a while.


    Then, they suddenly chuckled.


    "Sure, why not?"

 Chapter 345 345 – Metal

    <h4>Chapter 345 Chapter 345 ¨C Metal </h4>


    ?Time continued to pass in Crimson City.


    Months had passed since the Crimson Sea broke out.


    During these months, the Outer City underwent drastic changes, while the Inner City barely felt any difference.


    Sure, a couple of wares in the Inner City had hiked up in price, but everyone could still afford them without any issues.


    Meanwhile, metal became extremely expensive in the Outer City, something that had never happened before.


    Crimson City had always had a huge abundance of metal, and even if one found a pristine te of metal on the sidewalk, one wouldn''t even bother picking it up.


    The only kinds of metal that were worth anything were steel and metal treated with Zephyx, but those were not materials that normal people came into contact with.


    The rusty metal in the city always seemed to be everywhere, but now, things were different.


    All the spare pieces of metal had been cleared off the streets.


    In the past, if someone needed some metal to fix a hole in their house, they would just walk to the streets, grab a te, and fix it to their house.


    But now, they just couldn''t find any loose metal anymore.


    When the first shops selling normal metal popped up, the citizens became confused.


    Selling metal?


    Which insane person would buy metal?


    And when these same citizens needed the metal, they became angry that they had to pay for it now.


    Nevertheless, many of them paid the exorbitant prices.


    The ones that refused to pay for the metal just waited.


    At some point, metal would be free again.


    Yet, just a couple of weekster, things became even worse.


    All the metal shops closed business.


    Metal could now only be sold via the city.


    Someone who had a lot of metal and wanted to sell it needed to contact the city to sell it, and somebody who needed metal also needed to contact the city.


    The people who had too much metal could quickly sell it since the city was basically buying every single piece of metal on the market.


    Sadly, the people who needed metal found it almost impossible to get it.


    It was really, really hard to get the city to sell some metal to the people.


    If one needed metal, one better had a good damn reason for it.


    A hole in the ceiling was not a good reason.


    So? That''s just another light hole.


    You''re missing an entire wall? Just take half of another wall to close the hole.


    The people felt like they were living in a different reality.


    Something that had been abundant just months ago was now impossible toe across.


    But then, something changed again.


    A trend appeared.


    Sleek one-strip houses.


    Instead of having a house made of thick and cold metal with many holes in it, apany appeared that was offering a service to change the houses.


    Thepany would take the old and rusty tes of metal and rece them with new, thinner, and cleaner tes.


    Naturally, there were also no holes in these tes, and the entire house would even have a uniform style and look.


    They also didn''t even ask for any credits!


    Just 20 liters of blood donated over an entire year would be enough!


    Naturally, thispany was owned by Kugelblitz.


    Of course, not many people were fans of paying with their blood, but it was actually the best solution to their current problems.


    But there was another problem.


    Losing 20 liters of blood was a lot for one person.


    It could even be life-threatening.


    That was when the next change took ce.


    The price was per household.


    Not per person.


    While families didn''t have issues with the cost, people living alone didn''t have it as easy.


    Even two people living in a house might not bepletely fine with the price.


    But they still needed usable houses.


    So, these people looked to the streets.


    At the disced people from the Dregs.


    Many people of the Outer City offered the people of the Dregs to live in their houses for one year in exchange for ten liters of their blood donated across the year.


    The blood was basically seen as rent.


    Even more, the actual owners of the homes would even pay the measly 100 or so credits of taxes for them so that they wouldn''t die of blood loss.


    In the end, the sudden rise in the metal prices resulted in the elimination of almost all homelessness.


    Within months, most houses were reced with newer and better-looking ones.


    Naturally, thepany offering the service got more metal than they were using, which they then sold to the city for a hefty profit.


    In a way, one could say that the Outer City was skimmed off an entireyer of metal.


    And what happened to all the metal that the city bought?


    The first pieces of metal were turned into Crimson Shields, lovingly called Cockroaches.


    The deaths on the city''s underside had been brutal, but after the Cockroaches had been introduced, the deaths drastically reduced.


    A Cockroach was a 2.2 by 1.2-meter bowl of metal with several straps attached.


    Someone working on the underside of the city would strap that bowl on their back and grab the underside of the city.


    The bowl would then epass their entire body and only leave a small gap of about 10 centimeters through which the worker could see the outside world.


    The small gap and the good distance it was away from the eyes assured that the person couldn''t see the Crimson Sea, no matter how much they turned their heads.


    Additionally, people could use the Cockroach as a big bucket in which they could store their tools.


    The Cockroaches were a great invention, which reduced the deaths by a ridiculous amount.


    Of course, the Cockroaches were named as such due to how they looked when someone wore them and worked on the city''s underside.


    A worker crawling along the city''s underside looked like a metallic cockroach moving out from the city, leaving a trail of grips behind like footprints.


    Working on the underside of the city was also called Roaching from then on.

 Chapter 346 346 – Hell Gates

    <h4>Chapter 346 Chapter 346 ¨C Hell Gates</h4>


    ?After the Cockroaches were created, the city used the metal to produce grips and uniform steel tes.


    These new tes would be relevant a couple monthster.


    Four months after the beginning of Roaching, Roaching was changed.


    There were no more ces close to the city center without any grips, and every single Roacher, the name of the people working on the city''s underside, needed to travel at least 50 meters into the red mist.


    Weak Johns with horrible Barriers would need to turn around just when they got to the ce where they needed to put their grips.


    Because of that, all Initial, Early, and Mid Johns were no longer required to work as Roachers.


    Sadly, that also meant that the hours for the Late and Peak Johns increased, but there was nothing they could do about it.


    After around ten months, a bit over half the underside of the city was covered in grips.


    The Crimson Sea had already been below the city for almost a year by now.


    By now, almost all luxury goods from outside the city had been used up.


    The price of coffee skyrocketed.


    Certain kinds of expensive meat were no longer avable.


    Salt was getting rationed.


    However, the city could survive.


    The Inner City produced enough food for everyone, and water wasn''t an issue since it rained regrly.


    But now, even the people in the Inner City felt the effects.


    Many of them were even willing to spend some of their money to expedite the construction of the city''s underside.


    The governor epted their proposition and made use of it.


    Extractors could now volunteer for Roaching in exchange forpetitive pay.


    Every hour of Roaching was a thousand credits.


    While most of the Extractors were not interested in the offer, quite a few of them actually jumped at the opportunity.


    Anatomy and Ghosty''s Lab had the most Johns, but they didn''t have that many Adolescents.


    The Adolescents that the two of them had were divided among younger Extractors with more potential.


    Johns, who had been at the peak of their level for many years, only had to work for around maybe three hours per week.


    While they still earned a lot, they definitely didn''t earn nearly as much as the younger Johns.


    Because of that, Roaching became a lucrative alternative.


    After the governor had introduced the voluntary Roaching, the speed of the construction had doubled.


    Even though everyone needed to travel even further, the remaining parts of the city''s underside werepleted within another four months.


    Now, the entire underside of Crimson City was covered in grips.


    That was when the next phase of the construction started.


    Huge beams made of steel were ced on the big central support, supporting the metallic tes further away.


    Since the city had had over a year to n for this phase, not many problems happened.


    Strengthening the city''s underside was finished in barely two months.


    Then, it was time for the next phase.


    A bridge to the outside world.


    Builders hung from the underside of the city''s edge and ced the central steel beam.


    Yes, steel.


    This bridge was of monumental importance, and the city had converted all the metal it had received into steel.


    After cing the steel beam, the lower and upper steel tes were fixed to the beam.


    For now, the bridge would only be two meters wide since reaching the outside world was important.


    Sadly, after about 300 meters, the builders could see that the steel could no longer withstand the insane stress.


    The bridge needed more support.


    Eventually, the governor himself had to get involved.


    A humongous pir of extremely durably and expensive metal was produced, and the governor jumped into the Crimson Sea with it.


    The Crimson Sea wasn''t strong enough to endanger the governor in the short term, which meant that the governor could travel through it.


    After sinking for a while, he reached the bottom of the Crimson Sea.


    The floor was made of exceedingly hard metal of unknown origin, and the governor needed to use almost all of his power to create the small holes needed to fix the huge pir of metal to the floor.


    Eventually, he seeded, and the pir was created.


    This central support was used to keep the bridge and this part of the city''s edge stable.


    Construction resumed.


    By using more steel beams diagonally going from the pir to the city, the builders made another 500 meters of bridge.


    Then, it became problematic again.


    Luckily, they were close enough to the outside world that the builders, who were Veterans and Experts, could safely jump to the outside world.


    From there, they resumed the construction, jumping back and forth for materials.


    Fortunately, the walls of the huge crater were made of durable metal from the ruins below them, making it easy to create more support for the bridge.


    Sadly, the construction needed six months instead of the projected four.


    The reason was that one of the supervising builders had mysteriously vanished.


    Albert Eibrecht had simply vanished when no one was looking.


    Since no one had heard himughing, it probably meant that he didn''t jump into the Crimson Sea.


    This meant that something extremely dangerous was lurking in the surroundings.


    Because of that, security had been bumped up several notches, and construction only continued under the supervision of a Specialist.


    Luckily, no more incidents urred, and the bridge was finally constructed.


    Crimson City had been isted for almost two years.


    Finally, it was connected to the outside world again.


    The people from inside the city could finally see the other end of the red mist.


    The bridge was 1,200 meters long, and it led through a long corridor surrounded by thick walls of red mist.


    Since no one was traveling through it yet, it seemed eerie.


    A big gate was ced on the edges of the bridge so that passing caravans could see that Crimson City actually still existed.


    Over the years, the caravans would also give names to the gates.


    The Hell Gates.

 Chapter 347 347 – Manufacturer Problems

    <h4>Chapter 347 Chapter 347 ¨C Manufacturer Problems </h4>


    ?Almost two years had passed since the Crimson Sea had broken out.


    A bridge had been created to the outside world, and the city was recovering.


    Aegis knew that Crimson City still existed, but all the caravans and the cities didn''t know that.


    The caravans that usually visited Crimson Sea just saw a huge red cloud of unknown origin in the ce where Crimson City was supposed to be.


    Almost all of the caravans immediately turned around as soon as they saw the red mist.


    Sure, the caravans were very powerful, but this was something that could destroy an entire city.


    Getting close to it wasn''t a good idea.


    And that had been the right decision.


    The few people who actually decided toe closer and investigate quickly came face to face with the Crimson Sea.


    The Crimson Sea had imed a couple of Experts from the Caravans, and even a Specialist would have nearly died if they hadn''t reacted perfectly.


    The Specialist had fought the Crimson Sea''s mental pull with all of his power, and several people kept holding him back.


    The only reason why the Specialist had survived and recovered was that he had been a Late Specialist, while the Crimson Sea had been an Early Fanatic.


    As for the cities, they had simply not heard anything from Crimson City, and the people they had sent either didn''te back or reported that only red mist was left of the city.


    In any case, no one knew that Crimson City still existed.


    The first order of business after building the bridge was to send out messengers to the surrounding cities and to tell them what was going on.


    While Crimson City had permanently changed, it would eventually recover.


    Yet, while the city was releasing a proverbial sigh, the Manufacturers became tenser.


    The Crimson Sea''s presence had impacted the Manufacturers the most.


    First of all, the Crimson Sea had gotten rid of the Parasite''s presence, and the governor used this opportunity to keep a constant watch over the single bridge that led into the city.


    Every single animal that approached the city would be killed.


    Over several days, three animals were killed.


    A rat, a bird, and a dog.


    After that, no more animals showed up.


    All of these animals had been sent by the Parasite, and all of them had been killed.


    While finding the Parasite inside the city had been almost impossible, finding him outside the city was extremely easy.


    After all, not much moved in the outside world.


    The only things that moved were the wind, caravans, Specters, and minions of Specters.


    Nothing else.


    The Parasite''s minions were like chickens in a desert.


    There was no ce for them to hide.


    Since the Parasite couldn''t enter the city anymore, it became much more difficult for the Manufacturers to find Specters.


    Nearly every Manufacturer had been trading with the Parasite.


    Another change was that the Crimson Sea also consumed Specters.


    Most Hatchlings that newly appeared inside the city identally looked at the Crimson Sea since they didn''t know about it, and many more powerful Specters had been killed as well.


    The number of Specters roaming free in Crimson City had probably dropped by over 70%.


    Of course, the normal people were happy about that change, but the Manufacturers were not happy.


    The longer things stayed this way, the more Kugelblitz''s power grew.


    They had the most powerful Specters, and they kept producing more powerful Extractors than everyone else.


    For example, Kugelblitz received another Specialist, giving them 21 in total.


    The second ce was Anatomy, with just six.


    Within thest two years, a total of five Specters had been captured by all of the Manufacturersbined, which was ridiculously littlepared to the average of 10 to 20 that had been captured each year.


    Sadly, Dark Dream didn''t get any of those.


    The battle for the Specters was more brutal than ever before, and Dark Dream just couldn''tpete with the more powerful Manufacturers.


    Over thest two years, Dark Dream managed to recover from all of its losses.


    They now had one Early Veteran, which was Nick.


    One Peak John, which was Jenny, the team leader of the Johns.


    Five Mid Johns, with Taren being one of them. Taren was the team leader of the Newbies.


    Three Early Johns.


    Four Initial Johns.


    And ten Newbies of varying levels of power.


    Sadly, they still couldn''t even hope topete with the other Manufacturers.


    The destroyed Spartans had had five Veterans and over 30 Johns.


    Dark Dream couldn''t evenpete with the destroyed Spartans with their single Veteran and 13 Johns.


    Dark Dream was by far the weakest Manufacturer.


    The next weakest one was Sce, with over 20 Veterans and even two Experts.


    Dark Dream didn''t even have 10% of their power.


    If it weren''t for Julian, Dark Dream would have already been consumed by the other Manufacturers.


    Julian was everyone''s friend, and none of the other Manufacturers viewed Dark Dream as a threat thanks to him.


    Why would someone fear a weapon if that weapon was wielded by their best friend?


    However, Julian still had to be extremely careful.


    While it seemed like Julian could freely walk around the city, it actually wasn''t that easy.


    Julian''s mental powers worked very simrly to the Crimson Sea''s mental powers.


    It wasn''t difficult for Julian topletely manipte the minds of Experts or weak Specialists, but strong Specialists had quite some resistance.


    Trying to influence a strong Specialist was extremely risky for Julian.


    If he won, he would gain another tool, but if he failed, Julian would definitely die.


    After all, the Specialist would attack Julian, call over more powerful Specialists, who would also be resistant to Julian''s powers, and suppress Julian.


    This was why Julian''s public perception was imperative to his survival.


    Everyone, frommoners to Experts, felt like they regrly met Julian somewhere and talked to him.


    However, the Specialists, and especially the Heroes, extremely rarely met him, and if they did, Julian would only say hello before making himself scarce.


    Being around such powerful Extractors was dangerous since many of them had tools and methods to confirm if someone was a Specter or not.


    As for the Heroes¡­


    They had never really seen Julian.


    That meant that Julian also wasn''t really their friend.


    They knew that someone named Julian existed and that he was viewed in high esteem, but that was basically it.


    So, all in all, this meant that Dark Dream was safe from Sce and Gemini, but that didn''t necessarily expand to Ghosty''s Lab, Anatomy, and Kugelblitz.

 Chapter 348 348 – Pressured to Leave

    <h4>Chapter 348 Chapter 348 ¨C Pressured to Leave</h4>


    ?Julian was known by the CEO and CZE of Ghosty''s Lab, but they hadn''t met him yet.


    Julian had made it a point to nevere into contact with Ghosty himself.


    Ghosty was an extremely old genius.


    Ghosty alone had revolutionized the way Manufacturers worked and contained Specters.


    Someone like that was bound to be unfathomably intelligent.


    As long as Julian couldn''t guarantee winning a mental battle against Ghosty, meeting him would be a horrible idea.


    While the CEO of Ghosty''s Lab was only an Expert, Julian also avoided meeting him.


    The CEO was close to Ghosty, and if Ghosty suddenly noticed a change in his friend, he might grow suspicious.


    A normal person might not grow suspicious when a previously closed door had opened without their notice, but a genius would definitely notice. The genius might even notice the door handle being in a different position than normal.


    Influencing anything around Ghosty was risky, and Julian knew that which was why he avoided him.


    Luckily, and ironically, manipting Kugelblitz was easier for Julian.


    The difference was that Ghosty''s Lab was owned by two powerful people, while Kugelblitz was owned by many.


    Kugelblitz''s CEO was a strong Specialist, and they owned 30% of thepany. Naturally, Julian avoided them.


    Aria Light, their Chief Zephyx Extractor, owned 20% of thepany, and Julian also avoided her.


    However, Vernon Melfion, who owned 20%, was only a strong Expert. Julian had already met him, and the two were friends.


    The remaining 30% of Kugelblitz was distributed among random Extractors and rich people of the upperyer.


    About 70% of those considered Julian their friend.


    This meant that if Kugelblitz decided to do something to Dark Dream, they would face quite some opposition.


    Sure, the majority could overrule the minority, but that was never a good idea unless it was an emergency.


    Offending Vernon and the shareholders might result in them selling their shares, which would be troublesome for Kugelblitz.


    Because of that, Kugelblitz definitely wouldn''t go after Dark Dream.


    A single little Dark Dream wasn''t worth the internal drama.


    Sadly, Julian also had zero control over Anatomy.


    Anatomy was run differently from all other Manufacturers.


    For example, Anatomy didn''t really have a CEO.


    Anatomy was led by a trio, with Mundus being the unofficial leader.


    Mundus Stairwell owned 40% of Anatomy and was their Chief Zephyx Extractor. Naturally, Julian didn''t dare to meet him since Mundus was Anatomy''s only Hero.


    Zarren Harrow owned 30% of Anatomy and was one of their two Directors. He was a powerful Specialist, and Julian never met him before.


    Sadly, Ariel Cerillion, their second Director who also owned 30% of Anatomy, was also a powerful Specialist.


    Compared to Kugelblitz, all of Anatomy''s owners were also powerful and active Extractors, making it extremely difficult to manipte or control them.


    Anatomy was the biggest danger to Dark Dream because of that.


    While Julian also had no control over Ghosty''s Lab, Ghosty''s Lab wasn''t aggressively expanding by any means necessary.


    Ghosty''s Lab was essentially indispensable due to its iparable contributions to technology.


    Anatomy was different.


    Anatomy didn''t have any specific or special things that it contributed to the city.


    They just had a lot of powerful Extractors and a lot of Specters.


    They didn''t contribute much to science.


    They didn''t have something as special as Sce''swork of light.


    They didn''t have as much sway in the government as Kugelblitz.


    If the chance presented itself, Kugelblitz would consume Anatomy without a second thought.


    The only reason why it hadn''t happened yet was that fighting against Anatomy would strain the entire city.


    The governor couldn''t possibly put his city in such insane danger, which meant that the governor would help Anatomy.


    Suddenly, it was no longer four Heroes against one but three against two, with the strongest Hero in the city fighting for Anatomy.


    Kugelblitz either needed an insanely good reason to attack Anatomy, or they needed to assassinate the governor before doing it.


    Naturally, Anatomy knew that which was why they were violently wing for any kind of power they could get.


    Luckily, thanks to Julian, Anatomy wouldn''t have an easy time against Dark Dream.


    Anatomy had six Specialists, but everyone would notice if one of their Specialists did something suspicious.


    But the same thing wasn''t true for their Experts.


    One Expert alone could kill everyone in Dark Dream except for Julian on their own.


    Julian alone couldn''t keep hold of an entire Manufacturer on his own.


    So, as long as Anatomy could kill Nick and most of his employees, they could take Dark Dream for themselves.


    If they kept killing Dark Dream''s employees, no powerful Extractor would want to work for Dark Dream anymore, and at some point, Anatomy could justin to the city about Dark Dream''sck of strong Extractors.


    Naturally, killing Nick was the best way to reach that goal.


    But they couldn''t do it inside the city.


    A Specialist''s senses were terrifyingly sharp, and attacking Nick anywhere close to Dark Dream''s building was suicide.


    As long as Dark Dream''s employees didn''t move far away from their ce of work, they were safe due to Julian.


    Luckily, just like every other Manufacturer, Dark Dream was now under immense pressure.


    All the Specters had been obtained by the other Manufacturers, and the more time passed, the more powerful they grew.


    If Dark Dream ever wanted to walk out of their shadows, it needed to capture more Specters.


    And since Dark Dream couldn''t get any Specters from inside the city due to the overwhelming power difference, it could only look out of the city.


    Specters existed outside the city, in the outer world.


    However, Julian couldn''t go there.


    If he did, Anatomy might decide to assassinate Extractors inside Dark Dream.


    He had to stay here.


    If they wanted Specters, they needed to buy them or capture them from outside the city.


    Sadly, due to the scarcity of Specters, their prices skyrocketed.


    Dark Dream couldn''t buy any of them easily.


    Even more, there was another issue.


    Dark Dream didn''t have an Adult.


    The fact that Nick became an Early Veteran after two years without an Adult was already shocking and raised a couple of eyebrows.


    Usually, a Veteran needed an Adult to progress in power, which was why it was strange that Nick managed to advance.


    Naturally, Nick couldn''t tell them that Julian had helped him with his own Zephyx.


    Instead, he said that he had simply worked with a crazy number of Peak Adolescents.


    If Nick managed to be a Mid Veteran without Dark Dream having an Adult, everyone would know that something fishy was going on, and Julian''s secret would be unveiled.


    This meant that Nick''s power progression was stuck.


    As long as Dark Dream couldn''t get an Adult, he couldn''t advance anymore.


    Because of that, Dark Dream was forced to look outside the city.


    They had to get an Adult from there, or at least a couple of weaker Specters, which they could exchange for an Adult.


    And since Julian couldn''t leave the city¡­


    That only left Nick.


    He had to leave Julian''s presence and go into the outside world.


    Otherwise, Dark Dream would stagnate until it eventually copsed.

 Chapter 349 349 – Adult Nick

    <h4>Chapter 349 Chapter 349 ¨C Adult Nick </h4>


    ?Two years had passed since Nick became a Veteran, and he had just recently advanced to be an Early Veteran.


    At this moment, Nick wore the new uniform of Dark Dream.


    Since Dark Dream officially had a Veteran now, they were finally strong enough to get their own uniforms. They no longer needed to use the city uniforms.


    Dark Dream''s uniforms were mostly dark purple, but there were also a couple of ck streaks in them.


    Dark Dream''s official new logo was the eye of an owl, namely the Dreamer, which was surrounded by a small ck swirl, making it seem like the eye was drawing someone in.


    A Newbie would have one eye.


    A John had two eyes, which were side by side.


    And Veterans would have one big eye with three eysh-like protrusionsing out from its top.


    The protrusions were necessary since the symbols of a Newbie and a Veteran would be too simr otherwise, which might cause confusion or an incident.


    Nick''s weapons had also changed.


    The silver spears and des he had received from Wyntor had long since be unusable to him.


    On Nick''s back were three small cylinders and three big ones.


    The cylinders were only about ten centimeters long. The smaller ones were only around two centimeters wide, while the bigger ones were almost five centimeters wide.


    Naturally, these cylinders would turn to spears as soon as Nick pressed a button on their side.


    The three small ones were perfect for throwing them without Nick''s ability being active, and the three big ones were perfect for throwing them with his ability being active.


    Sadly, due to weight issues, Nick couldn''t carry too many with him since the bigger spears were far heavier than the smaller ones.


    The good thing was that Nick could still move without any issues with his current loadout.


    As for his fist weapons, they weren''t even visible.


    Nick''s fist weapons only looked like thick wristbands in their normal state, but after he activated them, a huge de would shoot out of them.


    A new addition to his fist weapons was that a cover for his fists would also extend outward and wrap around his fists.


    Nick had specifically wanted his weapons to be like this in case his des broke off.


    His frame was still wide and muscr, and most people still felt intimidated when they saw him.


    In fact, due to his new demeanor and aura, the number of people who were intimidated only increased.


    Nick no longer seemed like a happy-go-lucky teenager.


    He no longer seemed nice, happy, and helpful.


    Over the past two years, Nick had a lot of time toe to terms with his new life and his new goal.


    Naturally, this had changed him.


    His smiles were rarer, and they mostly only appeared when he was trying to be friendly or polite.


    During all other times, he either looked neutral, bored, serious, or annoyed.


    He had been a Chief Zephyx Extractor for seven years by now, and he had be fully used to his authority, power, and role.


    Yet, while strangers often felt intimidated by Nick, the same thing wasn''t true for his employees.


    If one got to know Nick more, they would realize that it was easy to talk to him and that he was quite helpful.


    While he wasn''t very talkative anymore, the things he said were often valuable and thought-through.


    Of course, Nick''s new goal in life was only partially responsible for this change.


    Another major factor was his lessons under Julian.


    Ever since he had asked Julian about teaching him, Nick had been learning from Julian almost every single day.


    Julian knew that it was important for Nick to grow as a person and to learn more things if he was to be a good assistant.


    Naturally, Julian would neverpletely trust a human, but he was confident enough in his power to teach Nick a scary number of things.


    While learning something, two things were important.


    Intelligence and determination.


    Intelligence allowed someone to learn things quicker and to more easily understandplex concepts.


    Determination allowed someone to learn more and to internalize the learned things quicker.


    An intelligent person without determination would pick up things here and there, but only if they were interested in them.


    A determined person with little intelligence could learn most things, but it would take a lot of effort and some time. Additionally, moreplex concepts would be very difficult to learn.


    In terms of intelligence, Nick was not a genius, but he also wasn''t stupid or average.


    One could say that he was above average.


    Many people might have believed him to be dumb since he knew so little and constantly had to be taught by people, but that assumption was actually incorrect.


    The reason why Nick had always appeared dumb was hisck of knowledge, not intelligence.


    Knowledge was the amount of information rued over a person''s lifetime, while intelligence was the speed with which knowledge could be rued in a focused state.


    Nick hadn''t been unintelligent in the past.


    He had simply been uneducated.


    While working as a Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick had learned many things, which had improved his education.


    During the first two years, he still seemed na?ve and dumb.


    During the next two years, he had finally gotten used to his job and could actually give orders with some confidence.


    By the time he was 20 years old, he had already learned quite a bit about finance, Specters, working with people, politics,ws, and a couple more things.


    He had learned most of these things by working with Wyntor and by asionally reading a book.


    However, three more years had passed since that moment, and Nick was now 23 years old.


    Even more, during thest two years, he had learned even more things from Julian than he had learned from Wyntor.


    After all, Wyntor had been constantly busy, while Julian was basically ever-present in Dark Dream.


    Additionally, Nick''s determination was almost iparable.


    Whenever Julian taught Nick something, he listened carefully, repeating the new concepts several times to himself throughout the day.


    "When someone is lying, they often use more words to deceive than if they were honest."


    "When someone is bad at lying, they will avoid eye contact. If someone is good at lying, they will look constantly into your eyes, but that is just as unrealistic."


    "Prephyx is attracted by Zephyx, and Prephyx will move to wherever Zephyx is."


    "If you feel nervous around a very friendly person, that is most likely your instincts picking up on a subconscious disconnect between the person''s words and their bodilynguage."


    "When negotiating, genuinely try to find apromise instead of trying to get as much money as possible. One repeat customer is more valuable than several new customers."


    These were the kinds of concepts Nick repeated to himself to internalize them.


    He knew that he had to learn many things if he ever wanted to achieve his goal of improving the lives of the people in Crimson City.


    Nick wasn''t an economist,wyer, politician, salesman, or psychologist.


    But, by now, he knew more about these things than the average person living in the Inner City.


    Julian was an amazing teacher, and Nick was an amazing student.


    All in all, one could summarize all of this in one sentence.


    Nick had grown up.

 Chapter 350 350 – The Team

    <h4>Chapter 350 Chapter 350 ¨C The Team</h4>


    ?"Have you all made your preparations?" Nick asked the four people in front of him.


    Right now, Nick stood in front of Dark Dream''s entrance, looking at four of his employees.


    The four nodded.


    A couple of days ago, Nick had called the four of them to his office one by one to tell them about his n.


    They would leave Crimson City and search for Specters.


    Nick had long thought about whether he should go on his own or in a group.


    In the end, he had decided to go with a small group.


    Even though three of the four people in front of him were far weaker than Nick, theirbined strength was still scary due to their abilities.


    Fighting a Specter wasn''t always straightforward, and sometimes, it was almost impossible to beat one with a conventional method.


    The Crimson Sea was the best example.


    It was far weaker than the governor, but the governor was essentially helpless against it.


    The goal of this excursion was not to kill powerful Extractors but to capture Specters.


    And for that, Nick needed more people with diverse abilities.


    However, there was another use of traveling with a group.


    Nick did not like this at all, but he had to ept that the chances of attracting a Specter were higher if there were a couple of weaker people in a group.


    Essentially, weaker people also acted as bait.


    Nick had been transparent with his employees and had told them that this was one of the reasons why he wanted them toe with him.


    They obviously could refuse.


    And, sure enough, the first group Nick had asked toe with him had refused.


    The first group had been the three Early Johns with the Distortion''s ability.


    Sadly, the three of them hadn''t feltfortable going outside with Nick.


    So, Nick had gone to his second choice, a group of three Initial Johns with variations of the Money Sink''s ability.


    Luckily, those three had epted.


    The first of these three was Jason, a ck-haired man of average size and average stature.


    He had two holsters on his belt with two revolvers, loaded with projectiles that could absorb his ability and Zephyx.


    Jason had the ability of the Money Sink and had evolved it with the Dreamer.


    By using his ability, he could suck Zephyx from an enemy from a distance while also causing tiredness in the target, making it harder for them to focus.


    If he used his weapon and hit an enemy, they would lose a lot more of their Zephyx than normal while also getting tired.


    The second person in the group was Petra, and just like her two colleagues, she was also an Initial John.


    Petra was a taller woman with red and ck hair, making her seem rather rebellious. Luckily, she was easy to get along with.


    Petra also had the Money Sink''s ability, but she had evolved it via the Bleeding Lady.


    Just like Jason, she could absorb the Zephyx of a distant enemy, with the difference being that she injured the enemy as well.


    She also had a firearm, but hers was an automatic rifle that could make use of the bleeding effect of her ability.


    Thest person was yton, a huge and muscr man with a face shaped like a boulder. He was over 190 centimeters tall, and he was the only employee of Dark Dream who seemed even more muscr than Nick.


    However, that was mostly due to yton focusing on raw power instead of a mix of power and agility.


    In the small group of three, yton was responsible for being the frontrunner.


    His Barrier was vastly more expensive than normal, and it could also be activated and deactivated very easily.


    The reason for that was that yton''s weapons of choice were two huge gauntlets that also acted as big shields.


    yton also had the ability of the Money Sink, but he had evolved it via the Puppy.


    The evolution increased the potency of the absorption with proximity to the target.


    In essence, the closer yton was to his enemy, the stronger the absorption was.


    The three of them had been hired by Dark Dream at the same time about three years ago.


    They were supposed to be a team from the very beginning, but they were also supposed to test how the Money Sink''s ability could evolve with different Specters.


    Nick had asked these three to apany him since their abilities were extremely powerful when used on the same enemy.


    While they couldn''t capture some Force Specters, they could probably kill them by consuming all their Zephyx.


    Thest person in the group was Jenny.


    By now, Jenny had be a Peak John, and she was someone who could even threaten Nick if she got the drop on him.


    Jenny carried a rifle on her back that was over a meter long.


    The rifle used Jenny''s Zephyx to produce a projectile and fire it.


    The rifle was extremely expensive due to one specific property.


    It constantly consumed 50% of Jenny''s Zephyx to keep a bullet ready to be fired.


    If Jenny were to hit Nick''s Barrier with such a bullet, he would lose about 50% of his Zephyx, even though he was two levels stronger than her while also using a very expensive Barrier.


    Sadly, after firing the rifle, Jenny would need about five seconds to condense another bullet, and since she had already used 50% of her Zephyx on the first round, the second one would be weaker and would also lower her Zephyx to dangerous levels.


    Jenny had the Dreamer''s ability, which sadly wasn''t abat ability.


    She had evolved her ability via the Dung Heap, which made it at least a bit useful inbat since she could now release tranquilizing gas around her.


    This was Nick''s team.


    Jenny, a Peak John.


    Jason, an Initial John.


    Petra, an Initial John.


    yton, an Initial John.


    And Nick, an Early Veteran.


    "Good," Nick said after seeing that everyone was ready.


    "Then, we go to the bridge."


    Nick walked forward, and his team walked after him.

 Chapter 351 351 – The Outside

    <h4>Chapter 351 Chapter 351 ¨C The Outside </h4>


    ?The group walked towards the exit of Crimson City.


    Nick wanted to know if anybody was following them, but that wasn''t possible right now since his teammates were also looking at him.


    Nick walked near the front, together with yton.


    Behind the two of them were Petra and Jason, walking side-by-side but with a bit more distance than there was between Nick and yton.


    Jenny was in the middle, in the back.


    The positioning of the team wasn''t rted to authority but to where everyone would be most useful during a battle.


    If one looked at their position from above and drew a couple of lines, one could see that the five of them were walking in an upside-down pentagram formation.


    Jenny was well-defended at the back, and nobody could approach them from the front or the sides.


    After a bit, they reached the bridge.


    There were four Johns guarding the exit of the city, making sure that no normal people or Newbies left.


    The outside world was extremely dangerous and leaving would be akin to suicide for most people.


    Nick approached one of the guards and showed a sheet of paper to him.


    The guard read through the paper, nodded, motioned for his colleagues to step to the side, and stepped to the side himself.


    After the guards stepped to the side, the guard nodded at Nick. "Good luck out there," he said.


    Nick nodded, and his group walked past the guards onto the bridge.


    The bridge was only two meters wide, which meant that the group had to shrink their formation.


    As the five of them walked across the bridge, their Barriers activated.


    Even though the bridge kept most of the red mist at bay, a bit of it still floated across the bridge.


    Luckily, they could survive this little bit of mist.


    As they walked across the bridge, they felt quite ustrophobic due to the gigantic red "walls" surrounding the bridge.


    "Can we walk faster?" yton asked in a deep voice from beside Nick. "My Barrier is using more Zephyx than I like."


    Nick nced at yton, turned to the team, and motioned forward.


    The next moment, they sped up and ran across the bridge.


    Nick still felt like he was walking at afortable speed, but the three Initial Johns were already running with a lot of power.


    About a minuteter, they reached the end of the bridge.


    Since all Extractors in Dark Dream were required to have a certain level of fitness, none of them had run out of stamina.


    One had to remember that advancing a level only increased the multiplier of one''s base strength.


    A scrawny Peak Newbie who barely moved daily might not be stronger than a top athlete who wasn''t an Extractor.


    While not every Extractor in Dark Dream had the physique of an athlete, the weakest among them were at least used to running for about ten minutes every day.


    The five of them were highly interested in how the outside world looked like and looked around.


    Sadly, they only found themselves in a corridor.


    This corridor had been created to keep people from looking backward and identally seeing the Crimson Sea.


    There were two people standing guard where the corridor met the bridge, and they just nced at the team of five with a bit of interest.


    The guards on this side of the bridge were vastly more powerful, with both of them being Experts.


    The entire city only had a bit more than 80 Experts, and only about 20 of them worked for the city at a time.


    Having two Experts stationed here meant that 10% of all Experts were stationed here.


    This showed how serious Crimson City was taking the city''s entrance.


    Although, it actually made sense.


    While the two Experts guarding Kugelblitz''s entrance didn''t make the most sense, guarding the entrance of the city seemed to be a sensible thing.


    The two guards didn''t ask any questions after seeing Nick.


    By now, most Experts and Veterans had seen Nick before and knew who he was.


    Someone of Nick''s profile wouldn''t sneak out of the city.


    He was just too recognizable.


    The group of five walked past the guards and walked through the corridor.


    After about ten meters, the even floor turned into stairs.


    Crimson City was on top of a cauldron filled with ruins, but there was also a natural earthen wall surrounding that cauldron.


    The earthen wall was around ten meters high and was essentially just a hill that surrounded the city.


    After a couple of stairs, the five of them reached the top, and they could already see the exit.


    The five of them walked forward and stepped out of the corridor.


    When they left the corridor, they had officially left Crimson City for the first time in their lives.


    Less than 1% of people would ever see the outside.


    And they were finally part of these select few people.


    Beside the entrance were four Veterans, all focusing on the endless world before them.


    Jenny, Petra, yton, and Jason took deep breaths as they saw the outside world for the first time.


    It was so big!


    It was endless!


    They could always see the end of the city from the roof of any building, and the city had been their world for all their lives.


    This meant that they had always been able to see the end of their world.


    But now, they could no longer see the end of their world.


    The next thing that hit them was the sheerck of metal.


    There was absolutely no metal visible anywhere!


    Just dirt, sand, and stone.


    Almost everything that the eye could see was either light-


    brown earth, light-brown dust, yellow sand, or grey stone.


    There were dusty valleys, stony hills, and mounds of sand.


    That was it.


    That was the world.


    nts?


    No.


    Animals?


    No.


    Buildings?


    No.


    People?


    Extremely few.


    Life?


    Almost nonexistent.


    If one got rid of all of the life within Crimson City and left behind a world of metal, there would be just as much life inside the city as outside the city.


    The world was huge and endless¡­


    But also pointless and lifeless.


    Except for the Specters and their minions.

 Chapter 352 352 – Two Adversaries

    <h4>Chapter 352 Chapter 352 ¨C Two Adversaries</h4>


    ?However¡­


    Nick narrowed his eyes as he looked at something very noticeable about two kilometers away.


    Just because there were no nts didn''t mean that there weren''t things looking like nts.


    In the endless pointlessness of dust and dirt was a lush green forest with a beautifulke in the middle.


    All in all, the forest was about twenty meters wide.


    There were fish, birds, trees, fruits, berries, and beautiful water in the small forest.


    It was brimming with life and vitality.


    Sadly, this entire forest was the doing of a Specter.


    There were no nts, animals, fish, or whatever in the forest.


    All of these things were created with Zephyx, and they all only looked like their real counterparts.


    The forest was essentially a three-dimensional cardboard cutout of a house.


    There was nothing to be gained by entering one of these forests.


    Anyone who entered one of these forests would be consumed by the Specter.


    Naturally, before Nick had left the city, he had researched the outside as much as he could.


    Information about the outside world was not kept confidential.


    These small forests were all over the world, ording to the information Nick had gathered.


    While the existence of these forests was not secret, the closer details were.


    Luckily, Nick, thanks to his position as Chief Zephyx Extractor, had the authority to ess ssified information.


    After all, Crimson City wanted the city to capture and suppress more Specters, and keeping vital information about the outside world secret would only result in unnecessary death.


    Of course, people with ess to the information were not allowed to give that information to just anyone.


    They were supposed to handle the information on a need-to-know basis when talking to their Extractors.


    So, while Nick knew about the Specter behind these forests, he couldn''t tell his team since knowing the Specter''s background wouldn''t increase or decrease the group''s chance of survival.


    The forest was created by the False Hope, an extremely powerful Specter.


    In fact, it was an Adversary, a level eight Specter, just one level below an Eternal.


    These forests were all over the world, and all of them led to death.


    The False Hope gained power by consuming life.


    The distinction between gaining power by consuming life and by killing people was important.


    Since the False Hope gained power by consuming life, it also became more powerful by killing animals and nts.


    Luckily, the False Hope was doomed to never be an Eternal.


    After all, there was no more life left, and every human that could be found outside the city would never enter one of these forests.


    The False Hope was stuck at its current level.


    ording to Aegis, the False Hope didn''t have sentience, which meant that it wouldn''t just suddenly change its approach.


    For all eternity, the False Hope would destroy its forests and create new ones in other ces, doomed to never reap another life.


    But what about the life inside the city?


    Couldn''t some seeds or animals from the city leave and rebuild in the outside world, which would then strengthen the False Hope again?


    Yes, from time to time, a couple of seeds floated out of a city and started to turn into nts in the surroundings.


    However, these nts didn''t survive for even a day.


    That was due to a second extremely powerful Specter.


    Nick saw something moving in the huge dusty valley in front of him.


    About a kilometer away, Nick saw something ck slowly moving forward.


    It was a big ck oozy blob.


    It was about two meters high and just as wide.


    There were five human arms growing out of its front, which were grabbing the ground and pulling the blob forward.


    As it moved forward, the blob left a ck trail behind, which seeped into the ground, turning it ck.


    This ck blob was a minion of another powerful Adversary.


    It was called the Eternal Hunger.


    The Eternal Hunger gained power the same way as the False Hope, by devouring life.


    However,pared to the False Hope, the Eternal Hunger created these huge ck slimes to consume life.


    The ck slimes scoured the world for all life.


    When they sensed something alive, they immediately attacked it.


    It didn''t matter if they saw humans, animals, or nts.


    They attacked everything.


    Additionally, the ck ooze they left behind poisoned thend, making it even more difficult for nts to grow.


    These ck oozes were also the main reason why going outside of the city was forbidden for most people.


    These ck oozes were quitemon, and the weakest of them had the power of a Mid Newbie, while the strongest could even reach the power of Veterans.


    Luckily, the really strong oozes were exceptionally rare.


    The ck oozes grew more powerful based on the amount of life they had reaped in their lifetime.


    Not only was it difficult for an ooze to grow stronger, but oozes also didn''t tend to live long.


    The reason was¡­


    The ooze suddenly sped up, shooting forward at a speed of over 100 kph!


    It had just found life!


    Or did it?


    The ooze charged right into the small forest.


    BANG!


    The ooze exploded as soon as it entered the forest, and the ck slime seemed to turn into smoke beforepletely disappearing.


    At the same time, the forest''s width shrunk by a couple of centimeters.


    This was why these oozes often didn''t live for long.


    Aegis wasn''t sure if the oozes knew that the forests were made by a different Specter or not, but whenever they saw one, they immediately charged in.


    When an ooze charged into a forest, both sides would lose a significant amount of Zephyx, and one side would always die.


    Either the ooze was destroyed and turned into nothing, or the forest vanished, leaving a smaller ooze behind.


    This interaction happened all over the world, and Aegis wasn''tpletely sure about the reason behind it.


    Did the oozes think that the forest was real, or was this some kind of war between two predators that hunted the same prey?


    In any case, Aegis wanted more of these interactions to ur since these interactions seemed to weaken the two Specters.


    Extractors all over the world were encouraged to lead oozes towards these forests.

 Chapter 353 353 – The Wall

    <h4>Chapter 353 Chapter 353 ¨C The Wall </h4>


    ?"That was the 24th today," one of the guards said with a smirk to the one beside him. "Six more and I win."


    The other guy didn''t answer, but his face showed annoyance.


    The four people following Nick looked at the spectacle with interest.


    Nick had already told them about the forests and these ck oozes, and they thought it was quite interesting to watch these things kill each other.


    "You ready?" Nick asked his team of four.


    The four turned to Nick, nodded, and assumed their positions again.


    However, one thing was different this time.


    Petra and Jason were not focusing on the front of the group.


    Instead, they were more focused on each other and Jenny.


    When Nick had tried toe up with a good formation, he had tried to think of any possible weaknesses.


    Since Nick was essentially fighting like an assassin, he immediately noticed that Jenny represented a weakness in the formation.


    If someone could sneak up from the back, they could take out Jenny without being noticed.


    Because of that, Nick decided to change where Petra and Jason were looking.


    While Nick and yton would focus on the front and the frontal sides, Jenny would focus on Nick and yton, and Petra and Jason would focus on Jenny and on each other.


    Like this, everyone had somebody watching over them, making it impossible to kill any of them secretly.


    Nick threw a nce at the guards, who were standing beside the corridor in front of a wall.


    For security reasons, Crimson City had built a two-meter-high wall around the top of the hill surrounding the city.


    Ironically enough, this wall wasn''t supposed to stop the enemy but their allies.


    After all, if one approached the hill and went to its top, one would be able to see the Crimson Sea.


    That was a bad thing.


    Of course, a two-meter-high wall could even be climbed by manymoners, which made it irrelevant to anyone who could potentially cause damage to Crimson City.


    However, these hypothetical enemies could just go ahead and jump over the wall.


    But as soon as they did, navigating would be very difficult since they would be on an incline that led to the Crimson Sea.


    They would either need to blindly jump over the kilometer-wide gap into the city or blindly find the corridor and bridge.


    Or they could just open their eyes, but, well¡­


    While the Crimson Sea had caused many deaths, it actually also served as an amazing tool for the city''s defense.


    The walls of the old Crimson Fungus City had been extremely tall and durable, and it had been manned by many guards.


    The main reason for these walls had been the ck oozes.


    But now, they didn''t need such a strong wall anymore.


    The ck oozes could easily slosh over the wall, and based on the statements of several guards, the oozes sped up as soon as they reached the top of the small walls, and a couple of secondster, the sound of something liquid falling into another liquid could be heard.


    The Crimson Sea''s enticing qualities seemed to also work on the oozes.


    The only difference was that the oozes didn''tugh while jumping in.


    While the thought of an ooze jumping into the Crimson Sea was quite funny, there was actually still a worrying aspect about it.


    The city didn''t know how the oozes interacted with the Crimson Sea when it came to Zephyx.


    If an ooze fell into the Crimson Sea, did the Crimson Sea''s Zephyx increase or decrease?


    If it decreased, that would be amazing.


    But if it increased¡­


    That could be bad.


    Luckily, the oozes were quite weak, and a Fanatic like the Crimson Sea would need countless oozes to be a Demon.


    So, even if they increased the Crimson Sea''s Zephyx, the city would have enough time to adapt and react.


    Additionally, if everything went as expected, the Crimson Sea wouldn''t be a problem anymore after a couple of years.


    Nick led his group away from the city and stepped into the big valley.


    The slope into the valley was quite steep, and the five of them had to slide down, creating a small avnche of sand and dried earth.


    After reaching the bottom, the five of them continued walking forward.


    By now, the smell in the air had changed significantly.


    The smell of metal and rust that had apanied everyone for all their lives had vanished, reced by a dry and dusty smell.


    If they were not Zephyx Extractors, they might have coughed.


    The group looked over to the forest, which was now only a couple hundred meters away from them.


    It looked quite strange.


    Only Nick and Jenny were used to the existence of trees since they frequented the Inner City quite a lot, but the other three were still new to them.


    Trees were just such a weird concept.


    Several meter-tall living, hard brown pirs that breathed with weird green things hanging from them.


    That sounded about as creepy as a Specter.


    As they continued walking, the smell became pleasant.


    It smelled like flowers and clean water.


    Naturally, that smell came from the forest.


    Everyone except for Nick felt themselves gulping and bing thirsty.


    The only reason Nick wasn''t affected was that he was in a constant state of Zephosis as a Veteran.


    Additionally, he hadn''t drunk anything in two years.


    The only thing he needed to survive was one breath every couple of minutes and Prephyx or Zephyx.


    "Where are we going first, boss?" Petra asked from behind Nick after taking a swig from a bottle of water she had brought with her.


    "We won''t be able to find any Specters close to the city," Nick answered with a neutral tone. "The other Manufacturers have people constantly patrolling the surroundings."


    "We can only find Specters about ten kilometers from the city or even further away."


    "First, I want to take a look at the Swallowing Swamp. Maybe I can find something out about it."

 Chapter 354 354 – The Infestation

    <h4>Chapter 354 Chapter 354 ¨C The Infestation</h4>


    ?The five of them followed the valley for several minutes.


    They were walking at a fast pace, but they were not running.


    It was important to keep a stable formation.


    Eventually, they followed a bend in the valley, and the city vanished behind the valley''s wall.


    The five of them continued walking for another minute before Nick stopped.


    "I want to test out the defensive formation," Nick said. "Assume the defensive formation!"


    The others nodded and ran to the middle of the formation.


    Then, they turned their backs to each other and looked outside, surveying the surroundings.


    Meanwhile, Nick jumped over them andnded in the middle of the formation.


    Right now, all four of Nick''s teammates had their backs turned to him, with a bit over two meters of distance between him and their backs.


    Nick had told them that this defensive formation would protect them in case they were surrounded.


    Of course, that wasn''t the real point of the defensive formation.


    When Nicknded in the middle of the defensive formation, he felt his ability reactivate.


    Right now, none of his teammates could sense him.


    Nick had created this defensive formation for scouting reasons.


    Since none of his teammates could sense him, Nick could check if someone was looking at their team, thanks to his ability.


    ''No one is currently looking at us,'' Nick thought as he silently looked at the valley. ''Nobody inside the city knows of my ability, which means nobody is going to purposefully look away from us.''


    ''The chances of us being followed by someone from the city are very low.''


    "Good job. Disperse!" Nick ordered.


    Nick''s team assumed its normal formation.


    "I will regrly call for the defensive formation from now on," Nick said. "This might seem nonsensical to you, but I want to keep you guys focused and ready at all times. Additionally, a sudden and hectic change of position on our part might disorient anyone that''s following us, which might result in them exposing themselves."


    "Whenever I call for the defensive formation, I want you guys to assemble as if we are about to enter a serious fight. Understood?" Nick asked.


    "Yes, boss!" the four of them answered in unison.


    "Good. Then, let''s continue," Nick said before he continued walking forward.


    The group continued walking along the valley for another couple of minutes.


    Eventually, Nick stopped and looked at one of the walls for a bit.


    "There should be an Infester to the south of here. I think it might be a good idea to look at it. I want us all to see one so that we can avoid any idents if we see one in the future," Nick said.


    yton narrowed his eyes while the other three had expressions of interest on their faces.


    They also wanted to see one with their own eyes.


    "Check your Barriers if they are set for outside," Nick said as he took out a big silver coin from his pocket.


    The other four also took out their Barriers to check.


    A momentter, everyone put the Barriers back into their pockets and nodded.


    When Nick saw that everyone was ready, they went to the cliff face to the south.


    The team approached the southern wall and climbed it by rapidly jumping several times.


    Nick and Jenny didn''t have any issues in climbing the dusty hill, but the other three had to put in quite a bit of effort to outpace the small avnches below their feet.


    About half a minuteter, everyone arrived at the top.


    Their Barriers were already showing signs of getting lightly triggered asionally.


    The team was now on a rtively even ne, which was just as dusty as the valley.


    However, about 200 meters in front of them was something that couldn''t look any more noticeable.


    It was a ten-meter-tall bloody human spine growing out of the ground.


    Dimly shining vessels of blood were crawling up the spine until they touched a big and bloody branch-like outgrowth near the top of the spine.


    There were several of these thick and bloody outgrowths, and at the end of each of them was a pair of big human lungs, which were constantly inhaling and exhaling.


    A trachea was hanging from each pair of lungs, and the air the lungs were breathing was entering and exiting from these tracheas.


    This was an Infester, and it was the minion of a Specter, which was called the Infestation.


    The Infestation was not nearly as powerful as the False Hope and the Eternal Hunger.


    Additionally, the Infesters, the Infestation''s minions, were not everywhere in the world.


    The Infesters were only found in arge area to the south of Crimson City.


    ording to Crimson City, the Infestation was a Fanatic.


    The Infestation grew more powerful by transforming human matter into more of itself.


    It aplished that by growing these Infesters all over the ce.


    The Infesters dispersed invisible spores in a radius of about 200 meters.


    Anyone that breathed in these spores would have their mind altered, and they would feel the irresistible desire to approach the Infester and suck on one of the tracheas hanging from the lungs.


    This would give them a lethal dose of spores, and their body would "explode" and wrap around the Infester.


    Researchers from Crimson City found out that this also worked on corpses, which only needed to be ced near an Infester to trigger the transformation.


    Their Barriers had different settings, specifically due to the Infesters.


    The spores of the Infesters were not picked up by normal Barriers and were therefore not blocked.


    Because of that, it was necessary to have special Barriers when one nned on exploring the outside world.


    The group looked at the Infester for a while before they were distracted by something near its base.


    There was a group of seven people standing near the bottom of the Infester, their Barriers constantly shining.


    As a Fanatic, the Infestation was highly desired by Ghosty''s Lab, Anatomy, and Kugelblitz.


    All three of these Manufacturers had imed one Infester for themselves so that they could run experiments on them.


    This Infester was the closest to the city and belonged to Kugelblitz, which was also the reason why Nick was okay withing here.


    Out of the big three Manufacturers, Kugelblitz was of the least concern due to Julian''s influence over their shareholders and Vernon.


    "If you see one of these on our journey, tell me immediately," Nick said before he jumped down into the valley.


    "Yes, boss," the others answered before following him.

 Chapter 355 355 – The Corrosive Dust

    <h4>Chapter 355 Chapter 355 ¨C The Corrosive Dust </h4>


    ?The team turned around and went back into the valley, after which they continued towards the east.


    They had left Crimson City via the south, which was where the bridge was located.


    To the south of the city was the big valley that they had entered earlier, which was about two kilometers wide and about 200 meters deep.


    The valley extended towards the south for about two kilometers before it veered off towards the left, which was the east in this case.


    The Infester had been to the southern side of the valley, and in terms of distance, it was around three to four kilometers away from Crimson City''s entrance.


    The valley would continue towards the east for another two kilometers before it bent to the south again and then again to the east.


    At that point, the valley would end.


    All in all, the valley was around seven kilometers long.


    As the team continued traveling along the valley, the amount of dust increased.


    From time to time, Jason and Petra coughed while yton tried his best to suppress coughs.


    Jenny also felt ufortable, but she didn''t need to cough.


    "Don''t activate your Barriers for the dust," Nick said after he heard another cough. "We''re only going to be this close to the Dust Zone for a couple of minutes."


    Nick''s Extractors didn''t answer but continued following him.


    The Dust Zone was a humongous zone filled with corrosive dust to the south of the city.


    The Dust Zone started about ten kilometers away from the city and had a round shape with a diameter of a whopping 60 kilometers.


    It was by far the biggestndmark near Crimson City.


    However, even though the Dust Zone only officially started ten kilometers to the city''s south, some of the dust still reached the valley''s end, which was about five kilometers away from the Dust Zone.


    Naturally, the corrosive dust was produced by a Specter, which was fittingly called the Corrosive Dust.


    The Corrosive Dust resided in the middle of the Dust Zone.


    The appearance of the actual Specter was kept highly confidential, but it was known that the Specter was a Physical Specter, not a Force Specter.


    This meant that it had an actual body that could be touched and moved with one''s bare hands.


    Only Veterans could survive at the edge of the Dust Zone with their Barriers active for a couple of minutes.


    Johns would probably copse when they were just about to reach the border due to the residual dust in the surroundings of the Dust Zone.


    The closer one got to the center, the stronger and thicker the corrosive dust became.


    About ten kilometers away from the center, even Specialists would only survive for a couple of minutes with their Barriers.


    The Corrosive Dust was a Demon, and since it was also a Physical Specter, it was highly sought after¡­


    By more than one city.


    The nearest neighboring city of Crimson City was Darksky City, and it was about 30 kilometers south of the southern border of the Dust Zone.


    On a map, Crimson City was about 100 kilometers away from Darksky City, and the Dust Zone covered over 60% of the path between the two cities.


    Both cities had more than one Hero, and both of them wanted to im the Corrosive Dust for themselves.


    However, there were several issues.


    First of all, the Specter was apparently pretty big, and capturing it had no point if the cities didn''t have fitting Containment Units.


    Additionally, the Corrosive Dust was definitely not an Initial or Early Demon due to its power.


    It was, at least, a Mid Demon or maybe even a Late Demon.


    Trying to suppress and capture it would be a huge and risky undertaking since it might even be able to kill some or all of the Heroes.


    On top of that, warfare between the cities was basically the same as warfare between Manufacturers.


    Aegis made it technically illegal to fight another city, but the cities often did it in secret anyway.


    If Crimson City decided to send their Heroes to capture the Corrosive Dust, a Hero from Darksky City might show up and help the Specter out.


    And if Aegis asked what happened, Darksky City could just say that they didn''t know what happened. The Heroes of Crimson City must have died trying to suppress the Corrosive Dust.


    The residual dust near the end of the valley had the same effect on Initial Johns as inhaling some smoke had on normal people.


    It was bad, but it wouldn''t be dangerous if the exposure wasn''t very long.


    As the team reached the edge of the valley, they slowly climbed out.


    The residual dust was concentrated at the end of the valley due to the lower elevation, and when the team walked out of the valley, their coughing also reduced.


    After they left the valley, Nick took note of a couple of hills around them.


    The terrain here was rather hilly, and these hills were the reason why Nick had chosen to leave the city in this way.


    About two kilometers south of the end of the valley was another Infester, and this one belonged to Anatomy.


    While Nick could tell that nobody was following them, he didn''t want to be seen by Anatomy''s researchers.


    They might not n to kill Nick right now, but if they coincidentally found Nick in the outside world with nobody around¡­


    Walking close to the Infester to be seen was like walking around with one''s wallet held in one''s hands.


    Stealing was illegal, but some people might not be able to help themselves when such a good opportunity presented itself.


    Nick had no interest in going further to the south anyway.


    The closer one got to the Dust Zone, the more Infesters one would meet.


    There were over 15 Infesters located within a three-kilometer radius.


    Half of them were inside the Dust Zone, while the other half were outside.


    The Infestation had to be located somewhere within that Zone, but no one had ever found it.


    And Nick didn''t want to be the first one to find the Fanatic.

 Chapter 356 356 – The Swallowing Swamp

    <h4>Chapter 356 Chapter 356 ¨C The Swallowing Swamp</h4>


    ?Nick and his team carefully navigated around the hills and traveled further to the east.


    From time to time, Nick ordered them to assume the defensive formation.


    Nick was still certain that nobody was following them.


    A bitter, the team found a crater that was about a kilometer wide.


    At the bottom of the crater was something that lookedpletely different from the dry world around it.


    It was a purple swamp.


    The purple and viscous liquid of the swamp slowly and lethargically bubbled, releasing small ck clouds.


    Some decaying grass and ferns could be seen on top of the swamp, partially covering it.


    As the group stood on the edge of the crater, their Barriers flickered from time to time.


    The gas that was released by the swamp was poisonous and would quickly kill normal people.


    This was the Swallowing Swamp, a Specter.


    "I want to search through it," Nick said as he descended the crater. "You wait up here and keep a lookout of the surroundings. Stay hidden, if possible."


    "Yes, Boss," Nick''s team said before they went close to some of the hills.


    Nick was not worried as he approached the Swallowing Swamp.


    The Swallowing Swamp was probably the unluckiest Specter in the world.


    It was a Force Specter with a huge body and a powerful ability that could kill normal people and animals from far away.


    And yet, it spawned in the middle of this dead world where nobody but powerful Extractors walked around.


    Because of that, the Swallowing Swamp was an Initial Hatchling, the weakest Specter.


    While it had the potential to kill hordes and armies of animals and people, there simply was nothing to kill.


    The Swallowing Swamp had the potential to be as terrifying as the Crimson Sea, and maybe even more terrifying, but it would never be able to realize its potential in this world.


    Everyone who had left Crimson City knew about the Swallowing Swamp. After all, it wasn''t very difficult to spot.


    However, no one had even attempted to suppress and contain it.


    The effort and money required to suppress such a huge body of water was vastly bigger than what a mere Initial Hatchling was worth.


    Additionally, where would one even keep this huge swamp?


    So, the Swallowing Swamp was just left here to keep existing in the lifeless nothingness that was the outside world.


    Nick reached the edge of the swamp and stopped.


    Nick had deactivated his Barrier for now since the Swallowing Swamp''s poison wasn''t even nearly strong enough to affect him.


    He didn''t move for a while and focused on his ability.


    From time to time, his ability was activating and deactivating.


    After looking around for a bit, Nick could see that this came from Jason asionally ncing at Nick from one of the edges of the crater.


    He was the only one who could see Nick from his position.


    A momentter, Nick took one of his shoes off and touched the Swallowing Swamp with his bare foot.


    Then, he waited.


    When Nick felt his ability activating and deactivating with Jason''s looks, he narrowed his eyes.


    The fact that his ability was still acting this way could mean only one thing.


    The Swallowing Swamp could not perceive Nick, even though he was in physical contact with it.


    But that didn''t make sense.


    After all, the Fog had been able to perceive Nick via touch, and the same thing had been true when the weak Crimson Sea had touched Nick for a bit.


    Force Specters still had some form of consciousness, even though they were not really sentient or sapient.


    Force Specters would realize if something touched them.


    They might not react, but they would still feel it.


    Nick hade to the Swallowing Swamp to investigate it.


    It had been investigated by a couple of Manufacturers in Crimson City before, but after they hade to their conclusion, it had basically been ignored.


    There was no point in looking at this Initial Hatchling anymore.


    However, Nick had something that the other Extractors of Crimson City didn''t have.


    The Null''s ability.


    When it came to sensing someone else''s perception, nothing was better than this ability.


    Nick knew that this ability had amazing investigative properties, and he was relying on it almost daily.


    That was why Nick hade here.


    Maybe his ability would uncover something that the other Manufacturers had overlooked.


    And sure enough, it did.


    ''The fact that it can''t sense me means it is either not a Force Specter or that I''m not touching it right now,'' Nick thought.


    After a bit, Nick turned to look at Jason, who was on the edge of the crater.


    "I''m going to dive in and investigate. If you see anyone approaching, tell me immediately," Nick shouted.


    "Understood, Boss," Jason shouted back before rying Nick''s orders to the others.


    Nick turned back to the Swallowing Swamp and started to undress.


    He didn''t want to use his Barrier since he wanted to use his sense of touch to find the actual Specter.


    After about a minute, Nick only wore his two wristbands, which were his deactivated fist weapons.


    Nick''s ability hadn''t activated in a while, which meant that Jason was probably watching Nick''s naked behind with quite a lot of focus.


    He got a bit annoyed by the constant attention, but that wasn''t really important right now.


    Nick slowly approached the Swallowing Swamp and stepped into it with his bare feet.


    It was surprisingly warm.


    ''This reminds me of the time I jumped into the old sewers,'' Nick thought.


    He took a couple more steps forward and was soon submerged up to his chest.


    Going into the Swallowing Swamp wasn''t nearly as bad as going into the sewers.


    Yes, the Swallowing Swamp was technically filled with acid and poison, but it didn''t smell as bad as the old sewers.


    It had a very chemical smell to it.


    Nick took a deep breath after a bit.


    Then, he jumped forward and dove in.

 Chapter 357 357 – Searching

    <h4>Chapter 357 Chapter 357 ¨C Searching </h4>


    ?Nick fully dove into the Swallowing Swamp.


    Almost immediately, horrifying faces appeared around him as they bit into his flesh, tearing chunks out of him.


    However, even though Nick felt a lot of pain, he wasn''t surprised or panicked.


    ''This confirms it,'' Nick thought. ''If I were inside a Force Specter, the Nightmare''s power wouldn''t work. The fact that I am under the Nightmare''s influence means that I am not inside a Force Specter right now.''


    Nick quickly came to the surface again, and all the horrifying faces vanished.


    Of course, his ability also deactivated since Jason could see him again, and Jason looked at Nick with a lot of interest.


    Nick continued to walk forward.


    Right now, the Swallowing Swamp was not so deep, but it became deeper the further he progressed.


    After walking into the swamp for about ten meters, it became quite difficult to touch the floor without submerging.


    Nick started to swim forward with quite a bit of force, his arms producing gigantic waves as they pushed the sludge away.


    In water, Nick wouldn''t be light enough to float, but the sludge in his surroundings was actually quite dense.


    Although, even if it were not as dense, Nick could just swim by kicking the sludge below him.


    He swam forward for over a hundred meters.


    Nick had no idea how deep the Swallowing Swamp was beneath him, and even though he had been in many scary situations before, it was still not easy for him to keep his cool.


    The image of a gigantic beast swimming just a couple of meters below Nick''s feet appeared again and again in his mind.


    Even worse, that was an actual possibility.


    If the sludge was not the Specter but only a byproduct, it was possible that some kind of Physical Specter in the shape of a creature released the sludge.


    What if the sludge wasn''t meant to be poisonous?


    What if the Swallowing Swamp was a Fanatic that released such weak poison to attract Veterans and Experts so that it could more easily kill them with an ambush?


    Right now, Nick swam inside a big and viscous dark purple pool in the middle of a wastnd as the orange sun shone down from above.


    Nick kept swimming into the middle of the swamp.


    Was he scared?


    Of course, he was scared.


    However, Nick didn''t let his fear dictate his actions.


    Courage was one of the most important aspects of an Extractor, and one could only have courage if one felt fear.


    And frankly, not feeling any fear of the things an Extractor went through regrly would be idiotic.


    Eventually, Nick reached the middle of the swamp and looked around.


    ''Nothing special here,'' Nick thought, ''but that''s what I expected.''


    Sure, there was a possibility that some powerful creature lived in this swamp, but the possibility was actually quite small.


    After all, all of the powerful Extractors knew of the Swallowing Swamp, and they had experimented on it several times.


    If any of their Extractors had died here, the Manufacturers would have had much more interest in the Swallowing Swamp.


    But no Extractor ever vanished.


    After looking around for a bit, Nick swam in circles that spiraled outward.


    He wanted to make sure that there was not some kind of hidden domain somewhere on the Swallowing Swamp''s surface.


    For several minutes, Nick just swam around the Swallowing Swamp.


    Eventually, he reached the ce where his clothes were and stepped out of the Swallowing Swamp.


    The sludge around Nick''s body clung to him like glue, and Nick furrowed his brows.


    He pushed the sludge on his arms away, and he felt a hardyer crumbling away from his body.


    He took a look at what he had peeled off and saw pieces of some fragile ck material hanging on the sludge.


    Luckily, Julian''s lessons about basic chemistry paid off.


    ''That''s probably what the acid in the sludge turns into after it used up all its power,'' Nick thought as he crumbled the ck material between his fingers.


    ''The sludge attaches to the skin but also to the ck material, making it very difficult to get rid of. It might not be difficult for me to push the sludge off my body, but a Newbie would have quite some difficulties while also being burned and poisoned the entire time.''


    Nick walked over to his clothes, but he didn''t put them on.


    Instead, he grabbed one of the three big cylinders and walked back to the swamp.


    SHING!


    After pressing a button, the cylinder turned into a long throwing spear, almost two meters long.


    The spear was quite heavy since Nick''s ability wasn''t active, but he could still carry it without any issues.


    As he entered the Swallowing Swamp again, he grabbed the spear by one end and touched the floor with the other.


    He continued like this until he was about 50 meters away from the coast.


    At that point, the floor was too far away.


    So, Nick changed his hold.


    He put one of the tips of the spear between his toes on his right foot and grabbed it.


    Like this, Nick got quite a bit more reach.


    Another 100 meters further, it became too deep again.


    However, Nick noticed something.


    ''The crater is round, and the rate at which it is gaining depth is decreasing.''


    ''From nothing to a depth of two meters took barely ten meters, but another meter took fifty meters, and another meter took 100 meters.''


    ''The Swallowing Swamp''s deepest spot is probably only about four to five meters deep.''


    Nick did a bit of nning and submerged.


    ''The Nightmare''s influence only starts at a depth of about half a meter. As long as I don''t dive deeper than that, I''m not in danger.''


    Nick kept going forward as he swung his spear back and forth with his toes, constantly scratching the ground.


    The Swallowing Swamp had to have a body, and it had to be somewhere in the swamp.


    Nick searched.


    And searched.


    And searched¡­

 Chapter 358 358 – Result of the Search

    <h4>Chapter 358 Chapter 358 ¨C Result of the Search</h4>


    ?And searched...


    Nick had been searching like this for over two hours by now.


    For two hours, he had been scratching every single spot on the floor with his spear.


    Was there really a body somewhere in the Swallowing Swamp?


    It didn''t seem like it.


    What if the Specter could move its body, and it simply kept avoiding Nick?


    What if it just swam away whenever Nick approached it?


    Like this, Nick would never be able to capture it.


    Most people would have this concern, but Nick didn''t.


    After all, for the Specter to avoid him, it would first need to know where Nick was, and if it knew where Nick was, his ability would have deactivated.


    Yet, his ability was still active.


    The Specter had no idea that Nick was here, even after two hours of Nick poking around the Swallowing Swamp.


    By now, it was obvious that the Swallowing Swamp wasn''t some kind of predator that just waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.


    If it only attacked people after they searched through the swamp for hours, it would have never gained any food, even if the world were filled with life.


    So, Nick kept moving his spear back and forth.


    For two more hours.


    Nick had been inside the swamp for over four hours now, and he was pretty sure that he had checked through almost every part of the center.


    ''Is it not in the center?'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    Usually, one could find the Specter in the middle of its domain if it had one.


    ''But there are also cases where Specters are not in the middle of their domain,'' Nick thought. ''After all, if the Infestation were in the middle of the infested area, it would have long since been caught.''


    ''Guess I should check.''


    Nick grabbed the spear with his hand while remaining submerged.


    Since he was no longer searching through the deepest part, he didn''t need to use his legs anymore.


    However, Nick stayed submerged since he wanted to be absolutely sure that his ability wasn''t deactivated by Jason peeking over.


    The search became faster since Nick could now swing his spear much more skillfully and faster.


    Feet just weren''t made to handle spears.


    Nick kept circling around the middle of the Swallowing Swamp for another two hours.


    He had been looking for over six hours by now.


    However, Nick didn''t stop.


    Most people would have long since given up, but not Nick.


    Nick relied on the uracy of his ability.


    He just kept swimming and swinging.


    Swimming and swinging.


    Ding.


    Nick stopped.


    Just now, his ability had deactivated before activating again.


    Nick''s heart rate increased.


    Did he find it?


    Nick surfaced and looked around.


    There was no one around him.


    After submerging again, Nick carefully moved his spear around.


    This time, he was moving it much slower.


    Clink.


    It deactivated again!


    Nick''s eyes narrowed, and he moved his spear carefully around the object it was currently touching.


    It didn''t feel any different from a random stone.


    It was hard, smooth, and of average length.


    The next moment, Nick quickly dove down.


    The Nightmare appeared around Nick again, but it barely had any time to cause Nick pain since he was already surfacing again.


    Shortly before Nick reached the surface, he stopped.


    He couldn''t see what he was carrying in his hand due to the dark purple liquid surrounding it, but he was sure that it was the Specter.


    After all, even though he hadn''t surfaced, his ability was still deactivated, which meant that something or someone was sensing his presence.


    ''This is it!'' Nick thought.


    ''This has to be the Specter!''


    Then, Nick slowly surfaced and looked at the thing he was holding in his hand.


    It was a ss bottle.


    It looked extremely normal, except for two things.


    First, it was filled with the purple sludge.


    Second, there was a huge and clear gash going across its body.


    Naturally, the gash came from Nick swinging his spear around and hitting it.


    One had to remember that each of Nick''s big spears weighed way over a hundred kilos, and he had been moving it quite quickly.


    A weak Hatchling couldn''t possibly resist such a strike.


    However, Specters were very difficult to kill, and Nick was quite sure that he wouldn''t kill the Specter with a casual swing of his spear.


    If he wanted to kill the Specter, he would probably need to throw it against a metal wall with a ton of force.


    Only if it exploded into pieces would it die.


    Nick held the bottle with its opening facing down.


    That was when Nick noticed another peculiar thing.


    The dark sludge inside the bottle wasn''ting out of the cut that Nick had made.


    It was only leaving through the actual opening.


    Nick kept pouring.


    And pouring.


    And pouring.


    And pouring.


    Nick''s eyebrows rose.


    The ck sludge had been pouring out of the bottle for over 30 seconds, and while it wasn''t moving very fast due to its viscosity, he was certain that it should have already be empty.


    Just to be sure, Nick poured out the bottle for another two minutes.


    It still looked full.


    ''That settles it,'' Nick thought as he looked at the bottle. ''This is the Specter.''


    ''It probably produces this toxic sludge infinitely.''


    Nick looked around the purple swamp and took note of the bubbles that released the ck smoke.


    ''The amount of sludge the swamp is losing by evaporation is probably around equal to the amount of sludge produced by the bottle.''


    Nick looked back at the bottle.


    Then, he turned it upright, with its opening facing the sky.


    Nick''s eyebrows rose.


    The sludge stoppeding out of the bottle!


    Now, the bottle just looked like a normal-filled bottle.


    Although, the sludge was still noting out of the cut on its side.


    ''Interesting,'' Nick thought.


    ''So, if it is upside down or tipped over, it infinitely produces the sludge, but if it''s standing upright, it''s producing none of it.''


    ''I''m certain that this is a Possession Specter due to its characteristics, and I think I also already have a fitting name for it.''


    ''The Spilling Bottle.''

 Chapter 359 359 – Could That Work?

    <h4>Chapter 359 Chapter 359 ¨C Could That Work? </h4>


    ?Nick held the bottle upright and jumped out of the swamp.


    As a Veteran, Nick had so much power that stepping on something as viscous as water or this sludge wasn''t any different from stepping on solid ground as long as he kicked fast enough.


    Nick quickly got dressed after cleaning himself of all the sludge he had carried with him.


    And finally, he was done.


    His excursion into the Swallowing Swamp had ended.


    Nick looked at the Swallowing Swamp onest time.


    ''All the moisture will probably leave at some point, leaving behind even more viscous sludge. Although, maybe it will also just vanish and turn into Prephyx since the Spilling Bottle is no longer here.''


    Nick looked at the bottle in his hand.


    ''I have to get this back into the city.''


    "Jason, call everyone over," Nick shouted as he jumped out of the crater.


    Jason shook his head as he was taken out of his daydream.


    After that, he quickly ran to one of the hills on the side, which was where Jenny was located.


    A couple of secondster, everyone gathered in front of Nick.


    They were all looking at the bottle in Nick''s hand with expectation.


    "Boss, is that the Specter?" Petra asked with surprise.


    Nick nodded. "It''s an Initial Hatchling Possession Specter," he said.


    The Extractors got a bit excited when they heard that they had actually seeded in capturing a Specter.


    Sadly, the excitement quickly vanished as it sunk in that it was a Possession Specter.


    The fact that it was an Initial Hatchling wouldn''t have been an issue if it were a Force or Physical Specter.


    Unfortunately, Possession Specters couldn''t grow more powerful.


    Assuming that they fed this thing with as much as it could eat every day, it would probably produce five to seven grams of Zephyx at most.


    Any one of the present Extractors earned more credits per day than this entire Specter produced.


    Even more, it couldn''t even really be used to get Initial Newbies to be Early Newbies.


    They already had the Screaming Coffin for that, which produced more Zephyx, was just as safe to work with, and probably even ate less.


    The Spilling Bottle was probably the worst Specter that Dark Dream could have captured.


    But at least it was a Specter.


    "How''s your status? Can you continue?" Nick asked.


    Everyone nodded.


    "Good," Nick said. "Then, I will bring the Spilling Bottle back to Dark Dream. I''m faster if I''m alone. I will be back in, at most, 30 minutes."


    "Sure thing, Boss," Jenny said.


    Then, Nick ran towards the west with a lot of speed.


    When the three Initial Johns saw Nick''s speed, they had to sigh.


    They also wanted to be this powerful one day.


    Within ten seconds, Nick reached the edge of the valley and jumped into it.


    After about a minute, Nick had cleared five of the seven kilometers of the valley.


    Then, he narrowed his eyes.


    One of the ck sludges was quite close to Nick, and it had spotted him.


    Of course, it immediately started charging at him.


    Luckily, the sludge was a bit smaller than two meters in diameter, which meant that it was only at the beginning of the Adolescent stage.


    Nick walked around it and continued running forward.


    Naturally, the sludge kept running after Nick.


    Since Nick was much more powerful than the sludge, it couldn''t even hope to catch up.


    Nevertheless, it tried by constantly wing forward with its many long arms.


    These sludges had no sapience and attacked any kind of life they could see.


    Nick didn''t go as fast as he could since he wanted to lure the sludge to the forest.


    After around half a minute, Nick arrived beside the forest.


    The sludge was about 100 meters away from him.


    Lastly, Nick just ran around the forest until it was between him and the sludge.


    Silence.


    BANG!


    Nick heard the sludge explode.


    Extractors were encouraged to lead the sludges to the forests, and Nick did just that.


    After that, Nick turned around to-


    ''Wait,'' Nick thought as he stopped.


    Then, he looked back at the forest.


    And then, at the Spilling Bottle.


    ''Can the Spilling Bottle affect the forests?'' Nick asked himself. ''I guess it depends on its effect and its consistency.''


    ''Is the sludge normal physical matter, or is it Prephyx matter, like the bodies of the Blood Specters?''


    ''If it''s normal matter, the forest will most likely ignore it.''


    Nick looked at the Spilling Bottle with furrowed brows.


    ''But that''s highly unlikely.''


    ''If it were normal matter, the other Extractors would have noticed that the sludge wasn''t the Specter but only a byproduct.''


    ''I''m sure they tested if the sludge is normal matter or Prephyx matter, and I''m quite sure that it''s Prephyx matter.''


    ''Let''s try it out.''


    That was when Nick realized that he was in view of the four guards at the city''s entrance.


    ''Wait, the four guards know that I left with a team of Extractors. If I suddenly start doing something very noticeable, they might decide to tell Anatomy, assuming one of them is from Anatomy.''


    ''I shouldy low for a bit. Leaving during your shift is very conspicuous, and they won''t risk it as long as nothing crazy happens.''


    Nick turned to the city again and ran back.


    "Thanks, asshole," one of them said sarcastically as Nick arrived. "Because of you, I lost the bet."


    "Oh, fuck off," another guard said. "That thing would''ve noticed the forest even without him. You''re just mad that you lost. Don''t me him."


    The first guard just grunted in annoyance.


    Nick just looked at the two of them before he walked into the corridor.


    After a bit of walking, he saw the two Experts who were guarding the bridge itself.


    "Did you catch any Specters?" one of them asked with a serious tone.


    Nick looked at the guard.


    "Yes," Nick said.


    The other guard also turned to look at Nick, and both of them had a glint in their eyes.

 Chapter 360 360 – Not as I do

    <h4>Chapter 360 Chapter 360 ¨C Not as I do</h4>


    ?"Alright," the guard said. "I can''t see it. Do you have the Specter with you right now?"


    Nick lifted the bottle up, showing it to them.


    Under normal circumstances, Nick would never show one of Dark Dream''s Specters to an outsider.


    Sadly, he had to.


    All Specters that were brought into the city had to be announced.


    Transporting a Specter through the city was always dangerous, and the city wanted to make sure that the Specter was properly suppressed.


    "Want to take a closer look?" Nick asked, holding the Spilling Bottle forward.


    Nick wasn''t afraid that they would steal it.


    The two Experts here were from the city itself.


    They were not temporary guards who usually worked for Manufacturers.


    Even more, doing shady things here would be stupid since there were several more guards close by and since this area was highly surveilled.


    The guard just warily looked at the Specter.


    Many Specters had crazy and scary powers, and he wasn''t about to touch a Specter that he didn''t know.


    "No, I''m fine," the guard said. "We need your identification and the level of the Specter."


    "Nick Nick, Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream," Nick said, "and this thing is an Initial Hatchling Possession Specter."


    The other guard snorted in suppressedughter.


    "Oh wow, careful," the other guard said with a sarcastic voice. "Valuable cargo."


    The serious guard just nodded at Nick. "You can pass."


    "Thanks," Nick said before he passed by them and ran across the bridge.


    When he saw the guards on the other side of the bridge, he told them that he would be back soon and that he was only there to get something.


    These guards were not employed by the city, and Nick wouldn''t tell them about the Specter he had brought with him.


    The guards just said that they understood, and Nick quickly went to Dark Dream.


    After Nick entered Dark Dream, he quickly went to the second floor and approached the only free Containment Unit on it.


    Unsurprisingly, Julian was already waiting in front of it with a friendly smile.


    Naturally, he had sensed Nick before he even entered the building.


    Nick walked up to Julian and handed him the bottle. "Keep it upright," he said.


    Julian took hold of the bottle and looked at it with interest.


    "An Initial Hatchling Possession Specter?" Julian asked as he looked at it.


    Nick nodded.


    "What does it do?" Julian asked.


    "It produces infinite amounts of toxic sludge if it is tipped over. This is the Swallowing Swamp, or the reason behind the Swallowing Swamp''s existence, depending on your viewpoint."


    "Interesting," Julian said as he opened the Containment Unit.


    As soon as the Containment Unit opened, several mouths from the hallway slithered into it, stering themselves all over the walls, ceiling, and floor.


    "What kind of matter is the sludge?" Julian asked without looking at Nick.


    "Most likely Prephyx Matter," Nick said.


    After that, Nick exined to Julian how he hade to the conclusion.


    "Good job," Julian said with a smile.


    Nick didn''t show any reactions.


    Ever since Julian had started teaching Nick, he kept using this kind of belittling voice.


    It was like Julian was praising a toddler.


    Of course, Nick didn''t like being addressed like this, but this was the result of his actions.


    Nick had chosen this "person" as his superior.


    Initially, Nick had no idea why Julian was constantly talking to him like he was a toddler.


    He just thought that Julian was an asshole.


    However, the more Julian had taught Nick, the more Julian''s conduct made sense.


    Nick had never highlighted how Julian''s manner of speech made him feel, and he didn''t n on telling him.


    Even though they were allies, Nick wouldn''t hand over all of his secrets and thoughts to Julian.


    After about a year of studying under Julian, Nick realized two things, and fortunately, he also realized the value of these two things at basically the same time.


    If he hadn''t realized the value of these two things, he might have wasted them.


    The first thing was that Julian was exceedingly arrogant.


    Anyone that he could control was beneath his notice.


    He ignored all Newbies, Johns, Veterans, Experts, and even very weak Specialists.


    As soon as he could control them, they were no longer in his mind, basically.


    All of Julian''s attention was on the stronger Specialists and Heroes.


    And the second thing that Nick realized was that Julian viewed him as even lower than the people he already ignored.


    Due to his conduct, Nick had often appeared quite dumb in the past.


    Additionally, Nick even willingly worked under Julian, which was very different from everyone else.


    Maybe that made Julian look down on Nick even more.


    Lastly, as Nick''s teacher, Julian had seen how many basic things he needed to teach Nick.


    Just like many other people, Julian was taking Nick''sck of education as ack of intelligence.


    Julian believed that 99% of people were beneath him and that Nick was even beneath these 99% of people.


    Because of that, he didn''t put a lot of effort into keeping his cards close to his chest in Nick''s presence.


    He probably wasn''t even realizing that he was doing something to Nick that he had never done to anyone else.


    He let his mask slip.


    Nick was basically the only person Julian could talk to without having to put up a false front.


    And maybe that aspect of being able to be whoever he wanted to be made him belittle Nick again and again.


    Arrogance, conceit, disgust, deceit, aloofness, pride, boundless confidence, disregard, unending ambition, greed.


    This was Julian''s true self.


    The true self of a Specter.


    And when he was with Nick, he didn''t need to keep these things secret.


    Ironically, the things that Julian taught Nick allowed him to see how Julian was viting the very things that he was preaching.


    Nick also knew something else.


    He knew that Julian would get rid of him as soon as his power approached Julian''s.


    Julian and Nick were allies, but only as long as Nick couldn''t pose a danger to Julian.


    Nick knew that.


    He knew that they would be enemies in the future.


    And because of that, Nick did not tell Julian about the two things he had noticed.

 Chapter 361 361 – Currently Busy

    <h4>Chapter 361 Chapter 361 ¨C Currently Busy </h4>


    After about half a minute of looking at the Spilling Bottle, Julian tipped it over while holding it in his hand.


    Nick watched as purple sludge wasing out of the bottle and gathering on the ground.


    Julian watched the sludge with interest.


    A momentter, one of the mouths moved over to the sludge and opened, consuming all of it.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    Julian was eating the sludge?


    A momentter, Julian put the bottle upright again.


    "Prephyx Matter," Julian said. "It has a corrosive and poisoning effect. Most likely, the intention behind the bottle''s actions is to destroy as much life as possible. It doesn''t matter if it''s human, animal, or nt."


    "Sadly, it can''t grow more powerful," Julian said with a confident snicker. "What a waste."


    Julian threw the bottle to the side, and itnded perfectly upright on the ground.


    "Guess we''re just keeping it here or selling it."


    Then, Julian walked towards the Containment Unit''s exit.


    Nick''s face showed no reaction, but inside, he grew nervous.


    "Is there no use for the sludge?" Nick asked, not looking at Julian.


    "Of course there is, but there are plenty of Specters that produce Prephyx matter. In fact, the supply far exceeds the demand, and I don''t think that an Initial Hatchling will make a dent in the market," Julian answered casually.


    ''That''s not what I mean, you dumbass,'' Nick thought, trying his best to keep his face from showing any of his anger. ''But I can''t just directly tell you without seeming suspicious.''


    "Oh, okay," Nick said as he also approached the exit. "Who are we going to sell it to? What about the city? There''s bound to be something the guards inside or outside the city could do with a small object that can produce infinite Prephyx matter."


    The two left the Containment Unit, and as Nick passed by Julian, he saw him furrowing his brows in thought.


    ''He''s never been outside this city,'' Nick thought. ''That''s the only reason he didn''t make the connection. He''s never seen the forests or the ck sludges before, but he should know about them.''


    The two important parts of Nick''s statement were "inside or outside" and "small object".


    Sure, there were plenty of Specters that produced Prephyx matter, but they were not all portable, and they probably didn''t produce as much.


    If the Spilling Bottle worked on the forests, someone could literally just dig a small crevice that led into one of the forests and just put the bottle on the other end of the crevice.


    Sure, the Prephyx matter was very weak, but after days upon days, it was bound to show an effect.


    "I might have an idea," Julian said with a smirk. "If we''re lucky, this Specter might be worth quite a bit."


    "When''s the next big meeting?" Julian asked.


    "In about a month," Nick answered.


    "Alright," Julian said. "I will run some experiments. If everything goes well, I need you to sell it to the city."


    Nick nodded.


    Naturally, Julian didn''t dare to attend the big yearly meeting.


    For the past two years, he hadn''t been in a single one of them.


    Technically, the yearly meeting only needed an owner and the Chief Zephyx Extractor, and since Nick was both, he could act as both.


    Usually, there were two people per Manufacturer in the meeting since they were focusing on different things.


    The Chief Zephyx Extractor usually wasn''t as involved in business matters but knew everything about Specters and vice versa.


    They also didn''t want to seem disrespectful to the governor.


    Of course, if Julian was the only one missing from the meetings, it would be suspicious.


    Luckily, he had already dealt with that issue by meeting all of the usual participants "on ident" at random times.


    Yes, Julian''s power didn''t work on a strong Specialist or Hero, but he also didn''t immediately get unmasked as soon as any of them saw him.


    He still had his normal body, after all.


    As long as nobody was trying to check whether or not he was human, nobody would notice.


    So, as long as he met some of them outside for a quick chat, no one would bat an eye.


    It would just be some small talk.


    At that point, Julian would just give some random excuses about how busy his day was.


    However, Julian wouldn''t dare to enter the actual meeting.


    It was one thing to talk to one of them outside, but talking in a tense meeting with several people who could potentially see through him was dumb.


    Everyone in the meeting was already suspicious of everyone else.


    Luckily, Julian''s absence from the meetings didn''t seem too strange since several of the people could confirm that he seemed awfully busy.


    So, Nick was the one who dealt with the yearly meetings, and he would also need to be the one who sold the bottle to the city.


    Nick didn''t ask why Julian wanted to sell the bottle during the meeting, but he guessed that Julian had some kind of n.


    "Are you going outside again?" Julian asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yes, the team is still waiting."


    "Good," Julian said. "You already got quite a good haul, but we can only get one of the two things we need from the bottle."


    The most important thing Dark Dream needed right now was an Adult so that Nick''s power could increase without arousing suspicion.


    However, there was a prerequisite to getting that.


    Having the means to contain an Adult.


    The Containment Unit wasn''t the issue.


    Nick''s power wasn''t the issue.


    The issue was the building.


    The building they were in wasn''t durable enough for the vibrations that an Adult would cause while attacking its Containment Unit.


    Such a powerful Containment Unit was already very heavy, and with the additional vibrations, it would most likely fall through the floor and damage anything below it.


    Because of that, they needed a new building.


    However, getting such a building wasn''t easy.


    The city owned every free building and wanted a lot of money for these buildings.


    Julian and Nick already had their eyes on a specific one, but getting it would drain two entire years of profits.


    Sure, they had enough saved up, but they would not have many liquid assets left after that, which would be an issue.


    But now, if everything worked out with the Spilling Bottle, they could get one for much cheaper.

 Chapter 362 362 – Small Slimes

    <h4>Chapter 362 Chapter 362 ¨C Small Slimes</h4>


    Nick left Dark Dream again and ran towards the bridge.


    He had been in the building for barely a couple of minutes, and the guards didn''t even ask Nick any questions.


    But the same thing wasn''t true for the two Experts guarding the other side.


    "You going out again?" one of them asked with raised brows.


    Nick had just brought back a Specter, and he wanted to get even more?


    That was the seventh Specter that had been caught within thest two years, the sixth one having been caught just a couple of days ago in the outside world.


    Usually, Extractors didn''t immediately run out to get another Specter after they just got one.


    "You saw what I had," Nickmented.


    "Right. Makes sense," the guard said.


    Nick just ran down the corridor and entered the outside world again.


    The four Veterans guarding the outside just looked on as Nick jumped into the valley.


    As soon as Nick rounded the first corner in the valley, his ability reactivated, and he charged forward with much more speed.


    ''No one is following me,'' Nick thought as he continued.


    After rounding another corner, Nick''s ability deactivated again, and he grew quite annoyed.


    It was another one of the slimes.


    ''The forest is like four kilometers away, and I really don''t want to lure it that far away.''


    Nick just charged forward, right at the slime.


    Naturally, the slime also charged at Nick.


    SHING!


    Nick''s des came out, and he immediately cut several of the long arms off.


    This slime was barely on the level of an Adolescent, which made it far weaker than Nick, but the slimes were still very robust and difficult to kill.


    A thrown spear would just shoot through it,ing out the other side without stopping the slime for long.


    The issue was that these slimes had no vital organs.


    There was no core or anything simr to that.


    Even more, if a slime was cut in half, both halves would gain new "consciousnesses" and act autonomously from each other.


    Of course, they were still weaker than thebined slime.


    As the severed arms fell to the ground, they turned into slime again, which then attacked Nick.


    It was important to note that a slime''s arms were the only solid things on its body. After all, how would a liquid arm be able to pull the slime forward?


    The arms were also a slime''s weakness since they didn''t have any other method of movement.


    If they wanted to move, they needed to make new arms.


    SHING!


    But then, these arms would just get cut off again, turning into many tiny slimes.


    As the slime became smaller, the arms also became smaller, which made the cut-off arms turn into even smaller slimes.


    After cutting off over 30 arms, the many slimes were already climbing over each other, trying to get to Nick.


    This was one of the fatal ws of the slimes.


    They could turn into many smaller slimes, but many smaller slimes couldn''t turn into bigger slimes.


    For nearly a full minute, Nick kept cutting off arms before starting to cut the small slimes.


    As the slimes became smaller, their strength also decreased, which also made them slower.


    Eventually, Nick jumped about a hundred meters away and looked back.


    Nick had been attacked by a slime that was about as tall as him, but now, there were hundreds of slimes that were between five and fifteen centimeters tall.


    They were about as big as rats.


    And about as fast and strong.


    Even if they swarmed Nick, they wouldn''t be able to damage him in any way.


    Sure, if one added up all the slimes, one would get the same amount of power, but that didn''t matter.


    Would 1,000 punches of an Initial Newbie be as strong as one punch of an Initial John?


    Of course!


    If one added all the power, that would be much more power.


    But would these punches manage to get through a metal te?


    No.


    Would the punch of the Initial John get through?


    Probably.


    The little slimes still knew where Nick was, and they moved towards him at a speed of about five kph.


    Nick just turned around and continued on his way.


    After Nick rounded the next corner, the slimes started to slow down.


    They had lost their target.


    They immediately started to search for more life but couldn''t find any.


    So, they just started to slowly move in random directions, splitting up.


    Some of them would vanish in forests.


    Some of them would fall into the Crimson Sea.


    Many of them would eventually meet other Extractors with abilities that could actually kill them.


    Just because Nick couldn''t kill them didn''t mean that other Extractors couldn''t.


    Jason, Petra, and yton could use their abilities to turn these small slimes into nothingness.


    As long as one could remove the Zephyx that made up their bodies, they would vanish.


    Sadly, Nick didn''t have that ability.


    After about half a minute, he reached the Swallowing Swamp again.


    Nick''s four Extractors were standing in a group, and when they saw him, they all turned to him.


    "Did everything go well?" Jenny asked.


    Nick nodded. "The Spilling Bottle is in thest Containment Unit on the second floor."


    Then, he turned to the others. "I want to find another Specter. The city has only recently allowed Extractors to go outside again, and I want to make use of that fact."


    "By using us as bait," yton said.


    Nick looked at yton. "That is the agreement," he said, "but I will protect you with all of my power."


    "I understand," yton said with a neutral voice. "It was not meant as a dig."


    Nick nodded. "Are you guys ready?"


    The group nodded back.


    "Then, let''s continue," Nick said as he turned towards the north. "I want to take a look at the mountain east of the city."


    When the others heard that, they became a bit nervous.


    It was possible that there were Specters on the mountain, but that wasn''t the scary part.


    The scary part was the mountain''s elevation.


    It was only about 300 meters high, but that was still high enough to see the Crimson Sea.


    And naturally, nobody wanted to see the Crimson Sea.

 Chapter 363 363 – The Desert

    <h4>Chapter 363 Chapter 363 ¨C The Desert</h4>


    Nick led his four employees toward the north.


    They decided to veer off towards the west for a bit.


    The reason for that was the big area to the northeast.


    A couple of kilometers northeast of the Swallowing Swamp was the Desert.


    The Desert was a Specter that was called the Desert as well as an actual desert.


    However,pared to the usual deserts, this one was far smaller, only being about five kilometers wide.


    The Desert was an even ne of sand.


    There were no hills, dunes, holes, or whatever.


    It was perfectly even.


    There were also no stones, animal bones, corpses, nts, or whatever.


    Every point of the Desert was identical to every other point.


    There were two reasons why Nick wanted to avoid appearing near the Desert.


    First of all, the Desert was at least an Elder.


    Anyone who walked into the Desert would be extremely thirsty within a matter of seconds, and if they were normal people, they would just straight up turn into mummies before transforming into sand thatbined with the sand on the ground.


    Even worse, that draining effect also worked on water that wasn''t connected to any living being.


    This meant that water bottles, rain clouds, and even the air would have all of their water sucked out.


    Since the effect also worked on inorganic things, the Manufacturers concluded that the Desert grew more powerful by absorbing moisture, not by the consequence of absorbing all moisture.


    This meant that the Desert most likely grew more powerful just by having water sshed over it.


    While the Desert was not very dangerous due to it not being able to move, its potential was immense.


    When Crimson City had connected to the outside world again after two years, they found out that the Desert had grown by about 100 meters.


    If this thing continued being here, it might grow even bigger and more dangerous.


    Some people had even thought about what would happen if this thing became an Eternal.


    Wouldn''t the water in the entire world vanish?


    The city actually wanted to deal with the Desert, but it wasn''t that easy.


    The second reason why Nick didn''t want to approach the Desert was that there was a high likelihood of a strong Extractor being there.


    While the Swallowing Swamp and the Desert appeared very simr on the outside, the worth in the Manufacturers'' eyes couldn''t be different.


    The Swallowing Swamp was just some worthless and annoying Force Specter that produced no Zephyx.


    Meanwhile, the Desert was powerful and produced a whole lot of Zephyx.


    The only issue was¡­


    How could one capture, transport, and suppress a desert?


    One would need to build a Containment Unit as big as Crimson City, and if the city had ess to something like that, they would''ve used it on the Crimson Sea.


    Nevertheless, the Manufacturers constantly looked for ways to contain the Desert.


    If someone managed to find some kind of core or something simr, they could potentially capture and use an Elder Force Specter.


    Force Specters were already very valuable due to the costs of capturing them, and an Elder one would be even better.


    The only two Manufacturers not interested in the Desert right now were Dark Dream and Gemini.


    Dark Dream wasn''t interested since they had nobody powerful enough to suppress and work with the Specter, excluding Julian, and Gemini wasn''t interested since they still had to consolidate after capturing the Distortion. One Elder Force Specter was a lot of drain already for them.


    However, all the other Manufacturers were quite interested, and there were almost always some powerful Extractors near the Desert, running experiments on it.


    That was why Nick wanted to avoid that ce.


    Sure, many guards knew that Nick and his people were somewhere outside the city, but the fewer people knew of their specific whereabouts, the better.


    After traveling north for about five kilometers, the five found themselves at the foot of a mountain.


    Or, more like, a very big rock or cliff.


    It wasn''t a mountain in the ssical sense since it wasn''t nearly tall enough.


    300 meters was a bit small for a mountain.


    However, it could also not really be called a hill since it was quite steep and jagged.


    Also, it was made of rocks.


    So, the city just decided to call it the local mountain.


    The entire mountain was probably around a kilometer wide.


    Back when the red mist hadn''t been in Crimson City, people could see the mountain as long as they looked toward it from an elevated position.


    After all, back then, there had still been massive walls around the city, blocking the view.


    Nick looked up at the mountain.


    This was the first mountain he had ever seen up close.


    Yet, it wasn''t impressive in any way.


    The megastructure of Crimson City dwarfed it.


    When Nick looked towards the right, he saw that part of the mountain''s foot had turned yellow and brittle.


    The mountain was directly adjacent to the Desert, and the eastern part of its foot was already inside the Desert''s domain.


    Based on the difference between the normal mountain and that part, there was apparently still some moisture to be gained from a stone.


    The five of them would need to be extremely careful not to identally enter the Desert''s domain.


    The next moment, Nick led his people to the western side of the mountain.


    He wanted to climb the mountain from the west since that meant turning their backs on Crimson City and the Crimson Sea.


    As long as they didn''t turn around, they wouldn''t die.


    It was like Roaching.


    Nick stepped behind everyone while Jason, Petra, and yton went to the front.


    Jenny was in the middle.


    The three people at the front became quite nervous, but they knew that they had signed up for this.


    They were now supposed to do what they were here for.


    Naturally, Nick and Jenny were behind the three of them since it would be problematic to save them in case of an ambush if that meant turning around.


    Because of that, the strongest in the group had to stay at the back.

 Chapter 364 364 – The Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 364 Chapter 364 ¨C The Mountain</h4>


    "Let''s go," Nick said from behind.


    The three at the front wanted to look at each other for reassurance, but that was quite dangerous.


    Sure, right now, the Crimson Sea wasn''t looking at them yet, but it was better not to get used to looking at each other.


    Eventually, yton stepped forward, and the other two quickly followed.


    Jenny kept her rifle ready and also walked forward.


    As the four of them walked forward, Nick felt his ability reactivate again.


    ''Means nobody is following us.''


    Then, Nick also started to walk forward.


    Nick''s goal had actually been the mountain from the very beginning.


    The Swallowing Swamp had only been a short pitstop for him since he just wanted to confirm if it really was just a Force Specter.


    There were a couple of reasons why Nick wanted to look for Specters on the Mountain.


    The first was that he was certain that not many people looked at the mountain after the city gained ess to the outside again.


    Even Specialists weren''t safe from the Crimson Sea, and any wrong turn was fatal.


    The second reason was the fact that the Desert was directly adjacent.


    Since the city was so interested in the Desert, many Experts and even the asional Specialists were there.


    With so many powerful people there, why would they need to send a weak team of Extractors to the mountain?


    The Specialists would just look at it from the ground, and that would be search enough.


    Maybe some Experts and Specialists also looked around a bit, but that was it.


    What if there were a Specter here?


    What if it were a Hatchling, Adolescent, or Adult?


    Obviously, with only Experts and Specialists appearing here, the Specter wouldn''t dare to show itself.


    But if there were a couple of Initial Johns¡­


    Nick was hoping that there was a Specter here and that it was desperate for some food.


    Sadly, the chances were higher that there was simply no Specter here.


    While the effects of the Specters could be seen all over the world, finding weak Specters that were easy to catch was still very difficult.


    The five of them slowly climbed the mountain.


    Suddenly, Nick''s ability deactivated.


    However, he had been prepared for that.


    After all, the Crimson Sea, which was about three kilometers away from their current location, could probably see them by now.


    At this moment, several eyes were probably looking at the five of them from a distance.


    Luckily, the five of them couldn''t be seen by anyone in the city since the red mistpletely blocked them.


    The five of them continued climbing.


    Naturally, all of them were nervous and even scared.


    Nick felt especially nervous due to his ability being inactive.


    He always relied on his ability to tell him if somebody was looking at him, and his ability didn''t work anymore since the Crimson Sea was constantly looking at him.


    What if someone from Anatomy had found them climbing the mountain and was currently preparing to shoot at them from the base?


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t turn around to check.


    He just had to believe that nobody was currently aiming a gun at them.


    The five of them slowly ascended the mountain.


    They wanted to go very slowly so that any possible Specter had ample opportunity to ambush them.


    Nick was constantly ready to explode forward.


    While he was willingly using his employees as bait, he would still do his absolute best to protect them.


    They entrusted him with their lives, and he would not disappoint them.


    As they climbed the lonely mountain in the middle of the wastnd, they looked upward.


    They were about halfway to the top.


    Nothing had attacked them yet.


    All the stone around them was just as grey and jagged as it always was.


    Nothing was happening.


    Was there a Specter or not?


    The answer seemed to be negative.


    Nevertheless, they remained vignt during their climb.


    They continued climbing.


    And eventually¡­


    They reached the top.


    yton slowly crawled onto the rtively even ground on the tip of the mountain.


    He wanted to be sure that nobody from the Desert could see him.


    The others waited.


    Some secondster, he crawled backward back to the group.


    "There are three people near the Desert," he said. "Stay low."


    The other four slowly continued advancing until they also reached the top.


    And then¡­


    That was it.


    They were there.


    There was nothing here.


    Several seconds of silence passed.


    "Let''s go back down," Nick said. "Keep in mind not to turn around. We have to descend the mountain without looking down or backward."


    The others nodded without looking at Nick.


    Then, Nick slowly walked backward and grabbed the edge.


    Climbing down without looking down was stressful and strange, but thanks to their powerful bodies, it wouldn''t be very problematic.


    Their descent was many times slower than their ascend, and Nick saw the four of them slowly descending.


    His ability was still deactivated, making him nervous.


    What if there was a Specter standing right behind him right now?


    Nick did his best to remain calm and vignt.


    They continued descending.


    Nick''s ability would soon reactivate ag-


    "AAAHH!"


    "DON''T LOOK!"


    BOOOOOOOM!


    All hell broke loose.


    Nick saw four long and thin appendages shooting out of the mountain.


    These four appendages surrounded Petra and immediately pulled back into the mountain at insane speeds.


    Nick could only see the light of Petra''s Barrier shining before she was gone.


    The scream hade from her.


    As soon as Nick had seen what was going on, he had screamed not to look.


    It was important that nobody turned around to look at Petra during this crisis lest they see the Crimson Sea.


    At the same time as Nick shouted, Jenny jumped backward, away from the mountain.


    And then, she fired her rifle.


    A cloud of grey dust had appeared as soon as the four appendages shot out, and it was difficult to see whether or not Jenny had hit her target.


    However, Nick trusted in her aim.


    Most likely, she had hit the enemy without hitting Petra.


    "I''m fine!" Jenny shouted from above Nick. "I cannd on my own!"


    yton and Jason had been slightly in front of Petra, and they had jumped up the mountain a bit to get away from whatever had just happened behind them.


    BANG!


    The stone below Nick exploded as he shot forward.


    In an instant, he reached the grey cloud.


    And then, he saw it.


    A hole leading into the dark mountain.


    There would be no sunlight in there.


    BANG!


    Without hesitation, Nick charged in.

 Chapter 365 365 – Dark Specter

    <h4>Chapter 365 Chapter 365 ¨C Dark Specter </h4>


    Nick immediately charged into the dark hole.


    The hole was around two meters wide and led deep into the mountain.


    As soon as he jumped into the hole, terrifying faces appeared all around him.


    They were allughing maniacally as they tore into Nick''s flesh.


    Nick tried his best to ignore them, but it wasn''t very easy to ignore the sensation of being torn into pieces.


    "Petra!" Nick shouted as hended somewhere after falling for a while.


    "Boss!"


    Nick gritted his teeth as Petra''s voice came from all directions at the same time.


    He had no other choice.


    WHOOOM!


    In an instant, an explosion of light appeared around Nick, banishing the Nightmare''s influence.


    This was the ability Nick had gained after working with the Blinding Light.


    For just a short moment, a picture of Nick''s surroundings was burned into his eyes.


    He was in a long, wide, and dark cave.


    It was almost three meters high and around five meters wide.


    Even more, the cave was actually pretty straight.


    At that moment, Nick had also heard sounds of fighting from one direction.


    Sadly, everything became chaotic again as the darkness returned.


    Nick narrowed his eyes and started to shine, but this time, he was giving off a weak light continuously.


    It was barely anything, and the cave was still quite dark, but it was enough to weaken the Nightmare''s influence to a point where Nick could actually navigate his surroundings.


    At the same time, he felt a strong drain.


    This ability was not designed to be used continuously, and the drain on Nick''s Zephyx was terrifying in rtion to how little light he was producing.


    The conversion of Zephyx to light was horrible.


    Nick immediately charged down in the direction in which he had heard the fighting.


    He rounded a corner and heard the shuffling getting louder.


    Even though he had only used his light for a couple of seconds, he had already lost nearly 50% of his Zephyx.


    When Nick rounded another corner, he deactivated his light after looking at theyout of the pathway in front of him.


    The faces returned, and Nick jumped forward with all of his speed.


    BANG!


    Nick hit the wall at the end with his arms and immediately jumped forward again.


    This time, he didn''t know what awaited him at the end of the hallway since he had only seen the beginning of the hallway.


    BANG!


    Nick hit the wall again.


    But then, Nick''s eyes shone.


    His ability had just deactivated!


    WHOOOOM!


    Nick exploded into a burst of light again, using up an entire 20% of his Zephyx.


    In that short moment, Nick could see his surroundings.


    About 20 meters away, down another hallway, he saw a man who was nearly 2.5 meters tall.


    The man perfectly blended into the dark surroundings, and his ck eyes had been looking at Nick.


    The man had six extremely long and thin arms with thick hairs growing out of them.


    They looked almost like the limbs of a spider.


    In the middle of those limbs was a dark, elongated sphere.


    This had to be where Petra was.


    Nick had seen all of that in an instant before the cave became dark again.


    As soon as the cave became dark, Nick''s ability reactivated.


    This was the effect and purpose of his ability.


    By sacrificing a big part of his Zephyx, Nick could create a powerful burst of light with a strong blinding effect.


    Nick immediately jumped down the hallway with all of his power as the faces returned to tear chunks out of him.


    In an instant, Nick hit the wall again.


    That was bad.


    After all, he had jumped towards the Specter''s location.


    It seemed like the Specter had evaded to the side, dodging Nick''s charge.


    As soon as Nicknded, his ability also deactivated due to the sound.


    Most likely, the Specter was right beside Nick.


    Nick had to make a decision.


    Use up even more of his Zephyx?


    Blindly attack but risk killing Petra?


    Retreat?


    In an instant, Nick gritted his teeth, narrowed his eyes, and made his decision.


    He quickly put his forearms in front of his face.


    CRKSH!


    Amongst all the unending pain the Nightmare was inflicting on him, Nick felt an actual impact on his chest.


    Sadly, he couldn''t tell how much damage he had taken since he was being torn apart in his perception anyway.


    Did he receive a harmless punch, or did his entire lower torso just vanish with that attack?


    Nick couldn''t tell.


    He only knew that he had been attacked by something real.


    And that was what he had bet on.


    Nick immediately jumped forward and felt something solid, which he then toppled over.


    His hands grabbed something.


    WHOOOOOM!


    That was when Nick unleashed another explosion of light.


    Several things appeared in Nick''s perception.


    The dark Specter''s chest was right below him.


    The Specter''s human but nk face looked directly at Nick with a dead expression.


    Several long appendages were readying to strike Nick.


    The dark orb that should have been Petra was below Nick.


    Lastly, Nick could see how injured he was.


    There were three red spots on his torso.


    However, Nick could tell that his abdominal muscles were still in mostly one piece.


    This confirmed his guess.


    ''This is not an Adult but a strong Adolescent!''


    Earlier, Nick had decided to deactivate his Barrier to take a hit.


    Like this, he wouldn''t lose any more of his precious Zephyx.


    However, if the enemy were an actual Adult, Nick would have been torn apart.


    Yet, wouldn''t an Adult have directly attempted to kidnap him?


    Or what about Jenny?


    A weak Adult would have taken Jenny since she had five times as much Zephyx as Petra, and a strong Adult would have taken Nick.


    So, Nick was sure that this had to be a strong or average Adolescent.


    And by getting attacked, Nick could tell where his opponent was in the dark.


    As soon as Nick realized that he had been correct, all uncertainty vanished from him, and he looked into the dark eyes of the Specter.

 Chapter 366 366 – Silk

    <h4>Chapter 366 Chapter 366 ¨C Silk</h4>


    Nick''s ability was still inactive since he was currently in physical contact with the Specter, but that didn''t matter.


    His des activated, and Nick punched forward.


    BOOOM!


    Nick''s de and fists buried into the ground.


    Just now, Nick had attacked the Specter''s neck, and he was certain that he had just decapitated it, which had been his goal.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t want to kill the Specter, but something like that wouldn''t kill one.


    BANG!


    Nick felt something hit his side.


    With his superior reaction speed, Nick managed to grab the appendage, which could barely move inside his grip.


    CRKSH!


    Nick used his de and cut off the base of the appendage, throwing it to the side.


    Since Nick''s body was a lot more powerful, the Specter could barely do anything to defend itself.


    It could hit and injure Nick, but every time it hit its opponent, it would lose one of its appendages.


    After getting rid of another three appendages, Nick grabbed the body of his opponent and rammed it against the wall with a lot of force.


    "SUBMIT OR DIE!" Nick shouted.


    Not waiting for an answer, Nick immediately threw the Specter onto the ground again, putting his foot on what he thought was its torso.


    Then, he waited.


    Every second, Nick felt like he was being torn apart.


    However, he didn''t feel any physical impact, even though the enemy should still have a couple of limbs left.


    ''It gave up,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick searched for the ck sphere, which should be Petra.


    He found it quickly and felt how soft but firm it was.


    It was probably spider silk.


    Nick tore it apart and activated a slight bit of his light.


    At that moment, he could see his surroundings again.


    The Specter was missing its head and half of its limbs, and it was currently lying on the ground, unmoving.


    Nick could also see Petra through the opening he had created.


    She was unconscious.


    She had most likely run out of Zephyx, which had knocked her unconscious.


    ''It''s the silk,'' Nick thought as he looked at it.


    Just now, when Nick had torn the silk apart, he had also felt a drain on his Zephyx.


    Apparently, the silk absorbed any kind of Zephyx.


    If Petra were in Zephosis, running out of Zephyx for a prolonged period of time would prove fatal.


    Not having ess to Zephyx was like not having ess to air.


    Luckily, Petra was only an Initial John, and her body still mostly used food and oxygen to stay alive.


    Nick quickly tore her out of the silk cocoon and put her body over his shoulder.


    Then, he deactivated the light again since he only had 10% of his Zephyx remaining.


    An instantter, Nick took out two wires from his toolbelt.


    Those were Zephyx Suppressors, and he quickly wound them around the Specter below him.


    "As long as you''re nice, you will get enough food and be stronger," Nick said.


    The next moment, Nick grabbed the Specter''s leg and drag-


    Whom.


    Nick stopped as the Nightmare''s influence vanished briefly, and a weak red light appeared for a short moment.


    ''What the fuck?'' Nick thought as he turned around.


    Then, he took a deep breath and shone with very weak light for just an instant, wasting another 2% of his Zephyx.


    Nick only now noticed that the walls and ceiling were covered in silk, and he also noticed that they were at a dead end.


    This was the Specter''sir.


    But then, where had the bright lighte from?


    Nick gritted his teeth and waited.


    The Nightmare was tearing him apart again, but he wanted to know what was going on.


    Then, some secondster, the Nightmare''s influence vanished again, and this time, Nick could see what had happened.


    A weak red light shone through the silk wall at the end of the hallway.


    Nick quickly walked over while dragging the Specter with him.


    Shing! Shing! Shing!


    He cut through the silk and tore it off the wall.


    The red light appeared again, but this time, it was much brighter.


    The red light came from a spot about two meters high, and Nick had gotten rid of the silk in front of it.


    It was an electricalmp?


    Or light?


    Nick had never seen these kinds of lights before since Sce''s lights seemed very friendly and warm.


    But these lights seemed artificial and sterile.


    ''But how?'' Nick thought. ''These kinds of artificial lights shouldn''t work against the Nightmare''s influence.''


    ''And yet, I feel no Zephyxing from that light, but it still managed to stop the Nightmare for just a moment.''


    ''I have to know what''s going on here.''


    Nick started to tear even more silk off the wall.


    When his hands came into contact with the wall behind the silk, Nick realized something.


    ''That''s metal, not stone!''


    Then, Nick made a decision.


    BOOOOM!


    He activated his des again and attacked the wall.


    All of Nick''s de sunk into the wall, but it still didn''t reach the other side.


    This wall was extremely thick!


    The next moment, the Nightmare''s influence vanished again as the red light started to be bright and constant.


    At the same time, an ear-grating rm rang out.


    With the brighter light, Nick could finally see what was in front of him.


    A steel door.


    The light came from above the door.


    ''A ruin?'' Nick thought.


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    He had nevere into contact with a ruin before.


    It was no secret that there were many ruins all over the world from lost civilizations, but Nick had never seen one.


    Aegis was very careful about these ruins, and any information on past civilizations was kept highly confidential.


    Most likely, Aegis hadn''t found this ruin yet.


    Naturally, Nick was very interested.


    ''But I can''t enter right now,'' he thought as he looked at the Specter and Petra.


    ''I have to bring these two back to the group first.''


    Nick looked onest time at the steel door before walking away.


    He would bring the Specter and Petra to the group, and then, he would take a look at this ruin.

 Chapter 367 367 – Brave and Stupid

    <h4>Chapter 367 Chapter 367 ¨C Brave and Stupid </h4>


    Nick turned away from the steel door and ran down the hallway.


    Since Petra was unconscious, she wasn''t affected by the Nightmare, and the Specter that Nick was pulling behind him wasn''t affected anyway.


    However, Nick had to oppose the Nightmare''s influence again.


    Every time it happened, it was horrible.


    It was impossible to get used to it.


    Whenever Nick came into contact with the Nightmare, he reexperienced the most painful time of his life.


    The more it happened, the more nervous and afraid Nick grew of the darkness.


    And yet, he just gritted his teeth and did what he had to do.


    It wasn''t easy, but life also wasn''t easy.


    Luckily, Nick memorized where he had to go, and he also became much better at navigating while under the Nightmare''s influence.


    Back when he had swum through the sewers, Nick hadn''t been able to navigate inside the Nightmare''s influence since he still relied on outside feedback.


    After rounding yet another corner, Nick used just a slight bit of light.


    By now, his head had already started pounding, and his body began to shiver due to the low level of Zephyx.


    Nick saw the hole in that short moment and jumped towards it.


    He activated his left de and rammed it into the stone while he pulled the Specter with his right.


    Naturally, Petra was slung over his left shoulder.


    Nick jumped from wall to wall, and as he ascended, the Nightmare''s influence weakened.


    And finally, Nick saw some actual sunlight!


    With onest jump-


    Nick immediately rammed his two hands into the walls to stop himself.


    Cold sweat broke out all over Nick''s body.


    ''I nearly died!'' he thought in terror.


    If he had jumped out without a n, he would have involuntarily looked at the Crimson Sea!


    Nick took a deep breath to calm down.


    "Jenny! Are you there?" he shouted after a bit.


    "Boss!" Nick heard several people shout.


    The next moment, Jenny appeared over the exit of the hole, looking at Nick with exhration.


    "Yes, Boss!" Jenny answered.


    "Come down and grab Petra. She''s lost consciousness, but she''s still alive," Nick said.


    When Jenny heard that, her eyes widened in shock.


    Nick had managed to save her?!


    Everyone had expected that Petra would already be dead.


    But despite all odds, she was still alive!


    When they saw Nick jumping into the darkness, several conflicting thoughts went through everyone''s minds.


    They had to save Petra!


    Jumping into the hole would be suicide!


    Nick was insane!


    Nick was brave!


    Nick was stupid!


    Nick valued his employees!


    Nick was putting one person above everyone else''s survival!


    Everyone''s thoughts had traveled to both extremes several times.


    Jumping into the darkness to save Petra was idiotic and suicidal, but on the other hand, it showed Nick''s loyalty and resolve.


    Naturally, the three Initial Johns had believed that Nick would protect them, but they had still felt a bit taken advantage of and unhappy.


    Sure, Nick would try his best to save their lives, but he wouldn''t risk his own.


    But now, they had been proven wrong.


    Nick had jumped into the Nightmare''s domain while running after an unknown Specter with unknown power.


    And he had seeded!


    Nick''s actions touched them deeply, and they no longer felt bad about risking their lives.


    Nick was putting his life on the line for theirs, and it was only right for them to do the same.


    "Sure, let mee down," Jenny said as she climbed into the hole.


    While Jenny was climbing down, she saw a ck torso with inhuman appendages hanging from Nick''s right hand.


    Jenny had to take a deep breath to calm down.


    Coming into contact with an unknown Specter was always scary.


    Luckily, Nick had already put Zephyx Suppressors around it.


    Jenny took hold of Petra and lifted her out, being very careful that her head never faced the Crimson Sea.


    "I''ll throw the Specter out next. Be careful. It''s most likely a Mid, Late, or Peak Adolescent."


    Some secondster, Nick threw the Specter out of the hole.


    Since it didn''t have a head, it couldn''t look at the distant Crimson Sea.


    Nick heard a small scuffle from outside the hole.


    As he threw the body out, he also noticed something new.


    The Specter was actually missing a leg!


    Nick was certain that he had only torn off about three of the spider arms.


    This meant that the leg had probably been obliterated by Jenny''s rifle.


    It had most likely run through the cave by using its spider legs.


    "Done!" Jenny shouted. "I have my rifle to its torso!"


    "Good," Nick shouted. "I''m not going toe out immediately. I found something in the cave, and I want to take a look at it."


    "You found something?" yton asked, his head poking out from the side.


    "I''m not sure what it is yet," Nick said. "However, it seems quite important. If I''m not back within an hour, you can assume that I''m dead, but I highly doubt that I will die."


    The Extractors felt nervous when they heard that.


    Nick was going to be in the darkness for an hour?


    However, after what Nick had just done for Petra, they didn''t dare question his intentions.


    "Of course," Jenny said. "We''re going to wait out here."


    "Good," Nick said before falling back into the darkness.


    Then, he charged down the pathway from earlier.


    Luckily, since nobody could sense him right now, he was much faster, and he didn''t need to endure the Nightmare''s influence for long.


    Nick had been gone for barely a minute, and the rm was still going.


    Fortunately, this also meant that the red light was shining, which banished the Nightmare''s influence.


    Nick stopped in front of the steel door and took a deep breath.


    Then, he tore all the silk from the door, revealing the entire thing.


    On the right side of the door was a small monitor that looked very simr to the ones controlling the Containment Units.


    Yet, while the monitors of the Containment Units had unclear and simple disys, the picture in this disy was crystal clear.


    It was almost like it was a window.


    Nick had never seen such an insanely advanced monitor before.

 Chapter 368 368 – Steel

    <h4>Chapter 368 Chapter 368 ¨C Steel</h4>


    Right now, the disy on the right was blinking red, and Nick could see a big exmation mark appearing and disappearing.


    ''This disy most likely shows the door''s status,'' he thought.


    Then, he looked around the disy.


    ''But there are no levers or buttons anywhere. Can I not operate it?''


    Nick put his finger on the disy, and he saw it change.


    Letters and words Nick had never seen before appeared on the disy.


    He had no idea what the disy said.


    Nick tapped the disy a couple more times and noticed that dots appeared in the middle every time he pressed.


    ''It actually reacts to my touch. This is so strange,'' he thought.


    The dots stopped appearing after they became eight.


    ''I presume this is some kind of password to deactivate the rm and to open the door.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''Yeah, I''m not going to be able to guess that, and there is probably also some kind of fail-safe.''


    ''Might as well go in the hard way.''


    SHING!


    The de on Nick''s right arm activated, and he rammed it into the door.


    Luckily, since the rm was already active, nothing surprising happened except for Nick''s de burying into the door.


    ''This is just normal steel. Maybe it''s a bit harder than normal steel, but not a lot more,'' Nick thought.


    ''But it''s a lot of steel. That door is probably over half a meter thick.''


    ''Why would they use that much steel, though? Why not use materials treated with Zephyx? What''s the point of putting ten meters of steel in front of me when I can just cut through it?''


    ''Did they not have ess to better materials? Were they that primitive?''


    Nick looked at the disy to the right.


    ''No, probably not. That disy is clearer and more versatile than any I have seen. Even the disys for the Fog''s Containment Unit aren''t this advanced, and that Containment Unit costs millions of credits.''


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    ''Did they not have ess to harder materials?''


    ''I mean, without Zephyx, steel should be the hardest material you can get in bulk.''


    ''So, did they not have ess to Zephyx?''


    The more Nick thought about it, the more sense it made.


    But then, he remembered what had happened when the Crimson Sea broke out.


    Nick had seen a bit of what had happened back then, and Wyntor and Julian had also told him what had happened.


    The ruins immediately below Crimson City were made of materials harder than steel, and the ruins below those, which should be even older, were made of even more durable materials.


    They definitely had ess to Zephyx.


    Even more, the entire floor of ruins had been made with extremely durable materials, which meant they were notcking in those.


    So then, why was only steel here?


    There were discrepancies that didn''t make any sense to Nick yet.


    Nick''s de easily cut through the door like it was slime.


    After cutting out a circle, Nick grabbed the inner part and pulled.


    CREEEEEE!


    The entire door creaked loudly and violently.


    Right now, Nick''s ability was active, which meant that he was 500 times as strong as he would be as a normal person, and his body was already extremely athletic.


    One could say that he was 1,000 to 1,500 times as powerful as a normal human.


    Naturally, even the extremely thick steel door was groaning under his power.


    Yet, nothing actually happened.


    Apparently, being that strong still wasn''t enough.


    ''Change of ns,'' Nick thought as he put the side of his right de to the door.


    CRRRRRRR!


    Then, he moved it down like he was shaving the door.


    Ayer of steel came off and rolled up like it was cream.


    Nick grabbed the roll and threw it to the side before he pulled off anotheryer.


    It took a couple of minutes, but Nick managed to finally get through the door.


    Shockingly enough, the door was two whole meters thick!


    As soon as Nick got through the door, he was surprised to see bright lights everywhere.


    He found himself in a hallway that was brightly lit with lights on the ceiling.


    Even more, these artificial lights seemed to keep the Nightmare at bay, which was still crazy to Nick.


    Sure, Sce could do the same thing, but they had a Specter.


    ''Wait, does that mean there''s also a Specter here?'' Nick thought.


    But then, he looked back at the destroyed door behind him.


    ''Not sure. If they had a Specter, they would probably have ess to harder materials.''


    ''What is going on?''


    Next, Nick looked around the hallway.


    It was made of uniform steel, which was colored with green and orange colors, creating a certain kind of style.


    Nick saw no gaps in the steel except for the doors at the side, which was crazy.


    ''Did they melt all of this into one? That''s insane!'' Nick thought.


    The next moment, Nick saw something to his right.


    He knew what that was.


    A locker, and a big one at that!


    Even more, there were ten of those.


    While the rm was still screaming into Nick''s ears, he walked over to one of the lockers and tried to open it.


    Sadly, it was locked.


    CRK!


    Nick just used more power and tore the door off, which was about ten centimeters of steel.


    When Nick saw the thing behind it, his eyes blinked a couple of times in surprise.


    It was a suit made of steel!


    It was a bit taller than two meters, greenish ck, and the face was made of ss.


    Nick grabbed the suit and pulled.


    CRK! CRK! CRK!


    The suit was fixed to the wall, but Nick just pulled the bolts out with the suit.


    Then, he looked at it while he handled it like a shirt.


    ''Is this some kind of primitive armor?'' Nick thought. ''I don''t think walking around in steel is veryfortable.''


    ''Maybe it''s harder than it looks?''


    Nick grabbed one of the feet of the suit and squeezed.


    CREEEEEEE!


    And turned it into a thin tube.


    ''Or not,'' he thought. ''Can something like this really act as armor?''


    ''Were the people of the past really that primitive?''

 Chapter 369 369 – The Ruin

    <h4>Chapter 369 Chapter 369 ¨C The Ruin</h4>


    Nick put the suit to the side and walked down the corridor.


    When he came to the first door at the side, he found that it didn''t have a way to open it.


    There was only a small device above it.


    Nick pushed lightly, but the door didn''t budge.


    CRRRRR!


    Then, he just put his de in and cut out a circle.


    BANG!


    The circle fell into the room, making a loud sound.


    The room was also brightly lit and just as loud as the hallway.


    Based on the steel shelves, Nick guessed that he was in some kind of storage room, and he could also immediately tell in what kind of storage room he was.


    Everything was filled with guns.


    It was just that their designs were quite different from the guns that Nick regrly saw in Crimson City.


    Nick walked over to one of the guns and held it up.


    He had learned how to operate a gun, even though he wasn''t using one.


    However, he still had to get familiar with this new kind.


    After looking at it for a bit, he pointed at the wall and pulled the trigger.


    SSSSSS!


    The sound of something sizzling came from the wall, and Nick''s eyes widened.


    A small hole formed in the wall as liquid steel flowed down from the wall!


    That thing had burned a hole in the wall!


    The most shocking thing was that there had been no recoil or sound of gunfire.


    Nick had just pressed the button, and a small hole had appeared in the wall.


    Several questions immediately popped into Nick''s mind.


    ''How is this thing so strong?! Even I might receive some injuries!''


    ''Why would they use armor made of steel when one of these guns can just burn a hole through them?!''


    ''Why is everything in here so weak while these guns are this strong?''


    Nick looked at the shelves and saw 30 identical guns.


    If 30 people aimed these guns at Nick, even he might die.


    Although, if the guns were wielded by normal people, they wouldn''t even be able to aim at him due to his speed.


    Nick looked at a couple more guns and tried them out.


    Eventually, Nick found guns that gave off the typical sound of gunfire and shot bullets.


    But with that came something else that shocked him.


    That gun had shot over 20 bullets in just a second!


    Nick wasn''t sure if Crimson City had guns that fired this quickly.


    Eventually, Nick put the guns to the side and left the room.


    He walked further down the hallway and entered another door by cutting a hole in it.


    Sadly, while Nick could see several steel shelves again, the only things on them were several piles of dust.


    Nick guessed that this storage room housed organic materials, which had long since decayed into dust.


    The next room was quite big, and Nick saw many bedframes made of steel.


    All of the bedframes were covered in hugeyers of dust, but there were also some randomly scattered piles of dust in different ces.


    Strangely, there were a couple of metallic objects lying around the dusty piles.


    Near some of them were handguns.


    Almost all of them had some kind of metallic tag with text cut


    into them in anguage Nick didn''t understand.


    There were also a couple of square objects that perfectly fit in


    one''s hand.


    Surprisingly, one of the sides of these objects was made of


    ss or something simr.


    It felt very simr to the material the monitor outside the main


    door was made of.


    There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to where the piles


    were ced.


    Nick also found a couple more objects, but he couldn''t be sure


    what they were since oftentimes, only the metallic shell was


    left from the original object.


    He left the room after a while and continued down the hall.


    Whenever he reached a door, he cut a hole in it and looked at


    what was behind it.


    Piles of dust.


    Some kind of crater made of metal.


    Piles of heavy, yellowish metal bars.


    A big hall with many steel benches and tables.


    The big hall also had many piles of dust with items strewn


    around them.


    After around 30 minutes, Nick had looked at over ten different


    rooms.


    And then, he found another huge door at the end of the


    hallway.


    Beside the door were two piles of dust.


    However, these two piles of dust also had two of these crazy


    powerful guns lying in them.


    That was when Nick realized something.


    ''Wait, are these piles humans?'' he thought.


    Every pile had some personal items lying beside them, and


    almost every single one had some kind of weapon lying beside


    it.


    ''So, every pile of dust is a human?'' Nick thought.


    The locations of all the piles shot through Nick''s mind.


    ''Could the piles on the beds also be former humans?''


    ''If so, doesn''t that mean that they died in their sleep?''


    Nick looked at the two piles beside the door.


    ''Those two piles are positioned like they are guards. Does this


    mean that they died while guarding the door?''


    ''The two piles are very uniform. I don''t think they died while


    fighting something.''


    ''Does that mean everyone died without even noticing?''


    ''Did everyone just spontaneously die without being able to


    react?''


    Nick''s heart rate increased as he thought about that.


    That was quite scary.


    ''What killed them?''


    ''Was it a Specter?''


    ''Could be, but I''m not sure.''


    Nick focused on the big door in front of him.


    ''This door seems quite important, and if I were to design this


    ce, I would put the headquarters behind this big door.''


    Nick looked at the door for a bit longer.


    Then, he took out his de and cut a hole in the door.


    BANG!


    The round te of metal fell into the room behind the hallway,


    and Nick could finally see what was behind the door.


    And when he saw it, his eyes widened.

 Chapter 370 370 – The Machine

    <h4>Chapter 370 Chapter 370 ¨C The Machine</h4>


    There were screens everywhere!


    Nick could see metallic chairs in front of big tables filled with screens!


    The room was over twenty meters wide and long, and almost everything was covered in screens!


    Even more, all the screens were active, and they all disyed different things!


    Nick could still hear the rm, and he could also see that the light in the room was lightly pulsing at the same rate as the rm.


    When Nick looked closer, he saw many piles of dust near the monitors.


    Not even the people here saw their deathsing.


    Nick walked over to the first monitor and looked at it.


    It was filled with random drawings and words he couldn''t read.


    Nick randomly pressed different buttons on the disy, which changed what it was showing.


    After some time, the disy stopped reacting to Nick''s inputs, and he just scratched the back of his head.


    So, he just went to the next disy.


    ''Wait, is that the mountain I''m in?'' Nick thought as he looked at the image on the disy.


    He could see the outline of the mountain and the outline of the ce he was in inside the mountain.


    The outermost door and the door to this room were blinking red.


    ''Huh?'' Nick thought as he saw that there was a huge room even further in.


    Nick looked forward and noticed something.


    The huge monitors at the end of the room were not actually monitors but windows.


    Nick had thought that they were just inactive monitors since they were just ck, but after looking more closely, he could see the outlines of a couple of objects behind them.


    He decided to ignore the monitors for now and went to the door at the side, which seemed to lead into the huge room at the end.


    Then, Nick saw something beside the door that he was very familiar with.


    A switch!


    An actual switch!


    He knew what to do with that!


    Nick pressed the switch.


    Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Nick''s eyes widened as one light after the other turned on behind the windows.


    Now, he could see what was in the room, and he was shocked at what he saw.


    It was an absolutely gigantic machine!


    There were metallic tubes, lights, and disys everywhere!


    Even more, there were several parts of the machine that were actually moving from time to time!


    ''This has to be the power source!'' Nick thought. ''I don''t know how old these ruins are, but it''s crazy that this thing is still working after so long!''


    Nick pressed another button beside the door.


    SHING!


    And the door opened by vanishing into the wall.


    That was when Nick felt something shocking.


    Zephyx!


    The air flowing out of the big hall was filled with Zephyx!


    ''Wait, so they do have ess to Zephyx?!''


    Nick took a deep breath and entered the big hall.


    The density of Zephyx in the air was crazy.


    Nick decided to approach the machine, and the closer he got, the higher the density of the Zephyx became.


    By now, Nick was certain that the Zephyx came out of the machine.


    ''Is there a Specter in there?'' he thought.


    However, that didn''t seem very likely.


    ''So then, is this machine making Zephyx out of Prephyx?'' Nick thought in shock.


    ''But that''s impossible!''


    ''Only Specters can do that!''


    Nick just looked at the machine in stunned silence.


    By now, he had be quite nervous.


    ''This is too big for me,'' Nick thought as the same feeling appeared as when Envy had targeted him for the first time.


    ''This is something for Aegis.''


    Nick turned around and left the room.


    However, before he left the big room with the disys, he decided to take a look at a couple more.


    Maybe he could learn something.


    On one of the monitors, he saw a map.


    Sadly, he had no idea what kind of map this was.


    Nick also saw a top-down view of this ce on one of the monitors.


    This top-down view showed another two big rooms adjacent to the huge room with the Zephyx machine.


    Most of the monitors just had some indecipherable things on them.


    However, there was one with a very interesting picture.


    There were many balls on a diagram of different sizes.


    There was a huge one in the center, and there were several more balls of different sizes in different locations.


    However, there were two balls that were different from all the other ones.


    One of the balls was surrounded by a red circle.


    Even more, there was a much smaller ball beside the circled ball, and that small ball was marked with an upside-down red triangle with a big dot inside it.


    It was obvious that the red symbolized danger or hostility.


    Nick just scratched the back of his head in confusion.


    He had no idea what this image represented or what it was trying to tell him.


    Nick looked at the remaining monitors but couldn''t find anything else of value.


    ''I guess that''s it,'' Nick thought. ''I have been here for about 40 minutes now. I shouldn''t keep the others waiting.''


    Nick turned to the huge room with the Zephyx machine.


    He quickly made a decision.


    ''I have to tell Aegis about this ce.''


    ''Although, I''m not sure if this is big enough to call Simon. After all, he''s a Protector.''


    ''I should probably just tell the governor.''


    At that moment, Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''The governor can''t be trusted,'' Nick thought.


    ''What if he just keeps all of this to himself and tries to silence me? He doesn''t give a shit about the poor people, so why should he give a shit about me?''


    Nick looked at the exit with narrowed eyes.


    ''I can''t risk my life like this.''


    ''The governor can silence me without many issues, but it won''t be so easy if he has to talk to someone more powerful.''


    ''I guess the best option is to tell Julian about all of this.''


    ''Most likely, he will just sell the location of this ce to the governor or Aegis.''


    ''Like this, we will get some profit, and I get to keep living.''

 Chapter 371 371 – Way Back

    <h4>Chapter 371 Chapter 371 ¨C Way Back </h4>


    Nick left the room with all of the monitors and made his way back to the cave.


    About 45 minutes had passed since he had gone back into the mountain, and he had found many interesting things.


    Sadly, many things didn''t seem to make much sense.


    Why were this building and these suits made of steel while the weapons could destroy steel so easily?


    How did all of these people die?


    What did all these things on the monitors mean?


    How could that big machine produce Zephyx?


    Sadly, Nick didn''t have the means to uncover all these mysteries.


    He had no idea how to speak the ancientnguage or how to operate these machines.


    ''These things are beyond my paygrade,'' Nick thought as he walked out of the big building.


    ''Maybe these things will make sense at some point, but right now, I have no idea what any of this means.''


    Nick looked into the darkness of the cave.


    ''And it''s also not important. Knowing more about these things won''t help me in improving the lives of the weaker people.''


    ''What''s important is that we can use this to earn a lot of money, which will help the weaker people in the long run.''


    Nick started to shine in a weak light.


    By now, his Zephyx had already fully recovered, and it would be enough to get back to the entrance without having to go through another torture session with the Nightmare.


    Nick ran through the cave and jumped up into the hole again.


    Shortly before he reached the exit, he stopped.


    "Everyone still here?" Nick shouted.


    Nick heard some shuffling and saw Jason peeking over the edge of the hole.


    "Wee back, Boss! We were worried about you," he said.


    "Everything alright?" Nick asked as he slowly approached the exit with closed eyes.


    "No issues," Jason said as he moved to the side. "Petra woke up."


    "Good to hear," Nick said as he grabbed the wall of the mountain again. "Sound off."


    "I''m here, Boss," Nick heard Jenny from his left.


    "Here," yton said from below Nick.


    "I''m here," Petra said, also from below Nick.


    "Eh, here," Jason said from beside Nick.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t dare to look around right now, which was why he asked them to sound off.


    "Is the Specter here?" Nick asked.


    "Right here, Boss," Jenny said.


    Nick moved to his left and extended his hand.


    He felt the cold and rugged hairs of the Specter''s spidery limbs.


    Nick pulled the Specter over to himself and put it under his left arm.


    "Let''s go," he said before he started to descend.


    Then, the group started to descend the mountain.


    Descending the mountain was still quite scary since none of them had seen the foot of the mountain in a long while.


    What if someone was there?


    Eventually, everyone reached the bottom, and Nick was the first to look around.


    After not being allowed to look in one direction for so long, everyone was nervous about turning around.


    What if they could still see the Crimson Sea?


    Nick was the only one who was calm since his ability had already reactivated.


    Of course, he had to throw the Specter to the side first to test whether or not the Crimson Sea could see him.


    For the first time in a long while, Nick looked around his surroundings.


    Nothing special.


    It looked just like before.


    "It''s fine. You can look around," Nick said.


    Everyone else slowly looked around, and their anxiety vanished when they couldn''t see the Crimson Sea.


    Then, everyone looked at the Specter.


    Only Jenny and Nick had seen the Specter properly.


    When Petra, yton, and Jason saw the Specter, they were quite surprised.


    They weren''t surprised by the Specter''s appearance but by the fact that it was obviously missing several limbs.


    It seemed like Boss had done quite a number on it.


    Right now, the Specter was still recovering, and only the lower part of its jaw had recovered.


    In probably half a day, it would have recovered its head, after which it would focus on its limbs.


    All in all, it would probably need around two days to recover fully.


    "Boss," Petra said after a sigh.


    "We can talkter," Nick said as he grabbed the Specter. "We need to get back to the city first."


    "Sure," Petra said with uncertainty.


    Nick looked around the group. "Everyone ready?"


    He saw a couple of nods.


    Nick nodded back and ran towards the south while his team followed him.


    Right now, Nick was especially careful.


    After all, they were carrying quite a conspicuous Specter.


    A minuteter, they reached the Swallowing Swamp.


    It wasn''t very noticeable, but the Swallowing Swamp had lost about two centimeters of depth.


    The most dangerous part of the journey was over.


    After all, the most powerful Extractors were near the Desert, which had been just beside the mountain.


    Luckily, the people there didn''t like looking towards the city for obvious reasons.


    The group continued traveling towards the west.


    Suddenly, Nick''s eyes were drawn to the south.


    There, he met eyes with another person.


    The person was a man with dark hair who was looking at Nick with furrowed brows from a distance of about 300 meters.


    He wore the uniform of a Veteran belonging to Anatomy.


    It was quite obvious that the Veteran had just been near Anatomy''s Infester and was just going elsewhere.


    ''Just my luck,'' Nick thought.


    "Change trajectory," Nick ordered his team.


    The next moment, they started to run towards the northwest instead of the west.


    Instead of running towards the valley, they were now running past the northern wall of the valley, directly towards the city''s entrance.


    The reason why they had traveled through the valley was that it was difficult to see them from a distance unless someone else was looking directly into the valley from one of the edges.


    But since they had been spotted, they no longer needed to stay hidden.


    In fact, it was now better to travel as openly as possible.


    After all, killing was still very illegal, and Kugelblitz would love seeing someone from Anatomy trying to kill someone else.


    When the man from Anatomy saw Nick change trajectory, he turned around and ran towards the south, towards Anatomy''s Infester.

 Chapter 372 372 – Black Hair

    <h4>Chapter 372 Chapter 372 ¨C ck Hair</h4>


    Nick''s heart rate increased when he saw the man running towards the south.


    ''There is most likely at least one Expert there,'' Nick thought.


    "Jenny, take the Specter!" Nick shouted as he threw the Specter to Jenny.


    Jenny caught it, and Nick jumped past her.


    "Continue towards the city, everyone!" Nick ordered. "I will keep watch over our back!"


    The team started to run at full speed while Nick ran behind them.


    Fortunately, his ability had activated again, which meant that no one was looking at him right now.


    Nick kept looking towards the south as he ran after his team.


    They were about four kilometers away from the city''s entrance, but there were a couple of hills between their current location and the entrance.


    "Do not turn around! Just keep running!" Nick ordered with a shout as he felt his ability deactivate after Petra nced back.


    Petra quickly turned forward again, but she was still worried for Nick.


    After a couple of seconds, Nick turned to look at his team.


    He wanted to make sure that if his ability suddenly deactivated, it wasn''t because one of his teammates was looking at him.


    Twenty secondster, only three kilometers were between them and the bridge.


    Nick''s ability deactivated.


    Nick rapidly looked in all directions.


    But there was nobody!


    He couldn''t see anyone looking at him!


    "DO NOT TURN AROUND!" Nick shouted.


    WHOOOOM!


    Suddenly, a huge ball of light appeared around Nick.


    The four Extractors running in front of Nick felt like everything behind them was being swallowed by light.


    Nick lost 80% of his Zephyx by making the ball of light so bright but now was not the time to save Zephyx.


    And it was worth it since his ability reactivated again.


    As soon as it did, he turned his back to the direction of the city and jumped.


    Nick was jumping backward over his group while reaching a height of nearly a hundred meters.


    At that height, Nick had to be extremely careful not to look at the city identally.


    However, it also allowed him to see the person that had just been looking at him.


    Right now, the person was rubbing their eyes furiously.


    This was why Nick''s ability cost so much Zephyx.


    It had such a strong blinding effect that even Veterans and weak Experts would lose their eyesight.


    Even more, the standard Barriers on the market were not designed to block this kind of light.


    "Woman from Anatomy! Standardized MK-45 guns! ck hair! At least Veteran!" Nick shouted as loud as he could, his powerful voice traveling for over two kilometers.


    By now, the woman''s eyes had recovered, and she red at Nick, who was touching the ground again in front of the group.


    Her hands shook in frustration.


    And then¡­


    She turned around and ran towards the south.


    Naturally, this had been Nick''s goal.


    If a dead person loudly announced the appearance of a person moments before they died, it would seem very likely that this person would be the killer.


    Nick had announced enough attributes of the woman''s appearance so that anyone could identify her.


    Naturally, her goal had been to kill Nick.


    She was one of Anatomy''s Experts, and her position was already high enough that she was involved in several of Anatomy''s illegal activities.


    Anatomy was looking closely at Dark Dream, and Dark Dream''s CZE was one of their main targets.


    Yes, the woman had actually not been interested in the Specter.


    She hadn''t been here to steal the Specter but to kill Nick.


    Sadly, she had just heard about Nick being outside from the Veteran who had run towards their Infester.


    If she had time to prepare, she would put a cloak on, change her weapons, and stalk the group until she could take care of them in silence.


    However, the group was already running back to the city on high alert.


    Because of that, she didn''t have any time to prepare.


    And since Nick had just uncovered her, she couldn''t kill him anymore.


    She definitely had the power to kill Nick and his four teammates.


    That would barely take five seconds.


    But what if someone else was present and heard Nick?


    What if the guards at the city''s entrance heard him?


    After all, his shout had been extremely loud.


    Well, if Nick suddenly died, everyone would look at her.


    She would most likely be found guilty and executed, and even more, Anatomy would receive brutal punishment as well.


    Even if she were willing to sacrifice herself, killing Nick now would make Anatomy furious.


    Yes, they wanted Dark Dream, but the risk-to-reward ratio was atrocious right now.


    The good thing was that she hadn''tmitted to attacking yet.


    Even if Dark Dream reported her, she could just say that she was passing by.


    However, one thing still severely annoyed her.


    ''Lucky bastard,'' she thought. ''He used that sh exactly when I was aiming at him!''


    Nicknded in front of the group and looked towards the east, the ce where that Extractor had just aimed at him.


    Fortunately, nothing happened in the next couple of seconds.


    When the team was only two kilometers away from the bridge, they got to a spot that was visible from the city''s entrance.


    "Hey!" Nick shouted, waving at the distant guards.


    Some of them looked at the distant Nick.


    They had heard his shout earlier, and they knew exactly what happened.


    When they saw the ck body that Nick was carrying, they knew why someone had targeted them.


    Naturally, the guards were not happy to see Nick carrying a Specter.


    These four guards were working for Anatomy, Kugelblitz, and Ghosty''s Lab, and they would rather have the Specter in theirpanies.


    Sadly, there was nothing they could do.


    They just watched as Nick''s group approached them and walked past them into the corridor.


    "Lucky bastard got a Specter," one of themmented.


    No one answered him.


    When Nick saw the two Experts in front of the bridge, he sighed in relief.


    They were safe now.

 Chapter 373 373 – Back at Dark Dream

    <h4>Chapter 373 Chapter 373 ¨C Back at Dark Dream </h4>


    Nick and his employees approached the two guards in front of the bridge calmly.


    The two people at the entrance of the bridge had already noticed them, and when they saw the ck body on Nick''s shoulders, their eyebrows rose in surprise.


    "You got another one already?" one of them asked in surprise.


    Nick nodded. "I was lucky," he said as he dumped the ck body onto the ground.


    The two guards looked with interest at the body.


    "What does the Specter do?" one of the guards asked.


    "Nothing rted to mentality," Nick said. "It''s only physically dangerous, and the Zephyx Suppressors around it are still active."


    Naturally, Nick was telling them that he wanted to pass and that there were no issues.


    One of the guards looked at the Zephyx Suppressors around the Specter. "How strong is it?"


    "Adolescent," Nick said. "Between Mid and Peak."


    The two guards still looked with surprise at the Specter.


    It wasn''t that they were surprised that there was a Specter but that Nick managed to catch two in less than two hours from each other.


    He had to be insanely lucky!


    "Alright, everything checks out," one of the guards said, gesturing towards the bridge with his head. "You can go."


    Nick grabbed the Specter and put it over his shoulders again. "Thanks," he said before he walked to the bridge.


    "You''re not getting a third one today, are you?" one of the guards asked.


    "If I go outside again, I will not return alive," Nick said.


    The two guards knew what Nick meant.


    They used to work for other Manufacturers, and they knew about the hidden conflict.


    "Understandable," the guard said.


    Nick and his employees walked across the bridge.


    When the guards guarding the inside entrance saw the Specter, their eyebrows rose in surprise.


    Dark Dream got a Specter?


    Naturally, every Manufacturer in the city would know about Dark Dream''s new Specter within the hour.


    "We''re done for today," Nick told his team when they arrived in front of Dark Dream. "Good work. I expect you back at work in two days."


    The four people rxed noticeably.


    They had been quite nervous during the entire excursion since any person could have died out there.


    And their fear had not been unfounded.


    After all, Petra had nearly died, and they had also been spotted by Anatomy near the end.


    Luckily, they got what they wanted.


    Two Specters!


    "Thank you, Boss," yton said with his dark voice.


    "I''m the one that should thank you," Nick said neutrally.


    "Big guy! Let''s grab a drink!" Jason shouted withughter as he grabbed yton''s shoulder.


    yton looked at Jason, and his serious expression rxed a bit. "It''s been a while," he said.


    "I know!" Jason shouted.


    Then, he turned to Petra. "Hey, you also wannae?"


    Petra looked at Jason and thought for a bit.


    "Of course, just give me a small moment," she said.


    Then, she turned to Nick with a very serious expression.


    "Boss, you''ve saved my life," she said. "Thank you so much! I will repay you someday!"


    "No thanks necessary," Nick said. "Our agreement was that you would be bait and that I would protect you. I simply did what was expected of me."


    A rxed smile appeared on Petra''s face. "Yes, but it still means a lot to me. Not many people would have charged into the darkness to save me. Please, just let me thank you."


    Nick looked at Petra, and an ufortable expression appeared on his face. "Okay, sure."


    yton and Jason looked with shock at Nick''s expression.


    Their stone-faced and serious Boss could also have this kind of expression?


    When Petra saw Nick''s face, she smiled brightly. "Thank you," she repeated.


    Nick awkwardly nodded, and Petra walked over to Jason and yton.


    Jason shook his head to recover. "Drinking time!"


    Then, he took the lead and walked right toward the Inner City.


    yton looked at Petra and gestured to Jason.


    "Oh, right," Jason shouted as he turned around while walking away. "See you in two days, Jenny!"


    Jenny just smiled. "Have fun! See you soon!"


    Petra and yton also said their goodbyes before leaving for the Inner City.


    Nick just looked after them as they were leaving.


    "You did well today," Jenny told Nick.


    Nick didn''t say anything since his mind was upied with something else right now.


    Jenny looked at Nick with an uncertain expression.


    "I''ll go talk to Taren and see if everything''s alright. See youter, okay?" she said as she approached Dark Dream''s entrance.


    "Sure, good work," Nick said absentmindedly.


    When Jenny had seen Nick''s uncertain expression earlier, it was like she had been transported to the past.


    Back then, Nick had had this expression on his face every day.


    He had always been so unsure and lively.


    But over the years, he just became quieter and quieter, and two years ago, when that thing with the Crimson Sea happened, he changed even more.


    Jenny wasn''t sure if she had heard Nick''s genuineughter within thest two years.


    She also knew that Nick didn''t even own a home or house.


    He was literally inside Dark Dream all the time, only working.


    Did he even have hobbies?


    Did he have friends?


    It didn''t seem like it.


    Jenny remembered the early days of Dark Dream with fondness.


    They weren''t rich, but it had felt quite intimate and warm with just Wyntor, Nick, Trevor, and herself.


    Sadly, things were different now.


    Trevor and Wyntor were dead.


    All the employees they had gained from Cycle were dead.


    Except for Nick, Jenny was now the employee who had been with thepany the longest, and it wasn''t even close.


    Thinking about the past put Jenny in a mncholic mood.


    But then, she perked up again.


    Sure, Wyntor and Trevor were dead, but the people who reced them were just as great!


    While Taren seemed much more driven and hungry for acknowledgment than Trevor, it was easy to get along with him, and he also inspired confidence in others.


    And Wyntor''s sessor was even better!


    Julian was Jenny''s best friend, and even though they were now boss and employee, their friendship was doing just as great as before.


    Maybe even better!

 Chapter 374 374 – Payment Plan

    <h4>Chapter 374 Chapter 374 ¨C Payment n</h4>


    As Jenny walked back into Dark Dream, Nick looked at his three distant employees.


    Petra''s words made Nick feel strange.


    He genuinely didn''t feel like he had done anything to be proud of.


    They had had an agreement, and he had simply fulfilled his part of the agreement.


    He had protected his employee.


    But when Petra had been so thankful, Nick felt unnatural.


    It was like he was not supposed to be in this situation.


    People were not supposed to be thankful to him.


    He felt like he didn''t deserve their thanks.


    Nick knew that he had done horrible things in the past, and he knew that it was almost impossible to redeem himself.


    His only hope of redemption was to make Crimson City into a utopia.


    But the chances of that dreaming true were low.


    If it happened, Nick felt like it would be natural to be showered with thanks and praises.


    Right now, though?


    It felt wrong.


    ''Even if I saved one life today, that doesn''t even make a dent into the thousands I owe,'' Nick thought as he took a deep breath.


    Breathing was no longer that important for Veterans, but Nick still sighed and took deep breaths in stressful or relieving situations due to habit.


    Nick just slowly shook his head, grabbed the Specter, and walked into Dark Dream.


    Ironically, Petra''s words made Nick feel worse.


    If she had said nothing, he would feel better.


    epting her thanks was like taking something that didn''t belong to him.


    He almost felt guilty.


    As soon as Nick saw the first mouth on the wall inside Dark Dream, his mood returned to normal again.


    Whenever he was reminded of Julian''s existence, he was reminded of his goal as well.


    Looking at Julian was like looking at his debt and his payment n for said debt at the same time.


    Nick walked to the third floor of the building, and just as he expected, Julian was already waiting in front of the Specter''s future Containment Unit.


    "You already got another one," Julian said with a chuckle.


    Other people might find Julian''s chuckle to be polite and friendly, but in Nick''s ears, it just sounded confident and arrogant.


    He was the only one who knew Julian''s true face, and he hated it.


    However, he still believed that Julian was a better fit for leadership of the city than the current governor.


    Nick went to the console of the Containment Unit and opened it.


    The rm of the opening Containment Unit thundered throughout the entire building, reminding Nick of the rm inside the ruin.


    But right now, the Specter was more important.


    Several secondster, the Containment Unit opened, and Nick threw the Specter into it.


    Then, he closed the Containment Unit again.


    Done.


    The Specter was now securely suppressed in thest free Containment Unit on the third floor.


    The other three Containment Units on this floor contained the Bleeding Lady, the Puppy, and the Money Sink.


    It was an entire floor filled with Physical Specters at the Adolescent Stage.


    ''Bleeding Lady is still a Mid Adolescent. The Puppy is still an Early Adolescent. The Money Sink is a Late Adolescent, but she advanced only recently.''


    ''This new Specter might be the strongest Specter on this floor, but I don''t think that it''s about to be an Adult, based on its strength.''


    ''The Fog and the Lover are Mid Adolescents, and the Dung Heap is soon going to be a Peak Adolescent.''


    ''None of them will be Adults within the next four years.''


    ''The Dreamer is the only one that will advance within that timeframe, and only because I had to renegotiate its ratio of Zephyx.''


    ''However, it needs another two years or so to be an Adult.''


    ''We really need an Adult,'' Nick thought as he looked at the Containment Unit housing the new Specter.


    ''The new Specter won''t be valuable enough to purchase an Adult, but it''s at least something.''


    Nick nced at Julian.


    ''Let''s hope this piece of information is worth enough. I don''t want to stop advancing for several years.''


    "I have to talk to you in your office, Julian," Nick said.


    Julian''s human body raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Of course," he said.


    Nick could feel the confidence in his control in Julian''s words.


    The two walked up to the seventh floor of the building and entered his office.


    Julian sat down behind the desk, and his face transformed into a morphing mass of mouths.


    Nick showed no reaction to Julian''s appearance.


    This was the ugly face of his actions, and he had to look at it every single day.


    "I presume there''s more?" the mouths said as he appeared and vanished from Julian''s face.


    "Yes, there''s more," Nick said.


    Nick told Julian everything that happened after he left the city for the second time.


    "And you risked your life for her?" Julian asked with a ridiculing voice.


    "It was our agreement," Nick said.


    "Right, agreement," Julian said as if he didn''t care.


    Nick knew that the word agreement triggered something in Julian.


    It wasn''t trauma or something like that.


    It was annoyance.


    Julian''s entire existence and power relied on bets, which were agreements.


    Julian was the only being who couldn''t break an agreement without causing significant damage to itself.


    Naturally, these agreements made him feel stifled.


    Agreements were like chains that were binding him.


    That was why he had a specific dislike and disgust for people who kept their agreements, even though they could break them without any consequences.


    It was like somebody who had the freedom to do something but refused to do it.


    But Julian also knew that he shouldn''t speak too badly about agreements.


    After all, he and Nick had one, and he didn''t want Nick to think that he would betray and kill him.


    But Nick already knew.


    While Julian''s acting and his mask were perfect outside, he wasn''t good at hiding his intentions when he wasn''t wearing his mask.


    It was not difficult for Nick to see how much Julian hated keeping agreements.


    "And then, I noticed something," Nick said while recounting what happened.


    "There was some lighting from behind some of the silk, and that light worked against the Nightmare''s influence."

 Chapter 375 375 – The Old World

    <h4>Chapter 375 Chapter 375 ¨C The Old World </h4>


    When Nick started talking about the steel door, Julian became very interested.


    Nick could tell that Julian was enraptured in the story by the fact that his mouths were not flowing as smoothly anymore.


    Instead, they were sometimes flowing faster and slower.


    This happened because Julian was no longer focusing on "appearing beautiful and mesmerizing".


    "And you went inside?" Julian asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "What did you find?"


    Nick told Julian about the piles of dust, the weapons, the steel armor, and so on.


    However, there was one thing he was keeping secret.


    And that was what he had seen on the monitors.


    These things were going to be seen by Aegis, and Aegis was humanity''s biggest shield.


    Nick was willing to tell Julian about the building and what it contained, but he didn''t want to tell him about the information from there.


    Maybe Julian would have suspected that Nick wasn''t telling him everything.


    However, that thought didn''t even ur to him since Nick dropped a bomb.


    The machine!


    A machine that made Zephyx!


    Even if Nick kept something secret, it wouldn''t be nearly as big and important as this machine!


    "A machine that produces Zephyx?" Julian asked.


    "Correct," Nick said. "At least, that''s my assumption. I couldn''t make sense of any of it."


    "I wouldn''t expect you to," Julian said with a chuckle. "From what you''ve been telling me, it seems like this ruin belongs to the Old World."


    Nick was a bit surprised.


    He hadn''t expected that Julian knew something about the ruins.


    "The Old World?" he asked.


    Julian chuckled.


    "The first world," Julian said. "You''ve seen the ruins below the city, right?"


    Nick nodded.


    "The firstyer of ruins is built on anotheryer of ruins, which is built on anotheryer of ruins."


    "Eachyer has different materials and is made with a different architectural style."


    Julian chuckled again. "You remember Albert? Your mentor?"


    Nick just absentmindedly nodded.


    "He was part of a team that worked on learning about past civilizations. I know all of this by talking to him and his colleagues."


    "Apparently, there are tens of thousands of years of history buried beneath Crimson City. Civilizations upon civilizations rose and fell here."


    "And as far as I can tell, the ruin you visited came from the Old World, which is the oldest civilization we know of."


    "The Old World is one of iprehensible technological advancement but also one of unprecedented weakness."


    Nick''s brows rose in surprise. "How is that possible?" he asked.


    Julian chuckled some more.


    "Because Specters didn''t exist back then. At least, that''s the theory," Julian said.


    "Specters didn''t exist?" Nick repeated in shock.


    A world without Specters?


    How?!


    Nick''s first thought was immediately about the Sun.


    The Sun was a Specter, right?


    So, how was the world back then?


    Was itpletely dark?


    And with no Nightmare, was everyone just okay with living in the darkness?


    Did people even need eyes, then?


    But then, Nick was reminded of themps in the ruin.


    Right!


    Since they didn''t have light back then, they had to make their own light!


    Without light, they couldn''t look at the world, which was why they created their own light!


    ''A world without Specters,'' Nick repeated in his mind.


    That seemed absurd.


    Specters seemed just as eternal as humanity.


    Tens of thousands of years¡­


    That was such a long time.


    What had happened back then?


    ''That also exins why everything was made of steel,'' Nick thought. ''Without Specters, there''s no Zephyx, and without Zephyx, you can''t make Zephyx materials.''


    ''Wait, but they had Zephyx! They had this machine!''


    ''But with Zephyx, they also should have ess to powerful materials, and the humans should have also been able to be more powerful.''


    ''But they didn''t?''


    Nick''s mind was filled with contradictions.


    Nothing made sense.


    "The technologies from the Old World are iparably advanced," Julian said. "Albert and his team looked at them, and for most of them, they couldn''t even tell what they were used for."


    "Nobody in the city even has a clue how the technology from the Old World works. The only things that make sense are their normal guns. We know how these work."


    "However, the parts needed to construct these guns need to be so incredibly precise that it would take an Expert years to learn to make one, and every gun would take days or weeks of focused manufacturing to produce."


    "And for what? For a gun that loses its effect on level two Extractors."


    Julian chuckled again.


    "The Old World is mystical."


    "I''m not surprised that the Old World found a way to create Zephyx."


    "But I am surprised that you found such a machine."


    Nick was still lost in thought.


    So many things didn''t make sense.


    "Why did you tell me?" Julian asked.


    Nick was taken out of his thoughts and looked at Julian.


    "Because I don''t want to die," Nick said.


    "Oh?" Julian repeated. "You think you wouldn''t be able to hide it and that I would kill you for keeping it a secret from me?"


    "No," Nick said. "It''s not you killing me. It''s the governor."


    Julian remained silent for a bit.


    Then, he began to chuckle.


    Apparently, he found Nick''s logic to be quite amusing.


    However, he didn''t tell Nick why he found it amusing.


    "Interesting," Julian said. "You fear that the governor wants to silence you if you tell him. So, you told me first so that I can tell him since I don''t need to fear such retaliation."


    Nick nodded. "Also, the information about the ruin''s location is probably also worth quite a bit."


    "It sure is," Julian answered. "I can get quite a bit out of this."


    "Aegis is very interested in ruins from the Old World, and the cities have to tell them if they found one of them."


    "Aegis will most likely send some people to look into the ruin, and the city definitely gets something out of this."


    Julian chuckled yet again.


    "It was smart of you to tell me since you wouldn''t be able to make use of this information."


    "But I can."

 Chapter 376 376 – Asking for a Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 376 Chapter 376 ¨C Asking for a Meeting</h4>


    Nick walked past the guards and entered the Inner City.


    He and Julian had talked just a couple of minutes ago, and Julian had just sent him to schedule a meeting with the governor.


    Due to Anatomy, Julian still couldn''t leave Dark Dream.


    Nick walked past all the happy people in the Inner City and approached the central administration building.


    This building was the hub for citizens who wanted to talk to the city''s administration.


    Nick walked past the two Johns guarding the door and entered.


    Inside, Nick saw two counters manned by two normal people employed by the city.


    Right now, both counters were busy.


    From what Nick could hear, one of the people was talking about marriage while another one was talking about and dispute.


    In front of the city, everyone was equal.


    Normal people and Extractors both had to wait.


    At least, that was how it was portrayed outside.


    Nick had to wait for five minutes for one of the counters to be free, and he approached.


    The middle-ageddy behind the counter looked at Nick with a very polite smile, which was rather funny since she had talked to the people before Nick with a bored and annoyed tone.


    Of course, she had seen that Nick was a Veteran, and she didn''t want to offend someone this powerful.


    "Wee, how may I help you?" she asked with a friendly tone.


    "My name is Nick Nick, and I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream," he said.


    The woman''s eyes widened.


    A Chief Zephyx Extractor!


    She had never talked to one of those!


    Chief Zephyx Extractors basically all lived in the upperyer of the Inner City, which had its own administration office.


    Someone working for the administration office down here never got to talk to someone with such a high status.


    "And I need to schedule a meeting with the governor," Nick added.


    The administrator''s eyes widened again, and she took a deep breath.


    There were people who asked about meeting the governor, and of course, none of them got one.


    However, this was a Chief Zephyx Extractor!


    Could he get a meeting?


    Frankly, she wasn''t sure.


    Offices like this worked with processes and set rules.


    And the process for asking for a meeting with the governor was a t refusal.


    Someone living in the loweryer of the Inner City couldn''t be important enough to meet the governor.


    But this was a CZE!


    "Could you please wait a moment?" she asked as she stood up. "I need to consult my superior."


    Nick just nodded.


    The administrator left and entered a different office.


    Over a minute passed.


    Eventually, the administrator and someone else walked back.


    It was a smaller man with ck hair, and he wore the uniform of a John working directly for the city.


    "Hello, my name is Johanson Mithras, and I''m the department head," the man said. "You are Dark Dream''s Chief Zephyx Extractor?"


    "I am," Nick said with a nod.


    "Good," the man said. "Are you asking for a meeting, or is Dark Dream asking for a meeting?"


    "Dark Dream," Nick said.


    "Just to be sure, you have the authority to represent Dark Dream?" he asked.


    "I own 40% of Dark Dream," Nick said, "and I was sent by the person owning the other 60%."


    "Julian, right?" the man said with a smile. "I know him!"


    Nick only nodded without borating.


    "Alright, that should qualify for a meeting," Johanson said. "Excuse me, but I haven''t done this process before. It might take a while."


    "No problem," Nick said.


    Nick waited in silence as Johanson looked through several sheets of paper.


    Minutes passed.


    "How urgent is it?" Johanson asked, still searching through sheets of paper. "On a scale of one to five, where one is not urgent at all, and five represents an imperative security risk to the public."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "I would say three," he said. "I''m quite sure that the governor would want to meet us sooner rather thanter."


    "Us?" the man asked.


    "Dark Dream''s CEO, Julian Nergiar, wants to meet him inside Dark Dream''s building. Due to some matters, he can''t leave the building right now."


    Johanson seemed uncertain. "I''m not sure if that is going to work."


    "Just tell him that Julian wants to meet him," Nick said. "He wille."


    "Well, okay, but I can''t promise anything," Johanson said. "I will send the request up to the upperyer. Sadly, I don''t know how long that will take to be processed. It could be minutes, but it could also be days."


    "I will send someone to Dark Dream when we know more, okay?"


    "Sure," Nick answered.


    The two of them said their goodbyes, and Nick went back to Dark Dream.


    When Nick entered Dark Dream, he noticed an absence of mouths on the walls.


    Naturally, Julian knew that the governor would appear at some point, and having his mouths all over the walls was a bad look.


    Nick told Julian about what he had discussed with the administrator and returned to work.


    There was nothing to do except wait.


    Luckily, just two hourster, they already got their answer.


    A tall man with ck hair stepped into Dark Dream''s building.


    When he entered, he seemed a bit annoyed by the fact that the building was angled towards the side.


    That seemed quite unsafe.


    He walked up to the receptionist, who looked at him with widely opened eyes.


    Was that the governor?!


    The governor was here?!


    The receptionist didn''t even say her practiced line and just looked at the governor in shock.


    "Julian wanted to meet me," the governor said with a neutral tone.


    "Markus! You came!"


    The governor, Markus Julius, looked towards the staircase.


    Julian stood there with a smile stered on his face.


    Markus had met Julian a couple of times, but they had never really had the time to have a proper conversation.


    One of them had always been in a rush.


    "Julian," Markus said in greeting.


    The governor wasn''t offended by Julian using his first name.


    Outside of big meetings, the governor was fine with Specialists and Heroes calling him by his first name.


    "Please,e up to my office. I have some good news."


    The governor raised an eyebrow.


    Good news?


    That was rare.

 Chapter 377 377 – Private Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 377 Chapter 377 ¨C Private Meeting</h4>


    "I''m d that we finally found some time to talk," Julian said as he led Markus up the staircase.


    "Agreed," the governor said. "Your absence during the big meetings might not raise many eyebrows, but people might start to suspect things if you keep being absent."


    Julianughed in difort. "Yes, I know. Sorry. It''s just very difficult right now due to Dark Dream''s status."


    "If I leave, any random Expert from a certain Manufacturer mighte and free our Specters. I don''t think either of us wants that."


    Markus didn''t seem surprised by what Julian said.


    Naturally, he knew exactly what was going on.


    He knew that all the Manufacturers were essentially warring with each other in secret.


    Sadly, there was not much he could do about it.


    The only thing he could do was to make it illegal and punish whoever was caught, which increased the risk associated with starting an attack.


    But that couldn''t stop them.


    The only way to stop these attacks was to increase the level of surveince.


    However, that would anger the Manufacturers since that would make it extremely difficult to break thew.


    Naturally, every Manufacturer was breaking thew in some way, and the governor knew that.


    Sadly, if he tried too hard to catch every illegal thing going on, the Manufacturers might work together to dethrone him.


    Markus was most likely the strongest Extractor in the city with Aria Light being his onlypetitor, but not even he could resist four different Heroes attacking him at the same time.


    Because of that, it was important to give the Manufacturers a bit of freedom.


    As long as they had some freedom to do what they wanted andpete, they wouldn''t take the significant risk of attacking the city''s government.


    Markus knew very well that Anatomy was looking at Dark Dream very closely right now.


    However, he also couldn''t publicly acknowledge that he knew.


    After all, he was supposed to uphold thew, and if people realized that he was secretly letting some crimes go, they would be furious and call corruption.


    The two of them reached Dark Dream''s seventh floor, and they saw Nick waiting in front of Julian''s office.


    Markus nodded to Nick in greeting, and Nick politely nodded back.


    Julian opened the door and walked inside.


    Markus followed after him, and Nick enteredst.


    Nick closed the door while Markus and Julian sat down in their chairs.


    After that, he grabbed a chair and moved it to behind Julian''s desk.


    Usually, Nick would sit face-to-face with Julian, but this time, he would sit side-by-side with him.


    "Coffee?" Julian asked with a bright smile.


    "No, I don''t have the time. Please, tell me the reason for the meeting," Markus said neutrally.


    Julian just smiled more.


    "Nick has stumbled upon a ruin from the Old World," Julian said directly.


    Markus'' eyes shone when he heard that, and he immediately looked at Nick.


    "Is that true?" he asked, his voice serious.


    "I do not know if it is from the Old World," Nick said. "However, I told Julian, and Julian thinks it is from the Old World."


    "What have you seen in there?" the governor asked.


    "Everything was made of normal steel," Nick said. "There were guns that made no sound but burned holes into a steel wall. There were many piles of dust. There were very advanced disys everywhere."


    The governor narrowed his eyes as he looked at Nick.


    "And¡­?" he asked expectantly.


    "And a machine that produces Zephyx," Nick said.


    The governor''s eyes narrowed even further.


    "How many people know of this?" he asked.


    Nick became nervous, but Julian''s confident demeanor reassured him.


    "Only the people in this room," he said.


    "Is that true?" Markus asked again.


    Nick nodded.


    Markus kept looking at Nick for a couple of seconds.


    Nick didn''t falter.


    Then, Markus took a deep breath¡­


    And sighed.


    "That''s good," he said. "It''s important that very few people know of these things."


    "Howe?" Julian asked with a casual smile.


    The governor nced at Julian, not having expected that question.


    "Why all this secrecy?" Julian asked. "People can''t make sense of the technology from the Old World anyway. Additionally, the more the people know, the better. From the couple of times we talked, I felt like you had some altruistic characteristics. Wouldn''t you want the people to know?"


    The governor tried to find out what Julian''s goal was with this question.


    Was he calling out some hypocrisy?


    Was this a veiled threat?


    Was it some kind of scheme?


    Yet, when the governor looked at Julian, he only saw casual curiosity.


    It just seemed like Julian genuinely wanted to know.


    Even though the governor talked regrly with many Specialists, they were still all very respectful in front of him.


    Of course, Julian was just as respectful, butpared to the others, he also seemed a bit more personal and forward.


    In a way, Julian was talking to the governor like they were old friends, but there was still deep respect audible in his words.


    It was like they had been colleagues working together in the samepany for years, even though they had talked for fewer than five minutes in total.


    Julian was not breaking protocol, but his manner of speech was only something the governor experienced while talking to the four other Heroes of Crimson City.


    Markus didn''t dislike talking to Julian.


    It was a bit refreshing.


    The governor had been talking to people for over 200 years by now, and he was confident in his ability to unveil hidden intentions.


    He was quite sure that Julian was just curious.


    ''Either that or he is the best maniptor I ever came into contact with,'' the governor thought.


    ''There''s no damage in telling them anyway.''


    The governor looked at Nick, who looked back respectfully.


    "You''re right," the governor said. "It''s better if the people knew about the Old World. Maybe a genius among themon people can even decipher some things and advance humanity."


    "But it''s impossible."

 Chapter 378 378 – The Envious Researcher

    <h4>Chapter 378 Chapter 378 ¨C The Envious Researcher</h4>


    "Howe?" Julian asked, a curious expression on his face.


    "It''s not exactly a secret why, but it''s better if the people don''t know about this," the governor said. "The less the people know about Adversaries, the less fear they feel."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    So, an Adversary was involved.


    "The Envious Researcher is one of the Adversaries that opposes humanity," the governor said. "Aegis is not certain if it has a personal vendetta against humanity or if its way of bing more powerful inherently makes it humanity''s enemy."


    "While the Envious Researcher is not responsible for many deaths, its impact on humanity is probably amongst the greatest out of all the Adversaries."


    The governor looked forward with severity, but his eyes were not focused on anything in particr.


    "Whenever a significant advancement in technology is produced, the Envious Researcher gets attracted."


    "If the significant advancement is only known by a handful of people, its attraction is not very strong, but as soon as the number of people knowing about it reaches the double digits, things be very dangerous."


    "If, for example, you were to tell several people about the machine that produces Zephyx, the Envious Researcher will almost certainly show up¡­"


    "Andpletely destroy the machine."


    Nick looked with surprise at the governor.


    "And the people that know about it?" he asked.


    The governor nced at Nick, and Nick felt like he had spoken out of turn.


    "It depends on how much they know about it," the governor said. "If they only know it exists, nothing will happen."


    "However, if they know a bit about how it works, the Envious Researcher will also destroy them."


    "The Envious Researcher bes more powerful by stopping humanity from advancing technologically. Anyone that develops new technologies is under constant danger with the Envious Researcher out there."


    "Every new technology has to be kept top secret with only a handful of people knowing how it works. If we want to publicize that technology, we need to get past the stage of attraction."


    "That is usually aplished by producing hundreds if not thousands of products including said advancement, distributing them across many cities in secret, and then simultaneously teaching thousands of people all across the world."


    "If enough people know about how it works and if it is too difficult to get rid of the advancement, the Envious Researcher won''t try to stop it anymore."


    "Sadly, publicizing every bit of advancement in this manner consumes great amounts of resources, making it very difficult and costly. Additionally, many people still die during the initial lessons."


    "Teaching the public about technology is extremely dangerous."


    "Luckily, you didn''t tell more people," the governor told Nick. "Otherwise, the machine would probably have already been destroyed."


    Nick looked at the governor with a bit of uncertainty. "Is there no way to deal with it?"


    "I''m not privy to these things," the governor said. "Naturally, Aegis views the Envious Researcher as one of its greatest enemies, but a mere Hero is not someone that can get involved in such matters."


    Nick just nodded, showing that he didn''t intend to ask any more questions.


    "Where is the ruin?" the governor asked, looking at Nick.


    Nick blinked a couple of times in difort.


    Sluuurp.


    At that moment, Julian drank some coffee and released a sigh of rxation.


    Markus furrowed his brows in annoyance.


    "You will get an adequate reward," the governor said.


    Julian smiled brightly and turned to Nick.


    "Nick, could you please lead our governor to the ruin?" Julian asked politely.


    "Of course," Nick said, standing up.


    Markus also stood up.


    "Oh, Markus, one more thing," Julian said.


    Markus turned to look at Julian with a bit of annoyance. "What?"


    "I got something else that might interest the city, but it''s not as important as the ruin. When you''re done with the ruin, could youe back so that I can show you?" Julian asked.


    "What''s this about?" the governor asked.


    "It''s a Specter with a peculiar ability. Based on some theories, it might help against the Forests, and it might even help in weakening the Crimson Sea. However, that second part is not a certainty yet."


    The governor was definitely interested, but just like Julian said, the ruin was of greater importance.


    "I''lle backter," Markus said, walking out of the office while Nick held the door open.


    Julian just smiled.


    Nick quickly led the governor out of Dark Dream.


    Nick was running at a high speed, but the governor had no issue in keeping pace.


    Surprisingly, the people the two ran past didn''t even notice the governor.


    Not even the guards looked at him.


    With enough power and experience, Zephyx could be used for many different purposes.


    For example, Nick regrly used Zephyx to quieten the impact whenever hended on the ground after jumping a great distance.


    Someone as powerful as the governor probably didn''t have any issue using his Zephyx to stay hidden.


    "Just run past them," the governor said as the two of them approached the bridge.


    Usually, Nick needed to identify himself whenever he left, but this time, apparently, he didn''t.


    Nick ran past the guards, and none of them batted an eye.


    Even the two Experts on the other side of the bridge didn''t seem to notice Nick.


    When Nick saw that, the anticipation he felt lessened.


    What if he ran around outside, and an Extractor of Anatomy decided to attack him?


    Wouldn''t it be great if they attacked him while the governor was just beside him?


    Sadly, the governor also hid Nick from the outside.


    The two of them left the corridor and ran towards the east.


    A bit more than a minuteter, the two arrived at the foot of the mountain.


    "It''s in there?" the governor asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "How did you find out that there is a ruin in there?"


    "We were attacked by a Specter," Nick said.


    Nick told the governor what happened while jumping towards the ce where the hole was.


    "You jumped into the darkness to save your employee?" the governor asked with furrowed brows.


    Nick nodded before jumping into the hole.


    The governor looked at Nick jumping into the darkness with an interested glint in his eyes.


    Then, he jumped after Nick.

 Chapter 379 379 – Answers

    <h4>Chapter 379 Chapter 379 ¨C Answers </h4>


    Nicknded in the middle of the cave, inside the darkness.


    The Nightmare had already be active again.


    However, the Nightmare''s influence vanished very quickly as the governornded beside Nick.


    Markus was giving off a bit of light, and he looked at Nick expectantly.


    Nick was a bit surprised that the governor could create light without any noticeable device.


    ''Does he create the light just by manipting Zephyx?'' Nick thought.


    ''Actually, isn''t that how Zephyx Synchronizers work?''


    ''Zephyx Synchronizers just synchronize with a Specter''s powers, which basically means just copying the way they use their Zephyx.''


    ''So, if someone knows exactly how an ability works, and if someone has the skill to manipte their Zephyx this finely, wouldn''t that allow them to use that ability without a fitting Zephyx Synchronizer?''


    ''However, I can''t even imagine how difficult that would be to achieve. That''s like trying to run while manually givingmands to every single strand of muscle I have in my body.''


    "I''m using Zephyx Maniption," the governor said after noticing that Nick was just looking at him. "Please hurry up. It''s quite costly to keep producing the light."


    "Oh, right, sorry," Nick said.


    Nick quickly ran down the cave, and the governor followed him.


    A couple of secondster, the two of them arrived at the door that Nick had destroyed.


    The rm was still loudly making itself known, and the light was still pulsing.


    When the governor saw that, his eyes narrowed.


    "Lead me around," he ordered.


    "Of course," Nick said.


    The two of them entered, and Nick showed the governor the steel suits in the lockers.


    The governor went forward and looked closely at them.


    "Why are the suits so weak and the weapons so strong?" Nick asked over the loud rm.


    The governor furrowed his brows without looking away from the suit.


    It seemed like he was thinking about something.


    Then, without saying a word, the governor put the suit down and went to the other room.


    Nick watched as the governor took hold of one of these insanely powerful rifles.


    Without saying anything, the governor pointed the rifle at one of the suits and pulled the trigger.


    SSSS!


    Surprisingly, several ces on the walls were starting to sizzle while the suit didn''t show any signs of damage!


    When Nick saw that, his eyes widened.


    How was this possible?!


    Nick could tear these suits apart easily, but the guns were an actual threat to him.


    And yet, the suits could resist that threat without any issues!


    "Do you know how the people in the Outer City cook?" the governor asked.


    Nick was taken aback by the seemingly unrted question.


    "Yes, they focus the light-"


    That was when Nick realized what was going on.


    "Wait, this is light?!" Nick asked.


    The governor nodded. "Correct," he said. "And the shell of this suit is made of something that disperses the light. The only way to get through one of these suits is with physical force, and without Extractors, the only way would be high-caliber rifles."


    "We believe that the light rifles were used to break through barricades and to kill humans who were not wearing these suits."


    "We can see what these weapons can aplish, and we can also somewhat understand how these suits defend from them, but we have no idea how these weapons manage to condense this much light to such a degree while using this little energy. We also don''t know how to produce the material that defends against the light."


    "We know it''s possible, but that''s the extent of what we know," the governor said.


    Nick nodded as he looked at the suit with newfound respect.


    ''I didn''t expect him to answer, and I certainly didn''t expect him to tell me this much,'' Nick thought with surprise.


    After that, the governor asked Nick to show him more of the ruin.


    "Remains of a deceased Old One," the governor said as soon as he saw one of the piles of dust. "Have you noticed something about them?"


    Nick was a bit surprised that the governor asked him such a question.


    Nick was only supposed to show the governor around, right?


    But now, the governor was showing him things, and he was even asking him things that the governor most likely already knew.


    "I noticed that their cement seems very organized," Nick said. "Most of them are in ces where you would find humans. Above beds, guarding doors, in front of monitors, and so on. Only very few of them were in random ces."


    "I suspect that they were killed in an instant and that they weren''t prepared for their deaths," Nick said.


    "That''s correct," the governor said as he took hold of one of the small squares lying in one of the piles. "It''s like this in every single ruin of the Old Ones. At least, ording to my knowledge."


    The governor tapped on both sides of the square and shook the dust off it.


    "We think that the Old Ones all died simultaneously without any prior warning."


    The governor searched through the pile until he found a long cord.


    "Every Old One in the entire world died at the same time. We do not know who or what did it."


    The governor put the cord into the square and then walked over to a wall, searching for something.


    "Our most likely suspect is the Sun."


    Nick''s eyes widened when he heard that.


    Wait, the Sun?!


    He knew that the Sun was incredibly powerful, but he hadn''t expected that it could kill every single human in the world simultaneously without any of them being able to react!


    Can Nurse Alice do this as well?


    Can the Nightmare do this?


    It didn''t seem likely.


    Nurse Alice always showed up personally.


    By now, Nick knew quite a bit about Specters and Extractors, and he could also tell how Nurse Alice managed to show up this quickly whenever anyone said the Sentence.


    It was actually very simple.


    It was not some kind of illusion, teleportation, or domain.


    No, Nurse Alice was just very fast.


    Very, very, very fast.

 Chapter 380 380 – Champion of Light

    <h4>Chapter 380 Chapter 380 ¨C Champion of Light</h4>


    The difference in power between amon man and Nick was staggering.


    Even without his ability, Nick was around 150 times more powerful than his base physical body.


    He could jump for over a kilometer.


    He could run faster than 200 kph.


    He could lift things that weighed over ten tons.


    And he was only an Early Veteran.


    The difference in power between a normal person and an Early Veteran was the same in terms of magnitude as the difference between an Early Veteran and a Mid Specialist.


    A Mid Specialist could clear over 50 kilometers in a single jump.


    Their speed would have to be calcted in kilometers per second.


    They could lift over a thousand tons.


    And then, the same difference in magnitude applied again when one went from Mid Specialist to Late Protector.


    The power of such a person was unimaginable.


    And finally, a simr jump would happen when one went from Late Protector to the power of the Eternals.


    Nurse Alice could probably move thousands of kilometers per second.


    She could lift millions of tons.


    Assuming someone on the other side of the world spoke the Sentence, Nurse Alice would barely need a couple of seconds to get there.


    Nurse Alice was unimaginably powerful.


    And yet¡­


    Could she kill every single human in the world at the same time?


    She could probably go to a city, obliterate it with a single strike, jump to the next city, do the same, and so on.


    She could probably destroy a couple of cities in a single second like that.


    But that would be the extent of her power.


    She couldn''t do what the Sun had done.


    What about the Nightmare?


    Well, there was an important distinction between physical power and an ability.


    The Nightmare''s influence was simply its ability, while the Nightmare itself had to be present in a certain location in the world.


    If it wanted to, the Nightmare could jump from city to city and destroy them, just like Nurse Alice.


    Epassing the entire world with its ability while ignoring the sunlight, on the other hand, was most likely too much for the Nightmare.


    So, the Nightmare also wouldn''t be able to aplish what the Sun had most likely done.


    The Maw?


    The Maw was most likely a Physical Specter, and even though it was theorized to be humongous, it also couldn''t be present at the same time everywhere.


    So, the Maw also couldn''t do the same thing.


    The Null?


    Not much was known of the Null, but since it was possible to see it, as evidenced by Nick''s loss of memories and his ability, it was most likely also a Physical Specter.


    Maybe it had some kind of ability that could get rid of every person who knew about it, but that was a qualifier for its power, which put it on the same level as the Nightmare.


    Most likely, the Null also wouldn''t be able to aplish something like that.


    The Sun?


    What kind of ability did the Sun have?


    Where was its body?


    Well, the Sun was in the sky.


    Above everyone.


    At all times.


    No matter where.


    No matter when.


    It was omnipresent.


    And if it was present, it could probably also act upon whoever was in its presence.


    Could it kill every human in the world?


    ¡­


    Most likely.


    ''Is that it''s ability?'' Nick thought. ''Is the Sun that we always see its true body, or is it just part of its ability?''


    ''Is the Sun actually the Sun?''


    ''The other Eternals all need certain conditions to use their powers.''


    ''Someone has to say the sentence.''


    ''A certain amount of people need to reach a certain level.''


    ''Someone has to be in the darkness.''


    ''Someone has to know something about you.''


    ''What about the Sun?''


    ''Does its power have conditions?''


    ''Or can it just use its power however it wants?''


    Nick had been looking at the ground for quite a while now while the governor kept clicking on the square he held in his hands.


    None of them said anything.


    After a bit, Nick nced at the governor.


    He was unsure.


    Why was the governor telling him all of these things?


    ''If he wants to kill me, I''m already dead. There''s no point in being afraid of asking too much,'' Nick thought.


    "Does the Sun have an activation condition for its ability?" Nick asked.


    The governor didn''t answer immediately.


    "Have you heard the story of the Champion of Light?" the governor asked.


    "No," Nick said.


    The governor stopped tapping on the square and turned his head to look at Nick with furrowed brows.


    Nick just looked at the governor normally.


    "Is this some form of joke?" the governor asked.


    "No," Nick said. "Should I have heard of that story?"


    The governor looked at Nick like he couldn''t believe what Nick was saying.


    "That''s very unusual," the governor said. "The story of the Champion of Light is told to every child. It''s a short story about a champion who is the manifestation of every despairing human''s dreams and hopes."


    "The Champion of Light is the manifestation of these hopes, and the more people wish for a brighter tomorrow, the more powerful he bes."


    "Eventually, when humanity is at its lowest point, the dreams of the despairing humans reach a crescendo, and the Champion of Light finally gains the power to destroy the Sun and rece it with himself."


    "The eternal light of the Champion of Light banishes the Nightmare, incinerates Nurse Alice, seals up the Maw, and vanquishes the Null, ushering a new age of prosperity and hope."


    "Parents tell this story to their children to make their lives just a bit more magical."


    Nick wasn''t quite sure why the governor was talking about a fairy tale. "But I''ve never heard about it."


    "Which is why I was so surprised," the governor said. "The story has been deliberately designed to be easy to remember, like, and retell. It''s a ssic."


    "The story has been created by Aegis, and it has a real purpose."


    "After all, the Champion of Light is real."


    Nick''s eyes widened.

 Chapter 381 381 – The Strongest Human

    <h4>Chapter 381 Chapter 381 ¨C The Strongest Human </h4>


    "Wait, what?" Nick asked. "It''s not a fairy tale?"


    "It is a fairy tale," the governor said. "All these things about recing the Sun and vanquishing the Eternals is just a story. However, the Champion of Light himself is real."


    "He''s humanity''s champion, the leader of Aegis, and the strongest human that exists."


    Nick felt like his mind had been hit by a bombshell.


    The strongest human!


    The leader of Aegis!


    "He''s the only human with a Zephyx Synchronizer attuned to the Sun," the governor said.


    Attuned to the Sun?!


    That was possible?!


    ''That''s even crazier than being attuned to the Null!'' Nick thought.


    At that moment, several thoughts shot through Nick''s mind.


    ''So, he has the Sun''s ability.''


    Nick thought about the story about the Champion of Light again.


    ''He takes all the hopes of the despairing humans and ushers in a new tomorrow.''


    ''The story has been designed to be memorable and easy to retell.''


    ''So, this story has been spread by Aegis.''


    ''The more people that know about it, the better.''


    ''Does this mean that the Champion of Light gains power by people believing in him?''


    ''But if he has the power of the Sun, doesn''t that mean that the Sun most likely has the same activation condition for its power?''


    "Does that mean that the Sun gains power by being seen and known by people?" Nick asked.


    "You''re quite fast," the governor said. "Yes, Aegis believes that the Sun''s power is the opposite of the Null''s power."


    "The Null doesn''t want to be seen by anyone."


    "The Sun wants to be seen by everyone."


    "Aegis even suspects that the Sun has a hand in the Nightmare''s creation."


    "Where there is darkness, there is no Sun."


    "The more dangerous the darkness, the more the people want to be in the Sun, and the more they are in the Sun, the more they pay attention to it."


    "The Champion of Light bes more powerful the more people know him and the more often they think about him."


    "Many years ago, Aegis used to constantly post pictures of the Champion of Light in all the cities while reminding everyone of him."


    "Ironically, that ended in people getting annoyed by him, which made them hate him, which made them not put their hopes in him."


    "The damage was devastating, and the Champion of Light had been weakened during that time."


    "I still remember that time."


    "Eventually, they just told the cities to bring the fairy tale of the Champion of Light to the people."


    "The older people who remembered the pictures of the Champion of Light got annoyed, but the young people enjoyed the story."


    "Eventually, it just became normal, and only older Extractors remember the time before the fairy tale."


    "The story has shown remarkable sess, and today, the Champion of Light is at his most powerful."


    "The only reason why humanity''s greatest enemies haven''t eradicated us yet is his presence."


    "The enemy Adversaries can only use gueri warfare. They can only poke us before running away again and hiding."


    "None of them can fight the Champion of Light on their own."


    "If they banded together, they might have a shot at winning."


    "However, Specters are inherently selfish, and they would rather continue growing at their normal rate instead of risking their lives like this."


    "Additionally, time is on their side."


    The governor became silent for a while.


    "The Champion of Light doesn''t have much longer to live."


    "He''s an ancient man by now, the oldest one in existence."


    "He will die within this century."


    The governor frowned.


    "We don''t know if we can resist the Adversaries when that happens."


    Nick''s heart rate had been elevated for quite a while.


    The things the governor was telling him were crazy.


    It was like the governor was telling Nick about the approaching end of humanity.


    "Is there nothing humanity can do?" Nick asked.


    "I don''t know," the governor said. "I know of the problem, but I don''t know what Aegis is doing to solve it."


    "The things I''m telling you are known by everyone that''s involved with Aegis. None of these things are considered secret."


    "It is simply discouraged to tell people who are not involved with Aegis since it could start a panic, and nobody would benefit from that."


    Nick just looked at the governor, unsure.


    Sure, these things were no secrets, ording to him, but it was still strange that the governor took the time to tell Nick about them.


    "Why are you telling me about these things?" Nick asked.


    The governor looked at Nick before looking back at the square in his hand while tapping on it some more.


    "Because of how Simon Francium treated you after your conversation with him," the governor said.


    Nick was reminded of Simon Francium, the Protector who had talked with him after Nick had met Envy.


    Nick had told Simon about his power, fully expecting that he would be put to death.


    Instead, he had received a foreign piece of Zephyx, which he could ess to end his life in an instant.


    In the end, Simon made sure that nothing would happen to Nick and that he would receive appropriatepensation for his services.


    "Aegis does not usually get involved in the cities'' local politics," the governor said. "The fact that Simon Francium made sure that you were properly rewarded was very unlike a representative from Aegis."


    "It is very obvious that Aegis is interested in you, and they are most likely keeping an eye on you."


    "I do not know what you talked about, and I don''t know why they are interested in you."


    "But the fact is that they are."


    "In some way, you are involved with Aegis, and that is a good thing for you and for me."


    "Every governor of every city is also an agent from Aegis. While the governance of every city is up to the governor, the purpose of the cities'' existence is to further humanity''s power and survival."


    "This means we are working for the same team."


    "It means that we are allies."

 Chapter 382 382 – Strong Leader

    <h4>Chapter 382 Chapter 382 ¨C Strong Leader</h4>


    Allies.


    Nick didn''t know what he should think of that word.


    The governor had told Nick a lot about the world, but these were things that were just far too distant.


    When one looked into the distance, one could see where the governor wasing from.


    Humanity needed the Champion of Light.


    The cities were created to further humanity''s survival and strength.


    All the governors were agents of Aegis, and Aegis'' goal was to protect humanity.


    The Specters were extremely dangerous, and humanity had to fight against them.


    All of Aegis had to work together against the Specters.


    ''But doesn''t that sound way too pure and one-sided?'' Nick thought.


    ''All of humanity working together?''


    ''All humans are working to deal with the Specters?''


    ''Everyone is acting in humanity''s best interest?''


    While Nick thought about these things, images from his past showed up.


    People who couldn''t pay the blood tax were turned into husks by the mosquitos.


    Extractors that could kill whomever they wanted from the Dregs just for some credits.


    Manufacturers that squeezed every bit of money they could out of the normal people.


    ''For the good of humanity,'' Nick repeated in his mind with abhorrent disgust.


    The governor''s words sounded very idealistic.


    However, the governor was also quite persuasive and good at convincing people of his viewpoint.


    Maybe Nick would have bought what the governor said¡­


    If it weren''t for Simon Francium.


    Simon Francium had told Nick things that he would never forget.


    ''No organization is without internal conflict, and Aegis is not an exception,'' Nick repeated Simon Francium''s words in his mind. ''Many of the Protectors are forced to fight for humanity. Without the Shields keeping them suppressed, most of the Protectors would just stay inside a city and keep being normal Extractors.''


    ''They wouldn''t even try to fight against the Specters that view humanity as their enemy.''


    ''They would only care about catching Demons and normal Fallen to increase their power and the weight of their pockets.''


    These were the words that Simon Francium had spoken to Nick.


    ''Meanwhile, the governor talks like Aegis is one unit, and whatever it does is for the good of humanity.''


    ''He talks like he thinks of me as an ally and that he tries to do his best to support humanity as a whole.''


    ''Yet, at the same time, he is willing to increase the blood tax, which results in many people and children getting sucked dry just so that Kugelblitz can have a single-digit percent of increase in profits.''


    ''He never pushed to have the Parasite removed, just speaking empty words of encouragement.''


    ''He talks about Debilify, a disease that makes life unlivable, but doesn''t truly try to find it.''


    ''Everybody knows that one of the Manufacturers has a secret Specter that gains power by spreading the disease called Debilify.''


    ''Every person in the big meeting knows that.''


    ''And yet, he just says that we need to find a cure and that we need to find the cause.''


    ''He never does anything about it.''


    ''Simon Francium doesn''t even trust him. Instead of tasking the governor with finding the secret servant of Envy, he tasked a random John to find it, me.''


    ''The most important thing that Simon said was that Aegis is forcingpliance upon all Protectors.''


    ''Without Aegis'' iron fist forcing the Protectors to help, humanity would be fragmented and weak.''


    ''And isn''t this city exactly how a world without Aegis would be?''


    ''The governor is trying to work together with the Manufacturers. He''s obviously giving them leeway in some things and expectspliance in other things.''


    Nick felt deep revulsion.


    ''Why should a murderer be allowed tomit two murders per year just so that they don''tmit ten?!''


    ''The murderer shouldn''t be allowed tomit any murders!''


    ''If the murderer doesn''tply, he will die!''


    ''The good of humanity and the good of themunity rule above all!''


    ''You can''t focus a big group of people onto amon goal without forcing them!''


    ''The governor is a weak leader.''


    ''I am not on the governor''s side.''


    ''I am on Aegis'' side!''


    ''Humans are inherently selfish, and by giving several people the power to decide humanity''s pathway, said pathway will inevitably lead to their bellies growing fat and their pockets heavy.''


    ''Humanity needs a strong leader with a good and selfless mentality, and from what the governor and Simon Francium said, the Champion of Light is such a leader.''


    ''He forces the Protectors to protect humanity or die, and he only allows the people he believes in to be Shields.''


    ''Aegis is the reason why humanity still stands.''


    If Nick hadn''t learned so much from Julian over the past two years, his face would have shown an obvious expression of disgust.


    As it stood, he looked at the governor with his usual respectful eyes.


    ''You''re not part of Aegis,'' Nick thought.


    ''You''re someone working for Aegis, acting like a paragon of humanity, but in truth, you''re just protecting your own position and wealth by not offending anyone that can threaten your life.''


    ''You hang so much on your life and your wealth that you don''t even dare to think about doing something that Kugelblitz or Anatomy don''t want.''


    ''Why don''t you go through with the words you say and actually look for the hidden Specter yourself in Anatomy or Kugelblitz?''


    ''So what if they suddenly start going crazy and doing horrible things?''


    ''If they do anything horrible, you just kill them!''


    ''Many lives will end in the process, but that can''t be avoided.''


    ''The people in the present might resent you, but the future generations will view you as a hero!''


    ''If you want to get rid of the decaying piece of flesh in your torso, you will inevitably cut out some healthy pieces as well.''


    "You think I''m your ally?" Nick asked in surprise.


    "Your connection with Aegis suggests so," the governor said with a nod. "Are you not?"


    Nick nodded.


    "I am on Aegis'' side," Nick said.


    The governor sighed.


    "I''m d to hear that, and you don''t seem to be lying."


    Silence.


    "Nick, would you be interested in working for the city?"

 Chapter 383 383 – Democratic Soldiers

    <h4>Chapter 383 Chapter 383 ¨C Democratic Soldiers </h4>


    The only things Nick felt when he heard that proposal were disgust, annoyance, and disdain.


    ''If I were to work under you, the people of Crimson City would have nobody left who has their best interest at heart,'' he thought.


    Nick acted like he was taken aback.


    "Wait a second," he said after two seconds of stunned silence. "I have to think about this."


    "Take your time," the governor said as he put the square away and walked to the door. "I don''t need you to show me around anymore. I''ve got a map now."


    Nick watched with surprise as the governor left the room.


    Several seconds after the governor left, Nick started to pace around as his brows furrowed.


    He seemed to be debating with himself.


    But why?


    Wasn''t it already certain that he would refuse?


    Yes, it was.


    However¡­


    His ability hadn''t reactivated.


    Someone or something was watching him, and Nick was quite sure that it was the governor.


    ''Spying on me, huh?'' Nick thought as he looked at the wall with a thoughtful expression. ''Not sure how he''s doing it, but I guess he has some unique powers.''


    Nick returned to pacing, and he even whispered to himself asionally.


    ''Is this some kind of test from him?'' Nick thought. ''Does he want to make sure that I''m not nning on betraying him?''


    ''I can''t be sure. I only know that I have to act like I''m deliberating his offer.''


    After about a minute of walking around, Nick sighed and looked at the door leading out of the room.


    He looked at it for a couple of seconds.


    And then, he exited and looked around.


    Nick slowly walked through the hallway, ncing into all the doors to check for the governor.


    In the end, Nick found the governor in the big room with all the screens, looking at a couple of them.


    "Have you made your decision?" the governor asked without turning around, his voice somehow getting past all the noise of the rm.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "I don''t think joining the city is what I should do," he said slowly.


    The governor turned around and looked at Nick with evaluating eyes.


    "borate, please," he said.


    "I''m on Aegis'' side," Nick said. "Ever since I talked with Simon Francium, I knew that Aegis is the one organization that I want to help more than any other."


    "You said the cities are made to ultimately help humanity."


    "However, joining the city is not the best way to help Aegis or the city," Nick said.


    A small gleam of interest appeared in the governor''s eyes, but he didn''t say anything.


    "Dark Dream has grown a lot in the past years," Nick said. "We have gained more Specters, and we have gained more Extractors. We have a bigger Investigation department, and we also employ many more clerks. Of course, our profit margins have also increased a lot."


    Nick looked at the governor.


    "And while I can''t say that we are perfectly white, the stains on our shirts are minuscule."


    "We did not influence politics for our gain."


    "We did not use the guards in a way to hide wrongdoings."


    "We are not secretly harboring Specters that we shouldn''t."


    "We are not killing any people without telling the city."


    "Whenever there has been a conflict, we have not been the aggressors and have only defended ourselves."


    "Dark Dream has had many opportunities over the years, but Julian and I have never taken more than we were owed."


    "The other Manufacturers are not like that," Nick said coldly.


    The governor still looked at Nick.


    "I do not need to tell you what they do. You know that better than me."


    "The fact is that Dark Dream is not nearly as parasitic to the city as the other Manufacturers."


    "And that''s why I think remaining with Dark Dream is the right thing."


    "The guards and the government are shackled byws and don''t have much freedom to act."


    "Meanwhile, Dark Dream has all the freedom."


    "In Dark Dream, I can support Aegis better than as a city agent," Nick said.


    The governor looked at Nick with unimpressed eyes.


    "You believe the government is ineffective in enforcing itsws?" the governor asked.


    Nick looked into the governor''s eyes.


    "With ten Specialists, 20 Experts, and 40 Veterans, would it have been possible to remove the Parasite''s influence in the past?" Nick asked back.


    The governor furrowed his brows and looked into Nick''s eyes for a while.


    Nick just looked back.


    "The answer is no, it wouldn''t have been possible," Nick continued speaking.


    The governor was a bit surprised about that statement.


    After all, it should have been possible to get rid of the Parasite with such a force, and the city had ess to something like that.


    "Because most of the city''s forces are borrowed," Nick said. "At least one, if not several, of the people assigned with the mission would have deliberately overlooked many of the rats. After all, the guards do not belong to the city. At most, they are temps."


    "Their true loyalties lie with the Manufacturers, not the city."


    "So, yes, I do believe that the city is not able to properly enforce thews, but that is because most of its people are criminals themselves."


    As the governor looked at Nick, the image of Nick in his mind changed.


    Nick had always seemed quite inexperienced and na?ve in the governor''s mind. The only really good thing about him had been his altruism and his power rtive to his level.


    Yet, the confidence with which Nick spoke made the governor realize that he might have underestimated Nick.


    Nick had highlighted the biggest w of the city.


    The city didn''t have many Specters, which meant that it couldn''t produce a lot of Extractors truly loyal to it.


    The fact that it had to borrow Extractors from Manufacturers was why it was so difficult to keep the Manufacturers in check.


    While the head of the government was, technically speaking, a dictator, all his soldiers and guards acted ording to democracy.


    A democracy in which only bigpanies could vote.


    Logically, the bigpanies voted for what was best for the bigpanies, and many times, these things broke thews set by the dictator.

 Chapter 384 384 – Hoard

    <h4>Chapter 384 Chapter 384 ¨C Hoard</h4>


    "I see," the governor said after a while. "A shame."


    Nick evaluated the governor''s answer but wasn''t sure about why he had worded it like that.


    Nick was quite sure that he had illustrated his point quite well, and the governor should have voiced his agreement if he were of the same opinion or voiced his disagreement in the opposite case.


    Yet, he basically only brushed all of Nick''s words off.


    "I''m sorry," Nick said.


    Silence.


    Nick was just standing near the entrance of the room without moving.


    He felt a bit awkward, but there wasn''t anything he could really do about it.


    If he ran back to the city on his own, he mighte across someone from Anatomy again, and he might get killed.


    The governor was the one who had brought Nick here, and Nick wouldn''t return without him.


    After all, he didn''t want to die.


    For the next ten minutes, the governor kept looking through the different monitors, sometimes pressing a couple of buttons.


    Nick just waited in silence.


    Eventually, the governor walked to the entrance of the room and motioned for Nick to follow him.


    The two of them wordlessly walked to the entrance of the building.


    The governor started to shine with light again and ran towards the hole.


    The two of them climbed up the hole and exited, Nick making very sure that he didn''t identally look towards the city.


    But then, the governor stopped walking and just stood beside the hole.


    "You think you and Dark Dream are different?" the governor asked.


    Nick didn''t immediately answer since the governor''s tone made it obvious that it was a rhetorical question.


    "Dark Dream is just like every other Manufacturer," the governor said calmly.


    "You might have broken fewerws than every single other Manufacturer, but that doesn''t mean that you are different."


    The governor looked at Nick, who couldn''t look back since that might make him look at the Crimson Sea.


    "In my experience, someone that forgoes an opportunity to amass personal profit only does so because they see an opportunity for even more personal profit in the future."


    "The ones that act the most innocent are often the worst ones."


    "And if you are genuinely only trying to help, prove it with your actions over theing years."


    "Until then, you are no different from all the other Manufacturers."


    The next moment, Nick felt like he was levitating.


    And then¡­


    WHOOOOOOOM!


    The entire world spun in Nick''s eyes, and everything turned into chaos.


    DING!


    That was when Nick touched something hard with his back.


    Nick still didn''t dare to open his eyes and just touched the thing behind him.


    Metal.


    A long and solid sheet of metal.


    That was when Nick heard a couple of people talking.


    Nick opened his eyes and looked around.


    He was in Crimson City!


    In fact, he was lying on the street in front of Dark Dream''s building!


    Apparently, the governor had thrown Nick back into the city.


    ''I didn''t even feel like I moved.''


    Nick stood up and looked in the direction of the mountain.


    Sadly, he couldn''t see it due to the wall of red mist.


    ''The ones that act the most innocent are often the worst ones,'' Nick repeated in his mind.


    Nick cleaned a bit of the dust from the streets of his uniform.


    ''From his viewpoint, that might be true for Dark Dream. After all, our goal is to take over the city.''


    ''However, the only people not benefiting from that are the big Manufacturers and the governor himself. In short, everyone who currently has a hand in running the city.''


    ''Are we the worst ones because we want to stage a coup, even though the coup is for the good of the people?''


    Nick just jumped back to Dark Dream and entered.


    ''Just another fat old man sitting on his hill of valuables who is deathly afraid of hands reaching for his hoard.''


    When Nick entered Dark Dream, he noticed that the mouths were still absent.


    Julian was probably still careful since the governor might return at any moment.


    Nick went to Julian''s office and told him how everything had gone.


    "Why did you not ept his offer?" Julian asked.


    Nick looked at Julian with a neutral expression.


    "Things are going pretty well for me here," Nick said.


    Julian chuckled.


    He believed that Nick didn''t ept the offer since he didn''t want to die, like every other human.


    After all, suddenly working for the city could be seen as a betrayal to Julian, and Nick didn''t want to take that chance.


    Of course, in truth, that was partially correct but didn''t show the entire picture.


    The bigger reason was that Nick hated the governor for the state of the city, and he hated the thought of working beneath someone like this.


    He would much rather work for any of the Specters instead of the governor.


    After all, the Specters were, at least, honest about their desire to consume all of humanity.


    Naturally, this was a hyperbole, but it put into perspective what Nick''s opinion of the governor was.


    Nick talked with Julian for a while.


    Eventually, a couple hourster, the governor returned.


    Obviously, he didn''t act any different from usual, and he asked Julian about that Specter he had been talking about.


    Julian quickly showed the Spilling Bottle to the governor, and the two talked about it for a while.


    Some minutester, the governor left with the bottle.


    He said that he would send it to some of his researchers, and they would check how effective it would be on the Forests and whether or not it would be effective on the Crimson Sea.


    This would take a couple of days, and Dark Dream would only get to know how much they would be getting out of this trade after the researchers were done with the Spilling Bottle.


    As for the ruin, Dark Dream wasn''t told.


    Most likely, some people from Aegis would arrive or had already arrived to check it out.


    There wasn''t much that Dark Dream could do but wait.


    However, there was at least something interesting that Nick had to do.


    He had to take a look at their other new Specter and figure out a way to work with it.


    It had been over two years since Nick had needed to do that thest time.

 Chapter 385 385 – Talking with the New Specter

    <h4>Chapter 385 Chapter 385 ¨C Talking with the New Specter </h4>


    Two days after he had met the governor, Nick went into the Containment Unit of their new Specter on the third floor.


    By now, it should have recovered.


    Nick opened the door and saw the Specter standing in the middle of the room, its eyes turned to look at Nick.


    Seeing a 2.5-meter-tall guy with spider legs and pure ck eyes looking at one from the middle of a room was quite scary.


    Even Nick was slightly creeped out.


    But that was about it.


    Nick wasn''t afraid of the Specter since he knew that he could just punch its head off if need be.


    The fact that the Specter didn''t immediately attack Nick showed that it was intelligent to some degree.


    Specters that had human shapes were often quite intelligent, which meant that it was often possible to reason with them.


    Sadly, that wasn''t always the case.


    The Bleeding Lady was a good example of that.


    "Can you understand what I''m saying?" Nick asked.


    Silence.


    The Specter just looked at Nick.


    Then, its mouth opened wide, revealing a deep and dark void.


    "AAAAAAHHHHHH!"


    A terrifying scream came out of the mouth, and Nick''s face scrunched up in difort.


    A bitter, the mouth of the Specter closed again, and it just looked at Nick.


    "I''m taking that as a yes," Nick said casually, rubbing his right ear. "To make things easier, I would prefer if you could justmunicate with your spider legs or whatever those are."


    "Scratch on the floor with one of your left legs if you want to give a positive answer like yes, a sign of agreement, or something simr. Scratch with-"


    Scratch!


    One of the Specter''s right legs scratched on the ground, and Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "That was your right leg. I assume you do-"


    Scratch!


    It scratched again with its right leg, and Nick furrowed his brows.


    "Okay, seems like-"


    Scratch!


    This time, it was a left leg.


    "Could you stop for-"


    Scratch!


    Right leg.


    "Stop it, or I-"


    Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!


    Nick red at the Specter as it kept scratching the ground with its spider legs in an alternating pattern while it kept looking into Nick''s eyes.


    Nick just watched the Specter for a while.


    About ten secondster, it stopped.


    "Alright, the hard-"


    Scratch! Scratch!


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    A momentter, Nick turned around and left the Containment Unit.


    The Specter stopped scratching the ground and just aimlessly looked forward.


    About a minuteter, the door opened again, and Nick entered once more.


    This time, he brought something with him.


    It was a bucket and quite a big one at that.


    This bucket waspletely ck, almost a meter tall, and nearly half a meter wide.


    As soon as Nick entered, the Specter started to scratch the ground again.


    After putting the bucket down, Nick started to walk towards the Specter.


    SHING!


    In an instant, Nick exploded forward, and the four spider legs on the left side of the Specter were cut off.


    "AAAAAAAHHHHH!"


    The Specter opened its mouth again, and the terrifying screech returned.


    At the same time, several strands of ck silk shot out of its mouth, right towards Nick.


    BANG!


    Nick just kicked the Specter and sidestepped the silk.


    BANG!


    The Specter''s back hit the wall with a lot of force.


    SHING!


    The next instant, all the spider legs on the Specter''s other side were cut off.


    "AAAAHH-"


    BANG!


    Nick rammed the Specter against the wall again as he grabbed its neck and squeezed, shutting off its scream.


    "Listen here," Nick said in a deep voice.


    "We can do this the easy or the hard way."


    "Today, you''re going to see what happens if we do this the hard way."


    CRRRKSH!


    Nick grabbed one of the Specter''s arms and tore it out of the body.


    Surprisingly, the Specter had stopped attacking Nick.


    However, that actually made sense.


    The Specter had realized that it couldn''t win against Nick, and continuing to attack him might provoke Nick into actually killing him.


    The most optimal way to stay alive was to not resist.


    Nick tore the other arm and both legs off the Specter before throwing the torso and head into the corner.


    Then, the two of them just looked at each other for a while.


    "I don''t know if you know what Manufacturers or Extractors are since you were outside the city," Nick said, "but we are not necessarily enemies."


    "We want Zephyx, and you produce Zephyx if you be more powerful. Every Specter has its own way to be stronger, and we are interested in that."


    "You bing more powerful is also what we want," Nick added.


    The next moment, Nick gathered the cut-off limbs like they were loose pieces of metal and held them in his arms.


    "But if you are not cooperative, we can get our Zephyx also in this way," Nick said.


    And then, he dumped all the limbs into the bucket.


    SSSSSSSSSS!


    A sound simr to tens of saws activating came out of the bucket, and the limbs that were halfway sticking out of the bucket started to shake before seemingly shrinking and falling into the bucket.


    Nick looked into the Specter''s eyes.


    After about a minute, the limbspletely vanished, and the bucket became quiet again.


    Nick took hold of the bucket and walked towards the door.


    "Next time, I would like to have a normal conversation with you. If you''re uncooperative, I will do the same thing again."


    Nick slowly opened the door and turned to look at the Specter.


    "You should be good to go in another two days. See you then."


    Nick stepped out of the Containment Unit and closed the door.


    The Specter just kept looking at the employee entrance.


    Silence.


    Then, it slowly opened its mouth again.


    "AAAAAAAAHHH!"


    And its mouth closed again.


    Silence.


    No Specter liked it when its limbs were removed.


    Specters wanted to grow more powerful and survive.


    Losing all one''s limbs weakened one''s defense, making it harder to survive.


    Sadly, there wasn''t much the Specter could do.

 Chapter 386 386 – The Abductor

    <h4>Chapter 386 Chapter 386 ¨C The Abductor</h4>


    Two dayster, Nick returned to the Specter, and this time, it didn''t immediately annoy him with constant scratching.


    It seemed like it was finally cooperative.


    For the next hour, Nick asked the Specter several questions, and it answered by scratching the floor.


    Left scratch for a positive answer.


    Right scratch for a negative answer.


    Left and right scratch for neutrality.


    No scratch for uncertainty.


    It turned out that the Specter did not know what Extractors were.


    It had been in the outside world all its life, and it had grown stronger by slowly capturing stronger and stronger humans, which surprised Nick since there were probably not very many Newbies running around outside.


    After Nick exined the concept of Manufacturers and Extractors to the Specter, it actually became even more cooperative.


    In the outside world, it barely received any food.


    It had taken decades for the Specter to be this strong.


    But now, it was going to receive regr food, and it wouldn''t even be in danger?


    If it had known that this was the fate that would befall it if it were found by a human, it would have voluntarily given itself up.


    Of course, if it could actually enter one of the cities, it would rather stay free.


    But how was it supposed to do that?


    It was quite noticeable, and it couldn''t disguise itself.


    After talking some more with the Specter, Nick finally found out how it grew more powerful.


    It abducted people, and it grew more powerful based on how many people it kept as prisoners and how strong they were.


    There had been many cocoons attached to the walls of the cave where Nick had suppressed the Specter.


    These cocoons had once been filled with humans.


    The Specter had simply caught humans, surrounded them in the silk, hung them up on the wall, and never touched the cocoon again.


    Naturally, all the humans in the cocoons had died so long ago that only dust remained in them.


    After talking some more, Nick made a n on how to improve the Specter''s powers.


    Annoyingly, when Nick had said that the Specter couldn''t kill the people who were sent to it, it seemed to be confused, angry, and annoyed.


    It took Nick almost half an hour to exin how letting its food escape would allow it to get more food in the future.


    Since it wasn''t secret anymore, why would anyone want to get captured by it if it just killed them?


    Eventually, the Specter finally understood what Nick wanted, and it agreed.


    While it was intelligent enough to have a conversation with, Nick could see that it wasn''t the most intelligent Specter.


    Yet, the ability tomunicate already made it the third most intelligent Specter in Dark Dream.


    The only two who were more intelligent were the Money Sink and the Dreamer.


    The Bleeding Lady was also intelligent, but she was crazy in the head.


    Although, the Lover might also be smart since it fed on human mentality.


    Sadly, it was quite difficult to judge its intelligence since it got quite handsy very quickly.


    After finishing his talk with the Specter, Nick gathered a couple of Dark Dream''s Newbies.


    Dark Dream had quite a lot of Newbiespared to the number of Hatchlings, which gave the Newbies a lot of downtime.


    Luckily, their newest Specter could work with potentially endless people simultaneously.


    From now on, the new Specter would capture and contain two-thirds of the Newbies assigned to it.


    Thest third would remain in the Containment Unit but free.


    The reason for that was because, due to the Zephyx-absorbing properties of the silk, they couldn''t gather any Zephyx for themselves while surrounded by the silk.


    So, two of them would be sent to produce the Zephyx, and thest one would absorb the Zephyx.


    Naturally, the positions switched regrly to keep things fair.


    Near the beginning, Nick kept watch over the proceedings, but eventually, Nick would only check on them every couple of hours to make sure that nothing bad was going on.


    Luckily, the Specter was quite cooperative.


    Surprisingly, the Specter had turned out to be far more useful than they had expected since it could train many weaker Extractors simultaneously.


    Over theing days, Nick also hired a couple of new people to check what kind of ability the newest Specter offered.


    It was silk.


    Any Extractor that received its ability could release long and thick strands of ck silk.


    Sadly, the silk couldn''t absorb Zephyx.


    Another disappointment was the fact that the Specter''s silk could only retain its physical form if the Specter was close to it.


    If the silk left the Specter''s side, it turned into Prephyx a couple of hourster.


    That sadly made it worthless as a material.


    Nick had hoped that they couldpete with the Fear Queen''s Ghost Wires, but sadly, they could not.


    Eventually, Nick also came up with a fitting name for the Specter.


    The Abductor.


    As for its Stage, it was a Late Adolescent, making it one of the stronger Specters belonging to Dark Dream.


    By now, Nick''s days had be quite busy.


    He had to deliver the trash to the Dung Heap.


    He had to regrly check up on the Abductor.


    He sometimes had to force one of the newer people to stop working with the Puppy.


    He had to give the Money Sink money.


    He had to give the Screaming Coffin its corpses.


    He had to free the people working with the Fog.


    He had to gather all the Zephyx containers.


    And on top of all that, he had to deal with most of the executive stuff, like nning the future, dealing with personnel issues, working with the Investigation department, writing guides for the Specters, reviewing profiles, making budget reports, keeping the books, meeting with otherpanies, and a couple more things.


    He was d that he had Taren and Jenny dealing with the management of the employees.


    Luckily, since Nick had so much experience already and since he was working 24 hours per day, he could deal with all of this without any issues.


    Finally, two weeks after his conversation with the governor, Nick finally heard back from the city regarding the Spilling Bottle and their reward.

 Chapter 387 387 – Solace’s Success

    <h4>Chapter 387 Chapter 387 ¨C Sce''s Sess </h4>


    The research into the Spilling Bottle was finished.


    The results were that it worked in reducing the Forest''s power.


    Sadly, its sludge strengthened the Crimson Sea instead of weakening it, which meant that it couldn''t be used to deal with the Crimson Sea.


    However, disadvantages often had advantages of their own.


    Even though the sludge couldn''t be used to weaken the Crimson Sea, it could make it produce a bit of Zephyx, which meant that it was possible to harvest its ability.


    The governor could take some of the city''s new recruits or advancing Extractors to the sea once every few months or so, spill some of the sludge into the sea, and allow his Extractors to get the Crimson Sea''s ability.


    The bit of sludge used to achieve this was equivalent to barely half of a gram of Zephyx, which was nothing for a Fanatic like the Crimson Sea.


    All in all, the city was very interested in the Spilling Bottle.


    Julian negotiated with the city for a couple of days before they finally came to an agreement.


    Another couple of weeks passed.


    nk!


    Nicknded on top of a big tform on the middleyer of the Inner City, and he looked forward.


    A huge building was in front of him.


    There were no guards.


    Nick cleaned his uniform a bit to make himself presentable and slowly walked into the building.


    He found himself in an entrance hall.


    "Mr. Nick!"


    Nick looked over and saw a beautiful receptionist waiting in front of the stairs.


    He walked over and nodded in greeting.


    "Is Mr. Nergiar not here with you?" she asked.


    "He can''t make it," Nick said. "The governor has been informed."


    "Oh, what a shame," the receptionist said.


    Then, she gestured to the staircase behind her.


    "Please, follow me," the receptionist said with a polite bow and friendly smile.


    "Thank you," Nick answered.


    The two of them walked up the staircase and down a hallway.


    "Please, in here," she said before opening a door and gesturing for Nick to enter.


    Nick nodded and walked inside.


    "Oh, Nick! Wee!" Hera Marion, the CZE of Sce, shouted as she stood up with a smile.


    Nick smiled back and approached her, shaking her hand. "Julian couldn''t make it, sorry."


    Hera sighed, and Ramona, Sce''s CEO, who was sitting at the table, shook her head helplessly.


    "Again?" Hera asked. "Well, he did say that he was pretty busy recently."


    "I also thought as much," Ramona said from the table. "I talked to him just three days ago. He said he is quite busy with something, and he also gave me a cryptic hint."


    Ramona looked at Nick. "He told me that we would find out what he was busy with during the big meeting today."


    Nick nodded and approached Ramona, who stood up and greeted Nick with a handshake.


    Usually, Nick wouldn''t dare approach someone more powerful than him for a handshake, but the rtionship between Dark Dream and Sce was very close.


    They even had a program to exchange abilities.


    Some of Sce''s Extractors could get abilities from Dark Dream''s Specters and the other way around.


    Nick and Julian also met with Hera and Ramona regrly.


    Nick exchanged a couple of pleasantries with the two of them before he looked at the big table in the middle of the room.


    He met eyes with two women wearing uniforms from Gemini.


    Nick nodded, and the two of them wordlessly nodded back.


    That was about as close as Dark Dream was to Gemini.


    Nick could theoretically walk forward and offer a handshake withoutmitting social suicide due to the fact that Dark Dream had Julian, a Specialist.


    However, that could be viewed as a power move and might strain the rtionship between the two Manufacturers.


    "Is Julian busy again?"


    Nick looked over at the other end of the table, at Ghosty.


    "I''m sorry, but he''s quite busy. The governor already knows about it," Nick answered.


    Ghosty chuckled. "If only I had his freedom," hemented with a joking voice.


    Beside him, Herman Reichert, CEO of Ghosty''s Lab, just smiled bitterly. "Sorry," he jokingly said to Ghosty.


    Nick walked to his seat at the end of the table, right beside the representatives of themon people.


    If it wasn''t obvious by now, today was the big meeting of the Manufacturers, and this year, it was held inside Sce''s building.


    This was the first time in which Sce was allowed to host the meeting.


    The reason why Sce was allowed to host the meeting was because of their recent aplishments.


    One of their Specters advanced and became an Elder!


    After years, Sce finally managed to join the big Manufacturers, and they didn''t even need to go through the trouble of capturing an Elder!


    Specters grew at different rates, and the advancement of some Specters was very slow and sometimes even impossible.


    Additionally, Specters generally needed more time to advance than humans, which meant that relying on advancement was not a good idea for bing more influential as a Manufacturer.


    But Sce lucked out, and one of their Specters actually advanced!


    Usually, since Sce now had a new main Specter, they would rebrand themselves.


    However, they decided against it.


    The reason was the Specter''s¡­ peculiarity.


    It was called the Perversion, and it was a floating panty.


    It was basically a mixture of the Dreamer and the Lover since it put people to sleep and sexually tortured them in their dreams.


    Having a floating panty as the main symbol of a Manufacturer was a bit¡­


    Additionally, since Sce mostly focused on their light and heat business, they also had a good argument for branding themselves after the Blinding Light and the Bright Candle.


    Funnily enough, the Perversion was one of the biggest reasons for Sce''s and Dark Dream''s close rtionship.


    The Dreamer, the Lover, and the Perversion were essentially made for each other in terms of abilities.


    Sce was advancing rapidly in the city, and Dark Dream was happy for them.


    After all, Sce and Dark Dream were close allies.

 Chapter 388 388 – Significant Contribution

    <h4>Chapter 388 Chapter 388 ¨C Significant Contribution</h4>


    Over the next couple of minutes, Mundus and Zarren from Anatomy arrived.


    They just threw a nce at Nick before sitting down at their position.


    A minuteter, Aria Light and Vernon Melfion entered.


    Aria greeted everyone with a friendly voice, while Vernon just greeted a couple of people with some casual words.


    "Oh, Julian isn''t here? What a shame," Vernon said, looking at the empty seat beside Nick.


    Then, he just turned to his own seat and sat down.


    He hadn''t looked at Nick even once.


    However, Nick had expected as much.


    The incident after Wyntor''s death hadpletely ruined his rtionship with the Melfions and had soured Dark Dream''s rtionship with Kugelblitz.


    While Kugelblitz wasn''t actively going against Dark Dream due to Julian "being friends" with several of their shareholders and Vernon, they also didn''t show much politeness to them.


    Aria Light mostly didn''t care about all this drama, but Kugelblitz had to appear united in front of outsiders, which was why she also ignored Nick.


    But behind closed doors, she didn''t support Vernon''s vendetta against Nick.


    Vernon had said that he suspected that Nick had a hand in his son''s death, but there was no proof.


    Nick had been just a John back then.


    How could someone like that have the connection or ability to mentally manipte an experienced Veteran and perfectly ce them at the perfect spot to kill Wyntor?


    Additionally, everyone knew that Nick was a na?ve idiot.


    How could someone like that n something like this?


    When Vernon had shared his suspicions with Aria, she had asked about Dark Dream''s new CEO. Couldn''t he have killed Wyntor?


    However, Vernon denied the possibility.


    He knew Julian very well, and he couldn''t imagine Julian doing something like that.


    So, in the end, there was no reason to suspect Nick.


    Yet, Vernon kept feeling like it was Nick who had killed his son.


    Although, that was only partially the reason why Vernon hated Nick.


    Much more important was the fact that Nick had humiliated Vernon in front of others!


    Vernon hadn''t been this humiliated in years!


    Naturally, Vernon wanted to take his revenge on Nick, but that had proved to be impossible over thest two years.


    Kugelblitz didn''t allow any of their owners to use Specialists for personal matters without permission from the other shareholders, but without Specialists, it was impossible to covertly assassinate Nick inside the city.


    Usually, Vernon would just send an Expert, but he knew that he couldn''t risk letting one of his Experts get caught.


    That would cost Kugelblitz billions of credits!


    But then, a month ago, Nick had left the city!


    Finally, a chance to kill him!


    Sadly, he had already gone back into the city before Vernon had even heard about Nick leaving.


    And now, Nick was constantly inside the city again!


    So, in the end, Vernon was stuck waiting for his chance again.


    Someday, he would finally get a chance to kill Nick!


    A couple of minutes passed, and finally, thest person arrived.


    The governor, Markus Julius, walked over to his seat at the end of the table.


    He calmly greeted everyone, and everyone returned his greeting.


    "Julian couldn''te today since he is busy in Dark Dream," the governor told everyone.


    None of the people were surprised, and they shot a nce at Nick.


    Once more, they had to deal with Nick as the sole representative of Dark Dream.


    Nick just apologized to everyone about Julian''s absence.


    "And since we are on the topic of Dark Dream, I might as well announce a couple of things rted to them," the governor said casually.


    Everyone turned to look at the governor with interest.


    If the governor was the one announcing it, it was probably something quite important.


    "About a month ago, Dark Dream helped the city not once but twice," the governor said.


    Different expressions of intrigue and interest appeared on everyone''s face.


    Twice?


    Everyone had heard about the Spilling Bottle by now.


    After all, the Spilling Bottle belonged to the city now, and the city''s Specters were not kept secret.


    When they heard that the Spilling Bottle came from Dark Dream, they felt annoyed and envious.


    The Spilling Bottle was worth a lot!


    Of course, the origin of the Spilling Bottle also hadn''t stayed secret for long since the Swallowing Swamp had almostpletely vanished by now.


    When they realized that the Spilling Bottle had been the reason for the Swallowing Swamp, they grew frustrated.


    They had all inspected the Swallowing Swamp at least once, and none of them had found the Spilling Bottle!


    The fact that Dark Dream could do something that they couldn''t annoyed them to no end.


    However, what about the other helping hand?


    The Spilling Bottle was the first thing that Dark Dream gave the city.


    What was the other one?


    "During their excursion, Dark Dream found a ruin from the Old World," the governor said.


    It was like a bomb had exploded in the office, and everyone looked shocked at the governor.


    Even the two from Anatomy looked intensely at the governor.


    A ruin from the Old World!


    There could potentially be technologies in there that could grant them incredible benefits.


    Ghosty especially was interested in the ruin.


    "The ruin has been handed over to Aegis, and Aegis has already collected it. You don''t need to look for it," the governor said.


    ''Collected it?'' Nick thought. ''Did they put it in their pockets and fly away with it?''


    ''I''m pretty sure the mountain is still there. I would''ve heard of it if it just stood up and walked away.''


    "Aegis wants to express its deep gratitude to Dark Dream and is willing to support them with a significant financial contribution," the governor said.


    "Dark Dream has epted the contribution and decided to reinvest it into the city by making a significant purchase."


    "In a month, Dark Dream will move into the central headquarters of the city forces in the loweryer, and the central headquarters will move towards the building previously owned by the Spartans."


    "Additionally, Dark Dream receives the Adult the Talker."

 Chapter 389 389 – Regular Topics

    <h4>Chapter 389 Chapter 389 ¨C Regr Topics </h4>


    When the people heard that, they turned and looked at Nick.


    All of them had different expressions.


    Hera and Ramona were excited.


    Mindy and Cindy were wary.


    Ghosty and Herman were interested.


    Mundus and Zarren just nced neutrally at Nick.


    A small gleam appeared in Vernon''s eyes, and Aria looked like she hadn''t heard anything.


    Not only was Dark Dream receiving a new building, but they were also receiving an Adult.


    The Adult in question was one that all the present Extractors knew of since Specters belonging to the city were not kept secret.


    Working with the Talker was stressful, but it produced a good amount of Zephyx.


    The Talker was a great Specter for Veterans who wanted to be more powerful.


    "Dark Dream has already told the city that they will move into their new building in a month when the city''s forces have cleared. Expect a great number of moving Specters during that day," the governor said. "Naturally, guards will be sent to supervise the proceedings."


    None of the present people said anything.


    "Now then, onto the regr topics," the governor said.


    After that, he talked about the False News Specter.


    Ever since the Parasite had lost its grip over the city, the False News Specter had be the biggest troublemaker, except for the Crimson Sea.


    The False News was the most powerful, uncontained Specter inside the city.


    It was at least a Fanatic, and no one managed to find it yet.


    The False News started fake rumors in the city that gained a lot of traction.


    For example, one of these rumors was that Anatomy and the governor had joined hands to get rid of Kugelblitz.


    This rumor affected Kugelblitz''s stock price and their public perception, and it also caused a lot of chaos and unrest in the public.


    Another rumor stated that the organization behind the hospitals was sometimes capturing some of their patients and shipping them out of the city to be processed into Recovery Liquid.


    Naturally, the organization behind the hospitals got angry by such baseless usations and put pressure on the city to deal with them.


    Another one was that Ghosty was secretly a powerful Specter who manipted everyone''s minds.


    Usually, rumors were just rumors, and they were just part of everyday life.


    However, these rumors were extremely difficult to clear, and even if a public statement regarding the rumor was made, over 70% of the people who had believed the rumor would continue believing it afterward.


    It was like no kind of logic or diplomacy worked on them.


    The False News didn''t kill or injure anyone, but it still caused immense financial damage to the city.


    Sadly, nobody could find the source of any of these stubborn rumors, which should be the False News.


    And as always, no Manufacturer had any good news regarding the False News.


    Everyone was just as clueless asst year.


    The next thing the governor talked about was Debilify, the debilitating sickness that swept through the city.


    The preventative measure Anatomy had introduced a couple of years ago helped to some degree.


    The people that actually had the money to afford the preventative measure didn''t get Debilify as often anymore, and if they got it, it would only affect them for around two months instead of their entire lives.


    However, everyone else was out of luck.


    Nobody living in the Outer City could afford this preventative measure, and cases of Debilify had increased in the Outer City.


    Compared to the False News, there was actual progress to be reported in today''s meeting regarding Debilify.


    Ghosty''s Lab created its own preventative measure, and it was a quarter of the price of Anatomy''s measure.


    Naturally, Anatomy was not happy at all about their lost profits, but they couldn''t push too much since the governor was looking at them with severe eyes.


    The next topic was about the city''s n of expansion.


    For the past two years, the city had to be extremely careful about its usage of metals, but with a reestablished connection to the outside world, this was no longer a concern.


    The governor had reopened the old iron mine about ten kilometers to the southwest of the city, and they were gaining tons of iron every day.


    The city was also in the process of creating a big but isted field of nts.


    In the west of the city, they had created a two-by-two-


    kilometer-wide isted zone with huge walls.


    Luckily, since strong Extractors could carry tons of materials in one go, they only needed about a month to build these huge walls of steel.


    This huge wall was necessary to fight off all the slimes that would inevitably try to destroy the nts.


    Inside the isted location, Recovery Liquid had been sprayed on the ground together with water, filling the dried-up dirt with life energy.


    Soon, they would cover these fields with nts.


    However, these nts were not meant to be eaten but to be burned.


    The goal was to produce huge amounts of ash, which mostly consisted of carbon.


    Then, the city wouldbine the iron and the carbon to make steel, and they would use this steel to expand the city.


    Over the next years, the city would focus on covering the entire Crimson Sea.


    As long as there was no hole in the ground, and as long as everything was covered, the Crimson Sea might as well not exist.


    Additionally, far in the future, they might even be able to convert the "container" of the Crimson Sea into some form of Containment Unit, and the city might even gain a powerful Specter that produces a lot of Zephyx.


    The governor didn''t know everything about the world, but he was still quite sure that not many cities could contain such a huge Force Specter.


    With the current speed of production of steel, the city predicted that it would take around ten years to cover all of the Crimson Sea.


    When they were done talking about the n for the city''s future, the governor talked about the next part.


    Since Dark Dream now had one Specialist and one Veteran, they were powerful enough to be eligible for guard duty.


    From now on, Dark Dream would have to dedicate 20% of their Johns to the city at any given time.

 Chapter 390 390 – The Yearly Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 390 Chapter 390 ¨C The Yearly Meeting</h4>


    Sadly, there wasn''t much Nick could do about that since every Manufacturer was required to do that.


    The only positive aspect was that neither Nick nor Julian needed to join guard duty due to their executive positions.


    After all, Dark Dream needed to be able to run.


    Assignments of guards were done in intervals of one month, and the first shift of guards would soon start.


    Nick decided to send yton, Petra, and Jason for the first month.


    ording to what Nick had heard, working for the city was considered boring, which was often preferable to dangerous.


    Most of the time, the guards only needed to walk around, stand in front of entrances, and do a couple of errands.


    Sometimes, they also just needed to stay inside a room and be ready for any kind of emergency, which rarely happened.


    Even more, working for the city meant working for ten hours a day, only five days a week.


    Apparently, the Extractors got two free days per week, which was crazy.


    Because of all these things, many Extractors preferred working for the city instead of Manufacturers.


    Sadly, bing stronger was impossible since none of the temporary guards would work with the city''s Specters.


    However, only the temporary guards had such an easy life.


    The people who actually dedicated their lives to working for the city didn''t have it as good.


    They had to work more, and their responsibilities very often forced them into positions that were hostile to some powerful Manufacturers.


    Guards rarely died, but it still happened.


    Even more, below the surface, a lot of dark dealings were going on.


    yton, Petra, and Jason would be sent to work with the city after Dark Dream moved into their new building.


    The governor talked about a couple more topics, but they were not as relevant as the previous ones.


    Eventually, it was time for Kugelblitz to talk.


    The main thing they talked about was the blood tax.


    Apparently, since the shortage of metal had ended, the amount of blood they were receiving had dropped sharply, and they needed a new way to gather blood.


    They had already added a way for someone to pay their normal taxes in exchange for their blood, but not many people epted that.


    People seemed to not like the idea of giving their blood in exchange for money.


    Funnily enough, this was exasperated by a rumor which stated that a human''s soul was connected to their blood and that losing blood equated to losing part of one''s soul.


    Naturally, this rumor also came from the False News.


    The governor kept shooting down all of Kugelblitz''s proposals, but Kugelblitz just wouldn''t let up.


    The amount of Zephyx the Crimson Fungus was producing had dropped a lot, which slowed the advancements of their Heroes.


    After all, the Crimson Fungus was the only source of power for all of the Heroes.


    Right now, it was barely enough for Kugelblitz''s Heroes, which meant that there wasn''t much the governor could absorb.


    Of course, the governor knew that this was bullshit.


    Yes, Kugelblitz didn''t have ess to as much blood as previously, but they still had ess to a lot.


    It should be enough for all of them to advance at afortable pace.


    However, he couldn''t just call Vernon''s bluff.


    These were internal matters of Kugelblitz, and if he forced himself into these matters, other Manufacturers would push back.


    After all, if the governor forced himself into Kugelblitz''s matters, what stopped him from forcing himself into their matters?


    Almost all Manufacturers wanted the government to be involved as little as possible in their matters.


    The governor and Vernon argued for quite a while, and in the end, not a lot of progress had been made.


    But that was to be expected.


    This was a negotiation, and these negotiations always took a long time.


    Kugelblitz wanted to squeeze the people dry of their blood, and the governor didn''t want that to happen.


    However, if the governor didn''t relent in some aspects, only the Heroes belonging to Kugelblitz would have ess to the Crimson Fungus.


    Within a couple of years, the Heroes might not even need to unite to kill the governor¡­


    Aria Light on her own might just be enough.


    This was a brutal negotiation, and nobody expected any results from today''s meeting.


    Today''s meeting was essentially just the baseline for any future negotiations.


    Anatomy brought up a couple of topics, but none of them needed a lot of deliberation.


    Ghosty''s Lab once more announced some new equipment.


    Gemini was asking a couple of questions, which led the conversation in a direction that suggested supporting stronger Manufacturers was better for the city than supporting weaker ones.


    Of course, they were talking about finances.


    While Gemini had led the conversation to the topic very naturally, everyone in the room, except for the three normal people, were experienced business people, and they could all tell what was going on.


    Gemini was trying to make it harder for Sce and Dark Dream.


    Sce''s recent advancement had probably scared them, and they wanted to keep their lead.


    However, the governor very quickly shut that topic down.


    He would not consider financially supporting one Manufacturer favorably without something equally valuable in return.


    Unfortunately for Gemini, they didn''t have any leverage when negotiating with the governor.


    They were not Kugelblitz, and they were not Anatomy.


    Sce just talked about their newly advanced Specter and their expandingwork for light and heat.


    Nick just talked about Dark Dream''s approaching relocation.


    There was nothing else that Dark Dream needed to talk about.


    And with that, the yearly meeting was over again, and everyone left.


    Except for Nick.


    After everyone left, Nick talked for a while with Ramona and Hera.


    They were very close to each other, and this was a good opportunity to talk about a couple of details regarding their cooperation.


    Eventually, Nick also left.


    Within the next month, nothing of note happened.


    And finally, it was time for Dark Dream to move.


    They would finally move from the Outer City into the Inner City.

 Chapter 391 391 – Start of the Move

    <h4>Chapter 391 Chapter 391 ¨C Start of the Move </h4>


    "I''ll need you to get in there."


    "Why?"


    "We''re moving today. I know that you won''t try to escape, but we don''t want to show you off to everyone, and we also don''t want to give other Manufacturers an opportunity to criticize us."


    The Money Sink looked at the ck cube with furrowed brows.


    If she entered, she wouldn''t be able to even stand up.


    However, that didn''t bother her a lot.


    She just wanted to know why Nick suddenly wanted her to enter this ck box.


    "Fine," she said as she walked forward.


    Nick opened the cube, and a white mist came out.


    This cube was made for moving Specters, and it essentially worked like a portable Specter Cage.


    The Money Sink went on all fours and crawled into the cube before she pulled her legs to her torso.


    "It''s just going to be about 15 minutes or so," Nick told her before he closed the cube.


    After pressing a couple of buttons, the cube closed, and several lights and disys appeared on its side.


    Then, Nick left the cube in the middle of the Containment Unit and left via the employee entrance.


    He quickly went over to the console of the Containment Unit and pressed the release button.


    A huge rm rang throughout the building, and about a minuteter, the wall of the Containment Unit opened, revealing the ck cube in its middle.


    "This okay?" Nick asked the person standing beside him.


    "You may proceed," the red-haired woman said neutrally after inspecting the ck cube.


    This red-haired woman was a guard captain sent by the city, and she was an Expert whose job was to ensure that Dark Dream properly secured their Specters for the move.


    "You don''t need to be so uptight, Stacy," Julian said from beside her. "Even if something goes wrong, I''m here to take care of it."


    Stacy chuckled. "I know, but I still have to do my job."


    Nick went forward and lifted the ck cube before walking towards the stairs.


    Julian stayed at his current position, while Stacy followed after Nick.


    When they reached the first floor, they saw most of Dark Dream''s Extractors, who were just waiting for orders.


    Nick and Stacy just ran past them while Nick still carried the ck cube.


    After leaving the building, they jumped down to the streets and ran towards the city''s southern entrance.


    The southern entrance had already been opened, waiting for Dark Dream.


    Whenever a Manufacturer needed to move into the Inner City, basically the entire city adapted to them.


    Transporting several Specters into the Inner City was risky.


    The outside air was entering the loweryer of the Inner City, and the inhabitants were not happy about that.


    But what could they do?


    These were matters between the city and a big Manufacturer.


    A big group of people had already gathered at the entrance of the Inner City, and they were all looking at Nick, who was still carrying the ck cube.


    They were filled with morbid curiosity.


    They wanted to see a Specter, even though they knew that it was extremely dangerous to be here.


    However, the guards of the Inner City had already been called to deal with the crowds, and several Johns were keeping the citizens at bay.


    Nick and Stacy ran through the opened path for a while.


    The two of them continued for over a kilometer until they finally stopped.


    In front of them was the central pir.


    It was in the middle of the megastructure, and it acted as the biggest support for it.


    The entire central pir was made of materials found in the ruins below the city, and only Elders and stronger could damage it.


    Surprisingly, the pir was notpletely solid throughout.


    It had been constructed with a building inside of it in mind.


    There were many rooms inside the pir, and it acted as the walls of a big tower.


    Originally, this was where the city''s leadership resided.


    After all, it was in the center of the city, and its walls were extremely sturdy.


    But then, the differentyers formed, and all the strong and important people moved toward the top of the megastructure.


    So, the leadership of the city also moved towards the top, leaving this huge tower inside the pir as an administration office for the loweryer.


    Sadly, most of the rooms hadn''t been used, and the few ones that were used were just filled with different documents.


    Of course, the guards also stayed there asionally, and some of the rooms had even been turned into party and leisure rooms.


    The fact was that the building was just too big for a couple of guards and administrators.


    On the other hand, the former building belonging to the Spartans was smaller and also acted as a makeshift entrance between the Inner and Outer Cities.


    Not only would there be no wasted rooms, but the guards could also more easily get to the Outer City while also giving people from the Outer City easier ess to the city''s government.


    With that move, they could also get rid of two of the city''s administration outposts in the Outer City, moving everything to the new administration office inside the megastructure''s walls.


    So, all in all, the city and Dark Dream were happy with the relocation of the city''s forces.


    Nick looked at the couple of entrances leading into the pir.


    There were two small ones at the side and a huge gate in the center.


    The two small ones were about 2.5 meters high and wide, while the big one was five meters high and nearly ten meters wide.


    The huge gate was already open, and Dark Dream''s guards were already standing beside it, keeping the normal people at bay.


    Each floor of the pir was nearly seven meters high, essentially transforming the entire building into a collection of halls instead of rooms.


    And even though the building only had eight floors, due to the size of each floor, it was over double as high as Dark Dream''s old building.

 Chapter 392 392 – The Floors

    <h4>Chapter 392 Chapter 392 ¨C The Floors</h4>


    Of course, the height wasn''t the only thing that was bigger.


    The width of the building was also very considerable.


    The pir was a hundred meters in diameter, but the building inside the pir was only around 70 meters wide.


    However, a diameter of 70 meters was still more than double as wide as Dark Dream''s old building.


    As Nick entered through the big gate with the ck cube, he looked to the side.


    There were a couple of stairs at the side of the huge hallway in the center, and these stairs led to scaffolding, which led into new hallways and rooms.


    The first floor was technically only one floor, but Dark Dream used it as two.


    Since the ceiling was so high up, Dark Dream created a separate floor at about a height of 3.5 meters.


    Like this, Dark Dream had almost double the rooms on the first floor.


    The floor that was on ground level was called floor 1A, and the floor that was halfway up was called floor 1B.


    The first floor would be used for all the normal employees of Dark Dream.


    Offices for clerks, leisure rooms, a restaurant, storage room for cleaning supplies, more offices, guard rooms, reception, rooms for janitors, offices for the Investigation department, and so on.


    The huge hallway branched off into many smaller hallways, which led to even more rooms.


    At the end of the big hallway was a big hall, which was used as a reception for any guest.


    There was a central counter in the middle of it and several benches and tables scattered throughout the hall.


    At the very center of the building was another pir, which was about ten meters wide.


    This pir had five entrances, four of which led to Extractor Shafts and one leading to stairs.


    Extractor Shafts were wide holes that went from the first floor to the eighth floor, and they were there to allow Extractors to quickly change floors.


    Since Extractors were so powerful, they could just jump from wall to wall to climb to higher floors, making such a shaft a much faster alternative to stairs.


    Nick went past the reception desk and walked towards one of the shaft''s closed doors.


    Next, Nick held his left hand to a disy beside one of the doors.


    On his left hand was a fingerless glove, which had a piece of metal inside it that was used to identify the person wearing the glove.


    The Spartans had a simr system in their building.


    After Nick put his glove on the disy, it changed and showed eight numbers.


    Nick clicked on the number two.


    The door in front of Nick opened, and he grabbed the ck cube again before moving to the side.


    "Second floor," Nick said, gesturing towards the open door.


    Stacy wordlessly walked through the door and jumped.


    Then, Nick walked through the door.


    He found himself in a shaft that was about two meters wide and almost 80 meters high.


    About seven meters up, Nick saw an open door.


    BANG!


    Nick jumped and easilynded in the opened door.


    BANG!


    The door behind Nick closed and locked again.


    Nick was now on the second floor, and he looked around.


    Compared to the first floor, the second one seemed almost empty.


    The first ten meters of distance from the exit of the shaft were empty.


    There was just nothing there except for the floor.


    Then, there were walls with a couple of doors.


    In total, there were eight doors, and every one of these doors led to a Containment Unit.


    Every floor had space for eight Containment Units, but if it were absolutely necessary, Containment Units could be stacked on top of each other to make space for 16 per floor.


    For now, Dark Dream decided against stacking the Containment Units.


    The building''s first and eighth floors were not meant to contain Specters, which left six floors for Specters.


    With space for eight Containment Units per floor, Dark Dream could now contain 48 Specters, and if absolutely necessary, they could even expand to contain 96.


    That was a lot more than the measly 20 of their old building.


    Nick decided to distribute the Specters simrly to how Kugelblitz distributed theirs.


    The second floor was made for strong Specters that did not have dangerous mind powers.


    The third floor was the same.


    The fourth floor was made for Possession Specters.


    The fifth floor was made for training, which meant it contained the Hatchlings, but it also contained Adolescents that were easy to work with, like the Abductor.


    The sixth floor was for Force Specters.


    The seventh floor was for Specters with mental powers.


    And the eighth floor was for Nick, Julian, and meeting other Manufacturers.


    Nick decided to keep several strong Specters on the second and third floors to act as a buffer in case anyone tried to get to the weak Specters or the weak Specters managed to escape somehow.


    If a Specter escaped, it could only attempt to break through the bottom.


    After all, Julian was on the eighth floor, and there was no way a Specter could get past him.


    As Nick looked around, he was still a bit unused to the brightness of the walls.


    Dark Dream''s new building used the same technology to produce light as the megastructure''s walls.


    Light captured from the Sun was infused in special metal treated with Zephyx, which could transport the light, giving off bits and pieces of it along the way.


    This meant that the walls of the building were shimmering with sunlight.


    Luckily, since the Sun''s light was already quite weak, the light here was even weaker.


    Yet, since every surface was shining, it was still kind of strange.


    For example, there were no shadows anywhere.


    After all, the floor and walls were also shining.


    There was simply no surface onto which a shadow could be projected.


    Eventually, Nick walked to one of the doors and used a console beside it.


    The next moment, a loud rm thundered throughout the building, and a minuteter, the wall split in two, revealing an opened Containment Unit behind it.


    Nick walked inside, put the ck cube down, walked out, and closed the wall.


    Finally, he went in through the employee entrance and opened the cube.


    "We''re here. You cane out," he said to the Money Sink.

 Chapter 393 393 – Moving Specters

    <h4>Chapter 393 Chapter 393 ¨C Moving Specters </h4>


    The Money Sink crawled out of the ck cube, looked around, and just started to stand in the middle of the room.


    It looked just like her old home.


    "I''ll be back tomorrow with some money. See you," Nick said as he grabbed the ck cube.


    The Money Sink nced at Nick for a second before looking away again wordlessly.


    After walking out of the Containment Unit with the cube, Nick showed the cube to Stacy.


    Stacy inspected the cube, making sure that no Specters were hiding anywhere near or inside it.


    "Alright, get the next one," she said.


    Nick nodded.


    The two of them jumped to the first floor again, left the building, left the Inner City, and entered Dark Dream again.


    The first Specter was done.


    Nick went to the third floor and entered one of the Containment Units.


    As soon as he entered, he heard the excited barking of a puppy.


    Or the Puppy.


    Nick smiled slightly. "We''re going to move you to somewhere else today. Come on, get in the box," he said, gesturing at the ck cube.


    The Puppy looked at the ck cube with fearful eyes.


    "It''s only going to be for a couple of minutes," Nick said.


    The Puppy looked at Nick with hurt in its watery eyes.


    Nick''s small smile vanished.


    "Get in the box," he said in a neutral tone.


    The Puppy began to whimper and approached Nick slowly.


    "Get inside, or I will throw you inside," Nick said with a dark tone.


    The Puppy fearfully stepped back.


    Then, it looked at the ck cube again.


    Finally, it very slowly walked into the cube while acting like it was walking to its execution.


    Nick closed the cube, left via the employee entrance, opened the big door, grabbed the cube, and showed it to Stacy.


    Then, the two of them ran toward Dark Dream''s new building again.


    This time, Nick went to the seventh floor with the cube.


    The Puppy used to be on Dark Dream''s third floor since it was a Physical Specter, but Nick decided to move it to the seventh floor in their new building.


    The seventh floor was for Specters with dangerous mental abilities.


    In a couple of years, the Puppy would be an Adult, and there was a high chance that it might evolve an ability that could manipte people even better.


    Nick did not want to take any chances with the Puppy.


    It looked harmless and cute, but that was exactly what made it so dangerous.


    After delivering the Puppy to the seventh floor, Nick grabbed the next Specter.


    "I know you just moved in, but you gotta move again," Nick said to the big man with spidery limbs in front of him.


    The big man looked at the small cube before looking back at Nick.


    "Come on, you have toe with us in this cube. It''s only for a couple of minutes."


    The man approached the cube and put one of his spidery limbs inside before looking at Nick again.


    Naturally, he wanted to tell Nick that he wasn''t fitting in there.


    "You fit in there," Nick said calmly. "You''re not going to move into your new home while walking around with me. Either you go into the box yourself, or I will cut you into pieces and store you myself. Your choice."


    The Abductor looked at Nick.


    Nick looked back with a neutral expression.


    Then, the big man opened his mouth.


    "AAAAAAHHHHHH!"


    Nick just looked at him as if nothing happened.


    The man closed his mouth.


    Then, he slowly climbed into the cube.


    It wasn''t easy, but he managed topletely stash himself away.


    Nick closed the cube and transported it to Dark Dream''s new building.


    The Abductor was put on the fifth floor, the one for training.


    "We''re moving," Nick said to the next Specter. "I know it''s ufortable, but you have to go into this box for a couple of minutes. After that, you''ll get your new room. Although, it''s white. So, you gotta paint it again."


    A woman with scarlet red hair and many wounds all across her body was sitting in the corner of the room, her legs tucked to her chest.


    "I kill you," she quietly said.


    "No, we''re not cutting right now," Nick said. "We gotta move you to your new ce. I''ll send Larry to work with youter, alright? I heard you like working with Larry."


    The Bleeding Lady just rocked back and forth a bit.


    "Come on, we have to go," Nick said.


    A couple of secondster, the Bleeding Lady''s legs extended, and she started to crawl forward by pulling herself with her arms, her legs just being dragged behind her.


    A red trail of blood was left behind by her.


    Eventually, she crawled into the cube and returned to her previous sitting position.


    "It''s just going to be for about five minutes," Nick said.


    "I kill you," the Bleeding Lady whispered.


    Nick closed the cube and carried it away.


    "Hey, Larry, I need you," Nick said in Dark Dream''s old main hall.


    "Huh?" Larry asked, not expecting to be called by Nick. "What''s up, Boss?"


    "I promised the Bleeding Lady that you would work with her if sheplied. Can youe with me and do thatter? I don''t want her to throw a tantrum," Nick said.


    "Oh," Larry said. "Sure, no problem."


    "Thanks," Nick said.


    Then, Nick, Larry, and Stacy went to the second floor of Dark Dream''s new building.


    Larry followed Nick into the new Containment Unit, and Nick opened the cube.


    "How did you already color it red?!" Nick asked in surprise as he saw the red color inside the cube.


    The Bleeding Lady crawled out of the cube, and she quickly locked onto Larry.


    "Hi," Larry said with a smile.


    "I kill you!" the Bleeding Lady said with quite a loud voice before quickly crawling towards him.


    "You two have fun. I gotta go," Nick said, leaving with the empty cube.


    Nick showed the cube to Stacy again, but this time, Stacy frowned.


    "It''s contaminated. You need to clean this," she said.


    Nick sighed. "Sure."

 Chapter 394 394 – Final Specters

    <h4>Chapter 394 Chapter 394 ¨C Final Specters</h4>


    "This good?" Nick asked for the tenth time or so.


    Stacy inspected the cube closely.


    "Good enough," she said after a bit.


    Nick sighed.


    He had to scrub the cube so many times with Cleansing Liquid, regr cleaner, and even Recovery Liquid for some reason.


    Even Larry had passed by Nick since he was already done working with the Bleeding Lady.


    Finally, Nick and Stacy went back to get the next Specter.


    "Get in the box! We''re putting you in a new Containment Unit!" Nick ordered, pointing at the cube.


    SLAP!


    Nick pped a tentacle away.


    "No, we''re not doing that right now!" Nick said.


    p!


    p!


    Nick pped more tentacles away.


    "Want me to force you into the box?


    p!


    "Okay, that''s it!"


    Nick grabbed the tentacle-filled worm in front of him and threw it into the cube.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick closed the cube, locking the Lover inside.


    He really didn''t like that Specter.


    Nick transported the Lover to the seventh floor of their new building.


    BANG!


    As soon as the cube opened, Nick grabbed the worm and threw it against the wall.


    The worm wriggled around a bit before it started to slowly approach Nick again, wanting to touch him with its tentacles.


    Nick quickly left the Containment Unit with the cube.


    "We''re moving into a new building, and I can''t just let you fly around outside," Nick said. "You gotta go into the box."


    The Dreamer looked at the ck cube.


    Then, it slightly pped its wings and smoothlynded inside the cube.


    Since the Dreamer wasn''t so big, it had plenty of space in there.


    Nick closed the cube and brought it to the seventh floor of Dark Dream''s new building.


    There were zero issues with the Dreamer.


    SHING! SHING!


    Nick grabbed a bloody chunk and chucked it into the cube before closing it.


    This was the Blood Hawk, and Nick didn''t even attempt tomunicate with it.


    He just cut it into pieces and grabbed the biggest chunk with the core.


    The Blood Hawk was delivered to the fifth floor of the new building, and Nick needed to scrub the cube again after transporting it.


    Next, Nick had to cut the Blood Horse very carefully into a cube that just barely fit into the actual cube.


    The Blood Horse was quite big, and it wasn''t easy to make it small enough to transport.


    Just like the Blood Hawk, the Blood Horse was put on the fifth floor.


    After more scrubbing, Nick went and grabbed the sses.


    Since it was a Possession Specter, transporting it was extremely easy.


    Nick put the sses on the fourth floor.


    Then, Nick grabbed the Can and also put it on the fourth floor.


    Now, only three Specters were left, but those three couldn''t be transported with the cube.


    Nick put the cube away since he wouldn''t need it anymore and grabbed a couple of Zephyx Suppressors.


    Next, Nick entered a Containment Unit and put the Zephyx Suppressors around the motionless Screaming Coffin.


    It had just gotten some food this morning, but Nick still had to be careful.


    Since the Screaming Coffin couldn''t be folded, it didn''t fit in the cube, which meant that it had to be transported a different way.


    Luckily, it wasn''t worth a lot, and everyone basically already knew it since they had moved it to their old building the same way.


    This time, Stacy made sure that there were no issues with the Zephyx Suppressors.


    Additionally, the citizens in the Inner City finally got to see an actual Specter instead of just ck cubes.


    When they saw the coffin on Nick''s back, they all looked at it in wonder.


    This was a Specter?


    In the new building, Nick put the Screaming Coffin on the fourth floor and took the Zephyx Suppressors away.


    Now, only two Specters remained.


    "Okay, those two will be troublesome," Nick said. "One of them is a Force Specter, and the other one acts like a mix of Force and Possession Specters. They are also both quite big."


    Nick got one of the expensive Specter Cages and fixed it to the Fog''s Containment Unit on the sixth floor.


    Moving Force Specters was always risky, and the city also forced Nick to keep several Extractors ready that could suppress it in case anything happened.


    The city did not want another Crimson Sea incident.


    Because of that, the Gemini trio, yton, Petra, and Jason, were all following Nick.


    All of their abilities could suppress Force Specters.


    Because of that, the Gemini trio, yton, Petra, and Jason, were all following Nick.


    Luckily, the expensive Containment Unit and the expensive Specter Cage proved to be worth their money, and no issue urred.


    The Fog was pushed into the cage by the Containment Unit, and the cage was moved out of the building by removing one of the walls.


    Fortunately, the ceiling of the new building was high enough for the cage, and parts of the floor were also removable for exactly this reason.


    The Fog was put into its new Containment Unit on the sixth floor without problems.


    And finally, it was time for the most problematic Specter.


    Who would''ve thought that the Dung Heap would be so troublesome to move?


    The biggest issue was that the Dung Heap wasn''t inside a Containment Unit meant for Force Specters, which meant that they had to suppress it manually.


    Ten of Dark Dream''s employees gathered in front of the Containment Unit, and even several guards from the city were standing on standby.


    The only way to get the Dung Heap to move was by getting it out of its Containment Unit first before suppressing it again.


    It was just too big, and any container that could contain it didn''t fit through the employee''s entrance.


    As soon as the door opened, an abhorrent stench assaulted everyone, and a slime-like substance flowed out of the Containment Unit''s exit.


    Nick charged forward and grabbed the Dung Heap.


    Even though the Dung Heap was acting like a Possession and a Force Specter, it was actually a Physical Specter, which meant that Nick could grab it.


    After grabbing it, he charged into the prepared Specter Cage beside him and pulled the Dung Heap into it.


    A momentter, he pushed past the Dung Heap, left the cage, and kicked the Dung Heap until it fit the cage.


    BANG!


    The door closed.


    Finally, the Dung Heap was in the cage.


    However, it came at a price.


    Everyone kept their distance from Nick and looked at him with disgust.


    He did not smell very nice right now.


    Luckily, this was thest Specter.


    So, which floor would the Dung Heap be sent to?


    Surprisingly, the sixth floor.


    The floor for Force Specters.


    Even more, it would be put into a Containment Unit for Force Specters.


    The reason was that Nick suspected that the Dung Heap might transform into a Force Specter in the future.


    What if it lost its slime-like body and turned into actual liquid when it became an Adult?


    Then, it would be able to break out of a normal Containment Unit.


    Because of that, Nick put it in a Containment Unit meant for Force Specters.


    And he was not happy about that, at all.


    Not only did the Dung Heap deliver almost no Zephyx, but now, they even needed to contain it with a Containment Unit that was worth millions upon millions of credits.


    If it weren''t for its ability, Nick would have long since sold this shitty Specter.


    He hated the Dung Heap.

 Chapter 395 395 – Funny Name

    <h4>Chapter 395 Chapter 395 ¨C Funny Name </h4>


    "And that''s it," one of two guards standing in front of one of Dark Dream''s Containment Units said.


    "Thank you," Nick said.


    "Just doing our job," the other guard said. "Do you know what to do with him?"


    "I do," Nick answered.


    "Then, I would tell you to have fun, but we both know that this won''t be the case," one of the guards said with augh before the two of them walked towards the Extractor Shafts.


    Nick followed after them and escorted them out.


    The stairs and the Extractor Shafts were all locked by default, and the guards couldn''t leave without someone escorting them.


    When they reached the Shafts, they went to the side, towards the stairs.


    Extractors often weren''t the biggest fans of using Extractor Shafts from other Manufacturers, and they preferred to use the stairs.


    Nick swiped his left hand over the console, and the door to the stairs opened.


    Compared to the stairwell in Dark Dream''s old building, this one didn''t have a hole in its center.


    There was no way to quickly jump up or down the stairs.


    When they reached the first floor, Nick opened the door with his identification again.


    Nick led the two of them out of the building and said his goodbyes before going back in.


    In order to ess the stairwell and to leave it, one needed identification.


    The main reason for this choice was security and stopping random people from getting to ces they didn''t belong.


    If someone somehow managed to sneak into the stairwell, they could travel between the first and sixth floors, but they wouldn''t be able to leave without proper identification.


    Important to note was the fact that there was a divider between the sixth and seventh floors.


    This divider had been ced here because Specters with dangerous mental powers resided on the seventh floor.


    These Specters might have powers that could manipte normal people, and this divider kept normal people from getting to the seventh floor.


    Additionally, it also stopped people who were already being influenced from getting to the Specters.


    Nick entered the Extractor Shaft and went to the third floor.


    Right now, only one of the Containment Units on the third floor was active.


    Nick took a deep breath and approached the Containment Unit.


    The city had already told him everything about this Specter, and he knew what he had to do.


    However, he didn''t look forward to working with it at all.


    If Nick had to rate the Specter out of ten for different criteria, he would rate it like this.


    Danger: three.


    Money: seven.


    Annoyance: eight.


    As long as one didn''t be careless, this Specter was essentially harmless.


    However, if one lost their focus, one would get into trouble.


    Luckily, since the Specter was inside a Containment Unit, there was still a great likelihood of the Extractor being able to escape in case something went wrong.


    Assuming the Extractor was on the same level as the Talker.


    ''Everything has already been dealt with,'' Nick thought. ''For the next eight hours, no issues should arise.''


    ''I have to get used to working with it since the Talker will be the only real way I can advance in the future.''


    Nick took a deep breath and sighed.


    ''No pain, no gain, I suppose.''


    Nick opened the door.


    As soon as the door opened, Nick could finally see the Talker.


    It was a brightly smiling young man with blonde hair.


    He wore a clean white shirt and ck trousers, giving him a professional look.


    However, his bright and charismatic smile gave him the aura of a charming person who could get along with everyone.


    It wasn''t hard to imagine this man walking through the streets,ughing and joking with everyone he passed by while giving everyone apliment.


    In short, this guy looked like everyone''s friend.


    Nick quickly entered and shut the door behind him.


    "Oh, hey!" the man said in surprise. "You''re a new face! I haven''t seen you before!"


    The man slowly approached Nick.


    Meanwhile, Nick didn''t move and just looked at the man. "Hello."


    "Hi!" the man said with augh. Then, he coughed. "Sorry, I haven''t introduced myself yet."


    The next moment, the man offered his hand with a friendly smile. "Hi, the name''s Jay Jessy Jameson Jonathan Jenkins! I know it''s a mouthful, but you can just call me Jayjay."


    "Yes, hello. My name is Nick Nick," Nick said as he slowly and carefully shook Jayjay''s hand.


    "Nick Nick?" Jayjay repeated in surprise before bursting out intoughter. "That''s one hell of a name. How did youe by it?"


    "Well," Nick said before trailing off.


    The next moment, Nick felt Jayjay''s grip tightening while his body started to slightly shake. It was almost like Jayjay''s entire body was straining with power.


    His eyes also looked intensely into Nick''s eyes.


    "I''m an orphan, and I didn''t really have a name back then¡­"


    As Nick started to narrate his past, Jayjay rxed again.


    His grip loosened, his body rxed, and his eyes unfocused.


    "And you stuck with the name Nick Nick?" Jayjay asked with augh.


    "What else was I supposed to do?" Nick answered with a shrug. "I already introduced myself in this way in front of all the powerful people of the city. It was ride or die."


    Jayjay justughed. "To think that you would name yourself Nick Nick. That''s hrious! Did you ever think about changing your name ever since then?"


    "Not really," Nick said. "It isn''t really an issue."


    "Howe? I would think that most people would have issues with such a name."


    "Well," Nick said, "to me, a name is not really that important. It''s just a way for others to refer to you. I''m still me, you know. My name doesn''t really have a big influence on who I am, I think."


    "That''s an interesting viewpoint," Jayjay said. "Why do you think others put a lot of emphasis on their name, then?"


    "I think other people view their names as a representation¡­"


    The conversation continued.

 Chapter 396 396 – The Talker

    <h4>Chapter 396 Chapter 396 ¨C The Talker</h4>


    "It''s like a big greyish-white stone. Usually, you can see a couple of guards standing around it."


    "Huh, why are guards standing around the Rust Lick?" Jayjay asked.


    "It''s because salt is necessary to survive, and the people of the Outer City often forget to consume enough salt. People in the Inner City have a lot of added salt in their food, but people in the Outer City don''t."


    "Why don''t they use salt in their food? I heard it tastes good," Jayjay asked.


    "Mostly money problems. Salt is expensive."


    "Why''s the salt so expensive?" Jayjay asked.


    Nick felt like it was hard to focus his eyes, and he often saw his vision bing blurry.


    How long had he been at this?


    He didn''t know.


    He had set the timer to eight hours before entering, and since the rm hadn''t rung yet, Nick couldn''t have been here for longer than eight hours.


    How much had he said over the past hours?


    He was sure that he had never said this many words in a single day.


    ''This is going to be my life now,'' Nick thought as he kept talking about the characteristics of salt.


    This was how one worked with the Talker.


    The Talker was a Specter that grew more powerful by socially exhausting people.


    It demanded constant attention, and it demanded a smooth and endless conversation.


    When it asked a question, it wanted an answer.


    Surprisingly, the answer didn''t have to perfectly reflect the person''s true thoughts and beliefs.


    Lying was also okay, but the lie shouldn''t be too obvious, and it would be bad if one contradicted oneself at ater point.


    While talking to the Talker, one wasn''t allowed to take a couple of moments to rx or to gather one''s thoughts.


    No drinking, eating, sleeping, or getting distracted.


    The Talker wanted a high-quality conversation that demanded attention.


    If one stopped talking or started to give very short and curt answers, one would regret it.


    The Talker would start by lightly pping the other person''s face.


    If the person didn''t return to talking normally, the Talker would get more aggressive.


    Tearing fingernails out.


    Punching.


    Tearing limbs off.


    The Talker would only lose interest if it was clear that no amount of torture would make the person talkative again.


    This was the only oue.


    After all, as a Specter, the Talker didn''t have any real needs.


    It didn''t feel hungry, thirsty, exhausted, tired, bored, or whatever.


    It could keep going.


    It could keep talking for years without a break.


    Humans couldn''t do that.


    Normal humans needed to eat, sleep, and drink.


    And even Extractors would, at some point, be too exhausted to continue talking.


    The only silver lining was that the Talker was amazing at keeping a conversation going by asking constant questions, which meant that the human talking to it wouldn''t run out of topics or things to talk about.


    If one heard about the concept of a constantly talking Specter, one might think that it was funny.


    However, when one was actually forced to talk without a break for hours, one wouldn''t think it was funny anymore.


    Especially when the Specter suddenly started physically torturing them.


    People who had fallen victim to the Talker had received lifelong damage.


    Many of them had lost limbs, and those who managed to recover from the physical torture had be much quieter afterward.


    Bing the Talker''s victim was not funny.


    DING!


    The high-pitched noise of a bell came out of one of the walls of the Containment Unit.


    When Nick heard that, he felt like someone had saved him.


    "Oh, that was an interesting sound. What does it mean?" Jayjay asked.


    "It''s an rm. It means our time is up and that I have to go," Nick said.


    "Come on, we only just started," Jayjay said with a chipperugh. "We can talk for some more."


    "We''ll see each otherter. I''ll have to work with you again, after all. I am going to leave now, and you won''t be able to stop me," Nick said as he took a step toward the employee entrance.


    "No, no, no," Jayjay said with a shake of his head as he also took a step forward. "This conversation is great! We can''t just stop."


    Nick didn''t say anything and touched the door.


    He looked at Jayjay.


    Jayjay looked back.


    CRK!


    Suddenly, des exploded out of Jayjay''s hands, and he charged forward at terrifying speeds!


    BANG!


    Nick took out his own des and parried Jayjay''s des.


    Jayjay was an Early Adult, which put him at the same level as Nick.


    However, Nick''s body was more powerful due to his constant training, and Jayjay''s des were knocked to the side, leaving his torso open.


    BOOOOM!


    Nick kicked Jayjay''s chest, shooting him across the Containment Unit.


    BANG!


    Jayjay''s back hit the wall.


    At the same time, Nick opened the door and left.


    Before Jayjay could recover and get to him, Nick closed the door.


    As soon as the door closed, Jayjay immediately stopped in his charge.


    In one fluid motion, all his des vanished, and the destroyed parts of his suit were repaired.


    Then, he walked to the middle of the Containment Unit and just stood there, looking forward with a charming smile.


    Silence.


    Jayjay didn''t say or do anything.


    He just waited.


    For his next conversation.


    Outside the Containment Unit, Nick took a deep breath.


    Even though he knew that this was going to happen, fighting an Adult was still a bit nerve-wracking.


    Nick knew that this was how it was going to be every day from now on.


    While the Talker was definitely a very intelligent Specter, it wasn''t sane.


    No matter how many times it happened, the Talker would always attack Nick if he ever attempted to interrupt the conversation.


    No amount of logical arguments or pleading would change that.


    For a while, Nick just aimlessly looked forward.


    His mind could rx for the first time in eight hours.


    Nick was so happy that he could just do nothing.


    He could just look forward and not think about anything.


    He could finally afford to not do anything.


    Nick didn''t say or do anything as he just looked forward.


    It was so rxing.

 Chapter 397 397 – Perception

    <h4>Chapter 397 Chapter 397 ¨C Perception </h4>


    Time continued to pass.


    Julian kept teaching Nick about a couple of things, but the number of their lessons had lowered by quite a bit.


    By now, many of the things that Julian was teaching Nick were very advanced and only useful in certain scenarios.


    For example, how material could be influenced with Zephyx.


    It was nice to know, but how would that knowledge help Nick?


    It wasn''t like Dark Dream was trying to enter the market for these kinds of materials.


    Important things like how to negotiate, how to treat employees, how to read others, how to handle money, and many other things had already been covered.


    While Nick wasn''t experienced enough to be as good of a negotiator as someone like Vernon or Zarren Harrow, he was already better than most business owners in the loweryer of the Inner City.


    So, there wasn''t much more that Julian could teach Nick.


    Also, there were not as many opportunities anymore.


    That was due to the location of their new building.


    Since the building was in the middle of the loweryer of the Inner City, powerful people asionally walked by.


    While that wasn''t an issue for Experts and weaker, Julian had to be careful about the Specialists and the asional Hero.


    A level five Extractor''s senses were terrifyingly sharp.


    For example, a Specialist about a hundred meters away from the building could hear the slight vibration of the ceiling on Dark Dream''s first floor, and with their terrifying senses and speed of thinking, they could detect the location, speed, and weight of the person walking on Dark Dream''s second floor.


    Because of that, Julian couldn''t just cover all of Dark Dream with his mouths anymore.


    To be sure, Julian didn''t extend his mouths to the third floor or lower.


    The senses of a Hero were even more terrifying, but their senses couldn''t stretch further into Dark Dream due to the extremely thick walls.


    As long as the Hero didn''t stand immediately in front of the building, they wouldn''t be able to sense anything above the third floor.


    But if they stood in front of it, they could even sense everything on the sixth floor and higher.


    Julian had to be careful while being in the Inner City.


    Luckily, since Julian was also a "Specialist", he could basically sense the entire building, even though his actual body was on the eighth floor most of the time.


    Speaking of, due to the absurd defenses of the building, Julian didn''t need to stay inside the building all the time.


    In Dark Dream''s old building, any Veteran or Expert could have silently cut through one of the walls and entered.


    But here, things were not that easy.


    A powerful Expert could get through the walls, but it would take a long time, and it would be insanely loud.


    This meant that the Expert would need to go through Dark Dream''s entrance.


    All of this meant that Julian could leave the building and stay outside as long as he could still sense Dark Dream''s entrance.


    This made things a lot easier since he could now also meet other business owners and negotiate with them in person.


    Another positive aspect of that was that Nick didn''t need to talk to Julian as often anymore.


    Sure, Julian could sense Nick, but he couldn''t just shout across floors.


    And Nick was thankful for that.


    He was not interested in talking with anyone whatsoever right now.


    Every single day, Nick went to work with the Talker for eight hours.


    It was ridiculously exhausting, and a ton of work would always pile up during his absence.


    The first couple of days had been extremely exhausting for him, but after a couple of weeks, he finally got used to working with the Talker.


    The good thing about the Talker was that it apparently didn''t remember conversations that happened a while ago.


    It even kept asking Nick about his name whenever they met again.


    It was like the Talker couldn''t retain new information in the long term.


    It seemingly only had short-term memory.


    This made working with the Talker way easier since, as long as Nick kept answering in the same ways, the conversations always yed out the same way.


    This put Nick into a certain rhythm of repetition, which made it far less exhausting.


    The Talker also seemingly never learned new ways to attack Nick.


    Every single time, it unveiled its des and tried to cut into Nick''s arms, trying to keep him pinned down.


    Nick just parried the two strikes and kicked the Talker, throwing it against the far wall.


    After several weeks, Nick also found an even better way.


    As long as he kept casually talking while walking away, the Talker wouldn''t stop him.


    Nick then just opened the door while talking, stepped through, closed the door, and stopped talking.


    The Talker would only be aggressive as soon as it lost sight of Nick, but before it could reach him, the door was already closed.


    Pulling off this tactic took a lot of practice and experience with the Talker, but it made things even easier.


    Nick always worked with the Talker from four p.m. to twelve a.m., and after that, the first thing he always did was to collect all the Zephyx from all the different Containment Units.


    Naturally, he started with the Talker, which was the biggest source of Zephyx most of the time.


    It was only most of the time instead of always since another Specter sometimes gave more in a day.


    Nick walked towards the side of the wall and removed a te.


    After putting in the code, a small door opened, and Nick could see three containers for Zephyx.


    The left one was the only one with Zephyx inside of it.


    Nick looked at the disy on top of the Zephyx container.


    "237 grams," Nick said before taking the container out together with the disy since it was attached to the container.


    Nick had bought these containers since he didn''t want to always write down how many grams each container had.


    Next, Nick pulled out a box from the side and put the container in one of the padded holes.


    He closed the box and carried it away.

 Chapter 398 398 – How Much Money in a Day?

    <h4>Chapter 398 Chapter 398 ¨C How Much Money in a Day?</h4>


    Nick went to the second floor and got the Zephyx containers from there as well.


    The Money Sink produced 167 grams today.


    The Bleeding Lady produced around 115 grams.


    After that, Nick went to the fourth floor.


    When Nick pulled out the container from the sses'' Containment Unit, white crystals slowly showered down into the second container.


    The reason for that was that someone was currently working with the sses.


    Fortunately, the Containment Units were designed to work this way, and whenever a container was pulled out, the Containment Unit would start filling another container.


    The sses produced about 95 grams of Zephyx a day.


    Since the sses couldn''t grow more powerful, this was what they would always produce every day as long as they were worked with by a Mid John or stronger.


    Next, Nick looked at the Can.


    Today, it was 0 grams of Zephyx since the Can wasn''t worked with every single day.


    Sometimes, it went up to 60 grams, but most of the time, it was 0 or 20 grams.


    Then, Nick grabbed the Zephyx produced by the Screaming Coffin.


    About eight grams.


    Nick remembered the time when eight grams had been a lot.


    After that, Nick went to the fifth floor and got the Zephyx from there.


    The Abductor delivered about 67 grams.


    The Abductor could produce much more Zephyx a day, but Nick was using him to train new employees instead of trying to get the most out of him with a couple of Johns.


    Dark Dream had too few Johns for the number of Adolescents they had.


    The Blood Hawk produced five grams of Zephyx.


    The Blood Horse produced eight grams.


    After that, Nick went to the sixth floor.


    The Dung Heap produced 37 grams, which was quite sad.


    The Dung Heap was one of the few Specters that were limited by the food they had ess to instead of Zephyx production.


    If Nick had ess to 100 tons of food to dump on the Dung Heap, the Dung Heap could probably even produce an entire kilogram of Zephyx a day.


    However, Nick didn''t have ess to anything like that, and he also refused to buy edible food since that would drive up food prices in the city, which would cause trouble for the normal people.


    Because of that, Nick only got 20 to 40 grams of Zephyx out of the Dung Heap per day.


    Next, Nick grabbed the Zephyx from the neighboring Containment Unit.


    189 grams of Zephyx from the Fog.


    The Fog was producing good money, but it also demanded the constant attention of three Johns, who worked 24-hour shifts with two rest days after that.


    However, the Fog always produced a lot of Zephyx.


    Then, Nick went to the seventh floor and got the Zephyx from there.


    With the Abductor now avable, Newbies didn''t get to work with the Puppy anymore, which meant that the Puppy now produced a lot more Zephyx.


    Today, the Puppy produced 142 grams of Zephyx, but it also demanded three Johns dedicated to it.


    Then, Nick grabbed the Zephyx produced by the Lover.


    Today, it was 105 grams, but that also varied wildly.


    The Lover was only worked with by Kerry, and the amount it produced depended on how many times Kerry worked with the Lover in a day.


    The lowest was around 50 grams, while the highest was around 140 grams.


    Then, Nick went over and grabbed the Zephyx produced by the Dreamer.


    212 grams.


    The Dreamer produced somewhere between 180 and 250 grams of Zephyx per day.


    However, that was a bit misleading since that was only what the Containment Unit absorbed.


    Since the Dreamer only gave 75% of its Zephyx to Dark Dream instead of the standard 90%, the Dreamer actually produced a lot more.


    Of course, one of the reasons was that the Dreamer was Dark Dream''s only Peak Adolescent, but another reason was that it just produced a lot of Zephyx.


    If it gave Dark Dream 90% instead of 75%, it could even reach a production of 300 grams a day, which was crazy.


    The Dreamer was the only Specter that could produce more Zephyx than the Talker.


    However, one had to keep one thing in mind whileparing the production of Zephyx.


    The Dreamer was being worked with 24 hours a day, and Dark Dream was working with it at full efficiency.


    Meanwhile, the Talker was only worked with eight hours a day.


    Theoretically, if Nick had the time or if Dark Dream had more Veterans, they could work with it three times more.


    That would produce between 600 to 700 grams of Zephyx a day!


    Naturally, the Dreamer, as a Peak Adolescent, couldn''t produce as much Zephyx as the Talker, an Early Adult.


    After putting that Zephyx container into the box as well, Nick walked to the eighth floor and added everything up.


    1,387 grams of Zephyx.


    That was the equivalent of 1.387 million credits.


    However, that wasn''t the raw profit they made.


    They had to pay for deliveries, normal employees, the Extractors, the executives, the team leaders, the food waste, and the pure credits dumped into the Money Sink.


    With the general costs deducted, Dark Dream was left with about 1.1 million credits.


    About 10% of that would go to the city as taxes, leaving a bit less than a million.


    As a collective, the Extractors would get 100,000 credits in total.


    The two team leaders got about 25,000 credits each, for a total of 50,000 credits.


    Nick earned around 50,000 credits due to his position, but just like the team leaders, he also got a big chunk since he was working with some Specters and got the Extractor ie as well.


    Julian got 200,000 credits.


    The remaining 600,000 credits were left for thepany to keep.


    If they needed powerful equipment for Extractors, new Containment Units, and other things, they would need to use that money.


    Otherwise, it was just umting.


    Dark Dream was earning a lot now.


    Every day, they had over a million credits of revenue.

 Chapter 399 399 – 18 Months

    <h4>Chapter 399 Chapter 399 ¨C 18 Months </h4>


    More time passed, and finally, after around 18 more months, Nick managed to be a Mid Veteran.


    Nick had been an Extractor for nine years by now, and he was already a Mid Veteran.


    One had to know that bing a Mid Veteran this quickly was crazy.


    If anyone managed to be a Mid Veteran, that mostly happened in theirte 30s or their 40s.


    Meanwhile, Nick was already one at 25 years of age.


    On the other hand, not much had happened within thest 18 months.


    Dark Dream hadn''t caught an additional Specter.


    This felt quite stagnant. Especially since Nick hadn''t done much except work for the past 18 months.


    Yet, it was important to note that there were no shortcuts when it came to bing stronger.


    The fact that Nick was a Mid Veteran at 25 years of age was already unprecedented in Crimson City.


    He was over five years younger than the previous record holder had been.


    Sadly, Nick still had to invest years into every level, and things would only get worse.


    The time it took to advance was already bordering on suspicious, and even if Nick somehow managed to advance even faster, the only thing that would aplish was that the city would thoroughly investigate all of Dark Dream, which might uncover Julian''s secret.


    There were no natural nor artificial treasures or herbs or potions or whatever that could increase someone''s level rapidly.


    The fastest way was to work with Specters and consume even more Zephyx by inhaling or eating it.


    However, the second part had only little effect and was very expensive.


    So, while Dark Dream seemed slow and stale from the viewpoint of inexperienced people, the experienced Manufacturers could tell that Dark Dream was rapidly bing more powerful.


    Especially their employees were growing stronger rapidly.


    Dark Dream now had two Peak Johns with Taren also bing one.


    Sadly, Jenny was still too early to try going into Zephosis.


    She needed to absorb more Zephyx.


    Aside from that, Dark Dream now had seven Late Johns, which was far more than they had previously.


    There were also four Mid Johns and six Initial Johns.


    In total, Dark Dream now had 19 Johns, which was over double of what they had before the Crimson Sea broke out.


    Even more, the power of their Johns was also much higher.


    On top of that, Dark Dream also had 17 Newbies of different levels, making them about equal to the number of Newbies Sce had.


    Having a great number of Newbies represented having a healthy supply of weak Specters, which ensured the supply of new employees.


    For a Manufacturer, it was always preferable to gain new Extractors by raising them.


    Getting Extractors from otherpanies was always associated with risk.


    What if those Extractors were spies?


    Additionally, they would need to pay a fee to thepany where the Extractor was currently employed.


    As for Extractors without a job, it was best to avoid them.


    Every Manufacturer put tons of money and resources into raising every Extractor, and if a Manufacturer was willing to essentially burn all that investment and fire them, there had to be serious issues with that Extractor.


    It was extremely rare for an unemployed Extractor to get hired.


    The only real recourse for the Extractor was to join the city and work as some form of contractor.


    They would not receive all the fancy treatment that real guards enjoyed but still had to work quite a bit.


    Even more, the money this job paid was horrendous.


    However, it was better than every other job.


    Even though the pay was horrendous, that was only true when seen from the viewpoint of the average Extractor.


    Someone working for the city as a contractor still earned easily enough to live in the loweryer of the Inner City.


    So, with all of this considered, it was important for a Manufacturer to have many Hatchlings and Adolescents since those produced fresh new recruits.


    However, the employees were not the only things that grew quickly in Dark Dream.


    The Specters also grew rather rapidly.


    For example, the Talker had be a Mid Adult already, but that wasn''t really because of Nick.


    The Talker had already been close to advancing when Dark Dream had gotten it, and its next advancement would take years.


    Dark Dream also gained two more Peak Adolescents in the Fog and the Abductor.


    The Bleeding Lady, Dung Heap, and Money Sink were Late Adolescents, and the remainder of the Adolescents were Mid Adolescents.


    Dark Dream did not have any normal Early and Initial Adolescents.


    After all, Dark Dream hadn''t caught many new Specters.


    Luckily, the Puppy and the Fog were easy to work with, giving the Initial and Early Johns some work.


    With all of this said, one thing was clear.


    Dark Dream needed time.


    Everything and everyone was advancing, but they still needed more time to produce more powerful Extractors and Specters.


    With time, several of their Adolescents would advance to bing Adults, and several of their Johns would be Veterans.


    However, Nick didn''t have that time.


    At least, he didn''t want to have it.


    Dark Dream needed more Adolescents.


    Right now, Dark Dream had just the right ratio between Adolescents and Johns.


    However, the number of Adolescents would decrease in the future since some of them would be Adults, while more and more Newbies would be Johns.


    Additionally, Nick needed another powerful Adult.


    Right now, he and the Talker were at the same level, but as soon as Nick became a Late Veteran, things would change.


    The Talker would still be nowhere close to bing a Late Adult, making it very difficult for Nick to advance again.


    If Nick had two additional Mid Veterans, the Talker might only grow a little slower than Nick, but that wasn''t the case.


    As things stood now, the Talker would probably need around a decade to be a Late Adult.


    Nick didn''t want to wait that long to advance.


    Mainly due to Julian.


    Julian was also advancing.


    He had not advanced a level yet, but he was about to.


    In just five years, Julian would have managed to be an Early Fanatic.


    If Nick didn''t catch up, he might not survive.


    After all, would Julian keep Nick alive when he had gained control over the entire city?


    Of course not.


    Because of that, Nick decided to go all-in when it came to helping Dark Dream grow.


    Nick needed Dark Dream to be more powerful rapidly if he wanted to keep his current rate of advancement.


    So, Nick decided to do something drastic.


    He would go on an excursion again.


    But this time, he wouldn''t go with Dark Dream.


    No, he would go on an excursion with Sce.

 Chapter 400 400 – Roles

    <h4>Chapter 400 Chapter 400 ¨C Roles</h4>


    "We''re here to meet Mr. Nick," a smaller blonde man said to the receptionist of Dark Dream. "We''re the team from Sce. He should be expecting us."


    "Of course," the receptionist said politely. "Please, give me a short moment. I''m going to get him right away."


    The next moment, the receptionist walked off towards the stairs.


    The three people standing in front of the desk watched the receptionist leave.


    They didn''t say anything and just waited, their expressions neutral.


    About a minuteter, they saw someoneing back with a tall man filled with muscles.


    Naturally, that was Nick.


    The three of them had already seen Nick before, but only one of them had interacted with him before.


    "Hey, Carl," Nick said with a nod to the smaller blonde man. "I presume we''re going to go right now?"


    Carl nodded back.


    Carl wore the uniform of Sce, and he didn''t seem to carry a weapon.


    However, hisck of a weapon didn''t mean that he was harmless.


    Far from it.


    After all, he was the second Expert from Sce and the only other Expert besides their CZE, Hera Marion.


    However, since he had only be an Expert about four years ago, he was still at the Initial level.


    Advancing within the Expert Stage took a lot of effort and time.


    Carl was Sce''s vice-CZE, and he was responsible for gathering new Specters for Sce.


    Nick and Carl had talked a couple of times in the past.


    "Yes, we''re going soon," Carl answered with a neutral voice. "Let me introduce the team first."


    Then, Carl pointed at a tall but thin man with long ck hair. The man looked rather wild with his long and unkempt hair, and there was a certain coldness in his eyes. On his back was a rifle that was nearly as long as him.


    Nick could immediately tell that this was a very experienced fighter, but that was to be expected.


    From what Nick had heard, these three were Sce''s main force when it came to capturing Specters.


    They were responsible for capturing almost 20% of Sce''s Specters.


    "This is Irwin, our Sniper and Senser. He''s a Peak Veteran," Carl said. "Since you were adamant that our abilities are to remain confidential, I can''t tell you more."


    "Hi," Irwin said with a distant and neutral voice.


    Nick nodded.


    Then, Carl pointed at a brown-haired man of average size. The man carried two guns in his holsters, and he looked at Nick with a skeptical raised brow.


    "This is Mark, our Maniptor, and he''s a Mid Veteran," Carl said.


    "Hey," Mark said with a nod.


    Nick nodded back.


    Then, Carl turned to his two teammates and pointed at Nick. "This is Nick. He''s a Mid Veteran, and he''s a Senser, an Assassin, and a Runner."


    When the other two heard that, grimaces of disbelief and skepticism appeared on their faces.


    Somebody that could fill all of these roles?


    Yeah, right, sure.


    These things that Carl mentioned were roles certain people were able to fulfill during a group mission.


    The role system was used by all the other Manufacturers within Crimson City.


    Dark Dream hadn''t adopted this role system yet since they had only had a single mission into the outer world.


    There was not much point in categorizing everyone.


    In general, there were ten roles.


    A Bruiser was somebody who was good at engaging enemies directly without dying to a quick attack.


    yton, the tall guy from Dark Dream with his huge shield, counted as a Bruiser.


    A Bruiser had the job to buy time for the remaining members of the team.


    Even though hisck of a weapon and his small stature made it seem different, Carl was actually the Bruiser of this team.


    A Sniper was, as the name suggested, someone who could take an enemy out from a long range.


    Jenny would be a good example of a Sniper from Dark Dream.


    A Maniptor was somebody who could affect the battlefield without directly causing a lot of damage.


    Fields of darkness, pulling enemies closer from a distance, pushing enemies away, distorting the surroundings.


    These were examples of what Maniptors used to manipte the battlefield.


    An Assassin was somebody who could very quickly reach an enemy and kill them.


    A good example was Nick.


    A Senser was somebody who had an ability that allowed them to sense the surroundings and scan for threats.


    Nick was a good example since he could sense if somebody could see him or not.


    A Runner was somebody who was extremely good at escaping.


    This might seem unimportant, but this job could be the most important one in certain situations.


    If a Runner managed to escape, the assault on the team would be unveiled, and the attackers would be prosecuted.


    After all, attacking other Extractors was highly illegal.


    Most of the time, if a Runner managed to escape, the assaulting party would immediately flee.


    If a powerful guard or the governor appeared, they would be caught alive, and everyone would know which Manufacturer was responsible for the attack.


    Another role was the Healer.


    As the name suggested, Healers had the ability to either rejuvenate somebody''s vitality or rejuvenate somebody''s Zephyx storage.


    That one person from the Spartans who had been in the team attacking Nick back then was a good example.


    Back then, she had helped one of her team members recover their Zephyx.


    A Suppressor was somebody who could exhaust and suppress an enemy.


    Three of Nick''s teammates from thest excursion, yton, Petry, and Jason, were good examples.


    All three of them had the ability from the Money Sink, allowing them to absorb an enemy''s Zephyx.


    Suppressors were essential when it came to fighting Force Specters.


    An Informant was somebody who could extract information out of somebody with their ability.


    Jenny, for example, could count as an Informant.


    She had the Dreamer''s ability, and with it, she could look into the dreams of somebody.


    Thest role had the charming name of Whatever, and it acted as anything that couldn''t be ssified by the other nine.


    Most Extractors could only fulfill one of these roles, but there were also a couple that could fulfill two.


    When somebody said that they could fulfill three, they were most likely exaggerating or lying.


    Nick could fulfill three of these roles, but that was hard to believe for others.


    If somebody''s skillset was this diverse, chances were that they were not good at any of them.


    In fact, none of Nick''s three new teammates believed him.


    However, they kept quiet.


    After all, Nick was Dark Dream''s CZE, and it was important not to ruin the rtionship between the two Manufacturers.

 Chapter 401 401 – Deadweight

    <h4>Chapter 401 Chapter 401 ¨C Deadweight </h4>


    After Carl introduced Nick, nobody reacted.


    "Nick," Carl said in an authoritative voice, turning to Nick again. "During this mission, you are part of my team. When we are outside, it is imperative that you listen to my orders. I would also ask you to minimize the chatter unless it is mission-rted. Do you understand?"


    Nick nodded. "Of course."


    "Will you follow my orders?" Carl asked.


    "I will," Nick answered neutrally.


    Carl nodded. "Good. The mission will most likely take between 16 to 24 hours. Can you afford to stay away for this period of time?"


    "I can," Nick said.


    "Then, we''re going to leave right now. Nick, your position is beside Mark. Stay close to him and keep an eye out."


    "Yes," Nick answered as he approached Mark, the Mid Veteran Maniptor with his two guns.


    Mark threw a short and polite smile at Nick, but it immediately vanished as soon as he looked away from Nick again.


    It was not difficult for Nick to see what the team''s true opinions were.


    They were not trying to keep their opinions secret.


    This was a team that had worked together for years, and thest time they had had a fourth member was over a decade ago.


    The three of them relied on each other, and all of them trusted everyone else with their lives.


    This was Sce''s most experienced team, and they had been in the outside world over a hundred times over the years.


    And now, they had to escort an inexperienced and young Veteran from another Manufacturer because of politics.


    The three of them had a job, which was to find and capture Specters.


    Where did it state in their contracts that they now also had to be babysitters?


    If Nick died outside, the fallout for Sce would be tremendous.


    Sure, Dark Dream was not huge, but they still gave Sce help worth over ten million credits per month.


    Additionally, while the group didn''t have a high opinion of Nick, they had a very high opinion of Julian, and killing Nick might anger Julian.


    They essentially had to carry Nick around outside, and they couldn''t afford to let him die.


    Sadly, they didn''t have a choice.


    Hera had a very high opinion of Nick, and she kept telling Carl that Nick would be a great help to them outside.


    Additionally, helping Dark Dream was equivalent to helping themselves.


    Even more, she kept telling Carl not to underestimate Nick.


    Dark Dream hade out of nothing, and Nick had been their CZE for nine years by now.


    Dark Dream had grown a scary amount within this time, and without a great CZE, they would have long since stopped existing.


    Carl believed Hera that Nick was probably an amazing CZE.


    However, traveling around outside was somethingpletely different from running a Manufacturer.


    A CZE had to know how Specters operated, how to run a business, how to work with Specters, how to organize, and a couple more things rted to the business.


    CZEs did not need to be strong in battle.


    CZEs did not need to know how the outside world works.


    Sure, Nick might be an amazing CZE, but due to his young age and his inexperience, he couldn''t possibly have the skillset required to go on such a big mission outside.


    Nick was supposed to look around the five kilometers surrounding the city to get a feel for the outside world.


    Meanwhile, Carl and his team always went far away from the city to search for Specters.


    These areas were not properly mapped, and they could fall prey to any unknown Specter.


    Additionally, when they were so far away from the city, there was also a chance that they would meet somebody from another city.


    That was almost always bad.


    The rules dictated that nobody was allowed to kill another Extractor from the city.


    There was nothing about not killing someone from a different city.


    Extractors that traveled so far away from their cities were powerful and rich.


    Just their Barriers cost millions of credits.


    And since it was not exactly illegal to kill people from different cities, they could actually sell those Barriers.


    Carl''s team of four was worth over 30 million credits.


    Even Specialists would be interested in that much money unless it required a lot of work to attain the money.


    Going far away from the city was extremely dangerous, and thest thing the team needed was some deadweight that they had to carry with them, like Nick.


    So, yeah, all in all, the team did not hold a high opinion of Nick.


    Carl left the building, and Mark followed after him.


    Naturally, Nick stayed close to Mark.


    Thest person leaving was Irwin.


    "Just stay close, and everything will be fine," Mark said with a friendly tone to Nick.


    Nick nodded. "Of course."


    Mark smiled, but his smile quickly vanished again when he looked away.


    Obviously, he was just trying to be nice when, in truth, he really didn''t want to.


    The four of them quickly ran around the megastructure until they were north of it.


    Then, they walked toward the edge of the city.


    "Have you jumped over the gap before?" Mark suddenly asked.


    "No," Nick said.


    "That''s fine," Mark added. "Carl will make sure to catch you."


    Nick just nodded again.


    The four of them stopped near the northern edge of the city.


    "Nick, you go after Mark. When jumping, err on the side of using too much instead of too little power," Carl said. "Remember to always keep your eyes closed. Close them before you jump, and don''t open them until you hit the ground."


    "Understood," Nick said.


    Carl nodded.


    SHING!


    And then, he suddenly shot towards the north at insane speeds.


    In an instant, he broke through the red curtain of mist.


    "Just do it like I do," Mark told Nick as he readied himself.


    BANG!


    Then, Mark charged forward, and after a couple of steps, he jumped forward with all of his power.


    Just like Carl, Mark vanished in the red mist.

 Chapter 402 402 – Jump

    <h4>Chapter 402 Chapter 402 ¨C Jump</h4>


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He had never jumped over the gap before.


    Naturally, jumping over the gap meant jumping over the 1 to 1.5 kilometers between the city''s edge and the outside world.


    A very athletic Initial Veteran could aplish that, but it was extremely risky.


    Extractors were allowed to leave the city in this way, but they had to get permission from a city captain before doing so.


    However, while jumping out of the city was okay, jumping into the city was forbidden.


    The main reason was that, with closed eyes, the Extractor wouldn''t be able to properly control their fall, which would result in people dying and houses getting destroyed.


    The northern part of the city was nearly as close to the outside world as the southern part, which was the closest.


    Ignoring the bridge, the southern part of the city was only about a kilometer away from the outside world.


    It used to be more, but the city had already grown quite a bit.


    After Nick took a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes and focused on the street in front of him.


    SHING!


    Nick rapidly elerated without making any noise.


    Then, he jumped, and at the same time, he closed his eyes.


    BANG!


    Nick shot forward, and a bit of light from his activating Barrier managed to get through his eyelids.


    Nick had jumped with a lot of force to make sure that he didn''t fall into the Crimson Sea.


    Nevertheless, he was still nervous.


    Jumping into the unknown was always terrifying.


    BANG!


    "Keep your eyes closed," Nick heard Carl''s voice from in front of him.


    Carl had caught Nick, and the two of them were now falling.


    BANG!


    Carlnded while keeping Nick stable.


    "You can open them now," he said before stepping away.


    Nick slowly opened his eyes and saw the outside world.


    It was brown and lifeless, like always.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Thanks."


    Carl didn''t answer.


    Right now, Carl, Nick, and Mark were in a small valley north of the city.


    South of their position was the wall surrounding the Crimson Sea.


    Carl kept looking upward.


    "You shot out with quite a lot of speed," Mark said from beside Nick with a surprised voice. "You could''ve flown for another 500 meters, probably."


    BANG!


    At that moment, a ck object shot out of the red curtain.


    Carl immediately jumped and intercepted the ck object, which was obviously Irwin.


    Veterans had a terrifying amount of power, and the speed at which they were jumping out was terrifying.


    As a Mid Veteran, Nick could move at speeds of over 500 kph, and if he put everything into a jump, he could even move at nearly 700 kph.


    Because of that, it looked like Irwin had been a cannonball.


    "Come, stay close," Mark said as he walked towards Carl and Irwin.


    Carl motioned forward, and everyone followed.


    Nick and Mark ran past Irwin, and Irwin then followed after them.


    Nick had only been at the south and the east of the city.


    He had not yet been to the west or the north.


    However, he knew what was around the city.


    Far to the southwest was the iron mine.


    Directly to the west was the isted field with the carbon nts.


    The field was called the Carbon Field.


    Directly to the west of the Carbon Field was the Land of Desires, which was the reason why the city had decided to ce the Carbon Field to the city''s west.


    The Land of Desires was an area with a width of about two kilometers, which waspletely covered in delicious food and drinks.


    Huge trees filled with fruit.


    Bushes filled with nuts.


    Crystal clear waters.


    Flowers filled with sweet nectar.


    Cooked chickens growing out of the ground.


    Cooked meat hanging from trees.


    Of course, the Land of Desires was a Specter, and just as expected, eating anything from there would be bad.


    If someone ate from the Land of Desires, they would immediately grow addicted.


    Without interference, the person would remain inside and gorge themselves to death.


    But even if somebody could be pulled away, the withdrawal symptoms were brutal.


    Shivers, panic, terror, aggression, heart palpitations, fever, existential dread, suicidal thoughts, and many other things.


    If someone ate from the Land of Desires, the chances of their death would be over 60%, and that was assuming that they immediately got medical attention.


    The Carbon Fields upied the area between the city and the Land of Desires.


    The reason was, of course, the slimes.


    The slimes attacked the Land of Desires just as they attacked the Forests.


    The only difference was that the Land of Desires didn''t lose any Zephyx.


    After all, the Specter was present, and it simply used its natural defenses to fight off the slimes.


    This didn''t work for the Forests since they were not the Specter.


    They were minions or objects of power of the real Specter.


    They had limited batteries, which couldn''t be refilled.


    The Land of Desires created an amazing defense for the Carbon Fields, which left only the north, northeast, south, and southeast open for attacks.


    The northwest, west, and southwest didn''t need to be defended, and the east was upied by the Crimson Sea.


    What about the north of the city, the ce where Nick currently was?


    Well¡­


    There wasn''t much.


    While the other areas around the city had many noticeable Specters, like the Forests, Slimes, Infesters, Corrosive Dust, Desert, and Land of Desires, there was no noticeable Specter to the north of the city.


    And that was concerning.


    Why were there Specters around every other part of the city while there was no Specter to the north?


    Nobody really knew.


    Was there a Specter that stopped all other Specters froming here?


    Maybe, but nobody had gone missing in that area over the past 20 years.


    Everyone that ran through this area managed to survive without any incident.


    Nevertheless, traveling through that area was quite creepy.


    In a way, theplete absence of Specters made this ce especially creepy.

 Chapter 403 403 – The Forbidden Zone

    <h4>Chapter 403 Chapter 403 ¨C The Forbidden Zone </h4>


    The four of them ran towards the north.


    Everything around Nick was just a wastnd.


    There were a couple of hills here and there, but that was it.


    Brown and beige nothingness everywhere.


    After running for around ten kilometers, they turned towards the right, running towards the east.


    By now, no bit of human civilization could be seen.


    There were no people or cities.


    They were just in a dead world.


    As they kept running towards the east, Nick sometimes nced towards the north nervously.


    While there was nothing close to the city in the north, that was bound to change as one went further and further away from the city.


    And about 15 kilometers away from the city, that happened.


    Even though Nick was about five kilometers away from the Forbidden Zone, he still looked towards its direction.


    The Forbidden Zone started 15 kilometers to the north of the city and expanded for an unknown distance.


    The city did not know what was inside the Forbidden Zone or what it looked like.


    They only knew one thing.


    Every single person who had ever crossed this line had died.


    Even a Hero had vanished once.


    Many years ago, one of the city''s Heroes thought that they were strong enough to enter the Forbidden Zone.


    Sadly, they never returned.


    This event was one of the biggest reasons why Kugelblitz managed toe to power since that Hero had been from the biggest Manufacturer before Kugelblitz had attained that title.


    The running theory was that a neutral Fallen was living there.


    Adversaries often affected gigantic areas, and their influences could be seen in many different ces.


    Yet, the Forbidden Zone seemed to be a more localized thing, which most likely meant that a Fallen lived there that didn''t view humanity as its enemy.


    Either way, entering the Forbidden Zone was akin to suicide.


    The team kept running towards the east, always staying about five kilometers away from the Forbidden Zone.


    After about ten kilometers, Nick looked towards the south.


    Right now, they should be about five kilometers to the north of the Desert.


    Naturally, since going further towards the north was suicide, the group was leaving towards the east.


    The reason as to why they had first traveled so far to the north was to avoid attracting the attention of anyone from the Desert.


    The team''s goal was the wilderness far to the east of the city, and the best way to get there without getting noticed was to jump over the gap and run eastward while staying close to the Forbidden Zone.


    The four of them continued running, and soon, even the Desert was far to the west.


    Right now, Nick was over 20 kilometers away from the city, the furthest he had been yet.


    While the surrounding ten kilometers of the city weremon knowledge, anything further away was kept secret.


    Scouting the surroundings took a lot of work, and the Manufacturers didn''t want to share their findings with other Manufacturers.


    So, while some very noticeable areas were not kept secret, everything else was.


    For example, there was one area to the east of the Desert and to the south of Nick''s current location.


    It was an extensive cave system.


    There were many holes and crevices in the ground that led into the earth.


    One could find these crevices and caves within an area of four kilometers, and the crevices seemed to be ced in a big X.


    Crimson City suspected that at least one Specter had to be in there, but not much was known about the cave system.


    Many Manufacturers had looked at it, but they didn''t say how far they had gone or what they had found inside.


    However, the cave system also wasn''t the group''s goal.


    While it wasn''t directly adjacent to the city, the cave system was still too well known, and they were bound to meet other Extractors if they went there.


    They had to go further away.


    So, they kept on running.


    After another ten kilometers, Nick was now over 30 kilometers away from the city.


    Now, things were starting to get dangerous.


    This was a distance where it was no longer realistic to run to the city to get help if one got attacked.


    There were also far fewer Extractors running around out here, which was both a good and a bad thing.


    Good because the chances of getting found were lower.


    Bad because there were no witnesses around if anything happened.


    Nick had officially entered an area that he knew nothing of.


    He did not know of any other bigndmarks or Specters this far away from the city.


    He didn''t even know if the Forbidden Zone still extended to there.


    In fact, not even the city knew.


    Since the Forbidden Zone couldn''t be seen, the city couldn''t find out if they could go towards the north now or not.


    Finding that out required sending someone, which would most likely kill that person.


    Even if they used criminals to scout, that wouldn''t give them any new information.


    After all, if the Forbidden Zone was still there, the criminal died, and if it wasn''t, the criminal would just continued walking northward to escape.


    In both cases, the city would learn nothing.


    Of course, Carl''s group was not nning on finding out if the Forbidden Zone extended toward this ce or not.


    In fact, they were slowly changing their direction towards the southeast instead of the east.


    What if the Forbidden Zone curved a bit?


    They didn''t want to take the chance.


    During the past couple of minutes of travel, nobody had said a word, and Nick was just silently following.


    However, after traveling for a couple more kilometers towards the southeast, Carl finally said something.


    "Want to see something interesting, Nick?" Carl asked. "Take it as a present from Sce to Dark Dream."


    Naturally, presents were not really presents.


    A present betweenpanies was a show of goodwill and said goodwill was expected to be returned.


    Information about the outside world was precious, and Carl naturally wanted to cash in on that.


    Nick knew what Carl meant.


    "Always," Nick answered.


    Sce and Dark Dream worked very closely with each other, and there was no issue in epting something like that.


    In fact, refusing such a gift might even be considered as rude.

 Chapter 404 404 – Endless Blue

    <h4>Chapter 404 Chapter 404 ¨C Endless Blue</h4>


    The four of them continued running towards the east.


    Eventually, they reached a distance of 40 kilometers away from the city.


    This was now the true unknown.


    Suddenly, Carl slowed down.


    In front of Nick were grey cliffs, which looked quite different from the beige and brown cliffs everywhere.


    In a way, these cliffs appeared "clean".


    The smell in the air was also quite different.


    For some reason, this smell was very familiar, but Nick couldn''t ce it.


    Carl slowly and carefully approached one of the big cliffs and motioned Nick toe closer.


    Mark and Irwin ran towards the side, hiding while surveilling the area.


    "Stay close," Carl whispered to Nick, "and don''t make any noise. Additionally, do not use your Zephyx in any way. Even if you want to use it to remain quiet."


    Nick frowned.


    Staying quiet without using Zephyx?


    That felt contradictory, but Nick nodded and followed Carl''s orders.


    Carl slowly and quietly pulled himself up one of the cliffs.


    Nick quietly followed him.


    The cliffs were only about ten to twenty meters high, and they reached the top rather quickly.


    Carl looked at Nick and motioned for him toe closer.


    Nick came closer, and Carl motioned for him to look over the edge.


    Nick approached and slowly moved his head to look over the edge.


    Then, his eyes widened.


    Blue waves of water crashed against the cliffs as the familiar scent of salt blew through the air.


    Nick could see a two-kilometer-wide body of crystal-clear water!


    It was difficult for Nick toe to terms with what he was seeing.


    He had heard of the concept of ake and sea, but he had never really heard of a specific one.


    As Nick finally recognized the familiar scent as salt, he also came to another realization.


    ''Salt? ording to Julian, only the biggest bodies of water in the world are made of salt water.''


    Nick felt Carl touch his shoulder, trying to gain Nick''s attention.


    Nick looked back, and Carl gestured for Nick to look more towards the left.


    He did just that, and Nick could see the body of water extending.


    While the body of water only stretched towards the south for around two kilometers, the same thing wasn''t true when Nick looked toward the north.


    Endless!


    The two-kilometer-wide channel of water eventually expanded further and further until the water was everywhere!


    ''But if that''s the case¡­'' Nick thought as he turned towards the northwest. ''Isn''t the Forbidden Zone also covered in salt water?''


    ''Could it be that the Forbidden Zone is a huge body of water?''


    Nick turned towards the northeast again and looked at the endlessness of water.


    He was mesmerized by it.


    He kept looking at the water.


    The water near the shore and the cliffs was almost white.


    If one went further out, the water was blue.


    But eventually, while the water on the surface still looked blue, there was a murky ckness beneath it.


    Nick knew that these parts were most likely so deep that no light reached the bottom, making it look like a ck void.


    And yet, as he kept looking, he felt like something was moving inside the void.


    Carl got Nick''s attention again and motioned for him toe down.


    Then, Carl started to descend the cliff quietly.


    Nick looked at Carl as he was descending.


    Then, his eyebrows rose, and he looked for Mark and Irwin.


    He couldn''t find them.


    He looked back at Carl, who was focusing on silently climbing down.


    None of the three could see him.


    Then why¡­


    ''Didn''t my ability activate again?'' Nick thought as his heart rate increased.


    Nick ducked behind the cliff.


    His ability reactivated!


    Nick started to sweat.


    He looked over the cliff again at the huge body of water.


    His ability deactivated.


    Nick searched desperately for anything moving.


    Something was looking at him!


    However, nothing had happened yet!


    Nick had been looking at the water for over a minute by now.


    Anything that could possibly threaten Nick could have easily reached him in that time frame.


    And yet, nothing had happened.


    ''What the hell is going on?'' Nick thought as he looked into the darkness of the water again.


    ''Is something moving in there or not?'' he thought.


    It didn''t look like it.


    And yet, Nick felt like something was moving.


    The endless darkness in the water.


    Was it moving?


    After some moments, Nick felt like tentacles made of darkness were squirming below the surface, and the horizon seemed to be darker than usual.


    It was almost like storm clouds were appearing.


    And then, something caught his eye.


    Far away, Nick could see a small object above the surface.


    It looked like a long and thin stick.


    It was tiny, and it seemed toe out of the water.


    Nick looked at the distant stick.


    Suddenly, he felt something tap his leg, and he looked down.


    It was Carl, who was ring at him with a serious expression, motioning for him toe down.


    Nick held his arm out in a stopping gesture and pointed towards his ears and then to the body of water.


    He wanted to convey that he was sensing something.


    Naturally, Nick had told everyone that he was a Senser, and one should always listen to what a Senser had to say.


    Carl understood what Nick meant and frowned.


    After a second, he gestured upward.


    Nick nodded and looked back at the ocean.


    The stick had grown!


    It was over twice as big now!


    Nick''s heart rate spiked as he focused on the stick.


    And then, the stick grew some more, and something else appeared near its bottom.


    It was quite wide.


    The stick grew even more, and the wide part also became longer.


    Nick fully focused on the object.


    This was an object from the Forbidden Zone!


    And then, Nick realized what was happening.


    The object was not growing buting closer!


    Together with the fact that Nick knew that he was being sensed, he realized what was going on.


    This object wasing for them!

 Chapter 405 405 – One Friend

    <h4>Chapter 405 Chapter 405 ¨C One Friend </h4>


    "Something''sing!" Nick shouted and immediately jumped away from the cliff.


    The hearts of all three of Nick''s teammates nearly jumped into their throats as Nick''s loud shout broke through the silence.


    "They already know we''re here, but they don''t know that we know!" Nick shouted urgently as hended on the ground.


    "Shut the fuck up!" Irwin shouted aggressively. "You''re blowing our-"


    "We can''t run!" Nick shouted back. "Most likely, they are too fast! Follow me!"


    Carl looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    Did Nick go insane?


    Did the Forbidden Zone have some kind of effect on someone''s mentality?


    BANG!


    Nick punched the ground with all of his power, and a huge crater appeared.


    The eyes of the team widened in shock.


    That must have echoed throughout the surrounding kilometer!


    BANG!


    Nick punched the bottom of the crater just half a secondter, creating a hole that was over five meters deep.


    "Follow my lead or die!" Nick shouted.


    And then, all the debris Nick had thrown into the air by punching the ground fell back down on top of him.


    A lot of the debris was scattered around the outside, but there was still plenty of debris left to bury the bottom two meters of the hole.


    Naturally, Nick immediately went to the ground andy there,pletely t.


    A normal human would have been bludgeoned to death by the falling rocks and sand, but something like this couldn''t hurt a Veteran.


    At that moment, Carl''s mind was going wild.


    He believed that Nick went insane.


    However, he also remembered the trust Hera had put in Nick.


    Additionally, Carl remembered that Nick had allegedly survived an ambush of ten Extractors.


    Carl wasn''t sure if he believed something like that.


    How could one survive when ten simrly powerful Extractorsbined their powers to kill one?


    Sure, one might be able to kill two enemies, but then, eight attacks would hit them at the same time, and one couldn''t possibly survive that.


    Carl was conflicted.


    However, as an experienced leader, he quickly and decisively came to a decision.


    "Do what he says!" he ordered.


    The next instant, an earthen shield appeared in front of Carl, and he jumped into a dune of dust and stone.


    Surprisingly, it didn''t get destroyed, and it looked like Carl slipped into it like he was part of the dune.


    Irwin was furious at Nick, but his leader had given him an order, and heplied.


    A light appeared around Irwin, and he became blurry as he bent down toy on the ground.


    Mark had already vanished.


    The three of them were extremely experienced, and all of them had ways to stay hidden.


    Silence.


    The area seemedpletely empty.


    There was just debris scattered around, which wasn''t unusual since this was how the entire world looked.


    Deep underground, Nick didn''t dare to move.


    His ability had activated again, which meant that nobody was currently perceiving him.


    At this moment, Nick hoped that his ability wouldn''t deactivate.


    If it did, he would die.


    Several seconds passed.


    Tap.


    Nick felt a very light vibrationing from above him.


    Something or someone must have stepped on the ground on top of him.


    Silence.


    Tap. Tap.


    Nick felt two more vibrations.


    Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.


    More vibrations.


    It was like several feet were walking over the ground.


    Nick didn''t dare to move.


    Silence.


    A couple more taps.


    "No, please! Spare me! I''ll tell you everything!"


    Nick''s heart rate increased as he heard Mark screaming and talking.


    Whatever was up there found Mark.


    Silence.


    "I don''t know what you want! Can''t you just tell me, please?!" Mark nervously shouted.


    Silence.


    "I don''t know what you''re trying to say!"


    Nick didn''t dare to move.


    "Fine! Fine! I''ll tell you!" Mark shouted. "But please, let me live, okay?"


    Nick didn''t move.


    "Okay! Yes, I''m here with a friend! Please, take him instead of me, okay?"


    Nick felt a rush of fear and hatred going through him.


    One friend?


    This fucker was selling him out to save his two friends!


    "He''s there! He''s the one that you saw earlier! He burrowed into the ground there!"


    At that moment, Nick''s ability began to fluctuate.


    It was switching between active and inactive rapidly!


    Nick knew what this meant!


    Over the years, Nick had experienced this sensation before.


    This happened whenever someone believed that they knew where Nick was and were right.


    For example, if Julian told Jenny that Nick was working with the Talker, Nick''s ability would fluctuate.


    That was because Jenny knew where Nick was but wasn''t technically sensing him.


    The important part was that she believed she knew where Nick was and was actually right.


    If Julian told Jenny that Nick was not in the building while he actually was, Nick''s ability wouldn''t fluctuate.


    In both cases, Jenny believed that she knew where Nick was, but only in the first case would it fluctuate.


    Of course, to properly deactivate it, one needed to sense Nick.


    Additionally, to make it fluctuate like that, one had to get Nick''s approximate location down to a couple of meters.


    Just telling someone that Nick was somewhere in Dark Dream''s building wouldn''t make his ability fluctuate since this was way too big of an area to properly pin his location down.


    The fact that Nick''s ability was fluctuating right now meant that Mark had pointed towards Nick.


    At this moment, whatever was up there believed that Nick was buried below this part of the ground, and they were right.


    "Please, I told you where he is. Can''t you just, please, no, please!"


    Mark had been pleading for his life just now before his voice suddenly became quieter and more distant.


    Nick could tell that Mark was being pulled away.


    Apparently, whatever was up there didn''t kill Mark but kidnapped him.


    Nick felt his ability fluctuating constantly.


    Tap. Tap.


    Two taps came from on top of Nick''s location.


    Nick''s mind was going crazy as he desperately tried to think of a way out of this situation!


    BOOOOM!


    Everything around Nick exploded!

 Chapter 406 406 – East

    <h4>Chapter 406 Chapter 406 ¨C East</h4>


    The ground exploded into a shower of debris and dust.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    More and more explosions urred, and more and more debris and dust scattered.


    At this moment, a humanoid figure stood in front of a collection of craters, each one about ten meters deep.


    The humanoid figure was red, and many different growths wereing out of it.


    However, these growths were not blood or flesh.


    These growths were hard as bone and spiky.


    The humanoid had half of a human face, with the other half being covered by the growths.


    The single eye on the left half of its face had no glimmer of independence inside of it.


    The red growths looked almost identical to corals.


    It was like somebody had been infested by corals!


    Scattered around the area were three more humanoids, who also were infested with corals.


    All of them were looking at the craters without moving.


    They waited.


    There was nothing there.


    BANG!


    Then, the person that had destroyed the ground jumped into the distance, covering two kilometers of distance in an instant!


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The other three jumped after the first person, but they were several times slower.


    All of them were jumping towards the southwest.


    Meanwhile, around the different craters that the humanoid had just created, the dusty clouds slowly calmed down.


    Yet, a momentter, one of the dusty clouds stealthily moved into one of the craters.


    BANG!


    Nick appeared inside the crater, his entire body covered in sweat.


    Next, Nick rapidly dug into the ground, and a secondter, he waspletely gone.


    Buried beneath the crater, Nick was trying his best not to lose consciousness.


    The attack just now had nearly consumed all of Nick''s Zephyx since he had transformed into mist shortly before it hit.


    When the humanoid had kicked the ground, a ton of debris and dust was scattered across the surroundings, and Nick had transformed into mist in hopes of staying hidden among the clouds of dust.


    A human body would have been noticed immediately, but a bit of mist amidst clouds of dust was not nearly as noticeable.


    Just like the debris, Nick had been pushed outward, and just like the clouds of dust, his misty body lingered around.


    As the humanoids kept destroying the ground, more dust appeared, allowing Nick to stay hidden.


    Fortunately, they had left after just a couple of seconds.


    ''Most likely, they thought that Mark was protecting me. They probably thought that he told them that I was here when, in reality, I ran towards the city.''


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    ''Their opinion of him surely was high!'' he thought with hatred.


    Now that Nick was no longer in immediate danger, all his rage and hatred of being betrayed exploded to the surface.


    ''This fucker wanted to pull me down with him!''


    Over a minute passed, and during that time, no sound urred.


    Everything waspletely silent.


    "It''s gone."


    Nick heard Irwin''s voice.


    Silence.


    "Nick? Where are you?" Carl shouted next. "Whatever it was, it''s gone. You cane out."


    Nick narrowed his eyes as he did his best to bury the rage and hatred deep inside.


    Then, he came out of the ground and looked around.


    Carl quickly appeared at the side of the crater when he heard the sound of moving earth and looked at Nick.


    Right now, Carl had a serious expression on his face.


    "No time to waste," he said. "I don''t want to stay in this location anymore. We need to leave immediately!"


    Nick red at Carl butplied.


    He jumped out of the crater and saw Irwin, who was ring at Nick.


    The next moment, Carl ran towards the north.


    Nick was surprised since the Forbidden Zone was to the north.


    However, he quickly understood when he saw Carl stopping after just 500 meters.


    Carl approached a spot between two rocks, put his hands into the ground, and lifted.


    A huge part of the ground was lifted, and Nick could see that the bottom of this piece was made of metal!


    It was a big lid!


    Below the lid was a dark hole.


    Carl quickly touched a switch on the wall, and the hole started to light up.


    There were artificial lights scattered across the hole, and most likely, they also helped against the Nightmare.


    After all, Carl and Irwin were from Sce, and Sce specialized in making lights that worked against the Nightmare.


    Irwin jumped into the hole, and Nick jumped after him.


    When the two of them were inside, Carl put the lid back over the hole from inside and followed them.


    The hole turned into a tunnel a couple of meters down, and Irwin ran through the tunnel.


    The tunnel could almost be described as a slide since it curved down a lot!


    Nick and Carl ran after Irwin, and after some time, the tunnel became horizontal again.


    After running for around two minutes or so, the tunnel curved upward, and the three of them had to run up a slope.


    Eventually, Irwin pushed away another lid and jumped out.


    Nick came out as well.


    Behind him, Carl pressed a switch, and the tunnel turned dark again.


    Lastly, he put the lid back on the hole.


    "We can talk over there," Carl said, gesturing to the east.


    The three of them ran towards the east, and after around three kilometers, they went to a couple of big boulders in the middle of the wastnd.


    Then, they finally stopped.


    Nick could approximately tell where he was.


    The tunnel had led towards the east, which was the ce where all the water had been.


    The fact that the tunnel had curved down that far meant that it had been below the body of water, and they hade up again at the other side.


    Then, they ran another three kilometers toward the east.


    Right now, Nick should be about three kilometers east of the big body of water.


    This meant that he was around 50 kilometers away from the city.


    Quite far away from home.


    The three of them took some breaths.


    Then, Carl turned to Nick.


    "Can you exin to me what just happened?"

 Chapter 407 407 – No Evidence

    <h4>Chapter 407 Chapter 407 ¨C No Evidence </h4>


    "That''s what I would like to know," Nick said with a severe voice. "Your friend told them where I was. Your friend tried to fucking kill me!"


    Carl gritted his teeth.


    "Shut up!" Irwin shouted from the side. "This is all your fault anyway! You were the one that led this thing to us in the first ce! Mark was not the one who killed you! You were the one who killed Mark!"


    "That was not my fault," Nick said with a seething voice. "I acted just like your leader. If they saw me, they would have seen him as well."


    "You were up there for way longer than Carl!" Irwin shouted as he aggressively gestured to the west. "I saw Carling down way earlier than you, and I even saw him going back to get you! You were the one that led this thing to us! You even knew that it wasing!"


    "That''s because I''m a Senser," Nick answered. "From what I''ve seen, one of these things has the power of a fucking Fanatic! If that thing had seen me, we wouldn''t have been able to hide in time! That thing would''ve arrived within a fucking second!"


    "Then, how could you possibly say that this thing didn''t see you if it was that strong? For that matter, why didn''t it arrive within a second? As far as I can see, there was nothinging towards us until you punched the ground like a lunatic!" Irwin shouted back.


    "I can assure you that they have already noticed us before that. If it weren''t for me, the two of you would be dead right now!"


    "Quiet!" Carl suddenly shouted, looking at both of them. "Arguing like this won''t achieve anything."


    "He''s the reason why Mark is dead now!" Irwin shouted, throwing an usatory finger at Nick.


    "And how do you know that?" Carl asked, looking at Irwin. "I''ve looked at the sea for longer than him before, and nothing happened. The reason why I told him to be quiet is because the area is very open behind the cliff, and there is a high likelihood that an Extractor from the city might be here."


    "They run experiments on the sea all the time, and I''ve seen Extractors even swimming in it before. Why didn''t they get found out? Are you telling me that Nick is more noticeable than several Extractors standing directly in front of the water?" Carl asked.


    "Then, it was bad luck, sure," Irwin said, not letting up. "However, the thing could have still seen him while you wereing back."


    At that moment, Carl put his hand on Irwin''s shoulder while looking him in the eye.


    "Mark was my friend as well," Carl said. "I''m also filled with anger due to his death, but using Nick of being the reason for Mark''s death will just end up with more deaths. As it stands now, there is no evidence that supports Nick being the reason for the appearance of this Specter."


    Irwin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    Then, he red at Nick with fury.


    Nick just looked back with narrowed eyes.


    Then, Irwin turned around and walked out of the formation of boulders.


    "I''ll keep a lookout," he said with repressed anger and hatred.


    Of course, he just wanted to leave Nick''s presence.


    If he stayed, he might not be able to keep himself in check.


    The next moment, Carl turned to Nick.


    "Nick, I need to know what happened and what you saw. You keep saying ''they''. Are you saying that there was more than one?"


    Nick looked at Carl with narrowed eyes.


    "Do you think keeping this guy from ming me somehow makes me feel indebted to you? You forget that your so-called friend told them where I was and that he wanted to kill me," Nick said with a venomous voice.


    "Nick, just how there is no evidence of you attracting these things, there''s no evidence of Mark telling them where you are. You are still here, right? By your own admission, one of these things has the power of a Fanatic. If Mark told them where you were, you wouldn''t be here right now. Maybe he told them an incorrect location."


    At that moment, Nick froze.


    What the fuck did Carl just say?!


    No evidence?!


    This fucker Mark told them where he was, which immediately made Nick''s ability fluctuate! Even more, that thing stopped right on top of Nick''s location before it created a crater exactly where he was!


    Nick fellpletely silent as his eyes, opened widely in fury, looked into Carl''s eyes.


    No fucking evidence, he said!


    ''Oh, I get it,'' Nick thought as his eyes slowly narrowed. ''This traitor Mark belonged to Sce, and if Carl admits that Mark tried to kill me, Sce might be in huge trouble!''


    ''This is about money, huh?'' Nick thought as his hot anger turned into cold hatred.


    ''While friendship between businesses always relies on mutual benefit, I would have believed you to be smarter, Hera. Is this how you taught your vice-CZE? He sees that Sce might have to pay a bit, but instead of paying and securing a continued partnership, he''s supposed topletely ruin the alliance just so that you don''t have to give Dark Dream something?''


    ''Or maybe you n on getting rid of me so that you don''t have to pay anything.''


    ''How disappointing.''


    ''I genuinely considered you my ally,'' Nick thought coldly.


    "I see," Nick said with an eerily calm voice. "That''s how we''re doing this."


    Carl furrowed his brows when he heard Nick''s words.


    In fact, right now, Carl was concerned.


    The shift in Nick''s demeanor was way too abrupt.


    "Are you nning on silencing me?" Nick asked coldly.


    Carl''s eyes widened in shock.


    "Is your friend aiming his gun at me at this moment?" Nick said.


    "You think you can catch me? After not even those things managed to get me?"


    Nick looked deep into Carl''s eyes with confidence.

 Chapter 408 408 – Image

    <h4>Chapter 408 Chapter 408 ¨C Image</h4>


    "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Carl shouted in rapid session. "What silencing? What killing? What are you talking about?!"


    Nick''s eyes nce around the formation, looking for Irwin.


    Most likely, Irwin was already looking at him with his gun readied.


    "Nick, you have to calm down!" Carl said with seriousness. "Nobody is trying to kill you! I''m asking about what happened!"


    Nick turned to look at Carl and sneered in disgust. "Do you honestly think that I''m that dumb?" he asked. "You already made your stance clear."


    "What stance?!" Carl asked in frustration and confusion. "I just want to know what the hell is going on!"


    "No evidence?" Nick asked with a disgusted sneer. "You must have heard Mark''s shouts as well. He told them that he was here with a friend, and then he pointed at my location."


    "And then, the area around me exploded, and I was in the middle of a crater."


    "No evidence, no evidence. You act like you''ve not heard shit when you''ve been even closer to the surface than me with even superior senses."


    "You saw me getting punched in the face and im that the punch never happened."


    As Nick kept talking, an expression of uncertainty appeared on Carl''s face.


    "The area around you exploded?" Carl asked, his voice having lost a lot of its power.


    "You heard the explosion," Nick said. "Even though you say that you just so happened to be blind and deaf during that minute."


    "I am not iming that!" Carl said with severity. "I heard the explosion, and I felt the vibrations! While that happened, I was scared that it was about to find me!"


    Nick narrowed his eyes in skepticism and suspicion as he looked at Carl.


    "Nick, is that the truth?" Carl asked. "Are you sure Mark told this thing where you were?"


    Nick kept looking into Carl''s eyes in suspicion.


    Carl took a step forward.


    BANG!


    Nick instantly jumped two meters back, his des ready.


    "Nick, stop!" Carl shouted, taking two steps back to show that he didn''t n on attacking. "Nobody wants to kill you!"


    "You think I believe you?" Nick asked coldly. "You think I''m that na?ve just because I''m in my twenties?"


    "Almost all humans are only interested in their own wealth, and they don''t give the slightest shit about anyone else."


    "You see how your friend tried to take me down with him, and instead of doing what''s right, you want to silence me so that Sce doesn''t lose any of its precious profits."


    "Whoops, sorry, Dark Dream''s CZE was taken by a couple of funny red men from the north. Sorry. We can take your next CZE with us on another expedition, though. We tooootally promise that nothing will happen to them," Nick mocked.


    "Do you honestly believe Julian would buy that?" Nick asked with disgust.


    "No, I don''t!" Carl shouted. "He wouldn''t believe that! Nobody would believe that!"


    "That''s why I''m not nning on doing anything like that!" Carl added.


    "Sce voluntarily took a huge risk by taking you with us to the excursion."


    "Because, if anything happens, we are the prime suspects."


    "Even if we nned to kill you, we wouldn''t do it during this expedition! Angering someone like Julian would be akin to suicide!"


    "Killing you would be risking Sce''s survival!" Carl shouted.


    Nick looked at Carl in suspicion.


    "Listen, Nick," Carl said, using a calming tone. "I genuinely didn''t know what happened."


    "See things from my perspective. I''m buried in the ground and listening to Mark begging for his life. After that, I hear a couple of explosions, and I''m constantly fearing for my survival!"


    "Then, I hear them or it or whatever taking Mark away. I''m not sure if it or they are still here or not, and I''m just waiting."


    "Finally, I hear Irwin''s voice ande out, and momentster, youe out."


    "How does that look from my perspective? The weakest member of our team manages to survive an encounter with something that even the strongest member would be helpless against."


    "What''s more believable? That Mark told them exactly where you were, and you somehow still managed to hide from them, or that Mark gave them the wrong location, keeping all of us safe?"


    Nick kept looking at Carl in skepticism.


    "You said there''s no evidence," Nick said.


    "Because I thought you made that up!" Carl quickly answered. "I thought you were trying to gain something out of Sce!"


    An annoyed expression appeared on Nick''s face. "There''s a time and ce for maniption and sincere cooperation. When dealing with a partner that severely outsses you in power, maniption is the wrong approach."


    "I know that Hera and Ramona are most likely more experienced than me. Trying to manipte them would be stupid."


    "Even if I wanted to manipte them, I wouldn''t do it spontaneously by using one of their employees after something unforeseen happened."


    "See?" Carl asked. "That''s very simr to what I said. I said it would be idiotic to kill you, and you said it would be idiotic to falsely use someone."


    "But we both believed that the other one did just that."


    Carl took a deep breath and sighed.


    "That only means that we both thought the other one to be an idiot."


    Nick didn''t move for a while and just looked at Carl.


    "We don''t n on killing you, okay?" Carl said. "Look, I''m going to prove it."


    The next moment, Carl turned around, showing his back to Nick.


    "See? We don''t want to kill you. Turning my back to you is very risky, but I trust that you won''t attack me," Carl said.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    Carl had turned his back to him.


    And yet¡­


    Why hadn''t his ability activated?


    Nick quickly searched through the area.


    Then, on top of one of the big boulders, he saw Irwin.


    DING!


    A bright light appeared from Irwin''s location.


    In Irwin''s hand was a strange device, and Nick recognized it.


    This was one of the things that Sce sold to the general public.


    It was a device that could capture an image on a small piece of film, which could then be erged onto a bigger piece of paper.


    A camera!


    At that moment, Nick realized what this looked like.


    Right now, Carl was showing his back to Nick while his de was readied.


    Didn''t that look exactly like he wanted to assassinate Carl?!


    The next instant, Irwin pulled out his rifle and pointed it directly at Nick.


    At the same time, an earthen shield appeared around Carl.


    BOOOM!


    Irwin''s rifle fired at Nick!

 Chapter 409 409 – Emotions Running High

    <h4>Chapter 409 Chapter 409 ¨C Emotions Running High </h4>


    WHOOOM!


    An explosion of light appeared as soon as the gun fired.


    BOOOM!


    The bullet hit something solid and was stopped.


    The light vanished and revealed a huge earthen shield.


    A hole had appeared in the huge shield, but it didn''t manage to get all the way through.


    The next moment, the shield vanished into thin air, revealing Carl, who had an enraged expression on his face.


    Carl immediately turned to look at Irwin with barely contained fury.


    Irwin looked back in annoyance.


    "You let him escape!" Irwin shouted.


    Nick was nowhere to be seen.


    BANG!


    Carl jumped towards Irwin with all of his power.


    Irwin noticed what was going on and jumped back.


    Yes, Carl was an Initial Expert, but Irwin was a Peak Veteran.


    There was only one level between them, even though that level was bigger than the usual ones.


    "Stop!" Irwin shouted. "I got the evidence! I took a photo!"


    Irwin waved the camera around.


    Carl jumped after him with rage.


    "This is the best-"


    BOOOM!


    A huge earthen shield came out of Carl''s right arm, and he rammed it against Irwin''s Barrier with all of his power.


    Electricity ran all over Irwin''s Barrier as the spikes on Carl''s earthen shield released some kind of gas when they hit it.


    Irwin''s eyes widened, and he took a deep breath as he was thrown into the distance.


    Even though he was powerful, the physical impact of Carl''s attack was brutal, and Irwin''s entire body shook.


    Irwin coughed.


    BANG!


    Carl reached Irwin in the air, summoned another Earthen Shield, and hammered Irwin down onto the ground.


    BOOOOM!


    Irwin hit the ground and created a crater.


    Carl rushed into the crater.


    BANG!


    Irwin''s Barrier fizzled and broke down.


    At the same time, Irwin''s face turnedpletely white, and he looked like he couldn''t breathe.


    Carl frowned, and his hand went into one of Irwin''s pockets.


    The next moment, Carl retrieved a small disk from the pocket.


    It was Irwin''s Barrier.


    Then, Carl took hold of Irwin''s rifle.


    Lastly, Carl put his hand on Irwin''s chest and pushed some of his Zephyx into him.


    Irwin took a deep breath, and life appeared in his eyes again.


    If a Veteran or stronger ran out of Zephyx, their survival was uncertain.


    Zephosis was a cycle that required Zephyx.


    It essentially needed Zephyx to turn Prephyx into more Zephyx.


    If there was no Zephyx, no more Prephyx could be turned into Zephyx.


    At that point, the entire body would stop working.


    Taking all the Zephyx from an Extractor was akin to sealing a normal person''s airways.


    Next, Carl grabbed Irwin and jumped back to the formation of boulders.


    BANG!


    Carl threw Irwin into the middle.


    "I''m not sure if you''re still here, but I can assure you, I did NOT want to kill you, Nick!" Carl shouted.


    "Irwin worked on his own!"


    Silence.


    No answer.


    At this moment, Carl''s mind was filled with a mix of negative emotions.


    He genuinely didn''t think that Mark had told these things where Nick was.


    After all, if he did, Nick would be dead.


    He had thought that Nick wanted to get some kind of advantage out of Sce by using one of their dead Extractors.


    Yet, Nick''s reaction had been too extreme and genuine.


    Carl had worked and talked with many people, and he was quite certain that Nick had been genuine with his outburst.


    So, Carl tried to calm Nick down, but as soon as he stepped forward, Nick jumped backward, taking his step as a form of aggression!


    Nick had even used him of wanting to silence him!


    That thought was scary.


    Yes, Carl had fought other Extractors in the past, and yes, he had caught many Specters.


    However, he had killed less than five people in his life, and he still vividly remembered every single person he had killed.


    One of the main reasons why Carl wanted to be a Veteran decades ago was so that he didn''t need to sleep anymore.


    After all, in his sleep, he met the people he killed again and again.


    Of course, all these deaths had been necessary, and he knew that.


    However, killing Nick was definitely not necessary, and Carl would never want to kill anyone unless it was absolutely necessary.


    Earlier, when he had turned his back to Nick, he had noticed a sh of lighting from on top of one of the rocks and looked over.


    That was when he had seen Irwin with his camera, and Carl felt like his world was breaking down.


    He had immediately rushed to Nick to defend him from the shot.


    But then, an explosion of light urred, and Nick had vanished.


    Luckily, Carl remembered exactly where Nick had been and where the rifle had been pointed at.


    He made it in time and blocked the bullet.


    At that moment, he had felt terror, frustration, anger, and hatred.


    Irwin had ruined everything!


    However, even though he absolutely hated Irwin right now, he knew why he had done it.


    Irwin, Carl, and Mark had been best friends for over a decade now.


    They were together almost all the time.


    They worked together, drank together, had fun together, and so on.


    Mark had been the only one in their group with a wife and kids.


    Naturally, as Mark''s best friends, Irwin and Carl also very often visited Mark''s family.


    Mark''s kids even called them Uncle Irwin and Uncle Carl.


    So, when Irwin had heard that Mark died, he had understandably been distraught.


    And when humans were distraught, they very often tried to deny their reality or find something to me.


    All this fear often turned into anger, and they quickly turned resentful.


    If nothing crazy had happened after that, Irwin probably wouldn''t have done anything.


    However, seeing Nick with a pulled-out weapon was too good of an opportunity.


    Usually, Irwin wouldn''t do something like this without consulting the other two, but the opportunity had been too good.


    So, he took a photo.


    And when that happened, it was already toote.


    Nick had seen him take the photo.


    Irwin knew that there was no turning back anymore and tried to kill Nick.


    From an outsider''s perspective, this assassination had seemed nned.


    Carl would assume a vulnerable position, and Irwin would take a photo as proof.


    After that, they could kill Nick without fear, right?


    Sadly, or luckily, that hadn''t been the truth.

 Chapter 410 410 – Unsavable Situation

    <h4>Chapter 410 Chapter 410 ¨C Unsavable Situation</h4>


    Carl waited.


    No answer.


    The only sound was Irwin''sbored breathing as he looked at Carl with frustration, fear, and anger.


    "You¡­ let him¡­ escape," Irwin said throughbored breaths.


    "Shut up!" Carl shouted in rage. "You tried to assassinate a member of the team!"


    Irwin breathed in difficulty for a couple of seconds.


    "I did," he said, "but he deserved it. He killed Mark."


    "He did not kill Mark!" Carl said with a severe voice.


    Irwin didn''t answer for several seconds.


    "Maybe not," he said with a neutral voice. "But that doesn''t matter now anymore, does it?"


    Irwin''s breathing vanished as his body had finally be stable enough to no longer need it every second.


    Carl narrowed his eyes, but Irwin continued talking.


    "He saw us," Irwin said from the ground. "He thinks you were in on it."


    "He escaped, and if he didn''t lie, he''s a Runner, and we can''t catch a Runner with such a head start."


    Carl gritted his teeth.


    "He will tell the city," Irwin said neutrally. "He''s going to use us of wanting to kill him."


    "It doesn''t matter if you wanted to kill him or protect him. In his eyes, you also wanted to kill him."


    "Our lives are over, and Sce is going to abandon us."


    But then, Irwin reached into one of his pockets under Carl''s narrowed eyes.


    Finally, he pulled out the camera from earlier.


    "But we still have this," Irwin said with a small chuckle as he sat up.


    Irwin waved the camera around. "As long as we have this, he won''t be able to prosecute us."


    "Instead, he will look like he tried to kill you."


    "We''re in the same boat now," Irwin said.


    Carl red at Irwin with aggression.


    Then, he walked forward.


    Irwin didn''t move.


    He was still very low on Zephyx, and without his Barrier or weapon, there was nothing he could do anyway.


    Then, Carl grabbed the camera.


    After that, he turned around.


    WHOOOOOM!


    And threw it into the distance!


    Irwin''s eyes shot open in absolute terror.


    "Are you crazy?!" Irwin shouted in panic. "You''ve killed us!"


    Carl slowly turned around to look at Irwin.


    A deep look of disappointment was on his face.


    "Who are you?" Carl asked.


    Irwin looked at Carl with shock and confusion.


    "Are you really Irwin?" Carl asked. "Is the Irwin I know really such a psychopath? Is my friend Irwin really so weak-willed that he has to kill an innocent man to cope with a tragedy?"


    "If Mark saw what you did, what do you think he would say? What would Mark think of you?"


    Irwin gritted his teeth, and his entire body shook.


    A lot of things were shooting through his mind.


    Mark''sst screams.


    The loud explosions Nick created.


    Nick looking at Carl with his weapons drawn.


    The camera in Irwin''s hand.


    When he shot at Nick.


    When Carl attacked him.


    When Carl threw the camera into the distance.


    However, most prevalent of all was Mark.


    Mark''s face shot through Irwin''s mind.


    Irwin turned away from Carl and put his head in his hands.


    His body shook as he violently pressed his hands into his face.


    Carl just looked on in severity.


    "Fuck, man," Irwin said with a shaking voice as he leaned back.


    Tears had appeared in his eyes, and he looked up at the sun.


    "I don''t fucking know," Irwin said in defeat. "I lost control. I''m sorry, okay?"


    Carl just looked at Irwin with a neutral expression.


    He couldn''t help but feel pity for his friend, but on the other hand, this waspletely his doing.


    "I''m sorry for pulling you into this," Irwin said. "I was just so angry at him. I saw an opportunity to vent that anger, and I took it. I didn''t think, okay?"


    "I fucked up. I fucked up majorly."


    Irwin put his head back in his hands.


    "I''m sorry."


    "I should be the one that gets killed for treason, not you."


    Carl took a deep breath.


    Then, he pulled something out of his pocket.


    It was a small piece of paper and a pen.


    He handed these two things to Irwin.


    "If you want to make things right, write down your confession," Carl said.


    Irwin looked at the pen and paper with broken eyes.


    Then, he released a small chuckle.


    "I guess that''s the least I could do."


    The next moment, Irwin slowly stood up and walked over to one of the rocks.


    Over the next minute, he wrote down his confession.


    Lastly, he handed the confession and the pen back to Carl.


    Carl took the two things and wrapped the confession carefully around the pen.


    Whoosh!


    And then, he threw that into the distance as well, but not as far as the camera.


    Irwin looked with confusion at the distant confession.


    "What?" Irwin asked.


    "Take it," Carl said.


    "What?" Irwin asked again.


    "Not you," Carl said. "Nick."


    "What?" Irwin asked in shock again.


    "If there''s one thing I learned in my conversation with Nick earlier, it is that he''s not an idiot," Carl said. "That and that he''s exceedingly good at hiding himself."


    "Do you think he would have run away to the city after all that has happened?"


    Irwin just looked at Carl with confusion.


    "He knows that you took a picture. He knows that he would get into serious trouble as long as you still have that picture. Running to the city would only postpone the death he assumed we were nning on giving him."


    "There''s only one way to get out of this situation."


    "To kill you," a voice finished the sentence from the side.


    Carl and Irwin turned to the side and saw Nick standing between two boulders.


    Silence.


    Nick held up a camera.


    Naturally, this was the camera that Carl had thrown into the distance.


    Carl took a deep breath and sighed in relief.


    He had thought that Nick would be here, but of course, he couldn''t have been sure until Nick showed himself.


    Earlier, he had believed Nick to be an idiot, and a horrible turn of events had urred.


    And instead of repeating his mistake, Carl chose something different the next time.


    If he hadn''t, they would have entered a battle with Nick within the next couple of minutes, and then, this situation couldn''t have been saved anymore.


    In fact, Irwin had already believed the situation to be unsavable.


    But Carl believed that it could still be saved, and he had gone all-in.


    And he had bet correctly.

 Chapter 411 411 – Disbelief

    <h4>Chapter 411 Chapter 411 ¨C Disbelief </h4>


    Nick opened the camera and took out a tiny roll of film.


    CRK!


    Nick crushed the roll of film in his hands and threw the camera to the ground in front of him.


    After that, he walked to the side.


    Several seconds of walking in silenceter, Nick took hold of the pen and paper with the confession on it.


    Nick quickly read through it.


    It stated that Irwin had tried to kill Nick and that neither Sce nor Carl were involved in the matter.


    Nick pocketed the confession and looked at Carl.


    For a while, the two only looked at each other.


    ''Is he actually different?''


    This was the thought that Nick had had several times over thest minute.


    Back when Irwin had taken the picture, Nick had immediately used his third ability to blind everyone.


    At the same time, he had turned into mist while falling to the ground.


    Nick knew that Irwin was two levels above him and that he was a Sniper.


    Snipers had the most terrifying attacks out of all Extractors, and Nick was quite sure that his Barrier wouldn''t be able to block such a shot.


    So, his only option had been to turn into mist.


    The shot would still hit him, though.


    Nick only hoped that Irwin used a precision attack instead of an area attack.


    Good Snipers could release both kinds of attacks.


    A precision attack was an attack that focused as much power as possible onto a tiny point, which would increase its prative power a lot.


    Meanwhile, an area attack was the opposite.


    Back when Nick had seen Envy''s avatar and after he had used the rm, the entire house in front of Nick exploded.


    That had been the doing of a Specialist Sniper from high up on the megastructure.


    If the Specialist Sniper had used a precision attack, there would have only been a tiny hole going through the house.


    Instead, the surrounding 30 meters had been turned into nothingness.


    This was an area attack.


    If Irwin had used an area attack, Nick would have died in his fog state.


    However, there was no reason for Irwin to use an area attack since that would waste a lot of his power.


    Since he was targeting an Extractor, he needed to get through their Barrier, and the best way was to use a precision attack.


    With a precision attack, a good part of Nick''s mist would have been destroyed, severely weakening and injuring him.


    However, Nick would survive.


    Then, he would hide and recover before starting his counterattack.


    But that never happened.


    Instead, Nick didn''t feel any attack hit him.


    He only saw Carl standing between him and Irwin.


    Of course, at that moment, Nick didn''t think about any of these things and immediately moved through the dust clouds Carl had created by charging towards Nick at such speeds.


    Nick quickly flowed into one of the cracks and hid between two boulders.


    At that point, he was already nning his counterattack.


    But then, he noticed that Carl and Irwin were fighting, and he watched them from his hiding ce.


    When Nick saw the half-dead Irwin getting thrown into the middle of the boulder formation, he became skeptical and confused.


    Was this some kind of scheme to get Nick toe out of his hiding spot?


    But that didn''t make any sense.


    After all, Carl saved him.


    Why would Carl save him just to kill him in apletely convoluted scheme?


    When Carl had asked Nick toe out, Nick hesitated.


    All of this felt too strange.


    Over the years, he had learned again and again that almost all humans were only interested in gorging themselves on others'' belongings until their bellies nearly burst.


    All the Manufacturers were turning the lives of the normal people into nightmares, and the government wasplicit in all of these things just to keep their own asses from receiving any bruises.


    Even Julian kept telling Nick again and again that the average human causes more damage to humanity than the average Specter.


    Nick fully expected Carl to not be any different from all the other humans.


    But then, Carl threw the camera away.


    Initially, Nick was sure this was some kind of scheme to lure him out, even though logic dictated that Carl wouldn''t do something like that.


    It was just that hard for Nick to believe that someone powerful wasn''t an irredeemable monster.


    But when Nick actually held the camera in his hands and saw the film inside, he was forced to believe Carl.


    And when Carl called him out again a bitter, Nick decided toe out.


    ''He''s actually different,'' Nick thought, looking at Carl.


    ''He never wanted to kill me, and even when his own survival was on the line, he followed his own morals.''


    ''Sure, he believed that I was still there, but that wasn''t a certainty.''


    Nick had to wrestle hard with his outlook on humans as a whole.


    Now that he thought about it, he also remembered Simon Francium and the Champion of Light.


    People like those two were the only reason why humanity was still around.


    ''Nevertheless, the vast majority of humanity is still only interested in themselves and their immediate family,'' Nick thought. ''If that weren''t true, Aegis wouldn''t need to suppress everyone and force them tomit their lives to humanity.''


    ''However, there are still good people around.''


    ''And maybe they are not as rare as I actually thought.''


    Nick almost felt like none of this was real.


    Someone in this world was willing to put their own survival at risk for their morality.


    This was so rare and strange that the chances of being in some kind of hallucination created by a Specter were higher.


    After a bit, Nick walked towards Carl, who looked at him with a relieved expression.


    Nick stopped a couple of steps in front of him.


    His des were not out.


    "This almost caused at least one good person to die," Nick said. "But thanks to your efforts, that won''t happen."

 Chapter 412 412 – Shame

    <h4>Chapter 412 Chapter 412 ¨C Shame</h4>


    "Nick, listen, I''m sorry for what I said earlier," Carl said. "I did not mean to say-"


    "It''s fine," Nick interjected. "I get what you mean. You don''t need to apologize."


    Carl looked at Nick in relief.


    "In fact," Nick continued. "I should be the one who should apologize."


    "You were just asking what happened, but I immediately jumped to the conclusion that you wanted to bury this entire matter and silence me."


    Nick sighed. "I nearly killed you because of an unfounded spection."


    "We talked about this earlier," Carl said. "We both made a mistake. Two idiots, right?" he added with a smile.


    "Two idiots," Nick repeated with a small smile of his own.


    The two of them fell silent.


    It was relieving to talk like this, but there was still one obvious matter that hadn''t been dealt with.


    Nick looked at Irwin, who refused to look at Nick.


    Irwin was turned to the side, and Nick could only barely see the side of one of his eyes.


    Naturally, Nick could tell what Irwin was feeling.


    He was ashamed.


    However, there was one thing Nick wasn''t sure of.


    Was Irwin ashamed of what he had done, or was he ashamed that he hadn''t seeded?


    If Irwin had seeded and several hours or days passed, would he regret his actions?


    How closely was Irwin''s mind connected to his emotions?


    Someone could do something horrible when they felt infuriated, which they would never do under normal circumstances.


    However, the way the human acted after the deed had been done was different from person to person.


    Some of them wouldn''t regret it since they had seeded in what they had done.


    In short, as long as there were no extrinsic consequences, they wouldn''t really feel bad.


    But there were also humans that would feel appalled and disgusted by what they had done.


    For some of them, receiving no extrinsic consequences was even worse than receiving them.


    Some people were riddled so much with guilt that their lives ended.


    Nick knew very well how it felt to have such heavy guilt.


    So, what kind of person was Irwin?


    Would he have regretted his actions if they had seeded or not?


    Nick couldn''t be sure.


    Was he a good guy who made a mistake or did he only act like one, and his true nature actually came to light just now?


    "Let''s deal with this issue when we''re back," Nick said as he turned to Carl. "I don''t think we can continue our excursion right now."


    Carl released a sigh.


    Naturally, he hated Irwin for what he had done, but he still felt bad for him.


    If Nick forgave Irwin, he would have said so right now.


    Yet, Carl couldn''t fault Nick.


    Irwin had tried to kill him.


    That was as bad as it got.


    If there were truly unforgivable things in the world, that would most likely be among them.


    "Of course," Carl answered. "Nick, you can walk behind me."


    Nick nodded.


    "Irwin," Carl said, and Irwin nced at him. "You walk in front of me, please."


    Irwin took a deep breath, sighed, and nodded.


    "Go," Carl said.


    Irwin started to run towards the west, and Carl followed after him.


    Nick was running just behind Carl.


    The three of them reached the tunnel and ran through it.


    When they came out from the other side, they ran further towards the west.


    The things that Nick had seen should have left by now.


    Sure enough, over the next couple of minutes of running, they didn''t see anyone else.


    Eventually, they reached the lifeless area north of the city.


    Instead of jumping into the city, they walked around it counterclockwise.


    They quickly saw the Carbon Fields and the guards there.


    After exchanging some words with the guards, they passed through the Carbon Fields.


    The Carbon Fields were filled with green bushes that didn''t have any kind of fruits or flowers.


    They were essentially just made of green leaves and brown bark.


    After they left the Carbon Fields, they quickly reached the southern entrance of the city.


    They greeted the guards and entered the tunnel.


    "Any Specters?" the two Experts guarding the bridge asked.


    "No," Carl said.


    One of the guards nodded and motioned for the three of them to pass.


    Momentster, the three of them entered the city again.


    They were back home.


    It was actually shocking how short this excursion was.


    From the time they had left the city to the time they had returned, barely an hour passed.


    Yet, so much had happened within that hour.


    "Nick," Carl said as he looked at him. "I''m going to bring Irwin to Sce and tell Hera and Marion about what happened. If you have the time, pleasee and tell us what you''ve seen. You still didn''t tell us what these things that had been searching for us were."


    "Sure," Nick said.


    Irwin shot a short nce at Nick before gritting his teeth.


    He looked like he wanted to say something.


    Yet, he just looked away again.


    Nick nced at Irwin, who was refusing to look in Nick''s direction.


    Carl took a deep breath, put his hand on Irwin''s shoulder, and guided him towards the Inner City.


    The two of them left Nick behind in the Outer City.


    For a while, Nick didn''t move.


    Eventually, he jumped to the side and traveled from rooftop to rooftop.


    After some seconds, Nick reached the roof of a familiar house.


    He hadn''t been here in a long time.


    Thest time he had been here, he had been thinking about what to do with Wyntor.


    That was also when Julian had shown up.


    For a while, Nick just looked at the red curtain of mist in front of him.


    Irwin had attempted to kill him.


    He deserved to die.


    And yet, as Nick looked at the red curtain, an image popped into his mind.


    It was an image of himself.


    And that image ovepped with Irwin.


    Nick saw a lot of himself in Irwin.


    Nick had done many things he regretted, and he still felt indescribable guilt.


    Wasn''t the reason why Nick was doing all of this to redeem himself?


    Wasn''t he searching for forgiveness?


    Nick thought about Irwin.


    Then, he thought about himself.


    ''But do I even deserve forgiveness?''

 Chapter 413 413 – Irwin’s Fate

    <h4>Chapter 413 Chapter 413 ¨C Irwin''s Fate </h4>


    Four people sat in a meeting room.


    The atmosphere was heavy and tense.


    Irwin sat in one of the chairs and looked at the table, his eyes wet with tears.


    Carl looked with seriousness at the two people on the other side of the table.


    Ramona Illium was rubbing the bridge of her nose.


    Hera Marion looked at the table with deep thought.


    Silence.


    "What do we do now?" Carl asked.


    Ramona sighed. "It''s not up to us."


    "It''s up to Nick," Hera said without looking up from the table. "What we do doesn''t matter."


    "He was the victim, and whatever he wants to do is what will happen."


    "The best thing we can hope for is that Nick won''t fault Sce," Hera said.


    "I don''t think he will," Carl said. "I spoke to him, and he seemed like a genuine guy."


    Hera didn''t seem certain. "I thought so, too, a couple of years ago, but I''m not sure if that''s still urate. He changed quite a bit."


    "He used to be really nice, almost na?ve, but he hasn''t been like that in years."


    Knock, knock, knock!


    "Come in," Ramona shouted to the door.


    The door opened, and the receptionist peeked through the door.


    Irwin didn''t seem to react.


    He knew that this was probably his fate knocking on the door, but he just didn''t care anymore.


    "Miss, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream wants to talk to you," the receptionist said.


    Almost everyone in the room took a deep breath.


    "Bring him here," Ramona said with a neutral voice.


    "Of course, miss," the receptionist said before she closed the door again.


    "Well, at least we don''t have to wait for much longer," Hera said, looking away from the table and leaning back.


    Carl looked at Irwin.


    Irwin''s fists were clenched as his gaze was fixed on the table.


    He hadn''t said anything ever since he had returned.


    The four of them waited in silence.


    Knock, knock, knock.


    The atmosphere in the room became tense.


    Ramona and Hera took deep breaths.


    "Come in," Ramona shouted.


    The door opened fully, and the receptionist gestured for the person beside her to enter.


    Naturally, it was Nick.


    Nick wordlessly walked into the room with a neutral expression.


    The door behind him closed.


    Hera stood up. "Nick," she said with a careful voice.


    "It''s fine," Nick said, casually waving her off. "I do not fault Sce. Carl did everything he could to help me, and since he was the leader of the excursion, he also represented Sce. As far as I''m concerned, Sce did its absolute best to help and protect me."


    Near the table, Ramona sighed in relief.


    Hera also sighed, and a relieved smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, but still, one of our Extractors has done something horrible, and we still feel like we owe you an apology."


    "If it makes you feel better, sure, I''ll ept the apology," Nick said.


    Hera just smiled.


    Next, Nick looked at Ramona and nodded in greeting.


    Ramona returned the nod with a smile.


    Next, Nick looked at Carl with a quick smile.


    Carl returned a weak smile.


    Finally, Nick looked at Irwin with distant and disregarding eyes.


    Irwin didn''t dare to look at Nick.


    "Irwin, look at me," Nick said.


    Irwin''s body shook, and he turned his head to the side.


    "You tried to kill me, and now, you don''t even want to do me the small favor of looking at me?" Nick asked neutrally.


    Irwin''s body became very tense.


    And then, he slowly moved his head to look at Nick.


    Nick looked into Irwin''s eyes.


    "Do you regret what you''ve done?" Nick asked.


    Irwin''s eyes fell, and he looked at the table again.


    "Look at me," Nick said.


    Irwin looked at Nick.


    "Yes," he said with a soft voice.


    "Do you feel guilty?" Nick asked.


    Irwin sighed and nodded.


    "Are there other things you regret? Have you done things in the past you would change if you could?" Nick asked.


    Irwin looked at the table again with forlorn eyes.


    Nick didn''t tell him to look at him.


    A couple of seconds of silence passed.


    "I don''t know," Irwin said. "I looked at some of my past mistakes positively since they brought me to where I am today."


    "But now, I don''t like where I am."


    "So, maybe I should have regretted some of my mistakes more."


    It was quite obvious that Irwin was honest.


    The best thing for him to do was to answer with yes and recount a couple of minor bad things to show that he wasn''t a bad person.


    Yet, he said that he didn''t know.


    Many times, when someone found themselves in a horrible situation they had never been in, they didn''t know what to think or how to evaluate themselves.


    "You regret your current situation, not the situations you have ced others in?" Nick asked coldly.


    "What does it matter?" Irwin asked.


    Silence.


    Nick looked deeply at Irwin.


    Irwin hadn''t looked at Nick again after he initially looked away.


    He had a rebellious look on his face, almost like a teenager who had been caught doing something bad.


    Thanks to all of Julian''s lessons, Nick could take a good guess as to what was going on.


    Oftentimes, people didn''t act ording to their true feelings.


    Nick took out the confession that Irwin had written.


    "You''re not like me," Nick said.


    Crrr!


    Nick tore the confession apart, put the torn pieces on top of each other, and tore them apart again.


    He did that a couple of times until only tiny bits of paper were left.


    The other three looked at Nick with wide-open eyes.


    Irwin didn''t look at Nick, but his body shook.


    Nick let all the pieces fall to the ground.


    "Carl is someone I learned to admire, and he believes you to be a good person," Nick said.


    "Today is the closest you have ever gotten to death, and it is 100% your own fault. If you had died today, it would bepletely on you."


    "Your past has led you to this point."


    "Take this as a wake-up call."


    "This is thest chance you''re going to get."


    "Change or die."


    Then, Nick looked at the others in the room and nodded.


    "We''ll talk some other day."


    Finally, Nick walked out of the room.

 Chapter 414 414 – Irwin

    <h4>Chapter 414 Chapter 414 ¨C Irwin</h4>


    The people in the room were left inplete shock.


    None of them had expected Nick to forgive Irwin.


    This seemed very unlike him.


    And they would be right.


    In the past, whenever anyone had gone against Nick in any way, Nick retaliated.


    But this time, he didn''t.


    Why?


    Well, there were several reasons.


    Before Nick hade here, he hadn''t beenpletely sure what to do.


    He was more on the side of letting Irwin go, but he hadn''t beenpletely sure.


    To be sure, he had to talk to Irwin and look at him.


    He wanted to see how Irwin would act.


    The fact that Irwin refused to look at Nick spoke of deep shame.


    But what kind of shame?


    Was it the shame of having done something horrible, or was it the shame of being confronted with one of your biggest mistakes?


    Did Irwin resent Nick?


    Nick could tell that Irwin resented him a little bit.


    He regretted not seeding.


    Nick could tell as much.


    However, Nick knew a lot about people now.


    If someone was with their backs against a wall without being able to fight back in any way, one would believe that this person would show their true self.


    And in a way, that was correct, but notpletely.


    Irwin had not tried to paint himself in a positive light at all.


    In fact, he was even a bit dishonest when it came to his portrayal of himself.


    He was overly harsh and presented himself as uncaring.


    Was he truly uncaring?


    Most likely not.


    Carl and Mark had been very close friends with him, and Irwin had been so insanely close to Mark that he had lost control of himself.


    This showed that he could feel very deeply for others.


    A cruel and cold person wouldn''t have attacked Nick in this scenario.


    A cold and cruel person would realize that attacking Nick would be absolutely stupid.


    Yet, the pain Irwin felt from having his friend die riled him up so much that he lost control and did something horrible.


    And when he had said that it didn''t matter what others thought, did he truly mean that?


    In his opinion, yes.


    But he was wrong.


    Very often, in highly emotional situations, humans were atrocious at evaluating what they truly felt and wanted.


    So, what was the real reason why he portrayed himself so horribly?


    He wanted to be punished.


    He didn''t think that he deserved forgiveness.


    Of course, Irwin didn''t actually consciously know that.


    He just thought that he truly was a cold bastard and acted as such.


    Naturally, Irwin wasn''t some kind of saint or altruistic person.


    He was just like everyone else.


    Of course, Nick couldn''t bepletely sure about all of this.


    Whenever it came to evaluating people, there was a big degree of uncertainty.


    If you get one thing wrong, the entire result may be the exact opposite.


    It was possible that Irwin truly was some kind of deeply scheming and cold person.


    This uncertainty was why Nick hadn''t been sure.


    In fact, he was still unsure now.


    But he was fine with that uncertainty.


    Something that was uncertain now might be certain with time.


    And when that time arrived, it was still possible to take action.


    Nick returned to Dark Dream and told Julian about everything that had happened.


    When Julian heard how Nick had dealt with Irwin, he chuckled.


    "I''m surprised," Julian said with a sinister chuckle. "I didn''t think that you could make such a rational decision in such a situation."


    "If everything works out right¡­"


    Nick didn''t say anything.


    He knew that his decision had a chance of benefiting Dark Dream, but that wasn''t the reason for making it.


    "As for these red people, I think we can get some good money out of that," Julian said with a toothy smile.


    "Nobody knows the reason why the zone to the north is forbidden, and I think that knowledge is worth quite a bit."


    Nick also didn''t give an answer to that.


    Eventually, Nick left Julian''s office and went back to work.


    Over the next couple of days, a couple of things happened.


    First of all, Irwin was fired.


    Naturally, Sce wouldn''t keep someone like Irwin employed.


    Next, Carl and everyone else in Sce broke contact with Irwin.


    Carl just couldn''t forget how Irwin had smiled when he had shot at Nick.


    That was not the person he had thought Irwin would be.


    The reason why everyone else broke contact was due to Sce''s order.


    They didn''t state the reason since it would be considered keeping a crime secret if that information reached the city.


    Irwin had lost all of his friends and contacts in one day.


    And he didn''t care.


    It didn''t matter.


    For days, he just kept walking around aimlessly.


    Sometimes, he looked at the red curtain.


    Sometimes, he looked at the megastructure.


    Sometimes, he just looked at the ground.


    He was not sure what he was feeling, but for the first time, he wished that he could sleep.


    Sleep had always felt like a huge waste of time to him, but now, it felt like it was the best use of time.


    Irwin just didn''t want to be in this situation anymore.


    Everything was shit.


    And most of all, he felt like shit.


    For several days, he didn''t care about anything.


    But then, things got worse and worse.


    His mental state deteriorated more and more.


    He didn''t need to eat, drink, or sleep.


    Because of that, he technically didn''t even need to spend or earn any money.


    He could just exist perpetually without doing anything.


    And that was the most horrible part.


    There was nothing.


    He had no goal.


    He didn''t need to do anything.


    He just existed.


    Feeling like shit.


    He was lost.


    He didn''t even try to get a job.


    He didn''t want to do anything.


    Eventually, he reached his lowest point.


    He came very close to saying the Sentence.


    But he couldn''t do it.


    He just couldn''t throw his life away.


    He had been put before a choice.


    Die.


    Keep living.


    He had chosen to keep living.


    And the first thing he did after making that decision was as unexpected as it was expected.


    He went to Dark Dream and asked to see Nick.

 Chapter 415 415 – Many Ways

    <h4>Chapter 415 Chapter 415 ¨C Many Ways </h4>


    Nick looked at Irwin with a neutral expression.


    Right now, Nick sat behind his desk while Irwin stood in front of the office door.


    Irwin looked at Nick with worry, fear, and desperation.


    For the first time, Nick didn''t need to tell him to look at him.


    "I want to redeem myself," Irwin said, repeating the words he had just said.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Apologizing would be making light of what I have done," Irwin said with a shaky voice. "I don''t ask for an apology. I don''t ask to be forgiven. No matter what I do, you might never forgive me."


    "But I still want to try!" Irwin said, almost shouting.


    Nick remained silent for five seconds.


    "Why?" he asked neutrally.


    That simple word intimidated Irwin.


    Right now, in front of Nick, Irwin couldn''t muster any strength.


    He was like a small child begging their parents on their knees.


    "I can''t live with this guilt," Irwin said.


    Then, he took a deep breath.


    "And I also can''t die," he added.


    Nick remained silent for a couple of seconds.


    "So, you want to feel better. You don''t care what I feel," Nick said evenly.


    Irwin''s body shook. "No! No! That''s not true! I want to make things right! I want to do everything in my power to pay you back!"


    Nick remained silent for some seconds.


    "Because your feelings drive you to make things right," Nick said evenly.


    Irwin couldn''t immediately answer.


    He would love to rebuke Nick immediately.


    In his mind, he was doing his best to redeem himself by helping others.


    Yet, in front of Nick, he couldn''t muster any strength.


    He just didn''t dare to talk back.


    The room fell into silence.


    This situation was why Julian hadughed.


    There were a couple of ways things could have gone after Nick had let Irwin go.


    In every case, Irwin would have been fired by Sce.


    Sce couldn''t afford to have him keep working for them while still having a good rtionship with Dark Dream.


    They had to and wanted to fire Irwin.


    And when a Manufacturer fired a Peak Veteran, they must have had a good reason, which meant that no other Manufacturer would possibly hire Irwin again.


    Everything after that depended on Irwin.


    If he didn''t feel any guilt, he would have searched for newpanions and opportunities.


    He would have continued training.


    He would have tried to contact some people to maybe get a job.


    He would have tried to get employed by the city.


    Maybe he would have searched for love or built some kind of business.


    If any of these things happened, Nick would have gotten his answer to his uncertainties.


    At that point, he could have killed Irwin himself, told Julian to do it, or just tell the city.


    Just like that, his life would be over, and Nick wouldn''t need to think about any what-ifs.


    The same thing would have happened if Irwin had decided to dedicate his life to revenge on Nick.


    Due to what Irwin had done, Nick had full power over his life.


    He could kill him without any consequences whenever he wanted.


    The confession was irrelevant since he didn''t need it.


    And finally, what if Irwin actually felt guilt?


    In that case, it could have gone a couple of ways.


    Maybe he would kill himself because his entire life broke apart.


    Maybe he would eventually recover and live with this guilt for the remainder of his life.


    Or maybe he would try to get rid of this guilt.


    Which would bring him to Dark Dream.


    If Nick had directly told the city, Irwin would have been executed.


    But if he didn''t, Irwin would have either been executed or be one of Dark Dream''s most loyal and powerful Extractors.


    Someone like Irwin would most likely never betray Dark Dream.


    Julian knew all of these things, which was why he hadughed.


    Nick also knew that it would go either of these ways, but this wasn''t the reason why he had made his decision.


    Most of all, Nick wanted to see how someone else would act in this situation.


    Irwin had done something horrible, which filled him with guilt.


    Wasn''t that just like Nick?


    Nick wanted to see what someone else would do.


    When Nick had said that Irwin wasn''t like him, he had referred to something specific.


    Nick meant that Irwin hadn''t done something unforgivable.


    Irwin had attempted to kill someone.


    Yes, that was bad.


    However, he didn''t seed.


    Additionally, Nick wasn''t an innocent child, and he knew that.


    Meanwhile, Nick was responsible for over a thousand deaths of innocent people.


    Nick knew that his guilt weighed infinitely more than Irwin''s guilt.


    So, Nick wanted to give him a chance.


    Maybe he could make things right.


    And if Irwin actually seeded¡­


    Maybe Nick could also seed.


    "There is nothing wrong with that," Nick said after ten seconds of silence.


    "We humans are inherently selfish."


    "We help others because we want to be repaid."


    "We help others because we want to be seen as good."


    "We help others because we want to feel good about ourselves."


    "In every case, helping others is very often helping ourselves since we get something out of it almost every single time."


    "True selflessness doesn''t exist."


    "And yet, helping someone is still considered to be more good than killing them unless they are a monster or something simr."


    "This means there is a gradient."


    "Since true selflessness can''t exist, it is impossible for humans to reach the good end of the gradient."


    "So, we have to move the goalpost."


    "In that sense, the best person is somebody who helps others without expecting them to repay the deed. That is as selfless and good as it gets."


    "The person still gets satisfaction and positive emotions out of that, but that can''t be helped. It is the best that person can be."


    "You want to get rid of your guilt, which is why you are here."


    "Are you a good person?"


    Nick chuckled as he looked at the table.


    "You tried to kill me. Of course, you''re not a good person," Nick said.


    Irwin just looked at Nick in silence.


    "But I see that you''re trying."


    "And while I have not forgiven you, I am willing to give you the chance to try."


    Then, Nick took out a prepared contract.


    All of Irwin''s information had already been put in.

 Chapter 416 416 – Welcome to Dark Dream!

    <h4>Chapter 416 Chapter 416 ¨C Wee to Dark Dream!</h4>


    Nick had shown that he had prepared the contract in advance on purpose.


    The purpose was to intimidate Irwin.


    Naturally, Irwin realized that everything had been prepared beforehand and that Nick had expected him toe, asking for forgiveness.


    While Irwin would be extremely loyal due to his own guilt, that didn''t necessarily mean that he viewed Nick as superior.


    Because of that, Nick wanted to intimidate him.


    Feeling predictable equaled feeling vulnerable.


    Humans put a lot of value on their free will.


    Free will meant freedom and being able to make one''s own choices.


    However, if someone could predict everything someone else did, that feeling of power vanished.


    The way Nick had spoken had shaken Irwin''s confidence even more.


    When someone''s confidence waspletely broken, they were far more likely to ept almost any kind of information at face value.


    Due to the sheer power imbnce, Irwin viewed everything that Nick had said as the truth.


    Nick hadpletely intimidated Irwin, and subconsciously, Irwin felt very vulnerable and weak in front of him.


    Irwin took hold of the contract with slow hands, afraid of making any sudden movements.


    Nick looked at Irwin with neutral eyes.


    Irwin''s entire body was sweating due to pressure.


    Irwin was two levels higher than Nick, but right now, he felt like a little child standing in front of an intimidating stranger in a lonely alley.


    Irwin read through the contract, and he felt guilty about doing that.


    His emotions were telling him that he should just sign and that reading the contract showed disrespect to Nick.


    "You don''t need to hurry," Nick said, his voice startling Irwin. "Take your time."


    "Th-thanks," Irwin answered before he looked back at the contract.


    The more Irwin read, the more shocked he became.


    This contract was too good!


    Sure, Irwin wouldn''t get any authority, but his pay was insanely high!


    10% of what he earned for Dark Dream was what he would get!


    He would earn more than double of what he had earned in Sce!


    When Irwin was done reading the contract, he felt even guiltier than before.


    This felt more like a reward than a punishment.


    Irwin''s hand was shaking as he took hold of the pen.


    Finally, he signed before handing the contract back to Nick.


    Nick also signed the contract and stood up.


    "Follow me," Nick said.


    "Y-yes, sir," Irwin said nervously as he quickly shot to his feet.


    "Everyone calls me Boss," Nick said as he walked out of his room.


    "Sure, B-Boss!" Irwin said, quickly following behind Nick.


    Nick led Irwin to another office and entered without knocking.


    Irwin walked after Nick, and when he saw the person in the office, he looked away in guilt.


    "My, my, Irwin. You made quite a blunder, didn''t you?" Julian said with a chuckle.


    "I''m sorry," Irwin said, not looking at Julian.


    Naturally, Irwin felt extremely guilty in front of Julian.


    After all, Irwin had nearly killed Julian''s most important employee.


    "It''s fine," Julian said with augh. "Sit down. Nick already told me about everything."


    Irwin did just that and sat down in the chair in front of Julian''s desk.


    Nick stood diagonally behind Irwin, which made Irwin nervous.


    Julian just smiled andughed. "Now, you don''t need to be so nervous. You''re part of Dark Dream now, after all."


    Then, Julian casually signed the contract and gave Irwin a copy.


    "Nick is the one that deals with all the personnel matters of the Extractors," Julian said. "He is the one that decides who gets hired and who gets fired."


    "I trust him with these matters, and I just put my stamp on any matter he presents to me when ites to his part of the business."


    "Our friendship is not the reason why you are here right now," Julian said with a smile.


    Irwin took a deep, nervous breath and nodded.


    "Good that you understand," Julian said with a smile. "Wee to Dark Dream!"


    "Th-thanks," Irwin said.


    Irwin had understood Julian''s message clearly.


    Nick held all the power over Irwin''s fate.


    And from what Irwin could see, going against him in any way was the worst thing he could do.


    Julian nodded again with a smile. "If there''s anything you need, you can tell Nick."


    "Of course," Irwin said nervously, standing up.


    He knew that Julian had just politely told Irwin to leave his office.


    Nick opened the door behind Irwin, and the two of them walked out.


    After that, Nick gave Irwin his uniform and his equipment.


    "You cane back tomorrow. Tomorrow at 8 a.m., I''ll show you around. Due to your level, I will not put you on any of the teams. You will be working directly beneath me, but keep in mind that your position is not superior to others."


    "While you don''t need to take orders from the team leaders, the team leaders are still my most trusted employees, and I am more likely to believe them over you if there is a problem."


    "Do you understand?" Nick asked.


    Irwin nodded twice. "Yes, Boss."


    Nick nodded back slowly.


    "See you tomorrow," he said, walking to his office.


    "Thank you, Boss. See you tomorrow!" Irwin said nervously.


    Irwin was left alone in the hallway, and he nervously looked around.


    He now worked for Dark Dream.


    That didn''t feel real.


    It felt especially strange since the past weeks had felt like a dark dream to him.


    Maybe it had always been his fate to end up here.


    Irwin turned around and left the building.


    He wasn''t sure what he would do until tomorrow.


    Just like that, Dark Dream had gained a Peak Veteran.


    As a very powerful Mid Veteran, Nick''s power had been leagues above any other employee.


    This had always been an issue since no other employee was strong enough to really help Nick.


    But now, they finally had one!


    A powerful Sniper and Senser!


    Even more, Irwin had been on hundreds of excursions into the outside world.


    By hiring Irwin, Dark Dream had essentially received an extremely valuable map of the outside.


    Maybe that was worth even more than capturing a Specter.

 Chapter 417 417 – Mission

    <h4>Chapter 417 Chapter 417 ¨C Mission </h4>


    Nick leaned on the big grey cliff beside him and took a deep breath.


    He closed his eyes for a moment.


    Then, he opened his eyes with conviction and silently climbed upward.


    After reaching the top, he slowly moved his head over the edge.


    He saw it, the endless sea.


    Right now, Nick was at the same spot from about a month ago, when he had been on the excursion with Carl, Irwin, and Mark.


    As Nick''s head peeked over the edge, his ability deactivated, just as expected.


    Yet, nothing moved.


    Nick knew that something must have noticed him, but whatever had noticed him didn''t show any indication of it.


    He moved his head below the edge and over the edge repeatedly.


    Every time a part of his head went above the edge, his ability deactivated.


    ''This makes it official. Whatever is seeing me is inside the sea,'' Nick thought.


    Nick kept looking at the sea for a while, closely examining it.


    It was incredibly difficult to see anything inside since it was so deep and dark.


    However, he still felt like something was moving.


    For a while, Nick just waited here, looking at the sea.


    There was nobody else near the sea.


    No Extractors, no Specters, nothing.


    It was just Nick and the sea.


    He waited.


    After about 30 seconds, Nick saw the stick in the distance, and just like before, it started to grow.


    But this time, Nick knew what he was actually seeing.


    It was a mast.


    It was the top of a sail.


    It was a ship.


    When Nick had told Julian about it, Julian had told him that it must have been a ship.


    Nick knew that the world was round, but he hadn''t ever seen a ship before, which was why he hadn''t been sure if that had been one.


    As soon as Nick saw the stick, he knew that the enemy wasing for him.


    Nick immediately jumped down from the cliff.


    In an instant, hended on the ground.


    BOOOOM!


    And exploded towards the southwest.


    Nick ran with all of his power, and with his ability active, he managed to traverse over a kilometer in barely five seconds.


    As Nick ran with his full power, he felt the air bing thicker and thicker.


    It was almost like some kind of resistance was building up in front of him.


    Whoom!


    Suddenly, Nick''s Zephyx pulsed, and the resistance in front of Nick vanished.


    Starting at the Expert Stage, people coulde into contact with supersonic speeds.


    If one wasn''t careful, one would create a sonic boom, which could damage things in one''s surroundings and even deafen normal people.


    Of course, if every powerful Extractor created a sonic boom while traversing the city, living there would be atrocious.


    Because of that, Extractors had to learn how to use their Zephyx to create a "hole" in the sound barrier.


    Like this, the Extractor would make almost no sound while moving, and at the same time, the sound would "flow around them".


    Achieving something like this wasn''t easy since it needed a good grasp of Zephyx maniption, but people who had reached this level had enough experience to master something like that quite quickly.


    Ten secondster, Nick had already moved over three kilometers towards the southwest.


    And then, his ability deactivated, and Nick''s speed plummeted rapidly.


    Nick immediately turned towards the northeast, and he saw two tiny dots extremely far away.


    He couldn''t see the details of the dots, but Nick knew exactly what those were.


    In an instant, Nick grabbed something from his belt and broke it inside his hand.


    WHOOOOOOM!


    A gigantic explosion of red mist urred.


    Everything around Nick was coated in an extremely thickyer of red Zephyx.


    All of this happened within two seconds.


    Yet, within these two seconds, the two distant dots had already erged to a terrifying degree.


    By now, Nick could fully see all the details of the two dots.


    Just as expected, there were two people covered in red corals.


    Half their bodies were filled with corals, while the other half looked like they were corpses that had been floating in the water for a day or two.


    In just these two seconds, the two dots had managed to close the distance by four kilometers!


    The two dots had jumped off the ship, which had still been about five kilometers away from the shore, which meant that they had jumped when Nick was around eight kilometers away from them.


    And yet, in only two seconds, they had halved the distance between them and Nick.


    Two kilometers per second.


    Those were speeds that only Specialists and Fanatics could reach.


    Nick''s heart rate shot through the roof, and he kept running.


    However, his speed had plummeted by a lot.


    Now, he needed over ten seconds per kilometer.


    Another second passed, and the two coral people were now only a bit more than two kilometers away from Nick.


    In one more second, they would reach him.


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    His entire being was shouting at him to use his ability and escape, but Nick forcefully resisted.


    Nick looked at the two coral people while he kept running.


    They were gaining ground fast!


    BANG!


    Suddenly, the two coral people stopped in the air with a powerful punch forward, creating a terrifying explosion of wind in the air.


    BANG!


    Another explosion, and the two of them shot towards the north again.


    WHOOOOM!


    Suddenly, a bright ray of light passed over Nick at iprehensible speeds.


    In less than a second, the ray of light passed Nick and the two coral people.


    BOOOM!


    An explosion of light urred between the two coral people and the sea.


    And momentster, a blonde woman wearing Kugelblitz''s uniform appeared in that ce.


    It was Aria Light, Kugelblitz''s Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    But she wasn''t the only one.


    CRRRRR!


    Aet of violent fire followed the beam of light and reached the two coral people in an instant.


    Theet of fire consumed one of them in an instant before taking care of the other one.


    BANG!


    The fire vanished, revealing three people.


    The two coral people were surrounded by white chains, which were being held by the governor.


    Nick took a deep breath and sighed.


    Mission sess.

 Chapter 418 418 – Coral People

    <h4>Chapter 418 Chapter 418 ¨C Coral People</h4>


    A momentter, Aria and the governor turned back and flew towards the city.


    They didn''t want to stay too close to the northern sea.


    After all, even a Hero had vanished there.


    "Close your eyes," Aria suddenly spoke as she appeared beside Nick in an instant.


    Nick did just that, and the next moment, he felt himself getting pulled into the sky.


    Naturally, Aria was carrying him back towards Crimson City.


    About a month ago, Julian had started negotiations with the governor regarding the information Nick had gathered on his excursion.


    Nobody knew why the north was so dangerous, and Julian was sure that this information was worth a lot.


    Of course, as soon as negotiations started, the efforts of uncovering why the north was so dangerous increased.


    The city believed that they would be able to find out what was happening to the north.


    After all, Dark Dream managed to find out about the north.


    Why wouldn''t they be able to?


    So, they had sent more people toward the shore to investigate.


    Yet, they hadn''t found anything.


    Well, that wasn''tpletely true.


    They found out that three researchers mysteriously vanished after they investigated the sea at different ces.


    Naturally, the governor was very annoyed when he heard that.


    How was it that a little Manufacturer like Dark Dream kepting across such valuable information?!


    The governor debated whether or not he should join the research.


    But in the end, he decided against it.


    It was just too risky.


    He had already lost an Expert and two Veterans.


    Might as well just pay Dark Dream and avoid the risk.


    So, Dark Dream told the governor what Nick had seen.


    When the governor had heard about the coral people, he already had an idea of what was going on.


    Most likely, the coral people were the minions of a strong Specter.


    So, the governor tried to catch some of them.


    He kept using people as bait.


    And yet, it didn''t work.


    If anyone went to the shore to the northeast, nothing would happen.


    Yet, if anyone went towards the north, they would just vanish without a trace.


    The governor had lost another two Veterans like that!


    So, he hadined to Dark Dream.


    Were they truly telling the truth?


    There was no way to verify whether or not what they said was true.


    In the end, Nick made an offer.


    "Let me lure them out. I did it before. Maybe it''ll work again."


    The governor had epted and had told Nick how to do it.


    Yet, surprisingly, Nick interrupted the governor and told him that he would do it his way.


    The governor was a bit annoyed, but Nick kept insisting that he would do it his way.


    Eventually, the governor relented.


    Nick told the governor to stay so far away that it was impossible to sense Nick and that Nick would alert them when it was time for them toe.


    One thing that Nick demanded was that another Hero would join them during the mission.


    The Forbidden Zone had already taken one Hero, which was why Nick wanted at least two.


    Of course, Kugelblitz very quickly volunteered.


    After all, there was most likely a Specter up north, and if they could get information about it first, Kugelblitz might be able to capture another powerful Specter.


    And that was how things yed out.


    The mission was a sess.


    "You can open your eyes again," Aria said.


    Nick did just that and found himself on a small balcony very high up on the megastructure.


    The balcony was just outside the entrance to the upperyer.


    Of course, it wasn''t really possible to look at the city from here anymore due to the tall wall that had been erected.


    Naturally, that was because of the Crimson Sea.


    This balcony had been the ce from where that one Specialist had destroyed Envy''s greater ry.


    "Good work," Aria said with a smile.


    "Thanks," Nick said with a nod.


    Compared to Vernon, Aria didn''t seem to view Dark Dream as an enemy.


    Of course, she also wasn''t viewing them as an ally.


    "Thanks for helping us catch these two. Kugelblitz will be sure to remember that favor!" Aria said with a smile as she jumped and flew out of the megastructure again.


    She flew up the side of the megastructure and entered through a small entrance near its peak.


    That was the same ce the governor had entered with the two coral people.


    Meanwhile, Nick jumped onto the Shweeb railway and ran down.


    After about a minute, Nick reached Dark Dream and entered.


    Naturally, while Dark Dream had been involved in uncovering the mystery of the north, they were not part of the investigation.


    The governor would not tell them what they had found out.


    The city had paid for the information, and they had the right to keep it to themselves or to share it with whomever they wanted.


    Maybe that was the governor''s way of taking revenge on Dark Dream for all the people the city had lost.


    But that didn''t stop Dark Dream from obtaining that information just dayster.


    Aria Light had been part of the investigation, and Aria Light belonged to Kugelblitz.


    Obviously, she told the other major shareholders so that Kugelblitz coulde to a decision about what to do.


    One of these shareholders was Vernon Melfion, and Vernon Melfion just so happened to be close friends with Julian.


    Sure, Vernon hated Nick, but he didn''t hate Julian.


    After talking for a while, Vernon told Julian, but Julian had to promise that he wouldn''t tell Nick.


    "So, anyway," Julian said with a smile. "Turns out, the coral people are people that went missing a long time ago."


    Nick didn''t show a strong reaction. "I thought that''s what was going on."


    Julian chuckled a bit. "Just as expected, the corals are controlling the people."


    "But what is surprising is that they are still alive. As in, they are not reanimated corpses."


    "They''ve never died."


    "From what they found out, the corals enter the nervous system near the neck andpletely take control of it."


    "This means that their brains have not been touched."


    "However, the corals also release a paralyzing agent that destroys every nerve outside the brain, even the ones in the face."


    "All the nerves inside them have been dissolved, basically."


    "If the city were to remove the corals, their Zephosis would end, and they would die as soon as their Zephyx storage gets empty."


    "This means the coral people only have two choices."


    "Follow the Specter''smand or die."


    Julian chuckled.


    "Although, I don''t think they really have a choice."

 Chapter 419 419 – Servant

    <h4>Chapter 419 Chapter 419 ¨C Servant </h4>


    "Do we know how strong the Specter is?" Nick asked.


    "Definitely at least a Demon," Julian said. "Could also be a Fallen."


    Julian smirked arrogantly.


    "But we know something that the city doesn''t, right?" he said.


    Nick nodded. "It can''t possibly be a powerful Fallen. It''s almost definitely within the first three levels. Most likely, it just became a Fallen recently."


    Julian chuckled.


    How was it possible that Dark Dream could tell how powerful the Specter was, but the city and Kugelblitz couldn''t?


    One reason.


    The fact that it went after Nick.


    Twice!


    Over the past decades, the Specter to the north had never shown its hand in any way.


    Whenever someone vanished, it took those people without getting noticed.


    This meant that the Specter was definitely not stupid.


    Quite the opposite, in fact.


    This Specter was supremely intelligent.


    It was so intelligent that nobody noticed it when it didn''t want to get noticed, and nobody managed to escape if it didn''t want them to escape.


    This meant that the Specter had only attacked when it was 100% certain that its prey was alone.


    When it had sent the coral people after Nick the first time, that might have still been true.


    After all, it had sent a Specialist after a couple of Veterans and an Expert.


    Those were quite good odds.


    But if one looked closely, a couple of things seemed strange.


    First of all, why did the coral people interrogate the captured Mark?


    The person the Specter had seen had already escaped.


    Running after that person might unveil them.


    Instead, if they had just taken Mark with them, nobody would have known what they looked like, and they would have made another person vanish.


    Yet, they interrogated Mark and even jumped toward the southwest in search of the person the Specter had sensed earlier.


    Why?


    Even more, when the city had tried to find the coral people in the weeks after that, the coral people had returned to their old way of doing things.


    They only took the lone and weak people.


    But as soon as they found Nick again, they charged out of the water right into thend.


    Did they travel this many kilometers ind every time they wanted to catch someone?


    No.


    If they did, the city would have already found out about them.


    Yet, whenever it was Nick, they did that.


    It was almost like they desperately wanted to capture Nick.


    But why would they want to do that?


    Nick was just a random Veteran, right?


    Well, wasn''t there a Specter that was very interested in capturing Nick?


    Envy.


    Naturally, Julian had already told Nick about Envy''s servant, the Prison, and how Julian had essentially thrown him out of the city.


    The Prison had been tasked with catching Nick back then, but since it couldn''t get past Julian, it sent one of its servants.


    That servant infiltrated the Spartans, acted as a Possession Specter that granted wishes in exchange for favors and used the Spartans to catch Nick.


    But then, the Crimson Sea broke out, and the Specter was consumed by it.


    The next moment, the entire city was covered in a red mist.


    Now, from an outside perspective, what did that look like?


    It looked like the entire city had been destroyed.


    After all, everything was covered in corrosive red mist, and it was impossible to see the city anymore.


    So, the Prison had seen that and believed that Nick had died.


    The Prison left and stopped trying to get into the city.


    But then, Envy heard that Crimson City somehow survived yearster.


    And since the Prison failed thest time, Envy asked another Specter.


    Most likely, the Specter in the sea to the north had either already been one of Envy''s servants or was made one recently.


    In any case, it was supposed to capture Nick if it found any signs of him.


    Because of that, Nick and Julian knew that the Specter to the north couldn''t be a powerful Fallen but only a weak Fallen at most.


    After all, a Specter had to be quite a lot more powerful to enve another Specter without actually being physically present.


    Simon Francium had said that Envy was being detained somewhere far away, which meant that it couldn''t possibly appear here just like that.


    Someone of simr power wouldn''t immediately bow in front of someone like that.


    However, if that person had servants on a power level simr to theirs, things would be different.


    Envy had a couple of weak Fallen as servants.


    If a weak Fallen or Demon disrespected Envy, one of these servants might appear to kill them.


    Naturally, the city knew none of that.


    As far as they knew, Nick was just very good at luring the coral people out.


    Why would such a strong Specter be interested in such a weak Extractor?


    "But none of that matters," Julian said with a chuckle. "We got what we wanted."


    "What did we get?" Nick asked.


    "One Initial Adult and two Early Adolescent," Julian answered.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    Sure, that was great, but he needed a Late or Peak Adult to grow stronger.


    An Initial Adult barely helped him.


    "We got the Initial Adult for the information and the two Early Adolescents for capturing the two coral people. The city is going to prepare them and deliver them to us within the next two weeks," Julian said.


    "Sounds good," Nick answered.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t want to appear too angry about the fact that the Specters were not useful to him personally.


    It was important that Nick acted like Dark Dream was more important.


    After all, Nick didn''t want to seem like he knew that Julian would one day try to kill him.


    Also, it wasn''t so bad, actually.


    Dark Dream needed more Adolescents anyway.


    The number of Johns Dark Dream employed was pitifully little.


    Sce had over 50.


    With enough Johns, Dark Dream would also gain far more Veterans in the future, and with many Veterans, they could capture more Adults.

 Chapter 420 420 – The Blaze

    <h4>Chapter 420 Chapter 420 ¨C The ze?</h4>


    A couple of days passed, and Nick eventually called for the government to bring the three Specters that Dark Dream had been promised.


    There was no issue during the transport, and the three Specters arrived in Dark Dream within just a couple of minutes.


    ''Alright, one Possession Specter and two Physical Specters,'' Nick thought after the guards left. ''A bit sad that the Adult is the Possession Specter since it can''t grow anymore. Although, that might be good for the future. After all, at some point, we need ways to strengthen several Veterans.''


    Nick nodded to himself and walked to the fourth floor, the floor housing the Possession Specters.


    Adult Possession Specters were quite rare, and not every Manufacturer had one.


    For example, Gemini didn''t have an Adult Possession Specter.


    Possession Specters were about as numerous as Physical Specters, while Force Specters were the rarest.


    However, the higher one went in the level, the rarer Possession Specters became.


    This was due to Possession Specters not being able to grow more powerful.


    But then, how did Adult Possession Specterse to be?


    Well, when they started existing, they were already Adults.


    No one in Crimson City had seen a Specter forming, but the researchers had been able to extrapte how something like this probably happened.


    Physical Specters and Force Specters just appeared out of nowhere. At least, that was the assumption.


    At most, a bunch of Prephyx probably gathered in the air,pressed, and eventually created a Specter.


    However, Possession Specters were different.


    Just based on their name, one could infer that Possession Specters possessed something that already existed.


    Crimson City had done a lot of research on how Possession Specters appeared. After all, if they could learn how to make Possession Specters, they could create their own Specters.


    They wouldn''t even need to hunt and suppress them.


    Sadly, they didn''t know how that happened yet, but there were a couple of theories.


    Ghosty''s theory was the most probable one.


    Ghosty had alreadye up with the theory that the Specters'' reason for existence was to bring suffering to humanity, and he had used that theory to alsoe up with a theory for how Possession Specters were created.


    He believed that objects surrounded by negative emotions were more likely to be Specters.


    For example, a hammer that had broken the arms of 20 people had a far higher chance of bing a Specter than a hammer that was used for construction.


    If an object had caused a great amount of suffering, the negative emotions would act as a form of pull for Prephyx.


    Sadly, while this theory seemed to make sense, it didn''t exin how strong a Possession Specter became.


    The durability of the object was of no consequence. After all, the Screaming Coffin, which was a big and hard coffin made of wood, was far weaker than the sses, which were just sses.


    The only thing one could say for certain was that Possession Specters had to be born at their power level since they couldn''t gain power any other way.


    Of course, the more powerful the Possession Specter, the rarer it was.


    As for how much rarer, it was basically always an increase of five.


    On average, for every five Hatchling Possession Specters, one Adolescent Possession Specter existed, and for every five Adolescent Possession Specters, one Adult Possession Specter existed.


    Dark Dream only had four Possession Specters in total, and one of them was an Adult, while two others were Adolescents.


    This showed the quality of Dark Dream''s Possession Specters.


    However, Dark Dream didn''t have many.


    For example, Sce had over 15, and Ghosty''s Lab had over 70!


    Just to put this into perspective, Sce had about as many Possession Specters as Dark Dream had in total.


    Getting more Possession Specters could definitely increase the number of Extractors Dark Dream could employ and train.


    ''But that''s for the future,'' Nick thought. ''For now, I should check our newest addition.''


    After Nick arrived at the fourth floor, he looked at one of the Containment Units in the east of the building.


    Nick approached the door and walked in without hesitation.


    After he closed the door behind him, he looked at the object in the middle of the room.


    There was a big metal stick standing in the middle of the room. Its base was wide, and it was obviously designed to stand.


    Two metal bars came out of the edges of the base and spiraled around the central stick like twin helixes, making it look quite ornate.


    Eventually, the two helixes bent inward andbined with the stick in the center.


    At a height of about 150 centimeters, theybined into one and extended for another 20 centimeters.


    Yet, these 20 centimeters werepletely engulfed in crimson fire.


    Nick could already feel the heat from where he stood.


    This was the ze.


    Nick took a deep breath and approached the ze.


    Then, he gritted his teeth and extended his hand into the fire.


    Nick tightly grabbed the fiery metal in the middle.


    SSSSSS!


    The fire became more violent, and Nick felt his arm burning.


    Nick took violent breaths as he fought against his instincts telling him to pull his arm out.


    It hurt like hell!


    ''Eight, nine, ten!''


    Then, Nick pulled his arm out and looked at it.


    Surprisingly, his uniform looked just like always. It was almost like it hadn''t been inside fire just now.


    Nick''s hand, on the other hand, looked red, ck, and sinewy.


    It looked just like it had been on fire for a while, unsurprisingly.


    And it hurt about as much as it looked.


    If Nick hadn''t been confronted with the Nightmare''s torture so many times, he would be screaming right now.


    This pain was far worse than what the Can caused someone.


    Nick walked to the side of the room and pressed a button on it.


    The next moment, a drop of green liquid came out of a faucet andnded on Nick''s burned hand.


    The green liquid vanished immediately, and the hand regained a bit of its strength.


    It no longer looked as bad, but it hadn''t fully recovered.


    ''But it doesn''t hurt as much anymore, which is the most important,'' Nick thought as he looked at his hand. ''With my recovery, it should fully recover within a couple of hours.''


    Nick nced at the faucet.


    ''One drop costs about 10,000 credits. Let''s see how much the ze produced.''

 Chapter 421 421 – Difficult Work

    <h4>Chapter 421 Chapter 421 ¨C Difficult Work </h4>


    Nick left the Containment Unit and checked the Zephyx container.


    ''84 grams,'' Nick thought. ''If we subtract the cost of the Recovery Liquid, thises to about 74 grams of profit.''


    ''The good thing is that there is no limit to how much Zephyx can be made in a day.''


    ''ording to the report, the ze produces more Zephyx the more Zephyx it burns. As a Mid Veteran, my body is made of far more Zephyx than the body of a John. Because of that, it takes the ze more time to burn my arm, but it also produces more Zephyx that way.''


    ''A Peak John can hold their hand in the fire for a maximum of three seconds before it bes so damaged that it has to be amputated.''


    ''However, the Peak John would still need a drop of Recovery Liquid, and the price of that doesn''t fluctuate. Also, I can''t just keep the Recovery Liquid from them since that would be barbaric.''


    ''I need to test more.''


    Nick left the fourth floor to search for someone.


    About two minutester, he returned with a man of average height and ck hair.


    "Oh, it''s a Possession Specter, Boss?" Taren asked.


    Nick nodded and led Taren into the room.


    When Taren saw the burning stick, he took a deep breath.


    He really hoped that he didn''t need to do what he thought he needed to do.


    "It gains power by burning Zephyx," Nick said.


    Taren''s heart rate increased.


    "Yes, it hurts just as much as you imagine," Nick added.


    Taren closed his eyes.


    "Will it increase my power?" he asked.


    Except for Nick, Taren was probably the most power-hungry employee of Dark Dream.


    He was the person that kicked the Can the most.


    Sadly, he had be too strong to kick the Can, which meant that his growth had slowed down.


    "It''s an Initial Adult," Nick said.


    Taren''s eyes looked at the ze with absolute focus.


    "It''s basically just like the Can, but more painful and stronger," Nick said.


    Aplex mix of emotions appeared inside Taren.


    He was afraid, but he was also d that he finally had a way to grow stronger quicker!


    "Okay," Taren said after a while. "What do I do?"


    "I''ll show you," Nick said as he approached the ze again.


    Taren watched with bated breath.


    Then, Nick took a breath and held his other hand into the ze.


    SSSSSS!


    The fire became violent, and Nick gritted his teeth.


    Yet, from Taren''s perspective, Nick barely showed any reaction.


    He wasn''t sure if Nick had exaggerated the pain or if he was just a monster.


    Ten secondster, Nick pulled his arm out and got a drop of Recovery Liquid.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "That''s it," he said. "However, since your body is weaker, you can only hold your hand in there for three seconds, four at maximum."


    "After that, you are allowed to use one drop of Recovery Liquid," Nick exined.


    Taren nodded. "Understood."


    Then, he looked at the ze and approached.


    He took a deep breath.


    And then, he held his arm in.


    "Ah, fuck!"


    Taren shouted and pulled his arm out after just a single second.


    His arm was red all over, but it wasn''t as ck or sinewy as Nick''s arm had been.


    Nevertheless, this was already painful enough, and a sweat broke out all over Taren''s body.


    Taren ran towards the faucet.


    Bonk!


    However, Nick stepped between him and the faucet.


    "You were in there for barely a second. If you use the faucet now, we are going to break even, but we want a profit," Nick said neutrally.


    Taren looked at Nick in shock.


    "You can leave now or put your hand in there for another two seconds," Nick said.


    Taren gritted his teeth.


    This had hurt like absolute hell!


    Taren kept looking at his burned arm, which was starting to shake.


    He nced at the door.


    He looked at the ze.


    He looked at the door.


    He clenched his fists.


    He wanted to continue, but it was just so fucking painful!


    After a bit, Taren approached the ze again.


    Then, he slowly extended his arm.


    His arm went back and forth.


    It approached the ze, quickly pulled back, went forward, pulled back, shot forward, shot backward, and so on.


    "Fuck!" Taren shouted in rage and frustration.


    Then, he shoved his arm into the ze.


    And immediately pulled it out again.


    "FUCK!" Taren shouted again.


    He wanted to grow stronger!


    But he just couldn''t fucking do it!


    "Why can''t I fucking do this?!" Taren shouted in frustration.


    This was one of the reasons why the city had given them this specific Specter.


    It was extremely difficult to work with the ze.


    Putting one''s hand in the fire for just a tiny moment wasn''t actually that difficult.


    The difficult part was keeping it in the fire.


    Burning pain was one of the worst pains in existence.


    One had to remember that Extractors were employees, not ves.


    A Manufacturer couldn''t force an Extractor to do something against their will unless they literally threatened the Extractor''s life.


    But then, an Extractor''s loyalty would bepromised, which would be horrible for the Manufacturer.


    Getting one''s hands burned as a day job was not something most people would want.


    It required extreme conviction to work with the ze in a profitable way.


    Taren felt horrible right now.


    He felt especially terrible when he remembered that Nick had held his arm in there for ten whole seconds, while he couldn''t do it for three!


    "Fuck!" Taren shouted in rage.


    "Boss!"


    Nick looked at the agitated Taren.


    "I can''t count like this!" Taren shouted. "Take my arms out when the three seconds are up!"


    Nick''s eyebrows rose.


    Then, Taren turned to the ze with an absolutely mad glint in his eyes.


    He rapidly breathed in and out.


    Sweat broke out all across his body, and his eyes seemed to lose focus.


    And then, he jumped forward and grabbed the burning piece of metal with both of his hands.


    "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

 Chapter 422 422 – The Bitch

    <h4>Chapter 422 Chapter 422 ¨C The Bitch</h4>


    BANG!


    Nick pulled the screaming Taren away.


    Both of his arms had been severely injured.


    However, only his right arm wasparable to Nick''s damaged arm.


    That was because Nick had to pull Taren out after only two seconds since the other arm had been in there for one second already.


    If he kept the arm in there for longer, it might be unsavable.


    Nick put Taren''s arms under the faucet and pressed the button.


    One drop of liquid came out, and Taren rapidly rubbed it across both of his arms.


    Taren''s arms almostpletely recovered within three seconds.


    They were only a bit red.


    Naturally, as a Peak John, Taren didn''t need as much Recovery Liquid as Nick.


    One drop was enough for both his arms.


    Taren took a deep breath and sighed in relief.


    His arms still hurt, but it was nothingpared to before.


    "If you want, you can do that once per day per appendage," Nick said. "Recovery Liquid counts as foreign Zephyx, and if you use it too often on the same part of your body, your control over your Zephyx will permanently lower. Your body needs about 20 hours to fully assimte the foreign Zephyx and make it its own."


    Taren looked with surprise at Nick. "I didn''t know that," he said.


    Nick nodded. "It''s notmon knowledge since it''s not relevant to many people. Not many Extractors need to use Recovery Liquid on a daily basis."


    Of course, the two didn''t even consider not using the Recovery Liquid.


    The pain was crippling, and without the Recovery Liquid, they would be paralyzed with pain for hours.


    Taren looked at the ze for a while.


    The first time was always the most difficult, and now that the ordeal was behind him, he wasn''t that much against working with the ze again.


    "Once per day per appendage," Taren said.


    Then, Taren looked at his legs.


    But he shook his head.


    Maybe tomorrow.


    "I think I will work with it from time to time," Taren said.


    Nick nodded.


    "Boss," Taren said.


    "Yes?" Nick asked.


    "Could you help me again if I need it? Just like today?" Taren asked.


    "Sure," Nick answered.


    "Thanks," Taren said.


    After that, the two of them left the Containment Unit, and Taren went back to his job as one of Dark Dream''s two team leaders.


    Meanwhile, Nick looked at the Containment Unit a bit more.


    The city hadn''t told Dark Dream the background of the ze, but Julian knew that anyway due to his connections.


    A bit more than 25 years ago, people regrly vanished and reappeared.


    Yet, when they reappeared, they werepletely different from before.


    They barely talked, got startled by every loud sound, and, especially interesting, they were absolutely terrified of fire.


    All of them barely had any recollection of what was going on.


    They only remembered parts, and these parts were filled with absolute fear, terror, and suffering.


    Eventually, the origin of these disappearances was uncovered.


    The Mistress, a Fanatic.


    The Mistress had created a cult of normal people and even a couple of Extractors.


    These people abducted citizens for the Mistress.


    And, well, the Mistress gained power by causing pain.


    The abducted people were put through the worst torture imaginable to satisfy the Mistress.


    The only reason why the people weren''t killed on top of that was to not anger the government too much.


    If they killed every person they abducted, the Manufacturers and government would search much harder for the disappearances.


    But in the end, Kugelblitz took care of the Mistress and her cult.


    Ever since then, the Mistress has been contained within Kugelblitz, and she also gained a new nickname.


    The Bitch.


    Working with her was not fun at all.


    Two years after the Mistress had been captured, the city found the ze.


    An Adult Possession Specter.


    Quite valuable and rare.


    However, the existence of the ze had also given more credibility to Ghosty''s theory regarding the origin of Possession Specters.


    Apparently, the burning stick had been a torch that had been used to torture the people the Mistress'' cult had abducted.


    And back then, the burning stick had not been a Specter yet.


    Based on Ghosty''s theory, countless people had feared the torch, which had surrounded it with negative energies.


    Not many objects had caused so much suffering in Crimson City, which was why this object had materialized as an Adult.


    At least, that was the theory.


    Ghosty''s theory seemed quite credible.


    Maybe a person had been put into a coffin and then thrown into the sewers, which could have created the Screaming Coffin.


    Maybe the sses had caused an influential person to make many horrible mistakes in the past.


    Maybe many people got injured while kicking the Can before it became a Specter.


    These levels of suffering could correspond with the powers of the Possession Specters.


    Of course, out of all these Possession Specters, the ze had caused the most suffering, which also made it the strongest.


    ''Maybe the Spilling Bottle was once used to poison someone,'' Nick thought. ''That would exin why it''s so weak.''


    After looking at the Containment Unit for a bit more, Nick checked the Zephyx container again.


    He wanted to know how much Zephyx Taren had produced.


    ''49 grams,'' Nick thought. ''That''s for both of his arms.''


    ''If we deduct the Recovery Liquid, that''s about 39 grams of Zephyx in profit.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''No wonder the city gave us this Specter. While its potential is frighteningly high, effectively working with it is so difficult that it has a below-average output in rtion to its power.''


    ''If Taren and I use it with both of our arms per day, it wille to about 220 grams of Zephyx per day, but we also need to deduct 30 grams for the Recovery Liquid.''


    ''190 grams a day is less than the Dreamer, which is an entire level lower.''


    Nick closed the Zephyx container again.


    ''I don''t think anyone else inside Dark Dream has the will to work with the ze.''


    ''I guess it''s only Taren and I working with it.''


    ''Anyway, I should look at the other two Specters.''

 Chapter 423 423 – Blood Cat

    <h4>Chapter 423 Chapter 423 ¨C Blood Cat </h4>


    After leaving the fourth floor, Nick went to the fifth floor, the floor that held all the Specters used to train new Extractors.


    One of the new Early Adolescents was very useful for training.


    Although, it wasn''t for Newbies, and it also wasn''t necessarily for increasing an Extractor''s level.


    After reaching the fifth floor, Nick went to one of the eastern Containment Units.


    He put his hand on the door and waited for a moment.


    BANG! BANG!


    Nick rapidly opened the door, entered, and quickly closed it.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick stepped to the side as a bloodred shadow shot past him, hitting the entrance.


    Nick had expected that to happen, and he wasn''t worried.


    The red Specter immediately attacked Nick again, but Nick just quickly sidestepped.


    It wasn''t very difficult to avoid an Early Adolescent.


    After all, Nick was a Mid Veteran.


    As he kept evading, he looked at the new Specter.


    It was a skinless cat.


    It wasn''t very big. At most, it was 30 centimeters high.


    However, even though it wasn''t very big, it was still quite dangerous.


    That was due to its extreme speed.


    It was definitely faster than a normal Early Adolescent.


    Nick would put the cat''s speed between Mid Adolescent and Late Adolescent.


    This was the Blood Cat, another one of the Blood Ancestor''s progenies.


    Just like the Blood Hawk and the Blood Horse, the Blood Cat was not really sapient and just attacked whatever it saw.


    It was impossible to reason with it or make it do anything that wasn''t attacking the closest human.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the Blood Cat, and its head exploded off its body.


    BANG!


    The head hit the wall and turned into meat paste.


    However, the body didn''t stop moving and kept attacking Nick.


    But without a head, the body couldn''t really sense Nick, and it just blindly attacked.


    About five secondster, the Blood Cat''s severed head started to vanish as a new head appeared on its body, allowing it to sense Nick again.


    Just like the other Blood Specters, the Blood Cat could give the ability of Hyper Regeneration, and it itself also had the same ability.


    Working with it wasn''t different from working with the Blood Horse or Blood Hawk.


    The Extractor just needed to beat the Blood Cat up a couple of times and leave the Containment Unit.


    However,pared to the Blood Hawk and Blood Horse, there was one additional thing that one had to look out for when working with the Blood Cat.


    Its speed.


    Its speed was not normal.


    How was it so fast?


    Well, Blood Specters, just like any other Specter, gained new abilities when they advanced.


    As Hatchlings, the Blood Hawk and Blood Horse only had Hyper Regeneration, and that was it. Everything else was normal.


    But since the Blood Cat was an Early Adolescent, it had an additional ability.


    Luckily, the evolved abilities of Blood Specters were very simple, and they were always rted to their physical powers.


    Increased physical strength.


    Increased defensive power.


    Increased speed.


    A Blood Specter would receive one of these three things when advancing.


    As far as Nick knew, there was no Blood Specter, except for the Blood Ancestor, that had gained any other ability.


    Naturally, the Blood Cat had the increased speed ability.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the Blood Cat, and its body hit the wall.


    Many bones broke all over its body, and huge parts of its exposed muscles tore apart.


    As he watched the Blood Cat recover, Nick thought that he liked it quite a bit.


    It was very simple to work with it, and it also gave Extractors practical experience in fighting.


    In the cases of a Specter breaking out or an Extractor attacking, having practical experience in battle could save someone''s life.


    The Blood Hawk was a good introduction for Extractors since its physical body wasn''t overwhelmingly powerful, and it also attacked in a very straight pattern.


    The Blood Horse was a good intermediate opponent since it was physically stronger than the Extractors fighting it but wasn''t very intelligent.


    The Blood Cat was a great opponent for experienced Extractors since it was quite a bit faster than them and relentless in its attacks and pursuit.


    If one wasn''t prepared for the Blood Cat''s brutal assault, one would quickly find their Barrier broken and their Zephyx depleted.


    Of course, the tradeoff was that the Blood Cat was very dangerous as well.


    If there was nobody inside the Containment Unit that could intervene if things turned horrible, Dark Dream might lose an Extractor.


    But that was to be expected.


    It was normal for Manufacturers to have dangerous Specters that required supervision.


    Nick beat the Blood Cat up a couple more times, and when its regeneration slowed down considerably, he walked out of the Containment Unit.


    ''About seven fatal wounds,'' Nick thought after leaving.


    Then, he checked the Zephyx container.


    ''About 30 grams,'' Nick thought with a sigh.


    That was a pitiful amount of Zephyx, but he had expected something like that.


    After all, working with the Blood Specters was different from working with other Specters since the Extractor was abusing the Blood Specter''s regeneration ability to harvest Zephyx instead of making the Specter more powerful.


    Naturally, a lot less Zephyx was produced this way.


    ''It''s for the new Extractors,'' Nick thought. ''Although, for now, it''s also for the experienced Extractors. They haven''t yet had a good opponent. Maybe it makes sense to send the Late Johns in alone, the Mid Johns in pairs, and the Early Johns in teams of four.''


    ''I''ll tell Jennyter.''


    ''Or maybe it makes sense to transfer the weaker Johns into Taren''s team. I mean, he is in charge of the training team.''


    Nick scratched his chin.


    ''But that would unbnce the teams quite strongly, and Taren would need to take care of around two-thirds of all Extractors.''


    Nick closed the small door leading to the Zephyx container again and turned to the stairs.


    ''I''ll talk with themter. For now, I should take a look at ourst new Specter.''

 Chapter 424 424 – The Gambler

    <h4>Chapter 424 Chapter 424 ¨C The Gambler</h4>


    Nick left the fifth floor and walked to the second one.


    For now, the second floor was designated for the unremarkable Physical Specters, like the Money Sink and the Bleeding Lady.


    Of course, now, there was a third Specter as well.


    Nick went to one of the western Containment Units and stopped in front of its entrance.


    ''Do I have enough money with me?'' Nick thought as he checked his pockets.


    Next, he retrieved several long pieces of metal.


    Each of these pieces represented a thousand credits.


    Nick had an entire stack of them.


    ''Should be enough,'' he thought.


    Naturally, since this Specter came from the city, Nick knew how to work with it.


    Nick opened the door and walked inside.


    Compared to earlier, Nick wasn''t in a rush, and he entered at a leisurely pace.


    He closed the door behind him and looked to the middle of the Containment Unit.


    "Hello, hello! I presume you are a new customer?"


    A tall man wearing a fancy suit and a ck top hat stood in the middle of the room with a charming smile on his face.


    In front of the man was a table with several decks of cards on top.


    The table was made of a very rare material, wood, and its top waspletely ck.


    This was one of Dark Dream''s three new Specters.


    The Gambler.


    Nick walked towards the Gambler, who only looked at Nick with a toothy smile.


    "Hi, I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream, your new ce of residence," Nick said.


    "Oh, so I''m in Dark Dream now?" the Gamblermented with interest. "I heard some of my previous customers talking about this ce. You''re a new Manufacturer, right?"


    "Kind of," Nick said.


    Obviously, the Gambler was very much sapient.


    It was even quite intelligent.


    "I can see that you are not a man of many words," the Gambler said as he retrieved one of the decks of cards.


    The backside of every card had a ck void on it with two red eyes in the center.


    Then, the Gambler started to shuffle the cards casually.


    "What are my new guidelines? Is it only money, or are we ying for keeps?" he asked.


    "Money," Nick said.


    "Oh, that''s sad," the Gambler said withment. "Are you really not interested in a real game? If you win once, you can earn a full kilo of Zephyx."


    "The rules and the deck are fair. It''s always a 50/50. Why don''t you live a little?"


    Nick looked with an unamused gaze at the Gambler.


    "The document says it''s more like 40/60," Nick said.


    The Gamblerughed. "That''s because most people are just not good at ying cards. With perfect strategy, the chances of winning are 50%. Maybe even more since I am notpletely perfect myself."


    "Not interested," Nick said. "Someone I know very well always says that you should minimize the things you can''t control and maximize the things you can control."


    "Why would I risk losing the Zephyx inside my body when I can increase it without risking it in a significant way?"


    Nick looked into the Gambler''s eyes.


    "And I don''t want any of my employees to do the same. Nobody is allowed to gamble with their Zephyx. Even if they want to."


    "If I hear that any of my employees have gambled with their Zephyx with you, I will quarantine this Containment Unit for a month."


    "Do you understand?" Nick asked.


    The Gambler kept shuffling the deck and sighed. "Of course. Only ying for money."


    Nick nodded. "Good."


    Then, Nick took out the stack of metal tes and put them on the table.


    When the Gambler saw that, his smile widened.


    "Alright," the Gambler said. "Let''s start with an easy game of chance. We both draw a card, and the stronger card wins. Is a bet of a thousand credits fine with you?"


    Nick nodded.


    The Gambler reached forward and pulled one of the metal tes out of the stack, cing it on the table.


    Next, the Gambler cut the deck in half and gave Nick one half.


    Both of them pulled their first card and looked at it.


    When Nick saw the image on the card, his eyebrows rose in surprise.


    The picture was of a big red slime in the middle of a Containment Unit.


    On the top right was a five, and the card''s name was in the middle of the top.


    The Blood Ancestor.


    "Where did you get this deck?" Nick asked as he looked at the card.


    "I made it myself," the Gambler said. "I make new cards based on the Specters I''ve heard about. I don''t know exactly how all of the Specters look, but I heard enough about every Specter in here that I can paint a pretty clear picture of them."


    "Interesting," Nick said, looking at the card. "And where did you get that information from?"


    "Don''t you already know that, Nick?" the Gambler asked.


    Nick was not surprised that the Gambler knew his name, even though he hadn''t told him his name.


    And yes, Nick knew how the Gambler knew all of this.


    It was also possible to gamble with information.


    In fact, one could gamble with almost everything, and the Gambler would ept the bet as long as he had the power to collect what he was owed.


    The Gambler had probably worked with people from Ghosty''s Lab to get enough information about the Blood Ancestor to create the card.


    "So, what did you get?" the Gambler asked.


    Nick ced the card down. "The Blood Ancestor."


    When the Gambler saw that, he had tough.


    "Wow, luck is a cruel mistress," he said.


    Nick didn''t show any reaction, but he felt a bit good.


    After all, who didn''t feel good when winning a game?


    Then, the Gambler ced down his card.


    When Nick saw the card, his eyes widened.


    It was a forest of huge red mushrooms filled with holes that were dripping with blood.


    The entire floor was covered with roots that looked like veins, and there were screaming faces on all the different caps of the mushrooms.


    In the top right was a six, and the name of the card was¡­


    The Crimson Fungus.


    "To lose with a Fanatic," the Gambler said with a chuckle as he collected the metal te.


    "Truly tragic."

 Chapter 425 425 – Ratio

    <h4>Chapter 425 Chapter 425 ¨C Ratio </h4>


    Nick wasn''t entirely sure if this was truly just a coincidence.


    After all, getting the most powerful card immediately seemed quite unlikely.


    ''Is he trying to lure me into betting with information?'' Nick thought as he looked at the Gambler.


    "Is this a trick?" Nick asked.


    "I can''t break the rules or use any sort of trick," the Gambler said. "If I use a trick, I can''t produce Zephyx."


    "It''s just bad luck," the Gambler added with a chuckle. "Also, if you''re talking about the card, that one would''ve shown up at some point anyway. It just would''ve taken more rounds."


    Nick''s suspicions lessened but didn''tpletely vanish.


    "Let''s continue," Nick said, taking out a piece of the pile of credits.


    "Certainly," the Gambler said, putting the piece to the side. "Is there any specific kind of game you want to y?"


    "The same game again," Nick said.


    "Well, that''s a bit boring, but sure. I can amodate you," the Gambler said as he pulled out another card.


    Nick also pulled out his next card and looked at it.


    Nick was shocked for just a small instant when he saw the Specter on the card.


    The Talker!


    For just a moment, Nick had thought that the Gambler had somehow already found out about the Talker, but then, he remembered that the Talker had been with the city before, and the Gambler had most likely heard about the Talker from there.


    Nick ced the card down.


    The Gambler justughed and put his card down.


    The card showed an olddy sitting on a nket in the middle of a Containment Unit.


    On the top right was a two, and the name of the card was the Other Old Lady.


    "Seems like you won," the Gambler said. "Care for another round?"


    Nick left the small piece of metal there. "We''re going to y until all of this money is gone."


    Keen eyes might have noticed that Nick had not gotten his reward.


    Wasn''t he supposed to get a thousand credits from the Gambler since he won?


    Kind of.


    Nick could demand the credits from the Gambler, but it was smarter to not take it back.


    Instead, the Gambler just gave off a lot of Zephyx and kept the credits.


    The Zephyx gained via this way was worth more than the thousand credits.


    The Gambler produced Zephyx whenever a game waspleted.


    It didn''t matter who won or lost.


    The only difference was that the Gambler gave off more Zephyx when the Extractor won.


    The two of them yed 20 more rounds, and just as expected, the ratio of wins to losses was near 50%.


    "How about we increase the bet for this round?" the Gambler asked.


    "No," Nick immediately answered.


    "Again?" the Gambler asked with a sigh.


    The Gambler had asked that question during three different rounds.


    Surprisingly, every time Nick won the round, and if he had agreed to up the bid, he would have gotten far more Zephyx.


    "Why do you not want to make this more fun?" the Gambler asked.


    "Because you''re better at this than me," Nick answered. "Anything that makes the game moreplex will decrease my likelihood of winning."


    "50% is the highest I can possibly get."


    "That''s not true," the Gambler said. "There have been people that I yed with who got more out of me than they gave me."


    "Individual cases," Nick said evenly. "The average chance of winning is still in your favor."


    "After all, if it weren''t, you would have long since gone bankrupt," Nick said as he put the next card on the table.


    He didn''t even look at the card.


    The Gambler looked at Nick for a bit before his smile returned.


    "Well then, I guess we will continue ying this game," he said.


    The two of them continued ying for over an hour, and eventually, Nick ran out of money.


    "I presume that''s it?" the Gambler asked.


    Nick nodded. "How much Zephyx have you gained?"


    The good thing about working with a cooperative and intelligent Specter was that one could ask them about their progress toward the next level.


    "Nothing," the Gambler said. "If we were to y like this every hour, I would advance to the next level in 20 years."


    Nick didn''t like what he was hearing, but he also kind of expected that.


    "I''ll see what I can do," Nick said as he walked towards the exit.


    "See you next time!" the Gambler shouted with a wave.


    Nick left the Containment Unit and checked the Zephyx that had been produced.


    ''66 grams of Zephyx for a bit more than an hour,'' Nick thought.


    66 grams of Zephyx in an hour was insane for an Early Adolescent that could be worked with constantly.


    However, Nick had paid 50,000 credits, which was the equivalent of about 50 grams of Zephyx.


    Yet, even if one deducted that, it would still be a profit of 16 grams of Zephyx in a bit more than an hour.


    That would be about 300 grams of Zephyx per day, which would make the Gambler the second most profitable Specter of Dark Dream after the Talker.


    However, they were essentially absorbing all the Zephyx the Specter produced, and it barely had anything left to grow.


    If they kept squeezing the Gambler as they were doing right now, it would never grow more powerful.


    Obviously, that would be wasting the potential of the Gambler.


    Nick obviously wanted the Gambler to grow more powerful so that it could produce more Zephyx, and there were two ways of achieving that.


    One, changing the ratio of how much the Containment Unit absorbed.


    Two, increasing the chances of losing the bet.


    The more the Extractor won, the more Zephyx the Containment Unit received.


    But on the other hand, the Gambler would lose Zephyx.


    Nick put the Zephyx container away and went to the console of the Containment Unit.


    After fidgeting with it for a bit, Nick changed the ratio of how much the Containment Unit absorbed.


    He reduced it from 90% to 75%.


    If someone were stationed in there constantly with an infinite supply of money, they would produce about 50 grams of Zephyx per day of actual profit.


    Sadly, the number would fluctuate quite a bit since the cost and the revenue gained were very close to each other, which meant the profit margins were small and could fluctuate.


    On some days, Dark Dream might even lose money.


    However, it was worth it.


    The more money Dark Dream lost, the faster the Gambler grew, and the more powerful it was, the higher the return of every bet ced in terms of Zephyx.


    Dark Dream was essentially investing in the Gambler.

 Chapter 426 426 – Useful Only on Paper

    <h4>Chapter 426 Chapter 426 ¨C Useful Only on Paper</h4>


    In the end, Nick assigned Jenny and many Late Johns to the Gambler.


    The reason why Nick assigned Jenny to the Specter was the great amount of Zephyx the Gambler produced.


    One had to remember that, in terms of revenue, the Gambler was producing a crazy amount of Zephyx.


    When an Extractor worked with a Specter, they didn''t absorb Zephyx ording to the profit but ording to the revenue.


    Because of that, the Gambler increased the strength of an Extractor tremendously in a very short period of time.


    Sadly, there was an upper limit on how much Zephyx someone could absorb per day.


    That was why Nick had assigned so many different people to it.


    Like this, none of the Zephyx would go to waste.


    In a way, the Gambler was the perfect Specter to increase the power of many Extractors.


    Nine people would reach their daily upper limit of Zephyx they could absorb, and all of them were Late Johns and Peak Johns.


    As for the ability the Gambler gave, it was quite interesting.


    It was in the category of Senser abilities, but it wasn''t really useful for a Senser.


    The Gambler gave someone the ability to feel if the odds of something were pretty bad.


    That sounded incredible on paper.


    Wouldn''t someone be able to foresee whenever one was evading to the wrong side during a battle?


    Wouldn''t someone be able to make the perfect decisions when it came to strategy?


    What about giving orders?


    Wow, so many possibilities, right?


    Sadly, people who believed this to be crazy powerful had no experience in how real life worked.


    The feeling one got from the ability was quite subtle, and it grew weaker the less time there was to decide and the more disconnected a matter was from someone.


    One wouldn''t even be able to notice the subtle feeling during a fight.


    One wouldn''t be able to notice it when it came to deciding what someone else should do.


    One couldn''t use it for any choice that was more than a couple of seconds in the future, like nning an assault or simr things.


    On paper, the ability was amazing.


    Sadly, in almost every case that would give a big payoff, the ability just so happened to be useless.


    But it wasn''tpletely useless.


    It often worked as a warning if someone was about to be attacked.


    It also made it easier to avoid saying something that might offend someone else.


    It also helped someone avoid dangerous locations.


    That was the truth of the matter.


    Of course, people would still say that the potential of this ability was incredible.


    Sure, it started out rtively weak, but it would be extremely strongter.


    That might be possible, but people who relied on something like that were mostly na?ve.


    Getting someone to that point of payoff required a lot of investment, and in these matters, it was impossible to invest in oneself.


    One needed someone else who protected them, gave them money, gave them resources, and so on.


    Of course, a couple of huge Manufacturers might decide to invest in someone like that.


    But then, there was another issue.


    The thing they invested in was one person.


    After millions or billions of credits of investment, that person might finally be able to return the investment¡­


    Just to get killed by somebody.


    And all the investment vanished.


    In the end, it was just too risky.


    Nick decided to give a couple of new employees the ability, but he wasn''t nning on using them in an excursion outside.


    He viewed them as employees that would only work within Dark Dream.


    Finally, Nick had dealt with the three new Specters.


    Dark Dream officially had 17 Specters now.


    Dark Dream had grown a lot, but it was still vastly inferior to Sce and the other Manufacturers.


    Even if they doubled the number of their Specters, they would still be inferior.


    Additionally, Nick was still missing a Late and/or Peak Adult.


    If he didn''t get one, he couldn''t rationalize advancing past Late Veteran.


    It was extremely difficult to get powerful Adults.


    Specters like that were worth a lot of money, and even if someone had the money, no one was willing to sell them.


    Dark Dream had to get new Specters the hard way.


    Within the next couple of months, Nick took Irwin on several excursions in secret.


    Irwin showed Nick around the outside, and Nick started to get very familiar with the wider wilderness.


    Sadly, going too far away was still not an option.


    The problem was the other cities.


    Entering another city''s territory would almost certainly result in Nick''s death.


    Even moving along the edges of the territory was already extremely dangerous since people from other cities could appear there, and these people were Experts, at the very least.


    Nick and Irwin were stuck looking around an area with a radius of about 70 kilometers.


    Sure, that was a huge area, but the senses of Experts and Specialists were terrifying, and they could sense Nick from kilometers away.


    This meant that Nick and Irwin had to travel with absolute caution.


    Luckily, they managed to capture a Specter within the next three months.


    Sadly, it was a Mid Hatchling Possession Specter.


    It was a rust-filled hammer, and it gained power by bludgeoning people.


    Working with it was extremely difficult, and it barely gave off any Zephyx.


    It didn''t give any abilities, and it couldn''t grow more powerful.


    But it was still worth something due to it being a Specter.


    Sadly, as it stood right now, the Rusty Hammer just kept a Containment Unit busy without doing anything.


    Maybe they could sell it to someone else in the future.


    Dark Dream was in a horrible spot.


    They had topete with all the other big Manufacturers in the outside world, but they didn''t have aparable force.


    Dark Dream could only grow very slowly.


    But then, four months after they had gained the ze, the Blood Cat, and the Gambler, an opportunity arrived.


    A very powerful and unusual guest arrived in Dark Dream.


    "I wish to talk to your Chief Zephyx Extractor," a tall man said with a neutral voice.


    "O-of course!" the receptionist answered with a shaky voice while trying to keep a smile on her face. "I''ll get him right now, Mr. Stairwell."


    Mundus Stairwell, Anatomy''s Chief Zephyx Extractor, just nodded.

 Chapter 427 427 – Mundus Stairwell

    <h4>Chapter 427 Chapter 427 ¨C Mundus Stairwell </h4>


    Nick looked at Mundus with a neutral expression as he approached him.


    "Wee to Dark Dream," Nick said with a polite tone as he offered his hand.


    While Nick was definitely not on Mundus'' level, as the host, he showed good manners when offering his hand.


    Mundus shook the hand as he looked into Nick''s eyes. "Thank you. I''vee with a business proposition."


    "d to hear," Nick said as he gestured to the staircase. "Let''s talk up in my office."


    The two of them walked towards the Extractor shafts.


    The door to one of the shafts opened, and Nick jumped from wall to wall until he reached the eighth floor.


    Meanwhile, Mundus just slowly levitated upward below Nick.


    Proper flight was an ability that could only be unlocked at the sixth level.


    There were a couple of ways to unlock flight as a Specialist, but they only counted as pseudo-flight abilities.


    For example, kicking the air to "jump" in a direction.


    Specialists could do that, but it took quite a bit of power, andpared to running on the ground, this was much slower.


    Meanwhile, Heroes could fly just as fast in the air as they traveled on the ground, and they didn''t even need to use much Zephyx.


    The two of them arrived on the eighth floor, and Nick could already see Julian standing in front of his office.


    Mundus showed no reaction as he saw Julian.


    However, Nick was quite nervous.


    This was a huge risk.


    They were about to have a longer conversation, and this time, Mundus was not in some kind of hurry.


    This meant that he had all the time to look at Julian.


    If Mundus suspected Julian of being a Specter, he would be able to feel that Julian was a Specter.


    It was like having a spy in one''s group.


    If one didn''t suspect the spy of being a spy, some signs might just appear as quirks.


    Oh, the guy has long conversations with his wife after important meetings? Yeah, that often happens. His wife is very nosy.


    Man, that one guy was really lucky that he wasn''t part of the convoy that got ambushed by the enemy.


    Only if someone already suspected them of being a spy would they be able to see the clues.


    Another analogy would be a cheating partner.


    Very often, people only realized that their partner was cheating when they were confronted with irrefutable evidence.


    And then, they would feel like idiots because they ignored all these "obvious signs" from the past months.


    In the same way, Julian''s Zephyx was acting strangely.


    It was reminiscent of how a Specter''s Zephyx worked, but there were also abilities that made the Zephyx move this way.


    Sadly, Julian was forced to attend this little meeting today.


    When a Hero showed up in Dark Dream, not appearing for the meeting would be even more suspicious.


    Every person would drop whatever they were doing and attend the meeting.


    Nick walked over to Julian and stopped beside him, facing Mundus.


    "What a surprising visit, Mundus," Julian said with a smile as he offered his hand.


    The two of them shook hands.


    "Let''s talk away from prying eyes," Mundus said.


    Mundus had never been a man for formalities or many words.


    He didn''t say a lot, and the few words he spoke were always direct and to the point.


    "Of course," Julian said as he opened the door to Nick''s office.


    Then, the three of them stepped in.


    Nick and Julian sat down behind the table while Mundus sat down in front of it.


    Nick was used to dangerous situations, but sitting in front of Mundus still made him nervous.


    This was a Hero, and he did not have a great disposition to Dark Dream.


    Anatomy was the Manufacturer with the worst rtionship with Dark Dream.


    They were not enemies, but it was no secret that Anatomy was interested in consuming Dark Dream.


    Dark Dream was just a fat piece of meat to them.


    "So, what brings you here?" Julian asked with a smile.


    Mundus remained silent for a couple of seconds as he looked at Nick and Julian.


    Nick knew this tactic very well.


    When there was a strong power imbnce, staying quiet for a while often made the weaker side nervous.


    Nick had used that tactic regrly when talking with problematic employees or during negotiations withpanies that weren''t Manufacturers.


    "Three months ago," Mundus started, "there has been an incident regarding the Forbidden Zone to the north."


    Julian and Nick could already tell where this was going, and if they were right, this would be big money.


    "Naturally, you already know what happened back then," Mundus said. "But what you don''t know is that Kugelblitz has been trying very hard to find an opening to capture the Specter."


    "However, that''s not easy. The north is mostly unknown, and if they send a Hero, they might die. Sending more Heroes will increase the chances of sess, but it might also spell the end for Kugelblitz."


    "Kugelblitz has tried to capture more of the Specter''s minions, but they only managed to capture two minions on the level of Elders in the past three months. Progress is slow and cumbersome."


    "But as the undeniably strongest Manufacturer, Kugelblitz believes that they have all the time. If they are not confident in capturing the Specter, no one is."


    "Time is not a factor for them. As long as they keep working on it, they will capture it. No matter if it takes a couple of months or an entire decade."


    "And that is our opening," Mundus said.


    "Who are you referring to with our?" Nick asked neutrally.


    Julian didn''tment or react.


    Mundus looked at Nick, who felt the atmosphere be tenser.


    However, Nick remained calm.


    Well, as calm as someone sitting in front of Mundus could be.


    "Depending on your answer, this will include you as well," Mundus answered.


    This confirmed Julian''s and Nick''s guesses.


    Sure enough, this was a huge opportunity.

 Chapter 428 428 – Most Likely

    <h4>Chapter 428 Chapter 428 ¨C Most Likely</h4>


    "Please, continue," Julian said with a happy smile.


    Mundus looked back at Julian.


    "Kugelblitz''s progress is slow, and Anatomy intends to capitalize on that. If they won''t grab the Specter, we will," he said.


    "Nevertheless, the Specter has proven that it can rival a level six Extractor, which makes it very dangerous. Without more information, we also won''t risk a confrontation."


    "That''s where Dark Dreames into y," Mundus said before he turned to look at Nick.


    "There has been no reliable method to lure the Specter''s minions out. Kugelblitz has not managed to create one."


    "It seems like the only way to get a minion is you."


    Mundus looked into Nick''s eyes, which looked back.


    "Do you have a way to attract more minions?" he asked.


    Naturally, Nick and Julian knew that this was a tricky question.


    After all, this most likely concerned Envy.


    If Nick said that the Specter was interested in him, Mundus would grow interested.


    Why would a level six or level seven Specter be interested in a Veteran?


    And if even such a strong Specter wanted something from Nick, maybe they would also be interested in acquiring this mysterious thing.


    But if they said that they didn''t have a way to lure the Specter out, things could also turn ugly.


    For one, Mundus could be suspicious.


    What did Dark Dream need to hide so badly that they even refused an opportunity to earn several Specters?


    Or maybe Mundus believed them, in which case he would drop the matter and leave.


    Everything was risky.


    "Yes," Nick said.


    Mundus'' eyes slightly narrowed.


    "Would you be interested in selling this method to us?" he asked.


    "I''m sorry," Nick said, refusing the offer.


    "Even for three Adults?" Mundus asked.


    Julian chuckled.


    "Drop it, Mundus," he said casually. "We''re not selling."


    "Only renting."


    The room fell into silence.


    "What a shame," Mundus said after a while.


    "But I''m still interested in your offer to rent said method," Mundus said. "What are the expected results?"


    Julian leaned back, showing that he wasn''t going to be the one who would answer the question, which made Mundus look at Nick.


    In Mundus'' mind, he remembered how the previous CEO, one of Vernon''s progenies, had valued this rookie Extractor with the strange name, Nick Nick.


    He had put a lot of value on Nick, and now, even a Specialist like Julian put a lot of value on Nick.


    Mundus could tell that Julian''s confidence in Nick was so high that he even allowed Nick to speak for Dark Dream in the majority of cases.


    Julian was so confident in Nick that he even let Nick attend the big yearly meeting as Dark Dream''s sole representative.


    There might be some actual value to the Extractor called Nick Nick.


    Nick furrowed his brows as he prepared his answer.


    "We can''t be entirely sure," Nick said. "There are a lot of things to consider. The biggest factor of uncertainty is the Specter''s intelligence. It has shown that it has a high level of intelligence, which makes it difficult to anticipate its actions."


    Nick remained silent for a couple of seconds.


    How would that mysterious Specter in the north act?


    If it truly was one of Envy''s servants, it would most likely try to get Nick as soon as it got an opportunity.


    If Envy found out that it didn''t do its best to capture Nick, it would kill the Specter.


    However, just straight-up charging into the city was obviously too dangerous.


    Otherwise, it would have already done so.


    So, it needed to capture Nick without attacking the city.


    The first time, it had sent a couple of Experts and a Specialist.


    The second time, it had sent two Specialists.


    But now, with several Specialists and Experts captured, it knew that the humans to its south were on high alert.


    Sending its minions towards the south was extremely dangerous now.


    The most intelligent course of action was to not send any minions and only strike when the humans felt safe enough to approach the sea.


    There would need to be an irresistible incentive for the Specter to risk more of its minions.


    Would Nick be that incentive?


    Maybe.


    Nick put himself in the shoes of the Specter to the north.


    Most likely, the Specter was a Demon.


    If it were a Fallen, it would be much more aggressive.


    If the Specter attacked, it might lose even more of its minions.


    And based on what Nick could see, this was a Specter that put great value on its minions.


    Most likely, this was a Specter simr to the Parasite.


    If someone killed all of the Parasite''s minions, it would lose a devastating amount of Zephyx.


    Every minion represented an investment.


    Losing two Specialists was already a big blow to the Specter.


    If it lost another two, the humans might gain the confidence to truly invade.


    That would most likely prove to be extremely risky.


    But on the other hand, if the Specter didn''t try to catch Nick at such an opportune moment and Envy found out, it might actually die.


    When it came to having Specters as servants, being true to one''s words was the most important.


    If Envy just kept threatening all its minions with their lives without actually going through with the threat, no one would listen to Envy anymore.


    Envy had to kill problematic servants.


    Because of that, the Specter to the north would genuinely be risking its life if it decided against attacking.


    This was problematic, and Nick could imagine the pressure the Specter was under.


    ''What would I do in this situation?'' Nick thought.


    Nick thought about this for a couple of seconds.


    Eventually, he took a deep breath.


    "Most likely," he answered. "The Specter will attack with its full or close to its full force."


    "Alternatively, nothing will happen."


    "I don''t think there is a between."


    "It''s either all or nothing."


    Nick looked at Mundus.


    "The Specter''s minions are the people who have gone missing in the past, I have heard," Nick said.


    Mundus didn''t refute that statement.


    "And since at least one Hero has vanished in the past, at least two Heroes will attack."


    "The Hero that has vanished and the Specter itself, which should be a Demon. If there is another Hero minion, that one will most likely also show up."


    "That''s what I think will happen," Nick said.


    Mundus, the only Hero of Anatomy, looked at Nick with a neutral expression.

 Chapter 429 429 – The Three

    <h4>Chapter 429 Chapter 429 ¨C The Three </h4>


    Two weeks had passed since Mundus had visited Dark Dream.


    After a lot of talking, Dark Dream and Anatomy hade to an agreement.


    Nick would help Anatomy in exchange for several assets, namely Specters.


    Of course, since Nick couldn''t have beenpletely sure how the Specter to the north would react, the reward had been divided into several tiers.


    If nothing happened, Dark Dream would not get anything.


    If a weak force attacked, Dark Dream would get a Specter.


    If a strong force attacked, Dark Dream would get two Specters.


    And if Nick''s involvement ended up contributing to the Specter''s capture, Dark Dream would get a lot!


    Anatomy was willing to make an amazing offer to Dark Dream.


    After all, if this mission seeded, Anatomy would gain their first Demon!


    That would allow the three founders of Anatomy to advance inside the Hero Stage, and Kugelblitz would stop widening the gap between them.


    This was the most important mission within thest decades for Anatomy, and they would not miss this chance just because Dark Dream wanted a couple of Specters.


    Of course, due to the rtionship between Dark Dream and Anatomy, an insurance use had been created.


    Anatomy was responsible for Nick''s safety.


    If they let Nick die, they would have to hand over a Fanatic and two Elders to Dark Dream.


    Naturally, Dark Dream wouldn''t truly be able to work with them, and these Specters would just be wasted money on them, but that wasn''t the point.


    The point was to create an incentive for Anatomy not to "identally" kill Nick.


    Julian had a copy of the contract.


    The city had a copy.


    And even the governor had been informed.


    Of course, telling the governor brought some risks with it since he was strongly involved with Kugelblitz, but it was a risk they had to take.


    Firstly, Dark Dream demanded it.


    Secondly, Kugelblitz could use thews to damage Anatomy since they "risked integral city forces for personal gain" by going after the Specter with their own Extractors.


    However, while there definitely was a risk, the chances of the information reaching Kugelblitz were low.


    Yes, the governor was involved with Kugelblitz, but the governor was ultimately part of Aegis.


    Aegis wasn''t the biggest fan of monopolies since they generally produced less Zephyx, which meant that the city wouldn''t pay as much to Aegis.


    It was okay for a Manufacturer to be the most powerful in the city, but there should be at least one other Manufacturer that wasparable to them.


    Lastly, if the secret got out and Kugelblitz stole the Specter, Anatomy would raise hell in the city, and the governor obviously wouldn''t want that to happen.


    Therefore, it was in the governor''s best interest to keep this secret.


    However, the governor also wasn''t required to help Anatomy.


    His involvement and dependency on Kugelblitz didn''t allow him to help any other Manufacturer.


    If he did, Kugelblitz would manipte the rules and keep the Crimson Fungus from the governor, and with time, they could silently assassinate him.


    Naturally, Ghosty''s Lab also couldn''t help Anatomy.


    But the reason for that was simply that Ghosty''s Lab wasn''t strong enough to threaten a Demon.


    Only Kugelblitz, Anatomy, and the governor were powerful enough.


    Anatomy was on its own.


    Two weeks after the negotiation, Nick waited in Dark Dream''s main hall.


    ording to Mundus, today would be the day of the operation.


    Anatomy was going to do it.


    They were going to try to capture the Demon to the north.


    After waiting for a couple of minutes, Nick saw a muscr man walking into Anatomy.


    He looked extremely serious and wore the green uniform of Anatomy.


    ording to his uniform, he was a Veteran.


    He looked around and quickly found Nick.


    "Follow me," the person said in a neutral voice without greeting Nick.


    Then, he just turned around.


    Nick''s expression didn''t change, and he wordlessly walked after the Veteran.


    The man sped up, and the two of them ran to the western part of the city.


    The man slowed down and calmly entered an unassuming house near the edge of the city.


    Nick entered the house after the man, and the door closed behind him on its own.


    The house looked pretty normal from the inside as well.


    "Nick," a cold and deep voice spoke from one of the rooms.


    Nick nced at the motionless Veteran beside him before walking towards the room.


    As he looked into the room, he noticed three things.


    First, the room was huge and almost epassed the house''s entire first floor.


    Second, there was a big hole in the middle of the room, and the red mist from the Crimson Sea was constantly spilling out.


    Third, there were three people standing beside the hole, and all three of them were looking at Nick with neutral eyes.


    Under the gazes of the three of them, Nick felt enormous pressure.


    These three were the leaders and owners of Anatomy.


    Mundus Stairwell, a tall man with ck hair that looked to be in his thirties. He owned 40% of Anatomy and was their Chief Zephyx Extractor. He was also their only Hero.


    Zarren Harrow, also a tall man with ck hair that looked to be in his thirties. He owned 30% of Anatomy and was one of their two Senior Directors. He was an extremely powerful Specialist.


    Nick already knew these two, but he had nevere into contact with the third person.


    The third person was a small woman with icy blue hair. Her expression was just as cold as the expressions of the other two.


    Just like the other two, she looked like she was in her thirties.


    Nick had not seen this woman before, but he had certainly heard of her.


    Ariel Cerillion, the other Senior Director of Anatomy. Just like Zarren Harrow, she was an extremely powerful Specialist.


    Those three were the sole owners of Anatomy, and they dictated how Anatomy operated.


    "Are you ready to leave?" Mundus asked, looking at Nick.

 Chapter 430 430 – Two People

    <h4>Chapter 430 Chapter 430 ¨C Two People</h4>


    Nick looked at Mundus and nodded.


    He was a bit intimidated by theirbined presence, but Nick knew that they couldn''t afford to kill him.


    It would not be worth it.


    The next moment, Zarren Harrow stepped forward.


    SHING!


    Suddenly, a grey puppet made of steel appeared in his hand, and when Nick saw the puppet, he felt the hairs on his back standing up.


    This puppet felt extremely dangerous!


    "We''re going to take you out of the city," Zarren said. "I''ll make sure that you don''t identally look at the Crimson Sea."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, Nick found himself in absolute darkness, and he felt his entire head being encased in steel.


    His heart rate spiked, but since only his head was encased in darkness, he didn''t get attacked by the Nightmare.


    Well, not with the usual intensity, at least.


    Nevertheless, having one''s head encased in steel was a terrifying experience, and it wasn''t easy for Nick to remain calm.


    The next moment, he felt some kind of force pulling at him, and an instantter, Nick felt his Zephyx drain very slowly.


    He could feel that his Barrier had activated, which meant that they were probably traveling through the city''s underground.


    SHING!


    Suddenly, all the metal vanished, and Nick could finally see where he was.


    Nick could see a couple of cliffs and a lot of wastnd around him.


    He knew where this was.


    This was close to the shore to the northeast of the city.


    In barely a couple of seconds, Nick had gone from inside the city to the northeastern shore that was around 40 kilometers away from the city.


    Sure enough, the speed of a Hero was incredible!


    Nick also saw the three from Anatomy beside him.


    "How are you going to lure the Specter out?" Mundus asked with a neutral voice.


    Nick looked at the cliffs beside him.


    "Don''t worry about how," Nick said.


    The atmosphere became tense, but Nick kept his cool.


    "The important part is that I will lure the Specter out."


    "I''m not sure if the Specter will immediately bite or if it will take a couple of minutes. However, if it doesn''t bite within the first ten minutes, it won''t bite at all."


    "I need you to stay far away," Nick continued. "Most likely, it won''t send anything after me if it sees that more than one person is close to me."


    "I believe the Specter has the ability to sense the surroundings and infer a couple of things. I would even bet that, by seeing me, it can see anyone close to me as well. At least, that''s what I think is why it is so hard to lure it out for the city and Kugelblitz. It''s perception by perception if you want to call it that."


    "Perception by perception," Ariel muttered from the side with a thoughtful voice.


    Nick nodded. "Because of that, I can''t have all of you staying close to me. You would need to be so far away that you can''t see me anymore."


    Zarren furrowed his brows.


    Apparently, he didn''t like the sound of that.


    "We can''t do that," he said. "We don''t want to lose two Elders and a Fanatic. We have to see you to keep you alive."


    "I''m sure you''ll find a way," Nick said.


    Zarren looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    Nick just looked back neutrally.


    Silence.


    Then, Zarren looked at the ground with a thoughtful expression.


    Finally, he looked at Ariel with a meaningful nce.


    After that, Ariel had a thoughtful expression.


    Everyone remained silent for about five seconds.


    Eventually, Ariel looked at Zarren and nodded.


    Zarren nodded back.


    Then, he looked at Nick. "Fine," he said. "To summarize, you are to be left alone, and nobody is allowed to look at you while you lure the Specter out. But at the same time, you have to be protected from a Demon that is going to go after you with all of its power. Is that right?"


    "Correct," Nick said. "If I am right with my guess, two or more Heroes or Demons will attack me mere seconds after I start the process."


    "But only if you are unable to perceive me."


    "That can be arranged," Mundus said from the side.


    "Good," Nick said. "Then, I''ll leave my life in your hands."


    None of the three of them answered, and they just looked at each other.


    Nick wasn''t sure if they weremunicating or not.


    Seconds passed.


    The three of them were still there.


    Nick started to feel a bit awkward.


    The three of them had to leave for Nick to start doing his thing.


    Why were they still here?


    "So, do we start now?" Nick asked after nearly a full minute of silence.


    "No," Mundus answered.


    "Oh, okay," Nick answered before he became silent again.


    Silence.


    More silence.


    Minutes passed.


    Nick had no idea what they were waiting for.


    Nick just kept looking around awkwardly as the three people from Anatomy just waited.


    Eventually, almost ten minutester, the three from Anatomy all collectively looked towards the southeast.


    Nick also looked in that direction, but he didn''t see anything.


    Some secondster, a ck dot appeared on the horizon, and Nick furrowed his brows.


    What was that?


    Some secondster, a ck dot appeared on the horizon, and SHING!


    Nick''s heart nearly stopped when two people suddenly arrived in front of him!


    These two had traversed ten kilometers or so in just a second!


    These were speeds that only Heroes could reach!


    Did they get found out?!


    However, based on theck of reaction from the three people from Anatomy, the arrival of these two neers was expected.


    Nick took a closer look at them.


    Both of them were women, and they wore uniforms that Nick had never seen before.


    One of them had long silver hair and looked to be in her 20s. Her height was average, and she wore a uniform with grey and ck colors, which Nick had never seen before.


    Her expression was severe, and she looked very annoyed.


    The other one was a middle-aged woman with short brown hair. Her height was also average, butpared to the other one, she looked middle-aged.


    She wore apletely silver outfit.


    Compared to the other one, she had a more neutral disposition.


    When they arrived, they shared a look with the three from Anatomy.


    "Sorry for the dy. We had to make a detour," the second woman said with a polite tone.


    "No problem," Mundus answered.


    Then, the two women nced at Nick. "Who''s he?" the seemingly annoyed one asked.


    "He''s the bait," Mundus answered. "He''s here voluntarily and won''t die."


    Nick nodded.


    The woman with the neutral expression looked at him. "Who are you?"


    "My name is Nick Nick, and I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream."


    "Dark Dream?" the woman with the serious expression repeated in confusion as she looked at the other one.


    The other one just shrugged. "Probably a small Manufacturer."


    By now, Nick could take a good guess as to where these two came from.


    "Well, d to meet you, Nick," the woman with the nice expression said. "My name is Kevara Borrel, and I''m the governor of Metal Works City, which is about 200 kilometers to the east of Crimson City."


    Kevara looked at the annoyed woman and gestured for her to introduce herself as well.


    "Name''s Liera Jenkins," the annoyed woman said. "I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Adamantium."


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought. ''Two Heroes from another city.''


    ''This might actually be enough to suppress the Specter.''

 Chapter 431 431 – Bait

    <h4>Chapter 431 Chapter 431 ¨C Bait </h4>


    Nick looked at the two neers while they talked with the people from Anatomy.


    ''I wonder how much Anatomy had to pay them to help,'' Nick thought. ''It can''t be cheap, but the Specter should be worth it.''


    ''Sure enough, Anatomy has taken on a huge risk. If this fails, they might need to still pay these two.''


    "So, what''s the n?" Kevara, the governor of Metal Works City, asked.


    "First, we are going to leave and let him lure the Specter out. We assume that the Specter has a perception-by-perception ability, which means the Specter might not appear if we see the bait," Mundus exined.


    "Perception by perception," Liera repeated with furrowed brows. "I''ve never heard of something like that."


    Kevara just shrugged. "Plenty of abilities in the world of Specters."


    By the way Kevara and Liera were acting towards each other, Nick could tell that the dynamic between government and Manufacturer was probably different in Metal Works City.


    This seemed much closer.


    Meanwhile, the governor of Crimson City was always very distant from the Manufacturers.


    "And how are we going to know when to intervene?" Liera asked with a skeptical voice.


    "We have a way to tell," Mundus answered.


    Liera just looked at them with an unamused expression.


    "Fine. We''ll get paid anyway," she said.


    "You get the full amount as long as at least one Demon or Hero shows up," Mundus confirmed.


    Liera didn''t answer.


    "When do we start?" Kevara asked.


    Mundus looked at the other two from Anatomy, who nodded.


    Then, he looked at Nick, who also nodded.


    "We''ll start right now," Mundus said.


    Then, he looked at Nick again. "Start in one minute," he said.


    Nick nodded.


    Then, the Heroes looked at each other.


    SHING!


    And seemingly vanished into thin air.


    They moved so fast that it was difficult for Nick to follow their movements.


    Now, Nick was left alone, and he took a deep breath.


    His ability still hadn''t activated again.


    Of course, the perception-by-perception thing was only half right.


    While it was true that the Specter had to have an ability that strengthened its senses, it wasn''t something as extraordinary as being able to sense if someone else was sensing something.


    That was something that probably only Fallen, Adversaries, or Eternals could do.


    Most likely, the Specter had an ability that allowed it to see someone''s surroundings.


    Naturally, Nick said that the Specter had a perception-by-perception ability since he didn''t want Anatomy to look at him.


    Anatomy believed that Dark Dream had some kind of special thing that could lure a powerful Specter out, and they would definitely want to know how that worked.


    But with this strange ability in y, Anatomy couldn''t look at Nick.


    At least, it was not worth the risk.


    Obviously, Anatomy was suspicious about Nick''s im. They definitely didn''t fully believe it.


    However, they only had one shot.


    If, by some chance, Nick was right, and they were looking at Nick while he was luring the Specter out, they would waste this golden opportunity.


    The Specter would most likely not show up if it sensed a Hero watching over Nick.


    Then, Anatomy would need to pay the two from Metal Works City a third of the full price, which was a lot.


    Even more, they wouldn''t get another chance like this.


    So, they basically had no choice but to believe Nick unless they were dumb.


    About 30 seconds after everyone left, Nick felt his ability reactivate.


    ''Sure enough, they won''t risk it,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick looked towards the closest cliff.


    He slowly approached the cliff, and when he reached the wall of the cliff¡­


    CRK! CRK! CRK!


    Nick pulled out his des and started to dig into the cliff!


    The reason for that was the Specter''s intelligence.


    Nick had already appeared after looking over the cliff twice, and both times, the Specter had failed to find him.


    He was not sure if it would fall for the same trick thrice.


    So, Nick decided to use a new one.


    The reason why he told them that it wouldn''te anymore after ten minutes was to give himself five minutes to prepare.


    Nick dug a hole in the cliff and quickly dug diagonally downward.


    Naturally, since no one was looking at him, he was over a thousand times stronger than a normal human.


    He was essentially a very fast machine that could exert tons upon tons of force with every movement.


    The stones were being flung out of the makeshift cave with tremendous speed, and even when the asional cave-in urred, Nick just kept throwing the stones outwards.


    A couple of tons of stone didn''t inhibit him in any way.


    After just two minutes, the cave had already be over twenty meters deep, and Nick wasn''t nning on stopping.


    Another two minutes passed, and Nick slowed down.


    ''I should already be closer to the water,'' he thought.


    Then, he took a deep breath.


    This was the moment.


    Nick angled upward a slight bit and continued to dig, but more slowly.


    Eventually, the ceiling of the tunnel began to drip with water.


    Nick''s heart rate increased, and he took a deep breath again.


    Crk! WHOOOM!


    Nick scratched the top of the tunnel, and the ceiling suddenly couldn''t hold anymore.


    Water broke through the ceiling and rapidly filled the tunnel.


    As soon as the water broke through the ceiling, Nick''s ability deactivated.


    Less than a second after the cave-in, Nick charged out of his copsing tunnel with all of his speed.


    Naturally, this was his n.


    He would act like he was trying to create a covert tunnel beneath the shore, just like the one that Sce had created.


    Yet, tragically, he would dig too close to the surface and cause a cave-in.


    And then, he would just run away.


    He was sure that the Specter was within the water, and he was also quite certain that the Specter would be able to sense him as soon as he came into contact with the water.


    He was right.


    After all, his ability deactivated immediately after he got touched by the water.


    Nick charged out of the hole in less than a second, and he immediately shot toward the south, away from the shore.


    His ability had activated again.


    Nick ran.


    He got 300 meters away.


    And then¡­


    His ability deactivated.


    He looked towards the north, and he saw a tiny speck in the distance.


    Nick knew exactly what that was.

 Chapter 432 432 – The Battle Begins

    <h4>Chapter 432 Chapter 432 ¨C The Battle Begins</h4>


    That speck had to be a person!


    More specifically, one of the coral people!


    Nick just continued charging towards the south with all of his speed, which wasn''t very fast since his ability had been deactivated.


    Time seemed to slow down as Nick saw the distant speck bing bigger at an rming rate.


    Nick felt like he had barely taken a step before he could actually make sense of the speck.


    Just as expected, it was a person.


    It was a tall man with ck hair.


    A huge growth of corals came out of the back of his head and seemingly created long, slithery, and spiky wings.


    All over his body, corals were bursting out of his skin, but surprisingly, they only came out from the back parts of his body.


    Back of his arms, back of his legs, back of his head, and, of course, the back itself.


    The front of the man looked rtively normal.


    This had to be him!


    This had to be the Hero who had vanished in the Forbidden Zone several decades ago.


    This had to be the Chief Zephyx Extractor of the previously biggest Manufacturer of Crimson City, Ambrosia.


    He had been extremely powerful back then, and his power probably hadn''t diminished.


    This was an Early Hero, someone who had already worked with Demons for years before dying.


    Anatomy did not have that opportunity.


    Time seemingly moved in slow motion.


    Nick felt like he was moving extremely slowly while the man moved at incredible speeds.


    He wasing closer rapidly!


    Three kilometers.


    One kilometer.


    300 meters.


    Nick turned around and faced the approaching person.


    ''He can''t kill me!'' Nick thought. ''I''m certain that the Specter is Envy''s servant! That means he can''t possibly kill me! Envy wants the power of the Null!''


    The man closed in on Nick, and Nick looked back.


    100 meters.


    50 meters.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, the ground between Nick and the man exploded, and dust was thrown everywhere.


    Nick was covered by the dust immediately, but his ability didn''t reactivate.


    It wasn''t possible to hide from someone who was this much stronger than him.


    SHING!


    Nick heard the sound of something being cut.


    WHOOOM!


    At the same time, a powerful shockwave appeared, which sted away the dusty clouds around Nick.


    That was when Nick saw it.


    The man''s right forearm had been cut off, and it was currently flying towards Nick.


    Luckily, Nick could easily sidestep the arm since it was no longer attached to the man.


    At the same time, Nick could see an icy silhouette hovering in front of the man.


    The entire silhouette was cerulean blue, and it had a somewhat humanoid shape.


    Only somewhat because the silhouette''s limbs, while at the right ce, were essentially just long swords.


    Even more, several more swords wereing out from different parts of the silhouette.


    The only thing that looked somewhat normal was the silhouette''s face.


    It looked like the face of a cheap marite.


    An exaggerated grin was carved into its face, and its eyes were just two lines with an upward curve, making it seem like someone was smiling.


    WHOOOM!


    Before Nick could fully take in the appearance of the cerulean sword puppet, he felt an extremely powerful burst of Zephyxing from the south.


    Nick saw four distant silhouettes rapidly approaching.


    They were Mundus, Zarren, Liera, and Kevara.


    Ariel was nowhere to be seen.


    The battle was about to begin!


    The cerulean puppet readied its swords and shot at the coral man.


    Naturally, the coral man retreated.


    He had already lost an arm, putting him at a disadvantage.


    Luckily, the coral people didn''t seem to have the ability to properly make use of the Barriers, significantly weakening them.


    As the man retreated, he pulled a gun out of his uniform.


    The gun pointed at the puppet in front of him.


    At the same time, the puppet suddenly stopped and shot to the side.


    The change in trajectory was so rapid and sudden that it seemed like severalws of physics had just been broken.


    It was like momentum and inertia didn''t exist.


    When Nick saw that, he was shocked.


    It wasn''t because of the movement itself.


    No, it was about the fact that the puppet could move like that in the first ce.


    Moving like this required the ability to fly, which meant that it required someone to be a Hero.


    Yes, there were plenty of Heroes here, but Nick was sure that the puppet didn''t belong to the two from Metal Works City.


    Anatomy had the symbol of a puppet, and Zarren had also summoned a small steel puppet before.


    This meant that this puppet belonged to Anatomy, and it wasn''t Zarren''s puppet since Nick had already seen that one.


    It most likely also wasn''t Mundus'' puppet since he was charging out with everyone else.


    That only left Ariel.


    Ariel was not here right now.


    Additionally, the puppet''s color was extremely simr to Ariel''s hair color.


    ''Is Ariel a Hero?!'' Nick thought.


    But wasn''t Mundus Anatomy''s Hero?


    Yes, he was.


    This could only mean one thing.


    Anatomy had two Heroes!


    But then, Nick noticed that Zarren was flying through the sky alongside the other three Heroes.


    No, Anatomy didn''t have two Heroes!


    Anatomy had three Heroes!


    All three of their leaders had already be Heroes!


    This put them on the same level as Kugelblitz when it came to the number of Heroes if one ignored the governor.


    The only ce where they werecking was level.


    Since Anatomy didn''t have ess to a Demon, none of their Heroes could advance within the Hero Stage.


    This meant that all three of them were Initial Heroes.


    Meanwhile, Kugelblitz probably already had more than one Early Hero.


    Maybe they even had a Mid Hero.


    While Nick wasing to this realization, the coral man fired his gun at the blue puppet.


    BOOOM!


    A brutal explosion urred, and the puppet was shot right in the chest.


    All this fancy maneuvering had not helped at all.


    When the bullet hit the puppet''s chest, it got buried deep inside.


    Yet, surprisingly, the puppet didn''t really seem very damaged, and it continued to charge at the man.


    WHOOOM!


    But then, huge green tentacles shot out of the puppet''s chest and wound around the puppet in an instant.


    Before anyone could react, the entire puppet was surrounded by green tentacles, and very soon, it became clear that these tentacles were actually green roots.


    The puppet stopped in the air.


    Apparently, the roots immobilized him.


    The man retreated.


    The four Heroes rapidly approached.


    And then¡­


    BOOOOOOOM!


    A bolt of white lightning hit the bound puppet and brutally exploded.


    The four Heroes in the air stopped for a moment as they saw countless cerulean pieces scattering across the surroundings.


    While the bullet had only buried itself into the puppet''s chest, this bolt of lightning hadpletely obliterated it.


    Then, the gathered people noticed another person hovering in the distance.


    They had been the one that shot the lightning bolt.


    And by the power that lightning bolt exhibited, they could be sure of one thing.


    This other person was definitely stronger than the coral man!

 Chapter 433 433 – Manipulator

    <h4>Chapter 433 Chapter 433 ¨C Maniptor </h4>


    The person hovering in the distance was seemingly made almost entirely out of corals.


    The front of their body had several long and spiky tendrils of coralsing out of it.


    The only things that were exposed were the obviously female chest and the space between the legs.


    It was obvious that this body''s previous upant had been a beautiful woman.


    But now, only a mess of corals, a bit of blue hair, and the intimate parts of the body remained free.


    Naturally, she had been the one who had fired the terrifying lightning bolt.


    As soon as the new person showed up, the two people from Metal Works City were shocked.


    "So, that''s where you were!" Kevara shouted at the distant woman before she charged forward.


    The people from Anatomy realized that the two from Metal Works City apparently knew the neer, but now was not the time to talk.


    "You guys deal with the other one!" Liera shouted as she shot after Kevara.


    The people from Anatomy were not happy to hear that.


    Liera, as the CZE of the biggest Manufacturer in Metal Works City, was an Early Hero, and Kevara was even a Mid Hero.


    Meanwhile, the three of Anatomy were just Initial Heroes.


    This meant that Kevara and Liera represented the majority of their power.


    And now, both of them were focusing on only one of the enemies.


    However, when they remembered the powerful bolt of lightning, they were no longer as angry.


    That woman with the lightning seemed to be very powerful.


    Nick could only watch from the ground as the four people shot at their respective opponents.


    Zarren was the first to reach his opponent, the man with the gun that could shoot roots.


    SHING!


    A metallic puppet appeared in front of Zarren, and its body expanded in the blink of an eye.


    An instantter, Zarren charged into an openpartment on the puppet''s back and was surrounded.


    It was like the puppet had been made into some kind of powerful mechanical monster!


    BANG!


    Spikes exploded out of the puppet, and it swung towards the man with the gun.


    The man retreated further and readied his gun.


    He aimed his gun at the steel puppet and fired.


    WHOOM!


    But then, strings appeared above the man''s body.


    The strings came out of all of the man''s joints and seemed to lead up to the sky.


    When the man had fired his gun, his right arm moved upward like it had been pulled by one of the strings, and the shot barely missed.


    Nick could see that Mundus also had a puppet in his hand.


    Compared to Ariel''s cerulean de puppet and Zarren''s steel armor puppet, Mundus'' puppet seemed ordinary.


    It was just a ck puppet that stood on top of Mundus'' left hand, while his right hand manipted its strings.


    Surprisingly, the way the puppet floated above Mundus'' hand looked just like the coral man with the gun.


    Nick could tell that Mundus had been the one who had made the coral man miss.


    He also immediately realized that Mundus could fulfill two roles.


    He was obviously a Maniptor, but his powers could most likely also be used for the Informant role.


    If Mundus could control an enemy Hero, he could definitely control someone weaker.


    That was when Nick remembered that Veteran who hade to get him.


    That guy had acted like a machine.


    Had he been controlled by Mundus?


    After the coral man missed his shot, Zarren closed in again.


    WHOOOM!


    A sheet of metal came out of the puppet''s arm, and Zarren swung towards the enemy.


    The coral man tried to evade, but the strings around his body became taut.


    BANG!


    The sheet of metal hit the man''s left leg, and an explosion of blood urred.


    After the explosion of blood passed, Nick could see that the man''s leg had been turned into something that looked like a bloody sausage!


    The bones in the leg were probably broken so badly that there might as well not be any bones at all.


    As it stood now, the coral man could count himself lucky that his leg was still attached.


    At the same time, Nick noticed that the man''s strings had been cut.


    Somehow, the man had managed to get rid of the strings, which was also the reason why only his leg was injured.


    Otherwise, his entire body might have turned into a bloody sausage.


    But at that moment, the man pointed his gun at Zarren again, and this time, there were no strings attached to his body.


    BANG!


    The gun fired, but at the same time, more strings appeared.


    But this time, the strings seemed to vanish into the surroundings!


    They just entered the air and vanished!


    Mundus spun the strings in his hand, and Nick could feel an incredible amount of Zephyxing out of Mundus'' body.


    Nick almost couldn''t believe what he saw next.


    The area in a big circle around the coral man seemed to detach from reality.


    And then, it spun!


    If one looked at the battlefield from above via a round portal or something, they would see the outer fifth of their view detaching and spinning.


    The bullet, which had just entered the spinning part, was spun alongside the surroundings.


    Of course, due to the bullet''s speed, it was only inside that part for a tiny amount of time.


    But it was enough, and it barely missed its target.


    Then, Zarren reached the coral man again.


    WHOOOOM!


    Several gigantic tes of steel appeared around the man, and they immediatelypressed.


    This was just like the time Zarren had surrounded Nick''s head with metal but on a much greater scale.


    Of course, the steel around the man immediately started to bend and was just about to burst.


    Something like this couldn''t possibly contain a Hero.


    BOOOOOOOOM!


    The world seemed to split apart, and a line seemed to form in the air, which turned the area around it blurry.


    Nick knew what this was.


    This was how it looked like when something with extreme speed passed by.


    As soon as the phenomenon urred, a small hole appeared inside the steel.


    An instantter, all the metal became icy blue and turned into icy kes, revealing the coral man beneath.

 Chapter 434 434 – High-level Battle

    <h4>Chapter 434 Chapter 434 ¨C High-level Battle</h4>


    ''That''s a sniper round!'' Nick thought after looking at the streak in the air.


    Nick had seen many guns being fired in his life, but he had never seen a sniper round that had moved at these speeds.


    Then, Nick saw the coral man as the icy kes were blown away.


    A small hole had appeared in the man''s abdomen.


    That bullet had definitely hit its mark.


    Nick''s eyes widened as he saw everything around the hole freezing!


    The man''s abdomen was quickly freezing over, and if he didn''t do something, he would be dead real soon.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, the coralsing out of the man''s back hit the man''s lower body, shattering it.


    Everything below the man''s chest was obliterated.


    If the man were a normal human, he would die within a couple of seconds.


    However, this was not only an extremely powerful Extractor but also a meat puppet of a Specter.


    Even though the man had received devastating damage, he still calmly pointed his gun at Zarren again.


    Zarren charged at the man, and Mundus readied himself.


    But then, the gun moved.


    It pointed away from Zarren and pointed at¡­


    Nick!


    Nick''s eyes widened, and he only saw the sh of a distant muzzle.


    He couldn''t even think.


    The next couple of moments happened at unbelievable speeds.


    First, the gun fired its round at Nick, who couldn''t even hope to dodge that.


    Almost simultaneously, a blue blur shot out from below Nick.


    It was the cerulean sword puppet, and it was fully repaired!


    Or was it a second one?


    The cerulean sword puppet immediately stopped between Nick and the bullet to block it.


    Yet, before the bullet hit the cerulean sword puppet, something else happened.


    BANG!


    A brutal lightning bolt arrived at speeds that the bullet couldn''tpete with andpletely obliterated the puppet again.


    The puppet was turned into dust before the bullet hit it.


    Nick seemed frozen in time since he couldn''t even think at the speeds at which these events took ce.


    The bullet shot past the dust of the cerulean sword puppet.


    BANG!


    And hit a small te of steel just centimeters in front of Nick.


    WHOOOM!


    Huge and long tendrils came out of the bullet, and they all reached for Nick.


    But at the same time, the steel te grew, covering more and more of Nick''s body.


    The steel and the bullet battled for dominance, and eventually, Nick was encased in a steel ball, which was, in turn, surrounded by roots.


    As far as Nick was concerned, he only saw the sh of a muzzle before darkness encased him.


    For just an instant, Nick wasn''t sure if he was still alive.


    But then, the Nightmare''s influence appeared, and Nick was certain that he was still alive.


    Burning des cut into Nick''s flesh and peeled it off its bone.


    Sadly, the only thing he could do was to grit his teeth and hold out.


    While Nick was being tortured by the Nightmare, the roots covering the steel ball extended toward the ground.


    WHOOOM!


    And threw themselves towards the sea!


    They had captured their target!


    The realization of what happened urred simultaneously in everyone.


    Mundus'' eyes narrowed, and the ck puppet in his hand curled into a ball.


    DING!


    Strings appeared in the air and became taut, stopping the root-


    covered ball.


    The roots tried to keep pulling, but they couldn''tpete with the strings.


    By now, it was obvious that the coral man was an Early Hero, while the people from Anatomy were Initial Heroes.


    Yet, even though the coral man was stronger than Mundus, his rtionship between him and his roots was different from Mundus'' rtionship with his strings.


    The roots were like minions, and they wouldn''t get new Zephyx from the man. This limited their output, and eventually, they would run out of Zephyx.


    Meanwhile, Mundus'' strings were directly manipted by him, and he could infuse them with as much Zephyx as he wanted.


    So, even though the roots pulled with all their strength, Mundus just stopped them by using more Zephyx.


    In less than a second, the roots became weak and stopped moving.


    Nick had only been moved one kilometer closer to the sea, which was still a couple hundred meters away.


    Zarren saw that he no longer needed to infuse the ball of metal with Zephyx to harden it and focused on the man again¡­


    Who pointed his gun at Zarren.


    WHOOM! BANG!


    Zarren summoned a big sheet of metal between him and his opponent.


    The bullet hit the sheet and wrapped around it, making both of them fall to the ground.


    Meanwhile, Zarren charged forward.


    At the same time, more strings appeared above the man, keeping him in ce.


    The man hadn''t readied another round yet.


    Mundus and Zarren focused on the coral man.


    They were about to win.


    "CAREFUL!"


    At that moment, Kevara''s words seemed to pulse throughout the world.


    These words were not spoken with her mouth but with her Zephyx, allowing her to bypass the speed of sound limit.


    At that moment, Zarren and Mundus looked higher into the sky, towards the other battlefield.


    Kilometers of the sky were covered in silver metallic liquid, making it seem like the world was covered in clouds.


    At the same time, countless small pieces of metal were shooting past the clouds at unbelievable speeds, destroying the ground everywhere.


    Luckily, there was a metallic cloud above the people of the first battlefield, protecting them from the fallout.


    From time to time, huge explosions of lightning shot past the clouds of metal.


    The liquid metal clouds were made by Kevara, and the countless pieces of metal were made by Liera.


    When the people from the first battlefield looked up after Kevara''s shout, they saw something terrifying.


    The coral woman had summoned a spear made of lightning, and she was about to throw it.


    Sadly, she was so fast that no one could react.


    WHOOOOOM!


    The bolt of lightning left the skies.


    They passed over Nick.


    They passed over Zarren, Mundus, and the coral man.


    They shot into the horizon at the south.


    This was the ce where the earlier sniper round hade from!


    This was where Ariel had to be!


    Silence.


    BOOOOOOOOM!


    A kilometer-wide explosion of lightning brightened the horizon.


    For the first time, there seemed to be two suns.


    Sssshhh!


    And then, as everyone looked towards the south, a nearly imperceptible sound of quietly whispering wind went through the battlefield.


    An instantter, a new coral man appeared, almost his entire body covered in corals.


    In his hands were two longswords¡­


    And he stood right behind Mundus!

 Chapter 435 435 – Strings

    <h4>Chapter 435 Chapter 435 ¨C Strings </h4>


    Thebatants didn''t even have time to react to the explosion happening in the south before a third enemy attacked Mundus.


    The timing had been perfect.


    No one had noticed the man with the two des until now, which meant that he had most likely been an Assassin in the past.


    An Assassin had two jobs.


    Getting closer to a target.


    And¡­


    CRRRRRRRRR!


    The man''s des moved at incredible speeds and attacked Mundus.


    It was like Mundus had been thrown into a meat grinder!


    Luckily, a dark green Barrier appeared around Mundus, sparing him from injury.


    However, his Zephyx was dropping fast!


    An instantter, a balloon of steel appeared between the two of them and expanded.


    Zarren''s puppet was pointing its hand towards Mundus, and Zarren kept using more and more Zephyx to expand the metal.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The metal was being cut apart again and again, but the attacks were no longer reaching Mundus.


    At that moment, Mundus'' eyes turned icy.


    Nick felt an incredible amount of Zephyx getting summoned, and a momentter, new strings appeared.


    But this time, they were blood red!


    The strings were attached to Mundus'' left arm and to the de man''s left arm.


    The world seemed to shake.


    And then, both of their arms detached!


    There was no blood or any kind of wound!


    It was like they were puppets!


    A momentter, the two arms turned blurry, and when they became clear again, they had switched ces!


    Mundus'' left arm was now at the de man''s left shoulder and vice versa.


    In an instant, the arms reattached.


    SHING!


    A sword covered in ck runes appeared in Mundus'' right hand and, without hesitation¡­


    SHING!


    He cut his left arm off!


    Mundus'' left arm, which had turned into the de man''s left arm, was cut off and fell to the ground.


    At the same time, Mundus'' real left arm, which was now attached to the de man''s left shoulder, reached for the man''s right wrist and grabbed it.


    The man''s attacks stopped as he had lost the use of both of his arms.


    At the same time, the puppet in Mundus'' right hand started to dance.


    Next, more and more strings appeared around the de man.


    The de man tried to jump back, but the strings wouldn''t let him.


    The de man tried to cut the strings, but the only arm that was listening to him was being restrained by his other arm.


    He couldn''t even bite through the strings since his entire face was covered in corals.


    Meanwhile, Zarren kept fighting the other man with the gun.


    Even though the man was a level stronger than Zarren, he was so heavily injured that it was only a matter of time before Zarren won.


    "We need help!"


    Kevara''s voice echoed throughout the world again.


    Zarren gritted his teeth.


    What did they mean they needed help?!


    Those two were a Mid Hero and an Early Hero, and they were fighting one opponent who didn''t even have ess to a Barrier!


    Was the coral woman a Late Hero?!


    The next moment, Zarren''s eyes were filled with determination as he looked at the struggling man with the gun.


    A terrifying amount of Zephyx shot through the world, and thousands of steel sheets appeared around the gun man.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    In an instant, they all mped around the gun man.


    If the man still had ess to all of his limbs, he would be able to get out of this, but as it stood, he only had one arm left, and that arm was carrying his gun.


    Zarren looked with unbroken focus at the ball of metal.


    More and more sheets of metal surrounded the ball, but strangely, it didn''t expand or grow.


    That could only mean that it became denser.


    While this was happening, a man was charging past the liquid metal clouds and entered the other battlefield.


    This was the de man.


    However, he was covered in hundreds of strings, and his left arm had stopped restraining his right arm.


    This could only mean that the de man had fully fallen under Mundus'' control.


    At the same time, Mundus slowly floated after the man.


    It was obvious by the way he moved that he had to retain a high level of focus to keep the man under control.


    BANG!


    The steel ball in front of Zarren fell to the ground and made a gigantic crater.


    A momentter, Zarren charged towards the other battlefield as well.


    The battle in the sky intensified while the former battlefield on the ground became quiet.


    The only thing of note was a steel ball covered by roots.


    BANG!


    At that moment, when everything had be quiet, three small explosions came from the coast.


    Three more coral people appeared, butpared to the other three, these didn''t fly, and they were also not nearly as fast.


    Obviously, these three were not Heroes.


    The three of them quickly rushed towards the metal ball.


    One of them easily lifted the metal ball, and the three of them ran towards the north again.


    Inside the metal ball, Nick couldn''t sense any of this since he was too busy getting his bones ground into dust.


    The three coral people entered the water while carrying Nick''s metal ball.


    For the first time, Nick was actually inside the big sea to the north, but he couldn''t feel it.


    Naturally, Nick could use his ability to create a bit of light, but that would waste too much Zephyx.


    As far as he knew, there was still a big battle going on outside, and Nick needed all of his Zephyx in case he needed to run.


    Because of that, he was just enduring the Nightmare''s influence.


    After the three of them entered the water, the area became quiet again.


    However, up in the air, the battle seemed to reach a crescendo.


    More and more lightning was being thrown around, and even the clouds of liquid metal were vibrating.


    By the looks of things, the battle was desperate.

 Chapter 436 436 – Corals

    <h4>Chapter 436 Chapter 436 ¨C Corals</h4>


    Nick didn''t know how long he was under the influence of the Nightmare.


    It could have been a couple of seconds, but it could have also been minutes.


    It was difficult to tell time while one was being tortured.


    But eventually, the Nightmare''s influence vanished as the light returned.


    Nick opened his eyes as soon as he felt the warmth of the sun.


    Just for his heart to nearly stop as he saw three coral people in front of the destroyed ball of metal!


    Nick became terrified immediately.


    Yet, one thought gave him hope.


    ''They are not allowed to kill me!''


    So, Nick copsed into mist.


    Turning into mist was extremely dangerous since any big attack could easily kill Nick.


    Turning into mist in front of an opponent was like deactivating one''s Barrier and puffing one''s chest out.


    One punch could prove fatal.


    However, since the coral people were not allowed to kill Nick, they couldn''t risk attacking him, and the mist''s weakness turned into a strength.


    In his mist form, Nick quickly rushed out of the ball.


    The coral people tried to grab him with their hands, but it wasn''t possible to capture mist with one''s bare hands.


    Nick managed to leave the ball and fly away.


    He could now also see where he was.


    It was a small ind filled with corals.


    Nick rapidly shot towards the south.


    WHOOOM!


    But then, a wall of water appeared in front of him, and he had to stop.


    The wall of water was filled with Zephyx, and Nick knew that he couldn''t pass through it.


    Nick evaded in another direction, but more and more water gathered around him.


    Eventually, he waspletely surrounded by water, which wasing closer and closer.


    Only a little bit of space was left, and Nick became panicked.


    If the water kepting closer, he would die since it would use up all his Zephyx!


    But if he turned back to his normal body, he would be captured.


    ''Does it make a difference?'' Nick thought in defeat. ''They also got me in this state.''


    SHING!


    Nick returned to his normal form.


    The water immediately wrapped around him and immobilized him.


    It was like the water was made of extremely hard liquid metal.


    The next moment, the water turned into a transparent film, which covered his body.


    Nick tried his best to resist, but the transparent film was forcing him into a rxed standing position.


    Then, against his will, Nick started to slowly walk towards the three coral people, who just watched with neutral eyes.


    While Nick seemed to calmly walk forward, the inside of his mind was anything but calm.


    He was trying to find a way to escape, but no matter how much he searched, he couldn''t find one!


    The three coral people in front of him were Specialists, and one of them even had this water ability that could suppress Force Specters.


    Even if Nick used all of his Zephyx, he wouldn''t be able to create a sh strong enough to blind the three of them.


    The gap in power was just too vast.


    In this moment of panic, Nick looked at the foreign piece of Zephyx in his neck.


    This was the bit of Zephyx that Simon Francium had left in Nick''s body.


    If he willed it, the piece of Zephyx would explode, killing him instantly.


    This was his only way out.


    But he didn''t use it yet.


    Maybe there was still a chance.


    What if the others were still fighting?


    In that case, Nick only had to wait.


    The others had to be close to winning, right?


    From the corner of his eyes, Nick saw gigantic explosions happening in the sky.


    ''They''re still fighting?!''


    Nick saw metal, liquid metal, ice, wind, lightning, and fire exploding in the sky.


    The battle seemed to be brutal!


    Some secondster, Nick''s body stopped walking, and he found himself in a clearing.


    There were nearly 50 people kneeling in a round clearing.


    All of them werepletely still.


    It was like they had turned into true coral statues.


    Every single one of these statues looked with reverence at the same spot.


    In the middle of the clearing, on top of a big rock, was a pir made of corals.


    All the corals on the ind gathered at the base of this pir.


    The pir was only around four meters high, but Nick could tell that it was filled with an incredible amount of Zephyx.


    Involuntarily, Nick''s body stepped towards the boulder and began to climb.


    When Nick reached the top, he saw another person.


    Involuntarily, Nick''s body stepped towards the boulder and began to climb.


    This one was wearing a crown made of corals, and he wore the robes of a priest.


    "Finally," the man spoke with an unnatural cadence. It was almost like it was not a human speaking.


    "Getting you was more troublesome than expected," the man in the robes said as he turned around and approached the pir.


    Then, the man lightly touched the pir.


    A small part of the corals detached, and the man carefully held them in his hands.


    He turned back to look at Nick.


    "I hope you are worth the effort," the man said.


    WHOOOM!


    At the same time, the statues of corals came to life and ran towards the big pir.


    They all gathered at its base and lifted.


    CRACK!


    The pir was lifted off the ground.


    When Nick saw that, thest of his hopes died.


    He had hoped that the Specter couldn''t easily move, but apparently, that wasn''t the case.


    The people would just run into the sea with the pir.


    The chances of being found while running across the bottom of the sea were minuscule.


    The priest with the coral crown approached Nick.


    Nick''s body kneeled in reverence, exposing his neck.


    Nick''s entire world was filled with panic and terror.


    He would turn into one of these things!


    Nick focused on the foreign mass of Zephyx in his neck.


    He was filled with terror.


    He had to do it!


    BOOOOM!


    A cerulean glint.


    The priest exploded.

 Chapter 437 437 – Surrender

    <h4>Chapter 437 Chapter 437 ¨C Surrender </h4>


    Just as Nick was about to touch the foreign mass of Zephyx in his neck, a cerulean glint appeared in front of him.


    For a short moment, Nick''s mind didn''t work, and just a bitter, an endless wave of relief washed over him.


    This was probably the closest he had evere to dying.


    The cerulean glint was the cerulean sword puppet belonging to Ariel.


    It burst out of the ground and cut the priest into pieces.


    After cutting the priest apart, the cerulean sword puppet focused on the pir that was being carried by several people.


    The puppet swung one of its sword arms.


    SHING!


    A blue shockwave traveled forward and passed through all of the coral people carrying the pir.


    CRK! CRK! CRK!


    The coral people all fell into pieces, and the pir hit the ground.


    Then, the puppet turned towards the three Specialists standing in the middle of the clearing.


    "I surrender," the three Specialists said in unison.


    The next moment, Nick regained control of his body, and all the water around him vanished.


    BOOOOM!


    Suddenly, a gigantic fiery explosion urred far to the south, and Nick looked forward.


    All the metallic clouds in the distance fell apart and started to vanish as they were falling to the ground.


    Apparently, the fight was over.


    WHOOOM!


    Suddenly, five people appeared in the clearing, and all of them were looking at the three coral people and the pir.


    Naturally, they were Mundus, Zarren, Liera, and Kevara.


    However, thest person wasn''t Ariel.


    When Nick saw the tall man with the spear, he finally understood how Ariel had survived that one attack.


    It seemed like the governor couldn''t staypletely on Kugelblitz''s side.


    Most likely, the governor had stayed in the background, and when he had noticed that Ariel was getting attacked, he got involved and saved her life.


    Every Hero was essential to the city, and losing even one could have terrifying consequences.


    The three Specialists in the middle of the clearing lifted their arms in surrender, but their expressions remained dead.


    Mundus looked at the pir and summoned his puppet.


    The puppet began to dance on Mundus'' hand, and strings upon strings wound around the pir.


    "Don''t kill my minions," the three Specialists said.


    The present people looked at the three Specialists.


    Mundus waved his arm, and several strings appeared around the three Specialists.


    In the end, the three Specialists and the pir werepletely encased in strings.


    Silence.


    It was over.


    Anatomy had sessfully captured the Demon!


    "Congrattions," Kevara said with a polite smile. "It seems like Crimson City finally got its second Demon!"


    Markus, the governor, looked with a neutral expression at Kevara and nodded. "Thank you. It wouldn''t have been possible without your help."


    "Only doing what I''m paid to do," Kevara said with a smile. Then, she looked at Mundus. "I''m expecting the Specters within the month."


    Liera also looked at Mundus. "I''ming for mine tomorrow."


    "Of course," Mundus answered.


    Kevara nodded before looking at Nick. "And look at that. Even the little guy survived."


    "It''s thanks to Ms. Cerillion," Nick spoke politely.


    Kevara chuckled a bit before she looked towards the southern sky. "But to believe that Melinda was here all along."


    "You knew her?" Zarren asked, referring to the powerful coral woman.


    Kevara and Liera hadn''t been strong enough to fight the coral woman on their own, and even with the addition of Mundus and Zarren, the fight had still been difficult.


    Only when the governor joined did the tide turn.


    This Extractor had been unreasonably powerful.


    Kevara nodded. "That was Melinda Barnaby," she said. "She was my predecessor."


    "I remember her," Crimson City''s governor said. "If I remember correctly, people believed that she betrayed humanity."


    "That was the consensus," Kevara said.


    ''Well, it''s a stupid question, but I''m not going to get an answer otherwise since everyone keeps talking about this like they know everything already,'' Nick thought.


    "Was she very powerful?" Nick asked.


    "Oh, yes. Very," Kevara said, looking at Nick. "She used to be one of Aegis'' agents before she ''retired'' and became a governor. She used to travel all around the world, fighting against the forces of the Fallen and Adversaries."


    "Honestly, if she had ess to her Barrier, we might not have won."


    Kevara sighed. "If I knew that I had to fight her, I would have asked for way more."


    "Anyway, today was quite a wild day, but Liera and I have to go back now," she said.


    "Of course," Mundus said. "Thank you once again."


    The people said their goodbyes and the two from Metal Works City left.


    Now, only the people from Crimson City are left.


    The governor looked at the cocoon that was the pir.


    "ording to the amount of Zephyx, this should be a Late Demon. That''s even stronger than the Crimson Fungus," hemented.


    "We can suppress it," Mundus said.


    The governor looked at Mundus, who had a neutral expression on his face.


    Then, he looked at Zarren. "You and Ariel have also be Heroes?" he asked.


    "Just recently," Zarren answered with an equally neutral expression.


    Then, everything became silent.


    Nick could feel the tension in the air.


    On the surface, this seemed to just be small talk, but that wasn''t true in reality.


    The governor was obviously not happy that Anatomy kept two Heroes secret, and he was also not happy that three Initial Heroes were now responsible for containing a Late Demon.


    Anatomy had shown once again that they were not trustworthy, and now, they also had ess to the strongest Specter in the city.


    Even more, this Specter''s powers were extremely dangerous.


    As long as Anatomy kept the pir imprisoned, they could essentially order its army around.


    With the three coral people in the clearing, Anatomy had essentially gained three more Specialists as well.


    In just a single day, Anatomy''s power had shot up tremendously.


    Just one day ago, people believed that Anatomy only had a single Initial Hero and no Demon.


    But now, they had three Initial Heroes and a Late Demon.


    One had to remember that Kugelblitz only had four Heroes, and one of them was the governor.


    If one didn''t include the governor, Kugelblitz only had three Heroes.


    Sure, Aria was an Early Hero, but it wasn''t certain that Kugelblitz would win in a team fight.


    After all, the three from Anatomy had always been working together as a team, and their powers perfectlyplemented each other.


    Anatomy could actually fight Kugelblitz now.

 Chapter 438 438 – Governor’s Crossroads

    <h4>Chapter 438 Chapter 438 ¨C Governor''s Crossroads</h4>


    The city had been in rtive peace up to now since Anatomy couldn''t really fight Kugelblitz.


    After all, they only had a single Initial Hero, while Kugelblitz had three.


    But what about now?


    Anatomy was now an actual threat to Kugelblitz.


    Would the city remain peaceful?


    These were genuine concerns that went through the governor''s mind.


    With this Demon, the entire city might get thrown into disarray.


    Would there be an actual war between Kugelblitz and Anatomy?


    And what about the governor?


    How would Anatomy act towards him?


    At this moment, the governor had to make important choices.


    He hadn''t expected the Demon to be this powerful, and he also hadn''t expected Anatomy to have three Heroes.


    That was why he had helped earlier.


    But now, he wasn''t sure if he had made the correct decision.


    Should he remain an honorary member of Kugelblitz?


    Should he tell Kugelblitz about the Demon and kill Anatomy right now before they could go back to the city?


    Should he stay neutral and let the two Manufacturers duke it out?


    Should he join Anatomy?


    The fate of the entire city was being decided right at this moment, and everyone who was present knew that.


    There was a very good reason why Ariel was not here.


    As a Sniper, it was best for her to remain far away from the battlefield.


    The governor had saved Ariel''s life earlier, but now, she was preparing to kill him if he tried anything.


    However, while there were many decisions the governor could make right now, he wouldn''t battle them at this moment.


    Yes, he was a Mid Hero, but he knew that he most likely wouldn''t win against them.


    And if he actually lost, he probably wouldn''t even die.


    Most likely, they would give him to the pir, creating a powerful puppet.


    "When I arrived, you''ve already suppressed the Specter," the governor said evenly.


    "Of course," Mundus answered neutrally.


    Then, the governor looked at Nick, who just gestured that he didn''t see anything.


    The governor furrowed his brows.


    Something monumental happened, and once again, Nick was present.


    Somehow, this guy was almost always involved whenever anything big happened.


    By now, it was surprising that Nick hadn''t been involved in the Crimson Sea incident.


    "We''re going to deliver the Specters to you within two weeks," Zarren said, looking at Nick.


    "Thank you," Nick said politely.


    It was clear why Zarren had brought that matter up at this moment.


    "Then, I will go back to the city. Thank you for protecting me during the mission," Nick said.


    Zarren and Mundus just nodded.


    Then, Nick nced at the three coral people.


    He wasn''t worried that the Specter was going to tell them about his background.


    For once, it was a good thing that the Specter was so intelligent.


    If the Specter told Anatomy why it was so interested in Nick, it would have to reveal that it was Envy''s servant, and it knew very well what that meant.


    Being Envy''s servant would mean its death.


    Because of that, telling Anatomy why it was so interested in Nick equated to killing itself.


    At this moment, the Specter was probably trying toe up with a great lie regarding why it attacked Nick.


    Nick turned towards the south and ran.


    When he reached the coast, he didn''t stop running.


    Surprisingly, he didn''t sink into the water and just kept running across the surface.


    It wasn''t very difficult for a powerful Extractor to run across something as dense as water.


    Nick left the ind behind, but the further away he got, the more nervous he became.


    His ability hadn''t activated yet.


    Most likely, Ariel was looking at him from her vantage point.


    Nick wasn''t sure if Anatomy would try to kill him now.


    After all, the Specter had been captured, and the governor had seen Nick alive.


    If Nick died now, they could argue that he had died after the mission and that his death didn''t have anything to do with them.


    That would also put the governor in front of a crossroads.


    If the governor judged that Anatomy was suspicious, he was locked into following Kugelblitz.


    If he decided to let the matter go, he would be locked into either being neutral or following Anatomy.


    Sadly, there wasn''t anything Nick could do to influence the oue.


    His only hope was that Anatomy wouldn''t decide to introduce even more unstable variables.


    The governor''s appearance and the power of the Specter were already unforeseen circumstances.


    Killing Nick would cause the situation to be even more chaotic.


    Now, the question was, did Anatomy want a chaotic situation or not?


    Nick didn''t know.


    After running for some time, Nick reached the shore and jumped over the cliffs.


    When hended behind the cliffs, his ability still hadn''t reactivated.


    Nick just kept running.


    Every step felt like it took forever.


    Eventually, Nick''s ability reactivated again, and he took a deep breath.


    When the crimson pir of mist came into view, Nick finally felt relieved.


    If Anatomy decided to kill him, they would have done it already.


    This meant that Nick was finally safe.


    Nick ran past the Desert and veered towards the left after passing the mountain.


    Half a minuteter, he saw the southern entrance of the city.


    Only when Nick walked past the four Veterans defending the south did he truly feel safe.


    He went over the bridge and reached the outer city.


    He was back.


    This entire mission had taken less than an hour, but it had felt like forever.


    After entering the city, Nick slowed down.


    ''It was risky, but it was worth it,'' he thought as he slowly walked towards the Inner City.


    Nervousness left Nick''s being and was reced by excitement.


    ''We really earned a lot today!'' Nick thought.


    When Nick thought about the Specters they had secured today, his mind was going wild with possibilities.


    The payout was absolutely tremendous.


    So, what would Dark Dream receive?


    One Peak Adult.


    One Mid Adult.


    One Early Adult.


    And seven Adolescents!


    Ten Specters!

 Chapter 439 439 – Long Day at Work

    <h4>Chapter 439 Chapter 439 ¨C Long Day at Work </h4>


    The news that Anatomy had captured a powerful Demon traveled throughout the city within the next couple of days.


    Naturally, Kugelblitz congratted them publicly, and everyone saw this as a good event.


    After all, with a second Demon contained, there was one less Demon walking around the world.


    But beneath the surface, things became troublesome.


    Anatomy had be a genuine threat to Kugelblitz.


    Kugelblitz felt threatened.


    Obviously, they didn''t want to lose their position as Crimson City''s strongest Manufacturer.


    This meant that they had to do something against Anatomy.


    Of course, they had tried to get rid of Anatomy for decades now, but that hadn''t worked until now.


    The soft approaches just didn''t work.


    This meant that only the hard approach was left.


    They had to kill at least one of Anatomy''s Heroes or their Demon.


    However, killing their Demon was basically impossible since no one would be able to enter without getting noticed.


    This meant that they could only kill their Heroes.


    But that was easier said than done.


    They couldn''t attack any of their Heroes inside the city since everyone would immediately notice what was going on.


    At that point, all pretenses would be lost, and open warfare wouldmence.


    This meant that the governor needed to choose a side, and whoever he chose would most likely survive.


    And chances were that the governor would choose the opposing side of whoever decided to escte this conflict.


    If Kugelblitz decided to stage an assassination, the governor would most likely choose Anatomy''s side and vice versa.


    The main reason was that the governor didn''t want this situation to ur.


    Therefore, as a counterincentive, he made it clear that he would choose the other side.


    If one side believed that they would need to fight the other Manufacturer and the governor, they wouldn''t easily stage an attack, which would keep the city peaceful.


    So, without one side being stronger by quite a bit, no side would escte the conflict.


    Yet, while all of these covert mind games and tactics were going on beneath the surface, none of the normal Extractors noticed anything.


    To them, things seemed just as always.


    One dayter, Liera Jenkins appeared in the city and took the Specters that she had been promised with her.


    Anatomy and Liera kept the number and power of Specters a secret, but everyone could see that Liera had left with three Specter Cages.


    And then, it was time for Dark Dream to receive their Specters.


    The citizens noticed that another big set of Specters was being moved from one ce to another, and they watched in shock as Extractors from Anatomy delivered one Specter Cage after the other to Dark Dream.


    Dark Dream''s employees watched in just as much shock.


    They almost couldn''t believe that they were getting that many Specters!


    After over an hour, the people from Anatomy finally left, and Nick could start his work.


    Luckily, Anatomy had already given Nick all of the documentation regarding the Specters within thest couple of days, which meant that Nick already knew what to expect from them.


    So, Nick immediately went to work.


    The first Specter he visited was on the seventh floor, the floor for Specters with mind powers.


    Without hesitation, Nick walked into the Containment Unit.


    In the middle of the Containment Unit was a rtively weighty fellow with a nervous expression on his face.


    He was quite dirty, and he looked like he was afraid that somebody was watching him.


    Nick just looked at the guy as he slowly approached Nick.


    "Are you one of them?" the weighty fellow asked carefully.


    "One of whom?" Nick asked back.


    "You know what I''m talking about," the fellow said carefully.


    "I really don''t," Nick said.


    "One of the rat people," the guy said in a whisper.


    "Rat people?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Yes, the rat people," the man repeated as if Nick was supposed to know what he was talking about. "They''re the ones that secretly run the city."


    "Could you borate?" Nick asked.


    "Did you never notice how hairy the governor''s arms and legs are? That''s his rat coating through his flimsy disguise! The rat people control this city! They want to turn all of us into willing servants to build their rat empire!"


    "Didn''t you see that the governor and the really strong Extractors can look at the Crimson Sea without issue? That''s because the Crimson Sea is the rat king living below the city in reality!"


    Nick listened to the guy talking about rat people for about an hour before he just turned around to leave the Containment Unit.


    Surprisingly, the weighty fellow didn''t stop Nick from leaving.


    After he left the Containment Unit, Nick just took a deep breath and sighed.


    ''Fucking rat people,'' Nick repeated in his mind. ''What nonsense.''


    The weighty fellow was a Specter, and he was called the Conspirator.


    The Conspirator came up with conspiracy theories all the time and tried his best to convince the people.


    Now, every knowledgeable Extractor would have noticed one specific thing.


    Wasn''t that just like the False News, the Fanatic that was roaming the city?


    And yes, it was very simr.


    The Conspirator and the False News basically did the same thing but on different scales.


    The False News was way more troublesome since it reached way more people, while the Conspirator''s reach wasn''t as big.


    Yet, there was one subtle difference.


    Their ways of growing more powerful were slightly different.


    The False News seemed to grow more powerful based on how many people it convinced of its conspiracies, while the Conspirator grew more powerful just by sharing his conspiracies.


    However, just like the False News, the Conspirator was very convincing, and every normal person who listened to him believed him.


    Luckily, working with him was pretty easy.


    Dark Dream just needed to send a strong Extractor to talk with him. As long as the Extractor was powerful enough, the Conspirator''s effect would be trivialized.


    They just had to be careful that their Extractor didn''t suddenly start believing crazy shit.


    The ability an Extractor could gain by working with the Conspirator was the power to be much more convincing.


    By using the ability, the likelihood of the other side believing the Extractor''s words was far higher.


    Of course, the effectiveness of the ability lessened with the power of the opponent.


    After Nick was done working with the Conspirator, he looked at how much Zephyx the Conspirator produced.


    ''If I send someone to work with the Conspirator every hour of the day, that would be about 95 grams of Zephyx. Not a whole lot, but it''s also only a Mid Adolescent.''


    ''I would say it''s a bit below average.''


    Nick closed the door again and went to the next Specter.

 Chapter 440 440 – Old Acquaintance

    <h4>Chapter 440 Chapter 440 ¨C Old Acquaintance</h4>


    Nick walked to the second floor of the building and stopped in front of one of the Containment Units.


    When he saw the Containment Unit, he frowned.


    ''We''re definitely not going to work with this one, but I should still take a look at it,'' he thought.


    Then, Nick walked into the Containment Unit.


    Inside the Containment Unit, Nick saw a beautifuldy with a bright smile.


    When she saw Nick, she walked closer.


    "Hello, I haven''t seen you before," she said politely.


    "I read that you have actual intelligence," Nick said calmly.


    "Of course I do," she answered with augh. "My file should have said as much."


    Nick didn''t immediately answer and stayed silent for a couple of seconds.


    "You''re not getting any victims during your stay here," Nick said. "You''re an asset, and you will be sold the first chance I get."


    Thedy didn''t seem offended or perturbed in any way. "Are you sure? I only need one person, and I can produce a whole lot of Zephyx," she said.


    "So, I''ve read," Nick said. "But Dark Dream isn''t as shady as the owner of your old Containment Unit."


    "Just stayfortable and expect to get moved somewhere else at some point."


    Thedy looked at Nick with a smile.


    Nick looked with seriousness at her.


    Finally, her mask slipped, and all her friendliness vanished.


    "Fine, but make it quick," she said before walking to one of the walls.


    Nick just turned around and left the Containment Unit without saying anything.


    They would definitely not work with this Specter.


    Even if an Extractor explicitly asked to work with that Specter, Nick would refuse.


    No one in all of Dark Dream would work with this one, ever.


    So, what was so bad about working with this one?


    Thedy was called the Agonizing Wait, and she gained power by emotional distress created by fearing for a loved one.


    Back when she was still free, she abducted the brightest and most loved people she could find.


    After abducting them, she contacted the person''s friends and family and told them that they would see their loved one''s body again within a week.


    However, whether or not the loved one''s body was still alive was based on a coin flip.


    50% chance they returned alive with no injuries


    50% chance they returned as a corpse.


    The stronger the love for the loved one, the more Zephyx the Agonizing Wait produced.


    Naturally, working with it was crazy.


    The only possible way to work with it was to kidnap someone from the streets who had a family.


    However, Nick refused to do that.


    He was willing to do a lot of things for power, but he was not willing to go that far.


    Usually, such a Specter was worth almost nothing since she also upied a Containment Unit, effectively costing money.


    Yet, her ability was amazing for Maniptors.


    An Extractor with her ability could manipte other people''s perception of time.


    This couldpletely destroy someone''s rhythm and concentration during a battle.


    Because of that, the Agonizing Wait was still worth something and could be sold.


    But, for now, the Agonizing Wait would have to wait in agony until she got a new home since Nick refused to work with her.


    After leaving the Containment Unit, Nick walked over to one of the Containment Units on the other side of the floor, to his next Specter.


    He operated the console of the Containment Unit and changed a couple of settings.


    ''I don''t think it will recognize me,'' Nick thought as he stepped into the Containment Unit.


    As soon as he entered, he saw the Specter clinging to one of the walls.


    It was a little grey mechanical spider.


    Yes, that was the Grey Room.


    Naturally, Nick had met this Specter before.


    Back when Nick had infiltrated the Spartans, he had freed the Grey Room and had worked together with it to wreak havoc in the Spartans'' building.


    Sadly, after the battle, the Grey Room ran away and vanished into the city.


    Apparently, it had been recaptured by Anatomy.


    "Hello, my name is Nick Nick, and I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream, your new home," Nick said calmly.


    "You will be working with my Extractors from now on, and if everything works out well, you will get plenty of time with many powerful Extractors."


    "However, if you kill even one of my Extractors, I will forbid anyone from working with you for a while, and if it happens again, I will have to kill you."


    "Do you understand?" Nick asked.


    Scratch, scratch.


    Two of the Grey Room''s right legs scratched the wall.


    "I presume this is a yes."


    Scratch, scratch.


    "Great," Nick added. "Then, I will be working with you first. Since I am the only one here, I have activated the Containment Unit''s timer. In a bit less than one hour from now, you will be pushed off my head. Don''t get surprised when it happens."


    Scratch, scratch.


    Nick nodded, walked to the middle of the room, and sat down.


    "Then, you can begin," he said.


    The Grey Room left the wall and approached Nick at a normal tempo.


    It climbed on Nick''s body and eventually stopped on top of his head.


    And then, it plopped down.


    WHOOOM!


    Suddenly, Nick saw himself getting transported to a different ce.


    The Containment Unit and the Grey Room vanished, reced by a grey endlessness.


    The floor, ceiling, and sides all looked the same.


    There was just grey nothingness in all directions.


    However, Nick could still feel some kind of floor.


    ''ording to the documentation, I will be here for about 50 hours or so. Better make the best of it,'' Nick thought.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t truly in some form of grey dimension.


    In reality, he was sitting unconscious in the Grey Room''s Containment Unit with the Grey Room perched on top of his head.


    The Grey Room grew more powerful by inflicting boredom, and it achieved this effect by putting its victim into a featureless reality while also manipting their perception of time.


    One hour in reality would feel like 50 hours in here.


    Since Nick would only be working with the Grey Room for one hour in reality, he would stay in here for around 50 hours.


    A proper shift would be even longer.


    In general, people were not the biggest fans when it came to working with the Grey Room.

 Chapter 441 441 – Working More Than 24 Hours in a Day

    <h4>Chapter 441 Chapter 441 ¨C Working More Than 24 Hours in a Day </h4>


    ''I''m not sure how effective it is going to be when I''m only working with it for 50 hours,'' Nick thought as he looked around the grey nothingness.


    The Grey Room was one of the Specters that produced far more Zephyx when fitting people worked with it.


    Specters like the Money Sink, the Gambler, or the Abductor basically always produced the same amount of Zephyx as long as the power of the person in front of them was consistent.


    There were no individual differences based on personality or something like that.


    However, there were also cases where the personality of the Extractor was important for Zephyx production.


    For example, the Bleeding Lady might decide on cutting some more if she really enjoyed herself, and the Dreamer produced more Zephyx based on how much suffering it could inflict on its victims in the dreams.


    The Grey Room was one of these kinds of Specter.


    The Grey Room became more powerful by inflicting boredom.


    That meant that the Extractor had to be bored.


    If someone managed to just keep thinking about things in here without getting bored, not a lot of Zephyx would be produced.


    Of course, one could only entertain oneself in the nothingness for a limited time, and the more time passed, the more bored and desperate one would be for stimuli, which meant more Zephyx.


    However, too much boredom could cause trauma, and it was important to keep that to a minimum.


    Even if Nick were topletely ignore the moral aspect, giving his employees trauma by making them work too much with the Grey Room would prove horrible for profit.


    Employees were employees, not ves.


    If someone had such a bad experience that theypletely refused to work with the Grey Room, Nick couldn''t force them to do so unless he wanted to risk leaking valuable intel.


    The Grey Room was one of the few Specters for which no unified procedure could be created.


    Every Extractor would need their own procedure.


    ''And things would probably be different once again when the Grey Room bes an Adult,'' Nick thought.


    The Grey Room was already a Peak Adolescent, and it had been a Peak Adolescent for years.


    Not every Specter could be an Adult, but the Grey Room had a good chance of bing one.


    The Grey Room could be an Adult tomorrow or in a couple of years.


    It was basically impossible to predict.


    ''Most likely, the time dtion gets even stronger if it advances.''


    ''It won''t be easy to incite the Extractors to work with it.''


    ''Well, at least its ability has amazing potential.''


    The Grey Room''s ability was the main ability that the Spartans had relied on back then.


    Sadly, the Spartans had never had the opportunity to actually use this ability on Nick.


    The Grey Room gave an Extractor the ability to stretch and constrict space.


    It could reduce the distance between a target and the user or expand it.


    Of course, a Newbie couldn''t do a lot with that since the degree of space bending was very low, but everyone could see how crazy this ability could get with enough power.


    Just its versatility was amazing.


    It could be used for Bruisers to force a slippery target close to their range.


    A Sniper could use it to lessen the distance when they were about to fire, making the shot much more urate and more difficult to avoid.


    A Maniptor could use it.


    An Assassin could use it to get quickly to a target.


    A Runner could use it.


    It was crazy.


    The ability could be developed in any of these ways.


    Since Nick didn''t have much to do here, he just thought about how to deal with all the Specters and how to distribute the Extractors.


    ''It''s actually not so bad in here,'' Nick thought. ''I now have all the time in the world to properly n all these things.''


    By now, Nick''s job as CZE had be brutal.


    This was no longer like back when Dark Dream only had the Dreamer and the Screaming Coffin.


    Back then, Nick had only needed to sleep for eight hours a day and deal with the Zephyx.


    Now, Nick was managing a business with over a hundred employees almost on his own.


    Julian was busy with meeting people from outside thepany, not giving him a lot of time to manage Dark Dream.


    Although, it was important to note that Nick was essentially doing two jobs at once.


    He was the CZE, for one, but he was also almost the entire HR department.


    Julian focused on the financial aspects, but naturally, Nick also had to deal with finances since he was the CZE.


    While there were plenty of people that envied Nick due to his position, they didn''t envy him due to his workload.


    Ding!


    Suddenly, the greyness around Nick vanished, and he found himself in the Containment Unit again.


    The Grey Room had moved back to one of the walls.


    Nick wasn''t really surprised that it was already over.


    It felt just about as long as he had expected.


    "We''ll need to send a couple of employees in here and see where we stand with things," Nick said as he stood up. "The next couple of days will be filled with tests, but we should be able to optimize the Zephyx production within the week. Just be patient."


    Scratch, scratch.


    Nick nodded and left the Containment Unit.


    After leaving, he checked the Zephyx container, and he found just about as much Zephyx in there as he had expected.


    ''Two grams,'' Nick thought.


    Naturally, Nick only worked with it for one hour, which meant that not a lot of Zephyx could have been produced either way, but the severeck of boredom was naturally also a factor.


    Nick had barely been bored in there.


    Even though Nick had effectively spent 50 hours in there, he only felt like he had actually spent one or two.


    ''But I''ve made a lot of progress on the ns,'' Nick thought. ''Maybe I''ll work with it just to get more time in the day to organize things.''


    ''Since I''m no longer limited by the number of hours in the day, maybe I can take on a couple more duties.''


    Eventually, Nick left the floor and went to the next Specter.

 Chapter 442 442 – The Berry Bush

    <h4>Chapter 442 Chapter 442 ¨C The Berry Bush</h4>


    Nick walked to the fourth floor, the floor with all the Possession Specters.


    After he left the Extractor shaft, Nick looked at the Containment Units.


    Every single one was filled.


    ''I''ll buy more Containment Units and stack them on top of the current ones. Stacking Containment Units with Possession Specters shouldn''t be an issue.''


    ''To think that the floor for Possession Specters is already filled after just moving in. I guess that''s what happens when you only assign one floor to an entire category of Specters.''


    Nick had already created a n for stacking the Containment Units on this floor while working with the Grey Room.


    First, Nick walked to the eastern Containment Units and stopped in front of the southern one.


    ''This shouldn''t be too difficult,'' Nick thought as he walked into the Containment Unit.


    As soon as he entered, Nick saw the Specter in the middle of the room.


    It was a beautiful green bush filled with berries.


    Yes, this was a Possession Specter.


    Possession Specters could not only possess dead objects but also living objects.


    There had been cases in which a Possession Specter had been created with an animal.


    There was even a human one.


    Nick just looked at the bush for a couple of seconds.


    It looked and acted just like a normal bush.


    If this were a Physical Specter, Nick might have be suspicious, but this was a Possession Specter.


    Possession Specters were notoriously stupid.


    The sses, the Can, the Screaming Coffin, the ze, the Rusty Hammer, all of these Specterscked intelligence.


    And the Berry Bush wasn''t any different.


    Naturally, the Berry Bush was the name of this bush.


    The Berry Bush was an Early Adolescent Possession Specter, and it gained power in a very interesting way.


    Nick looked at the berries for a while before approaching the bush.


    Then, he plucked five of them.


    ''The documentation says don''t take more than five,'' Nick thought. ''I''m confident in my power and my conviction, but not following the documentation would be stupid.''


    ''So, for now, only five.''


    Then, Nick grabbed one of the five berries and consumed it.


    As soon as Nick bit down, an indescribable explosion of vor urred in his mouth.


    His mouth produced an incredible amount of saliva, and all the saliva that gathered around the berry seemed to take on its properties, and within seconds, Nick''s entire mouth tasted amazing.


    The extraordinary vor of the berry expanded throughout Nick''s entire body, and his mind became alert, focused, and awake.


    Nick swallowed the berry almost immediately since his body craved it so much.


    A couple of seconds after swallowing the berry, Nick took a deep breath.


    ''That was scarier than I thought,'' he thought as he looked at the Berry Bush with newfound respect.


    ''If it has such a strong effect on a Mid Veteran, how strong is the effect on a normal person?''


    ''Well, I don''t actually need to ask that question. I already know the answer,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    Nick remembered seeing several people snorting some blue dust in his past, when he had still been in the Dregs.


    People who snorted the blue dust craved it and were willing to give anything for just one more hit.


    This blue dust had been made of ground berries from the Berry Bush.


    The Berry Bush gained power by making people addicted to its berries.


    The more people craved its berries, the more Zephyx it produced.


    Naturally, since normal people had been snorting the berries, Anatomy had been operating a drug business.


    Was that legal?


    Well, a powerful organization could bend thew a lot, but there was one aspect of this drug business that made it impossible to legalize.


    The fact that it involved a Specter.


    Under normal circumstances, only Extractors were allowed to work with a Specter.


    If a Manufacturer wanted to involve the general public, the city would demand crazy standards of security and surveince.


    Nearly no Manufacturer would be willing to deal with that.


    This meant that Anatomy''s little business had been highly illegal.


    However, they had enough sway and enough people in the guards that their little business didn''t get unveiled.


    It was just one of the many illegal things that big business could get away with and one of the reasons why Nick hated the city''s government so much.


    ''Creatingws but not enforcing them,'' Nick thought in disgust as he grabbed another berry. ''Might as well not make thews at all if they don''t apply to everyone.''


    Nick consumed the five berries and walked out of the Containment Unit.


    Obviously, he wanted to eat more since they tasted absolutely amazing, but Nick had a crazy amount of self-control.


    Nick wouldn''t use the Berry Bush to sell drugs.


    Even without the moralponent, Dark Dream didn''t have the sway over the guards that Anatomy had, making it far more likely to get found out.


    ''I guess I can use the Berry Bush as a little treat for the Extractors once a day. As long as I control the ess to it, there shouldn''t be any danger.''


    Naturally, eating too many of the berries would cause very bad things to happen, but Nick would make sure that this never urred.


    This was one of the very few Containment Units that Nick wouldn''t open for any Extractor.


    He didn''t even trust Trevor and Jenny with that one.


    Only Julian and Nick would be able to enter this Containment Unit.


    Just like with the Agonizing Wait.


    ''I can''t check how much Zephyx it will produce since I''m not a good representation of its actual production. I should check after handing some berries to the Extractors.''


    Nick walked away from the Containment Unit and walked towards the south of the floor.


    There were two more Containment Units on this floor with new Specters.


    Nick looked towards the eastern one and took a deep breath.


    ''Probably only I can work with this one. I don''t think any of my employees will be willing to work with that one.''


    ''I''m really not looking forward to this.''

 Chapter 443 443 – The Dark Room

    <h4>Chapter 443 Chapter 443 ¨C The Dark Room </h4>


    Nick took a deep breath and entered the Containment Unit.


    He really didn''t look forward to this.


    As soon as he entered, he saw a big ck cuboid in the middle of the room.


    The cuboid was about 2.5 meters high, five meters long, and three meters wide.


    This was the Specter, and it was a big one.


    The people from Anatomy who had delivered the Specters had even needed to remove parts of the floor to get this huge Specter onto the fourth floor.


    Luckily, the entrances to Containment Units were generally huge, almost always covering an entire wall.


    When Nick saw the Specter, he grew nervous.


    This Specter was on the verge of unworkable.


    Nick slowly walked around the cuboid until he arrived at its backside.


    There, he saw a door.


    Nick put his hand on the handle and turned it.


    The door creaked open, and Nick looked inside.


    ck.


    Everything was ck.


    The name of the Specter was the Dark Room, and just as its name implied, it was a perfectly dark room.


    By now, it was obvious how to work with the Specter.


    The Dark Room was just like the Fiend of Darkness.


    The Fiend of Darkness was a Fanatic that belonged to Kugelblitz, and Kugelblitz used the Fiend of Darkness'' shroud to create the Shadow Shrouds.


    Nick had worn one of these.


    The Fiend of Darkness epassed people, putting them in a ce without any light.


    Then, it would keep them inside that lightless space until the Nightmare killed them.


    The Dark Room worked the same way.


    Just like the Fiend of Darkness, the Dark Room produced Zephyx based on how powerful the person inside it was and how long they were in there.


    Working with the Dark Room meant suffering under the Nightmare''s influence, and nobody was willing to do that.


    The Nightmare''s influence was worse than working with the ze, and Taren was the only person other than Nick who was willing to work with that.


    Nick was certain that Taren wouldn''t want to work with the Dark Room.


    This left only Nick.


    Sadly, there was no real reason for Nick to work with it either.


    Sure, the Dark Room produced quite a bit of Zephyx, but Nick''s quota of Zephyx his body could absorb was already filled by the Adults.


    This meant, just like the Agonizing Wait, nobody would be working with the Dark Room.


    However, just for the sake ofpletionism, Nick decided to work with the Dark Room for one round.


    Nick steeled his mind and stepped into the room.


    BANG!


    The door behind Nick mmed shut and vanished, leaving Nick in absolute ckness.


    The Dark Room''s door wouldn''t reappear until the person inside of it was killed.


    As soon as the door closed, Nick found furious andughing faces appearing around him.


    The faces were all shouting andughing at him before they bit into his body.


    Nick didn''t move.


    He had been under the Nightmare''s influence more than once in his life, and he had somewhat grown used to it.


    Nevertheless, Nick''s entire body started to tense as unimaginable pain assaulted him.


    The teeth of the faces started to burn and freeze.


    Walls filled with grinding spikes closed in on him.


    Burning needles poked into his eyes.


    People killed by the Crimson Sea reappeared and tried to pull Nick down into the Crimson Sea with them.


    The governor found out that Julian was a Specter and confronted Nick.


    Envy arrived in Crimson City.


    The worst things that Nick could imagine happened right in front of him.


    He tried his best to resist.


    However, resisting this indescribable torture consumed all of Nick''s focus rather rapidly.


    Whenever Nick had been under the Nightmare''s influence in the past, he had either had a goal or had a method of escaping.


    Right now, he didn''t have either.


    So, just 15 seconds after he entered¡­


    "AAAHHH!" Nick began to scream as he tried to hold his shoulders.


    However, in his illusion, he felt like his arms were bound by searing chains.


    Molten metal was being poured into his screaming mouth.


    ''I can''t!''


    In his illusion, Nick felt like he couldn''t move, but he knew very well that it was different in reality.


    Nick turned around and kicked.


    BOOOOOM!


    The illusions vanished as a gigantic hole appeared in one of the Dark Room''s walls.


    Nick breathed rapidly and jumped out of the Dark Room.


    For a while, he just looked at the Dark Room with fear.


    While Nick was looking at it, all the rubble strewn around the Containment Unit started to turn into ck smoke, which quickly vanished.


    A momentter, the wall of the room very slowly started to regenerate.


    It would probably take a couple of hours for the wall to fully regenerate.


    This was the only way to get out of the Dark Room.


    One had to break a wall.


    Luckily, Specters were hard to kill, and as long as someone didn''t attack more than one wall, the Dark Room would survive.


    After some seconds, Nick finally calmed down.


    ''How long was I in there? 20 seconds? 30? I don''t know,'' Nick thought.


    ''Anyway, I''m d this is over.''


    Then, Nick walked out of the Containment Unit.


    He checked the Zephyx container and was a bit surprised.


    ''Half a gram for about half a minute of work? That''s a lot!'' Nick thought.


    ''I wonder, did Anatomy put problematic Extractors in there and left them until they died? That should be a lot of money.''


    Nick took a deep breath and sighed.


    ''It doesn''t matter. I''m not doing that.''


    Nick looked back at the Containment Unit and fell into thought.


    ''I guess this will also just be another asset, like the Agonizing Wait.''


    ''Yet,pared to the Agonizing Wait, this one doesn''t even grant an ability.''


    ''Anatomy tried many times to see if it is possible to get the Nightmare''s ability via the Dark Room as a proxy, but, of course, it didn''t work.''


    ''If it were that easy to get an ability from an Eternal, more people would have one.''

 Chapter 444 444 – Eternal Abilities

    <h4>Chapter 444 Chapter 444 ¨C Eternal Abilities</h4>


    Every Manufacturer lusted for a way to give Extractors the abilities of Eternals.


    After all, the Eternals were the most powerful Specters, and a powerful Specter had to have a powerful ability.


    Sadly, the Eternals were so powerful that one would only gain one of their abilities if they were willing to grant them.


    In order for a human to get an ability or achieve an ability advancement, two prerequisites had to be met.


    First, the Specter''s body had to be in close proximity.


    Second, the Specter needed to produce Zephyx.


    As long as someone was in a situation where both of these prerequisites were met for long enough, one would get an ability if they didn''t already have one.


    So, with these prerequisites in mind, how could someone attain the ability of an Eternal?


    The Sun?


    The Sun was high up in the sky, and it killed every single human that ascended higher than a couple of kilometers.


    Getting close to it was impossible.


    Of course, there was a precedence case with the Champion of Light, but Nick didn''t know how the Champion of Light managed to achieve that.


    The only way Nick could think of was that the Sun had chosen him.


    The Null?


    Being close to the Null meant perceiving it, and perceiving it meant dying.


    Therefore, getting its ability was also basically impossible.


    Sure, Nick managed to get it, but he only managed to get it by getting amnesia at just the right time.


    Also, there was a high likelihood that the Null consciously decided not to kill Nick.


    The Nightmare?


    While the Nightmare''s influence stretched to every dark ce in the world, its actual body was not present.


    Nobody knew where the Nightmare''s body was.


    Humanity only knew that the Nightmare''s body had to be somewhere in the world.


    However, since its body wasn''t anywhere near any human, gaining its ability was also impossible.


    Nurse Alice?


    Well, technically, it was possible to get Nurse Alice''s ability.


    But would Nurse Alice hand over her ability?


    There had been cases in which Nurse Alice looked at a random bystander and killed them.


    It was important to note that these bystanders did not ask for death.


    One had to remember that while Nurse Alice primarily killed the people who asked for death, she was still an extremely powerful Specter and also an intelligent and autonomous being.


    The only thing stopping her from killing people was whether or not she wanted to.


    There was no rule stating that she wasn''t allowed to kill random humans.


    Most likely, the humans she killed randomly had received an ability from her, and she didn''t want her ability to be granted to any human.


    Finally, what about the Maw?


    Funnily enough, the Maw was the only Eternal that gave out its ability regrly.


    Whenever it abducted Extractors for its grand battle royale, it awarded the winner its ability.


    The reason for why it did that was unknown.


    However, since the Maw only abducted Extractors, no one had actually ever received the Maw''s pure ability.


    In order to be abducted, one had to be an Extractor, and to be an Extractor, one had to already have an ability.


    So, the only thing that the Maw actually gave out were ability advancements.


    And that was it.


    There were no more Eternals.


    Getting an ability from an Eternal was almost impossible.


    But that was exactly why everyone wanted to find a way to reliably obtain one.


    Anatomy had experimented with the Dark Room many times.


    The amount of Zephyx the Dark Room produced was unreasonably high for an Early Adolescent, which made them believe that some of the Zephyx had toe from somewhere else.


    Naturally, the most obvious guess would be the Nightmare.


    However, after years of trying and after countless experiments, they had concluded that there was no way to get it.


    In the beginning, the Dark Room had seemed like a potential goldmine, but in the end, it was just an asset.


    Nick looked at the Containment Unit for a while longer before sighing.


    Anyone looking at the Dark Room would have that exciting thought.


    What if?


    What if they were the one?


    What if they managed to do it?


    But in the end, one had to be realistic.


    Anatomy had probably invested hundreds of millions of credits into experimenting on the Dark Room.


    If not even they could do it, how could Nick?


    Naysayers might disagree and highlight the time when Nick had found the Spilling Bottle. After all, the Manufacturers had also searched for that, but only Nick had found them.


    However, people who said that either lived in a fantasy world, were helpless optimists orcked the critical thinking skills to reliably evaluate reality.


    Everyone knew that the Swallowing Swamp had been a Hatchling, and there was basically no incentive to investigate it.


    Wow, great, a Hatchling that was hundreds of meters big.


    Containing that thing would take more money than it would produce in its lifetime.


    Because of that, nobody had really invested considerable resources into the Spilling Bottle.


    That was the only reason why Nick managed to get it.


    If Anatomy or Kugelblitz had just sent 20 Veterans or so to dig through the Swallowing Swamp, they would have found the Spilling Bottle.


    But when it came to the Dark Room, Anatomy had invested a huge amount of resources.


    In fact, they had invested so much that they even feltfortable with giving it to Dark Dream as part of their deal.


    ''I won''t be able to get the Nightmare''s ability with the Dark Room,'' Nick thought. ''Honestly, I shouldn''t even think about it.''


    ''I''ll just treat it like the Agonizing Wait.''


    A momentter, Nick looked away from the Containment Unit containing the Dark Room and focused on the neighboring one.


    ''One more Possession Specter to go,'' Nick thought.


    Nick pushed the Dark Room out of his mind and walked over to the other Containment Unit.


    Then, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

 Chapter 445 445 – The Red Tub

    <h4>Chapter 445 Chapter 445 ¨C The Red Tub </h4>


    Nick walked into the Containment Unit.


    Luckily, the Specter in here wasn''t nearly as bad as the Dark Room.


    In fact, it wasn''t even as bad as the Grey Room.


    This Specter was one that Extractors could work with.


    Nick looked at the middle of the Containment Unit.


    There, he saw a pristine white tub.


    It was about a meter high and seemed to be just big enough for a person to lie in.


    However, while the tub was a pristine white, its contents were bloodred.


    After all, it was filled with blood.


    The tub was filled to the brim with blood, and just by the looks of things, it seemed to almost spill over.


    Just a bit more, and the blood would spill towards the ground.


    Nick slowly approached the tub and inspected it.


    This was the Red Tub, and it was a Late Adolescent Possession Specter.


    ''It doesn''t smell of blood,'' Nick thought as he stood beside it.


    ''Well, no reason to wait. ording to the documentation, I should be able to¡­''


    Nick stretched his right arm forward and submerged it in the tub.


    Surprisingly, the blood in the tub didn''t move at all.


    It was almost like the blood didn''t interact with the physical world.


    Nevertheless, Nick''s armpletely submerged in the tub and seemingly vanished.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''It tingles,'' he thought.


    He didn''t move for a couple of seconds.


    ''Now, it itches.''


    A couple of secondster.


    ''And now, it hurts.''


    Nick took a deep breath and forced himself to wait.


    Suddenly, the blood inside the Red Tub expanded and spilled over the sides.


    A red curtain of flowing blood surrounded the white exterior of the Red Tub.


    Yet, before the blood could reach the ground, it vanished!


    It just became more and more transparent as it fell until it finallypletely vanished.


    Nick''s heart rate increased, and he felt quite nervous.


    After a couple more seconds, he finally pulled his arm out.


    When he saw his arm again, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine.


    There were red tubesing out of his arm, and they were leading back into the Red Tub.


    The red tubes looked exactly like blood vessels, and Nick could see his blood draining from his body and traveling down the tubes.


    Nick grabbed the red tubes with his other hand and pulled.


    SCRTCH!


    The tubes tore out of his arm, but not even a single drop of blood was spilled.


    In fact, the ce where the tubes had been attached to Nick''s arm didn''t even have any holes.


    There was just skin.


    Nick let go of the red tubes, and they slowly pulled back into the Red Tub until they werepletely gone.


    At the same time, the red curtain of blood had also disappeared, and everything returned to how it had been before Nick had entered.


    This was how one worked with the Red Tub.


    The Red Tub grew more powerful by absorbing blood.


    Yes, exactly like the Crimson Fungus.


    Sadly, the Red Tub was nowhere near the level of the Crimson Fungus.


    The Crimson Fungus was an Early Demon, and it also wasn''t a Possession Specter.


    Usually, a Specter like the Red Tub would be viewed quite favorably by Manufacturers.


    After all, blood was a renewable resource, and it could also be purchased from normal people.


    Yet, this city just so happened to have the Crimson Fungus in it, a Demon that also needed blood.


    Naturally, the Crimson Fungus produced far more Zephyx per liter of blood than the Red Tub.


    And since the price of blood had already been attuned to the Crimson Fungus'' Zephyx output, purchasing blood for the Red Tub would not result in a profit.


    Because of that, the Red Tub''s real moneymaking potential remained untapped.


    ''But it''s still good enough for the Extractors,'' Nick thought. ''It hurts, but it''s not nearly as bad as the ze.''


    ''Working with it is also pretty quick, and the only limiting factor is the amount of blood avable.''


    ''We can probably get quite a bit of Zephyx out of this one.''


    Nick looked at the motionless tub for a while longer.


    There was a strange beauty to it.


    Nevertheless, a couple of secondster, Nick walked out of the Containment Unit.


    After leaving, he checked the Zephyx container.


    ''Seven grams. A bit less than expected, but I also didn''t get anywhere close to bing anemic,'' Nick thought. ''If 20 Johns give this thing about a liter of blood per day, we should be able to get something like a hundred grams of Zephyx out of this one.''


    Of course, a normal person would die within a few days if they gave a liter of their blood away every day.


    Luckily, Extractors could regenerate far faster.


    Naturally, when Nick thought of the word regeneration, his mind immediately went to the ability of the Blood Specters, Hyper Regeneration.


    Wouldn''t that ability, in conjunction with the Red Tub, be a great way to make money?


    And for once, that would actually work.


    Sadly, just like the Blood Specters, the healing ability of Hyper Regeneration would be used up after a couple of uses and needed to recover.


    Someone with Hyper Regeneration could probably give over 15 liters of blood to the Red Tub per day, but they would need to work with it several times per day, and they wouldn''t be able to work with it the next day since their ability wouldn''t have recovered yet.


    Nevertheless, maybe it made sense to hire two or three new employees and give them the Hyper Regeneration ability just so that they could work with the Red Tub in the future.


    ''I''ll think about itter,'' Nick thought. ''For now, I should check out thest new Adolescent.''


    Nick walked away from the Containment Unit and went into the Extractor shaft.


    He jumped from the fourth floor to the fifth floor and exited.


    On the fifth floor, Nick looked towards the two western Containment Units and approached the southern one.


    ''I wonder if this one truly is as dumb as it seems on the documentation.''

 Chapter 446 446 – Another Blood Specter

    <h4>Chapter 446 Chapter 446 ¨C Another Blood Specter</h4>


    Nick waited for a short moment in front of the entrance to the Containment Unit.


    Then, he readied himself.


    BANG! BANG!


    Nick entered the Containment Unit as quickly as he could.


    BANG!


    And immediately jumped to the side as a red blur shot past him.


    Yes, this was yet another Blood Specter.


    By now, it was quite obvious that Anatomy had given Dark Dream plenty of Specters that either didn''t produce a lot of Zephyx or were very difficult to work with.


    Of course, Anatomy couldn''t fill the entire lineup with useless Specters since that might create a legal problem for them.


    Because of that, they had given Dark Dream a couple of useful Specters, but only barely enough to count as fulfilling their deal.


    Luckily, all these useless Specters were Adolescents.


    Dark Dream preferred gathering all the trash in the Adolescent ranks so that their Adults were useful.


    Naturally, Blood Specters didn''t produce a lot of Zephyx, and their ability also wasn''t the greatest, but they acted as good training partners for new Extractors.


    Well, usually, that was true.


    ''It''s even dumber than I expected,'' Nick thought as he looked at the Blood Specter.


    BANG!


    A red blur moved diagonally from the floor to the ceiling behind Nick before bouncing off and hitting the ground again.


    Nick easily sidestepped and looked at the Blood Specter.


    In front of Nicky a red fish.


    It was about a meter long and justy on the ground.


    The next moment, it hit the ground with its tailfin, and its body catapulted towards Nick.


    Nick sidestepped again, and the fish''s bloody body hit the wall of the Containment Unit before flopping onto the ground again.


    This was the Blood Fish, and this embarrassment of a Specter was a Peak Adolescent.


    Yet, while it was a Peak Adolescent, even an Early John could win against it with quite a lot of confidence, as long as they had an attack powerful enough to injure it.


    Yes, its body was strong, but pping the ground with a fin wasn''t the most optimal way of using said strength to attack.


    As Nick watched the Blood Fish flopping around the Containment Unit, he imagined the scene of a normal person dying to it.


    Sure, the Blood Fish was silly, but it still weighed several kilos and could throw itself forward at over a hundred kilometers per hour.


    Additionally, it was also quite hard.


    So, yes, while it was ridiculously weak and pitiful for its level, it was still powerful enough to massacre huge numbers of humans.


    But it would look dumb while doing so.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the Blood Fish as it threw itself at him again.


    BANG!


    The Blood Fish hit the wall of the Containment Unit and flopped to the ground.


    ''One more useless Specter from Anatomy,'' Nick thought as he watched it recover.


    ''Who would have thought that there''s a Blood Specter that isn''t even useful for training? I mean, I can send a bunch of Initial Johns in here, but what''s the point? What are they going to train? Avoiding a fish being thrown at them? I can throw fish at them. We don''t need a Specter for that.''


    BANG!


    Nick punched the Blood Fish again when it jumped at him, and just likest time, it hit the wall and flopped to the ground.


    ''This is a Peak Adolescent.''


    ''This is something that Extractors train years for to beat and suppress.''


    ''Well, I guess even the Blood Ancestor isn''t perfect. At least the existence of this stupid fish proves that the creation of the Blood Specters is random, which, in turn, proves that the Blood Ancestor doesn''t have intelligence.''


    BANG!


    ''But seriously, a Peak Adolescent? I would expect something like this as a Hatchling. Even the Blood Hawk is scarier than this, and that''s an Early Hatchling.''


    BANG!


    ''I wonder if it''s actually dangerous if it gets thrown into a pool. Probably. I mean, it''s a fish.''


    BANG!


    Nick punched it onest time and watched it hit the wall once again.


    ''This should be it,'' he thought.


    The Blood Fish remained motionless beside the wall for over 20 seconds.


    ''Yeah, that''s it,'' Nick thought as he walked over to the exit.


    He opened the door.


    SLAP!


    At that moment, the Blood Fish once more threw itself at him, but Nick just pped it to the side.


    ''Okay, but that''s it,'' Nick thought as he walked out of the Containment Unit.


    Then, he closed the door without another incident.


    ''I should just ask Jenny to beat this guy up once a day. There''s no point in sending a normal Extractor in there since there''s nothing to be gained except the couple of grams of Zephyx it would produce.''


    ''Since Jenny is so busy with her job as team leader, she could probably still absorb more Zephyx in a day, and working with this thing is quite easy and quick.''


    Nick walked over to the Zephyx container of the Containment Unit and looked at it.


    ''About 60 grams. As expected,'' Nick thought.


    Naturally, 60 grams of Zephyx was pitiful for a Peak Adolescent.


    ''But I guess pping a fish around for a couple of minutes for a couple thousand credits is a good way to earn afortable living.''


    ''At least, I won''t have issues convincing Extractors to work with this thing.''


    Nick closed the little door leading to the Zephyx containers again and looked at the Extractor shafts.


    ''That''s it. That''s the seven new Adolescents.''


    ''The Conspirator seems pretty useful.''


    ''The Agonizing Wait is just a valuable stone waiting to be sold.''


    ''Same with the Dark Room.''


    ''The Grey Room is very good. Good Zephyx production and nice ability.''


    ''The Berry Bush is actually also quite nice. It might even increase the morale of the employees.''


    ''The Red Tub is okay, I guess. Average Zephyx production but no ability.''


    ''And I guess the Blood Fish can be used as a treat for Extractors that performed well.''


    ''Anyway, that only leaves the three Adults.''


    ''At least those aren''t useless,'' Nick thought as he approached the Extractor shafts.

 Chapter 447 447 – Eye Contact

    <h4>Chapter 447 Chapter 447 ¨C Eye Contact </h4>


    Nick went to the third floor.


    This was where all three of the new Adults resided.


    Nick decided to change the third floor to a floor solely for Adults.


    He felt quite nice when he saw that half of the Containment Units on this floor were filled.


    Together with the ze on the fourth floor, Dark Dream now had five Adults.


    ''And only two Veterans,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''We are allowed to keep the Specters thanks to Julian''s power, but we really need more Veterans. Taren and Jenny should really hurry up.''


    ''Although, even with the two of them, we would still not be even close to working the Adults to peak efficiency.''


    ''Sadly, getting Veterans from outside is basically impossible. We''re not Kugelblitz, after all.''


    Nick stopped thinking about Dark Dream''sck of Veterans and looked towards the northeastern Containment Unit.


    ''ording to the documentation, working with this one should be about as exhausting as working with the Talker,'' Nick thought.


    Nick approached the Containment Unit, took a deep breath, and entered.


    As soon as he entered, his gaze focused on the Specter in the middle of the room.


    It had a humanoid shape, but that was the only thing that made it appear human.


    Its entire body was covered in human eyes with red irises, and all of them frantically looked around the room.


    It didn''t matter where one looked.


    Absolutely every inch of the Specter''s body was covered in these rapidly moving eyes.


    The way the eyes moved seemed desperate and panicked.


    It was almost like they were scanning for a threat.


    As Nick looked at the Specter, he noticed that it was impossible not to make eye contact with it.


    Whenever Nick looked at the Specter, the eyes he focused on turnedpletely still and looked back into his eyes.


    Yet, he could still see the other eyes frantically moving around in his peripheral vision.


    But when his focus went to the moving eyes, they turned still and looked back.


    It was quite disorienting for Nick to see constant movement in his peripheral vision, which always vanished whenever he tried to look at it.


    Nick wasn''t sure which way the Specter was facing since its front and back lookedpletely identical.


    It didn''t even have any joints, essentially turning it into a 2D painting of a human, except that the human was filled with eyes.


    ''This is definitely one of the creepier ones we have,'' Nick thought calmly.


    Nick was a bit creeped out, but he wasn''t really scared.


    He knew what this thing could do, and even if it attacked, Nick was quite confident that he could fight it.


    This was the Early Adult that they had received, and Nick knew that he could suppress it if necessary.


    Several seconds passed in which he only looked at the eyes.


    Then, minutes passed.


    Nothing changed.


    Nick just kept looking at the eyes.


    That was how one worked with this Specter.


    This Specter was called the Attention Seeker, and just as the name implied, it wanted attention.


    Blinking was fine.


    Looking away for a brief moment was also okay, but that moment should not be longer than a second.


    Naturally, working with the Attention Seeker was very simr to working with the Talker. In both cases, one needed to pay constant attention to one task that couldn''t be interrupted.


    In the case of the Talker, one only needed to be active every couple of seconds since the Talker also needed to talk, but during those times, one had to actually put effort into what they were saying.


    Inparison, the Attention Seeker demanded constant attention, but the attention it wanted didn''t need a lot of mental power to be delivered.


    It was just looking.


    In fact, it was even fine to defocus one''s eyes and to stare off into space.


    As long as the pupils of one''s eyes pointed towards the Specter, it was fine.


    For minutes on end, Nick just kept looking from one eye to another.


    Since there were many eyes to look at, it wasn''tpletely boring to look at the Specter.


    Minutes passed.


    Nick spaced out.


    After around half an hour, Nick started to n things in his mind again.


    Suddenly, something in his peripheral vision moved, and Nick focused his eyes again.


    Nick''s eyes opened widely when he noticed that the Specter hade quite a bit closer.


    ''Guess I looked away for too long,'' Nick thought as he looked at the Specter that was now only two meters away from him.


    ''I should be more careful.''


    Sadly, the Attention Seeker did not have any intelligence.


    It workedpletely on instinct.


    If there was nothing living nearby, it just stood there.


    If there was something living nearby, it immediately tried to get its attention.


    Naturally, it did that by attacking the living being.


    As soon as the living being looked at the Specter, it would stop moving and just bask in the attention.


    Funnily enough, since it didn''t move when anyone paid attention to it, nobody knew how it actually attacked.


    After all, nobody had ever seen it attack.


    Of course, that was a bit creepy, but that actually didn''t matter.


    Its behavior was very good for Manufacturers.


    Since it didn''t attack when anyone looked at it, suppressing it was extremely easy.


    Even a John could do it.


    They just needed to walk up to the Specter, lift it, move it away, keep looking at it while doing so, and ce it back in a Containment Unit.


    The thing didn''t attack anyone who looked at it.


    Extractors were even allowed to poke its eyes.


    Although no one had ever attempted to do that.


    This meant that this thing was easy to get back in the Containment Unit if it broke out, and it probably wouldn''t even kill a single person during a containment breach.


    It was one of the safest Specters to have in one''s facility.


    The only bad thing was that working with it could be dangerous for weaker employees.


    If a Veteran spaced out, their Barrier would be strong enough to withstand the Specter''s attacks for long enough that they could look at it, after which the attacks would stop.


    But if a John spaced out, things would not be so easy.


    Nevertheless, that just meant that only Veterans could work with it. As long as a Veteran was working with it, there were no issues.

 Chapter 448 448 – Double Deal

    <h4>Chapter 448 Chapter 448 ¨C Double Deal</h4>


    Since Dark Dream only had two people who could work with this thing anyway, Nick decided to spend about four hours in there.


    The Containment Unit had a clock near the ceiling, and Nick just nced at it from time to time to see how long he had been in here.


    Although, he had to be careful not to look at the clock for too long.


    After around an hour, Nick noticed that he kept losing his focus from time to time, and by now, the Attention Seeker was only a meter in front of him.


    Another hourter, it was standing directly in front of Nick.


    By now, it hade within striking distance.


    But instead of bing afraid, Nick raised an eyebrow in interest.


    If he wanted to, he could just walk around the Specter and go to the wall on the other side of the Containment Unit, putting several meters between them.


    But he decided against it.


    Instead, Nick just kept looking forward.


    And for the next two hours, the Attention Seeker didn''t move.


    Howe?


    Did Nick suddenly start paying more attention?


    No, actually.


    He was just as distracted as before, but that didn''t matter.


    The Specter took up so much of Nick''s peripheral vision that looking away from it basically required Nick to turn his head, and he wasn''t so distracted that he would do that.


    In a way, being closer to the Specter made it easier for Nick to work with it.


    Sure, it felt a bit more threatening, but it made working with it much easier.


    "Gimme a sec. I have to check the clock," Nick said.


    Then, he moved his head to the side and looked past the Specter at the clock.


    Within a second, he went back to his old position.


    "Alright, we can continue," Nick said.


    Silence.


    Naturally, the Specter didn''t answer.


    Instead, its eyes just looked into Nick''s eyes.


    A couple of minutester, the four hours Nick had nned for this session were up.


    ''Time to head out,'' Nick thought. ''But first¡­''


    Nick slowly pushed his right arm forward.


    A momentter, he felt the squishy feeling of his hand touching a bunch of exposed eyes, but he just pushed more.


    The Attention Seeker seemed to float backward as Nick pushed.


    It was almost like it was a human-shaped balloon.


    When Nick pushed it to the middle of the Containment Unit, he walked backward toward the exit.


    He opened the door without looking at it, stepped through, and closed the door in front of him, cutting off the eye contact.


    Nick was quite good at this since he left in a simr way whenever he was done with the Talker.


    ''Alright,'' Nick thought after leaving. ''Let''s check the Zephyx.''


    He walked over to the small door hiding the Zephyx containers and opened it.


    When he saw the Zephyx, his eyebrows rose in positive surprise.


    ''103 grams for about four hours of work,'' Nick thought. ''That''s a bit less than the Talker, but within the same ball park. Although, I have to keep in mind that the Talker is a level higher. If the Attention Seeker advances, it will definitely produce at least the same amount if not more Zephyx than the Talker.''


    ''It''s also quite easy to work with. I could even n a couple of things while working with it.''


    ''Honestly, I prefer working with it than with the Talker.''


    ''Its ability is also excellent for Bruisers.''


    The Attention Seeker''s ability made others look at the ability user through many subtle means.


    A feeling of threat.


    A feeling of being the weak link.


    Weird lights appearing in one''s peripheral vision when one wasn''t looking at the ability user.


    A feeling of interest.


    Strange sounds.


    In short, as long as one didn''t focus on the ability user, focusing on anything became quite difficult.


    After all, one''s focus was always pulled back to the ability user.


    Because of that, nning assaults on other members of a group was very difficult due to the constant distraction.


    The best way to deal with this issue was to kill the ability user, and this kind of attention was exactly what a Bruiser wanted.


    Sure enough, the Adults that Dark Dream had received were far more useful than the Adolescents.


    The Attention Seeker was a great Specter and very useful!


    ''I can probably give Irwin a 12-hour shift with this guy, send him to the Peak Adult, give him a full day of rest, and repeat. I don''t want to work with the Peak Adult before I''m a Peak Veteran myself. Working with that thing is very dangerous, not only for me but also for Dark Dream.''


    Nick looked towards one of the two western Containment Units.


    That was where the Peak Adult was located.


    However, Nick decided to work with that onest.


    For a good reason.


    Working with it basically represented not being able to work with anything for the next 24 hours.


    ''I can think about this er. First, I should look at the Mid Adult,'' Nick thought as he looked towards one of the two eastern Containment Units.


    ''If Anatomy didn''t lie, this one is a Mid Adult that is going to be a Late Adult within the next year. As long as that statement holds true, I don''t need to work with the big one until I''m a Peak Veteran.''


    ''I just hope that they were honest. After all, we demanded a Late Adult during negotiations, but they didn''t want to give us any of the ones they had.''


    ''Instead, they offered us this amazing dual bundle.''


    ''Two Specters that are very simr to each other.''


    ''The light and the dark.''


    ''The good and the bad, and both of them give abilities that are veryplimentary with each other.''


    ''At least, that''s how they phrased it.''


    ''They said theplementary partner is the Early Adult. I didn''t know the identity of the Early Adult during negotiations, but I know now that it is the Attention Seeker.''


    ''So, this one is supposed to be very simr to it.''


    ''And ording to the documentation, it is.''


    ''I just hope it advances soon.''


    Nick walked away from the northeastern Containment Unit and went towards the neighboring one.

 Chapter 449 449 – What’s the Time?

    <h4>Chapter 449 Chapter 449 ¨C What''s the Time? </h4>


    Nick stopped in front of the Containment Unit and readied himself.


    He took a deep breath.


    Then, he closed his eyes and opened the door.


    Nick could not see anything inside the Containment Unit due to his closed eyes, which made him quite nervous.


    Walking towards a threat with closed eyes went against every instinct a human had.


    Nick closed the door behind him and walked towards the right with outstretched arms.


    Squelch!


    Nick suddenly touched something slimy and soft, and he did his very best to not open his eyes.


    He moved his hand around, trying to get past that slimy thing.


    Yet, the slime didn''t seem to end.


    "KI KI KRRR KI KRRR KIKI KI KRRRKII KI KI!"


    An alien, insect-like sound came from directly in front of Nick.


    It was very high-pitched, abrupt, and loud.


    Nick had no idea what kind of creature could make such a noise.


    However, Nick just kept his eyes shut and searched for the wall.


    Eventually, he got past whatever was in front of him and finally managed to touch the wall.


    "What are you doing here?" the voice of a small girl asked innocently from beside Nick.


    However, Nick didn''t answer and just kept searching with his arm.


    "DON''T TOUCH THAT!" the deep voice of a man shouted.


    Nick''s hand flinched, but a momentter, he returned to searching.


    Finally, he found the corner!


    Nick walked towards the corner and sat down.


    "Death is but a temporary respite from torture," a chorus of people spoke from behind Nick.


    Nick didn''t turn around.


    BOOOOOM!


    The sound of a massive explosion came from behind Nick, and he even felt his hair getting blown away by the shockwave.


    Yet, he didn''t turn around.


    Squelch. "AAAAAHHHH!"


    The sound of something sharp piercing through flesh echoed throughout the Containment Unit, apanied by the shrill scream of a dying woman.


    "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! Please, don''t ignore me! I''ll never do it again!" a small boy shouted.


    The next moment, Nick felt something iparably soft touching the back of his neck.


    His body shivered, but Nick didn''t move.


    "Oh,e on," a husky female voice whispered into Nick''s ears. "Don''t you want to take a peek?"


    "I can be whatever you want."


    Nick didn''t do anything.


    "Oh, by the way. What time is it?" a casual male voice asked.


    Silence.


    "Hello? I''m talking to you!"


    Silence.


    "Dude, I''m not doing my thing right now. I genuinely just want to know the time. You can look without getting attacked."


    Silence.


    A sigh.


    "I get that you don''t want to look at me since I always attack whoever looks at me, bute on. I really just want to know the time. You don''t even need to look at me. Just tell me."


    Silence.


    "Just trust me once, okay? You''re pretty strong. I can feel that. At worst, we have a little scuffle, and that''s it. And if that happens, you can be sure that you shouldn''t have looked at me or whatever."


    "I just want to know what time it is. It''s kind of important."


    Silence.


    "Come on, man, I''m alone in here the entire day. You know how boring this is? I just want to talk a bit."


    Silence.


    More silence.


    Minutes of silence.


    "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"


    A terrifyingly loud screech in Nick''s ear.


    Nick''s body shivered, but that was everything he did.


    Silence.


    "AAAAAHHH!"


    Silence.


    Silence.


    Silence.


    "AAAAAHHH!"


    "AAAAHHHH!"


    Silence.


    ''I guess that''s thest phase,'' Nick thought.


    He knew what was happening, but he was still agitated.


    This Specter gained power by being perceived but being ignored, which was funny since it constantly did its best to not be ignored.


    If it wanted to be perceived but ignored, it could just keep humming behind Nick or slowly move its whatever over his back.


    Instead, it tried every trick in the book to get Nick to answer or to look at it, except for actually attacking him.


    ording to the documentation, it was amazing at imitating all kinds of sounds and voices, and it used that ability to get its victims to look at it.


    After which it killed them.


    This was probably one of the strangest Specters in existence due to its contradictory nature.


    It acted like it wanted to kill its only source of power, which was strange.


    Every other Specter wanted to keep their supply of food steady and constant.


    But this one actively provoked people into looking at it when that was actually in opposition to what every Specter wanted, bing powerful.


    In a way, this Specter was really simr to the Attention Seeker, even though the simrity was based on how contrasting the two were.


    It was actually funny and ironic how the guy that wanted to be seen actually didn''t say or do anything to get said attention, while the guy that wanted to be ignored did his best to be seen.


    ''Seriously, this one should be called the Attention Seeker. Not the other one,'' Nick thought as another shrill scream came from beside his right ear.


    Working with this Specter was always the same.


    First, it tried its best to get someone''s attention.


    It used screeches, sounds, begging, threatening, and all manners of distracting acts.


    And when it realized that it wouldn''t get any attention, it defaulted to bing the most annoying thing in existence.


    People weren''t sure if it did that because it thought this was the greatest chance of gaining attention or if this was just to spite and annoy the Extractor working with it.


    It just randomly became silent and imperceivable for a random period of time, ranging from anywhere between one second and one hour.


    Then, it screeched loudly in one''s ear and became silent again.


    Rinse and repeat.


    Working with it wasn''t very dangerous since keeping one''s eyes closed was actually pretty easy, but it was probably one of the most aggravating and frustrating things to do.


    The constant jump scares of having someone screech in one''s ear were insanely infuriating.


    ''I get why Anatomy named this one the Annoying One.''


    "AAAAAHHH!"

 Chapter 450 450 – Regretful Ability

    <h4>Chapter 450 Chapter 450 ¨C Regretful Ability</h4>


    "AAAAHHH!"


    Nick stood up.


    ''Alright, that''s enough! The rm didn''t ring yet, but I''m done with this fucking thing!'' Nick thought.


    ''I don''t know how long I''ve been in here, but it''s been long enough!''


    "Hey, hey, hey, where are you going? Can''t you stay just a bit longer?" the voice of a nervous child spoke.


    Nick ignored it and searched for the exit.


    Instead, he touched a bunch of slime, which was blocking his way.


    "Come on, just stay a bit longer," the sad voice of a big man said.


    Nick searched for a way to get past the slime, but the slime just seemed to move with him, keeping him from reaching the entrance.


    After around a minute of trying, Nick stopped moving.


    He wanted to warn the Annoying One, but that would just provoke an attack.


    Ironically, attacking it had a lower chance of provoking an attack than talking to it.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Then, he moved his arm towards the slime with a lot of force.


    "Hey, watch it! This took hours to get right!" the voice of a disgusted woman shouted.


    Nick shoved the slime to the side, and he felt the heavy weight of the Specter shift.


    "You fucking asshole!" the Specter shouted from the side. "I''ll fucking kill you!"


    BANG!


    An explosion came from Nick''s right, and he felt a strong wind.


    However, he just slowly kept walking towards the direction where the exit should be.


    In the end, no attack arrived.


    Finally, Nick arrived at the exit.


    "Fine, you win this time," the voice of a moping child spoke.


    Then, Nick opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind him.


    Outside the Containment Unit, Nick took a deep breath and opened his eyes.


    The light in the hallway almost blinded him, but he was almost d to be blinded since that meant that he didn''t need to work with the Annoying One anymore.


    At least, not today.


    ''Honestly, I would much rather work with the Talker. Talking for eight hours is way better than sitting in this Containment Unit for an hour!''


    Nick took another deep breath in annoyance.


    But then, he sighed in helplessness.


    ''But the Annoying One needs to be worked with constantly to assure that it will be a Late Adult soon, and we only have two people who can work with it.''


    ''I guess I''m forced to work with it for around 12 hours per day if I want it to advance within the next year.''


    ''Maybe I''ll just make some earplugs and get some kind of vibrating rm to know when the time is up.''


    ''Ah fuck, I forgot! The documentation said that if it notices that we can''t hear it, it starts putting its slimy appendages down our shirts, and it even starts sexually molesting us!''


    Nick groaned.


    ''This fucking guy!''


    ''Is this why Anatomy wanted us to have this guy so badly?''


    Nick looked at the console and checked the time.


    ''Two hours and 42 minutes. That''s how long I''ve been in there.''


    Then, he looked at the little door leading to the Zephyx container.


    ''Let''s see if it produced a good amount of Zephyx, at least.''


    Nick walked over and opened the door.


    ''About 80 grams,'' Nick thought. ''That puts it at about the same level as the Talker.''


    Nick sighed again.


    ''I guess there really is no excuse for not working with this thing except for annoyance.''


    Nick closed the door again and looked at the entrance to the Containment Unit.


    ''At least there''s one good thing about this specimen.''


    ''Its ability!''


    The Annoying One had the opposite ability of the Attention Seeker.


    Instead of pulling attention toward the user, attention was pulled away from the user.


    Someone affected by the ability would find other random things much more interesting than the user.


    It was like the user of the ability turned into an unassuming little grey man that didn''t elicit any attention.


    While the Attention Seeker''s ability was perfect for Bruisers, the Annoying One''s ability was perfect for Runners and Assassins.


    Naturally, after looking at the ability, one would think that this would be perfect for Nick.


    And one would be right.


    ''If I had known this Specter existed, I would have chosen it for my ability advancement when I became a Veteran,'' Nick thought.


    ''But now, it''s toote.''


    During ability advancement, an Extractor could only choose an ability from a stronger Specter.


    An ability from a weaker Specter would not work.


    It wasn''t important how much stronger the Specter was. It was only important that it was stronger.


    Nick could use an Elder, a Fanatic, or even a Demon to advance if he managed to be an Expert in the future.


    However, he couldn''t use Hatchlings, Adolescents, or Adults.


    If he wanted to use the Annoying One for his ability advancement, he would need the Annoying One to be an Elder first.


    And that would take at least two decades, and it might even never happen.


    Not every Specter could advance to the Elder Stage.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t willing to wait for that long.


    Julian''s fast growth put a lot of pressure on Nick.


    ''Well, there''s nothing I can do about it anymore. Also, I''m not even sure if that ability would have been better.''


    ''The ability to blind my enemies has already saved my life, and I can even create some light in the darkness.''


    ''I guess it depends on what I value more, staying hidden for longer or being able to escape after already being detected.''


    A momentter, he looked at the western Containment Unit.


    ''I should get everything prepared for the next 24 hours. I don''t want to take any chances.''


    Nick left the third floor and went to his office.


    For the next couple of hours, he made several ns and put his affairs in order.


    He wouldn''t be involved in Dark Dream for the next 24 hours.


    Then, he went back to the third floor and stopped in front of thest Containment Unit.


    ''As long as I don''t do anything, nothing should happen,'' Nick thought.

 Chapter 451 451 – Ten out of Ten

    <h4>Chapter 451 Chapter 451 ¨C Ten out of Ten</h4>


    Nick took a deep breath and opened the door leading to the Peak Adult.


    Nick was still a Mid Veteran, which meant that he was quite a bit weaker than a Peak Adult.


    Additionally, there was nowhere to hide inside a Containment Unit, making Nick even more nervous.


    If that thing attacked, Nick would actually be in danger.


    However, ording to the documentation, it should not attack.


    When Nick opened the door, he looked inside and saw a dead tree in the middle of the Containment Unit.


    The tree barely had any roots and looked like it was close to falling over.


    It was barely two meters tall, and it only had a single branching out from its trunk.


    However, the tree was actually not the Specter.


    This tree was just something that the Specter owned.


    The Specter had been found with that tree, and when they tried to take it away from the Specter, it started attacking.


    In the end, it was determined that letting the dead tree stay with the Specter was the best idea.


    As long as it had its tree, the Specter wouldn''t be nearly as aggressive.


    On top of the single branch of the tree, Nick saw it.


    A ck crow.


    That was it.


    It was just a ck crow.


    Crows used to appear in Crimson City in the past, but the appearance of the Crimson Sea had effectively killed all of them and made it impossible for new ones to appear.


    While the outside world was mostly dead, there were some asional birds flying from one city to another.


    Birds were probably the only animals that could somewhat traverse the outside world, but if they wanted food, they needed to go to a city.


    When Nick appeared, the crow turned its head to look at him.


    It turned its head very calmly and slowly, and when Nick saw its eyes looking at him, he felt like his heart had just stopped.


    Fear exploded inside his heart, and he felt like he was about to die.


    Nick was involuntarily reminded of the first time the Dreamer had noticed him in the sewers.


    It was the feeling of being looked at by one''s greatest predator.


    Cold sweat broke out all over Nick''s body, but he didn''t move.


    A couple of seconds passed.


    Finally, the crow looked away again and focused on a random point on the wall.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''That should be it,'' he thought.


    Nick walked over to the entrance of the Containment Unit and very carefully opened it.


    After stepping out, Nick closed the door and checked over three times to see if it was really locked.


    Nick''s heart rate spiked, and he very slowly and carefully opened the small door leading to the Zephyx containers.


    When he saw the Zephyx container, Nick took another deep breath.


    ''980 grams! Almost an entire kilo!'' Nick thought in shock.


    ''980 grams of revenue without any financial investment. That''s insanely profitable!''


    Nick left the Zephyx container in there and carefully closed the door.


    Finally, he slowly walked towards the stairs and climbed them.


    While Nick was walking towards his office, he felt extremely vignt and nervous.


    Only when he entered his office and closed the door did he somewhat calm down.


    ''And now, I have to remain here for the next 24 hours,'' Nick thought.


    Nick thought back to the crow.


    ''It produces a crazy amount of Zephyx, but it takes someone out ofmission for 24 hours in return. Additionally, working with it is extremely dangerous.''


    If Nick had to rate his Specters on a scale of one to ten when it came to how dangerous it was to work with the Specter, the Bleeding Lady would be a three. She could attack an Extractor, but that rarely happened, and it was quite easy to see when she got mad.


    The Money Sink and the Dreamer were ones since they didn''t even want to attack anyone.


    The Talker would probably be a seven or something simr. The guy would definitely attack, and one had to be quite good at going out of the Containment Unit before that happened.


    The Attention Seeker was probably a two or something like that. Sure, it could attack, but it wouldn''t get more than one attack out before someone definitely looked at it.


    And the crow?


    That was a full ten.


    Working with it was extremely dangerous.


    So, what did it do?


    The name of the crow was the Tragedy, and it gained power by stealing luck.


    Anyone who entered the Tragedy''s Containment Unit would lose all their luck, and only bad luck would happen to them within the next 24 hours.


    Naturally, in a world filled with Specters and greedy Manufacturers, having bad luck could very quickly prove fatal.


    If Nick randomly walked around outside, one of the metal tes below him might break.


    In reflex, Nick would look down, and he might identally look at a small part of the Crimson Sea peeking through the ground.


    Alternatively, Nick might walk across a powerful hidden Specter that was searching for a new victim.


    Maybe a powerful Specialist from Anatomy or Kugelblitz woulde across Nick just when Nick went into a lonely alley, and with no witnesses around, they might decide to kill him.


    Naturally, walking around outside the city would be even worse.


    Because of that, Nick couldn''t possibly leave Dark Dream during that time.


    But even inside Dark Dream, problems could ur.


    If Nick worked with another Specter, it would be like asking for trouble.


    Maybe the Talker wouldn''t find the conversation stimting enough and immediately attacked.


    Maybe Nick would think of an especially interesting thought while working with the Attention Seeker and lose his focus for a while.


    Maybe Nick would fall for one of the Annoying One''s tricks.


    Maybe Nick would lose all his bets while working with the Gambler.


    Maybe Nick would identally kill the Blood Fish while punching it.


    Maybe the Conspirator just so happened to talk about a conspiracy that perfectly aligned with Nick''s beliefs.


    Maybe Julian would get nervous while looking at Nick and ask himself if he was underestimating Nick.


    No matter what Nick did, it would turn into a tragedy.


    Hence, the name.


    So, the only thing Nick could do was to stay in his office, not interact with anyone, and maybe just train a bit.


    That was all he could do for the next 24 hours.


    Luckily, the effect onlysted for 24 hours.


    Nick couldn''t imagine having only bad luck for his entire life.


    That sounded absolutely horrible.


    How would anyone be able to survive that?

 Chapter 452 452 – Plan for the Future

    <h4>Chapter 452 Chapter 452 ¨C n for the Future</h4>


    For the next 24 hours, Nick only trained inside his room.


    Since the building was incorporated into the megastructure, the walls were extremely hard, and Nick would need to use all of his power to damage them.


    A constant feeling of nervousness apanied Nick, and he only calmed down when the 24 hours were up.


    Nothing happened within those 24 hours.


    However, that wasn''t due to luck but due to his preparations beforehand and his actions during the period.


    No one had relied on him within thest 24 hours, and no one had been in contact with him.


    ording to Anatomy''s documentation, the bad luck was like an aura, and it only affected the surroundings of the person.


    If someone with the bad luck aura walked around, only bad things in their immediate vicinity would ur.


    Anatomy tested this by giving Extractors a very precious but very fragile treasure.


    Having that thing fall over or get destroyed would be terrible luck.


    Additionally, since that thing was already very fragile, it would be very easy for the bad luck to destroy it.


    If bad luck acted like water, it would definitely affect this part first since it would be the path of least resistance.


    Yet, as long as the object was not in the same room as the Extractor or within a couple of meters, nothing would happen to it.


    Even if random factors like wind or animals were introduced, the chances of the object breaking were not higher than normal.


    However, if that object were ced close to the Extractor, it would get destroyed within minutes.


    The longest time the object had survived was 14 minutes.


    So, as long as someone isted themselves from the outside world during the period, nothing crazy would happen.


    Sadly, this meant that the Extractor had to be put out ofmission for a full 24 hours.


    Even if an emergency happened, the Extractor couldn''t get involved since their involvement would make things worse instead of better.


    If a Specter broke out and an Extractor with the bad luck aura got involved, chances were that three more Specters would break out within the next couple of minutes.


    It was imperative to not interact with the Extractor in any shape or form!


    In Nick''s case, he couldn''t even work.


    If he wrote documents, a terrible error might sneak into them, which could prove horrible for Dark Dream''s financials.


    If he nned something, he might identally overlook something of critical importance and identally send an Extractor to their death.


    He couldn''t do anything except train.


    At least the ability of the Tragedy was good.


    Someone with that ability could destroy all the luck of an enemy in exchange for almost all of their Zephyx.


    This could prove devastating to an enemy''s lineup.


    The ability could also be used on Specters.


    With no luck, chances were high that the Specter would run in the wrong direction and get caught more easily.


    Sadly, people with this ability could basically only use it once per fight, and after they used it, they became useless until their Zephyx recovered.


    When the 24 hours were up, Nick left his office and did his daily duties of checking up on all the Specters and their Zephyx containers.


    Some timeter, Nick reviewed every new Specter and created new ns for them.


    Dark Dream had 38 Extractors and 28 Specters in total.


    That was not a great ratio.


    In general, a Manufacturer wanted three Extractors per Specter.


    Some Specters required only one Extractor, but some of them required more.


    This meant that Dark Dream needed to double the number of their Extractors.


    Especially bad was the fact that Dark Dream wascking Veterans.


    Irwin was the only Veteran besides Nick.


    Nick tasked Irwin to work with the Annoying One for twelve hours.


    After that, Irwin would visit the Tragedy.


    Then, he would get two days off work, but he would need to stay inside an isted room for the first 24 hours.


    Luckily, Irwin didn''t have a life outside work due to the things that had happened a couple of months ago.


    Nick would work with the Annoying One for twelve hours a day, do his daily duties, visit the Grey Room to gain some time to n and organize things, and work on these things for the remainder of the day.


    Then, everything would repeat.


    The highest priority right now was to get the Annoying One to advance.


    Nick wanted to avoid working with the Tragedy until it was absolutely necessary since that put him out ofmission for an entire day.


    And that was basically it when it came to the Adults.


    Nobody worked with the Talker.


    Nobody worked with the Attention Seeker.


    The Annoying One was only worked with for about 66% of the time.


    And the Tragedy was barely worked with.


    Nick and Taren visited the ze from time to time, but there wasn''t much to do there.


    Sadly, Dark Dream did not have enough powerful people to work with the Adults, and they were essentially throwing potential profits out of the window.


    But there wasn''t much they could do in the short term.


    The only thing they could do was wait, hire more people, and put more effort into training their people.


    Luckily, Nick was no longer under pressure when it came to finding Adults.


    His path to advancement was open, and the only thing he needed to do now was to work.


    Nick worked on Dark Dream''s development every single day.


    The first thing he did was to talk with Taren and Jenny about their future ns.


    Dark Dream needed Veterans, but not every John was willing to get through the torturous process of achieving Zephosis.


    Nick wanted to be absolutely sure that his two team leaders wanted to be Veterans.


    Naturally, Taren immediately answered positively.


    His career had be his life, and he wanted to be more and more powerful.


    He would definitely try to achieve Zephosis.


    He even agreed to get restrained so that he didn''t eat or drink anything.


    However, things were not that clear for Jenny.


    She was not sure if she wanted to go through something so horrible just for her job.

 Chapter 453 453 – Two Years

    <h4>Chapter 453 Chapter 453 ¨C Two Years</h4>


    It was not expected for every Extractor to go through the process of achieving Zephosis due to how brutal the experience was.


    That was also the reason why only a third to a fourth of all Johns managed to be Veterans.


    However, as a team leader, it was expected that Jenny would undergo Zephosis.


    With so many Adolescents and Adults now, Dark Dream expected to gain many more Veterans, and it wouldn''t be appropriate for a John to be a team leader.


    Jenny said that she would give Nick her answer within seven days.


    And seven dayster, her answer arrived.


    Yes, she would do it.


    In the past, Jenny used to have a partner, but things didn''t work out very well, and they broke up about two or so years ago.


    Her partner had not been an Extractor, and she had been the main reason why Jenny wasn''t willing to put all of her power into her job.


    But ever since they broke up, Jenny had been in a bit of a limbo.


    She was interested in getting a new partner, but it wasn''t easy for someone like her to get one.


    It wasn''t that there were not enough suitors. Far from it! As a beautiful young woman with a lot of money, she had many suitors.


    The issue was that she just didn''t click with anyone.


    After working with Specters for nearly a decade now, Jenny had changed quite a bit.


    Her outlook was very different, and she easily got bored by the interests of normal people.


    And well, romance between Extractors of different Manufacturers was a no-go due to a conflict of interest.


    Romance with one of her employees was also a no-no due to the power imbnce.


    Sure, Taren and Irwin could fit, but those two just weren''t to Jenny''s taste.


    In thest seven days, Jenny had thought a lot about her life, and in the end, she decided that she wanted to put more into her work.


    That was why she decided to go through with it.


    Five monthster, ten years after joining Dark Dream, Jenny did it.


    It was brutal, but she had a lot of willpower and managed to do it.


    Three days without sleep, water, or food.


    She had achieved Zephosis.


    Shortly after she had achieved Zephosis, she had also undergone her ability advancement and became a Veteran.


    Another yearter, Taren also became a Veteran.


    ording to him, achieving Zephosis was easier than expected.


    11 years after being established, Dark Dream now had four Veterans.


    During this time, Nick also advanced a level and finally became a Late Veteran.


    His speed of advancement was unprecedented.


    A Late Veteran at the age of 27 was crazy.


    Jenny and Taren had both be Veterans in their early 30s, which was also fast, but that wasn''t even close to Nick''s speed.


    Dark Dream''s growth had also skyrocketed.


    Even with Jenny and Taren having advanced, Dark Dream still had ten Peak Johns and twelve more Johns of different levels.


    Sure, these numbers were not very crazy, considering that two entire years had passed, but things changed when one looked at the Newbies.


    Nine Peak Newbies.


    Nine Late Newbies.


    Nine Mid, nine Early, and nine Initial Newbies.


    45 Newbies.


    A number of 45 Newbies was very impressive, even for other Manufacturers.


    The number of Newbies a Manufacturer had showed how great they were at creating new Extractors.


    And for once, Dark Dream wasn''t the worst in that department.


    Even if one ignored Kugelblitz and Anatomy, who barely had any Newbies since they simply pulled experienced Extractors from smaller Manufacturers, Dark Dream still didn''t have the lowest number of Newbies.


    In fact, Sce had the lowest number, at only about 20.


    Gemini, a Manufacturer that partially specialized in making Newbies, also only had 50, just a couple more than Dark Dream.


    Only Ghosty''s Lab with 80 Newbies had a lot more.


    When it came to creating new Extractors, Dark Dream was in third ce and almost rivaled second ce.


    Sadly, they only had 22 Johns for now, putting them in thest spot as long as one ignored Kugelblitz.


    After all, Kugelblitz didn''t need weak Extractors.


    When the Newbies of Dark Dream walked around outside, they were no longer being constantly looked at by Newbies from other Manufacturers.


    In the past, since Dark Dream had been so much smaller than all the other Manufacturers, Newbies from Dark Dream had been singled out.


    Not anymore!


    Now, it was normal to see the asional Newbie from Dark Dream walking around.


    Within these two years, Dark Dream had also acquired a new Specter.


    It was called the ck Knife, and it was a Hatchling Possession Specter.


    If it cut someone, they would receive a dangerous disease that hijacked the nervous system to send signals to all muscles, creating powerful spasms that could tear someone apart.


    The ck Knife had killed many humans outside, and Dark Dream had chanced upon it.


    Luckily, Newbies could survive the disease.


    The severity of the disease varied based on the victim''s power, of course.


    A normal human would die within three days.


    An Initial Newbie had a high chance of dying within seven days. Luckily, Recovery Liquid could get rid of it.


    An Early Newbie would survive the disease, but they would be in agony for a week.


    A Mid Newbie would feel pretty bad for three days.


    A Late Newbie would feel bad for one day.


    A Peak Newbie would feel a bit bad for a couple of hours.


    Taren decided to only let Late Newbies and Peak Newbies work with it, but he would prioritize Peak Newbies.


    Of course, since the firstyer of the fourth floor had already been filled, a secondyer was created, and the ck Knife officially became the first Specter of the secondyer of the fourth floor.


    While the Specters had not increased by a lot in these two years, the number of Extractors had more than doubled.


    However, Dark Dream was nowhere near done growing.

 Chapter 454 454 – Dark Future

    <h4>Chapter 454 Chapter 454 ¨C Dark Future</h4>


    While Dark Dream was busy growing, the Extractors in the city became more and more nervous.


    Things have changed since Anatomy captured that Late Demon two years ago.


    Coral people started to appear in the city.


    In the beginning, the coral people were rather rare, but after two years, they appeared almost daily.


    Even more, all of these coral people were Extractors.


    So, where did theye from?


    Naturally, everyone knew that the coral people worked for Anatomy, but not everyone knew who these coral people had been before they had been infected by the corals.


    Well, two years ago, after Anatomy had captured the Sea King, the coral Specter, they had be far more active when it came to encroaching on the territory of other cities.


    Capturing Extractors belonging to Crimson City was obviously a no-go, which was why Anatomy started to focus on the cities to the west and to the south, but mainly the one to the west.


    Due to the vast domain of the Corrosive Dust, going to Darksky City in the south was very difficult.


    Additionally, Anatomy seemed to have a deal with Metal Works City to the east, and they also never really went there.


    Because of that, the city about 150 kilometers to the west, Stone Crystal City, was the one that had the most conflicts with Anatomy.


    The conflicts had gotten worse and worse over the years, and by now, even Kugelblitz avoided sending people toward the West.


    After all, Stone Crystal City knew what was going on, and the Manufacturers there obviously wouldn''t just keel over and die.


    No, they would fight back and take revenge.


    Since Anatomy kept attacking them, they would fight back against Crimson City.


    Several Manufacturers had alreadyined to the governor since they were suffering as well, but the governor only told Anatomy to calm down a bit.


    Of course, that only made Anatomy act more covertly but with just as much intensity.


    Naturally, Anatomy took the most damage out of all the Manufacturers, and they had lost several Experts and even two Specialists.


    However, they had also gained a Specialist and a couple of Experts in the form of coral people.


    With the addition of the three Specialists they had gained when they had captured the Sea King, they now had four Specialists, seven Experts, and around 20 Veterans as coral people.


    On paper, Anatomy was losing employees due to the constant conflicts, but when one included the coral people, Anatomy was actually gaining employees.


    The only downside was that the coral people couldn''t work with Specters and, therefore, couldn''t produce any Zephyx of their own.


    However, every coral person increased the amount of Zephyx the Sea King produced passively.


    Of course, Kugelblitz saw what was going on, but they didn''t seem to do anything, which confused everyone.


    If Anatomy kept expanding like this, they would sooner orter overtake Kugelblitz.


    So, why wasn''t Kugelblitz doing anything?!


    Nobody knew.


    As more years passed, things only got worse.


    Three yearster, Anatomy had transformed almost 50% of its employees into coral people.


    Of course, they didn''t actually transform them. They just exchanged their employees'' lives for prisoners who were turned into coral people.


    However, in total, Anatomy seemed to lose more employees than they were gaining.


    That was different from how it had been three years ago.


    But that wasn''t due to Stone Crystal City.


    It was Kugelblitz.


    It seemed like Kugelblitz was finally waging a secret war against Anatomy.


    While none of the battles had been noticed by anyone outside the two Manufacturers, the results spoke for themselves.


    Kugelblitz had lost quite a few employees during "excursions".


    Kugelblitz seemed to focus on the living employees instead of the coral people, and the reason was quite obvious.


    They wanted to put even more pressure on Anatomy''s living employees.


    They wanted to make Anatomy''s employees leave Anatomy.


    Sadly, that was easier said than done.


    Contracts made by Kugelblitz and Anatomy were extremely overbearing, and quitting any of them would put the person in prison for over ten years.


    Of course, that was absolutely insane!


    Ten years of prison for just quitting?!


    However, Anatomy and Kugelblitz had worked together several decades ago when they hade up with these contracts.


    Together, they had influenced the city''s government to make these contracts legal.


    Sadly, the true destiny of someone who quit Anatomy wasn''t really prison.


    Sure, they would be sent to prison, but almost all of them "mysteriously vanished".


    The most popr theory was that they were secretly turned into coral people, but that couldn''t be confirmed since none of them showed up in the city again.


    If Anatomy turned them into coral people, they would be hiding somewhere inside Anatomy.


    And the governor no longer inspected Anatomy.


    With Anatomy bing more and more powerful, the governor was also in more and more danger.


    Luckily for the smaller Manufacturers, this huge conflict left Kugelblitz and Anatomy busy with other things, which meant that they could find Specters more easily.


    However, all of them suspected that this might only be a temporary respite before disaster.


    The Manufacturers suspected that Anatomy wanted to rece all of their employees with coral people, creating a perfectly uniform and loyal work force.


    Even more, all the coral people were connected to each other via the Sea King.


    Every coral person could see what every other coral person could.


    Assassinating a single coral person was almost impossible since every other coral person would immediately know when one of them was in a conflict.


    Of course, Anatomy''s employees could also tell what was going on.


    But what were they supposed to do?!


    They couldn''t quit, or they would die!


    If they stayed, they would also die!


    If they ran towards the west or south, they would be killed by Stone Crystal City and Darksky City.


    If they ran towards the east, they were delivered back to Anatomy by Metal Works City.


    Towards the north was the gigantic sea, and nobody knew if they could survive there.


    So, the only way to flee was to somehow get past one of the cities in secret.


    But that was extremely risky.


    Things became worse and worse.


    Yet, the governor wasn''t doing anything, and Kugelblitz seemed to only engage Anatomy a little bit.


    The future looked dark.

 Chapter 455 455 – Covered Up

    <h4>Chapter 455 Chapter 455 ¨C Covered Up</h4>


    Of course, things didn''t improve over the next couple of years.


    The issue with Anatomy just kept getting worse and worse, and yet, no one really seemed to try to stop them.


    Sure, Kugelblitz was having a couple of covert battles, but the losses on both sides were not as brutal as one might think.


    They were more like small skirmishes instead of actual battles, which was strange.


    Didn''t Kugelblitz realize that they were going to get destroyed by Anatomy at some point if they didn''t do anything?


    "It''s the shareholders," Julian told Nick one day. "The 30% that are owned by random people do not want to risk losing all of their investment, and Wilfred is also on edge."


    Wilfred Langley was Kugelblitz''s CEO and owned 30% of thepany.


    He was a CEO who mostly worked in the back and left most of thepany''s duties to Aria and Vernon.


    Wilfred was also only a weak Specialist.


    "From what I could tell," Julian said, "Wilfred refuses to take any fights that pose a significant risk to Kugelblitz. He only allows Extractors to attack if they have a 90% chance of sess without any casualties. As long as the prognosis is not a wless victory, he won''t allow anyone to attack Anatomy."


    "And since the normal shareholders are only interested in keeping their investment safe, they also won''tmit to any big actions."


    "Of course, not all shareholders share the same opinion, but it''s still enough that it is essentially 50% against 50% when ites to the war. Kugelblitz has a 60% rule, where a decision has to get 60% of the votes to be approved, essentially making it impossible for Kugelblitz to go all-out against Anatomy."


    Naturally, Julian knew all of this since he had many friends amongst the shareholders of Kugelblitz.


    ''So, Anatomy gets to do all of these things because Kugelblitz''s power is scattered amongst several people with their own selfish interests,'' Nick thought. ''If Aria or Vernon owned 60% of Kugelblitz, Anatomy wouldn''t be able to grow this quickly.''


    Of course, this reminded Nick of the city in general.


    The Manufacturers were also allowed to do whatever they wanted essentially since all of the city''s forces were scattered.


    ''One human can be kind, but a group of people will only be interested in their own good,'' Nick thought. ''Giving corporations power in the government will only be detrimental to the people.''


    The image of the governor appeared in Nick''s mind.


    ''And that''s all because you let them,'' he thought with disgust. ''You''re so afraid of losing your privileged and safe position that you let this chaos continue!''


    ''Why didn''t you immediately join Kugelblitz as soon as things got a little out of control? Did you think that it would be easier in the future?''


    ''Or are you already secretly on Anatomy''s side?''


    Whenever Nick thought of the governor, disgust and revulsion bubbled inside of him.


    ''The governor''s weakness is the reason why this city is such a nightmare for the normal people!''


    Of course, Nick wasn''t referring to physical weakness but mental weakness, the inability to act decisively during a crisis.


    ''Sadly, there''s nothing I can do for now. I can only continue strengthening Dark Dream.''


    And so, three more years passed, and Nick was now 33 years of age.


    During these three years, things only got worse.


    Anatomy only had 20% of its original employees left.


    However, they had gained over 100 coral people, and all of them were Veterans or stronger.


    During the past few years, Anatomy even managed to capture ten Specialists from other cities!


    It was so bad that Stone Crystal City even officiallyined to Crimson City.


    If they didn''t stop this rampant attack, they would refuse to trade with them, and they would attack every single person from Crimson City on sight.


    They would even send their Heroes into Crimson City''s domain to kill their weak Extractors!


    Obviously, this would be horrible for Crimson City.


    And yet, the governor did nothing!


    He just reprimanded Anatomy.


    He didn''t even give them a sanction or fine to pay!


    By now, Nick was quite sure that the governor was on Anatomy''s side.


    There was simply no other exnation for his actions.


    Naturally, many other people also believed that, and Kugelblitz faced another internal war in the form of a vote.


    Ban the governor from working with the Crimson Fungus?


    Once more, the opinions were split, but this time, surprisingly, the other way around.


    The random shareholders and Wilfred wanted to ban the governor, but Aria and Vernon voted against it.


    ording to Aria and Vernon, as soon as they threw the governor out, he would fully fall into Anatomy''s camp.


    Additionally, they said that they believed that the governor was still neutral in this conflict.


    Again, the vote didn''t go through, and nothing changed.


    The governor still enjoyed preferential treatment from both sides.


    So, once more, a sudden paradigm shift was avoided, and the future continued its slow descent into the abyss.


    Yet, there was one positive thing that happened this year.


    The Crimson Sea had been fully covered!


    After around a decade of work, the city had finally managed to expand to its old size, and since the entire city was constructed with new stainless steel, there were no holes in the ground anymore.


    There was no more red curtain surrounding the city!


    There was no constant fear about looking down anymore!


    The city looked very simr to its appearance from before the Crimson Sea, except that its outeryer wasn''t made of rusty sheets of metal.


    The entire city seemed beautiful and clean.


    Yet, below the surface, things were still the same.


    There were still no sewers.


    Well, the people shat into pipes that dumped all of their excrement into the Crimson Sea, technically making it a sewer or cesspit, but it wasn''t really a sewer.


    And yet, the people did not feel better in any way.


    With the rising threat of Anatomy, the people almost wished back the time when the Crimson Sea had just broken out.


    At least back then, they knew what would be waiting for them.

 Chapter 456 456 – Dark Dream Becoming Powerful

    <h4>Chapter 456 Chapter 456 ¨C Dark Dream Bing Powerful</h4>


    Things became more and more problematic.


    However, Dark Dream continued to grow, and when it came to Newbies and Johns, they had be legitimately scary now.


    Dark Dream''s number of Newbies had not increased much. They only went from 45 to 50.


    However, six years had passed since they had increased the number of their Newbies so drastically, and many of the Newbies had already be Johns.


    Dark Dream now had a whopping 75 Johns!


    They had even more Johns than Sce and Gemini, with both of them only having 50 each!


    Anatomy used to have more Johns than Dark Dream as well, but they had lost almost all of them, leaving them with only something like 20.


    Only Ghosty''s Lab had more Johns than Dark Dream, with 170.


    Of course, since they were only Johns, they didn''t increase Dark Dream''s power by a lot.


    However, having a lot of employees had some benefits.


    For example, the Johns and Newbies stumbled upon way more Specters inside the city.


    Ever since the Crimson Sea had been covered, more Specters appeared within the city again, and Dark Dream had managed to catch a few.


    For example, they had caught three Hatchling Possession Specters over the years.


    Of course, since they were only Hatchlings, they were not worth that much, but they could be used to train a couple of new employees.


    That was also the reason why Dark Dream''s number of Newbies had increased a bit.


    They had also caught an Adolescent Possession Specter, but working with it wasn''t easy.


    Nevertheless, Dark Dream now had 13 Possession Specters, which was nothing to scoff at.


    They had also caught four Adolescent Physical Specters. Two of those could be used to train weak Johns and Newbies, while the other two were just regr Specters, basically.


    However, all of these were only Dark Dream''s unimportant catches.


    As for important catches, they had made two.


    One of them was called the Trail of Stars, named after the mythical concept of stars, which were supposed to be objects that were in the sky.


    However, these obviously didn''t exist since nobody had seen even one of them.


    The Trail of Stars was moving trail of appearing and disappearing stars, which seemed to have been made by small children.


    The Trail of Stars could fly, disperse, and regather.


    Yes, the Trail of Stars was a Force Specter, and Dark Dream had managed to catch it.


    The Trail of Stars gained power by fulfilling wishes in a devious manner.


    For example, if someone wished that they wouldn''t need to go to work tomorrow, that person might find their ce of work blown to bits and their boss killed.


    If someone wished for some food, they might find themselves getting captured by a person who got off on feeding someone to death.


    The Trail of Stars showed quite a lot of power when fulfilling wishes.


    As a test, Nick had asked someone to wish that he wouldn''t bother them as much anymore.


    Naturally, the Trail of Stars tried to kill Nick, and he was quite surprised when he found that it had the destructive power of a Late Adult!


    That was more than shocking since it was just a Late Adolescent!


    After failing to kill Nick, it went to attack the one who made the wish, but since Dark Dream had already been ready, it was suppressed before it could do anything.


    Of course, to test all of this, Nick had needed to free the Trail of Stars from its Containment Unit.


    But that hadn''t been an issue since Dark Dream had so many powerful employees now with Suppressor abilities.


    They didn''t even need a Specter Cage to transport Force Specters anymore.


    The ability of the Trail of Stars and the amount of Zephyx it produced wasn''t anything special.


    It was just the fact that it was a Force Specter that made it special.


    Force Specters were always worth a fortune.


    Even the useless ones.


    As for the other catch,beling it a catch was notpletely right.


    It was a trade.


    Dark Dream traded three Adolescents for an Adult.


    The three Adolescents that were traded away were the Blood Fish, the Agonizing Wait, and the Puppy.


    Among this group, Nick only missed the Puppy.


    Working with the Puppy had been great, but he needed to give Ghosty''s Lab something that was actually good.


    After all, the Blood Fish and the Agonizing Wait were not worth much.


    The Puppy had been one of Dark Dream''s first Specters, but the Specter they had received was worth far more.


    It was an Initial Adult called the Icy Ghost.


    The Icy Ghost was a floating sphere of something that could only be called coldness.


    Anything that approached it would freeze over, and that was exactly how the Icy Ghost became more powerful.


    The more things it froze, the better.


    However, the reason why it was worth so much was its ability.


    Its ability allowed Extractors to infuse things with cold.


    Bullets, other people, Specters, anything.


    That made this ability insanely versatile.


    Many people had been interested in purchasing the Icy Ghost, but Ghosty''s Lab had never wanted to let it go.


    That was until it advanced to bing an Initial Adult recently.


    Surprisingly, as soon as it advanced, Ghosty''s Lab was fine with selling it, which seemedpletely contradictory.


    Nevertheless, Dark Dream made a good catch with the Icy Ghost, but there were other good things that had happened.


    The Dreamer had be an Adult a couple of years ago, and it had already advanced to bing an Early Adult.


    This was great news for Dark Dream since the Dreamer was their gship Specter and since not every Specter could be an Adult.


    However, the Dreamer wasn''t the only Specter that advanced.


    The Abductor also advanced, and it was now an Initial Adult.


    But there was onest Specter that also advanced.


    The Grey Room had also be an Adult.


    With this, Dark Dream now had nine Adults!


    Dark Dream was growing more and more, and Dark Dream''s employees felt great about the future.


    But then, something horrible happened.


    It might not have involved Dark Dream, but it might implicate them in the future.


    Anatomy had done something drastic.

 Chapter 457 457 – Selling Specters

    Chapter457 457 ¨C Selling Specters


    "Everyone is converted?" Nick asked Julian with furrowed brows.


    Julian nodded. For once, he wasn''t wearing his trademarked arrogant smirk.


    "Two days ago, Anatomy''s leadership called every Extractor in for a meeting. The Extractors believed that they would be let go since everyone has already seen where Anatomy is headed."


    "But after they called everyone, they suppressed all of them and brought them to the Sea King one at a time," Julian exined.


    "So, it finally happened," Nick said with a dark voice. "No more human employees are left in Anatomy."


    "Not quite," Julian answered, eliciting a raised brow from Nick. "There are five human Specialists left. These five and the three Heroes are still left."


    Nick remained silent for a while.


    "Has the governor made his decision?" he asked.


    "He already made a ruling," Julian said.


    Nick listened intently.


    "He ruled that Anatomy didn''t have the necessary number of Extractors to take care of so many Specters and that Anatomy had to rectify that issue within the month," Julian said.


    "So, he''s actually going against Anatomy?" Nick asked.


    Julian snorted. "What have I taught you about human nature, Nick?"


    "That humans are inherently selfish and that it is easy to control them if I use that selfishness," Nick said.


    "Right," Julian said as he leaned back in his chair, "and what''s the option that would bring the governor the most benefit?"


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Short term or long term?" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Short term, obviously," Julian said with a disgusted chuckle.


    "Staying neutral," Nick said.


    Julian nodded. "He has not joined hands with either of them."


    "But then," Nick said, "why did he order Anatomy to hire normal people again, and why is there no mention of the forced conversion of their current employees?"


    "He didn''t," Julian said.


    "He didn''t what? Tell them to hire more people or didn''t mention the conversion?" Nick asked.


    "Both."


    "Both?" Nick asked in surprise.


    "He didn''t mention the conversion in any way, and he didn''t order Anatomy to hire more people."


    "He told Anatomy to rectify the issue, and Anatomy is nning on doing that."


    The next moment, Julian took out a stack of papers and threw them on the table. "We got that from Anatomy just a couple of minutes ago."


    Nick grabbed the stack of papers and looked through them.


    The more he read, the wider his eyes became.


    "Is this¡­?"


    "A full list of every Specter Anatomy owns," Julian said, "except for their Fanatics and the Sea King."


    "Ten Hatchlings, 32 Adolescents, Nine Adults, and five Elders," Julian said.


    "Nine Adults?" Nick asked with furrowed brows. "That''s also how many we have."


    "Don''t forget that they gave us three of them," Julian said, "and I also believe that Anatomy gave Metal Works City even more than they gave us. They used to own over 20 Adults and over 10 Elders."


    Nick looked through the list of Specters some more.


    "Why did they give us that list?" he asked.


    "They gave this list to every Manufacturer. Their intentions should be obvious," Julian said.


    "They want to sell them?" Nick asked in skepticism.


    Selling Specters was generally viewed as a bad financial decision since they were assets that continued to produce money while being held.


    They essentially made money out of nothing.


    "Every Specter weaker than the Fanatics," Julian said.


    "How much?" Nick asked.


    Naturally, Nick was very interested in purchasing these Specters.


    Sure, horrible things were happening, but there wasn''t really anything he could do about this.


    Might as well strengthen Dark Dream.


    Julianughed in a sinister manner, and Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "They''re selling it for a price that we can''t pay," Julian said.


    "They want Extractors in exchange for the Specters," Julian added.


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    They wanted Extractors?!


    Of course!


    If they got some Extractors, they could make even more coral people, and they would grow even more powerful!


    "Two Hatchlings for one Veteran."


    "One Adolescent for one Veteran."


    "One Adult for three Veterans or one Expert."


    "One Elder for eight Veterans or two Experts."


    "Those are their prices," Julian said with a chuckle.


    Nick remained silent for a while.


    Naturally, giving Anatomy these Extractors meant dooming them to a fate worse than death.


    This offer was not attractive for Dark Dream.


    First of all, they had too few Veteranspared to how many Specters they had.


    Dark Dream needed Veterans more than Specters right now.


    Additionally, Nick wouldn''t ept this offer even if they had a surplus of Veterans.


    One reason was that this could influence the fate of the city.


    He was willing to pay credits since an influx of credits wouldn''t change a lot, but an influx of manpower could give Anatomy just what it needed to win.


    And the other reason was that Nick refused to do something like that to his employees.


    He was fine with killing problematic ones, but he wouldn''t be okay with giving them to the Sea King.


    Maybe he felt like that because he himself came very close to that fate.


    Or maybe he just considered torture and cruelty to be a no-go.


    People could call Nick a killer or murderer, but they couldn''t call him a torturer.


    However, whether or not that was better was left to the individual.


    Nick remained silent for a while.


    "Did the governorment on this?" he asked.


    "What do you think?" Julian asked.


    "Of course not," Nick answered.


    Julian just chuckled a bit.


    Nick looked at the stack of papers.


    "He''s not even pretending anymore," he said. "He might as well directly shout from the rooftops that he is corrupt."


    "Is he?" Julian asked with a smirk.


    Nick just threw an annoyed look at Julian. "Isn''t he?"


    "I think you''re misunderstanding him," Julian said. "He''s not corrupt."


    "He''s just leaving the fate of the city in the hands of the people."


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "You see, if Anatomy still has Specters left over in a month, every additional Specter will be confiscated by the city, and Anatomy won''t be paid for those."


    A malicious and arrogant smile appeared on Julian''s face.


    "As long as none of the Manufacturers throw coal into the fire for warmth, their house won''t burn down."


    "As long as everyone puts the need of themunity above their personal wealth, things won''t look so bad."


    Julian chuckled.


    Nick just scowled in disgust.


    He wasn''t disgusted at Julian.

 Chapter 458 458 – Who Accepts?

    Chapter458 458 ¨C Who epts?


    Whenever Specters were moved from one Manufacturer to another, it couldn''t be kept hidden.


    While the identity of the Specter could be kept hidden, the fact that a Specter was moving couldn''t since every Specter would be moved via a Specter Cage.


    The guards and the powerful Extractors would notice such a Specter Cage.


    So, it was quite clear which Manufacturer epted Anatomy''s offer.


    After one day, who had epted Anatomy''s offer?


    Nobody.


    No Specters were moved during this day.


    What about the second one?


    Also nothing.


    The third?


    Nothing.


    Every Manufacturer had received the offer, but none had epted it yet.


    Would they actually all decide to sacrifice a bit of their profits for the good of the city?


    Obviously, Dark Dream wouldn''t ept it.


    The city also wouldn''t ept it.


    While Sce was still separate from Dark Dream, they were too closely connected.


    Hera and Ramona knew Nick and Julian, and they also knew that Nick would be the one making the decision whether to buy or not, like most of the time.


    For some reason, Julian seemed to leave running most of thepany to Nick.


    Hera and Ramona knew that Nick wouldn''t ept such an offer.


    He might seem cold, emotionless, and strict, but his Extractors were treated extremely well.


    He never forced them to do anything.


    He didn''t even intimidate or threaten them into doing something.


    Obviously, Nick put a lot of value on his Extractors, and epting such an offer would ruin the image he had created.


    Originally, the two of them were on the fence about this matter.


    However, Nick''s firm refusal of the offer and his conduct made Sce decide against purchasing a Specter.


    Just like Dark Dream, they would refuse the offer until the very end.


    It was just not worth straining their rtionship with Dark Dream.


    That left Gemini, Ghosty''s Lab, and Kugelblitz.


    They were the only ones that could possibly purchase a Specter.


    As it stood right now, Anatomy only had around 150 coral people.


    Kugelblitz also had around that many Extractors.


    However, Kugelblitz had over 50 Experts, which was crazy.


    They had almost 80% of all the Experts inside the city.


    Anatomy had a couple of Experts as coral people, but they didn''t have 50.


    Yet, they had around a hundred Veterans, double what Kugelblitz had.


    But if Ghosty''s Lab were to help Kugelblitz, the number of Veterans would be even again, and they would lose in the Expert department.


    Of course, these numbers would only be relevant in an open battle.


    In these secret skirmishes, the number of weaker Extractors didn''t matter.


    In an open battlefield, however, three Peak Veterans with fitting abilities could take down a Mid Expert.


    For example, yton, Petry, and Jason were all Peak Johns right now, and if they used their abilities simultaneously on a Mid Veteran, the Mid Veteran would run out of Zephyx within a few seconds.


    Naturally,bining abilities like that required a lot of training with each other, and it wasn''t that easy to aplish.


    But Anatomy didn''t need that.


    Anatomy had the Sea King.


    Anatomy had the coral people.


    All coral people were controlled by the same being, the Sea King.


    The coral people were like many little fingers that the Sea King could move.


    If the Sea King ordered it, every single Coral Person all over the city would lift their hand at the same time and point at the same spot.


    They were one being.


    They were one organism.


    This meant that they could perfectlybine their abilities.


    Even more, since a being of much greater power was perceiving the surroundings and giving orders, Veterans could even react to an attack from a Specialist.


    Of course, the Veteran wouldn''t be fast enough to actually avoid the attack, but the order to move would have been given in time.


    It was like a slug that saw a big foot slowlying down on it.


    It would see the foot and try to move, but it wouldn''t be able to evade.


    This made these coral people extremely dangerous in an open conflict.


    As it stood right now, Anatomy was a genuine threat to Kugelblitz, even though they didn''t have as many Experts.


    As long as they didn''t get any more coral people, things still looked good. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The Manufacturers also knew that.


    As long as nobody gave in to greed, Anatomy most likely won''tunch an open attack.


    One week had passed, and nobody epted the offer.


    Yet, Nick still didn''t feel any hope.


    ''An individual human can be kind and benevolent, but a group of humans will always aim to grow so fat that they will die under their own weight,'' Nick thought with disgust.


    ''Giving the masses the power will always result in short-term gains at the price of long-term losses.''


    Another week passed.


    Nobody epted the offer.


    Only two weeks were left until the governor would confiscate all of Anatomy''s weaker Specters for the city.


    Half of the time had passed, and Anatomy was still stuck with all of their Specters.


    They hadn''t gained a single Extractor.


    A couple more days passed.


    No one epted the offer.


    Only ten days were left.


    No one epted the offer.


    Nine days were left.


    No one epted the offer.


    Eight days were left.


    Nick still wasn''t hopeful.


    He knew humanity too well.


    Seven days.


    Six days.


    Five days.


    After 25 days, no one had epted the offer yet.


    Ramona and Hera became hopeful.


    Would the war be avoided?


    Nick still wasn''t convinced.


    Humanity was disgusting, and he knew that everyone was only waiting for thest few days.


    Four days.


    Nothing.


    Three days.


    Nothing.


    Two days.


    Still nothing.


    The morning of thest day arrived.


    Tomorrow, all of the Specters for sale would be confiscated by the city.


    Everyone looked with nervousness and excitement at the situation.


    "Hahahaha."


    Julianughed from beside Nick as they stood outside of Dark Dream''s building, looking up at the middleyer.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    He wasn''t surprised.


    ''Humans¡­''


    Several Specter Cages wereing out of Anatomy¡­


    ''Are disgusting.''


    And entered Kugelblitz.

 Chapter 459 - 459 – Voted Suicide

    Chapter 459 - 459 ¨C Voted Suicide


    On thest day, Kugelblitz epted the offer, and several Specters were moved from Anatomy to them.


    Naturally, the Extractors had already been handed over to Anatomy beforehand.


    No one knew which Specters were purchased, but Julian told him that five Specter Cages were moved from Anatomy to Kugelblitz.


    Most likely, none of these Specters were Hatchlings or Adolescents.


    This meant that Kugelblitz must have forked over at least 15 Veterans.


    Nick was not surprised in the least.


    He had expected this to happen.


    ''If you don''t cut a veggie cube into bite-sized chunks, they will choke on their own greed,'' he thought.


    However, as long as things didn''t get any worse, Kugelblitz still had a chance at winning.


    Julian keptughing from beside Nick.


    Nick just looked upwards with an apathetic gaze.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Why are you that dead set onmitting suicide?!" an angry shout reverberated throughout the room.


    "I worked here for over a century! I gave my life for this!"


    "And now, you want to destroy it for just a couple of Specters?!"


    The other eight people in the meeting room looked at the furious woman.


    The one who had just shouted was Aria Light.


    Naturally, she had voted against epting the offer.


    This was the first time Aria Light had raised her voice in a meeting in several decades.


    Her conduct had always been perfect.


    But today, that streak of perfection ended, and she lost control of her anger for the first time in a long while.


    And to be fair, how couldn''t she?


    Kugelblitz had just voted to ept the offer of all five Elders from Anatomy for ten Experts.


    That was madness!


    How could these people vote for this?!


    "I know you don''t like it," a sickly-looking man with a weak smile said softly from the head of the table, "but the board of directors has alreadye to a decision. Please, keep in mind that we all own part of Kugelblitz."


    Aria red at Wilfred Langley, the CEO of Kugelblitz.


    Meanwhile, Vernon sat beside the furious Aria, and he looked at the table with a devastated expression.


    He looked like he couldn''t believe what had just happened.


    Naturally, Vernon had also voted against it.


    He wasn''t a good person, but he also wasn''t a dumbass.


    Giving Anatomy that many Experts would most likely result in Kugelblitz''s destruction!


    Vernon owned 20% of Kugelblitz, and Aria owned another 20%.


    Wilfred Langley owned 30%.


    The six other people in the room were representatives of groups of people who all owned 5% each.


    Kugelblitz only went through with major decisions if 60% of thepany decided to go through with it.


    And with Aria and Vernon voting against it, but it still going through¡­


    Yes, every single other person in the room had voted for it.


    Vernon and Aria had noticed that Kugelblitz kept making progressively worse and worse decisions over the past couple of years, but they would have never believed that Kugelblitz would vote for what was essentially suicide. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    There was no logic behind all of this!


    "Miss Light," a fat and tall man with brown hair and a beard politely said, "you do not need to worry. Ghosty''s Lab and Gemini know that they can''t ept the offer as well."


    "We have already reached the bottom line of what everyone believes to be safe."


    The man chuckled a bit.


    "They shouldn''t me us for eating the second-tost fruit of the dying tree. We were simply faster."


    "And it also won''t be our fault if that tree dies without a sapling. We are not the ones that took thest fruit."


    The man slowly shook his head in confidence.


    "They won''t dare to eat thest fruit. Otherwise, their precious tree will die."


    "Normal humans don''t choose death, Miss Light."


    The other five normal directors looked just as rxed and confident as the fat man.


    No other Manufacturer would dare to strengthen Anatomy even more!


    After all, they wouldn''t want to die, right?


    And just like that, Kugelblitz would gain five more Elders while not strengthening Ghosty''s Lab or Gemini.


    "That''s not what''s going to happen!" Aria shouted. "They know that we are Anatomy''s first target! They might prefer us over Anatomy, but if we go through with such reckless and irresponsible decisions, their opinion might change!"


    The fat manughed like it wasn''t a big deal.


    "Change their opinion? Miss Light, who would willingly put their life into the hands of the Sea King?" he asked.


    Aria Light red at the man.


    Then, she looked at all the directors, who just smiled back politely.


    Lastly, she looked at Wilfred.


    Wilfred just drank some coffee.


    Aria gritted her teeth, but instead of raising her voice again, she stormed out of the room.


    Silence.


    "I didn''t know Miss Light had such a temper," one of the directors said.


    Vernon looked up from the table and red at the director.


    The director just coughed awkwardly and looked away.


    Some secondster, Vernon stood up.


    "I have to deal with some things," he said before leaving the meeting room as well.


    Meanwhile, about 250 meters below this meeting room, some other people were also meeting.


    "Kugelblitz has epted the offer," Ghosty said to Herman Reichert.


    Herman sighed. "Just as expected, their greed knows no bounds."


    Silence.


    "Will we join them?"


    Silence.


    Ghosty just looked out of the window.


    A couple hundred meters away¡­


    "Kugelblitz has epted. What should we do, Mindy?" Cindy Wunder, the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Gemini, asked.


    "Why are you even asking me, Cindy?" Mindy Wunder asked back. "We''re always of the same opinion."


    Cindy looked at Mindy for a bit.


    Then, she looked at the table before a grin appeared on her face.


    Finally, she looked at Mindy again.


    "You know how spiteful I can be," she said.


    Mindy looked back, and her grin mirrored Cindy''s.


    "Aren''t we both?"


    Down below¡­


    "Hahahahaha," Julian keptughing.


    Nick just looked up with disappointed disgust.


    Maybe he actually still had some hope hidden deep in his heart.


    Sadly, even if that were true, it would have been extinguished as soon as he saw another five Specter Cages leaving Anatomy and going towards Gemini.

 Chapter 460 - 460 – Control

    Chapter 460 - 460 ¨C Control


    Ghosty watched as five Specter Cages came from the floor above him and went past Ghosty''s Lab to Gemini.


    He fell into deep thought.


    His conversation with Mundus from 30 days ago shot through his mind.


    Ghosty remained silent for a long while.


    Herman just looked at Ghosty with worry.


    He had already sighed several times within thest couple of minutes.


    Herman was the CEO of Ghosty''s Lab, but that was technically only in name.


    In truth, Herman always deferred to Ghosty when there was a decision to make.


    After all, this was Ghosty''s Lab, not Herman''s Lab.


    Ghosty''s Lab was the oldest Manufacturer in all of Crimson City, and its longevity was all thanks to Ghosty.


    Herman would trust in Ghosty''s decision.


    Right now, Ghosty was at a crossroads.


    Which path should he choose?


    His mind was telling him to go one way, but his heart was telling him to go another.


    Ghosty definitely followed his mind far more often than his heart.


    And yet, following his heart still felt great.


    The smart decision?


    Or the dumb one?


    He thought back to many years ago.


    The city had looked very different back then.


    How did the city develop ever since then?


    Did it get better, or did it get worse?


    Was it good right now?


    The city had changed a lot over the years, and Ghosty hadn''t always been happy about it.


    Ghosty reached into his uniform and pulled a remote with several buttons out.


    Herman had never seen this remote before.


    "What''s that?" he asked.


    Ghosty looked at the remote for a while.


    "Insurance," Ghosty said before putting it back into his uniform.


    Herman didn''t ask for rification.


    Ghosty remained silent for several minutes as he just looked out of the window.


    Ghosty wasn''t making a decision that would impact his or hispany''s survival.


    No, Ghosty''s Lab would survive regardless of which side won.


    He was confident in that fact.


    Ghosty was deciding on the city''s survival.


    If Kugelblitz won, things would return to how they used to be.


    Maybe they would get even worse since Kugelblitz wouldn''t need to contend with Anatomy anymore.


    If Anatomy won, it would rule over the city.


    Themon people wouldn''t see much change since Anatomy would still need toply with Aegis'' basic principles, but all the other Manufacturers would be eradicated and their Extractors turned into coral people.


    Well, except for Ghosty''s Lab, of course.


    Nevertheless, Ghosty didn''t like either option.


    More time passed.


    Then, Ghosty took a deep breath.


    "Herman," he said.


    "Yes?" Herman answered.


    Herman waited.


    Down below¡­


    "Hahahaha," Julian keptughing.


    Nick was not surprised.


    Six Specter Cages left Anatomy and traveled to Ghosty''s Lab.


    "Seems like the old man is tired of standing on the sidelines," Julian said.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Spite is such a beautiful aspect of you humans," Julian said.


    Nick still didn''t answer.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Are they crazy?! Do they not realize what they are doing?!" the fat man in Kugelblitz''s meeting room shouted in outrage. "First, Gemini took five Specters for themselves, and now, Ghosty''s Lab is taking six as well?! They''re dooming us all!"


    "Please, not so loud," Wilfred said with a soothing voice. "We are still in a meeting, remember? Just because Aria and Vernon left doesn''t mean that this meeting is over."


    The director took a deep breath to calm down. "Apologies," he said as he sat back down.


    Wilfred nodded.


    "Now, let''s get back to voting. I am for."


    "For."


    "For."


    "For."


    "For."


    Silence.


    Everyone looked at thest two people.


    One of them was the fat man, and another one was an older man.


    Both of them looked extremely nervous.


    The others looked at them expectantly.


    The two of them looked at each other.


    Finally, the older man looked at the table in defeat.


    "For," he said.


    Then, everyone focused on the fat man.


    The fat man gritted his teeth.


    Then, he slumped into his chair and put his head in his arms.


    "Fine, for," he said.


    Wilfred smiled.


    ¡­


    "Ahahahahaha!"


    Julian keptughing.


    By now, hisughter had be very loud.


    Nick just looked with absolute disgust upward.


    Five more Specter Cages were moving towards Kugelblitz.


    Nick''s expectations of humanity were extremely low to begin with, but he still felt disappointed.


    "Oh, Nick, Nick, Nick," Julian said.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Your opinion of humanity is too low," Julian said.


    "You were the one who taught me," Nick answered. "Is my opinion not in line with yours?"


    Surprisingly, Julian didn''t answer immediately.


    Instead, he just smirked as he looked upward.


    "Maybe you''re right," Julian said, eliciting two raised brows from Nick.


    Then, he turned to look at Nick. "Or maybe I just have ess to more information than you."


    Then, Julian chuckled again.


    Nick didn''t ask.


    He knew that Julian loved gloating and that he would tell Nick anyway.


    "It seems like I''m not the only one taking advantage of Kugelblitz''s scattered ownership," he said.


    Nick raised an eyebrow, and a momentter, the image of Mundus'' strings shot through his mind.


    "Are you suggesting that Mundus is having a hand in this?" Nick asked. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Julian just chuckled.


    That was all he needed to hear.


    Kugelblitz might be the strongest Manufacturer with the strongest Extractors, but the only strong Extractor who had ownership in thepany was Aria.


    The remaining ownership was scattered among one Specialist, one Expert, and even normal people.


    "I''ve never managed to get my hands on Wilfred," Julian said. "No matter how many times I tried to get him to be my friend, I could never get to him."


    "This exins why."


    Nick nced at Julian. "Was he controlled during the meeting in which those decisions were made?"


    Julian chuckled. "That''s the genius part."


    "He wasn''t."


    Nick looked at Julian in surprise. "Then, how?"


    "Aria would notice if Mundus controlled Wilfred," Julian said. "Because of that, he had to prepare for this moment for a long time."


    "Most likely, he found a way to secretly get to Wilfred, and over many individual sessions over many years, he managed to control him by making Wilfred''s values align with his values."


    "In short, he''s controlling without controlling."


    Julian smiled.


    "Just like me."


    Julian chuckled a bit more.


    "And as for the directors, that''s not difficult. The directors just fulfill the desires of the owners they represent."


    "Mundus just needs to control the owners when they tell their directors about what they want."


    Nick looked upward again.


    It didn''t look good for Kugelblitz.


    Yet, a couple of momentster, Nick noticed something.


    A person jumped down from theyer with all of the big Manufacturers, and by the looks of it, the person was jumping right toward Dark Dream.


    "Would you look at that," Julian said. "It''s one of my dear friends."


    Nick narrowed his eyes when he recognized the person.


    Some secondster, the person silentlynded in front of the two of them.


    The person gave Julian a short greeting before turning to Nick.


    Silence.


    The person took a deep breath and approached Nick.


    Nick didn''t say anything.


    "Can we talk privately? I have something to discuss with you," they asked.


    Nick''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    "Fine," he said.


    Nick walked into Dark Dream.


    Vernon Melfion followed him.

 Chapter 461 - 461 – Could you?

    Chapter461 - 461 ¨C Could you?


    Nick walked into Dark Dream and went to the eighth floor.


    When he entered his office, he left the door open so that Vernon could also enter.


    Vernon walked in after Nick and closed the door behind him before looking at Nick with furrowed brows.


    Vernon''s appearance hadn''t changed in any way within thest decade.


    He still looked like a charismatic 20-year-old.


    After he closed the door, only two people were left in the room.


    Vernon and Nick.


    Well, and the couple of mouths representing Julian, but Vernon didn''t know that they were there.


    Naturally, Julian wouldn''t let Nick talk alone with Vernon.


    Well, and the couple of mouths representing Julian, but Vernon didn''t know that they were there.


    Naturally, Julian wouldn''t let Nick talk alone with Vernon.


    First of all, he didn''t want Vernon to get some stupid ideas and kill Nick as some form of revenge for his dead son.


    And second, Julian didn''t want to risk his secret getting out.


    Vernon sat down in one of the chairs and looked at Nick.


    Judging by his expression, he was not happy to be here.


    "What do you want?" Nick asked evenly.


    Vernon looked back at Nick. "It''s customary to offer a visitor a drink."


    "What do you want?" Nick asked again.


    Silence.


    Vernon sighed like he was disappointed in Nick''sck of mannerisms.


    "No drink, then," Vernon said.


    Nick didn''t say anything and just looked at Vernon.


    "Let me get right to the point then," Vernon said.


    "Is there something you can do against Anatomy?"


    Nick''s brows furrowed, and the mouths on the walls chuckled.


    "Me," Nick said with a t voice. "Do something against Anatomy¡­"


    "I''m a Peak Veteran."


    "They have three Heroes and a Demon," Nick stated matter-of-factly.


    "I know that," Vernon said. "So, can you do something?"


    Nick leaned back in his chair in exasperation. "What am I supposed to do against Anatomy?!"


    "I don''t know," Vernon said with annoyance. "But answer the question. Can you do something against Anatomy?"


    Nick took a deep breath. "What makes you think that I can do something?"


    Vernon remained silent for a couple of seconds.


    "You killed Wyntor," he said.


    Nick''s eyes shot open with rage, and he wanted to protest, but Vernon just lifted his arm to stop him.


    "It doesn''t matter what you say," Vernon said. "I know what I know. Even if you are not involved, I will still think you are involved."


    "But that''s not why I''m here right now," Vernon added. "I''m here because I, foolishly, I might add, believe that there is a chance that there''s something you can do."


    "You survived an ambush of ten equal fighters."


    "I gave you the Shadow Shroud."


    "Not even a couple of hours after giving you the Shadow Shroud, the CEO of the Spartans gets assassinated by a bunch of Specters and someonepletely clothed in ck."


    "Yes, that one ck Specter revealed itselfter, but I don''t think it was that Specter that did everything."


    "I think it was you."


    "And I also believe that you released the Crimson Sea," Vernon said.


    "Are you insane?" Nick asked with annoyance. "I was a Peak John back then."


    "Yes," Vernon said, "which is exactly why I believe that you might be able to do something against Anatomy."


    Nick gritted his teeth. "That''s not what I meant! The Spartans had five Veterans and something like 30 Johns! How would a single John even be able to get in there and do all of these things?!"


    "I don''t know," Vernon said. "I''m not you."


    Nick took a deep breath in frustration.


    "Is this your n?" Nick asked as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You''re trying to frustrate me to death because you believe that I killed Wyntor?"


    "No, I''m serious," Vernon said.


    Nick leaned back in his chair, looking like he had given up.


    "Vernon, if you genuinely believed all of this, you would have long since reported me to the governor. After all, the Crimson Sea ruined your precious little blood spring that was the Dregs."


    Surprisingly, Vernon scoffed. "And implicate myself? I gave you the Shadow Shroud. I don''t think the governor knows that I gave you the Shadow Shroud, but I''m not taking any risks."


    "If you get convicted of freeing the Crimson Sea, I also get convicted."


    "But that doesn''t matter," Vernon added. "I''m asking whether or not you have a way to deal with Anatomy."


    Nick looked with annoyance at Vernon.


    ''I''m a Peak Veteran! What am I supposed to do against apany like Anatomy?! They have three fucking Heroes!'' Nick thought with frustration.


    ''Yes, my abilities are perfect for such a mission, but I only have two of them since my third ability is for fleeing, not staying hidden.''


    ''Even more, all the coral people are mentally connected. That means I can''t be suspected by any of them, and I can''t kill any of them. If I kill even one, everyone in the entire building will know where I am.'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''On top of that, Anatomy doesn''t have light shafts like the Spartans.''


    ''There''s simply no way. I would be found without a doubt,'' Nick thought.


    "No, there''s nothing I can do," Nick said.


    Vernon furrowed his brows. "Are you certain?"


    "Yes, I am," Nick said.


    Silence.


    "What if you became an Expert and had the choice of any ability for ability advancement?" Vernon asked.


    Nick fell into thought.


    An Expert?


    Any ability?


    "What''s with these what if questions?" Nick asked with annoyance. "I just started creating my Shell. Even at my speed, that will take me a decade."


    "Again, you''re dodging my question," Vernon said with a calm tone. "If you were an Expert, would you be able to do it?"


    Nick looked with annoyance at Vernon.


    Then, he fell into thought.


    With an additional ability and double his current power, would he be able to do something?


    Sadly, it still seemed almost impossible.


    However, things went from impossible to almost impossible.


    Nick shook his head. "I can''t get past the Heroes."


    "What if two of them are not there, and thest one is busy watching over the Sea King?" Vernon asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    Was it possible?


    There were still the coral people, and Anatomy still had five Specialists.


    "What does it matter?" Nick said with a disregarding tone as he leaned back in his chair. "I''m not an Expert, and I won''t be for a long while."


    Vernon looked at Nick.


    "What if you could get your shell right now?" he asked.


    Nick looked with skepticism at Vernon.

 Chapter 462 - 462 – Elixir

    Chapter462 - 462 ¨C Elixir


    Get his Shell by today?


    How would that even be possible?!


    A Shell was the very thing that turned Veterans into Experts.


    After a Veteran became a Peak Veteran, they needed to reach the top of their level first.


    That usually took a couple of years.


    Naturally, Nick had already aplished that.


    But then came the difficult part.


    Just like when Johns became Veterans, when Veterans became Experts, they also needed to achieve something special.


    For bing a Veteran, it was Zephosis.


    For bing an Expert, it was condensing one''s Shell.


    What was a Shell?


    A Shell was a barrier or energy field made of a special kind of Zephyx.


    The Shell would surround a person''s Zephyx Synchronizer, and it would speed up the recovery of Zephyx by over ten times.


    Without that, Experts would have trouble gathering enough Zephyx to battle.


    It was still fine for Initial Experts, but Early Experts would need days to recover their Zephyx since they barely recovered more than what they were using by just sitting around.


    As for Mid Experts, even that became impossible.


    Just like a Veteran without Zephosis, a Mid Expert without a Shell would essentially starve, no matter what they did.


    While condensing the Shell after bing an Expert was technically possible, the decreased speed of recovery would make the process over four times longer.


    How long did it take to create a Shell?


    If a Peak Veteran could fill their body with all the Zephyx they could absorb every single day without missing a single one, it would take about ten years.


    That was the fastest speed humanly possible.


    It was impossible to get any faster than this.


    Of course, even though Nick essentially had control over all of Dark Dream, he could only work with the Tragedy, and working with the Tragedy took him out ofmission for 24 hours.


    Sure, that technically meant that he could fill his body with Zephyx once per day, but that represented not being able to do anything else.


    If Nick did that, Dark Dream would lose its Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Dark Dream might actually copse if Nick just stopped working.


    However, there was another source of Zephyx.


    Julian.


    Julian was constantly wagering with people, which meant that he was growing more powerful, which meant that he was creating Zephyx.


    His presence in Dark Dream gave everyone inside it quite a boost in how fast they grew, and he was also a big reason why Dark Dream''s Extractors were growing this quickly.


    Nick received quite a bit of that Zephyx.


    But in the end, he still wasn''t growing at optimal speeds.


    All in all, Nick estimated that he would need twelve to fifteen years to condense his Shell.


    Sadly, there was no way to get past that.


    The special Zephyx the Shell was made out of was personalized for every Extractor.


    This meant that using outside Zephyx did not work.


    The body had to create this kind of Zephyx on its own over a long period and by absorbing a crazy amount of Zephyx.


    So, while the bottleneck to reach the Veteran Stage was willpower, the bottleneck to reach the Expert Stage was time and money.


    Most Veterans only reached that Stage in theirte thirties or forties, and they reached the Peak Veteran Stage in their early orte fifties.


    Then, as long as they were not prioritized by their Manufacturer for ten entire years, they would need 30 to 40 years to condense their Shell, which meant that they would be Experts in their eighties or nies.


    While Veterans could live a couple decades longer than normal people, ny was still old for them.


    Ny for a Veteran wasparable to sixty for a normal person.


    By then, many Veterans had already died on duty, retired, or switched jobs.


    Or maybe they had stopped caring about their power and just worked for five days a week instead of seven, slowing down the creation of their Shell even more.


    In the end, the decision of who became an Expert was not really up to the Extractors but the Manufacturers. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The Manufacturers were the ones that assigned the Specters to the Extractors.


    If they wanted a Veteran to advance, they would advance in ten years.


    If they didn''t care, the Veteran would need several decades, or they would never advance at all.


    But no matter what decision the Manufacturer made, it couldn''t just create an Expert instantaneously.


    Or could they?


    "Are you suggesting that there is a way?" Nick asked with a raised brow.


    At that moment, the mouths on the walls were chuckling.


    "If he''s offering you the Elixir, he must really believe he''s going to die," the mouths said with mirth.


    Naturally, Vernon didn''t hear them.


    Nick didn''t show any outward reactions, but he was surprised deep inside.


    ''The Elixir? So, there is a way!'' Nick thought.


    Vernon took a deep breath and nodded.


    "Aegis uses the cities as factories for Zephyx," he exined, "and they secure the loyalty of their strongest followers with valuable treasures."


    "One of these treasures is the Elixir and Aegis only exchanges it for several tons of Zephyx."


    "Tons?!" Nick blurted out in shock.


    Vernon nodded. "Several tons," he repeated.


    One ton was around a billion credits!


    And Vernon said that Aegis wanted several for this Elixir?!


    "And what can this Elixir do?" Nick asked.


    "It can create a Shell within minutes," Vernon said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "And you are offering that to me?" Nick asked.


    "Only if you are willing to enter a death pact in exchange," Vernon said.


    "Hahahahaha," the mouths on the wallughed.


    "A death pact?" Nick asked.


    "It''s a contract that can''t be avoided or broken, only fulfilled," Vernon said.


    "And what would this death pact state?" Nick asked.


    "That you will do your best to stop Anatomy and that you won''t stop until you are either dead or Anatomy has received so much damage that Kugelblitz can at least evenly fight it."


    "If you don''t ept the death pact, I will not give you the Elixir," Vernon said.


    Nick furrowed his brows.

 Chapter 463 - 463 – The Death Pact

    Chapter463 - 463 ¨C The Death Pact


    "Wee back, Mr. Melfion," one of the two guards in front of Kugelblitz said politely.


    Vernon just smiled and nodded before walking into Kugelblitz.


    After entering, Vernon walked through the long hallway until he reached the Extractor shafts.


    He typed a couple of things into the console, entered the shaft, and jumped out after reaching the top floor.


    Just like with Dark Dream, Kugelblitz''s top floor was also only for business meetings and administration.


    Vernon walked straight to his office and entered.


    After he closed the door behind him, he locked it, making sure that nobody would identally enter.


    Vernon''s smile vanished and was reced with a cold frown.


    He carelessly dumped a briefcase he was carrying on the floor.


    SNAP!


    The briefcase opened, and a cloud of mist came out.


    A short momentter, the cloud turned into Nick, who just looked at Vernon.


    Naturally, Vernon did not want to show his hand to the other members of Kugelblitz.


    He had already suspected that some of the directors were controlled by Anatomy before the first vote had even happened today, but he had only been sure after the vote was done.


    Yes, every human was greedy, but they were not greedy to such an insane degree.


    Something else had to be going on.


    Sadly, there was no way to check or report these things.


    Checking the Directors and owners would warn Anatomy and might provoke them into attacking immediately.


    Reporting sadly didn''t work since the governor seemed to always cut Anatomy some ck.


    Most likely, if they reported that Anatomy was controlling 60% of Kugelblitz, the governor might just directly argue that Kugelblitz belonged to Anatomy now.


    Of course, that was bullshit, but that didn''t matter.


    The person who made the rules was not bound by said rules, only by their own morals.


    A parent could enforce a rule of the house on the children, but who could stop the parent if they didn''t follow that rule themselves?


    Because of that, Vernon didn''t want anyone to see Nick or to find out what he was nning.


    Vernon went to the back of the room and pushed some furniture aside, revealing a small door at the bottom of the wall.


    He fidgeted with the door for over half a minute before he carefully opened it.


    Nick didn''t look towards Vernon''s direction.


    He didn''t want to antagonize Vernon needlessly.


    When Nick had that thought, he almostughed bitterly.


    ''I''m careful not to antagonize Vernon now?'' Nick thought. ''The guy basically knows that I killed Wyntor. I don''t think there''s much I can do about that.''


    Nick just slightly nced towards Vernon''s back.


    ''Although, he seems more interested in his profit than the death of his son.''


    Eventually, Vernon turned around and put a sheet of metal on top of his table.


    The big sheet of metal had countless runes of unknown origin carved into it, and Nick could feel incredible amounts of Zephyx inside the material.


    This was definitely not something cheap.


    After putting the sheet down, Vernon went to a locked cupboard, opened it, and carefully retrieved something.


    It was a perfectly white sheet of paper.


    When Nick saw that paper, his eyebrows rose in surprise.


    ''That''s not paper! That''s pure Zephyx in the shape of paper!''


    Vernon carefully put the paper in the middle of the te before retrieving an ornate fountain pen.


    Then, he very slowly started to write on the paper with red ink.


    Nick had to wait for over 20 minutes until Vernon was done writing.


    "Come over and see if this is okay. Don''t touch the paper," Vernon said, moving to the side.


    Nick walked over and looked at the contract.


    Nick had signed thousands of contracts within his 17 years of being a Chief Zephyx Extractor, and he was also very confident in being able to spot shady passages in one.


    However, the contract seemed to be fine.


    It stated exactly what they had agreed upon.


    Nick would try his best to deal enough damage to Anatomy to give Kugelblitz a fighting chance.


    He was not allowed to run away or retreat unless he genuinely believed that this was the best course of action for damaging Anatomy and keeping Kugelblitz alive.


    In exchange, Kugelblitz would give Nick one Elixir before the mission started, as well as ess to a Specter of his choosing for ability advancement.


    And if Nick seeded, Vernon would do his best to give Dark Dream an Elder that could be rtively easily worked with.


    Originally, Nick asked for more since he would basically be saving Kugelblitz''s ass, but Vernon wouldn''t budge.


    ording to him, the Elixir was already worth more than a normal Elder.


    Kugelblitz only invested in one Elixir every three years on average, and Vernon was already annoyed that he had to give Nick one of them.


    "Looks good," Nick said.


    Vernon nodded, went back to the paper, and signed at the bottom.


    Then, he held the pen out to Nick without looking at him.


    Nick grabbed the pen and signed at the bottom of the page.


    Vernon carefully put the pen away and went to another locked cupboard.


    Some secondster, he took out seven crystals of Zephyx.


    Each one was about five centimeters high and in the shape of a rhombus.


    Each crystal represented exactly one kilo of Zephyx. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Vernon put the seven crystals on round outcroppings of the sheet of metal.


    WHOOOM!


    When he put thest one on it, Nick suddenly felt like some kind of force was suppressing him from all sides.


    Immediately, some kind of terrifying presence seemed to enter the office, and Nick was forced to look over.


    The office seemingly vanished, reced by a portal that led to a dimension of eyes.


    All of the eyes looked through the portal and focused on Nick and Vernon.


    A cold shudder ran down Nick''s back, and even if he could move, he wouldn''t dare to.


    A momentter, Nick felt like death touched his heart.


    And then, the portal closed, and everything returned to normal.


    Nick couldn''t help taking a deep breath before looking at Vernon, who looked just as exhausted as him.

 Chapter 464 - 464 – Getting the Elixir

    Chapter464 - 464 ¨C Getting the Elixir


    "What was that?" Nick couldn''t help asking.


    "That was the Ocr Serpent, a Fallen," Vernon answered after a sigh.


    Nick took a deep breath. "A Fallen?"


    That was a level seven Specter!


    Thest level seven Specter Nick had seen was Envy''s avatar.


    This was a Specter that could destroy Crimson City on its own.


    "So, how does this Death Pact work now?" Nick asked.


    "Just try thinking about not going to Anatomy or refusing to help us," Vernon said as he started putting the things away again.


    Nick did just that, and a short moment after doing so, he felt like some kind of force was slowly constricting his heart.


    Nick''s face immediately became white, and he stopped thinking about reneging on the contract.


    Slowly, the constricting force lessened.


    It was almost like a snake that had loosened its hold.


    "That is going to be your death if you think about betraying me," Vernon said. "Naturally, the same is true for me."


    Nick nodded and watched Vernon put the things away.


    The first thing Nick noticed was that the Zephyx crystals were gone, but he wasn''t surprised by that.


    The seven kilos of Zephyx had probably been used to summon the Ocr Serpent to officiate the contract.


    ''Gaining power by officiating contracts does not sound reasonable for a Specter,'' Nick thought. ''This sounds more neutral or like a-benefit for humanity, and I''ve never heard of any Specter like that.''


    ''Most likely, it gets power by doing crooked promises or something.''


    Nick looked at the ornate sheet of metal that Vernon was putting away.


    ''But it''s probably suppressed by Aegis, and they probably turned it into a contract enforcer or officiator.''


    ''And instead of gaining power the normal way, it just takes a couple million credits worth of Zephyx.''


    ''Makes sense.''


    Vernon finished putting the things away and walked to the side of his office.


    He lifted the open suitcase and put it on his table.


    "Get in," he said. "I don''t have ess to the Elixir. We need to get it."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "You don''t have ess to it? Isn''t that something that you should have secured before we signed the Death Pact?" he asked in annoyance.


    "That''s not your problem," Vernon said. "I''m the one that''s going to die if I don''t give you the Elixir."


    Nick looked at Vernon for a bit longer before he turned into mist and entered the suitcase.


    Vernon closed the suitcase and walked out of his office with it.


    He walked past a couple of doors and knocked on one of them.


    "What?!" came an annoyed shout from inside.


    Vernon just opened the door and stepped inside.


    He was now inside another office, but this one was a bit bigger and more orderly.


    Beside the big desk at the end of the room stood a beautiful blonde woman who red at Vernon.


    However, when she saw who it actually was, she calmed down a bit and looked back at a bunch of papers on her desk.


    This was Aria Light, and she seemed quite agitated.


    "What is it?" Aria asked, not looking up from her desk.


    Vernon wordlessly approached her.


    BANG!


    And mmed the contract he had just signed onto the table.


    Aria raised her eyebrow at the uncharacteristically rude action and read through the contract in a single second.


    Her eyes shot open in a mix of shock and fury.


    "Did you also be insane?!" she shouted.


    Vernon just neutrally looked at her. "It''s the best shot we have," he said.


    "How can you consider this a shot?" Aria asked in exasperation. "That guy is a Veteran!"


    "Expert soon," Vernon said.


    Aria narrowed her eyes and red at Vernon like he had just killed her children.


    Vernon just looked at her for a couple of seconds before he sighed helplessly.


    "I can''t tell you why, but I have faith in him," he said with a defeated voice.


    Aria''s face scrunched up in a mix of disgust and skepticism. "Aren''t you always going on about how he killed your son? Where did that changee from all of a sudden?"


    "That didn''t change," Vernon answered. "I still think he did it."


    "However, whether that is true or not doesn''t matter right now. Kugelblitz and our survival are all that matter right now, and I can''t think of any other way to deal with Anatomy."


    Aria looked at Vernon for a bit before she focused on the contract again.


    Ten secondster, she groaned and ruffled her hair in frustration.


    "We''re really scraping the bottom of the barrel here," she said before handing the contract back to Vernon.


    "So, you''re giving me the Elixir?" he asked. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Am I just supposed to let you die like that?" Aria answered with a sigh. "You probably signed that Death Pact on purpose before asking me so that I''m forced to give it to you."


    Vernon didn''t confirm nor deny.


    Aria sighed again. "Give me a second."


    She walked to the back of her office and opened a secret safe.


    Aria retrieved something and put it on the desk.


    It was an ocean-blue bottle made of crystals.


    "There," she said.


    Vernon nodded, but instead of approaching the desk again, he just held his briefcase forward.


    Aria raised an eyebrow.


    Vernon opened the briefcase, and a cloud of mist left it, which quickly transformed into Nick.


    When Aria saw Nick, her eyebrows shot up in surprise.


    She had not sensed him at all!


    She, an Early Hero, hadn''t sensed the presence of a mere Peak Veteran.


    "Hi," Nick said neutrally with a nod at Aria.


    Aria closed her eyes and took a deep breath.


    She felt a bit embarrassed due to her conduct earlier.


    She was usually much moreposed, and she also only acted like this since she knew that Vernon was the only person here.


    However, the more she thought about it, the calmer she actually got.


    The fact that Nick could stay hidden in front of her was shocking.


    If he could stay hidden in front of her, he should be able to do the same thing with other Heroes.


    Maybe there was actually a small chance of sess?

 Chapter 465 - 465 – Rhombus

    Chapter465 - 465 ¨C Rhombus


    Nick looked at the fancy blue bottle on the desk before looking at Aria for confirmation.


    Aria looked at Nick with a skeptical raised brow but nodded for him to take it a momentter.


    Nick nodded back and took hold of the bottle.


    When Aria saw Nick taking the Elixir that Kugelblitz had attained after paying a ridiculous sum of money, she could only sigh.


    What had happened to Kugelblitz?


    They used to be the strongest in the city, uncontested.


    And now, they entrusted their fate to a mere Peak Veteran from some upstart Manufacturer.


    As Aria thought about the two devastating votes from a couple of hours ago, she couldn''t help but sigh again.


    Kugelblitz had really gone to shit.


    Aria still remembered the first time she had seen Nick.


    That had been during the first big meeting of Manufacturers.


    Back then, Nick was only a new John, and he seemed extremely insecure.


    She had viewed Nick as an amusing child back then instead ofpetition.


    But now, things were different.


    Nick was being entrusted with Kugelblitz''s safety, and he definitely didn''t seem insecure anymore.


    In fact, he seemed quite capable and confident while standing in the same room with two people who were much more powerful than him.


    He had changed a lot.


    "How do I use this?" Nick asked.


    "Just drink it and focus on your Zephyx Synchronizer," Aria exined. "Then, just try to build your Barrier. It''s that simple."


    Nick nodded, looked at the bottle, and opened it.


    A blue mist came out of the top of the bottle and vanished into the air.


    Nick narrowed his eyes and drank from the bottle.


    The liquiding out of the bottle felt extremely hot, but for some reason, Nick didn''t feel like he was getting injured by it.


    It was like pain without the injury.


    Kind of like what the Nightmare did.


    Nick drank the entire bottle and closed his eyes.


    Then, he focused on his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    After a couple of seconds, he felt a blue wave of energy traveling from his stomach into his neck, and Nick could feel how the blue energy wrapped around his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    Nick visualized a spinning rhombus as his Zephyx Synchronizer, and he almost felt like he could see inside of himself.


    Above the spinning rhombus was a violently burning ball of fire.


    It looked like it could explode at any moment, but it never seemed to actually happen.


    That was the foreign Zephyx Simon Francium had put in Nick''s body.


    Nick also noticed that his surroundings were surrounded by a blue mist.


    ''This is the Elixir,'' Nick thought as he narrowed his eyes at the mist.


    Then, he opened his arms and moved them towards his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    The blue mist warped and traveled closer to the spinning rhombus.


    A bit of the blue mist touched the rhombus, and Nick felt like he was about to reach the Expert Stage.


    ''No!'' Nick thought, suppressing the breakthrough.


    The rhombus spat out the blue mist again and returned to normal.


    Over the next couple of minutes, Nick focused on creating a barrier around his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    After a while, the mist turned into a ball, but it was still hazy.


    Nick willed the hazy ball topress.


    The ball slowly started to shrink, and it became cloudier and cloudier.


    But about a minuteter, the cloudiness seemed to vanish, reced by transparency.


    Nick pushed the inside of the ball more toward the outside while keeping the outside at its current position.


    He started to feel pain radiating out from his neck, but he ignored it and kept going.


    The transparent ball began to shake, but Nick just keptpressing it.


    CRK!


    A crack appeared in the ss, but Nick repaired it.


    CRK! CRK! CRK!


    More and more cracks appeared, but Nick repaired them instantly.


    Sweat started to stream down Nick''s face, but he remained focused and calm.


    The cracks be more and more numerous.


    More and more of them appeared and vanished.


    Suddenly, Nick opened his eyes widely with intensity, and the ss began to shine brightly.


    Nick kept focusing on the brightly shining light, and a couple of secondster, it vanished.


    A hair-thin transparent barrier had appeared around Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer.


    However, it was not in the shape of a ball.


    Every Shell was in the shape of a ball, but Nick''s wasn''t. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The reason why they were in the shape of a ball was to minimize surface area.


    The smaller the Shell, the higher its density and the more Zephyx it attracted.


    However, the Shell wasn''t allowed to touch the Zephyx Synchronizer, or it might break.


    Because of that, everyone just created a ball around it.


    But Nick had done something else.


    The cracks that had appeared earlier had been his Shell touching his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    Usually, that little stunt would cost an Extractor weeks or months of gathering Zephyx, which was why they didn''t dare to get too close.


    Sure, if they knew the shape of their Zephyx Synchronizer, they could make a smaller and better Barrier, but doing it this way wouldn''t help them.


    After all, they could basically only create one crack every few months, and the next time they tried it again, they would have forgotten the exact spot.


    It wasn''t worth it.


    However, the Elixir gave Nick enough Zephyx to work with, and he decided to make use of all the Zephyx it had given him.


    Nick looked with intensity at the spinning rhombus in front of him.


    There was no Shell.


    However, the rhombus shone in a slight blue light.


    Actually, there was a Shell, but it perfectly adhered to the rhombus.


    The two were touching each other, but the touch was so light that neither got damaged by the other.


    When Nick saw that he had seeded, he took a deep breath.


    WHOOOOM!


    Then, he felt a terrifying storm of Zephyx rushing past him and entering the rhombus.


    The storm continued and never stopped.


    This was how much Zephyx Nick was now absorbing passively.


    ''That must be over 20 times faster than before!'' Nick thought in shock.

 Chapter 466 - 466 – Taking a Risk

    Chapter466 - 466 ¨C Taking a Risk


    ''Over 20 times,'' Nick thought as he took a deep breath. ''A normal Shell is supposed to increase the Zephyx recovery by only about ten times!''


    ''Has anyone done this before?'' Nick thought.


    Nick thought about how he would have done it without the Elixir.


    ''Without the Elixir, I would have never done things like this. I would have just made a ball like everyone else. Faster Zephyx recovery is not worth spending another 20 years or so as a Peak Veteran. I simply don''t have the time to do that.''


    ''Additionally, my goal isn''t necessarily to be the most powerful person in the world. Sure, that would help me in achieving my goal, but my goal takes priority.''


    Nick thought about all the poor people living in the Outer City, and he immediately felt his blood starting to boil.


    Then, he thought about the governor, which didn''t calm him down.


    After that, Kugelblitz shot through his mind, and he imagined the Crimson Fungus bathing in the blood of the poor.


    Finally, Anatomy shot through his mind.


    Nick wasn''t sure if the lives of normal people would improve or deteriorate if Anatomy came to power.


    Sure, the lives of the Extractors would be worse, but Extractors weren''t normal people.


    ''But that doesn''t matter now,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes. ''I''m already in the same boat as Kugelblitz, and I need to uphold my side of the bargain.''


    Nick took another deep breath and opened his eyes.


    Aria and Vernon looked at Nick with expectation.


    "Did it work?" Vernon asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yes, I have my Shell."


    Vernon sighed in relief.


    The most dangerous part of the advancement was over.


    Now, Nick only needed a new ability, and he could advance.


    "Good," Vernon said before looking at Aria.


    Aria looked at Nick neutrally. "What ability do you want?"


    Naturally, Aria was more experienced when it came to Kugelblitz''s Specters and their abilities.


    Nick already knew what ability he wanted, but he stopped himself.


    Then, he furrowed his brows, and Aria raised an eyebrow.


    Nick fell silent and looked at the ground.


    ''I''m not sure if anyone has created this kind of Shell,'' Nick thought.


    ''Everyone says that you should make a round one, but that doesn''t seem to be the best way forward.''


    ''This means there might still be room for optimization when ites to bing stronger.''


    ''And I managed to find one of these ways. Of course, if others had ess to the Elixir, they might also have managed to do this, but I haven''t heard of anyone who did.''


    ''So, since I found one way to further optimize my path forward, isn''t there a possibility that there might be another way?''


    ''Julian is already growing extremely quickly, and I''m certain that he will try to kill me before I be a Specialist.''


    ''I need every bit of extra power I can get without taking too long to get it.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''I can''t believe that I''m actually about to do this. I know that I will hate myself in a couple of minutes.''


    Then, he looked at Aria.


    "Is there a way to rescue me if I get swallowed by the Fiend of Darkness?" Nick asked.


    Vernon''s eyes widened, and Aria''s eyebrows rose in surprise.


    Silence.


    "You want to get swallowed by the Fiend of Darkness?" Aria asked in surprise.


    Nick nodded.


    "Why?" she asked.


    "I''ve met the Nightmare many times in my life," Nick said, "and I believe that I can resist it for quite a while."


    "I want to see if it''s possible to get the Nightmare''s ability via the Fiend of Darkness."


    Vernon and Aria calmed down.


    "Not possible," Aria said. "We already tried that."


    "Let me try anyway," Nick said.


    Aria looked a bit annoyed.


    "If that''s what he wants," Vernon said, "we have to oblige. It''s part of the Death Pact."


    Aria sighed and rolled her eyes.


    This seemed like an unnecessary risk. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The Fiend of Darkness had killed Extractors before.


    It was not easy to work with it, and getting swallowed by it was especially dangerous.


    "Yes, there''s a way to get you out," Aria said. "Is that what you want?"


    Nick nodded.


    "Fine," Aria said. "I can''t stop you without killing Vernon."


    Then, she took hold of Vernon''s suitcase and pointed it at Nick.


    "Get in. I''ll get you there," she said.


    Nick turned into mist and went into the suitcase without even looking at Vernon.


    Vernon just sighed.


    And here, he had thought that the most dangerous part of the advancement was already over.


    Now, Nick wanted to get swallowed by the Fiend of Darkness.


    That was ridiculous.


    Aria looked at Vernon, and a small, helpless expression appeared on her face.


    Vernon just shrugged.


    Aria sighed silently.


    Then, a serious and confident expression appeared on her face, and she walked out of her office.


    Demeanor and appearance were important for a CZE.


    The reason why she had put Nick in the suitcase was to keep him a secret.


    It was important that no one saw Nick.


    Dark Dream was one of Kugelblitz''spetitors, and Nick wasn''t very close to anyone from Kugelblitz.


    Seeing him walking around with Aria during such a tense situation would elicit suspicion.


    Aria walked past a couple of employees and went down a couple of floors.


    Aria simply moved her hand over an inconspicuous part of the wall and continued walking down the hallway.


    Naturally, these hallways were highly secure, and if someone didn''t know what to look out for in those hallways, they would trigger an rm.


    Aria approached a door and moved her hand over a console beside it.


    The door opened, and she stepped into a locker room with different uniforms and tools.


    The door behind her closed, and she opened the briefcase.


    Nick came out of the briefcase and returned to his normal state.


    "We''re here," Aria said as she went to one of the walls and grabbed something.


    The thing she grabbed looked like a harpoon with a long white rope attached to it.


    "Is that what we are going to use to get me out?" Nick asked.


    Aria nodded.

 Chapter 467 - 467 – The Fiend of Darkness

    Chapter467 - 467 ¨C The Fiend of Darkness


    "How is this going to work?" Nick asked.


    "I''ll show you," Aria said as she approached one of the doors with the harpoon slung over her shoulder.


    Nick followed her and watched her open the door.


    As soon as the door opened, Nick only saw pure darkness.


    BANG!


    Aria shoved her hand forward, and the darkness was pushed back, revealing a well-lit room.


    In the distance, Nick could now see a ck cloak pinned against one of the walls.


    When he saw that, he realized what had happened.


    The room hadn''t been dark.


    It had been the cloak that had essentially pressed itself against the employee entrance, making it seem like the room was dark.


    Nick imagined the floating ck cloak waiting in front of the entrance to ambush anyone who was foolish enough to enter.


    The cloak was over three meters long, and it also had two sleeves that were two meters long. On its top was a ck hood, which surprisingly had normal proportions.


    Naturally, nobody was wearing the cloak.


    As Nick looked into the cloak, he felt like he was looking at the ckest thing that existed.


    It seemed to contain an eternity of darkness.


    And in a way, that was right.


    Any person that touched the Fiend of Darkness would vanish, and the Fiend of Darkness did not grow when that happened.


    This was important since that meant that the Fiend of Darkness was most likely not containing the person inside of itself.


    Instead, it most likely transported the person somewhere.


    In a way, the Fiend of Darkness was essentially a very fast and aggressive portal, and touching it meant death.


    Fighting against it was very different from fighting normal Specters.


    "It doesn''t have intelligence and always attacks the Extractors," Aria said. "I have to stay here to contain it."


    Aria kept pointing her hand at the Fiend of Darkness, which was pushed against the wall.


    "It''s important to keep it pinned in one spot. If it moves even a little bit, you won''t be able to get back," she said.


    "Howe?" Nick asked.


    "We are not entirely sure where the Fiend of Darkness leads to since it''s impossible to perceive your surroundings inside, but we know that the entrance point moves when the Fiend of Darkness moves," Aria exined.


    Nick understood what she meant.


    One only needed to imagine two portals in two different locations.


    If one of them moved to the left, the other one might move to the right.


    If one of them moved upward, the other one might move downward.


    The way the Fiend of Darkness actually stopped people from escaping was by simply pushing them through the portal and then moving the portal away.


    Since the portal and the surroundings were the darkest ck, it was impossible to sense the portal from the other side.


    Once someone lost the location of the portal, it was impossible to find it again. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The next moment, Aria took hold of the harpoon and readied it.


    BANG!


    She threw the harpoon at the Fiend of Darkness, the rope rapidly gliding through her fingers.


    The harpoon vanished in the Fiend of Darkness.


    CRRR!


    Aria clenched her fingers, and the rope stopped moving.


    Then, she slowly let go of the rope, and it surprisingly continued going into the Fiend of Darkness.


    It looked almost like the Fiend of Darkness was pulling the rope into itself!


    "The orientation inside it is different," Aria exined as she slowly gave the harpoon more and more rope. "If it is pinned against the wall like this, it is pointing downwards in the other location. It''s not pulling on the rope. Gravity is."


    Nick nodded in understanding and waited.


    A momentter, Aria raised an eyebrow, and she pulled a bit on the rope.


    After moving it back and forth a bit, she nodded.


    "It''s touching the bottom," she said before looking at Nick. "You can go in now, but you have to keep one thing in mind."


    "You can onlye back by either climbing up the rope or holding onto it and pulling on it, in which case I will pull you out with the rope."


    "Even though the rope is white, you won''t be able to see it inside since any kind of light immediately vanishes. This means you have to keep hold of the rope for the entire time."


    "If you let go of it, you won''t be able to find it again under the Nightmare''s influence. Do you understand?" she asked.


    Nick looked at the Fiend of Darkness and nodded.


    "Good," Aria said. "How long should I wait until I can be sure that you are dead?"


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "Six hours," he said.


    Aria rolled her eyes.


    Six hours?


    It would be surprising if anyone survived six minutes under the Nightmare''s indescribable torture.


    The darker it was, the stronger the Nightmare''s influence was, and the area behind the Fiend of Darkness was probably the darkest ce in the world.


    "If it''s that long, there''s another thing I have to tell you," Aria said.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "There''s no oxygen in there. If you n to be in there for hours, you better take a deep breath," she said.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    Experts didn''t need air, but he wasn''t an Expert yet.


    Nevertheless, keeping his breath for six hours wasn''t that difficult since the vast majority of his bodily functions worked by using Zephyx.


    His body barely needed any oxygen.


    "Alright," Nick said.


    "Then, you can enter whenever you want. I''ll wait here. Just pull on the rope three times in quick session, and I will pull you out," Aria said.


    Nick nodded again and focused on the Fiend of Darkness.


    He grabbed the rope Aria was holding and approached the Fiend of Darkness while keeping the rope inside his hand.


    When he reached the Fiend of Darkness, he stopped and breathed deeply a couple of times.


    He knew what was going to wait for him in there.


    He knew that the next minutes were going to be the worst minutes of his life.


    For a minute, he just waited in front of the Fiend of Darkness.


    Then, he gritted his teeth and jumped in.

 Chapter 468 - 468 – Deepest Darkness

    Chapter468 - 468 ¨C Deepest Darkness


    Nick entered the Fiend of Darkness while holding the rope.


    The first thing he felt was that he was suddenly being pulled forward, and he used the rope to realign himself with gravity''s new direction.


    The next thing he felt was the familiar pain of being under the Nightmare''s influence.


    Since Nick had his eyes closed, he couldn''t see what was happening to him.


    He could only feel it.


    He felt something sharp and burning entering his chest.


    He felt his muscles being pulled from his bones.


    He felt acid epassing his body.


    The Nightmare''s creativity was immeasurable, and it oftenbined different tortures.


    Nick gritted his teeth and did his best not to release the breath he was holding.


    But it was difficult.


    It was so very difficult.


    The pain was just so bad.


    This was the worst pain someone could imagine, and it happened to him endlessly.


    This was a pain that could only exist when someone was being killed by something, but Nick just didn''t stop existing.


    It was difficult for Nick to focus on the rope he was holding in his hand.


    When he had been swimming in the sewers many years ago, he hadn''t been able to orient himself under the Nightmare''s influence, but after years of experience, he had be pretty good at it.


    The pain was unbearable, but he could still feel where he was.


    BANG!


    Finally, Nick felt his body colliding with something hard with a lot of force, and he knew that he had hit the bottom.


    He knew that this was not an illusion since the force didn''t hurt that much.


    The next moment, Nick felt like the left side of his ribcage had copsed as something incredibly hard hit him there.


    He felt himself getting flung into the distance before getting impaled by spikes.


    His entire body was covered in sweat, and he tried his best not to fall into panic.


    This attack had felt so incredibly real.


    He felt like someone had just kicked him into the distance.


    ''It''s not real! No matter how real it feels!'' Nick told himself as he tried to move while being impaled.


    He could still feel the subtle tug of the rope.


    He moved his hand downward a bit and felt the metallic feeling of the harpoon.


    Yes, he had reached the bottom.


    At that moment, burning spikes poked through his eyelids and entered his eyes.


    For just an instant, Nick had been able to see them, which terrified him.


    ''It''s not real!'' Nick thought as he gritted his teeth so hard that blood was flowing out.


    But it was so difficult to tell his emotions that none of this was real.


    The Nightmare''s illusions had never felt so real before!


    "YOU KILLED ME!"


    The hate-filled scream of a little boy echoed in Nick''s ears.


    Even though it had been many years, Nick still remembered Horua''s voice. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''I know!'' Nick thought with gritted teeth as many human teeth bit into his shoulder. ''I''ll repay my debt to you!''


    Nick tried his best to remain calm, and a momentter, he focused on his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    Sadly, that was almost impossible since he was assaulted by pain every single moment.


    He could only feel his Zephyx Synchronizer at small moments between rapid explosions of pain.


    It was like trying to see a part of the sun while thick clouds of smoke blocked it.


    Outside, in the Fiend of Darkness'' Containment Unit, a huge amount of Zephyx was produced.


    The Fiend of Darkness kept producing Zephyx while somebody was inside it.


    Aria technically didn''t need to ask for how long Nick wanted to stay in there since she only needed to feel the Zephyx in the surroundings, but she wanted to be sure.


    What if the Fiend of Darkness actually had a maximum amount of Zephyx it could produce in a day, and she prematurely pulled the harpoon out while Nick was still alive?


    Over 30 seconds had passed, and Aria raised an eyebrow.


    Surviving for 30 seconds under such torture was already impressive.


    She could tell that Nick was still alive since she felt subtle vibrations on the rope.


    Most humans would fall unconscious when assaulted with so much pain.


    However, the thing with the Nightmare was that it kept assaulting the mind while it was unconscious.


    But since the person didn''t feel that much while unconscious, it would take quite a while for them to die.


    Inside the domain of darkness, Nick kept looking at his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    From time to time, he could feel it.


    It wasn''t changing.


    It was the same as always, and Nick hadn''t felt any change.


    This meant that he was not close enough to any Specter to absorb their ability.


    If it were possible to get the Nightmare''s ability, he would be able to see at least a subtle change in his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    But there wasn''t any.


    This meant that Nick couldn''t get the Nightmare''s ability.


    When Nick saw that, he gritted his teeth even harder.


    Even though he had expected this to happen, he was still scared and frustrated.


    If it were that easy to get the Nightmare''s ability, people would have already attained it.


    Aria had said that the Fiend of Darkness couldn''t give the Nightmare''s ability, and Kugelblitz had probably invested tens if not hundreds of millions of credits in researching the Fiend of Darkness.


    Powerful Extractors had probably been here for several minutes, if not hours, after years of preparation.


    He wouldn''t be able to get the Nightmare''s ability here.


    Nick resisted the urge to take in a deep breath and stood up, still holding the rope.


    Then, he opened his eyes.


    An endless sea of hate-filled grimaces assaulted him.


    He was drowning in an eternity of endless hatred.


    The grimaces were tearing at him with their teeth, and Nick saw his innards getting pulled out and consumed.


    Opening one''s eyes while under the Nightmare''s influence was a bad idea since that made it much harder to orient oneself.


    Nick tried his best to look around.


    He felt the hatred of the faces deep inside himself.


    They wanted to make him suffer for all eternity!


    For several seconds, Nick just felt the hatred.


    And then, he turned to look in a direction.


    Nick felt like all the hatred originated from that ce.


    Nick''s mind was going wild.


    He wanted to return!


    He wanted to go back!


    He couldn''t take this anymore!


    But then, the image of all the people of the Dregs melting in the Crimson Sea''s mist shot through his mind.


    ''I don''t deserve to give up,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes.


    ''I need to redeem myself!''


    And then, he did it.


    He let go of the rope¡­


    And walked into the darkness.


    ''If I die now, I deserve to die!''

 Chapter 469 - 469 – Eternity

    Chapter469 - 469 ¨C Eternity


    He had done it.


    He had let go of his way back.


    Finding the rope again would prove to be almost impossible.


    The subtle sensation of touching a rope could barely be felt under the endless assault of torture.


    Nick took controlled and deliberate steps forward, trusting his feeling of bnce more than his sight.


    This was the only way he could hope to find the rope again.


    He only needed to retread his steps, but that was easier said than done.


    If his angle changed in any way, he mightpletely miss the rope on his way back.


    In fact, relying on that method was idiotic.


    The chances of sess were minuscule.


    Nick might as well just randomly run into the darkness.


    And he knew that.


    He knew all of this.


    But he still did it.


    He took a risk.


    The biggest risk a human could take.


    Either he seeded or died.


    There was even a possibility that he would seed and then die.


    After all, as far as he knew, no one had ever gotten the Nightmare''s ability.


    But that might not bepletely urate.


    What if someone had gotten the ability but died before anyone else could see it?


    What if the Nightmare killed anyone who got its ability, like Nurse Alice?


    That might be possible.


    However, Nick believed that this wasn''t the case.


    Everyone suspected that the Nightmare was not conscious.


    The reason for that was the fact that it killed anyone who fell unconscious in the darkness.


    Most Specters, even weak and dumb ones, tended to keep their food source alive unless they gained power by killing somebody.


    For example, the Talker let people go after it became impossible to get them to engage with it in a conversation anymore.


    The Grey Room let people go before their minds vanished.


    It was quite obvious that the Nightmare gained power by torturing people, and based on how Specters generally worked and operated, experienced Extractors were quite certain that it didn''t get power from actively killing people.


    But it still did so, even though that reduced the amount of food it had.


    Usually, people would just believe that this was a Specter without any intelligence, but that didn''t seem feasible when it came to an Eternal.


    An Eternal must have had enough time to evolve intelligence.


    So, why was it killing its food?


    The most likely exnation was that it was unconscious.


    Maybe it was sleeping.


    Maybe it was in some form of trance.


    Maybe it wasn''t paying attention.


    No matter what it was, it most likely wasn''t conscious of any human suffering under its power.


    And that was what Nick was betting on.


    If it wasn''t conscious of any human, he might be able to get its ability without it noticing.


    This was the only hope he had left.


    If that didn''t work, he would die.


    Nick had known since the beginning that the chances of his death were over 99%.


    However, if he didn''t put in even more effort, he wouldn''t be able to redeem himself.


    In his mind, the only way to redeem himself was to do his absolute best to improve the lives of a huge group of people.


    He had to do so much good that the gratitude of countless people outweighed the hatred of the two thousand or so he had killed.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t be better than any of the people he despised.


    Truthfully, right now, he knew that he wasn''t any better, which was why he had to give his best to improve.


    He was in an indescribably deep moral and emotional debt, and he wanted to do everything in his power to get out of this debt.


    And that was why he had to do his absolute best to be powerful enough to achieve his goal.


    Nick took a step forward, and countless spears of burning metal shot through his body.


    ''I deserve this!'' Nick thought with gritted teeth.


    He took another step forward and felt poisonous gas entering all of his orifices and turning him into liquid from the inside.


    ''I deserve this!'' Nick thought.


    He took one more step forward, and two huge grindstones ground him into dust.


    ''I deserve this!''


    ''I deserve this!''


    ''I deserve this!''


    Nick kept walking forward in uniform steps.


    The only way he could cope with all of the unimaginable torture was to tell himself that he deserved to feel all of this.


    If he didn''t tell that to himself, he might have given up.


    Nick looked into the endless sea of hatred with determined eyes.


    The endless sea of hatred ovepped with the hatred all the killed people from the Dregs felt for him inside Nick''s mind.


    Nick felt like the people of the Dregs were taking their revenge.


    They wanted to make him feel the same pain they felt.


    They wanted to make him lose the same things they had lost.


    Nick just stepped forward.


    And another step.


    He never stopped walking.


    An eternity of endless hatred.


    Unstoppable pain.


    ''I deserve this!''


    ''I deserve this!''


    ''I deserve this!''


    ''I deserve this!''


    He kept walking forever.


    Time had long since lost its meaning.


    The hatred became more and more overwhelming.


    Nothing made sense anymore.


    What was his body?


    Where was his body?


    What was he?


    What was his mind?


    What was his soul?


    Pain, hatred, and reality turned into a colorless sludge and became indiscernible from each other.


    The illusions of the Nightmare had be so abstract that they turned into random colors.


    Pain turned into colors.


    Colors turned into space.


    Space turned into time.


    Time turned into pain.


    Forward becameter.


    Earlier became less painful.


    Later was red.


    Pain was backward.


    Nothing made sense anymore.


    Only one thing was certain.


    Only one.


    ''I deserve this!''


    This was the only certainty.


    He deserved this.


    And he knew it.


    This was the only thing he knew.


    Step by step.


    Deeper in the endless hatred.


    A step.


    Another step.


    Another step.


    Another step.


    Another step.


    Another step.


    On and on. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    For all of eternity.

 Chapter 470 - 470 – Endless White

    Chapter470 - 470 ¨C Endless White


    White.


    ck.


    Nothing.


    Silence.


    This was what Nick felt.


    Nick had stopped walking.


    There were no more illusions.


    There was no more pain. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Everything had be silent.


    Everything around him was perfectly ck¡­


    Except for the floor.


    It was perfectly white.


    Silence.


    Everything was silent.


    Nothing moved.


    Nick''s mind slowly returned.


    BANG!


    And he copsed onto the ground.


    His mind didn''t think.


    It was just there.


    Existing.


    Nick closed his eyes and released a brea-


    ''No!''


    Nick only released a tiny bit of his breath before he stopped, his mind snapping awake.


    He hadn''t known anything about the world just now, but when he had started to release his breath, something inside of him screamed at him.


    Nick closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts.


    ''It stopped,'' he thought.


    ''Everything has stopped.''


    ''I''m not dead, or I wouldn''t have been so afraid of releasing my breath.''


    ''Yet, there are no more illusions and no more pain.''


    ''So, where am I?''


    Nick slowly stood up, his journey from just now fading from his mind.


    It was almost like one of the Dreamer''s dreams.


    It was like none of this had been real.


    It was like he hadn''t gone through any of this.


    ''For how long did I walk?'' Nick thought.


    He had no idea.


    It could have been a minute.


    It could have been several hours.


    The only thing that gave him a clue about how long he was walking was the air in his lungs.


    If he had been in here for longer than twelve hours or so, he would feel the need to take a breath.


    However, he didn''t feel that need.


    A momentter, Nick looked around.


    The white of the ground seemed unnatural.


    Everything was so perfectly smooth and white.


    Hadn''t Aria said that there was no light in here?


    So, why was the ground so white, and why could he see it?


    Nick kneeled down and touched the ground.


    That was when he felt it, and his eyes opened widely in shock.


    ''Zephyx!''


    ''All of this is Zephyx!''


    Nick looked at the endlessness around him.


    ''And it''s so incredibly dense and hard!''


    Nick felt like the Zephyx was so dense and hard that just a tiny vial of it would be heavy enough to break all his bones.


    The amount of Zephyx in this area¡­


    Millions, billions, trillions of tons!


    This was probably more Zephyx than all of humanity had ess to.


    ''I can only think of one thing that can produce that much Zephyx,'' Nick thought as he looked at the endless white ne.


    Nobody knew where Nurse Alice was when she wasn''t visiting any humans.


    Nobody knew where the Maw was.


    Nobody knew where the Null was.


    Everybody knew where the Sun was, but no one could see behind it or beside it.


    And the Nightmare?


    ''Is this the first time a human has reached an Eternal''s domain?'' Nick thought.


    Nick silently looked at the endless white ne.


    It felt so alien.


    He was in darkness, but he didn''t feel any pain.


    This was apletely alien feeling.


    Every human in the world associated darkness with pain.


    It was like associating searing heat with pain.


    But now, Nick was feeling the darkness but not pain.


    It was like feeling acid burning his body but not associating that feeling with pain.


    It was strange.


    For a while, Nick just looked at the nothingness.


    The hatred had also vanished, which meant that he didn''t know where the Nightmare was.


    ''I''ve alreadye this far. There''s no reason to turn back now,'' Nick thought.


    But instead of walking forward, Nick took off his shoes and left them at the exact spot where he stood.


    Since he could see them now, he used them as a mark to get back.


    And then, he walked forward.


    ''I should hurry up. I don''t know how long I have already been in here,'' he thought as he started to run.


    In an instant, Nick had reached incredible speeds.


    His ability was active, which meant that nobody was looking at him right now.


    He ran for over 30 seconds, and the endless amount of Zephyx just never stopped.


    But then, Nick''s eyes narrowed, and his heart rate increased.


    There was something in the distance.


    It was not very tall, but there was something on the ground.


    Nick slowed down and approached the object carefully and quietly.


    The closer he got, the more careful he walked.


    The Zephyx in the atmosphere around him became denser and denser, and Nick almost felt like he was passing through a mire of invisible Zephyx.


    Eventually, Nick reached the object, and he looked down.


    When Nick saw it, all his emotions screamed the same thing.


    This was the Nightmare!


    This had to be the Nightmare!


    In front of Nick was a decaying corpse.


    It was of average height, but the dposition had already turned it thin and dried out.


    Yet, the dposition didn''t seem to continue.


    The corpse was half-dposed, showing parts of its muscles and organs, but there was nothing else.


    There was no smell.


    There were no insects.


    It was like a corpse that was frozen in time.


    Even though he stood directly beside it, Nick''s ability was still active.


    He had no idea if this corpse was alive or not.


    However, his soul was telling him that this was the Nightmare.


    Was this the reason why it killed everyone in the darkness?


    Was it like a corpse filled with highly toxic poison that killed anyone who came too close?


    It was dead, but its power still covered the world?


    Nick looked at the endless Zephyx around him.


    ''If it''s dead, it wouldn''t produce this much Zephyx.''


    ''Although, what if it actually isn''t producing Zephyx?''


    ''What if this Zephyx was already here, and the corpse is actually converting the Zephyx into suffering?''


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    ''That wouldn''t make much sense.''


    Nick looked at the corpse for a while, and as he was doing so, his Zephyx Synchronizer was changing.


    He was gaining the Nightmare''s ability.

 Chapter 471 - 471 – Vision

    Chapter471 - 471 ¨C Vision


    It still felt so strange.


    Nick was looking at the Nightmare.


    He was actually looking at the Nightmare''s real body.


    Had any human seen the Nightmare''s real body before? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It was just so strange.


    This was an Eternal.


    Something that could end all of humanity if it wanted.


    And yet, Nick could just stand here, looking at it.


    The fact that his ability was still active meant that the Nightmare either couldn''t or didn''t perceive him.


    Either it was simply not paying attention to him¡­


    Or it was unable to pay attention to anything.


    Was the Nightmare truly only a corpse?


    Something that didn''t even have a will?


    But then, where did all of this endless hatrede from?


    After all, the Nightmare''s illusions were filled with the purest hatred imaginable.


    It was like the Nightmare wanted to cause as much suffering in the world as possible.


    Yet, could a corpse even have such feelings?


    Nick looked away from the corpse and closed his eyes.


    Then, he focused on his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    When he saw that it was changing, he felt his heart rate spike.


    ''There have been people with the ability of an Eternal before, but has there ever been anyone with the abilities of two Eternals?'' Nick thought.


    ''Maybe someone got one from the Maw after getting one from the Sun or the Null, but I can''t be sure.''


    Nick opened his eyes again and looked at the corpse.


    ''After arriving here, I don''t think anyone has ever gotten the ability of the Nightmare.''


    ''Sadly, I can''t find out what ability it would give to new Extractors. I barely managed to get here on my own, and I don''t think I can pull someone with me.''


    ''But that doesn''t matter now. I should focus on my ability advancement.''


    Nick closed his eyes again and focused on his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    A couple of minutes passed.


    And then, Nick felt his Zephyx Synchronizer stop changing.


    ''I can feel it,'' Nick thought.


    Nick opened his eyes again and looked away.


    Then, he focused on a random spot and made his Zephyx move.


    Nick''s Zephyx rapidly drained and vanished into nothing.


    Based on the Nightmare''s powers, Nick had a good guess as to what ability he had unlocked.


    ''However, since it has to be connected to my main ability, this probably means that it must be rted to perception as well. I should test it on Ariater since she probably wants to make sure that I didn''t manage to get the Nightmare''s ability.''


    Nick looked in the direction of where he came from.


    Then, he nced ast time at the Nightmare.


    The corpse was just lying there.


    In silence.


    It was like time didn''t exist in here.


    He wondered what the background of this corpse was.


    Was it just how the Specter looked, or was it an actual corpse?


    In the end, Nick just shook his head and ran towards the ce where his shoes were.


    He arrived there pretty quickly and put them back on.


    The white endlessness of Zephyx ended at this spot and was reced by an infinite darkness.


    The Nightmare''s influence didn''t touch this area, but as soon as Nick stepped into the darkness, it would return.


    ''I only have to return,'' Nick thought.


    Nick prepared himself mentally.


    And then, he stepped into the darkness.


    ¡­


    Nothing.


    Silence.


    Nick was inside the darkness, but nothing was happening.


    No pain.


    No illusions.


    Nick opened his eyes again and looked around.


    Everything was ck.


    Even the area behind him was ck, even though there had just been the endless white.


    That was when Nick saw it.


    In the distance was a thin white line.


    Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise.


    If his guess was right¡­


    Since there were no illusions, Nick decided to run forward.


    Earlier, when he had traveled through the darkness to the Nightmare, he had walked very slowly, taking one step at a time.


    This meant that the rope wasn''t actually that far away.


    From what Nick could see, it was maybe two or three kilometers away.


    Nick reached the white line in a minute and stoppedin front ofit.


    Sure enough, this was the rope.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''Is the influence of the Nightmare no longer working on me?''


    Nick turned to look in the direction of where the Nightmare was.


    ''It has no intelligence and no will. Therefore, it probably also has no way to see that its power isn''t working on me.''


    Nick lifted his right arm and looked at it.


    Earlier, it had been impossible for him to see anything down here except for torture.


    But now, he could also see his hand easily.


    ''My arm isn''t shining with light, like the rope. So, how can I actually see it?''


    ''Can I actually perfectly see in the dark now?''


    Nick couldn''t be sure.


    ''Or all of this is just one of the Nightmare''s tricks, and I actually ran into a random direction.''


    Yet, even though this possibility was terrifying, Nick didn''t feellikeit was true.


    He didn''t feel any danger.


    Nick slowly grabbed the rope.


    Then, he gritted his teeth and bit a chunk of his left hand off.


    It hurt a lot, but he wanted to seem desperate.


    Finally, he rapidly tugged on the rope a couple of times.


    CRK!


    The harpoon loosened, and the ropestarted to ascendwhile Nick kept hold of it.


    Nick looked upward and saw a ck wall rapidly approaching.


    Then, he looked onest time in the direction of the Nightmare.


    It was still difficult for him to believethat hehad seen the Nightmare.


    Finally, Nick shook his head and gritted his teeth beforehe vanished into the darkness togetherwith the harpoon.


    The world had returned to perfect darkness.


    Nothing was living here.


    Nothing was happening here.


    And yet, just a couple of kilometers away was and of perfect white upon which a rotting corpsey.


    It justy there.


    Forever.


    Unchanging.


    On the perfect white surrounded by the perfect ck.


    In silence.

 Chapter 472 - 472 – Expert

    Chapter472 - 472 ¨C Expert


    BANG!


    The harpoon was pulled out of the Fiend of Darkness, and Nick fell to the ground inside the Containment Unit.


    Aria looked at Nick with shock and interest, but Nick justy on the ground.


    "Everything okay?" Aria asked.


    Nick released a deep breath and took another one.


    For five seconds, he didn''t say anything.


    Then, he slowly stood up, his steps uncertain.


    He seemed genuinely shaken.


    Of course, it wasn''t difficult for Nick to act like this.


    After all, he just needed to remember what he had gone through in there.


    The journey towards the Nightmare had filled him with genuine madness.


    Back then, he had turned into something he couldn''t recognize.


    He had been a machine, essentially.


    Remembering that moment filled Nick with dread.


    It was like he hadpletely lost himself.


    "I''m fine," Nick said after a while. "How long was I in there?"


    "Three and a half hours," Aria said with surprise. "I''ve only seen one person survive that long in there, and that person had trained for years before entering."


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought.


    "Did you get your ability?" Aria asked.


    Nick slowly shook his head. "I tried to get close to the Nightmare on a mental level since walking away from the harpoon would be suicide. I believed that it would be possible to attain some kind of connection to it in this way."


    Nick sighed. "But s¡­"


    Aria nodded. "If it were possible, we would have already found a way. Yet, I am genuinely surprised at how long you managed to hold out in there. And to think that you''re only a Veteran. I guess there''s a reason why Dark Dream didn''t copse yet."


    Aria didn''t just say these things.


    After all, she wasn''t even sure if she could survive that long under the Nightmare''s influence.


    Being able to resist the worst torture imaginable for a couple of hours without losing consciousness spoke volumes of Nick''s mental stability and his willpower.


    "What about your ability?" Aria asked.


    "I think I''ll take the Fiend of Darkness. It''s a good fit for me," Nick said.


    Aria furrowed her brows.


    She wouldn''t have an issue with that if their rtionship with Nick didn''t need to be kept secret.


    However, since she couldn''t announce that Nick was here, she needed to work with the Fiend of Darkness herself to produce Zephyx for Nick.


    Naturally, she didn''t look forward to it.


    Nevertheless, Aria had been an Extractor for over a hundred years, and she was used to working with horrible Specters.


    "How long do you need for your Zephyx Synchronizer to advance?" she asked.


    "Since the Fiend of Darkness is a Fanatic, it shouldn''t take that long. I believe two minutes is more than enough," Nick said.


    "Two minutes, huh," Aria repeated as she looked at the Fiend of Darkness.


    For a while, she remained silent.


    Then, she pointed her fingers at the Fiend of Darkness.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Several spikes of light shot into the Fiend of Darkness, and they surprisingly didn''t vanish as soon as they touched it.


    Instead, they pinned the Fiend of Darkness to the wall.


    "Just sit down in the middle of the room and focus on your advancement. Do not do anything stupid," Aria said with a threatening voice.


    Nick understood what she meant and nodded. "I understand. Thank you."


    Next, Nick sat down in the middle of the room and turned to the Fiend of Darkness.


    "You can begin," he said.


    Aria took a deep breath.


    Heroes obviously didn''t need to breathe, but taking a deep breath still helped in calming her mind.


    Being under the Nightmare''s influence for two minutes was a lot, even for her.


    The next moment, she jumped into the Fiend of Darkness.


    Compared to Nick, she didn''t need a harpoon.


    She could just hover at the edge since she could fly.


    As long as she was inside, the Fiend of Darkness would produce Zephyx.


    It didn''t matter if she was a kilometer away from it or just ten centimeters.


    She had warned Nick not to do anything stupid, but that wasn''t because of her safety but because of his.


    Since she was hovering just beside the Fiend of Darkness'' other exit, she could feel if it moved, and with her superior speed, she would be able to immediately jump back.


    However, the Fiend of Darkness would naturally immediately capture and consume Nick, dumping him in a random location somewhere in the darkness.


    Aria wouldn''t be able to get him back if that happened.


    Of course, her warning actually wasn''t necessary since Nick didn''t n on doing anything stupid anyway.


    The Fiend of Darkness produced a significant amount of Zephyx, and Nick absorbed as much of it as he could.


    Of course, since his Zephyx Synchronizer had already mutated, it couldn''t mutate again in the near future, but he still wanted to absorb as much Zephyx as possible to advance.


    Additionally, if Aria somehow noticed that Nick hadn''t absorbed any Zephyx, she might grow suspicious.


    While the Zephyx was pouring into the room, Nick focused on the Shell of his Zephyx Synchronizer and pulled as much Zephyx into it as possible.


    In Nick''s mental image of his Zephyx Synchronizer, the rhombus sped up more and more, and Nick felt his muscles starting to strain and tremble.


    He was absorbing more Zephyx than his body could handle. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    That was if he remained a Peak Veteran.


    As Nick absorbed more Zephyx, he felt some sort of barrier shackling his body.


    He focused on this barrier and used all his willpower to push through it.


    BANG!


    It was like some kind of barrier broke, and Nick felt endless amounts of Zephyx flowing into his body.


    His surroundings became clearer, but at the same time, there seemed to be some kind of white sheen to them.


    It was a contradicting feeling.


    It was like two pictures were ovepping.


    One of them was an extremely clear picture of the world around him, and the other was the Zephyx in the surroundings.


    Nick''s senses had improved a lot, and he could also see Zephyx much better now.


    But most importantly, he had finally done it.


    He had now reached the level in which Albert had been back when Nick met him for the first time.


    Nick was an Expert!

 Chapter 473 - 473 – Streak of Black

    Chapter473 - 473 ¨C Streak of ck


    As an Expert, Nick''s body was now 1,000 times more powerful than an identical body of a normal human.


    However, since Nick''s build was already very athletic, it was actually about 3,000 times as powerful as the average person''s body.


    And if his ability was active, that would go up to 15,000 times.


    As long as Nick wasn''t being perceived, his body was as powerful as the body of an Initial or Early Specialist.


    That was insane!


    Of course, if someone managed to perceive Nick, he would be in huge trouble since all that power would vanish.


    Sadly, achieving such insane power was only possible with tradeoffs.


    Someone who had no weaknesses could be a good fighter, but that was it.


    If one wanted to be a great or even the strongest fighter, one needed to focus on one''s advantages and improve them even more.


    Someone with great attacking power, great defense, great speed, and great technique could fight almost anyone, but only almost.


    Someone with peerless attacking power, poor defense, okay speed, and poor technique could casually annihte the previous fighter.


    Someone with peerless defense didn''t need to fear anyone.


    Someone with peerless speed couldn''t be touched.


    Someone with peerless technique couldn''t be killed.


    Of course, all of this was only true when these four peerless fighters didn''t fight with each other.


    As long as Nick wasn''t perceived, he could annihte a Late Expert with a single strike.


    That strike wouldpletely destroy their Barrier and kill them.


    Killing someone three levels above oneself in one instant was unheard of.


    But to achieve that power, Nick had needed topletely specialize on that path.


    He had amazing strengths, but he also had devastating weaknesses.


    Yet, as long as the opponent didn''t get a chance to take advantage of these weaknesses, they might as well not exist.


    Nick remained seated in the middle of the room for a while longer.


    Finally, about half a minuteter, Aria jumped out of the Fiend of Darkness.


    Her face was white, and she seemed quite distressed, but she quickly managed to recover.


    Nick looked at her and nodded. "Thank you. Everything has worked out."


    Aria took a deep breath.


    Being under the Nightmare''s influence for two minutes was still brutal for her.


    "You''ve also advanced?" she asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "Good," Aria said.


    Then, Aria looked at Nick for a second.


    "Did you get your ability?" she asked in a strange voice.


    A small glimmer appeared in Nick''s eyes.


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought.


    "I did," he said with a tone indicating that he understood the hidden message. "If you turn around for a moment, I can show you."


    Naturally, showing a stranger one''s ability was stupid and a no-go.


    Even asking for someone to show their ability was seen as overbearing and rude.


    However, this didn''t matter right now.


    The current dynamic between Nick and Aria was not simple.


    Nick had stayed for hours inside the Fiend of Darkness, and even though the chances were minuscule, maybe, just maybe, he managed to get the Nightmare''s ability.


    Obviously, the ability of an Eternal was more important than basically anything.


    It was even more important than Vernon''s life.


    On top of that, they had given Nick the Elixir, allowed him to get the ability of one of their Fanatics, and Aria even went through two minutes of brutal torture for him.


    Death Pact or not, Aria wanted to confirm Nick''s ability.


    The fairness or rudeness of the matter wasn''t important.


    Naturally, Nick knew all of this, and he had already made preparations.


    "Okay," Aria said with interest as she turned away from Nick.


    She wasn''t worried about Nick suddenly attacking her.


    Nick quietly stood in the middle of the room, but even though Aria wasn''t looking at him, his ability didn''t reactivate.


    However, that technically wasn''t important for his new ability.


    His new ability could be used on someone who wasn''t perceiving him.


    It didn''t need his ability to be active.


    At first nce, these two things sounded identical, but that wasn''t the case.


    It was identical when there were only two people in a room, but not when there were more.


    Right now, Nick''s ability was deactivated due to the Fiend of Darkness still being able to perceive him.


    In one case, he wouldn''t be able to use it at all, but in the other, he would be able to use it on Aria but not on the Fiend of Darkness.


    That was the difference.


    As Nick looked at Aria''s back, a small gleam appeared in his eyes.


    ''She can still perceive me somehow,'' Nick realized.


    He could feel that he couldn''t use his new ability on her.


    ''But I just need a small moment.''


    SHING!


    Nick turned into mist.


    Then, he used his new ability.


    Whooom!


    A streak of darkness passed through Aria''s vision, and Nick turned back into his corporeal form.


    Nick was certain that Aria had still been able to perceive him due to the smell or the quiet sounds of his blood flowing through his veins.


    Someone as powerful as Aria must have terrifying senses.


    But after he turned into fog, all of these things vanished, and for just a moment, she hadn''t been able to perceive him, giving him a small window for his new ability to work.


    Of course, if she had been looking at him, this wouldn''t have worked, but she wasn''t.


    When Aria saw the streak of darkness, a small bit of interest appeared in her eyes, but it was quickly reced by calm and disappointment. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Aria turned around and looked at Nick with a neutral expression.


    "You can summon darkness?" she asked.


    "More or less," Nick said. "That''s not entirely correct, but I don''t want to expose too much."


    Aria nodded.


    She didn''t need to know more.


    Her goal had been to confirm that Nick hadn''t somehow attained the Nightmare''s ability.


    Being able to summon a bit of darkness seemed very much in line with what the Fiend of Darkness granted Extractors.


    In a way, Aria was no longer afraid that Nick somehow managed to get the Nightmare''s ability, but she also was a bit disappointed.


    After all, getting the ability of an Eternal would be big news.


    Sadly, or luckily, Aria didn''t see how hard Nick was trying not to copse right now.


    Nick had essentially used 99% of his Zephyx to perform this little stunt.


    99% of Zephyx just to make a tiny streak of ck?


    That sounded horrible!


    And it would be¡­


    If this were Nick''s actual ability.


    But it wasn''t.

 Chapter 474 - 474 – Finalizing the Plan

    Chapter474 - 474 ¨C Finalizing the n


    Luckily, Nick''s Zephyx recovered extremely quickly.


    With his amazing Shell and his high Stage, it barely took him a minute to recover all of his Zephyx.


    "Then, we have fulfilled our side of the Death Pact," Aria said.


    Nick nodded. "For now. If I seed, you still have to give me an Elder."


    "If," Aria said.


    "However," Nick said, "while the mandatory things have been fulfilled, giving me another helping hand will definitely improve the chances of sess, and I think it''s in both of our interests that my chances of sess are as high as possible."


    Aria became annoyed. "Is there anything in particr that you have in mind?"


    Nick nodded.


    "Equipment," he said. "This is going to be a stealth mission, and as soon as I''m found, the mission will fail, and I will die. Because of that, I need things that will aid me in escaping, staying hidden, and assassinating."


    SHING!


    Nick''s de shot out of his wrist, and he held it up for Aria. "This de might be useful in a normal battle, but it might break if I attack a Specialist."


    "Attack a Specialist?" Aria repeated in shock. "That would be stupid! I get that you must feel amazing after bing an Expert, but don''t overestimate yourself."


    "Let that be my issue," Nick said calmly. "I am the one going into Anatomy, and Vernon has enough faith in me that he''s willing to give me an Elixir. I will tell you what I need, and if you want to improve my chances, it would be in your best interest to listen to me."


    Aria was annoyed by Nick''s arrogance, but she knew that this wasn''t the right moment to deal with such unimportant things.


    "Fine," she said with a bit of annoyance.


    Nick nodded. "Thank you. If possible, I would like a Shadow Shroud."


    Aria''s eyes narrowed, shock and rage appearing in them.


    How the fuck did Nick know about the Shadow Shrouds?!


    Those were secret!


    She red at Nick for a couple of seconds.


    Nick only looked back with a neutral expression.


    "I believe Vernon will be fine with giving you his," Aria said after a while.


    Right now, it didn''t matter how Nick knew about the Shadow Shrouds.


    They were on the same side for now.


    Nick nodded. "I also need fist des that won''t break if a Specialist attacks them with their full power."


    Aria didn''t see why Nick would need something this expensive.


    After all, if he attacked a Specialist, his remaining time in this world would be measured in seconds.


    Nevertheless, this concerned Kugelblitz''s survival.


    Additionally, they had already given Nick the Elixir, which was far more expensive than such a set of des.


    "We don''t have such a set currently, but we can make one within the next couple of hours," Aria said.


    Nick nodded.


    After that, he requested a couple of gadgets, but those weren''t very expensive.


    He didn''t ask for an expensive set of throwing spears since those were only useful in open ces.


    Within the tiny hallways of Anatomy, his throwing spears would only slow him down with their weight.


    "Is that all?" Aria asked.


    "Yes, that''s all," Nick said with a nod.


    "Good," she said. "Everything will be ready within five hours. For now, we should go back to Vernon and create a n for attack."


    The two of them walked out of the Containment Unit, and Nick entered the briefcase again.


    The two of them traveled back towards the highest floor and searched for Vernon.


    Since several hours had passed, Vernon was no longer in Aria''s office.


    Instead, he was in his own office, and he seemed quite worried, which was understandable since it didn''t look good for Kugelblitz.


    Sure, Nick might give them a chance, but it was very slim.


    After leaving Nick in Vernon''s office, Aria left to deal with the equipment Nick needed for the mission.


    Over the next period of time, Nick and Vernon made ns for the assault.


    Since this concerned Kugelblitz''s survival, Vernon did not hold anything back.


    He unveiled the power of Kugelblitz''s ability to collect intelligence by handing Nick an almostplete map of Anatomy''s building.


    There were a couple of parts that were greyed out since only the most powerful members of Anatomy had ess to those, but 90% of the building was perfectly mapped out.


    They even knew in which Containment Units half of the Specters were.


    Naturally, Vernon also told Nick what these Specters were and what they could do.


    While Nick knew everything about the Hatchlings, Adolescents, Adults, and Elders due to the offer Anatomy had made to all the Manufacturers, Anatomy hadn''t publicized any information about their Fanatics.


    That was where Vernon helped.


    ording to Vernon, Kugelblitz knew of four Fanatics that Anatomy owned, but they couldn''t be sure whether or not there was a fifth one.


    There was a chance that there were five and a very small chance that there were six. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    But there definitely were not seven.


    Otherwise, Anatomy would have grown much faster within the past decades.


    Eventually, Aria returned with all of the equipment Nick had requested, and he pocketed all of it.


    The three of them nned some more, and eventually, the picture of aplete n formed.


    "Is everyone fine with this n?" Aria asked.


    Vernon nodded.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    The other two looked at him.


    "I just got an idea," Nick said. "It''s a risk, but if this works, it might improve our chances drastically."


    Aria and Vernon were interested.


    In the beginning, they had mostly dismissed Nick''s contributions to the n, but he had given quite a few valuable pieces of input during the discussion.


    "Yes?" Aria asked.


    "I need you to bring me to somebody so that I can talk to them," Nick said.


    Aria raised an eyebrow. "Involving anyone else will put everything at risk," she said.


    "I know, which is why I said it''s a risk," Nick said.


    "Who?" Aria asked finally.


    Nick''s eyes gleamed.


    "I want to talk to Ghosty."

 Chapter 475 - 475 – Meeting with Ghosty

    Chapter475 - 475 ¨C Meeting with Ghosty


    Nick exined his n to Aria and Vernon, and in the end, it was decided that they would take the risk.


    Nick went back into the briefcase with all of the equipment he had received, and Vernon carried him out of Kugelblitz.


    Vernon traveled two floors down and arrived at the floor in which Gemini and Ghosty''s Lab were.


    Nick had entertained the thought of going to Ghosty alone, but he decided against it.


    There was a high likelihood that Ghosty would want something, and only Kugelblitz had the power to grant him whatever he desired.


    The two of them entered the main hall of Ghosty''s Lab, which was made of shining chrome ting, giving the building a very futuristic design.


    It looked just about what one would expect.


    Vernon reached the reception and came face to face with a smiling woman.


    Surprisingly, she was a Veteran.


    "Wee, Mr. Melfion," the receptionist said with a bright smile. "Ghosty has already informed me that you will be arriving."


    Vernon nodded, not surprised that Ghosty had anticipated he would arrive.


    Ghosty always seemed to know what was going to happen.


    "Thank you. Please, lead the way," Vernon said with a smile of his own.


    The receptionist nodded and led Vernon down one of the hallways.


    After climbing a couple of stairs, she walked down a hallway and stopped in front of a door.


    Vernon knew this door very well.


    He had talked with Ghosty many times over the decades.


    The receptionist knocked on the door.


    "Come in," the neutral voice of an older man came through the door.


    The receptionist opened the door but didn''t step through, gesturing for Vernon to enter.


    Vernon nodded to the receptionist and walked through the door.


    "Ah, Vernon," Ghosty said with a calm voice. "I''ve expected you."


    At the same time, the receptionist closed the door behind Vernon and left.


    "I''m not surprised anymore," Vernon said in an equally calm voice. "You always seemed to know the future."


    Ghosty chuckled dryly. "Oh,e now. It''s not difficult to foresee your arrival in the current situation." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Vernon sighed and sat down.


    "I presume not," he said.


    Then, everything became silent for a couple of seconds.


    "So, what is it you want to talk about?" Ghosty asked.


    Vernon took a deep breath.


    "I''m taking a very big risk by arriving here," Vernon said. "Undoubtedly, Anatomy has already taken note of my arrival, and they will be more vignt about me from now on."


    "Additionally, I can''t be sure that you are still willing to give an old friend a helping hand with what Kugelblitz has done."


    Ghosty didn''t say anything and just smiled.


    Vernon had anticipated that Ghosty wouldn''t give him an answer without receiving important information about the n, which was why this entire thing was so risky.


    "Tomorrow, we are going to call for a big meeting between all of the Heroes of Kugelblitz and Anatomy. During that meeting, we are going to talk about Anatomy''s acquisition of Kugelblitz," Vernon said.


    When Vernon said that, Ghosty became noticeably intrigued.


    Maybe even surprised.


    But who could fault him?


    Vernon had just said that Kugelblitz wasn''t even going to try fighting Anatomy.


    Instead of trying to stop the bleeding, they were willing to slit their throats to embrace death.


    "How did Kugelblitze to that decision?" Ghosty asked.


    Vernon sighed again.


    "Wilfred and the shareholders are under Mundus'' control," Vernon said in defeat, "and we didn''t notice it until it was toote."


    A gleam appeared in Ghosty''s eyes as he scratched his chin in thought.


    "We are not entirely sure how he did it," Vernon continued, "but we believe that Mundus took control of the shareholders when they were telling their representing directors about their desires for thepany."


    "As for Wilfred, we can''t be entirely sure. You already know that he started to step out of the public eye 40 years ago. However, we are not sure if he was already under Mundus'' control back then or if it happened after."


    "It was difficult toe into contact with Wilfred since he always said that he didn''t want to be disturbed by anything that didn''t directly rte to Kugelblitz''s survival. For everyday matters, he left everything to Aria and me."


    Vernon sighed again.


    "That''s why we don''t have any other choice," Vernon said. "Aria and I have tried our best, but we only represent 40% of Kugelblitz. Mundus controls the other 60%, and whatever he wants to happen will happen."


    Ghosty nodded. "That does sound quite troublesome. You make it sound like Anatomy has already won."


    "Haven''t they already?" Vernon asked.


    Ghosty smirked a bit. "If they had, you wouldn''t be here."


    "That''s true," Vernon said with a small chuckle. "Kugelblitz has given up, but that doesn''t mean that Aria and I have given up."


    "We have a little n. During the meeting tomorrow, one of our agents is going to infiltrate Anatomy and cause enough damage to make the fight equal."


    Ghosty raised an eyebrow. "That sounds unfeasible."


    "I know," Vernon said with a nod, "which is why Anatomy is not going to expect it. How could one agent possibly get past all the coral people? If even one of them dies or sees the agent, everything is over."


    "And this will give us a chance to seed."


    Yet, Ghosty didn''t seem convinced. "That sounds very farfetched. While Anatomy''s confidence is definitely a thing to consider, it doesn''t change the facts. Nobody is getting past all of these coral people."


    "For that matter," Ghosty added, "how would you even get your agent into Anatomy? The only entrance is the main entrance, which is tightly guarded."


    At that moment, a confident smirk appeared on Vernon''s face.


    "The same way I got the agent into this office," he said.


    Ghosty''s eyes widened.


    Their agent was in here?


    Ghosty was a very powerful Specialist, and he also had a couple of machines surveilling the building.


    If Vernon managed to get someone in here, that would truly be impressive.

 Chapter 476 - 476 – Sincerity

    Chapter 476 - 476 ¨C Sincerity


    The next moment, mist came out of the briefcase that Vernon had carried with him, and Ghosty realized how Vernon had done it.


    Of course, he had taken note of the briefcase, but he had thought that it contained something that Vernon was willing to offer Ghosty for his help.


    He hadn''t expected that a person was in there.


    When the mist turned into Nick, Ghosty became shocked for several reasons.


    The first and biggest reason was that he had not heard of any Extractor having the ability to change the form of their body to this degree.


    There were abilities that could add something to someone''s body.


    There were also abilities that could transform a part of the body into a weapon or something simr.


    However, Ghosty had never heard of an ability that could turn someone''s body into somethingpletely different.


    Even more important was the fact that it was a gas.


    Even when somebody could change part of their body, the new part was always hard.


    Metal, chitin, rock, and so on.


    Ghosty had heard of one guy that could turn his arm into magma, but the shape of the arm was still preserved.


    But turning one''s entire body into mist?!


    That was mind-boggling!


    Of course, Nick had shown this ability to a couple of people before, but none of them had been as surprised as Ghosty, the one who knew the most about most things in Crimson City.


    That was because Ghosty realized how truly strange that ability was. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Experienced Extractors like Aria or Vernon hade into contact with hundreds of Extractors and their abilities, and they had long since gotten used to the strangeness of abilities.


    There were some really crazy abilities out there.


    And that was exactly the reason why they were not very surprised about Nick''s ability.


    It was just one amongst many.


    But Ghosty knew better.


    As far as he knew, this was the first case of a human being able to mimic the properties of a Force Specter!


    This was extraordinary!


    The second reason why Ghosty was surprised was the fact that Nick managed to get in here without being noticed.


    Yes, he was inside the briefcase, shielding him from view, but Ghosty was very good at being able to sense Zephyx.


    Surprisingly, the briefcase did not give off any Zephyx until Nick appeared, which was strange.


    Force Specters gave off more Zephyx than normal Specters or Extractors at a baseline.


    That was because their bodies were mostly liquid or gaseous.


    It was more difficult for them to keep their Zephyx contained inside their bodies due to their loose properties.


    In his fog state, Nick was mimicking the properties of a Force Specter.


    So, how had Ghosty not been able to sense him so far?


    In that state, he should have given off a considerable amount of Zephyx.


    Additionally, the briefcase didn''t show any signs of being tampered with.


    It was just a normal briefcase.


    Ghosty didn''t know how Nick had managed to contain all his Zephyx inside of his body while in his fog state.


    Of course, thest reason why Ghosty was surprised was the fact that Vernon was betting on Nick.


    First of all, as far as Ghosty knew, Nick was a Peak Veteran.


    That was not somebody who could infiltrate Anatomy.


    Second, Nick wasn''t even part of Kugelblitz.


    Why would Kugelblitz bet their survival on some random Peak Veteran that didn''t even work for them?


    This soundedpletely bizarre!


    If he hadn''t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn''t believe it.


    Kugelblitz really had to be out of options if that was what they came up with.


    But on the other hand, Nick managed to get in here without being noticed.


    He managed to enter Ghosty''s office in secret.


    That was nothing to scoff at.


    Vernon chuckled. "I knew that I needed to prove the feasibility of this n. If I just told you what our n was, you would have thought me to be crazy."


    "That''s unusual," Ghosty said.


    Nick nodded. "Hello, Ghosty," he said.


    The two of them talked to each other asionally, and Ghosty wasn''t someone who put a lot of importance on politeness.


    "Fancy seeing you here, Nick," Ghosty said. "I was under the impression this would be a meeting between two people."


    Vernon chuckled. "I knew that I needed to prove the feasibility of this n. If I just told you what our n was, you would have thought me to be crazy."


    Ghosty looked between Vernon and Nick. "Understandable."


    Ghosty quickly regained hisposure and looked back at Vernon. "But I still don''t know why you are here."


    "He was the one that wanted to meet you," Vernon said. "I''m just here to deliver him."


    "Oh?" Ghosty uttered as he nced at Nick in interest.


    At that moment, Nick furrowed his brows.


    If he wanted to seed, he knew that he needed all the help, and he also knew that Ghosty would want a show of sincerity before he even considered helping Nick.


    "I have signed a Death Pact with Vernon," Nick said.


    Ghosty was not really surprised.


    This was about Kugelblitz''s survival.


    Naturally, Vernon wouldn''t take any chances.


    "The terms are that I have to do everything in my power to weaken Anatomy enough to give Kugelblitz a fighting chance," Nick said.


    "I''m confident that I can infiltrate Anatomy, but I''m not sure how I can cause enough damage to it."


    "That is why I need your help."


    "Ghosty''s Lab produces almost all the equipment the Manufacturers use, and there must be some way to take advantage of that," Nick said.


    A gleam appeared in Ghosty''s eyes. "Do you realize what you''re suggesting?" he asked.


    Nick nodded wordlessly.


    Ghosty remained silent for a while.


    "Why should I help you?" he asked.


    This was it.


    This was the riskiest moment.


    If Nick didn''t show sincerity, he knew that everything would be over.


    "I''m willing to trust you. Kugelblitz is willing to trust you. I am certain that Anatomy will not trust you."


    Ghosty could tell that Nick was about to say something very interesting.


    "As proof of my trust, I will tell you something that only one other person inside this city knows."


    "I have the ability of the Null."

 Chapter 477 - 477 – Surrounded by Danger

    Chapter477 - 477 ¨C Surrounded by Danger


    "I''m here to meet Mundus," Vernon said.


    Vernon was in a dark hall, standing in front of a desk that was barely illuminated.


    Behind the desk was a woman wearing a nk expression, corals growing out of the back of her head.


    Vernon recognized her.


    This woman had been one of Kugelblitz''s Experts just two days ago.


    The deadline the city had set for Anatomy''s Specters was today, but even though it was alreadyte in the evening, there was still no movement from the city.


    However, he had already expected that.


    The governor had said that Anatomy was supposed to deal with all of their weak Specters, but he probably wouldn''t take action.


    Everyone knew why.


    Most likely, the governor had set the deadline to make the decision about which side to join for him.


    If nobody epted Anatomy''s offer, he might have chosen Kugelblitz and fought against Anatomy.


    However, over half of Anatomy''s Specters had been bought, and most importantly, all of their Elders and over 75% of their Adults had been bought, which meant that they had already gained almost all the employees they could possibly get.


    By now, it was obvious that the governor would choose Anatomy''s side.


    Was it stupid?


    Wasn''t he afraid that Anatomy would also force him into servitude?


    No, because the governor was part of Aegis.


    As long as the city kept sending Zephyx and as long as the normal people had a passable quality of life, Aegis wouldn''t get involved.


    Of course, with so many Extractors bing unable to work with Specters, the general Zephyx production suffered.


    However, every Extractor controlled by the Sea King also made the Sea King produce more Zephyx.


    So, even though so many Extractors couldn''t work with the Specters anymore, the production had only suffered a little bit, and it still fulfilled the quota Aegis demanded.


    As for the necessarypetition of Manufacturers that Aegis demanded, that also wouldn''t be an issue.


    They just had to leave Ghosty''s Lab alone and maybe also Gemini.


    That would still bepetition enough, even though those two obviously couldn''t even attempt to fight Anatomy.


    "Follow," the woman said with a raspy voice as she turned around.


    She took hold of themp behind her and gestured towards the side.


    Since Anatomy only had eight humans left, they decided to kill all the lights inside their building.


    The humans controlled by the Sea King weren''t affected by the Nightmare.


    Well, that wasn''t technically true.


    Technically, they all had already been killed by the Nightmare.


    The Nightmare had already tortured all of them into unconsciousness and had then destroyed their minds.


    However, their bodies were still alive.


    As long as the organs still received orders from somewhere, they wouldn''t stop working. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    This meant that all the coral people were brain-dead but were still walking around as if they were alive.


    As for the couple of humans still alive in Anatomy, they simply walked around with specialmps.


    Additionally, there were a couple of ces in the building that still had a bit of light for them.


    But over 80% of the building was inplete darkness, and almost nobody could walk around in this darkness.


    They needed either a light or the ability to produce light on their own, and as for thetter, that required the power of a Specialist, and it cost a lot of Zephyx to keep the light active.


    Like this, Anatomy had created a fortress.


    Vernon nodded and followed after the coral woman.


    The coral woman slowly walked forward as she held themp in her hand high.


    Vernon wasn''t sure if he had ever been in such a dark ce.


    He wasn''t a fighter.


    He had worked with many Specters, but he had never truly been involved in capturing one or in explorations into the outside world.


    While Vernon seemed calm on the surface, he was actually very afraid deep inside.


    He was risking his life bying here.


    If Anatomy decided to kill him here, there would be nothing Kugelblitz could do about it.


    The only things he could rely on were Anatomy''s confidence and their trepidation about starting the war too abruptly.


    After all, there was still a chance that the governor might decide to stay neutral, even when thest fight was happening, and Anatomy did not want that to happen.


    The coral woman led Vernon up several flights of stairs until they arrived in a dimly lit hallway.


    It was not very bright, but it was bright enough to keep the Nightmare at bay, but just barely.


    If one didn''t have a strong mind, one might see faint illusions.


    Even though Vernon wasn''t a fighter, his mind was still powerful, and he could resist the subtle influence of the Nightmare.


    The two of them reached a Containment Unit, but shockingly, the door to the Containment Unit was open.


    In fact, it wasn''t only open.


    The door was actually destroyed.


    The coral woman gestured for Vernon to walk into the Containment Unit.


    Vernon took a deep breath and walked forward.


    When he entered, he saw a giganticwork of corals, which were stretching all over the Containment Unit.


    Some of them were even extending out of it through a couple of holes.


    In the middle of the Containment Unit was a pir of corals that connected the floor to the tall ceiling.


    Even though he had never seen it with his own eyes, Vernon could tell that this was the Sea King.


    Two people stood in front of the Sea King.


    Ariel Cerillion and Mundus Stairwell.


    Zarren Harrow was nowhere to be seen.


    The Containment Unit was brighter than the hallway, but not by much.


    "Vernon," Mundus said with a neutral voice.


    Even though Anatomy had to be confident, Mundus didn''t show any arrogance or carelessness.


    He appeared just like always, cold and calcting.


    "Mundus," Vernon said with a nod before looking at Ariel. "Ariel."


    Ariel didn''t look at him and just kept looking at the Sea King.


    Even though Anatomy was working together with the Sea King, they did not trust each other.


    Ariel stood beside the Sea King every second of every day.


    If the Sea King didn''t follow an order, she would kill it.


    Of course, the Sea King had a lot of soft power.


    After all, if it died, Kugelblitz would be the favorite to win the war.


    This meant that the Sea King had a lot of negotiating power.


    At the back of the room stood a Veteran with corals growing out of his ears.


    This Veteran was used as the Sea King''s mouthpiece since it couldn''t talk on its own.


    "Why are you here?" Mundus asked neutrally.


    Vernon took a deep breath.


    "You won," he said.


    Mundus didn''t answer.


    "Everything has been clear since the day before yesterday," Vernon continued. "You managed to take advantage of Kugelblitz''s scattered ownership and made us kill ourselves."


    "You probably even already know why I''m here since we spoke about the reason why I''ming here," Vernon said.


    "Why are you here?" Mundus repeated, not confirming or denying anything.


    "Kugelblitz wants a meeting with Anatomy in six hours," Vernon said. "We want to propose a merger with Anatomy."


    Naturally, this was not a merger where both parties had equal power.


    In essence, Vernon was saying that Anatomy was allowed to purchase a majority of Kugelblitz''s stock while Kugelblitz got a minority of Anatomy''s stock.


    What happened after that was up to Anatomy since they had control over bothpanies.


    Would they absorb Kugelblitz?


    Would they keep it as a puppet?


    The reason why Kugelblitz suggested a merger instead of a takeover was so that it seemed like there waspetition in the city, making it far easier to fulfill Aegis''petition requirement.


    "A meeting," Mundus repeated with a neutral voice. "Where will the meeting take ce?"


    "Inside Ghosty''s Lab. We realize that holding it inside Kugelblitz is too disadvantageous for you, but we also don''t want to hold it inside Anatomy. After all, Kugelblitz''s owners are also just human, and we don''t want to unnecessarily risk our lives."


    Mundus remained quiet for a while.


    Then, he nced at Ariel.


    Ariel looked back with a neutral expression.


    After that, Mundus nced at the coral person in the back of the room.


    The coral person shrugged.


    Mundus looked to the side for a while.


    "Fine," he said before looking back at Vernon.


    Vernon didn''t show any reaction, but the tension he had deep inside vanished.


    "Thank you," Vernon said with a quick and polite bow.


    Mundus looked at Vernon for a bit longer.


    Then, he nced down.


    "What''s in the suitcase? You''ve been carrying around everywhere recently," Mundus said.


    Vernon looked at Mundus.


    Then, he put the suitcase on the ground and slowly opened it.


    When Mundus saw what was inside, his eyes shone.


    "Proof of our intention," Vernon said, taking a couple of steps back. "I presume you recognize it?"


    Mundus didn''t answer, but he recognized it.


    The most powerful Possession Specter in all of Crimson City.


    The only Fanatic Possession Specter.


    It was a bloody sniper rifle that could deal tremendous damage, and it had the ability to turn its victim into Zephyx.


    It was called the Money Maker, and it was the most powerful weapon in Crimson City, except for the governor''s spear, which was made by Aegis.


    The Money Maker had been a worry for Anatomy since a Specialist could use it to kill several other Specialists or maybe even a Hero if given the opportunity.


    Handing over the Money Maker was almost like handing over a Hero.


    "Interesting," Mundus said.

 Chapter 478 - 478 – The Big Negotiation

    Chapter478 - 478 ¨C The Big Negotiation


    Vernon sat at a table and looked down with a solemn expression.


    Beside him sat Aria, who stared into space with a neutral look.


    Wilfred weakly sat beside her, wearing a peaceful smile as he sipped from a cup of tea.


    Six more directors from Kugelblitz sat beside them at the same side of the table.


    Ghosty and Herman Reichert sat at the bottom of the table. Both of them seemed neutral.


    This was inside the biggest meeting room that Ghosty''s Lab had.


    Naturally, they were all waiting in silence.


    Some timeter, someone knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an answer.


    The governor walked in.


    "Hello, everyone," the governor said neutrally as he walked to the head of the table.


    "Hello, and thank you foring," Wilfred said with a polite smile as he stood up to greet the governor.


    The governor looked at Wilfred with a neutral expression. "It''s been a while, Wilfred. I wish the circumstances were different."


    ''Do you?'' Vernon thought with annoyance that didn''t show on his face.


    "Well, there''s not much we can do," Wilfred said with a helpless smile. "Anatomy managed to take advantage of our weaknesses and outyed us."


    The governor nodded wordlessly and sat down at the head of the table.


    Then, the governor looked around the room.


    "Vanessa and Jornis are not here?" the governor asked.


    "We are not here to fight," Aria said, "and they are not owners of Kugelblitz. There''s no reason for them to be here."


    Naturally, Vanessa and Jornis were Kugelblitz''s other two Heroes.


    Technically, Kugelblitz only had three Heroes. The fourth one had been the governor since he was an honorary member of Kugelblitz.


    When the governor heard that, he just looked at Aria with a neutral expression.


    Of course, the governor wasn''t sure if he should believe that.


    Was Kugelblitz really intending to just keel over and capitte?


    Or were Jornis and Vanessa nning some kind of ambush on Anatomy''s headquarters?


    "Fine," the governor said.


    Then, everything became quiet again.


    Naturally, none of the people inside the room were calm, even though most of them appeared to be.


    Even the ones that were controlled were nervous.


    While the directors were not directly controlled, they were indirectly controlled by having to act in the wishes of the owners who lived in the upperyer.


    The owners had told them that they wanted to hand Kugelblitz over.


    The directors were not the biggest fans of that.


    After all, if the owners lost ownership of Kugelblitz, they would be out of a job.


    Sure, they didn''t need any more money, but having a job was also something to take pride in.


    Of course, Ghosty and Herman were nervous because this meeting was happening inside their building.


    If a fight broke out, theirpany would get destroyed.


    Lastly, the governor feared that he had to get involved in a fight.


    He did not want to fight anyone.


    Some minutes passed.


    Then, someone knocked on the door, and it opened.


    Everyone looked over and saw two people entering.


    Mundus stepped in first, followed by Zarren.


    Ariel was not with them, but that was to be expected.


    Even in this situation, she had to guard the Sea King to ensure its loyalty.


    "d to see you two," Wilfred said with a weak smile as he stood up to greet the two.


    For some reason, Wilfred kept looking at Mundus with intense focus.


    The other members of Kugelblitz also greeted the two of them, except for Vernon and Aria.


    There was no reason to act polite anymore.


    Everything was going to be over soon.


    "Mundus," the governor said with a nod.


    Mundus nodded back at the governor while handing out halfhearted greetings to the others.


    Eventually, Mundus and Zarren sat down opposite Kugelblitz.


    It was two against nine.


    While the two of them were sitting down, Zarren shot a quick nce at Ghosty, who just smiled back confidently.


    Amongst everyone present, Mundus and Zarren were probably the calmest right now.


    They knew that the governor would follow them, but that wasn''t the entire reason.


    They had also been in contact with Ghosty.


    As the soon-to-be overlords of Crimson City, Anatomy was unassable, and Ghosty''s Lab naturally realized this.


    Ghosty and Anatomy had alreadye to an agreement about everything.


    They would leave Ghosty''s Lab alone, and in return, Ghosty would not help Kugelblitz in any way.


    While Ghosty''s personal power wasn''t tremendous, his soft power was on the same level as the governor.


    Ghosty''s Lab made almost all of the Containment Units and gadgets for Specter containment and hunting.


    His technologies were interwoven in almost every object of relevance.


    Nobody knew if Ghosty had some kind of failsafe hidden in some of them.


    Angering Ghosty could very quickly end in disaster.


    "Let''s start with the negotiations," the governor said.


    "Of course," Wilfred said.


    Then, he turned to look at everyone at the table. "We have all gathered here to discuss our merger with Anatomy. Naturally, we have already talked about everything beforehand, and I''m now going to talk about our offer."


    Wilfred looked at Mundus. "We have decided to offer 60% of Kugelblitz to Anatomy."


    Nobody was surprised about that.


    "However," Wilfred said with an embarrassed smile, "we couldn''t agree on a fitting price. Because of that, we are not going to act as a unit but as individuals."


    Mundus'' eyes narrowed, and a small gleam appeared in the governor''s eyes.


    This was unusual.


    In these kinds of negotiations, apany had to act as a unit.


    Letting everyone sell their shares individually in such a big meeting was very unusual.


    "Fine," Mundus said, not showing any meaningful reaction. "We are interested in owning 60% of Kugelblitz. Who will keep the remaining 40%?"


    "Aria and Vernon," Wilfred exined.


    Nobody was surprised.


    "The directors and I have already dedicated our shares to the merger. The only thing we have to discuss are the prices."


    Mundus looked at Wilfred without amusement.


    Wilfred just smiled back. "Allow me to go first."


    "I am willing to exchange my 30% of Kugelblitz for 10% of Anatomy," he said.


    Aria and Vernon didn''t show any outward reactions, but they both wanted to snort.


    As it stood right now, Kugelblitz was still worth more than Anatomy.


    They had far more Specters, and they also had more powerful Extractors.


    A fair valuation would be 10% of Kugelblitz for 20% of Anatomy.


    And yet, Wilfred was willing to offer 30% of Kugelblitz for 10% of Anatomy.


    That was ridiculous.


    Sadly, that was also expected.


    "That''s a fair offer," Mundus said with a nod before looking at Zarren.


    Zarren understood and nodded as well. "I''m willing to exchange 10% of my 30% of Anatomy for your 30% of Kugelblitz," he said.


    Wilfred smiled brightly and performed a quick and polite bow. "Thank you. We have a deal!" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Wilfred sat back down and gestured to the director sitting beside him.


    The director took a deep breath and stood up.


    "The owners I represent have agreed on exchanging their 5% of Kugelblitz for 2% of Anatomy," he said.


    That was a bit more expensive than what Wilfred asked for.


    Mundus furrowed his brows and remained silent for a couple of seconds.


    "That''s the limit of what we''re willing to ept," he said, "but we still ept."


    The director bowed politely. "Thank you."


    Then, the next director stood up.


    "The people I represent would also like 2% for their 5%," he said.


    Mundus epted the offer again.


    At the side, Vernon and Aria became more nervous.


    This meeting was ending too quickly!


    They needed to buy time for Nick!


    Right now, Nick was probably just starting with his infiltration!


    The next director stood up.


    "The people I represent want 5% for their 5%," he said.


    The atmosphere shifted.


    Vernon and Aria looked over at the director in surprise.


    The director had asked for an equal trade!


    Even Wilfred seemed shocked.


    "Spencer, we decided on a majority of shares for a minority of shares," he said.


    Spencer, the director, just smiled. "And that will still hold true. Anatomy has already received 40% of Kugelblitz for 14% of Anatomy. If the remaining shareholders just trade equally, Anatomy will own 60% of Kugelblitz for 34% of Anatomy."


    Wilfred just looked with shock at Spencer.


    Where had thate from?!


    Mundus narrowed his eyes at the director, who was only a John.


    Yet, the director didn''t seem to be nervous at all.


    In fact, he seemed quite confident.


    "We can''t do that," Mundus said. "That''s too much."


    "Do you have a counteroffer?" the director asked.


    "5% for 3% is as far as I am willing to go," Mundus said.


    Spencer sighed. "I''m sorry, but I can''t ept that offer in good conscience. I have a duty as a director to uphold my clients'' best interests."


    For the next ten minutes, Aria and Vernon watched in wonder as Spencer negotiated with Mundus.


    "Fine, you''ll get your 5%," Mundus said with suppressed anger. "Just hope that you don''t regret it."


    It was all too clear what Mundus meant.


    Mundus might decide to get rid of the director after the merger.


    Spencer just smiled and sat back down.


    Then, the next director stood up.


    "5% of Kugelblitz for 7% of Anatomy."


    The atmosphere shifted again.


    Mundus and Zarren narrowed their eyes.


    Meanwhile, Aria and Vernon were surprised.


    Was this what Nick had meant?


    Before they had started their mission, Nick had said that he had a way to buy time during the negotiation.


    Had Nick somehow managed to influence the shareholders?!


    Two kilometers lower, in an office inside Dark Dream¡­


    Julian chuckled.

 Chapter 479 - 479 – New Ability

    Chapter479 -479 ¨C New Ability


    Silence and darkness.


    The majority of Anatomy''s building waspletely dark.


    The only sounds inside the building were the slow footsteps of patrolling coral people.


    Mundus and Zarren were currently outside, leaving Anatomy in a vulnerable position.


    Because of that, all the coral people had been activated.


    180 coral people were standing and walking around in the hallways.


    Anatomy''s building was huge, but such a big number of people still made it so that nearly every part of the building was under constant surveince.


    The Sea King was making sure that nobody was trying anything.


    It was paying attention to every part of the building through the eyes and ears of its servants.


    One of the coral people stepped into one of the staircases and slowly crept up the stairs.


    Yet, without them noticing, two eyes opened up in the darkness below the stairs.


    ''Time to start,'' Nick thought.


    When Vernon entered Anatomy, Nick had escaped through an opening in the briefcase while Vernon was traveling up the stairs.


    But wait, hadn''t a coral person been with them during that time?


    Wouldn''t they have noticed?


    Yes, they would have if it weren''t for Nick''s new ability.


    The eyes in the darkness looked up, looking at the feet of the coral person ascending the staircase.


    Nick fully materialized and crouched down.


    Then, he released a huge amount of Zephyx.


    The coral person didn''t notice any of that.


    Nick jumped.


    His feet lightly tapped the wall behind him, and he shot at the coral person.


    His right hand quickly but carefully moved towards one of the pockets in the coral person''s uniform.


    Pling!


    And ced a round object in them.


    The round object seemed to weigh a couple of kilos, but strangely, the coral person didn''t react.


    Anyone would notice if a dense object weighing about five kilos was ced in their pocket.


    But shockingly, the coral person didn''t.


    In a fluid motion, Nick jumped up and reached the next floor.


    SHING!


    Nick cut through the floor and cut out a thin piece, around 30 centimeters long and five centimeters wide.


    The metallic piece Nick had cut out fell down, but he just caught it with some kind of ck sack made of a strange material.


    The piece of debris vanished, and the sack didn''t even seem to grow in any way.


    Ssshhh!


    Nick turned into mist and entered the crack.


    However, he didn''t go out the other end.


    He just stayed inside the crack.


    Finally, the dense Zephyx in the surroundings vanished.


    The coral person just continued walking up the stairs as if nothing had happened.


    Anyone watching this would be shocked.


    How had the coral person not noticed this?!


    Nick''s emotions slowly calmed down as he stayed in the crack.


    ''That was only a Veteran, but it still consumed 20% of my Zephyx to pull this off,'' he thought. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But as he felt his Zephyx rapidly recovering thanks to his Shell, he regained his confidence.


    ''15 seconds and I will be full again,'' Nick thought.


    In his mist form, Nick watched as the coral person ascended the stairs and walked across the floor in which Nick was currently located.


    He had already deactivated his new ability, but the coral person still didn''t notice anything amiss.


    But this time, it was because of something else.


    The ce where Nick had cut through the ground was at the edge of the corridor, and even more, Nick''s mist made it seem like the floor was still there.


    He looked just like a floor tile.


    As for the object in the coral person''s uniform, the coral person didn''t notice it due to their power.


    The coral person was a Veteran, someone over a hundred times stronger than a normal human.


    Five kilograms for a Veteran was less than 50 grams for a normal human.


    Would someone notice an additional object weighing 50 grams inside their pocket without putting their hand in it?


    No, the only way they would notice would be if the object were quite big.


    The strength of the coral person was the very thing Nick took advantage of.


    So, even without his new ability, the coral person wouldn''t notice the object as long as they didn''t put their hand in their pocket.


    And what point did pockets have for a coral person?


    The only reason why they were wearing clothing, to begin with, was that it would look strange if everyone walked around naked inside the building.


    Yes, the coral people were minions of a Specter, but they still looked like humans.


    Having them walking around naked in the city would just bring unnecessary attention to them.


    Now, with all of this said, what did Nick''s new ability actually do?


    It was the ability of an Eternal, so it had to be amazing, right?


    Yes, it was amazing.


    In fact, it had three effects.


    The first effect was that Nick became immune to the Nightmare''s influence, allowing him to move around freely in the darkness.


    The second effect was that Nick''s mist turned ck while surrounded by darkness.


    But the most useful effect was the third one.


    It could be activated whenever someone didn''t perceive him consciously.


    "Consciously" was important since a person could technically see him in their peripheral vision but not take note of him.


    While a bird was searching for food high in the sky, there were probably tens of insects in its vision, but it could only see a few since the others were camouged.


    The insects were in the bird''s vision, but the bird wasn''t perceiving them.


    While Nick was not being consciously perceived, he could subtly influence someone''s perception, just like the Nightmare.


    Of course, using that ability cost a lot of Zephyx, and the more powerful the target, the more Zephyx it cost.


    When Nick had used that on Aria after returning from the Nightmare''s domain, he had used almost all of his Zephyx just create a short-lived illusion of a bit of darkness.


    The blink of an eye was faster than the time the illusion had persisted.


    Additionally, the illusion had been extremely subtle, almost unnoticeable.


    Yet, due to Aria''s power, Nick still used up almost all of his Zephyx.


    As for the Veteran coral person just now, Nick had simply made it seem like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.


    None of the sounds Nick made by cutting through the floor registered for it.


    As for the object being ced in the coral person''s pocket, it was just a gust of wind blowing on its clothing for a short moment.


    Of course, the more aspects of a person''s senses Nick manipted, the more Zephyx he needed to use as well.


    Nick had created a subtle sensation of feeling and suppressed some sound.


    He had not hidden his body from view.


    If he hadn''t been careful, the coral person would have seen him.


    Luckily, one of the strengths of the coral people was also one of their weaknesses.


    Their shared senses.


    180 bodies.


    One mind.


    The mind was extremely powerful, but viewing 180 different images and listening to 180 different microphones was a lot, even for such a powerful mind.


    If a human had to look at 20 different videos for something, there were only two ways to effectively do that.


    Focus on one at a time while flipping through them.


    Unfocus the eyes and look at all of them for changes.


    Naturally, the Sea King used the second method.


    It just unfocused its metaphorical eyes and only took note of sensations it didn''t expect to feel.


    If Nick had entered the coral person''s peripheral vision, the Sea King would have noticed some movement and put its focus on the coral person.


    Because of that, it was important that Nick stayed out of the coral person''s peripheral vision.


    Creating or hiding images cost much more Zephyx than influencing sound.


    Humans had amazing eyes and were visual creatures.


    A huge part of their perception revolved around their eyes.


    A deaf person could still live a rtively normal life, but a blind person was almost helpless.


    When it came to using this ability, it was important to not manipte too much or too little.


    Yet, one thing was clear.


    This ability was perfect for Nick.


    His ability to create blinding light helped him escape into obscurity, while his newest ability helped him stay obscure.


    Sadly, this one also became useless when someone was perceiving him.


    ''I don''t want to be an Assassin, but the abilities I get force me down this path,'' Nick thought as he watched the coral person pass by his crack.


    ''I guess I should just ept my path.''


    From the floor below, Nick heard the sound of a door opening.


    ''Just like always,'' Nick thought as he looked at the new coral person entering the staircase below him.


    The coral people patrolled the entire building with machine-like precision.


    ''And exactly that will be their undoing,'' Nick thought.


    If a system was perfect, it was predictable.


    If something always acted perfectly, one just had to know what the perfect action would be, and one would be able to predict it perfectly.


    The coral person reached the spot below Nick, and a lot of Zephyx came out of the crack Nick was in.


    And a momentter, the ck mist rushed out of the crack.

 Chapter 480 480 – Stressful Stealth

    Chapter480 480 ¨C Stressful Stealth


    Nick looked at the coral person walking past him on the lower floor.


    This was the first coral person that had passed by him.


    Nick hadn''t moved at all in thest 20 minutes.


    The coral person had simply finished their round and was starting again.


    Nick wasn''tpletely sure what kind of route they were following, but based on the floor ns, he assumed that they were going up this staircase, going to one of the higher floors, going down another staircase to the ground floor,ing back to this staircase, and ascending again.


    ''64,'' Nick thought. ''64 of them are on this route.''


    ''Time to move.''


    A huge amount of Zephyx gathered around him as he jumped out of the crack on the second floor.


    An instantter, he pulled the metallic part he had cut out earlier and put it back into ce.


    CRRR!


    He bent it to keep it locked in the spot.


    Naturally, if someone watched closely, they would be able to see that the floor had been damaged here, but Nick was banking on the fact that the Sea King didn''t focus on every single part of the floor.


    An instantter, Nick walked forward and stopped behind another coral person who was walking in front of him.


    Right now, he was using his ability to suppress the sound he was making by moving.


    He was also looking back, making sure that the other coral person wasn''t about to see his back.


    Luckily, the Sea King avoided looking at moving things to keep its focus, which was why the patrolling coral people were not looking at each other.


    When Nick saw that the gap between them was just wide enough that they couldn''t see him, he turned into mist and deactivated his ability.


    In his mist form, he could travel without making any noise. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Like this, Nick just kept following the coral person in front of him as they kept ascending the staircase.


    Nick wanted to enter one of the floors, but he couldn''t.


    Opening a door was way too conspicuous.


    Even more, if there was a coral person looking at the door from the other side, they would notice it immediately.


    Nick had to see his target to use his ability.


    Additionally, making a hole near a door was also too conspicuous. The floor was okay since no coral person looked down or up while walking, but they looked forward.


    Because of that, Nick had to follow the coral person until they reached the floor on which they would continue traveling.


    After ascending over ten floors, Nick saw the coral person stopping in front of a door.


    The next moment, they moved their hand over the side of the door, and the door opened.


    At this moment, Nick''s heart rate spiked.


    This would be one of the riskiest moments in his mission.


    He made himself as small as possible and floated behind the coral person''s torso.


    At the same time, he kept looking backward to see where the coral person behind him was.


    The other person was slowly climbing up the stairs to this floor.


    The coral person in front of Nick stepped through the door.


    A tiny bit of mist went past the coral person''s torso to scout forward.


    Another coral person!


    And it was looking directly towards the one he was following.


    Nick immediately used his ability to influence their vision and rushed toward the corner of the hallway.


    At the same time, the coral person who had been behind Nick turned the corner to look at the floor.


    If Nick were still behind the other coral person, this one would have seen him.


    But as it stood right now, Nick was hidden by the doorframe.


    Nick''s Zephyx was dropping rapidly.


    50%.


    30%.


    20%.


    BANG!


    The door closed, and Nick immediately jumped behind the coral person again and deactivated his ability.


    ''I have ten seconds until the door opens again,'' Nick thought, metaphorical sweat streaming down his misty face.


    The coral person in the hallway was constantly looking at the door.


    As the two coral people came closer to each other, Nick used his ability once more.


    He went to the floor and stopped below the other coral person''s feet, clouding their feeling.


    The coral person who had walked in front of Nick passed by the one in the hallway.


    Nick jumped out from between the coral person''s legs and stayed behind them, deactivating his ability.


    Right now, both of them had their backs turned to him.


    The door opened as the next one entered the hallway, but since Nick was behind the coral person in the hallway, it didn''t see him.


    Nick was almost touching the coral person beside him.


    If it moved in any way, Nick would be spotted.


    But it never did.


    And that was what Nick had bet on.


    The coral people acted like perfect machines.


    If they were humans, they would move from time to time or just randomly look around in boredom.


    Any of these things would expose Nick.


    But there was no reason for them to do anything like that.


    They were fully dedicated to their task, and this coral person''s task was to look at the door.


    Ten secondster, Nick went between the coral person''s legs again and used his ability once more to cloud its feeling.


    The next coral person walked past, and Nick came out again.


    In ten seconds, he did the same thing again.


    After a full minute, Nick finally managed to achieve his goal.


    His Zephyx had recovered.


    He was using his ability to control the feeling of the coral person every ten seconds, but that didn''t require a lot of Zephyx, allowing him to recover his Zephyx in the ten seconds between patrols.


    Nevertheless, thest minute had been incredibly stressful.


    One moment of carelessness, and he would be found.


    ''If it weren''t for my special Shell, I wouldn''t be able to recover like this,'' Nick thought.


    When the next coral person passed, Nick used a ton of Zephyx again and materialized.


    He slipped something into the coral person''s pocket and also pointed a small device at the coral person''s hand.


    He was using a brutal amount of Zephyx every second.


    DING!


    The device indicated that it was done, and Nick returned to his mist form.


    Then, he recovered his Zephyx again over the next minute.


    When his Zephyx was recovered, Nick put the device on a chip he retrieved from his bag before slipping the chip into a glove he was wearing.


    Then, he floated backwards.


    In an instant, he used a ton of Zephyx to influence everyone in the hallway.


    As fast as he could, Nick put his glove on a door in the hallway.


    DING!


    The door opened, and Nick shot inside.


    BANG!


    The door immediately closed, and Nick took a deep breath.


    He waited in silence for anything.


    Ten seconds passed.


    That was when Nick released a sigh.


    This had been so insanely risky!


    One wrong move, and they would have seen him.


    But he had done it, and now, he could finally rx.


    Nick looked around and found himself in one of the locker rooms in front of a Containment Unit.


    He had bet on the fact that no coral person would stay in these locker rooms.


    After all, why would they?


    In order to get to these, someone would need to get through the hallway. It made more sense to guard the hallways than the inside of the locker room.


    ''Eleventh floor, first room in the east,'' Nick thought as he remembered the floor n.


    ''This Containment Unit should be empty.''


    Nick went over to the entrance of the Containment Unit and looked at the console.


    It was deactivated.


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought before looking up.


    ''The next floor is where the offices of the Specialists are. There should also be light.''


    The next moment, Nick went to the ceiling and touched it.


    Knock.


    Nick lightly knocked on the floor.


    The sound was almost imperceivable.


    Nothing.


    Knock!


    Nick knocked stronger.


    Nothing.


    What was Nick doing?


    He was creating tiny bits of noise to see whether or not somebody was in the office on the floor above him.


    If someone heard the knock, they would have looked to the ground.


    At that moment, Nick''s main ability would have fluctuated since they technically perceived him a little.


    If that happened, Nick would just stop.


    The sound was so subtle that the Specialist would think that it was just a random noise that one of the coral people made.


    Most likely, they wouldn''t investigate.


    Even more, they might not be able to investigate.


    Which Specialist would want to remain in Anatomy?


    Anatomy had transformed all their people into coral people.


    Every normal person would believe that they would be next.


    Most likely, Anatomy was keeping their Specialists under house arrest to stop them from fleeing.


    The only reason why they most likely were not transformed yet was so that there was no issue with their Fanatics.


    After all, Anatomy needed some Specialists for their Fanatics.


    Nick took a deep breath and unsheathed his de.

 Chapter 481 481 – The Same Thing

    Chapter481 481 ¨C The Same Thing


    Nick cut through the ceiling near the wall.


    His ability was still active, which meant nobody could hear him.


    As soon as he cut through, he saw light streaming in from the cut.


    Nick turned into mist and went through the cut.


    An instantter, he turned back into his physical form while looking for something he could use to cover the cut.


    He just hoped that the office wasn''t owned by a clean freak.


    Luckily, it wasn''t.


    There were papers scattered around here and there.


    Nick just grabbed a couple of them and put them over the cut.


    He knew that this office belonged to one of the Specialists, but he didn''t know which one.


    He also didn''t know when the Specialist would return to their office.


    So, he had to act quickly.


    Nick shot upward and cut through the ceiling without hesitation.


    He reached the next floor and bent the ceiling back into shape.


    It wasn''t perfect, but if the Specialist returned, they most likely wouldn''t pay attention to a small, uneven part on the ceiling.


    They were probably too busy despairing at their fate.


    Nick hadn''t been afraid of going up another floor since this one didn''t have any offices.


    Additionally, it was alsopletely dark again.


    Just like the room two floors down, this was a locker room leading to a Containment Unit.


    Nick thought back to the floor n.


    ''This should be the Containment Unit for their previous main Specter, the Pit of Corpses,'' Nick thought.


    The Pit of Corpses was a Peak Fanatic that mindlessly consumed corpses.


    It did not have any intelligence and attacked anything it could see.


    When Nick looked at the Containment Unit, he felt like a dark pit appeared in his stomach.


    He remembered the time he had freed the Crimson Sea and what devastation it had wrought on the city.


    ''It''s different this time,'' he thought. ''I told Aria about my n, and she said she''s prepared to deal with any of the Specters that break out.''


    ''Freeing the Pit of Corpses is part of the n.''


    ''Even if something happens, it''s not on me this time.''


    Nick walked over to the console and saw that it was active, as expected.


    Nick retrieved an object from the ck sack.


    It was a monitor with several metallic cablesing out of it.


    Nick remembered what Ghosty had told him and carefully opened a panel on the side of the console.


    Over the next five minutes, Nick carefully plugged in all the cables in different spots.


    Then, he pressed several buttons on the device until a menu appeared.


    He now had all rights for the Containment Unit.


    Not even Anatomy had all the rights for it.


    They thought they did, but just as everyone had expected, Ghosty had reserved special privileges for himself.


    There were several functions that were not avable normally.


    One of them was self-destruction.


    All the Zephyx in the Zephyx containers would be transformed into an explosive, which would flood the Containment Unit and explode.


    Normal Physical Specters were not likely to survive, but there was a chance.


    But that was not the option Nick was interested in.


    He was more interested in the "Immediate Opening" option.


    If someone pressed that option, the Containment Unit would immediately open and release the Specter.


    No rm.


    Nick fidgeted with the gadget for some time before he set a timer.


    Two hours.


    Nick also set a portable timer he carried with him to the same time.


    When he was done, he retrieved the gadget and put it in the ck sack again.


    He took a deep breath and sighed.


    It was final now.


    In two hours, the Pit of Corpses would break out.


    Nick would release a mindless Peak Fanatic into the city.


    After some time, Nick went to one of the walls and cut through it.


    Just likest time, he repaired the cuts.


    As expected, no coral people were stationed in any of the locker rooms, and Nick arrived in the next one.


    He thought back to the floor n and narrowed his eyes.


    ''The Doom Sayer,'' Nick thought.


    If he freed this one, many people would die.


    However, there was one important distinction between the Doom Sayer and the Pit of Corpses.


    The Doom Sayer was intelligent.


    Nick had already thought about what to do with this Specter before.


    Over the next couple of minutes, he fidgeted with the gadget again, but this time, he didn''t open the Containment Unit.


    Instead, he took a deep breath and opened the employee entrance.


    The employee entrance opened, but no light came in.


    Naturally, the Containment Unit wouldn''t have any light.


    Specters didn''t need light.


    Nick looked at the employee entrance.


    "Come in and face reality."


    A dark voice echoed out from the Containment Unit.


    Nick''s heart felt like it froze over.


    Luckily, this Containment Unit filtered the Doom Sayer''s power.


    It couldn''t use its power by speaking through the employee entrance.


    As long as Nick didn''t enter, he wouldn''t fall under the Doom Sayer''s spell.


    Nick walked over to the employee entrance and stopped in front of it, looking into the Containment Unit.


    In the middle of the ck Containment Unit, Nick saw a tall manpletely hidden beneath a ck cloak.


    The way he stood in the middle of the Containment Unit made terror appear in Nick''s heart.


    "What a strong one I have received today," the Doom Sayer spoke, its face hidden beneath a ck cowl.


    "I''m not from Anatomy, and I''m not here to die," Nick spoke.


    "It has a mind of its own," the Doom Sayer spoke. "There is no point in avoiding the inevitable."


    "Okay, listen," Nick said. "I''m Anatomy''s enemy, and in a bit less than two hours, this entire building will turn into a hellscape. Kugelblitz, the biggest Manufacturer in the city with three Heroes, is going to fight a war of annihtion with Anatomy."


    "I''m an agent from Kugelblitz, and I''m preparing everything for the war," Nick said.


    The Doom Sayer became silent.


    Then, a slow and dark chuckle came out from him.


    "A war of annihtion. Death shall be plentiful," he said.


    "You can be part of it," Nick said.


    The chuckle became louder. "Ry your missive."


    "There are four ways this will go, depending on your cooperation," Nick said.


    "One, you are uncooperative. In that case, I will not open the Containment Unit, and you can stay in here until Kugelblitz takes you to their ce."


    "Two, you say you are cooperative but don''t actually do anything. In that case, you will most likely just stay here, even though the door is open. In that case, you will also be taken in by Kugelblitz."


    "Three, you are cooperative. In that case, you will be released in about two hours. What I need you to do is to cause as much damage as possible to the building, and if you see any people with coralsing out of their bodies, you are allowed to kill them. They are the minions of the Sea King, Anatomy''s biggest Specter."


    "After causing chaos, you have to run out of the city as quickly as possible. All the Heroes of Kugelblitz and Anatomy are going to battle each other to the death. This is the only way you have a shot at freedom."


    "Four, you are cooperative but bloodthirsty. If you break out but then decide to kill the humans of the city, one of Kugelblitz''s Heroes willunch an attack at you and directly kill you. Aegis, the rulers of humanity, will not allow the citizens of one of their cities to be killed just like that." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Kugelblitz, Kugelblitz, freedom, death."


    "These are your options."


    "What do you choose?" Nick asked.


    The Doom Sayer hadn''t stopped chuckling ever since Nick started speaking.


    In fact, its amusement seemed to only increase as time passed.


    "Running from the inevitable is mindless folly," the Doom Sayer spoke.


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    "It wille for everyone regardless. Whether now orter."


    "Many people need to hear the truth of existence."


    "With freedom, more humans can be enlightened."


    "I will follow Kugelblitz''s orders."


    Nick sighed in relief.


    "Good. Don''t forget that being uncooperative will end in your destruction. You might be powerful, but a casual attack from a Hero will still annihte you. You can go wild in this building, but as soon as you leave it, you have to focus on running away," Nick spoke.


    "I do not require your useless ramblings, human," the Doom Sayer spoke. "You have heard my answer. Proceed ordingly."


    Nick rolled his eyes. "Sure."


    Then, the employee entrance closed, and Nick went to the gadget and fidgeted around.


    He checked the portable timer and put the time into the gadget.


    After sending the order for this one as well, Nick put the gadget away again and went to the next locker room.


    This was an empty one, so Nick-


    ''Wait a second,'' Nick thought as he looked at the console.


    The console was active.


    At that moment, Nick''s eyes shone.

 Chapter 482 482 – Not Everything

    Chapter482 482 ¨C Not Everything


    ''This should be empty,'' Nick thought. ''But it obviously isn''t. Otherwise, the console wouldn''t be active.''


    ''So, this must mean that one of the hidden Fanatics is in there.''


    Nick had two guesses as to what kind of Specter could be in there.


    ''I have to check.''


    Nick approached the console and put the gadget on it.


    After fidgeting around for a while, Nick took a deep breath and opened the employee entrance.


    It was dangerous to open the employee entrance leading to an unknown Specter, but the Containment Unit should be able to iste the Specter''s powers.


    Most of the time, at least.


    ''Well, I''ve taken enough risks today. What''s one more?'' Nick thought as he looked at the employee entrance.


    He walked over and looked into the Containment Unit.


    In the middle of the Containment Unit, Nick saw a pale white snake.


    It had several red spots all over its body, and it looked rather sickly.


    ''It should be this one, then. So, Anatomy had it. I''m not surprised,'' Nick thought.


    Based on the snake''s appearance, Nick could take a good guess as to what its power was.


    Usually, without any information, it would be difficult to find out what a Specter was all about just based on their appearance.


    But not for this one.


    ''This must be the cause of Debilify.''


    Debilify was a gue that infected seemingly random people in the city.


    Anyone suffering from Debilify would have all of their energy absorbed, forcing them into permanent bed rest.


    Just eating and drinking was already as exhausting as doing sports to these people.


    Tragically, there was also no cure.


    Anyone suffering from Debilify would have to live in this condition until they died.


    Most people would just be too exhausted to eat anything, and they would slowly starve.


    ''But just to be sure, I have to check something else,'' Nick thought as he looked at the snake from outside the employee entrance.


    "Lord Envy has sent me to free you," Nick said.


    The snake just looked at him.


    It had done that ever since Nick had opened the employee entrance.


    "Your greater ry has been destroyed, and Lord Envy''s hold on the city has weakened. New Specters can''t be sent into the city due to how fortified it is. In a bit less than two hours, the door will open, and you have to cause chaos in the building for a couple of seconds, killing as many humans as you can find, and then you have to run out of the city before you are captured."


    The snake didn''t react.


    "Are you able to do that?" Nick asked.


    The snake didn''t move.


    Silence.


    BANG!


    Nick jumped back in fright as the snake suddenly lunged forward, but the barrier of the employee entrance activated, repelling it.


    BANG!


    The employee entrance immediately closed on its own ord, and Nick felt a couple more attacks hitting the door.


    Nick took a deep breath as he tried to calm his heart rate.


    ''Okay, so it''s not Envy''s servant. Creating a greater ry is something that requires intelligence, and this snake seemed pretty mindless. I don''t think anyone can teach it how to make a greater ry,'' Nick thought as he looked at the closed door.


    ''Sad. It would have been great if Envy''s servant and the creator of Debilify were the same Specter.''


    Nick walked over to the console and looked at it for a while.


    ''I''m not sure if it''s a good idea to release this one. The Pit of Corpses is not subtle in any way, and it can only kill people by directly attacking them.''


    ''Meanwhile, this snake might have the ability to release some kind of miasma that infects everyone in a huge radius. Freeing it might infect thousands of people with Debilify.''


    Nick continued looking at the console.


    Kugelblitz had said that they would deal with all of the escaping Specters, but Nick wasn''t sure if they could deal with this one quickly enough to avoid a huge number of innocent casualties.


    Nick released a sigh.


    ''I''m not going to release this one.''


    Then, Nick''s hand moved to the gadget.


    But then, his face suddenly turned white, and a terrifying feeling attacked him.


    He felt like a humongous snake, covered in eyes, was looking at him and squeezing his heart.


    Nick clutched his chest in pain. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    He knew what this meant.


    ''The Death Pact!'' he realized in horror.


    The Death Pact stated that Nick had to do his best to help Kugelblitz.


    Naturally, freeing the Specter would help Kugelblitz, and when Nick decided against freeing it, he had gone against the Death Pact.


    ''Fine, I''m freeing it!''


    As soon as Nick made the decision, the vice grip on his heart slowly loosened, and he finally felt like he could breathe again.


    After some seconds, the feeling hadpletely vanished.


    Nick gritted his teeth. ''Guess I don''t have a choice. I just hope that the fallout won''t be too disastrous.''


    Nick fidgeted with the console and set the timer.


    When he was done with the timer, he took a deep breath.


    The time he had released the Crimson Sea appeared in his mind again.


    Nick felt more and more like the incident would repeat.


    ''Don''t think about it. The Death Pact forces me into doing this. It''s not my fault this time.''


    Of course, even though Nick told himself that, it didn''t do a lot to alleviate his fear and guilt.


    Eventually, Nick pocketed the gadget again and cut through the wall into the next locker room.


    ''Empty,'' Nick thought as he looked at the console.


    He went to the next room.


    ''Empty again.''


    Next room.


    ''And again. This is thest room on this side of the hallway. The other Containment Units have to be on the other side of the hallway.''


    Nick looked at the door leading to the hallway.


    ''I can''t enter the hallway. Most likely, it''s crawling with coral people, and as soon as the door opens, the Sea King will realize that I''m here.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''The floor above me is the highest one, which should also be where the Sea King is. Ariel Cerillion should also be on that floor.''


    ''If I even show myself on that floor, I will die.''


    ''I can''t possibly go up there.''


    After a while, Nick turned around and went through the destroyed walls again until he arrived in the first locker room.


    Then, he knocked on the floor.


    Nothing happened.


    He knocked stronger.


    Nothing happened.


    Finally, Nick cut through the floor near the wall and entered the office below him again.


    He stayed here for a while.


    He was nning.


    The Death Pact stated that Nick had to do his best to help Kugelblitz.


    He had already done a lot, but victory was not certain yet.


    ''I can''t leave this side of the hallway. This floor is filled with offices upied by Specialists, and all the floors below this one are empty since Anatomy basically got rid of all of their weak Specters.''


    ''On this side, I have basically done everything I can do.''


    At that point, the terrifying feeling in Nick''s heart returned, and he gritted his teeth.


    ''Really? You''re forcing me to do this?!'' he thought in frustration. ''This is way too risky! There''s a 90% chance I will die!''


    But the Death Pact didn''t care.


    Nick had to do everything in his power.


    ''Fine! I''ll do it!''


    And just like that, the terrifying feeling vanished again.


    Naturally, Nick hadn''t done absolutely everything.


    He, Ghosty, and Vernon had talked about some things he could do, and they had alsoe up with a couple of possibilities.


    Nick had the opportunity to do one of these things now.


    He took a deep breath and put his hand into the ck sack again.


    Then, he pulled out a letter.


    Nick looked around the office, which was covered in papers.


    The letter wouldn''t be noticed by anyone.


    So, Nick looked around the office and found a knife.


    He put the letter in the middle of the table and rammed the knife through it.


    That should be noticeable enough.


    The next moment, Nick created another cut in the ceiling above the door.


    Finally, he went to one of the walls.


    Knock, knock, knock.


    Nick''s ability fluctuated, which meant somebody was in the office beside him.


    Knock, knock, knock.


    Nick knocked again, and he felt his ability fluctuate again.


    The next moment, Nick transformed into mist and entered the new cut he had just created.


    Then, he waited.


    A couple of secondster, the door to the office opened, and a smaller man with dark-green hair entered.


    Nick became extremely nervous as he watched the person looking at the letter on the table.


    The person looked around the office for a bit.


    Then, the man entered and closed the door behind him.


    He walked over to the letter, removed the knife, and started to read it.


    And as he kept reading, his eyes got wider and wider.

 Chapter 483 483 – Ally

    Chapter483 483 ¨C Ally


    Nick watched nervously as the Specialist read the letter.


    After a couple of seconds, the Specialist was done and stared into space.


    He looked like he was considering some things.


    Then, he took a deep breath.


    "Fine, I''m in," he said.


    "Good choice."


    The Specialist turned around in shock and saw a ck figure standing between him and the door.


    The Specialist almost felt his heart stop when he saw the ck figure.


    This person had not been here just now!


    Where had hee from?!


    The sudden appearance of the ck figure terrified the Specialist.


    How strong was this person?!


    "You''re the one that wrote this letter?" he asked nervously, holding the letter.


    "No," Nick said. "Ghosty wrote this."


    The man took a deep breath.


    "Is it really true? Did Ghosty and Kugelblitz form an alliance to take down Anatomy?" he asked.


    "It''s as the letter states," Nick said. "Within 90 minutes, thest battle will start, and Anatomy will be destroyed along with everyone who is loyal to them."


    "However, we all know that not all of you are on Anatomy''s side. You just didn''t have an opportunity to jump ship." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "If you are willing to help, you will survive. You don''t even have to fight in thest battle if you don''t want to. Standing on the sidelines is already enough," Nick said.


    Naturally, the Specialist''s heart raced.


    He had to make a very difficult choice.


    If he chose incorrectly, he would die.


    "Who are you?" the Specialist asked. "Anatomy has never heard about someone like you."


    "That''s confidential," Nick said. "You can view me as help from outside."


    From outside?


    Then, the man realized what was going on.


    This ck figure had to be from another city!


    The man took a deep breath. "How will Kugelblitz know that I''m not part of Anatomy?" he asked.


    "First, I need to know if you want to stay neutral in the conflict or if you want to join Kugelblitz? Both options are fine with us," Nick said.


    The man had trouble deciding.


    "I have a family. Will something happen to them?" he asked.


    "No. Your choice has no impact on them," Nick answered.


    The man took a deep breath.


    Then, he remained silent for five seconds.


    "I don''t want to be in this conflict anymore," he said. "For thest few years, I have constantly had to fear Kugelblitz''s assassins. I know that they are not the bad ones in the conflict, but I don''t want to join them."


    "If there is a way to stay neutral, I would want to choose that," he said.


    Nick nodded and took out the ck sack.


    When the man saw the sack, he became shocked.


    "You have a Spatial Bag?!" he asked in shock.


    "Ghosty is lending me his," Nick said.


    Spatial Bags were extremely valuable treasures.


    One of these things was worth as much as a Demon!


    Spatial Bags were objects that only Aegis could produce.


    Aegis had ess to the ck Hole, a humongous Specter that grew more powerful by absorbing matter.


    The ck Hole was a Fallen, a level seven Specter!


    It was one of the most powerful Specters that humanity had ever managed to contain.


    There was one Adversary that Aegis had contained, but that wasn''tpletely urate.


    The only Adversary that Aegis managed to contain was actually contained voluntarily.


    It was sort of half-an-ally to Aegis, but only so it could be stronger.


    Other than that single Specter, Aegis only had a couple of Fallen, with the ck Hole being one of them.


    In order to make a Spatial Bag, it was necessary to work with the ck Hole.


    However, the ck Hole was a humongous Specter that was many kilometers big, and every time someone worked with it, it grew even bigger.


    Because of that, Aegis was not willing to work with it unless absolutely necessary.


    And since creating a Spatial Bag required working with it, the Spatial Bags were understandably extremely valuable.


    Kugelblitz owned one, and Anatomy also owned one.


    The governor did not have one.


    Apparently, Ghosty also had one.


    Of course, Ghosty had received his Spatial Bag as a reward for exemry service in the field of science.


    His inventions were used all over the world.


    Nick put his hand into the Spatial Bag and retrieved something.


    When the man saw the thing in Nick''s hand, he understood.


    It was a Specialist uniform for Extractors working for Ghosty''s Lab!


    "Does that mean that I can work for Ghosty from now on?" he asked.


    Nick nodded, holding out the uniform.


    The man thought about Ghosty''s Lab.


    Except for the fact that they didn''t have many Fanatics, it was basically a dream job.


    "I''ll dly ept. Thank you!" the Specialist said, taking hold of the uniform.


    Nick nodded and pulled out a timer, showing it to the Specialist.


    "When this timer reaches zero, all hell will break loose in here," Nick said. "Ten minutes before the timer reaches zero, you need to put on the uniform. Then, when it begins, you have to break through the wall and flee towards the loweryer. While wearing that uniform, no one should recognize you, and you just have to wait until the dust settles."


    The man looked at the uniform in his hand, his hands shaking a bit.


    "How will I know that it has started?" he asked.


    "Trust me, you''ll notice," Nick said.


    The man nodded. "The letter said that I should help you."


    "Yes," Nick said. "There are three things I need your help with. All but one of them are harmless."


    The man grew nervous again.


    "First, I need to know if there are Specialists who hate Anatomy and who also want to leave. It is imperative that these people have the guts to betray Anatomy."


    The man thought about it.


    "There are two," the man said. "I''ve met with them thest couple of weeks. We were talking about an escape n, but we never really found an opportunity to put it into practice. We were too afraid that Kugelblitz would just kill us as soon as we fled."


    Nick nodded. "Can you bring them into the office? They will receive the same offer as you."


    "I can try, but it''s not that easy," the Specialist said. "The Sea King''s minions are keeping a watch over us, and if too many of us gather in one ce, they might alert the Sea King."


    "I can send them in here one at a time with 20 minutes between each visit. That should work."


    Nick frowned.


    "Fine," Nick said. "Who''s the owner of this office?"


    The man raised an eyebrow in surprise.


    The figure didn''t know whom this office belonged to?


    "It''s an auxiliary office of Mr. Harrow," he said. "I only managed to get in here by telling the coral people that I heard something from in here."


    ''No wonder nobody was here,'' Nick thought.


    "How will you exin to them that two other Specialists wille in here?" Nick asked.


    "That''s my problem, not yours. I''ll find a way," he said.


    "Fine," Nick said. "Then, that''s all I need from you. The other two tasks will be left for your friends to make it fair."


    The next moment, Nick grabbed a piece of paper and a pen before writing a long letter.


    It took a couple of minutes, but he finished it.


    "Hand this to the stronger of the two," Nick said. "I want to meet that person first."


    The Specialist took hold of the letter. "Am I allowed to read it?"


    Nick nodded.


    The Specialist read it, and when he was done, he took a deep breath.


    "That''s¡­" he said before trailing off.


    "You helped me with one of the tasks," Nick said. "You have proven your loyalty. The other two still have to."


    The man took another deep breath.


    "Okay," he said. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"


    "No, your friend will call your second friend. You only need to hand the letter to your second friend and wait in your office until it is time."


    "Okay," the man said nervously. "Then, I''m going now."


    Nick nodded.


    The man walked past Nick and went to the door.


    "I''m-"


    The man wanted to say that he was about to go but stopped talking when he turned around.


    He was gone!


    The ck figure vanished!


    The man''s insides shook.


    Then, he left the room.


    Nick waited in the crack above the door.


    Several minutes passed.


    He had to wait for 30 minutes.


    Finally, the door opened.


    This time, two people walked in.


    "Okay, so?" a ck-haired man asked with annoyance. "What''s so important that we have to talk in here?"


    "Well," a red-haired woman said nervously, "there was this thing in this ce."


    The door closed behind them.


    When Nick heard the red-haired woman speak the code phrase, he knew who his ally was.


    "Thing in this ce?" the man asked with annoyance.


    Plop.


    Suddenly, somethingnded on top of the ck-haired man, and he looked up.


    It was some kind of weird device he had never seen before.


    ZZZ TZZZ TZZZZ!


    Suddenly, his Barrier acted up, appearing and disappearing.


    The red-haired woman gritted her teeth.


    Pulled out a gun.


    Pointed it at the man''s head.


    And pulled the trigger.

 Chapter 484 484 – Unexpected Surprise

    Chapter484 484 ¨C Unexpected Surprise


    BANG!


    The man''s brains sttered across the wall of the office, and his headless corpse fell to the ground.


    Luckily, the red-haired woman had enough mastery over her Zephyx that she managed to suppress the sound.


    The powerful bullet was about as loud as a cup falling over on a desk.


    The red-haired woman took several deep breaths.


    She had only killed three people before in her life, and in all of these cases, she had never known the victim.


    This was the first person she had killed who she personally knew.


    It was difficult for her toe to terms with it.


    But she needed to do it!


    Anatomy would turn her into a ve!


    "Well done," Nick said.


    The red-haired woman immediately turned her head in fright and saw a ck silhouette in the corner of the room.


    "Are you the one?" she asked, breathing heavily.


    "I am," Nick said.


    Then, Nick told her the same thing he told the person before her.


    Just like the other guy, she fell into thought.


    "I want revenge!" she said as her buried frustration broke out. "I hate Anatomy for what they have done to my team! I want to join the fight against them!"


    Nick nodded and took out one of Kugelblitz''s uniforms. "Wee to Kugelblitz."


    She took hold of the uniform and looked at it with rage.


    This uniform symbolized an opportunity to kill the people who had destroyed her life!


    Nick walked over to the ground and pocketed the device he had dropped onto the other guy''s Barrier earlier.


    Ghosty produced all the Barriers for the Extractors in Crimson City, and naturally, he had also put a failsafe in those.


    The device Nick had used could disrupt a Barrier for a couple of seconds.


    Sadly, it only worked on the Barriers that Ghosty produced.


    The longer Nick remained in Anatomy, the clearer it became to him why not even Kugelblitz or Anatomy wanted to mess with Ghosty''s Lab.


    "You''re the strongest Specialist in Anatomy?" Nick asked.


    "Well," she said, looking at the headless corpse. "I guess I am now."


    Nick nodded. "Tell me about the hidden Fanatics," he said.


    The woman became nervous.


    "I know about Envy''s servant," Nick said. "I need to know where I can find it."


    The woman''s eyes shot open. "Wait, what?" she asked.


    "Envy''s servant. I know about it," Nick repeated.


    The woman''s brows furrowed. "I am not sure if we have one of those. If we did, I would have left as soon as I knew, even if it were dangerous. Messing with Aegis is a horrible idea."


    Nick raised an eyebrow, but the woman couldn''t see it through the Shadow Shroud.


    "How many Fanatics does Anatomy have, then?" Nick asked.


    "Officially, four," she said.


    Then, she frowned. "Unofficially, five. There is a top-secret Specter on the next floor."


    "The white snake," Nick said.


    "White snake?" the woman asked.


    "I''ve seen it earlier," he said. "It seems to be the cause of Debilify."


    The woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I knew it," she said with a sigh.


    "But what about Envy''s servant?" Nick asked.


    The woman shook her head. "I don''t know about one of those."


    "Is there any ce where you are not allowed to go to?" he asked.


    The woman thought for a while.


    "I don''t know," she said. "Asking questions is the fastest way to get killed in here. One of the Specialists has already been turned into a coral person because he was too curious."


    "Could there be a sixth Fanatic?" Nick asked.


    "Not sure. It''s possible," she said. "We are not allowed to go into any locker rooms that lead to empty Containment Units."


    Nick scratched his chin.


    "Is the office beside this one empty?" Nick asked.


    "It is now," she said. "Mendez was there earlier, but he went somewhere else after handing your letter to me."


    "Alright," Nick said before taking out a letter.


    He scratched something off the letter and wrote something on it.


    "Mendez said there''s one more trustworthy person," Nick said.


    "Yes, it''s Steve," she said.


    "Hand him this letter," Nick said, handing the letter to her.


    She looked at the letter and read it.


    "Sure," she said with a sigh. "Of course I had to be the one that had to do the most dangerous task."


    "It''s because you''re the strongest of your little group," Nick said.


    The woman just sighed again. "I''ll deliver the letter. Expect him in ten minutes or so."


    "Does he want to be neutral, or does he want to fight? Do you know?" Nick asked.


    "Steve isn''t much of a fighter. He constantly talks about wanting to retire," she said.


    Nick nodded.


    "Then, we''re done," Nick said.


    "Thank you for helping us," she said.


    "I do what I can," Nick said.


    The two of them said their goodbyes, and the woman left.


    The next moment, Nick took a couple of items out of his Spatial Bag and turned the corpse of the Specialist into Zephyx, as well as all the blood and guts syed across the office.


    Then, Nick cut through the wall and entered the neighboring office.


    Ten minutester, the door opened, and a man with brown hair entered.


    As soon as he entered, he saw two things on the desk in the middle of the office.


    One of them was a uniform from Ghosty''s Lab.


    The other was a suitcase.


    When Steve saw the uniform, he took a deep breath.


    He was incredibly nervous.


    In less than an hour, he might die. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Why did this shit have to happen to him every time?!


    He just wanted to retire, man!


    Steve walked over to the desk and put the uniform away.


    Then, he took hold of the suitcase and left the office.


    In the hallway, Steve looked at the coral people.


    They just looked back, showing no reaction.


    After that, Steve walked down the hallway to one of the offices on the other side of the hallway.


    The office was empty.


    This one belonged to the guy whose brains got shot out.


    Steve put the suitcase on the desk in the middle of the room.


    Then, he looked around nervously before leaving the office.


    When the door closed, mist came out of the suitcase, and Nick materialized again.


    ''Finally, I''m on the other side of the hallway,'' he thought with narrowed eyes.


    Nick put the suitcase away and knocked on the ceiling.


    His ability didn''t fluctuate.


    He cut through the ceiling, went to the next floor, and closed the cut.


    After that, Nick checked the Containment Unit here.


    ''Sure enough, the Bloated Corpse should be in here,'' Nick thought.


    Nick put the gadget onto the console and put in the timer.


    The Bloated Corpse didn''t have any intelligence, which meant talking to it was meaningless.


    As soon as it broke out, it would immediately go on a rampage and destroy as much as it could.


    It was simr to the Pit of Corpses.


    The only difference was that it didn''t kill people.


    Freeing it was not as risky as freeing the Pit of Corpses.


    After putting the timer in, Nick pocketed the gadget again.


    ''Only 37 minutes left. Gotta hurry,'' Nick thought.


    Nick went to the next Containment Unit.


    Empty.


    He went to the next Containment Unit.


    ''ording to the floor n, this is where Anatomy''s mascot is,'' Nick thought as he looked at the Containment Unit.


    Anatomy''s logo was the silhouette of a puppet.


    Additionally, Mundus, Zarren, and Ariel all had powers rted to puppets.


    The Specter in this Containment Unit was what gave them these powers.


    ''The Puppet of Suffering,'' Nick thought. ''It''s intelligent, but talking to it is too risky. The Containment Unit might not be able to iste its unique power.''


    Nick sighed. ''I don''t want to do it, but the Death Pact forces me to free it anyway.''


    Nick put in the timer and left for the next Containment Unit.


    When Nick saw the Containment Unit being active, his eyes shone.


    He immediately put the gadget on the Containment Unit and opened it.


    Did he finally find Envy''s servant?


    Yet, when the door opened, Nick knew that this was not Envy''s servant.


    However, he wasn''t disappointed.


    Nick walked into the Containment Unit and approached the Specter.


    He bent down and picked up the Money Maker.


    As Nick looked at the sniper rifle, he couldn''t help smirking.


    ''I guess Anatomy is suspicious that Kugelblitz might have done something to the Money Maker. It''s a perfect weapon for Ariel, but what if it suddenly explodes or something? That would kill one of their Heroes.''


    ''That''s probably why they put it in a Containment Unit instead of using it.''


    ''Well, allow me,'' Nick thought.


    Nick put the Money Maker into his Spatial Bag and left.


    Then, he went to the next Containment Unit.


    Empty.


    ''Does Anatomy really not have Envy''s servant?'' Nick thought.


    ''Is it really Kugelblitz that has it?''


    Nick frowned and went to thest Containment Unit.


    When Nick looked at it, he saw that the console was active.


    Nick''s eyes shone in excitement, and he approached it.


    He was about to put the gadget on it, but then he realized something.


    ''This one is not made by Ghosty!'' Nick thought.


    The console waspletely different from the other ones.


    ''This means this Containment Unit wasn''t made in Crimson City!''


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    ''This has to be it!''


    ''Envy''s servant has to be in there!''

 Chapter 485 – Chaos

    Chapter 485 ¨C Chaos


    Nick waited in front of the Containment Unit.


    Naturally, since this Containment Unit wasn''t made by Ghosty, the gadget didn''t work on it, which meant that Nick couldn''t check what was inside.


    However, he was 90% certain that Envy''s servant was inside there.


    Why else would Anatomy go to so much trouble to get a Containment Unit from another city?


    Getting that thing had probably been a huge hassle.


    The timer ticked down, and Nick nervously looked at it.


    ''This is thest dangerous part. I''ve done all I can, and Kugelblitz should have a good shot at winning this battle,'' he thought as he looked at the timer.


    The Death Pact did not disagree.


    Nick had decided earlier that he was done with his mission, and the Death Pact had not sent him a threatening feeling.


    He had truly done everything.


    Well, maybe not everything.


    He could have entered the hallway again to deal with more coral people.


    In that sense, the Death Pact had not been fulfilled.


    However, there was another part about the Death Pact.


    Nick only needed to do enough to give Kugelblitz a good shot at winning, and Nick was certain that he had done that.


    Anatomy had five Specialists.


    One of them was dead now, and three of them would betray Anatomy, leaving them with a single Specialist.


    Even more, Nick was about to free five Fanatics, which would wreak havoc.


    The timer counted down.


    One minute.


    30 seconds.


    Nick took several deep breaths and readied himself.


    ''Ten.''


    ''Nine.''


    ''Eight.''


    Nick took out a remote from the Spatial Bag.


    ¡­


    "What''s the problem? You will still have a majority, while we will have a minority," one of the shareholders said.


    "45% is not a minority," Mundus said with narrowed eyes.


    "Sure it is. It''s less than 50%," the shareholder answered casually.


    "That doesn''t count for anything! Even Kugelblitz needs 60% to decide something," Mundus answered.


    "But Anatomy isn''t Kugelblitz," the shareholder answered. "You don''t have this rule. 51% is more than enough to own Kugelblitz."


    ¡­


    ''Three.''


    Nick put his finger on one of the buttons.


    ''Two.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''One.''


    Nick pressed the button.


    ¡­


    As always, the coral people patrolled the hallways and staircases.


    Slowly, they walked forward like machines.


    Then, Nick pressed the button.


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!


    And all hell broke loose.


    The heavy objects that Nick had smuggled into their pockets were bombs, and Nick had just detonated them!


    Every single bomb was loaded with a full kilo of Zephyx, which was then turned into an explosive.


    Over 60 kilos of Zephyx detonated at the same time!


    Two staircases and two floors turned into fireballs in a single instant.


    BOOOOOOOOOOM!


    A devastating line of fire crossed Anatomy''s entire building, blowing the middle of it up and scattering the fiery debris across the entire floor of the Inner City.


    Even the floor in the middle of the building copsed, and the building started to break apart.


    ¡­


    BOOOOOOOM!


    Everyone in the meeting room heard the ear-shattering sound of a gigantic explosioning from outside, and the entire meeting room began to shake.


    The shareholders of Kugelblitz fell into a panic.


    What was happening?!


    Mundus and Zarren gritted their teeth.


    They could take a good guess as to what happened and looked at Aria.


    As soon as the explosion happened, Vernon ran out of the office and managed to escape in the chaos.


    The governor narrowed his eyes.


    He wanted to help Anatomy, but he didn''t know what kind of damage Kugelblitz had caused to them, which was why he decided to wait.


    Aria began to shine in a bright light as she took out her long sword.


    "Die!" Zarren shouted as he punched forward, his metallic golem appearing around him.


    Aria began to shine in a bright light as she took out her long sword.


    The shareholders could only look in shock as a terrifyingly huge and powerful metallic fist came towards them.


    BOOOOOOM!


    One side of Ghosty''s Lab exploded, the debris flying towards the megastructure.


    CRK! CRK! CRK!


    Many of the boulders shot through the megastructure, creating gigantic holes everywhere.


    The megastructure began to creak.


    A momentter, a metallic golem, Mundus, and Aria flew out of the building.


    Ghosty and Herman had already retreated, allowing them to survive.


    Zarren created several huge sheets of metal, which shot at Aria.


    SSSS!


    The light around Aria concentrated and cut through the metallic sheets with ease.


    By now, Aria''s silhouette had bepletely hidden by the light emanating from her.


    She became so bright that she looked like a second sun.


    Meanwhile, Mundus summoned several strings, which started to cover the light.


    The light was burning the strings away, but every time it did so, it grew weaker.


    Suddenly, the metallic golem stopped in front of Mundus.


    BANG!


    In an instant, a white figure appeared in the ce where Zarren had just gone to.


    Aria used her sword and cut forward, creating a white crescent of searing light.


    The golem was blocking with its two arms, but the searing de managed to cut through them and even left a deep scar in the golem''s chest.


    Zarren became visible beneath the scar, his Barrier still flickering inside the golem.


    He managed to block the attack, which had been aimed at Mundus originally.


    Suddenly, an unfathomable amount of Zephyx gathered behind Zarren, and the world seemed to spin.


    The light around Aria moved away from her, exposing her.


    The light, which had been cut off from Aria, vanished and transformed into Zephyx, which then transformed into Prephyx again.


    One of the golem''s stumps pointed at Aria.


    BOOOOM!


    A huge number of metallic pellets shot out.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Aria''s white Barrier appeared around her, and she was thrown backwards.


    BANG!


    Aria''s body shot through the megastructure, creating another hole.


    Zarren shot after her while Mundus slowly moved forward, the puppet in his hand dancing the entire time.


    A momentter, a red streak of fire shot out of Ghosty''s Lab.


    However, it didn''t shoot towards the threebatants but to the next floor.


    ¡­


    BOOOOM!


    A moment after Anatomy''s building originally exploded, a cloud of smoke and dust covered the entire building.


    An instantter, almost a hundred coral people could be seen jumping through the smoke.


    They were all rushing towards the highest floor, which was starting to copse.


    They had to protect the Sea King!


    The Sea King''s Containment Unit was tilting and about to fall down.


    The Sea King couldn''t move on its own.


    It needed its servants to move.


    RRUUUUUUUUUUUOOOO!


    At that moment, a terrifyingly deep noise echoed throughout the building, making it shake.


    CRKSH!


    One of the jumping coral people, a former Expert, was swallowed by a ck wave.


    The ck wave was a mass of dposing corpses, which acted like a single tendril.


    The arms of the corpses epassed the coral person and tore it to pieces, which then vanished into the mass of corpses.


    The Pit of Corpses had broken out!


    The ck corpses spread out like an unfurling sheet and enveloped another five coral people.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The coral people all banded together in an instant and released their attacks on the ck wave.


    RRUUUOOOO!


    Gigantic holes appeared in the wave.


    A Peak Fanatic was very powerful, but it couldn''t resist that many attacks at once.


    "Hear the truth!"


    A dark voice echoed throughout the battlefield.


    The next moment, the eyes of five of the coral people turned white before they started burning.


    Then, they were enveloped by white fire and burned away.


    The Doom Sayer had be active.


    The Sea King immediately fortified the defense of its coral people, allowing them to resist any further mental attacks.


    However, keeping that defense active consumed a lot of Zephyx.


    SSSSSSSS!


    The next moment, the shrill sound of a hissing snake echoed throughout the building, bathing everything in a cloud of toxin.


    The Sea King felt its Zephyx getting drained at an rming rate.


    "AHAHA! The truth shall set you free!" the Doom Sayer spoke loudly.


    The Sea King received another hit and realized that it couldn''t keep up with this usage of Zephyx.


    The next moment, 40 of its coral people just copsed.


    These were the weakest 40.


    Every member the Sea King needed to defend cost Zephyx, which was why it abandoned the weakest ones to minimize its wastage. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Now, only around 50 coral people were left, but they were the most powerful ones.


    The 50 coral people kept attacking the Pit of Corpses, and the ck wave was being pushed back.


    A secondter, it was pushed into a pit in one of the Containment Units.


    But the coral people didn''t stop attacking.


    BOOOOM!


    The pit was annihted.


    The Pit of Corpses was destroyed!


    The Sea King didn''t care how much the Specter was worth!


    It needed to protect itself quickly!


    The coral people searched for the Doom Sayer.


    But he was nowhere to be found.


    He had vanished!


    BOOOOOM!


    Suddenly, the loud sound of a sniper rifle being fired echoed throughout the city.


    The next moment, fragments of a cerulean sword puppet scattered across the Sea King''s Containment Unit.


    It had blocked the sniper bullet for the Sea King.


    Kugelblitz''s other Heroes became involved!

 Chapter 486 – Sniper Duel

    Chapter 486 ¨C Sniper Duel


    BOOOM!


    A halberd cut a bloated body into two pieces inside an open Containment Unit.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    A tall man with ck hair gritted his teeth as he held the halberd.


    ''What the fuck is going on?! Why are all the Specters breaking out?!'' he thought as he looked at the two halves of the Bloated Corpse.


    ''What am I supposed to do?! Am I supposed to kill it? Suppress it?!'' he thought in panic.


    Creak!


    The man turned around when he heard the subtle sound of a creaking hinge.


    When the man saw what made the noise, his heart almost stopped.


    In front of him stood a small puppet with three lines cut into its face.


    These three lines were its eyes and mouth.


    The next moment, the puppet started to dance.


    The man''s body shook.


    All his muscles tensed, and he used a lot of his Zephyx to resist.


    "Hihihi!"


    Ghostlyughter echoed in the Containment Unit.


    "RAAAH!"


    The man screamed and shed at the puppet.


    Yet, the puppet only jumped to the side and continued dancing.Upttodated from n(0)/v??lbIn/.(co/m


    The man''s muscles bloated more and more, his veins appearing all over his body.


    ''Fuck!'' he thought.


    He wanted to strike again, but his arm stopped before it could finish the strike.


    The next moment, his shaky hands dropped his halberd.


    Then, the man started to copy the puppet''s dance.


    "Hihihi!"


    The puppet stopped dancing.


    Then, it slowly moved its right hand and grabbed its left hand.


    Plonk!


    It easily pulled its left hand off its arm.


    "AAAHHH!"


    CRKSH!


    The man''s hand flew off his arm, a shower of blooding out of the stump.


    "Hihihi!"


    The puppet put its hand back, but the man''s hand wasn''t put back.


    Then, the puppet pulled out the same arm at the elbow.


    CRKSH!


    The man''s elbow was torn off his body.


    "P-please," the man whimpered in pain.


    "Hihihi!"


    The next moment, the puppet touched its crotch.


    The man''s terror intensified.


    "AAAAAAHHHHH!"


    ¡­


    BOOOOM!


    Another sniper rifle was fired, but this time, it was Ariel who had fired hers.


    BANG!


    A white Barrier started to flicker inside the Sea King''s Containment Unit.


    A huge man with ck hair shot out of the Containment Unit.


    He was Jornis Zealow, one of Kugelblitz''s Heroes, and he had just been hit by Ariel''s sniper.


    He had lost 80% of his Zephyx in that single attack.


    Instead of following after Jornis, Ariel looked into the distance and readied her sniper again.


    Kugelblitz''s most powerful sniper, Vanessa Korint, was still out there, and she had to take her out!


    "Protect me!" the coral person in the back of the Containment Unit shouted.


    Ariel didn''t answer.


    Vanessa was currently hidden.


    A sniper duel was decided in a single instant, and as soon as one party showed, the other one would fire.


    Ariel was looking out, waiting for Vanessa to poke her head or gun out from wherever she was hiding.


    At that moment, several people came down from the floor above Anatomy''s.


    Ariel saw them and gritted her teeth.


    Kugelblitz''s Specialists had arrived!


    20 of them at once!


    However, Ariel couldn''t deal with them.


    Her puppet still needed a bit to recover, and if she shot her sniper to kill one of them, Vanessa would kill her an instantter.


    WHOOOM!


    At that moment, a red streak of fire shot through the ground and stopped in the middle of the air.


    It was the governor!


    The Specialists stopped for a moment.


    "Continue," the calm voice of a woman echoed throughout the surroundings.


    The Specialists looked with apprehension at the governor.


    But then, they followed Vanessa''s order and continued descending.


    The governor looked at the Specialists.


    He had to decide now on which side he was!


    He looked at Anatomy''s crumbling building.


    He looked at what was happening to Anatomy''sst Specialist.


    Then, the governor noticed that Kugelblitz''s Specialists started to fight a white snake.


    When he saw the sickly appearance of the snake, he knew what this was.


    But then, the governor noticed that there was a foreign Containment Unit that was still unopened.


    What was in there?


    At that moment, the governor remembered his talk with Simon Francium.


    There had to be one of Envy''s servants in the city.


    When he saw the foreign Containment Unit, he made his decision.


    "Kill the snake! It''s too dangerous!" the governor shouted to the Specialists.


    The attacks of the Specialists became more intense.


    "You deal with things on this end. I will help Aria," the governor spoke before shooting out of the megastructure.


    In her hiding ce, Vanessa smirked victoriously.


    Ariel''s mind was going wild.


    Things were going out of control!


    Just mere moments ago, they had been superior to Kugelblitz in every way!


    They had won!


    But then, everything blew apart, and all the Fanatics broke out!


    What the fuck had happened?!


    BANG!


    Ariel''s Barrier activated as it blocked an attack.


    "Hey, bitch! Miss me?!" a red-haired woman wearing Kugelblitz''s uniform shouted in aggression as she pointed her guns at Ariel.


    Ariel recognized her.


    This was one of her people!


    But now, she was wearing a uniform from Kugelblitz!


    Ariel narrowed her eyes in hatred.


    She hated traitors more than anything!


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The woman fired several more shots, but Ariel''s Barrier blocked them.


    Ariel pointed her sniper at the woman.


    "Go on. Waste your shot on me," the woman spoke with a vicious smile before she continued shooting.


    Ariel''s hatred reached new heights.


    Suddenly, Ariel vanished.


    BANG!


    The back of the Containment Unit exploded, and Ariel shot out of it.


    She was fleeing!


    "No! Traitor!" the coral person shouted.


    While flying towards the wall of the megastructure, Ariel turned around to look for Vanessa.


    As long as she could stop Vanessa from shooting, she would be able to run away.


    "That hurt."


    Ariel''s eyes widened as she looked up.


    A huge man with ck hair, carrying a gigantic club, was right above her.


    Jornis!


    Jornis had already lifted his club.


    In an instant, the club erged even more.


    In a mere moment, it was suddenly over 100 meters long and over 20 meters wide!


    "RAAAAAAAAHHHH!"


    Jornis shouted with absolute rage and mmed his club down.


    Ariel didn''t have a chance to react.


    BANG!


    Ariel''s Barrier shattered into pieces.


    She had already shot once, which had used up 40% of her Zephyx.


    The attack from the Specialist had also cost her 20%.


    The brutal attack of Jornis emptied her Zephyx reserves.


    However, her Barrier managed to significantly slow down the attack.


    Nevertheless, it still hit her, and she shot down.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    She broke through three floors before hitting the ground floor of the Inner City.


    A gigantic crater appeared in the center of the Inner City.


    Compared to the Outer City, the base of the Inner City was massive, and the Crimson Sea couldn''t reach there.


    Several of Ariel''s bones broke.


    However, she was still alive.


    Yet, she had no more Zephyx, which meant her Zephosis was interrupted.


    She was dying if she didn''t get any help.


    Ariel could no longer fight.


    "I can help! I can produce a lot of Zephyx!" the coral person behind the Sea King shouted.


    The next moment, a beautiful woman with silver hair appeared inside the Containment Unit and pointed her sniper rifle at it.


    "Call your people back," she ordered.


    Right now, all the coral people were in conflict with the Specialists, and they were being absolutely ughtered.


    50 Veterans and Experts couldn''t fight 20 Specialists.


    In an instant, all the coral people fell to their knees, their hands lifted in surrender.


    The Specialists stopped attacking and released sighs of relief.


    Vanessa just smirked.


    They had won.


    Kugelblitz had won!


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, a floor below, a person was running out of Ghosty''s Lab with impressive speed.


    ''I need to get to safety!'' Vernon thought.


    Vernon had no idea if Kugelblitz was winning or losing since he was a floor below the actual battle.


    As far as he knew, Aria was fighting Mundus and Zarren on his own, and that was not a good sign.


    Additionally, the governor had charged towards Anatomy.


    If he decided to help Anatomy, Kugelblitz''s Specialists would be killed!


    With the governor, Aria, and the Sea King working together, Vanessa and Jornis wouldn''t have any shot at victory!


    Because of that, Vernon had to run to safety.


    If it became clear that Anatomy won, he would run out of the city.


    Vernon jumped down from Anatomy''s floor and started to fall towards the loweryer.


    ''Can''t gravity be stronger just this once?!'' he thought in panic.


    BANG!


    Vernon''s eyes widened in shock as his Barrier exploded.


    He looked down and saw a deing out of his chest.


    "Wha-"


    Then, another de cut his head off, revealing a ck silhouette behind him.


    ''I can''t allow anyone that knows about my ability to survive,'' Nick thought before he turned into mist.


    When Nick had finished his job, his part of the Death Pact had been dealt with, which meant that his life was no longer connected to Vernon''s.


    Vernon''s life was connected to his, but his life wasn''t connected to Vernon''s.


    Vernon''s head and his body continued falling towards the loweryer of the Inner City.

 Chapter 487 – The Risky Plan

    487 Chapter 487 ¨C The Risky n


    Earlier, when Anatomy blew up, Nick turned into mist and left the building while it was covered in smoke by the explosion on the debris.


    Escaping had been very easy.


    An immediate escape had been necessary since Nick knew that the Doom Sayer would kill him with its ability otherwise.


    Anyone who heard the Doom Sayer speak without any protection would die.


    That was why he was so incredibly dangerous.


    After Nick had escaped, he had waited in hiding near Ghosty''s Lab.


    He trusted in Vernon''s will to survive.


    Most likely, Vernon would quickly try to escape the building if he got a chance.


    If he immediately ran out, he might meet with Anatomy''s forces along the way, or he would get involved in the fight between the Heroes.


    Because of that, he had to wait until the coast was clear.


    And sure enough, Vernon left after about half a minute, giving Nick a shot.


    Vernon was not a strong fighter, but he was still a Peak Expert.


    Yet, as long as Nick''s ability was active, he was more powerful than an Initial Specialist, and with a powerful attack, he would be able to kill Vernon.


    Luckily, everything worked as expected, and he had killed Vernon.


    The sole reason why Nick killed Vernon was because he was in the room while Nick told Ghosty about his ability.


    Vernon was not trustworthy, and if he knew what Nick''s ability could do, he would surely find a way to kill him.


    After all, Vernon was still under the impression that Nick had killed Wyntor.


    Additionally, Nick''s sess in the mission and Vernon''s ount of what happened during the day the Crimson Sea escaped would be enough to get an investigation going.


    Vernon was the only one who knew that Nick had received the Shadow Shroud that day, which linked him to the ck figure the Spartans had talked about.


    There was a real chance that Vernon would have told the governor about the Crimson Sea incident after the Death Pact was resolved.


    Like this, Vernon would have managed to get rid of Anatomy and Nick.


    Nick rapidly descended to the loweryer.


    He had already removed the Shadow Shroud from his body, and he now looked like always.


    Nothing was linking him to what happened in Anatomy.


    Only two people knew what happened.


    Aria and Ghosty.


    There wasn''t anything Nick could do about those two.


    Additionally, they were not like Vernon.


    Nick had known Aria for about 15 years now, and her personality was quite clear.


    She had some morals and tried to keep things stable.


    She was never the one who argued about the blood supply.


    That was always Vernon.


    Nick assumed that she would rather have Nick as an ally than an enemy.


    When Nick reached the loweryer, he hid between some of the fallen debris and did something.


    That something took about half a minute toplete.


    But after he was done, he left the debris and ran towards Dark Dream.


    As he approached Dark Dream, Nick''s heart rate increased again.


    It was not over yet.


    There was still something that needed to be done.


    But it was risky.


    Extremely risky.


    Dark Dream''s employees were already gathered in front of the building, looking up at the destruction in the middleyer.


    Nick easily slipped past them and entered Dark Dream.


    After turning into mist, Nick easily traversed the many holes inside the building and reached the highest floor.


    Naturally, since this was Nick''s home, the entire building was designed in a way that allowed him to easily maneuver through it in his fog state.


    As Nick reached the highest floor, he saw Julian''s many mouths covering the walls.


    Without hesitation, Nick walked into Julian''s office.


    Julian sat behind his desk and chuckled.


    "It seems like you seeded," he said with a smirk.


    Nick nodded. "It was brutal and dangerous, but Kugelblitz should be able to win the fight now."


    "Good, good," Julian said with a chuckle. "And with Vernon under the Death Pact, we are also going to receive an Elder. I''m d I epted your offer back then."


    "Me as well," Nick answered.


    Then, Nick took out the Spatial Bag. "And that''s not all," he said. "While inside Anatomy, I managed to snatch something of incredible value."


    "Oh?" Julian asked. "Let me see."


    Nick pulled out the Money Maker.


    When Julian saw that, his eyes widened in excitement, and he started chuckling.


    Then, Nick just looked at Julian¡­


    And pointed the Money Maker at him.


    Julian''s eyes widened.


    BOOOOOOM!


    The Money Maker released its shot, and a hole appeared in Julian''s chest.


    Silence.


    Julian looked with shock at the te-sized hole in his chest.


    Then, a vicious smirk appeared on his face as Nick''s expression fell.


    "You''re such an idiot!" Julian shouted as he broke out inughter. "You believe a Specter''s power works on me, another Specter?"


    Nick looked like his world had broken apart.


    "Well, might as well," Julian said as he stood up. "It seems you died during the mission."


    Suddenly, mouths appeared all around the wall and extended towards Nick.


    SHING!


    Nick exploded into light, hiding his body from Julian.


    Julian had already closed his eyes and only focused on his Zephyx sense.


    "You think you can escape?" Julian shouted withughter as he ran out of the office.


    A momentter, Nick materialized in the office again, sweat covering his face.


    Then, Nick turned towards the wall and pointed the Money Maker at it.


    BOOOOOOM!


    The shot broke through the 20 or so meters of wall, creating a hole in it.


    Outside the office, Julian realized that he had been duped and ran back into the office.


    However, Nick was already halfway through the hole.


    "You''re not going to escape!" Julian shouted.


    Mouths appeared inside the hole and tried to consume Nick.


    However, Nick managed to get past them. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    But he had lost most of his Zephyx.


    He materialized on the outside and fell towards the ground.


    Julian burst through the floor of Dark Dream and charged outside, a huge hole still visible in his chest.


    However, everyone that he passed acted like nothing strange was happening.


    All these people were under Julian''s control, and if Julian didn''t want them to notice the hole, they wouldn''t.


    Julian was terrifyingly fast, and he ran out of the building in an instant.


    He had locked onto Nick''s position, and he wouldn''t allow him to escape or use his ability.


    Mouths opened up all around Nick, and he constantly had to avoid them.


    Luckily, the mouths weren''t as fast as Julian''s main body.


    However, they dyed Nick enough that Julian easily managed to catch up.


    Julian appeared behind Nick, and Nick turned to look back at him in horror.


    BANG!


    Julian summoned a spear and thrust forward.


    BANG!


    Nick''s Barrier broke, and his body shot through several buildings, getting stopped by the megastructure.


    Several of Nick''s bones had broken, but even worse, he was out of Zephyx.


    His Zephosis didn''t work anymore.


    Nick felt like he couldn''t breathe anymore, even though he didn''t need to breathe.


    It was just the same feeling.


    "What an idiot," Julian said as he arrived in front of the copsed Nick. "But it was a good n. You just forgot how Specters work."


    "Anyway, it was nice working with you, but¡­"


    Julian pointed his arm at Nick.


    "I''ll have to let you go now."


    A mouth appeared beneath Nick, and his body began to fall.


    BOOOOOM!


    But at that moment, a storm of white fire appeared around Nick, and the mouth was turned into pure Zephyx.


    Julian''s eyes widened in shock.


    The power of these mes¡­


    It was unreal!


    He had never felt anything this powerful before in his life!


    "What is going on here?" came a deep voice from above.


    Julian looked up.


    Nick, who was surrounded by white fire but didn''t burn, also looked up.


    Hovering in the sky was a tall man with bright red hair.


    He wore Aegis'' uniform.


    Surprisingly, he wasn''t alone.


    There were four people behind him.


    Aria and the governor stood behind him while Mundus and Zarren hovered behind him, surrounded by white mes.


    ''It worked!'' Nick thought in exhration.


    Earlier, when Nick hadnded on the loweryer, he had done something.


    He had removed Simon Francium''s ball of Zephyx from his neck.


    This was his way of contacting Simon Francium.


    Naturally, Simon immediately felt what had happened and thought that Nick had been found by Envy or one of its servants, which was why he had immediatelye to the city.


    When he had arrived, he had seen Aria, the Governor, Mundus, and Zarren fighting outside.


    After dealing with that conflict, he immediately went to find Nick.


    And that was how he was greeted.


    Nick almost being swallowed by a Specter.


    "A wild Fanatic, huh?" Simon spoke calmly.


    Join my Discord:

 Chapter 488 – Interrogation

    Chapter 488 ¨C Interrogation


    Nick sat in a chair inside a white Containment Unit.


    He had been here before.


    This was one of the city''s prisons.


    After Simon had seen what happened, he easily subdued Julian and put him in a Containment Unit.


    After that, he had told the city to put Nick in one of the cells for his own protection.


    Naturally, the governor himself had seen to it.


    He had dropped Nick off without saying a word and left again.


    His entire city was in chaos, and there was a lot he needed to do.


    That had happened almost two hours ago.


    For the past two hours, Nick had waited.


    He was no longer nervous.


    Everything had been done, and now, it was up to Simon.


    Finally, two hours after arriving in the cell, the door opened, and Simon walked in.


    Simon sat down in the chair opposite of Nick and looked at him with aplex expression.


    "Quite a lot of things have happened," he said.


    "You tell me," Nick said with a sigh.


    "Is everything alright?" Simon asked.


    "Still processing," Nick said. "I suspected that Julian was a Specter, but I couldn''t bepletely sure."


    Simon just looked at Nick. "He says otherwise. He ims that you have always known."


    "Of course he does!" Nick answered with annoyance. "I''m the reason he''s in a Containment Unit now."


    "Why did you attack him with the Money Maker if you weren''t sure whether or not he was a Specter?" Simon asked.


    "Because he knows of my ability," Nick said.


    Simon frowned. "That''s the reason?"


    Nick nodded. "I have to keep my ability a secret. Anyone who knows my ability is a danger to me. You know how easy it is to counter my ability as long as someone knows how it works."


    Simon still didn''t seem happy.


    Killing innocent people just because they knew something was not something that Aegis liked to do.


    If someone learned something crucial about Aegis, they considered it their own failure.


    Humans searched for knowledge, and punishing someone for that was not human, in Aegis'' opinion.


    "Do you n to kill everyone that knows of your ability?" Simon asked.


    "Only if they are humanity''s enemy," Nick said with conviction. "Aegis represents humanity, but the people in this city do not represent humanity."


    "Kugelblitz and Anatomy are corrupt. Kugelblitz creates a low-ie slum to harvest blood, while Anatomy causes disease in the city with their Specter while turning every Extractor into ves for the Sea King. Additionally, I think they have Envy''s servant," Nick said. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Simon''s eyes shone. "What makes you think so?"


    "I saw a foreign Containment Unit inside Anatomy."


    "When?" Simon asked.


    "When the building blew up," Nick said. "I was hiding far away. I wanted to take the opportunity to catch one of their Specters for Dark Dream."


    "But then, I saw that one Containment Unit was still closed. Even more, I had never seen a Containment Unit like that before. With Anatomy''s shady conduct in the past, I assumed that this was Envy''s servant."


    "Speaking of," Nick added. "The Sea King is also one of Envy''s servants."


    Simon grew interested.


    "What makes you think so?"


    Nick told Simon about what had happened when he met the coral people for the first time and how he had helped Anatomy to lure it out.


    "Why did you not tell me sooner?" Simon asked with annoyance.


    "Because I would die," Nick answered. "If Anatomy found out that the Sea King is one of Envy''s servants, they would realize why I was able to lure the Sea King out."


    "They would know that Envy was interested in me, and to save their own hides, they would have killed me after you left again."


    "I could only summon you after I found the actual servant in Anatomy''s building," Nick exined.


    "And instead," Simon said without any amusement, "you let hundreds of Extractors be mindless puppets to one of Envy''s servants."


    "Oh?" Nick answered with some annoyance of his own. "And if the Sea King were not Envy''s servant, that would have been okay? Is the issue that the Sea King is Envy''s servant? That''s all that''s wrong with this?"


    "It''s the governor''s job to keep the city livable," Nick shouted in rage. "Instead, he is willing to sacrifice all the Extractors to a Demon just to protect his own hide!"


    "He was on Anatomy''s side during this whole conflict! He was willing to help Anatomy against Kugelblitz, which would have resulted in almost all the Extractors of the city turning into servants of the Sea King!"


    "With every servant, the Sea King grows stronger, and at some point, it would have managed to free itself! What then?! Then, we would have another Fallen with thousands of powerful servants running around!"


    "The Sea King is a danger to every city! As soon as it takes down this one, it will attack another city with its forces!"


    "This is not just some mindless Fallen that consumes a couple of humans asionally!"


    "This is a walking army that is interested in consuming entire cities!"


    "I expected the governor to deal with the Sea King! Something like that can''t be left alone!"


    "The fact that it is Envy''s servant is not even worth mentioning!"


    Simon looked at Nick with a frown.


    Then, he became silent for a while.


    Finally, he sighed.


    "Tell me about Crimson Fungus City," he said.


    "It''s called Crimson City now after something happened," Nick said. "And sure, I can do that."


    Then, Nick told Simon about everything.


    The Dregs.


    Anatomy.


    Kugelblitz.


    The governor''s failings.


    How Julian had tricked him.


    Apparently, Nick had started to suspect Julian after he worked with the Dreamer.


    Whenever he worked with the Dreamer, Julian started to feel dangerous to Nick afterwards.


    ording to Nick, the Dreamer could deal with Julian''s influence.


    So, Nick had written a letter to himself.


    He told himself to work with the Dreamer for a short time regrly.


    However, most of all, Nick talked about how much he despised the governor.


    It took Nick almost an entire hour to finish his rant.


    Simon sighed.


    "That''s a lot to take in."


    "Isn''t it?" Nick asked, still annoyed at the governor.


    "I found a ruin and gave it to Aegis! I found one of Envy''s servants and a greater ry! I found another two of Envy''s servants! I did all of this shit, and I don''t even belong to Aegis!"


    "What did the governor do during that time? Nothing!"


    "He just sits on his ass, trains with the Crimson Fungus, and just lets all his people suffer because he''s too afraid of angering the wrong people!"


    "He''s the most powerful Extractor in the city, but he just sits there and lets the city run itself! Even his army is just borrowed from the Manufacturers!"


    "He''s supposed to make this city livable for humans! Instead, he''s building a nice ce for the rich on top of an ocean of blood harvested against consent from the helpless people!"


    "Aegis rules with strength! There might be some ck sheep in Aegis as well, but they can''t cause this much damage because they are afraid of Aegis!"


    "The governor doesn''t fear Aegis, which is why he''s not afraid of causing so much suffering!" Nick shouted.


    "And what would you have him do?" Simon asked.


    "Make giving blood voluntary in exchange for tax benefits. Don''t let the blood rece a fixed number of credits but a percentage, and if that for some reason still isn''t enough, force the mandatory bloodletting on everyone, regardless of ie! Two liters every three or four months sounds much more reasonable."


    "We are humans, and we are all in this together!" Nick shouted.


    Simon looked at Nick.


    He shared Nick''s sentiment. However¡­


    "You haven''t beenpletely honest with me," Simon said. "There are several holes in your story."


    Nick just looked at Simon, unafraid.


    "I don''t believe that you just so happened to see and recognize a foreign Containment Unit during that battle."


    "I also don''t fully believe that you weren''t sure that Julian was a Specter."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Why are you keeping things hidden? Isn''t that just like the governor?" he asked.


    "Yes," Nick answered with disgust for the governor, "butpared to him, my goal is to improve humanity, not to sit on my ass all day, doing nothing."


    "We might share some actions, but we don''t share intentions."


    Simon looked at Nick for a while.


    It wasn''t easy for him to make a decision.


    "Who else knows of your ability? Who else has to die?" Simon asked.


    "There are only two people who know of my ability."


    "You and Ghosty."


    "I told you voluntarily because I wholeheartedly believe that Aegis shares my interest in humanity''s survival. You are not my enemy."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "And as long as Ghosty joins Aegis and leaves the city, the same thing is true for him."


    "Someone of his genius shouldn''t be contained in this small city anyway. He would be much more useful by helping humanity as a whole."


    Simon fell back into thought.


    ''Time for my joker,'' Nick thought.


    "If you do this for me and help me a bit, I am willing to share an incredible secret with Aegis."


    "Something that will even shock the Champion of Light himself."


    Simon''s eyebrows rose.


    "That''s quite a bold im," he said.


    "It is worth it," Nick said. "Do I have your word that you will help me if the secret is truly as shocking as I im?"


    Simon snorted.


    Naturally, he didn''t believe Nick.


    Sure, he had done some amazing things, but finding out something so shocking that it would even surprise the Champion of Light was unbelievable.


    "Fine, if it''s truly as shocking as you say, I will view you as an ally. After all, if it is as you say, that secret alone should benefit all of humanity."


    Nick nodded.


    "I''ve seen the Nightmare and know where it is."

 Chapter 489 – The Desolate Continent

    Chapter 489 ¨C The Deste Continent


    "You have to open it like this," Nick said as he opened the small door hiding the Zephyx containers of a Containment Unit.


    "Then, you take out one container," he said as he took one out.


    "And rece it with one of the empty ones lying here. You just have to do that once a day. Take them to your office, write down how much is in there, and write on a sheet the Extractor who produced it. Marion is willing to help you for the next couple of days if you have any questions."


    Jenny nodded. "I can do that," she said. "How long do you think you will be gone?"


    "I don''t know," Nick said. "This is a good opportunity to finally do some good for humanity. If Aegis is willing to have me, I am willing to join."


    "But you don''t need to be worried. Even if I get taken, I will get some time to deal with my matters here. For the next couple of days, agents of Aegis will be stationed in Crimson City to make sure that nothing crazy happens."


    Jenny sighed. "You''re really going to leave, huh?" she asked.


    "Probably," Nick said. "Or maybe I return. It depends on what task I get."


    Nick showed Jenny what she had to do for the next couple of days.


    Since she only had to keep Dark Dream running, she didn''t have that many extra tasks. The other tasks could wait.


    About an hourter, Nick said his goodbye to Jenny and Taren before leaving the building.


    The Extractors of Dark Dream watched as Nick approached the tall man in white, Simon Francium.


    They didn''t want to say goodbye, but they had to.


    Nick had been an amazing boss to them.


    "I''m ready," Nick told Simon.


    "Good," Simon said. "This is not a step back but a step forward. Leaving you in one single city is a waste of your potential."


    Nick nodded.


    Then, he turned to his Extractors. "Well, everyone, it''s been an amazing couple of years. I will return to deal with my affairs, but I most likely won''t be your Chief Zephyx Extractor for much longer."


    The Extractors all came up to Nick one at a time and said their goodbyes.


    When everyone was done saying their goodbyes, Nick turned to Simon and nodded.


    Simon nodded back, and a momentter, Nick began to float beside him.


    A Protector could easily control their Zephyx to make someone else fly.


    Then, Simon and Nick flew out through one of the holes of the megastructure.


    Nick wanted to turn around to look at the city, but he was scared of identally seeing the Crimson Sea through some random hole.


    Because of that, he didn''t turn around.


    Simon and Nick began to fly faster and faster.


    In the beginning, Nick would have still been able to keep up with his ability, but that stopped very quickly.


    In almost an instant, they broke through the sound barrier, and they were nowhere done elerating.


    The entire world below Nick started to be blurry, and it became incredibly difficult for him toe to terms with the speed they were flying at.


    It was unreal!


    Kilometers ofnd appeared and vanished in less than a second!


    "How fast are we?" Nick asked. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Around 50 kilometers per second," Simon answered casually.


    Nick had to take a deep breath when he heard that.


    That speed was unreal!


    The two of them flew toward the southwest, and they reached the ocean almost immediately.


    When Nick looked at the ocean, he was shocked at just how big it was.


    There was so much water!


    The two of them flew for a couple of seconds before they flew abovend again.


    "Crimson City is located on a big ind to the northeast of the deste continent," Simon said.


    "The deste continent?" Nick asked, feeling how the air became hotter and hotter.


    "The deste continent could also be considered to be an ind, but it is so big that we consider it a continent. The deste continent has almost no humans living in it since its high temperatures and dry air make it difficult for normal humans to survive. Almost all the cities are located around the coast to the south or the north."


    "Oh," Nick said as he looked at the wastnd below him.


    The ces here were covered with more sand than dirt, which was different from Crimson City''s surroundings.


    "You know what happens if you lie?" Simon asked.


    "I will die," Nick said. "I didn''t lie."


    Simon narrowed his eyes without looking at Nick.


    When Nick told him that he had seen the Nightmare, Simon didn''t believe him.


    However, Nick was adamant that he had seen it, and he had also told Simon how he had seen it.


    In the end, Simon decided that he needed to bring Nick to Aegis'' headquarters.


    There were ways to verify if Nick was lying, and if he actually spoke the truth, Simon would need to tell the higher-ups anyway.


    No one had ever seen the Nightmare.


    Not even a single person.


    But there were plenty of people iming that they had seen it, and all of them had been wrong.


    If Nick weren''t so outstanding in so many departments, Simon wouldn''t even have entertained him.


    However, Nick had the Null''s ability, and he had be an Expert extremely early while also leading a small Manufacturer.


    Someone like that knew how stupid it was to lie to Aegis.


    After some more seconds of flying, Simon started to slow down, and Nick could see something.


    Nick could see the ocean again, but that wasn''t the important part.


    The entire coastline was covered in ruins of majestic buildings.


    Around the ruins were gigantic buildings that were not ruins, and they had Aegis'' symbol stered all over them.


    A sun in the middle of a shield, surrounded by six stars.


    "Are these the headquarters?" Nick asked.


    "No," Simon said. "This is where I am stationed. Do you see that huge hole?"


    Nick looked over and saw a gigantic crater surrounded by ruins.


    "Yes," Nick answered.


    "This is where Envy is," Simon said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Envy is many kilometers underground, and we know where it is based on the Zephyx it releases. From time to time, we also enter to battle with it just to confirm that it is still there."


    "Sadly, we can''t battle with it for long due to the deep darkness. It has many abilities that can snuff out the light, and our people are not strong enough to battle Envy inside the darkness. The Nightmare''s influence is just too devastating."


    Then, Simon turned to Nick. "You said you are immune to the Nightmare''s influence now?" he asked.


    Nick nodded. "I am."


    Simon looked at the dark crater.


    "If you manage to be powerful enough, maybe you can get rid of Envy for good. Aegis has ten Protectors stationed around Envy during all times. Envy is just that powerful. If we manage to get rid of it, these ten Protectors can help in other battles."


    "What about the Shields?" Nick asked.


    "They could deal with Envy," Simon said, "but they are too busy dealing with Famine, Pestilence, and War."


    "I presume they are Adversaries?" Nick asked.


    "They are the Trio of Destruction, and they follow the orders of Death, humanity''s nemesis."


    "Death is staying hidden somewhere, but it is never too far away from our headquarters."


    Simon furrowed his brows. "Death is keeping the Champion of Light locked inside our headquarters. Death can win against the Champion of Light in a duel, which is why we have two Shields always by his side."


    "These three people can never leave Aegis'' headquarters, and while they are held up by Death, its three servants cause chaos all over the world."


    "Famine, Pestilence, and War are so powerful that no Shield can take them down on their own, which is why we always need a numbers advantage. That makes deploying people very difficult."


    "If Envy were any further away from this spot, I wouldn''t have been able to leave to help Crimson City."


    Nick just looked at the crater.


    Envy was in there.


    The Fallen that wanted to consume him.


    "We can''t get too close," Simon said. "Envy has many mental abilities, and someone with your power wouldn''t be able to resist."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    The next moment, Nick felt his body move towards the north, to the biggest building that was still standing.


    The two of themnded on top of the building, and Simon swiped his hand over a console, which opened the doors.


    Simon led Nick through the empty hallways.


    The building was massive, but almost nobody was in there.


    However, that was to be expected. After all, there were no Specters in here, and Aegis only employed Extractors.


    "I have to give a report to my supervisor and ask for his permission to leave," Simon said as he stopped in front of a door.


    "You wait here," he said.


    Nick nodded.


    Simon opened the door without knocking, walked inside, and closed the door behind him.

 Chapter 490 – Flying Over the Ocean

    Chapter 490 ¨C Flying Over the Ocean


    Nick waited in front of the closed door.


    Surprisingly, his ability hadn''t reactivated yet, which meant that someone was still seeing him at this moment.


    ''Protectors probably have even stronger powers of perception,'' Nick thought.


    Sadly, while Nick knew what powers Specialists and Heroes had, he didn''t know what kind of powers Protectors had.


    For several minutes, Nick had to wait.


    Eventually, the door opened, but no one stepped out.


    "Nick,e in," Simon said, standing in the middle of the room.


    Nick stepped inside without any hesitation and looked at Simon before looking at the person sitting at the desk behind him.


    The person sitting at the desk was a small woman who seemed quite young.


    She had icy blue hair and icy blue eyes, and she wore the white uniform of Aegis.


    Nick couldn''t perceive her power, but he knew that she had to be more powerful than Simon since he said that this was his supervisor.


    She was probably responsible for keeping Envy contained, which meant that she must have powerparable to it.


    The icy woman looked at Nick, and Nick felt a deep pressure surrounding his body.


    However, Nick just fearlessly looked into her eyes.


    He had gone through hell in his eyes, and his will wasn''t that easily broken.


    He had survived hours of the Nightmare''s torture, and he had killed countless people while fighting people many times stronger than him.


    Even more, Nick had worked with over 30 different Specters.


    The gaze of someone powerful couldn''t break his concentration.


    Nick performed a quick and polite bow. "Greetings, my name is Nick, and Ie from Crimson City."


    The woman kept looking at him with her icy eyes for a couple more seconds.


    "You have imperative news for Aegis?" she asked with her icy voice.


    Nick nodded. "I do."


    "What is this news?" she asked.


    "I trust in Simon''s judgment," Nick said.


    The icy woman narrowed her eyes.


    The answer was clear.


    If Simon didn''t tell her, he wouldn''t tell her.


    Finally, after a couple of seconds, she nodded.


    "Good mindset," she said before putting a stamp on a piece of paper, which she then handed to Simon.


    "Thank you, Aurelia," Simon said casually.


    Aurelia just nodded. "You may go," she said before focusing on more sheets of paper.


    Simon gestured for Nick to leave, and Nick walked out of the room, followed by Simon.


    Nick waited for Simon and followed him as he walked through the hallways.


    Neither of them said anything for a while.


    When the two of them reached the rooftop, they started to fly again.


    This time, they flew towards the northeast, the direction of Crimson City.


    "We''re going back?" Nick asked.


    "No," Simon answered. "Aegis'' headquarters is also in that direction, but it''s quite a distance."


    "Okay," Nick said, falling silent again.


    "You left a good impression," Simon said. "Aurelia isn''t easy to please. Don''t mind her cold demeanor. She simply has a high standard for herself and everyone around her. She despises ckers and weak-willed people."


    Nick just wordlessly nodded.


    The two of them flew for a couple of seconds, and when Nick saw the megastructure of Crimson City, he closed his eyes.


    He did not want to identally see the Crimson Sea.


    "We might relocate the Crimson Sea," Simon suddenly said.


    "Huh?" Nick uttered.


    "Aegis has heard about the Crimson Sea before, but we have never asked about its specifics. When you told me about it, I realized that it might be a good Specter for Aegis."


    "Aegis has only one Adversary and only twelve Fallen, which over a hundred Protectors have to share. That''s not enough."


    "The Crimson Sea consumes Specters, which gives us an easy way to dispose of troublesome Specters while also strengthening a Specter that we have contained." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "As it stands right now, we either kill a very troublesome Specter or just contain them forever, which uses up a lot of our resources. We don''t want to increase the density of Prephyx in the atmosphere since that would just create more Specters."


    "But with the Crimson Sea, we can store the Zephyx of troublesome Specters without needing to actively contain them. If the Crimson Sea were easier to transport, we would already be nning on confiscating it. Sadly, transporting such a big Specter and containing it is a huge project and not that easy."


    "While I''m at Aegis'' headquarters, I''m going to talk to the containment team regarding the Crimson Sea."


    "But before that, you are going to have a talk with the Left Arm," Simon said.


    "The Left Arm?" Nick asked.


    "The Left Arm is one of two people that stand below the Champion but above everyone else. The Left Arm is responsible for information gathering, interrogation, control of the domain, and leading the defensive forces of Aegis."


    "The Right Arm is responsible for city management, containment, research, and leading the offensive forces of Aegis," Simon exined.


    "Are you under the Left or the Right Arm?" Nick asked.


    "Right Arm," Simon answered. "We are containing and actively trying to kill Envy. The defensive forces are mostly Protectors that have to travel around the world when a city suspects that a Fallen is nearby."


    Nick nodded.


    The two of them quickly passed over Crimson City and continued flying towards the northeast.


    In barely a second, they had already reached the ocean again.


    And then, they continued passing over the ocean for a long time.


    They were moving at around 50 kilometers per second, but they kept flying for way over a minute, which was crazy to Nick.


    Nick knew that the ocean had to be big, but he hadn''t expected it to be this big!


    Finally, after almost four minutes of flying, Nick sawnd again.


    ''That had to be over 10,000 kilometers!'' Nick thought in shock.


    10,000 kilometers of nothing but water!


    That was crazy!


    "How big is the world?" Nick asked.


    "The world is a sphere with a circumference of around 40,000 kilometers. That means going from one side of the world to another is a distance of 20,000 kilometers max," Simon exined.


    40,000 kilometers!


    Nick realized how truly small Crimson City and its surrounding area was.


    And only 100 Protectors had to deal with all the cities scattered across such a vast area?


    No wonder Aegis couldn''t send Protectors to every city!


    "We are currently flying over the Great Triangle. That''s the continent where Aegis'' headquarters are located," Simon said.


    "You''re just telling me like that?" Nick asked.


    "There''s no reason to keep Aegis'' location a secret. Death and the Trio of Destruction already know where it is," Simon casually exined.


    ''Makes sense,'' Nick thought.


    The two of them continued flying for quite a while longer.


    This time, Nick was shocked about how muchnd there was.


    Sure enough, the continent was huge!


    From time to time, Nick even saw a city.


    Surprisingly, most of them didn''t have any kind of megastructure like Crimson City.


    Most of them were just filled with tall buildings.


    Some were on hills, and some were in craters.


    "There are not many megastructures in the cities," Nick said as he looked at another city they were passing by.


    "Creating such a tall structure requires an abundance of highly valuable materials," Simon said. "Metals that are treated with Zephyx work, but it requires tons upon tons of Zephyx, and almost all the cities are not willing to invest that much money just to have a big building."


    "Crimson City has its megastructure because it is built upon a sizable ancient ruin. We are not yet able to reproduce the materials used in those ruins, but we can reshape and move them."


    "Crimson City is one of the newer cities, and the abundance of ancient materials in the ruins is the reason why it has a megastructure," Simon exined.


    Nick just nodded.


    After flying for quite some time, Simon started to slow down.


    "We are now entering the eastern part of the Great Triangle. As of this moment, we are already in Death''s domain."


    Nick''s heart shook.


    "Can it see us?" Nick asked.


    "It can," Simon answered. "We do not know where Death is exactly, but it is always somewhere near Aegis'' headquarters."


    "If it attacks us, the three Shields in the headquarters will attack and subdue it. Because of that, it can''t risk attacking anyone right now."


    "However, it alone is keeping three of our Shields bound to this location, which is almost half of our Shields. Death is more than willing to make such a trade."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    Death, the strongest enemy of humanity, was looking at Nick and Simon right now.


    Nick couldn''t help feeling nervous.


    However, just as Simon said, nothing happened.


    Death wouldn''t risk exposing its location to deal with a Protector and an Expert.


    A couple of secondster, Nick saw an endless field of ruins.


    The field of ruins was so massive that it stretched towards the horizon!


    Even more, based on the size of the destroyed buildings, there used to be a crazy number of gigantic buildings everywhere.


    Eventually, Nick saw some of the ocean, and on the ocean, Nick saw a gigantic ind.


    It was filled to the absolute brim with ruins.


    However, the most noticeable thing was in a small part of the ocean, which was surrounded bynd in almost all directions.


    It was the lower half of a greenish statue.


    "This is one of the biggest cities created by the Ancient Ones. Ancient texts called it¡­"


    "New York."

 Chapter 491 – Halls of Remembrance

    Chapter 491 ¨C Halls of Remembrance


    "New York," Nick repeated. "It''s huge."


    "It''s over 50 kilometers across, and we have found ruins of buildings that were up to ten kilometers high," Simon said.


    "Ten kilometers?!" Nick repeated in shock.


    "The technology level of the Ancient Ones was unfathomable," Simon said, "and most shocking of all was that they achieved all of this in just 5,000 years or so. The Ancient Ones used to record their history in years, and thetest records have been written sometime within the 5,500s in their calendar."


    Simon frowned. "We even saw records of weapons that had the power to destroy the world."


    "How?" Nick asked.


    "It was some kind of gigantic cannon that fired some kind of machine that could dig into the core of the before detonating with tons upon tons of something they called antimatter. The explosion would destroy the core, which would result in the entire world copsing in on itself and breaking apart."


    Nick could barely believe what he was hearing.


    He wasn''t even sure if an Eternal could do that.


    "How did such a civilizatione to an end?" Nick asked.


    "Their bodies," Simon answered. "Their technologies had terrifying power, but the bodies of the Ancient Ones were not stronger than normal citizens. We found piles of ashes that had once been human in many different ruins."


    "Some kind of force prated the ancient buildings and turned everyone to ash. All their power was useless. They could destroy, but they could not protect themselves."


    Nick remained silent as he thought about that.


    It made sense.


    The Ancient Ones were able to destroy, but behind their weapons, they were still made of flesh and bone.


    An attack that targeted organic matter would kill them.


    The two of them flew towards the north, passing by the lower half of the big statue.


    Nick could already see Aegis'' headquarters.


    It was a humongous pyramid of white metal.


    It was simr to the megastructure in Crimson City but bigger and straighter.


    Crimson City''s megastructure was curved, while Aegis'' headquarters had corners and straight walls.


    The entire thing was around five kilometers tall.


    The two of them slowly approached the humongous structure.


    Nick could see a big balcony halfway up the structure towards which they were flying.


    The two of themnded on the balcony without any issues and started to approach the huge gate in front of them.


    Two people were standing beside the entrance.


    One of them approached Simon and bowed. "Protector," he said politely.


    Simon nodded and pulled out a sheet of paper, showing it to the person.


    Nick could feel a terrifying amount of Zephyx emanating from the person in front of Nick.


    ''That must be a Hero!'' Nick thought.


    The Hero looked through the sheet of paper and nodded. "You''re free to go," he said.


    Simon put the sheet of paper away again and approached the gate.


    The other guard was also bowing politely at Simon.


    And then, the two of them nodded politely at Nick, which surprised him.


    Nick was just an Expert, but the two Heroes nodded at him with respect.


    Nick nodded back.


    "They are here as punishment," Simon spoke, not even trying to hide his words from them. "Their arrogance cost many lives, which is why they have to humble themselves by standing guard here."


    The two Heroes didn''t react to Simon''s words.


    They seemed used to it.


    "If anyone isn''t happy with their conduct, they may hand a formalint to Aegis, and most of the time, the duration of their punishment is extended," Simon said.


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn''t that invite ckmail? Someone could just threaten them with aint and demand payment."


    "Yes, and that''s how it is supposed to be," Simon said as the gate in front of him opened. "They were corrupt, and now, they will be the victims of corruption."


    Nick remained silent.


    He was not sure if he liked that policy or not.


    The gate finished opening, and Nick saw a huge hallway shining with light.


    The light felt different from the light of the sun, but it also didn''t feel artificial.


    "What kind of light is this?" Nick asked as they walked into the hallway.


    "This is the light of the Champion of Light," Simon said. "His power illuminates the headquarters with his light."


    Simon looked at the shining ceiling with a serious expression.


    "If this light dims, humanity''s future will follow."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    The two of them continued walking.


    "How many people are in this building?" Nick asked, looking at the empty hallways.


    "About a thousand," Simon answered.


    "Only a thousand?" Nick asked.


    "Aegis doesn''t have enough people, which is why over 90% of them are not here," Simon exined. "There are a couple of research teams and administrators stationed here, and there are barely any Extractors. The majority of people are the loved ones of Heroes and Protectors working for Aegis."


    "In exchange for offering their services to Aegis, the Heroes and Protectors are allowed to have their families live here, in the safest location in the world."


    "They are to be treated with respect by everyone, but they must reciprocate that respect. We are all humans, and we must all work together for the greater good of humanity."


    Nick nodded in agreement.


    The two of them reached a door, which opened on its own.


    Behind the door was a huge shaft over 20 meters wide.


    This was an Extractor shaft of gigantic proportions.


    Nick started to hover again, and the two of them flew upward.


    They went past many closed doors until they reached the end of the shaft.


    The door in front of them opened, and the two of them flew through it.


    After that, Nick found himself in a big white hall filled with statues.


    "These are the Halls of Remembrance," Simon said.


    Nick looked at the statues. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    All of them were of people.


    "All of these people have contributed to humanity''s survival."


    Simon became silent for a couple of seconds.


    "The statues are only erected after their passing," he added with a heavy voice.


    Nick just looked at the statues.


    All of these people had helped humanity.


    There were over a hundred!


    So many people had given their lives so that the weaker people could survive.


    Nick held deep respect for these people.


    Wasn''t this his goal as well?


    Nick had always hated how Crimson City had treated the Dregs, and when that incident with Horua had happened, Nick had decided to dedicate his life to helping humanity.


    Sadly, he hadn''t contributed a lot yet.


    In fact, he felt like he had damaged humanity more than helping it.


    The incident with the Crimson Sea appeared in Nick''s mind.


    ''I have to redeem myself,'' he thought. ''I have killed many innocent people, and the only way to redeem myself is to help even more.''


    The familiar pain of guilt appeared in Nick''s chest.


    It hurt so much.


    It always hurt.


    He just wanted to run away from all of this guilt.


    But he couldn''t.


    He had to keep living and redeem himself.


    Aegis was humanity''s shield against doom.


    ''Aegis is where I belong,'' Nick thought. ''I am not supposed to lead apany. My goal is not to be rich but to help humanity.''


    Nick looked at the statues. ''If there is ever a statue of me in here, I will know that I have sessfully redeemed myself.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Simon watched Nick closely for his reaction, and he was happy at what he saw.


    Nick genuinely seemed to respect the people represented in the Halls of Remembrance.


    ''He might not be honest,'' Simon thought, ''but his feelings seem to be genuine. He wants to help humanity.''


    ''As long as our goals align, we arepanions.''


    Simon led Nick through the Halls of Remembrance and stopped in front of an unassuming door at the side of the hall.


    But instead of stepping through, Simon just silently waited in front of the door.


    He stood straight and didn''t dare to show any disrespect.


    Nick waited in silence.


    Suddenly, the door opened, and Simon stepped through.


    Nick followed Simon, and the two of them entered the room.


    The room was quite dark, but there was still a bit of light.


    However, it was dark enough that the Nightmare had influence over this room, but just barely.


    People would feel watched and hear whispers in the back of their minds.


    Someone was sitting in the middle of the room.


    It was a woman wearing apletely ck uniform.


    She had ck hair and an icy and dangerous aura epassed the room.


    She looked to be in her fifties, and her appearance seemed disheveled.


    "Respected Left Arm," Simon spoke quietly while bowing politely.


    "Respected Left Arm," Nick spoke as well, copying Simon''s tone and movement.


    This was the Left Arm.


    One of the two leaders of humanity, just below the Champion of Light.


    A Shield.


    One of seven Shields.


    The Left Arm opened her eyes and looked at Simon.


    However, she did that only for a moment before looking at Nick.


    Nick couldn''t see her due to his bow, but after the Left Arm looked at him for just a moment, her eyes narrowed, and her expression became intense.


    "The Nightmare," she said with the voice of an old and cruel woman.

 Chapter 492 – The Champion

    Chapter 492 ¨C The Champion


    When Simon heard the words of the Left Arm, he started to believe Nick and narrowed his eyes.


    Was it actually true?


    Did Nick truly find the Nightmare?


    If so, that would be more than shocking.


    Nick lifted his head and looked at the older woman.


    "Yes, I have found the Nightmare and gained its ability," he said.


    The Left Arm narrowed her eyes as she looked at Nick.


    "Step closer," she ordered.


    Nick stood up and walked forward.


    He stopped right in front of the Left Arm and remained standing.


    The woman slowly stood up.


    Then, she pointed her arm at Nick, and Nick was spun around without his consent.


    He couldn''t move anymore, and a secondter, he felt a cold hand touching the back of his neck, where his Zephyx Synchronizer was.


    "Use your power," shemanded from behind Nick.


    Nick was a bit nervous, but he did as told.


    There wasn''t really a good target for his ability, so he used it on nothing.


    A lot of Zephyx came out of Nick and filled the room.


    A couple of seconds of silence passed, and Simon was just watching.


    A momentter, Nick regained his ability to move, and he stepped away.


    He turned around and saw the Left Arm looking at him with an intense expression.


    "Who knows of this?" she asked with a serious voice.


    "Simon and me," Nick answered.


    "Nobody else?" she asked.


    "I have not told anyone else. You have to ask Simon if he did," Nick said.


    The Left Arm looked at Simon with a stern expression.


    "I told Aurelia that I had important news for the Left Arm. I did not specify," Simon answered respectfully.


    Several seconds of silence passed, and the Left Arm just looked at Simon.


    "Make sure it stays that way," she said. "This secret is more important than your life."


    "Of course," Simon said politely.


    "How much do you know?" she asked him.


    Simon became nervous.


    The Left Arm was a woman filled with immortal conviction.


    She was willing to sacrifice anything and everything for the good of mankind.


    If she believed that this secret was so important, she might actually decide to kill Simon just to keep him silent.


    "He told me where he found it and what ability he unlocked. He did not tell me about its appearance or what it is," Simon said.


    The Left Arm looked at Simon for a couple more seconds with an intense expression, making Simon sweat.


    "You are no longer needed here," she said. "Wait in the Halls of Remembrance."


    Simon''s fear vanished.


    He got to live another day.


    "Of course," he said before stepping out of the room.


    After Simon left, Nick became more nervous.


    He was now alone with the Left Arm, one of the three strongest humans in the entire world.


    Silence.


    Nobody spoke a word.


    Nick wanted to ask what was going to happen now, but he didn''t dare to speak up.


    The Left Arm''s aura was dark and threatening.


    He felt like he would be killed if he said the wrong thing.


    Suddenly, the door opened.


    "So? What''s so important that it can''t wait?" the bored voice of a young man spoke into the room.


    Nick looked over and saw a young man with white hair walking into the room.


    He was quite casually dressed. He wore some pants, a colorful shirt, and a white and dirtyb coat.


    He just scratched the back of his neck withziness and a bit of annoyance.


    "We must meet the Champion right now," the Left Arm spoke.


    The man blinked a couple of times in surprise. "That''s unusual, but I don''t see how I am rted to this. Can''t I just get back to work?" he asked, gesturing to the closed door behind him.


    "This is also relevant to you," the Left Arm spoke coldly.


    The man just sighed. "Sure thing, boss," he said in defeat.


    After that, the man looked at Nick. "And you are?" he asked.


    "My name is-"


    "You don''t need to know that," the Left Arm interrupted Nick.


    The man just rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Fine!" he said.


    "Follow," the Left Arm said as she walked towards the back of her office.


    Nick nodded and walked after her.


    "Don''t mind her," Nick heard inside of his mind. Judging by the voice, it came from the young man behind him. "She''s a stick in the mud."


    Nick didn''t dare to look at the young man since he didn''t want to show the Left Arm that the young man''s voice appeared in his mind.


    The Left Arm reached a small door at the back of her office and touched it.


    The next moment, the door opened, and bright light flooded into the dark office through the opened door.


    The light was blindingly bright, and Nick had to protect his eyes until he got used to it.


    The Left Arm stepped through the door.


    Suddenly, Nick felt a hand pushing him forward gently.


    "Come on, we gotta get going," the young man said casually as he stepped past Nick.


    Nick nodded and also stepped through the door after the young man.


    BANG!


    The door closed behind Nick, and he found himself in a new room.


    It was a huge hall with ancient ruins, butpared to the ones outside, these ruins seemed to be made of marble and stone, not concrete and steel.


    There was no technology on these ruins.


    They were basically just rubble that had once been built by humans.


    At the end of the huge hall, Nick saw a gigantic golden throne.


    Several pipes and wires came out of the throne, which led back into the wall.


    Nick could feel Zephyx flowing through these pipes.


    The bright light in the room came from the person sitting on the throne.


    Although, it was more appropriate to use the word slumped.


    An extremely old man, covered in wrinkles, was sleeping on the throne.


    If he weren''t shining with so much bright light, one would believe that he was a corpse.


    As Nick saw the old man, he was reminded of the Nightmare.


    The way the man sat on his throne reminded Nick of the way the Nightmarey on the Zephyx.


    The Left Arm stepped in front of the throne and performed a polite bow.


    "Champion," she spoke respectfully.


    ''That''s him, huh?'' Nick thought as he looked at the old man, who looked like he was about to die.


    The Champion of Light.


    The leader of humanity.


    The strongest human.


    The man from the fairy tale.


    A couple of seconds of silence passed.


    And then, Nick heard the quiet sound of some shuffling.


    The man opened his weary eyes and slightly lifted his head.


    This bit of movement seemed to take all of his power.


    And then¡­


    A bright smile appeared on his face.


    "It''s been a while, Helia," he said, his voice soft and warm.


    "13 years," the Left Arm answered.


    "13 years," the Champion of Light repeated. "How much longer?"


    "We don''t know," the Left Arm said, her voice sounding uncertain. "Maybe 80 years."


    "80 years until this body copses," the Champion said. "I feel bad about leaving you, but I''m looking forward to finally being able to sleep."


    "What brings you here?" he asked.


    The Left Arm stood up and looked at Nick.


    The young man had already stepped forward and waited beside the Left Arm.


    The Left Arm stood to the Champion''s left, and the young man stood to the left of the Left Arm, making it quite obvious that the young man was not the Right Arm.


    He was probably the third Shield stationed in Aegis'' headquarters.


    "Tell us everything," the Left Arm ordered.


    Nick bowed politely.


    "Some days ago, I was ready to be an Expert," Nick started.


    "I said everything," the Left Arm interrupted Nick. "Start at your earliest memory."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Well, okay, I-"


    "Wait."


    Everyone turned to look at the Champion of Light, who had just spoken.


    A warm smile was on his face as he looked at Nick.


    "You can see things by not seeing them. You can feel things by not feeling them," he spoke slowly.


    "I can see what you can do."


    Nick understood what the Champion of Light meant.


    The Champion of Light was saying that he knew that Nick had the Null''s ability since it was the pr opposite of the Champion''s ability.


    "Your true self must stay hidden," the Champion said. "Even from us."


    The Left Arm looked with shock at the Champion of Light.


    "Please," the Champion said, "start from your previous starting point again."


    "As you wish," Nick said.


    "A couple of days ago, I was ready to be an Expert. The ability I chose came from a Specter called the Fiend of Darkness. The Fiend of Darkness can consume people and put them into a space of darkness."


    "However, I only chose the Fiend of Darkness because I had a suspicion."


    "I suspected that I would be able to find the Nightmare by getting absorbed by it."


    "And I was right."


    At that point, the young man''s eyes became intense.


    Now, he was happy that the Left Arm had called him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 493 – Dusk

    Chapter 493 ¨C Dusk


    The entire room fell silent as Nick finished his story of finding the Nightmare.


    "Helia?" the Champion of Light asked lightly.


    "I did not detect any falsehood," she said. "I can also feel that his Zephyx Synchronizer is attuned to the Nightmare. At least partially."


    The young man scratched his chin as he fell into thought. "A corpse, you say?"


    "Yes," Nick nodded. "The Nightmare looked like a human corpse unaffected by time. Its ability also stopped working as soon as I reached its domain, even though it was still dark."


    "I can also tell that it did not sense me," Nick said. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Exin," the Left Arm asked.


    Nick''s expression became ufortable, and he looked at the Champion of Light.


    "It''s fine," the Champion said. "I can tell how he could tell. He hase bearing important news for humanity. This is not an interrogation or a punishment. People deserve to keep some of their secrets."


    Nick released a covert sigh of relief.


    He really didn''t want more people to know about his ability.


    Ghosty, Julian, and Simon already knew about this ability. Oh, and apparently, the Champion of Light also knew.


    That was already too many people knowing about his ability.


    "As you wish," the Left Arm said politely.


    Then, she turned to Nick. "Tell us more about the Nightmare. What did you feel when you saw it?"


    Nick''s brows furrowed.


    "It somehow felt¡­ tragic," he said.


    "Tragic?" the Left Arm asked with skepticism.


    Nick nodded. "It was like I should feel bad for it. Additionally, it just looked like a normal and peaceful corpse. While its will is filled with hatred and malicious during the tortures, when I looked at it, there was just nothing. It was just a half-decayed corpse."


    "It is so strange. When its influence infects people, the hatred is deep and unmistakable, but while looking at it, it seemed so dead and neutral."


    Then, Nick looked at the Champion of Light.


    For some reason, as Nick looked at the Champion of Light, he felt calm and confident.


    The Champion of Light felt like a genuinely good person to Nick.


    "For some reason," Nick said carefully. "When I saw you, I was reminded of the Nightmare."


    The Left Arm narrowed her eyes while the young man looked with interest at the Champion of Light.


    The Champion of Light just smiled and carefully leaned back on his throne.


    "I understand," he said. "That exins things."


    "It does?" Nick asked in surprise.


    The Champion of Light just smiled. "These are matters that are only known to the Shields. You have helped humanity greatly, but for your own safety, I can''t tell you more."


    "The fewer people know, the safer humanity is."


    For some reason, Nick felt nervous when he heard those words.


    Apparently, the Shields knew something that the normal people didn''t.


    "Maybe you can find out on your own," the Champion said with a light chuckle. "You just have to look at the distant past."


    "Do you wish to work for us?" he asked.


    The Left Arm''s eyebrows rose in surprise, and the young man looked at Nick with praise.


    Nick was shocked.


    The Champion of Light himself had asked Nick if he wanted to work for them.


    Without hesitation, Nick nodded. "More than anything."


    The Champion smiled. "Why?"


    "Because humanity can''t lead itself," Nick answered.


    No one said anything.


    Everyone just looked at Nick.


    "In Crimson City, I have seen what happens when a group of corporations have unchecked power."


    "Greed, corruption, suffering, injustice. Crimson City is filled with these traits."


    "The powerful are only interested in lining their own pockets as they drain the blood of the people who have nothing but their blood left."


    "And the governor just stood by, watching as the normal people are treated like animals in a cage."


    "I was born in the poorest part of the city, and I swore that I would change things."


    "The powerful have a responsibility to the weak. The powerful have only be powerful by stealing opportunities from the weak. Every Specter an Extractor works with is a Specter that can''t work with another Extractor."


    "There are limited opportunities and resources in the world, and most of the time, the difference between finding some sess and no sess is just opportunity."


    "There are many people who could have be the Chief Zephyx Extractor of my Manufacturer, but in the end, I was chosen. Why? Because someone gave me an opportunity to prove myself."


    "Without this opportunity, I would still be living in the Dregs."


    "I have taken many things from many people to achieve my current power, and it is my duty to repay mankind."


    "I have stolen from the past, and I must give back to the future," Nick said with conviction.


    The Champion of Light smiled. "And you believe that Aegis is the correct path for you?"


    Nick nodded. "Without Aegis, the world would be even worse. We would be beset by the Fallen and Adversaries."


    "Aegis protects the cities."


    "However," Nick said. "Aegis is too busy with fighting the Specters. I don''t believe it has the resources to fight internal corruption."


    "Aegis makes it possible for Extractors to live happily, but the Extractors don''t make it possible for the people to live happily. That is due to theck of enforcing the rules."


    "I believe I can make a difference here. I believe that the support of humanity will strengthen if they do it willingly, but they will only do it willingly if they are happy."


    "I want to join Aegis so that I can gain the power to improve the lives of themon people."


    "Not everyone can defend themselves. So, it falls on the shoulders of the powerful to defend the weak."


    Silence.


    The Left Arm looked at Nick with narrowed eyes while the young man scratched his chin casually.


    "I can feel your conviction," the Champion of Light said with a smile. "I do not know in which manner you n on achieving your goal, but I can feel that you are speaking from your heart."


    "Your conviction is powerful. It seems like you have thought about this many, many times."


    Nick nodded.


    The guilt he felt regarding Horua and the Crimson Sea incident never left him.


    He always felt it deep in his chest.


    "Your reason as to why you want to do this isn''t important," the Champion of Light said.


    "The way you came to this conviction isn''t important."


    "The way you n on actualizing your dream isn''t important."


    "What''s important is that you have conviction shared by Aegis."


    "You are a good fit for Aegis."


    The Champion of Light smiled warmly.


    "I''m happy to wee you."


    Nick''s heart was filled with warmth and gratitude.


    Finally, he managed to gain a position that allowed him to make meaningful changes.


    He could finally improve the lives of the people!


    Atst, he could see a way to redeem himself.


    He could make things right!


    Nick bowed deeply. "Thank you so much!" he shouted.


    The Champion just nodded lightly.


    "What is your name?" he asked.


    "Nick Nick, Chief Zephyx Extractor from Dark Dream in Crimson City," Nick said.


    The Champion of Light''s eyebrows rose. "Nick Nick?"


    "Yeah," Nick said with a bit of shame. "I wasn''t born with ast name, and when someone asked for myst name, I just repeated my first name and never stopped."


    Surprisingly, the Champion of Lightughed.


    "Nick Nick, oh, what a name," he said withughter. "Do you wish to keep it? When you join Aegis, you have a good opportunity to change it."


    "Almost all Extractors of some renown change theirst name at some point to reflect their true self better."


    Nick sighed and nodded. "Yes, I would like to change it."


    The Champion chuckled a bit. "Would you mind if I gave you one?"


    Nick''s eyes widened in surprise.


    Even the other two looked with surprise at the Champion.


    The Champion rarely took an interest in weaker people, and now, he wanted to give Nick a name?


    "dly! It would be an honor!" Nick shouted with a polite bow.


    The Champion of Light smiled and leaned back.


    "I believe¡­"


    Silence.


    "What about Nick Dusk?" he asked.


    The other two looked with shock at the Champion of Light.


    Dusk was an ancient word.


    It represented a concept that almost no human knew in this world of eternal sunlight.


    Dusk, the time the sun vanished.


    Nick didn''t know what Dusk meant, but since this was a name offered by the Champion of Light, he felt honored to ept it.


    "Thank you," Nick said with a bow. "I like the name. As soon as I join Aegis, I will call myself like this from now on."


    Then, a slight smile appeared on Nick''s face.


    ''I''ve never received a name before. My entire life, I decided what I was called.''


    ''But isn''t it the duty of the parent to name their child?''


    At that point, Nick fell into memories.


    What was his true name?


    He had a true name, right?


    He just forgot it.


    "Nick," the Champion of Light said, "please wait in the Hall of Remembrance. Helia wille to you shortly and exin things to you."


    The Left Arm nodded.


    Nick looked at the Champion of Light again and bowed in reverence.


    Just like his name, the Champion of Light had filled Nick''s heart with brightness.


    "Thank you!" Nick said.


    Then, he turned around and left the bright room.

 Chapter 494 – Night

    Chapter 494 ¨C Night


    Nick walked out of the room, still stunned.


    He had seen the Champion of Light.


    The strongest human in existence.


    And the Champion of Light had granted him a name!


    When he had seen the Champion of Light, he knew that Aegis was the right ce for him.


    Aegis was the true shield of humanity!


    Nick walked through the Left Arm''s room and entered the Hall of Remembrance.


    As soon as he entered, he saw Simon throwing a nce at him.


    Nick walked over to Simon but didn''t say anything.


    Nick seemed very distracted.


    "How was it?" Simon asked with curiosity.


    Nick looked at the ceiling.


    "Good," he answered.


    "Did you meet him?" Simon asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "You saw the Champion of Light?" Simon asked in shock.


    Nick nodded again. "I even spoke to him."


    Simon looked like he was filled with wonder.


    "Only the Shields get to meet the Champion of Light, and they do it very, very rarely from what I''ve heard," he said in reverence.


    "How was he?" Simon asked.


    Nick smiled.


    "Just like the stories. Just older," Nick said.


    "He was very nice, and I could tell that he truly only wants what''s best for humanity."


    Simon looked with reverence at Nick.


    Of course, he wasn''t reverential to Nick but to the image of the Champion of Light Nick portrayed.


    "Is there anything you can tell me about him?" Simon asked.


    "I don''t know what I''m allowed to say and what not. I wasn''t told, and I don''t want to take any risks," Nick answered.


    Simon sighed. "I understand."


    Nick''s smile returned. "But I''m sure I can tell you one thing."


    Simon perked up. "Yes?"


    "He gave me a newst name," Nick said with pride and joy.


    "Oh? What is it?" Simon asked.


    "Dusk," Nick said. "As soon as I join Aegis, I will be called Nick Dusk."


    Simon''s eyes widened in shock.


    Nick looked at Simon.


    "You seem surprised," Nickmented.


    Simon looked at Nick with raised eyebrows before a helpless smile appeared on his face.


    "It seems like you made quite an impression on the Champion of Light," Simon said with an awkward smile.


    "Why?" Nick asked.


    "You don''t know?" Simon asked.


    "Know what?"


    "What your name means," Simon said.


    "It means something? I thought it was just a nice word. Not all names are supposed to mean something, right?" Nick asked.


    "Yours does," Simon said.


    "What does it mean?" Nick asked.


    "Well," Simon said before trying to find the right words. "In the times of the Ancient Ones, the Sun was supposed to set."


    "Set? In what way?" Nick asked.


    "The Ancient Ones said that the Sun moved through the sky. It wasn''t like today when the Sun is constantly above everyone''s head at all times."


    "The Sun came over the horizon from the east, traveled to right above you, and set in the west. As in, it goes past the horizon and vanishes," Simon exined.


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    "Dusk refers to the time when the Sun is about to leave the sky and vanishes in the west. Dawn is the time when the Sun appears from the east," Simon said.


    "What about the time between Dusk and Dawn?" Nick asked.


    "That is called night, and it fills the world with darkness," Simon exined.


    The Nightmare immediately popped into Nick''s mind.


    Filling the world with darkness?


    That sounded terrifying!


    Simon smiled awkwardly. "So, I guess the Champion of Light believes that you have the talent to finally take down the Sun. If I didn''t see you leaving his room with my own eyes, I would have never believed you."


    Nick was still shocked.


    The Champion of Light believed that he could kill the Sun?


    ''Is this because of my ability?'' Nick thought. ''The Champion knows that I havee into contact with the Null.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''And he also knows I have the Nightmare''s ability.''


    Nick looked to the side, not knowing what to feel.


    ''I have two abilities from Eternals. I''m not sure if there has ever been anyone like me before.''


    ''Maybe that''s why he believes that I have a chance.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''I know I can improve the lives of themon people from many cities.''


    ''But I don''t think I have what it takes to be the strongest human in existence.''


    ''I know I am powerful, but I am definitely not the most powerful.''


    ''There must be thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Experts all over the world.''


    ''I might be stronger than 90%, maybe even 95%, of them, but I don''t think I am stronger than all of them.''


    ''There must be some true monsters out there.''


    The feeling of pride of receiving a name from the Champion of Light vanished, reced by a heavy feeling of pressure.


    This was so much.


    So much expectation.


    ''I''m just an Expert,'' Nick thought with a sigh.


    "Yeah, maybe I shouldn''t have told you," Simon said after he saw Nick''s defeated expression.


    "No, it''s fine," Nick said, trailing off near the end. "It''s just¡­ a lot to take in." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Simon and Nick talked for a couple more minutes until the door to the Left Arm''s room opened.


    The Left Arm, Helia Janus, walked out of the room and immediately looked at Nick with a neutral expression.


    Nick and Simon quickly ran over and politely bowed to the Left Arm.


    While they were bowing, the young man walked out of the room behind the Left Arm and just casually waved at Nick.


    "Do your best, Nick," he said with a smile as he continued walking.


    "Thank you," Nick answered.


    The man just waved as he left the Halls of Remembrance.


    "Nick," the Left Arm said.


    "Yes," Nick answered respectfully.


    "What do you wish as your reward?" she asked with a bit of impatience.


    Naturally, Nick knew that he would most likely receive a reward, and he had already thought of one.


    "I want to join Aegis," he said.


    "That''s already decided. That will not be your reward. Name something else," Helia said evenly.


    Nick nodded. "Then, I wish that the Fanatic called Julian, who has recently been captured in Crimson City, will be killed."


    "A strange request. Why?" the Left Arm asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked at the floor.


    "He knows too much about me," he said.


    Simon looked at Nick with a bit of uncertainty.


    Simon also knew Nick''s ability, and it seemed like Nick didn''t want anyone to know.


    "Fine," the Left Arm answered. "Anything else? That''s hardly a reward."


    "I would like for Ghosty to join Aegis and leave Crimson City. He also knows too much, butpared to Julian, Ghosty is a nice person who has helped me. I can''t ask for his death in good conscience," Nick said.


    "The researcher from Crimson Fungus City?" Helia asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Nick was surprised. "You know him?"


    Helia nodded. "He has contributed a lot to Aegis. He knows that a spot is open for him at Aegis, but he has not epted the position yet. If you wish, we can persuade him."


    Nick sighed.


    Persuading him probably wasn''t nice for him, but it was better than death.


    "Yes, please," Nick said.


    "Okay," Helia said. "Anything else?"


    "Can I have a position where I can help the people? I would like to start by improving Crimson City," Nick said.


    "Funny," Helia said with a dry and unamused voice, "that was exactly what the Champion asked me to do."


    Nick was once again surprised.


    "Hurry up," Helia said with annoyance. "All of these are not rewards. Ask for something tangible. Something valuable. I want to get back to work."


    Nick smiled helplessly. "Then, what about a training manual so I can learn to manipte my Zephyx better?"


    "As a member of Aegis, you get the basic training manual anyway," she said. "However, I can increase its level by a bit. That should cover your reward."


    "Thank you," Nick said with a polite bow.


    Helia looked at Simon. "Bring him to the treasury and get him a rank three manual for Zephyx maniption. After that, go to James. He will wee him in our ranks and tell him what he has to do from now on."


    Simon''s eyebrows rose in surprise. "Of course, Left Arm," he answered.


    "Good," Helia said. "Then, be on your way."


    Then, Helia turned around and walked back to her office.


    "Ehm," Nick uttered.


    "What?" Helia asked with annoyance.


    "Why did the Champion grant me the name Dusk?" Nick asked.


    Helia furrowed her brows, and Nick became nervous.


    "I asked him the same thing," she said with a softer voice.


    Nick listened intently.


    "He said that the Sun cannot be stopped by the light. The Sun is the light already."


    "The only thing that can defeat the Sun is the darkness, the night."


    Helia fully turned around and looked at Nick.


    "Frankly, I don''t see what he sees in you," she said with annoyance.


    "But he is our leader, and he is far wiser than me."


    "You have convinced him, and that is good enough for me."


    Her next words wereced with poison and threat.


    "Don''t disappoint him!"


    Then, she entered her office again and closed the door behind her.

 Chapter 495 – Zephyx Manipulation

    Chapter 495 ¨C Zephyx Maniption


    Nick and Simon looked at each other after the Left Arm left.


    ''Only the night can defeat the Sun,'' Nick thought.


    ''He knows that I have the ability of the Null and the Nightmare. In a way that can truly represent the night.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''It''s so much pressure.''


    "Let''s go," Simon said.


    "Sure," Nick said, pushing his thoughts away.


    ''It''s just one more thing I have to deal with. Just don''t think about it for now. You''re not strong enough anyway.''


    Simon led Nick out of the Halls of Remembrance and into the huge Extractor shaft.


    The two of them went all the way to the bottom and left through one of the exits.


    They walked along the corridor for a while and saw an attendant sitting behind a desk in front of a closed door.


    "Wee, Protector," the attendant spoke respectfully.


    "We are here to meet the Technician and to enter the treasury," Simon said.


    "The Left Arm has told me of your arrival," the attendant said, pressing a button on the table.


    The door slowly opened, its mass heavy beyondprehension.


    Nick could tell that the door was made of some sort of incredibly dense and hard material.


    "Please, step through. I presume you already know where to go?" the attendant instructed.


    Simon nodded and stepped through the door, followed by Nick.


    The door closed behind them, and Nick saw a staircase leading down into the underground.


    Simon quickly jumped down the stairs, and Nick ran after him.


    The two of them descended the stairs for quite a while, and Nick''s eyes widened in surprise.


    ''These stairs must be kilometers long!''


    The stairs winded at a wide angle, creating several gigantic circles.


    Eventually, the two of them reached the bottom and found themselves in another corridor.


    The light in this part of the building was very different from the light in the other parts of the building.


    The Champion of Light''s light probably couldn''t reach far enough to illuminate this ce, too.


    "We''ll get your manual first," Simon said as he approached a humongous door.


    Simon put his hand on a console at the right side of the door and typed in several long strings of letters, numbers, and signs.


    A momentter, Simon stopped, and the console read ''waiting for approval''.


    "This is the treasury, and it''s the most fortified ce in the entire world," Simon said. "We are currently five kilometers underground, and the walls and doors are made of material that even a Shield would need a while to break through."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    That was quite extreme.


    SSSSS!


    Steam came out of the edges of the door, and it started to open very slowly.


    As the door opened, the light in the corridor began to flicker.


    Moving such a heavy object took an unreal amount of energy.


    The door stopped opening just halfway through, which was still more than enough for Simon and Nick to pass through.


    The two of them stepped through, but this time, the door didn''t close behind them.


    Nick found himself in a big, empty room with almost no features.


    Clink!


    One of the metal tes on one of the walls slid to the side, revealing the face of an ancient person.


    His hair was fully white, and wrinkles covered his face.


    "Simon Francium and Nick Dusk?" the old man asked in a neutral voice from behind the opening.


    "Yes, Treasurer," Simon said politely.


    Nick noticed Simon''s conduct and copied his straight posture.


    "One rank three Zephyx Maniption manual, correct?" the man asked.


    "Yes, Treasurer," Simon answered.


    "Nick Dusk, step forward," the Treasurer ordered.


    "Yes, Treasurer," Nick answered as he stepped closer.


    "I need your blood for identification and to save in the repository," the Treasurer said, throwing a huge syringe through the opening. "Stab that into your forearm. It will do everything else on its own."


    Nick took hold of the syringe and looked at Simon, who nodded.


    Nick took a deep breath and rammed it into his forearm.


    The gears on the outside of the huge syringe began to move, and Nick felt like something was sucking the life out of him.


    This was not an unfamiliar sensation.


    Nick had needed to pay the blood tax before.


    DING!


    The syringe let out a sound, and the needle pulled back on its own volition, the syringe falling to the ground.


    Next, the syringe began to float on its own and went through the opening leading to the Treasurer.


    "Wait here," the Treasurer said before the opening closed again.


    Nick slowly stepped back and waited beside Simon.


    "Who''s the Treasurer?" he asked.


    "An ancient warrior of great renown," Simon said. "He is a Peak Protector that has be too old to fight. If the Maw didn''t exist, he would have be a Shield without a doubt."


    "He will dedicate the remainder of his life to protecting the treasury of Aegis. That was by his choice."


    Nick''s respect for the Treasurer grew.


    This man had probably fought against the Specters for centuries, and even after he managed to survive for so long and reach old age, he was still willing to dedicate the little life he had left to Aegis.


    Nick sighed.


    ''Sadly, the Maw makes it impossible for him to be a Shield. If eight Shields exist at the same time, the Maw will force them to fight each other. Creating an eighth Shield means killing seven.''


    After a while, the metal te moved to the side again, and two things floated through the opening.


    A small chip and a ck rectangr object.


    "Here is your identification chip, Nick Dusk," the Treasurer said. "You must never lose it. This identification chip is more important than your life."


    Nick bowed politely and carefully put the identification chip into the glove on his left hand.


    "Rank three manuals are not permitted to leave this room. Read through the entire thing here and memorize the contents. 48 hours should be sufficient time for an Expert," the Treasurer said.


    "When you''re done, just shout."


    BANG!


    The metal te closed again.


    Nick took hold of the rectangr object and looked at it in confusion.


    This didn''t look like a manual.


    "It''s a virtual manual," Simon said.


    "Virtual?" Nick asked in confusion.


    Simon took hold of the object and pressed a covert button at the side.


    The next moment, Nick saw lighting out of one side of the object.


    ''Oh, this is like a console! Makes sense!'' Nick thought.


    Simon handed it back to Nick. "Read. You don''t have much time. If you have questions, you can ask me."


    "You also have one of these?" Nick asked.


    Simon nodded.


    "The basic manual, rank one, is for every member of Aegis and contains useful Zephyx Maniption methods for the first six levels."


    "Rank two is for Peak Heroes and includes simple methods for Protectors as well."


    "Rank three is for Protectors and includes the entire seventh level."


    "Rank four is for Peak Protectors and includes methods of Zephyx Maniption for Shields."


    "I''m not sure if there even is a rank five manual. I only have ess to the rank three manual," Simon said.


    Nick looked with surprise at the manual.


    ''So, this is something only Protectors have ess to. It''s probably veryplicated.''


    Nick tapped on the manual and began reading.


    In no time at all, Nick lost himself in the manual.


    It was not easy to understand, but Nick had an advantage over many other people.


    Nick had been a Chief Zephyx Extractor for 17 years, and he had learned under Julian for a decade.


    As a Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick needed to know a lot about Specters, Extractors, and Zephyx.


    The manual spoke of many different ways Zephyx could be utilized.


    Nick knew a couple of them already.


    Suppressing noise.


    Manipting weight.


    Creating a bit of light, although that needed a lot of Zephyx.


    But the majority were things that Nick didn''t know.


    Flying.


    Illusions.


    Creating fire.


    Creating water.


    Transforming Zephyx into a material simr to Recovery Liquid.


    Creating mist.


    Consuming light.


    The more Nick read, the more surprised he became.


    "It''s almost like I can create abilities with this," Nick muttered.


    "That''s exactly what it is," Simon said.


    Nick looked at Simon with surprise.


    "All abilities are just a way to manipte Zephyx. When humanse into contact with Specters with an unattuned Zephyx Synchronizer, their Zephyx Synchronizer analyzes and inscribes those abilities on it. It is merely copying."


    "When it is attuned, it absorbs Zephyx and releases the ability."


    "As long as you know how the Zephyx is manipted, you could theoretically have all the abilities in the world."


    "However, that''s far easier said than done. Finding out how to manipte the Zephyx is already difficult enough, but you also need to be able to manually move your Zephyx in a way without the aid of your Zephyx Synchronizer."


    "That is like performing an intricate and hour-long dance in your mind. If you have the time, it''s possible, but during a stressful battle, it''s almost impossible."


    "It needs an extreme amount of training, focus, and memorization. The manual only talks about how to achieve simple effects, which is why it is so short. After leaving this room, you just have to remember how these simple effects are achieved and find a way to make them useful to you."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 496 – Liaison

    Chapter 496 ¨C Liaison


    After Simon''s exnation, things made much more sense.


    ''Right, our Zephyx Synchronizers just copy the way the Specters use their abilities, but there is still a way to manually achieve the same effect.''


    ''It''s just extremely difficult.''


    The manual had many simple examples of how to produce a certain effect.


    Creating light that could keep the Nightmare at bay was not difficult.


    However, achieving a certain effect was the simplest part.


    Finding out how to do something was not hard.


    The hard part was making it usable.


    For example, the way the manual exined how to create light could even be understood and used by Nick.


    However, if he were to use that method, he would only be able to create a tiny twinkle before running out of Zephyx.


    With this method, a Mid Hero would probably run out of Zephyx within ten seconds. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    That was, obviously, unsustainable and effectively unusable.


    The difficult part was the next.


    Refinement.


    Refinement was the process of making the ability Zephyx-efficient while also keeping usability in mind.


    The less Zephyx someone wanted to use to create a certain effect, the more steps the Zephyx needed to go through,plicating the entire process.


    However,plicating the process naturally also made it much harder to actually use the ability.


    It was a bncing act of efficiency and ease of use.


    And assuming someone managed to refine an ability to usability, they would still have an even harder task in front of them.


    Actualization.


    Actualization was a way to use that ability in an instant, making it useful in battle.


    But that was almost impossible.


    The Zephyx couldn''t leave one''s body while manipting it, making any kind of device or machine useless.


    Weapons like guns used someone''s Zephyx to create a destructive effect, but these kinds of transformations were extremely simple.


    A machine that could achieve what a Zephyx Synchronizer could do would need to be humongous, extremely expensive, and cumbersome.


    In short, while these machines could technically exist, they couldn''t be used in battle or transported.


    Humanity was constantly trying to create weapons that could achieve these kinds of effects, but progress in the research was slow.


    Every major part of progress needed to get past the Envious Researcher, the Adversary that killed all humans who knew about a significant advance in technology.


    Getting past the Envious Researcher was extremely difficult every single time, and it was responsible for the deaths of 90% of humanity''s brightest minds.


    Without the Envious Researcher, progress would speed up by over 50 times!


    Without it, humanity might have already created a way to use external gadgets to create an ability.


    Creation.


    Refinement.


    Actualization.


    Those were the three steps to getting a new ability without the need for the Zephyx Synchronizer.


    Yet, it was so, so much harder than it seemed.


    ''With my current Zephyx storage, I can use my own ability to create light for over five minutes without me needing to dedicate any of my focus to it.''


    ''This level of Refinement and Actualization is basically impossible to achieve.''


    ''This means that the abilities created via Zephyx Maniption can neverpare to abilities copied by the Zephyx Synchronizer.''


    Nick read through the entire manual and remembered everything.


    The mental capabilities of an Expert were vastly beyond the mental capabilities of a normal person.


    Experts could read through 10,000 words in a single minute and remember every single one.


    Nick deactivated the manual, closed his eyes, and went through the contents of the manual in his mind.


    He remembered the contents, but he would still need some time to actually learn the concepts contained inside.


    Nick could recite the manual, but he couldn''t fully exin it yet.


    "I''m done," Nick told Simon.


    "Already?" Simon asked. "It''s barely been a couple of hours."


    Nick nodded. "I''ve done nothing but read and write reports and manuals in my entire career. I''m pretty fast at reading and remembering things."


    "Right," Simon said as he remembered something. "You''re a Chief Zephyx Extractor. I totally forgot."


    Nick stood up and walked over to the closed metal te.


    "Treasurer, I''m done," Nick shouted.


    The metal te moved to the side.


    "You sure?" the Treasurer asked. "You only get to look at it once. Be sure to remember everything inside."


    "I remember everything," Nick said with confidence.


    "Alright," the Treasurer said as the manual floated back. "Then, that matter is settled. You may leave now."


    "Of course, Treasurer," Nick said with a polite bow.


    BANG!


    The metal te closed again.


    "Let''s go," Simon said. "We need to meet the Technician."


    The two of them walked out of the open door of the treasury, which slowly closed behind them.


    "We need to visit the Technician. He''s also down here," Simon said.


    "Who''s the Technician?" Nick asked.


    "That was the young man that was with you when you met the Champion of Light," Simon exined. "He''s the third Shield stationed here, and he''s responsible for research and matters rting to administration inside the headquarters."


    "Sounds like he''s quite busy," Nick said.


    "It''s not so bad. Only Agents or higher get received by the Technician," Simon said.


    "Agents?" Nick asked.


    "Right, you don''t know the ranks of Aegis yet," Simon said.


    "At the top, we have the Shields. They simply go by Shields, and they have the highest authority."


    "After theme the Justiciars. They are Peak Protectors and are leading the normal Protectors. My supervisor, Aurelia Icegem, is a Justiciar."


    "Thene the Judges. The Judges are normal Protectors, and I''m one of them. We either work in a team under a Justiciar or lead a team of Agents."


    "Agents are Heroes who are dedicated to fighting the Specters. I don''t think you have met one of them yet. Agents travel from city to city if there is danger, and they also work on finding and containing Specters for Aegis."


    "Governors also belong to Aegis, but they rank lower than Agents. Governors are just there to rule a city and make sure that everything goes by the book. If you are a Governor, you are either a new member of Aegis that still needs to prove themselves or somebody abandoned by the leadership due to ack of desirable qualities."


    "Lastly, we have the Bailiffs. Bailiffs are everyone below the Hero level, and you can find them in almost all of Aegis'' locations. Bailiffs are mostlyprised of young people with great talent. They are there to help Aegis, and in exchange, they receive ess to valuable training and Specters. Just like Governors, Bailiffs are either people that are still new and need to prove themselves or people that are forever stuck in that position."


    ''Shields, Justiciars, Judges, Agents, Governors, Bailiffs,'' Nick recited in his head.


    "So, I''m a Bailiff?" Nick asked.


    Simon nodded.


    The two of them entered a door to the side of the hallway and found themselves in a disorderly room with many small gadgets strewn about.


    "Oh, you''re already here," a young man said as he lifted his head to nce over a table.


    "Yes, Technician," Simon said respectfully.


    Nick also performed a quick bow of respect.


    "Might as well get this over with," the Technician said as he rummaged through his Spatial Bag.


    "Here''s the rulebook. You have to read it and remember all of them," he said casually as he threw a booklet on the table.


    "Yes, Technician," Nick said respectfully as he took hold of the rulebook to read through it.


    It was just a couple of pages long, and Nick read through it in a couple of seconds.


    The rules were very basic.


    Humanity above all.


    Don''t be corrupt.


    Support Aegis.


    Don''t be a monster.


    Stuff like that.


    "Here''s your uniform," the Technician said, pulling out a white uniform with a couple of yellow streaks going through it.


    Nick looked at the uniform with wonder.


    His uniform!


    Aegis'' uniform!


    He was part of Aegis!


    "Excuse me," Simon said nervously.


    "Huh?" the Technician uttered.


    "Sir, this is the uniform of an Agent," Simon said. "Nick isn''t a Hero yet."


    "Oh, that," the Technician said casually. "He''s the first recipient of an entirely new position. Personal power is not what gives you authority for this position."


    "Also, it''s notpletely the uniform of an Agent," the Technician added as he unfurled the uniform.


    "You see this?" the Technician said as he pointed at the left shoulder, which had one yellow streak.


    "And this?" he added as he pointed at the right shoulder, which had two yellow streaks.


    "Agent uniforms have two yellow streaks on both sides, while governors have one yellow streak on each side. This has one on one side and two on the other."


    "Nick''s job is going to be to work together with different governors to improve the lives of the people in the city while also increasing the Zephyx output of said cities."


    "During our meeting with the Champion, Nick said that happy people should provide more Zephyx as well. The Champion is willing to give him the chance to prove himself."


    "He will slightly outrank the Governors and get an almost full say over how the cities have to be run. However, in exchange, Aegis demands a 20% increase of Zephyx within five years of Nick''s arrival in said city."


    Simon and Nick took deep breaths.


    The Technician smiled and looked at Nick.


    "You are receiving the new position of Liaison. You will outrank the Governors but will still be beneath the Agents."


    "But you have to keep in mind that cooperation between you and the Governor is important. Without the Governor''s power, you have no way to enforce your policy changes."


    "Speaking of," the Technician said as he remembered something. "The old Governor of Crimson City is going to be standing guard in front of one of your locations as punishment for his cowardice and corruption. Since you''re going to be going back to Crimson City as your first assignment, do you have a new Governor in mind, Nick?"


    Nick looked with surprise at the Technician.

 Chapter 497 – Difference

    Chapter 497 ¨C Difference


    Nick hadn''t expected that he would get a say in who was going to be the next Governor of Crimson City.


    Nick fell into thought for a moment.


    Naturally, the Governor had to be a powerful hero, and there were only three of those left in Crimson City.


    All three of them were from Kugelblitz.


    Nick only knew Aria Light, and she was the most powerful Hero of Crimson City now.


    Would Aria be a good fit for the position of Governor?


    Nick thought about it for a while.


    "Aria Light," Nick told the Technician.


    "Who''s that?" he asked.


    "She''s the current Chief Zephyx Extractor of Kugelblitz, the biggest and most powerful Manufacturer for Crimson City," Nick said.


    "Any particr reason?" the Technician asked, casually leaning on the table.


    "My biggest issue with Crimson City''s government was the Blood Tax. The Crimson Fungus is a strong Demon that requires blood to produce Zephyx, and Kugelblitz actively created a slum with high taxes that can only realistically be paid by offering your blood."


    "Nearly everyone in the Dregs needed to donate two liters of blood every two or three months to survive while also having no ess to nourishing food. This takes such a toll on people that people in their early twenties look equivalent to people in their forties that live outside the Dregs."


    The Technician raised an eyebrow. "And you want the Chief Zephyx Extractor from that Manufacturer to run the city now?" he asked in skepticism.


    "She wasn''t the one that made these decisions. Kugelblitz''s shares were scattered across many different people, and when power is scattered across a small number of rich people that never see the suffering they inflict, they will just continue to ask for more and more money."


    "When the Blood Tax was brought up in the meetings, she nevermented on it. It was always someone else bringing it up. She also never interjected or tried to persuade the Governor when there was a discussion. She just stayed on the sidelines."


    "We two know each other quite well by now, and I believe I can work together with her," Nick said.


    The Technician scratched the side of his head casually for a while.


    Then, he shrugged. "You''re the one in charge when ites to Crimson City. Sure, we''re going to ask her to be the Governor. Of course, she can''t remain as Kugelblitz''s Chief Zephyx Extractor if she epts, and Aegis expects that she will assume a true neutral position in the city."


    Nick nodded. "Thank you, Technician. I am going to talk to her as well."


    The Technician nodded. "Alright, that''s taken care of, then."


    The Technician went to a console sitting on the table and typed in a couple of things.


    "Since you are also a CZE, you get two months to get your affairs in order in your Manufacturer. You have to find someone to take over for you. After you leave your position, you have to stay neutral, just like the Governor."


    Nick nodded. "I will."


    "I would ask you to refrain from wearing your Aegis uniform until you are officially the Liaison."


    Nick just nodded.


    "Good," the Technician said as he typed in a couple of things. "Everything is taken care of. All the information you need to run the city is avable in ourwork. Crimson City has ess to thework, and you can ess it via the city console."


    Nick didn''t look sure. "I don''t know where that is or how to operate it."


    "Oh yeah, right," the Technician said as he rummaged in his Space Bag.


    "There you go," he said as he dumped a book on the table. "Everything you need to know about the city console. Make sure that nobody except the Governor looks at it."


    "Of course," Nick said, putting the book in one of his bags.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t have Ghosty''s Space Bag anymore, which meant he had to carry everything himself.


    "By the way," the Technician said. "If you prove that you can improve the city, we are going to give you a Space Bag of your own."


    "Thank you," Nick said. "I will do my best."


    The Technician nodded. "Well then, Nick. It was nice meeting you. I''m looking forward to hearing about your sess."


    "Thank you," Nick answered with a polite bow. "I will do my best."


    The Technician looked at Simon and gave him a couple of orders.


    Since Simon was stationed near Crimson City, he was supposed to deal with the people from Anatomy and the current Governor. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After that, Simon and Nick left.


    "You''ve got quite a task ahead of you, Nick," Simon said with a smile.


    Nick nodded. "It''s a lot of pressure, but this is what I always wanted."


    "A way to change the lives of the people for the better."


    Nick remembered hisst conversation with Albert.


    Back then, Albert had said that Nick wouldn''t be the right fit to be the Governor since he was not the selfless person that Nick wanted to see as the Governor.


    ''My motives might be selfish since I want to redeem myself, but I have the good of the people at heart.''


    ''The current Governor might have thought simrly, but there is one important difference that will make things very different.''


    Simon and Nick walked up the long stairway and walked out of the huge building.


    "Goodbye, Protector," the two guards outside the building spoke politely.


    Simon and Nick took to the sky, and they flew towards the southwest for a while.


    "I have to talk to Aurelia first. She needs to know what happened and what I have to do," Simon said.


    Naturally, Simon wasn''t going to tell her about Nightmare or that Nick met the Champion of Light.


    He would just tell her that Nick was now the Liaison of Crimson City and that Simon had to deal with a couple of things there.


    "Sure," Nick said.


    Nick looked at Simon a bit.


    During this small journey, the two of them had be much closer.


    Simon had been quite a distant person to Nick originally, but now, it was almost like Nick was talking to a friend.


    Simon still outranked him by quite a bit, but Nick didn''t feel like they were of two different worlds anymore.


    ''In the end, both of us work for Aegis, and we both work for the good of mankind. A united goal can createradery.''


    Of course, when it came to their personal beliefs, there was still some difference.


    Simon wasn''t the biggest fan of Nick''s secrecy and his lies. He might also disagree with Nick''s hardline attitude when it came to improving the city.


    Maybe he was more of a peace-loving kind.


    However, Simon could see Nick''s conviction, and he could empathize with that.


    On the other hand, Nick might believe that Simon didn''t seem decisive enough, but he could also see that Simon just wanted to help humanity.


    A friendship didn''t need both parties to be identical.


    They just needed to have enoughmon ground to rte to one another.


    ''I am part of Aegis now,'' Nick thought. ''Finally, I have the power to change things!''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''So many powerful people are corrupt. The most important thing is that my convictions stay as they are now.''


    ''I might not be able to avoid making innocent people suffer for my own power, but I have to remember that there has to be a limit. I can only do that if it is absolutely necessary. A slightly better weapon or a better Barrier is not worth turning the lives of ten innocent people to hell.''


    ''My rage and hatred exploded when I saw the people of the upperyer. I saw how they livedpared to the people in the Outer City.''


    ''I must never be like them. My job is to improve the lives of the people. If there is a way to improve the lives of the people, I must do my best to actualize it.''


    Simon and Nicknded on top of the building in front of Envy''s crater, and Simon went inside to talk to Aurelia.


    Meanwhile, Nick thought about the Governor.


    ''Maybe your goal was simr to mine,'' Nick thought, ''but there is one important difference.''


    ''You are a coward.''


    ''You are not willing to put your own life at risk for the good of the people.''


    ''You are so afraid of angering the other Extractors that you granted them freedom to torture the normal people. You wanted to cate their greed by giving them what they wanted.''


    Nick''s eyes turned steely.


    ''I''m not like you.''


    ''I''ve been in so many dangerous situations.''


    ''I''ve infiltrated the Spartans.''


    ''I''ve walked into the unknown darkness to find the Nightmare.''


    ''I''ve infiltrated Anatomy.''


    ''The lives of the people WILL improve!''


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    ''And if the elite is not happy, they will have to step over my corpse!''


    ''And if they try soft tactics to cause terror¡­''


    Nick''s fists clenched.


    ''I will crush them!''

 Chapter 498 – Look at This City

    Chapter 498 ¨C Look at This City


    Simon came out of the building a couple of minutester. "Let''s go."


    Nick nodded, and the two of them flew towards the northeast.


    They crossed the small part of the ocean and reached the ind to the northeast of the Deste Continent.


    Due to Simon''s speed, it just took them a couple of seconds to arrive.


    Crimson City.


    As soon as the megastructure of Crimson City appeared in Nick''s vision, he closed his eyes.


    He might belong to Aegis now, but the Crimson Sea didn''t care about status.


    In the grand scheme of things, the Crimson Sea was still vastly more powerful than Nick, and a careless nce could still kill Nick.


    "Can you hide us with your Zephyx?" Nick asked with closed eyes.


    "Of course, but why would you want that?" Simon asked.


    "I want to show you the city. It will only take a couple of minutes."


    Simon frowned.


    He wanted to get back to keeping guard over Envy, but he decided to humor Nick.


    "Sure," Simon answered.


    "Land near the southern edge of the city, please," Nick said.


    Simon did just that, and the two of them reached the edge of the city.


    By now, huge walls surrounded the city once again.


    The Crimson Sea incident had happened over ten years ago, and by now, the entire city had expanded to its old size again.


    Since the Crimson Sea could no longer deal with outside threats, walls were needed again.


    Nick and Simon stood just behind the tall walls, near the southern entrance of the city.


    No one was paying them any attention.


    Nick wordlessly walked towards the east while Simon followed him, looking around.


    The city didn''t seem so bad.


    It looked quite new and clean.


    Nick and Simon jumped over a couple of houses before they reached a couple of houses that seemed just as new as the remainder of the city.


    On the surface, it didn''t seem any different to the other parts of the city.


    However, if one looked at the people, one would see the difference.


    "Do you see them?" Nick asked, pointing at the people walking around.


    Simon looked at them with a raised brow. "They seem quite exhausted."


    Nick nodded. "Just recently, Kugelblitz has started going back to their old ways with the Blood Tax. Can you see how thin they are?"


    "I can, but I''ve seen that in many other cities as well," Simon answered.


    Nick nodded again. "And that''s the bad part. It''s not only this city. Try to forget howmon this is and think about whether or not this is right."


    "Of course it''s not," Simon answered, "but it''s very difficult to survive in this world. The Specters are a constant threat, and Aegis needs the Zephyx from the cities to resist the Specters." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nick looked at Simon. "Do you believe suffering is necessary to achieve that?"


    "I haven''t seen another way work," he answered.


    "Simon," Nick said. "If the richer people give a little more, the poor wouldn''t need to suffer. That makes logical sense, right?"


    "Of course, but it''s not that easy," Simon answered. "The rich are rich because they are very good at earning and keeping their money."


    "And they deserve their money," Nick said. "The rich will still be rich. Even when I am in charge of Crimson City."


    "The difference is how rich they will be."


    Simon raised an eyebrow. "The rich are the most powerful people in the city. They run everything. Taking from them means making the entire city your enemy."


    "That''s the tradeoff," Nick answered. "The poor need someone strong that has their best interest in mind."


    "I know there will be assassination attempts on my life. The powerful will try their best to keep their fat stacks of meat and Zephyx."


    Nick turned to Simon. "But I''m willing to put my life on the line and meet their assassination attempts."


    "I''m willing to make the entire city my enemy."


    Simon looked with worry at Nick.


    He recognized that this was a noble goal, but it seemed like a very bad idea.


    "Can''t you do it in a less dangerous way?" Simon asked.


    "You said it yourself," Nick answered. "You haven''t seen any other way work yet."


    "There''s one truth to this world, and Aegis demonstrates that truth very well."


    "Power is everything," Nick said.


    "The Specters rule this world because they are powerful."


    "Humans can only survive because Aegis is powerful enough to resist the Specters."


    Simon looked unconvinced at Nick. "That might be true, but you''re not powerful."


    "And yet," Nick answered. "I am still willing to put my life on the line for what I believe in. If an Initial Expert is willing to do that, what excuse do the Governors have, who are the most powerful?"


    Simon didn''t answer.


    "I might not be the most powerful in this city," Nick said, "but I am the hardiest and toughest."


    Nick''s eyes narrowed. "As long as I can keep surviving their assassination attempts and kill the people resisting me, sooner orter, the powerful will be forced toply."


    "Easier said than done," Simonmented.


    Nick just wordlessly nodded.


    Nick led Simon around the new Dregs, showing him the malnourished and stressed people.


    Naturally, it didn''t feel good to look at them, but Simon had seen these scenes in many different cities.


    Eventually, the two of them reached the actual Outer City.


    "Do you know why I''ve shown you the Dregs?" Nick asked.


    "No," Simon answered. "I''ve seen that so many times."


    "I wanted to show you that this city isn''t any different from other cities."


    Nick turned to Simon. "Remember what this city looks like right now because, in a couple of years, you won''t recognize it anymore."


    "I want to prove that if I can change things here, I can change things in other cities as well."


    "My goal is no longer just to improve the lives of the poor people in Crimson City."


    "After I''m done with Crimson City, I want to help other cities as well."


    Simon raised an eyebrow. "Quite a big im. You seem very confident."


    Nick looked forward with intense eyes.


    "It''s not confidence."


    "It''s necessity."


    "I have to seed at all costs!"


    "If I can''t seed, my entire life is meaningless and worthless."


    "This is like a fight to the death."


    "Either I seed, or I die."


    Scenes from Nick''s life shot through his mind.


    Horua.


    Pator.


    The Crimson Sea incident.


    Nick had killed important people in his life and a great number of innocent strangers.


    His guilt was unending.


    He had managed to keep living and betting on his future.


    Someday, he would be able to redeem himself.


    But now, this no longer worked.


    The opportunity had arrived, and with it, Nick''s destiny.


    Redemption or death.


    To survive, Nick couldn''t bet on a possibility anymore.


    Now, he had to bet on a certainty.


    And it was all up to him.


    He had all the power.


    There were no more excuses.


    He had to seed now, or everything would have been for nothing!


    Simon looked at Nick with worry.


    He could feel how tense Nick was.


    It truly reminded him of watching someone fight for their life.


    Simon wordlessly followed Nick as they approached the megastructure.


    "Please, get me through one of the holes. I don''t want to be seen yet," Nick said.


    "Sure," Simon answered casually, and the two of them flew through one of the holes in the megastructure.


    It had only been a bit more than a day since the grand fight, and the holes hadn''t been fully repaired yet.


    The two of themnded in the Inner City.


    "Where''s Julian being held?" Nick asked.


    "You want to deal with him first?" Simon asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "I put him into one of Kugelblitz''s Containment Units. Due to his dangerous power, I ordered that only Heroes be allowed to have ess to it."


    Nick nodded again. "Smart choice."


    The two of them traveled to Kugelblitz and stepped through the entrance without being noticed.


    Simon''s powers were incredible.


    Simon and Nick walked up to the highest floor, and Nick led him to a door.


    Nick knocked on the door.


    "Ah, makes sense," Simon said.


    He could perceive the space behind the door.


    Then, he stopped hiding their presence, and a momentter, the door opened.


    Aria Light looked at the two of them with surprise. "Honored Protector," she greeted.


    "Nick," she said casually with a nod to him.


    "We have a couple of things to deal with," Nick said neutrally.


    Simon just stood beside Nick, silent.


    Aria raised an eyebrow.


    It almost seemed like Nick was the one in charge between the two.


    "Okay," she answered. "What do you need?"


    "ess to Julian," Nick said.


    Aria narrowed her eyes.


    Naturally, she didn''t believe that Nick couldn''t have known about Julian''s true identity.


    The two of them had been way too close for over a decade.


    "Why?" she asked.


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    "To kill him."


    c71241599ffa2342522e9fa0e93245a9d8ec4ad4e8c3c5baf0c66a8666374fd0b2333822b3ffde7ec1eed481d0a1ed2c8e5f2d2ae17856e09bb8bdf8bf17b66a822034e625ba4805a49c86d55981c494

 Chapter 499 – Goodbye, Julian

    Chapter 499 ¨C Goodbye, Julian


    Aria looked at Nick with furrowed brows before turning to Simon.


    Simon nodded. "The Left Arm has given the order. Julian will be killed today."


    Aria''s eyes widened.


    The Left Arm?!


    This order came from the Left Arm?!


    An order from the Left Arm was as weighty as an order from the Right Arm!


    The two of them were essentially the highest authority in the human world, except for the Champion of Light.


    Aria sighed. "I''m d to hear that. I also believe he is a great danger. The number of times Experts and even Specialists tried to free Julian yesterday was shocking."


    "His hold over the city is terrifying."


    "I even had to station Jornis in front of the Containment Unit since the incidents were bing too numerous," she exined.


    Simon knew a little about Julian, but even he was shocked at Julian''s power.


    "I''ll bring you right to him," she said, stepping out of her office.


    The two of them went one floor lower, and Nick could already see the gigantic figure of Jornis standing in front of a door like a golem.


    "Two more incidents. I dealt with them," Jornis said with his deep voice.


    "Thank you," Aria said with a nod. "You don''t need to stand guard here anymore. Julian is getting executed."


    Jornis looked at Simon and saw his uniform.


    "That''s for the best, Protector," he said with a polite bow.


    Simon just nodded.


    Jornis stepped to the side, and the three of them went through the door.


    They found themselves in a locker room.


    "Please, wait outside," Nick told Aria. "I want to talk to him onest time."


    Aria furrowed her brows and looked at Simon.


    Simon just nodded.


    "Fine," Aria said before she opened the employee entrance.


    Nick and Simon walked into the Containment Unit, and the door closed behind them.


    There he was.


    In the middle of the room was Julian.


    Just like always, he had a confident smile on his face.


    "You''re still alive, Nick," Julian said with a smile.


    "I am," Nick answered.


    Silence.


    "So, why are you here?" Julian asked, looking at Simon.


    "We are going to execute you," Nick said.


    "Execute me?" Julian asked before breaking out in augh. "That is priceless!"


    "You are going to execute me while you are still allowed to walk around? You have caused more damage to humanity than me!" Julian shouted.


    Simon just threw Julian''sments out of the proverbial window.


    He was a Specter.


    He had entertained them in the past, but after Nick had gotten the Champion of Light''s blessing, Julian''sments no longer had any weight.


    "That is true," Nick said.


    Simon looked at Nick with surprise.


    "I couldn''t be honest with you before, Simon, but I can be now," Nick said. "If I had told you everything before, you would have killed me. But now, I can tell you."


    "Julian, why don''t you tell Simon everything that I have done?" Nick asked.


    Julian had a disgusted sneer on his face.


    "Protector, did you know that Nick has the power of the Null and that he is the reason why Envy is after the city?" Julian asked with a sweet smile.


    Simon nodded. "I know. He told me himself over a decade ago."


    Julian''s eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, okay. Then, how about the time he released the Crimson Sea?"


    Now, Simon was surprised and looked at Nick. "Is that true?"


    Nick nodded.


    "I infiltrated the Spartans after they tried to kill me. I killed many of their employees and freed several of their Specters as revenge. I did not expect the situation to go out of hand. It was my mistake."


    Nick turned to Simon. "And there is not a single day in which the guilt doesn''t tear me apart."


    "Do you now understand why I have to seed? If I don''t seed, I won''t be able to live with this guilt anymore," Nick said.


    Simon just frowned. "That''s not right. You should have confessed immediately."


    "And then what?" Nick asked. "Get put to work in some prison? Get executed? If I did that, it wouldn''t help the world at all."


    Nick looked at the ground while clenching his fists. "I might not be able to help the people I have killed, but I can help the world in return."


    "A thousand improved lives for one innocent death," Nick said. "If I can achieve that, I will have done a lot of good for the world."


    "Can I be redeemed? Maybe not, but I have to try my best! I have to help humanity!" Nick shouted with conviction.


    Simon looked at Nick.


    His feelings were mixed.


    Undoubtedly, Nick was a monster who had killed thousands of innocent people.


    Simon would execute someone like that without feeling bad.


    And yet, Nick''s conviction was genuine, and most important of all, he had been in front of the Champion of Light.


    The Champion of Light was the oldest, wisest, and most powerful human in the world.


    The Champion of Light could definitely see Nick''s true self.


    And if the Champion of Light believed in him, Simon would also believe in him.


    "I hope you will seed," Simon said. "Not for yourself, but for all the innocent people you have killed."


    "I have to!" Nick said with conviction, his eyes narrowed.


    A momentter, his expression became neutral again, and he looked at Julian. "Anything else?"


    Julian looked with rage and disgust at Nick.


    "What about the fact that he knew who I was ever since the Crimson Sea incident? He won a bet against me, and his wish was to be allies with me and to kill Wyntor Melfion, his old boss," Julian said.


    Simon narrowed his eyes.


    Nick colluded with a Specter?


    He had suspected something like that, but he hadn''t been sure yet.


    "That is correct," Nick said.


    Simon looked with intensity at Nick.


    "The Specters are humanity''s greatest enemy," Nick said. "But is one Specter the greatest enemy of one human?"


    Simon''s expression didn''t change.


    "Julian said it himself," Nick added. "I caused more damage to the city than him." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I have killed around two thousand innocent people with the Crimson Sea incident. Julian has killed fewer than that."


    "And over the past decade, how many has he killed?"


    "43 Veterans, eleven Experts, and two Specialists," Julian answered.


    Nick nodded.


    "And how many lives has the Blood Tax imed over the many years? How many lives have been destroyed by their greed?" Nick asked.


    Julian snorted. "I can''tpete with humanity''s maliciousness."


    Naturally, Julian wanted to show that he wasn''t so bad so that he wouldn''t get executed.


    "Do you see?" Nick asked Simon. "Julian has killed fewer people than Kugelblitz, Anatomy, and probably even Gemini."


    "The Manufacturer that he controlled caused the least harm."


    "Why?"


    "Because an animal only wants to eat until it is no longer hungry."


    "A human wants to eat until nothing is left!"


    Nick looked at Simon.


    "I knew from the beginning that Julian would cause less damage than most humans when in control of a Manufacturer. And even if Julian managed to take control over the entire city, he would only consume the powerful people while leaving the normal people alone since they won''t improve his power anymore."


    "And finally, he would leave the city and consume stronger people."


    "If he managed to rule the city, the normal people would be happier than they are right now."


    "He might be a Specter, but he is less damaging to Crimson City than the Governor or the people in the upperyer," Nick said.


    Of course, Simon wasn''tpletely convinced.


    In a certain way, Nick''s words made sense, but there were still issues.


    If Julian kept growing more powerful, he could endanger all of humanity.


    Nick had essentially put themon people of one city above humanity''s safety.


    "You could have destroyed humanity," Simon said coldly.


    Nick nodded.


    "But I didn''t," Nick said.


    Simon just looked at Nick for a while.


    Then, he took a deep breath.


    "My faith in the Champion of Light is being tested but remains unbroken," he said.


    "I don''t trust you, Nick, but I trust in the Champion of Light."


    That was all Simon said.


    "That''s all I can ask for," Nick said.


    Then, he turned to Julian. "Anything else?"


    Julian was grasping at straws.


    "He was the one that destroyed Anatomy," Julian said.


    Simon looked with shock at Nick, but this time, it wasn''t because Nick was a monster in terms of morals.


    No, it was because Nick was a monster regarding his abilities inbat.


    Obviously, destroying Anatomy was notparable to any of the other things Julian had highlighted.


    Almost no innocent people had died, and Nick had actually improved Crimson City by getting rid of Anatomy.


    That was not a bad thing, but a good thing.


    "That is also correct," Nick said.


    Simon could tell that Nick was powerful for his level, but this was just crazy!


    Nick had essentially taken down Anatomy from the inside out.


    That sounded impossible!


    "Are you done? Anything to add?" Nick asked Julian.


    Julian looked with aggression at Nick.


    "I guess that''s it then," Nick said.


    "Julian, over the many years, you have taught me so many things. I have learned a lot from you."


    "Yet, your most important lesson came at the end."


    "You taught me that, no matter how certain I am, I might have still overlooked something."


    "You underestimated me, Julian, because you were arrogant and believed yourself to be in control."


    "And if someone like you can be taken down by a young man over an entire level weaker than you, it can also happen to me."


    "You taught me that I always have to be vignt, even if I believe I am safe."


    "And I won''t make the same mistake as you."


    "Goodbye, Julian."


    Then, Nick turned to Simon and looked at him in silence.


    Simon furrowed his brows.


    Julian grew desperate, and several mouths appeared around Nick.


    Nick just looked at Julian.


    Simon snapped his finger.


    CRRRRRRRR!


    An endless inferno consumed the Containment Unit, covering everything in white mes.

 Chapter 500 – Do You Accept?

    Chapter 500 ¨C Do You ept?


    The fire vanished, and Nick looked at the empty Containment Unit.


    Julian was dead.


    Julian had lorded over Nick for over a decade, and he had always been Nick''s biggest threat.


    In the back of Nick''s mind, his emotions were still a bit afraid that Julian was somehow still alive.


    However, such a fear was unfounded.


    Even a Fallen would die when hit by such an attack, and Julian definitely didn''t have the power to fool Simon''s senses.


    It was impossible for Julian to have survived.


    "Has your opinion of me changed?" Nick asked.


    Simon frowned.


    Then, he nodded.


    "Julian taught me an interesting concept. The sunk cost facy. Have you heard of it?" Nick asked.


    Simon didn''t answer.


    "The sunk cost facy means that people who have invested a lot in something that is bound to fail keep investing because they don''t want to cut their losses. They have already invested so much into everything that they can''t handle the prospect of all their investments being for nothing, resulting in umting losses over time."


    "Doesn''t that sound just like me?" Nick asked.


    "It does," Simon answered.


    "I also think so," Nick said. "For my entire adult life, I have been focusing on nothing but trying to redeem myself, but I''m not so sure if that is even possible anymore."


    "No matter what I do, I can''t resurrect the innocent people I have killed. Even if I were to kill the Sun, I still wouldn''t be able to repay them."


    "After finally having the power to make a positive change in the world, I understand it now."


    "I''m not sure if I can ever make things right."


    "I might never be redeemed."


    Silence.


    "But I still want to help the people," Nick added.


    "If there is an afterlife, and all the people I killed want to torture me, the only thing I can do is to have helped so many people that the vast majority of souls still see me as humanity''s benefactor."


    "Additionally, I believe Aegis and I are not that different."


    At that point, Simon narrowed his eyes. "Be careful what you say."


    Nick didn''t seem worried. He just calmly looked forward.


    "Aegis is defending humanity, but the tributes that they request cause suffering for the normal people due to the pressure on the leaders of the city," Nick said.


    Simon was not happy. "Aegis is not the cause of this suffering."


    "Not directly, no," Nick said. "Aegis just wants something, and it is up to the governments to gather this something. The governments are the ones that cause the suffering."


    "But without the tributes, would the suffering of the poor be this immense?"


    Nick snorted.


    "That''s a trick question," he added without letting Simon answer. "Of course, the suffering would be just as immense. Why? Because one human can be good, but a group of humans is greedy."


    "So, yes, Aegis is not responsible in my mind, but they are also not without fault. Aegis has the power to change things, but the good of the normal people is not their highest priority."


    "Although, that''s understandable. The threat of the Specter endangers all of human life. Without life, there can''t be happiness. Survival is more important than happiness when ites to humanity as a collective. Some individuals might disagree. They might say that living a short and happy life is better than living a long and miserable life."


    "But if humanity can''t survive, there won''t even be short and happy lives. There will be just no life."


    "Get to the point," Simon interrupted.


    Nick remained silent for a while.


    "I don''t know what my point was anymore," Nick answered. "I guess I was just musing."


    "No matter. In the end, I want to improve the lives of themon people, and I think the fact that I made so many mistakes in my past will help me in achieving that."


    "The more mistakes you make, the more you learn from them."


    Simon was still frowning.


    "I don''t have all day. We need to talk with Aria and deal with the Governor," Simon said as he turned towards the exit.


    "Of course," Nick said, following after Simon.


    Nick could tell that Simon''s opinion of Nick had changed tremendously.


    Before their talk with Julian, Simon had viewed Nick as apanion.


    But now, he only viewed Nick as someone who should have been executed due to his tremendous crimes.


    Nick was a monster.


    A killer of thousands of innocents.


    He had caused more suffering than the majority of Specters in the world.


    Letting him live was an injustice.


    Sadly, there was nothing Simon could do.


    The Champion of Light and the Left Arm had talked to Nick, and Nick had received the Champion of Light''s blessing.


    Simon couldn''t see what the Champion of Light saw in Nick anymore.


    However, he still believed in the Champion of Light.


    Also, hadn''t the Left Arm said something very simr?


    No matter.


    It was not Simon''s ce to sentence Nick.


    Not anymore, at least.


    From now on, Nick''s fate was up to the Shields.


    The only thing he could do was to report what he had learned to the Left Arm and let her decide.


    But for now, he had to follow the orders he already had.


    The two of them left the Containment Unit and saw Aria standing in front of the door.


    "Is it done?" Aria asked.


    "Yes," Nick answered. "Simon killed Julian."


    Aria looked at Simon, who just nodded.


    Aria released a sigh of relief. "So, it''s finally over."


    "We need to talk," Nick said. "Maybe we should go back to your office."


    Aria frowned.


    The way Nick talked to her made it appear like he viewed himself on the same level as Aria.


    Sure, they had talked a lot in the past, but Aria was still vastly more powerful than him.


    But she wouldn''t jump to conclusions and needlessly antagonize Nick.


    Most likely, Nick knew something important that she didn''t know.


    What if Nick joined Aegis, and he was now representing them?


    Antagonizing a person from Aegis was equivalent to antagonizing Aegis itself.


    "Sure," Aria said before leaving the Containment Unit.


    The three of them walked back to Aria''s office and entered.


    "So, what is it that you need to talk about?" she asked neutrally, sitting down behind her desk.


    Nick also sat down while Simon remained standing beside the table, just silently frowning.


    He seemed to be in a really bad mood.


    "I have met the Champion of Light, and I was epted into Aegis," Nick started.


    Aria''s eyes shot open in shock.


    Nick had met the Champion of Light?!


    Aria looked at Simon for confirmation, who only nodded.


    Nick took his uniform out of his bag and put it on the table.


    Naturally, Aria was very experienced and had met several people from Aegis.


    The two stripes on Nick''s shoulder shocked her.


    An Agent?!


    But then, she saw that there was only one stripe on the other shoulder, and she became confused.


    A Governor?


    An Agent but also a Governor?


    Or neither?


    "This is a new position, and I am the first person assuming it," Nick said. "I am a Liaison. I am ranked higher than a Governor but lower than an Agent."


    At this moment, Aria was d that she had listened to her experience.


    Antagonizing Nick was worse than antagonizing the Governor right now.


    "Congrattions," Aria said politely.


    "You don''t need to be formal," Nick said. "If you are willing to ept, we will be colleagues."


    Aria blinked a couple of times in confusion.


    "The old Governor might be physically strong, but he is mentally weak," Nick said. "His fear of putting his life on the line is what caused so much suffering to the people of the Outer City, and the people of the Dregs specifically."


    "I have told the Champion of Light of my thoughts, and he has deigned to give me an opportunity."


    "I imed that a happy popce will help Aegis more than a terrified one, and he is willing to give me a chance to prove this."


    "As a Liaison, it will be my duty to oversee Crimson City as a true representative of Aegis. The Governor will still mostly run the city, but I will be involved in the government."


    "My goal is to improve the lives of themon people and to reduce the suffering inside the city."


    "If suffering is mandatory to keep things running, I want to distribute it equally. I don''t want 2,000 people to suffer horribly so that 5,000 people can live without worry."


    Aria furrowed her brows. "You''re going after the elite?" she asked.


    "I am," Nick said.


    "That''s suicide," Aria said coldly.


    "Like it is to enter Anatomy alone?" Nick asked.


    Aria looked at Simon.


    This was supposed to remain a secret since it was forbidden to just destroy a Manufacturer like that!


    However, Simon didn''t seem shocked or interested.


    This meant Simon already knew about this.


    In a way, this made Aria nervous, but it also calmed her down.


    After all, Simon didn''t seem like somebody who was about to kill her for treason, which meant there was one less secret she needed to hide. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "The Governor is mentally weak, ipetent, and corrupt," Nick continued. "Simon will take him and the people from Anatomy to Aegis to be judged."


    "Crimson City needs a new Governor."


    Aria could see where this was going.


    "I rmended you, Aria, and the Technician is willing to ask you to be Crimson City''s Governor."


    "Do you ept?" Nick asked.


    Aria remained silent for a long while.

 Chapter 501 – Markus

    Chapter 501 ¨C Markus


    "I''m sorry, but I''ll have to decline," Aria answered.


    Nick didn''t seem surprised.


    "Are you willing to share the reason?" Nick asked.


    Aria frowned.


    "You are going to make the most powerful people in the city your enemy, and since I have to work together with you, I will also be their enemy."


    "I am not afraid of them, but if you die, I will be implicated. I can''t protect you from such a constant threat," she exined.


    Nick nodded. "That''s about what I expected," he answered.


    "What if we sign a contract that will free you from responsibility in the case of my death unless it is very apparent that you were the one that killed me?" Nick asked.


    "Why?" Aria asked with furrowed brows.


    "Why what?" Nick asked.


    "Why would you offer me such a contract? With such a contract, it would be easy for me to secretly kill you and not be responsible."


    When Aria said that, she nced at Simon.


    What she had said could constitute a threat to one of Aegis'' people.


    However, Simon didn''t seem interested.


    "I don''t think you want to do that," Nick said. "Just the fact that you brought this possibility up tells me as much."


    Aria frowned.


    Nick talked like he knew what she was thinking, which was a bit presumptuous.


    "A predator on the hunt doesn''t warn their prey before they strike. Malice is silent," Nick answered.


    "Of course, you could also just have overthought and expected that I would think that."


    Nick smiled wryly.


    "And if that is the case, my judgment of people would be wrong, and I deserve to meet my end at your hands," he added.


    "You won''t be responsible for my death," Nick reiterated. "If I die, it will prove that my philosophy failed and that the current way is the correct way."


    "If I die, everything will return to how it used to be. You will be the sole ruler of Crimson City in Aegis'' name, and you will have all the power."


    "If I fail or seed, it makes no difference to your life. You will be the Governor regardless."


    Aria remained silent for a while.


    Simon nced at Nick before ncing at Aria.


    He really wasn''t interested in helping Nick.


    However, while he thought that Nick was a monster, he couldn''t deny some of the things he had said.


    What if Nick seeded?


    Whether or not he was a monster didn''t matter. He would have helped Aegis and humanity as a whole, regardless.


    "Bing the Governor is the best way to enter Aegis," Simon said. "If you prove yourself as a Governor, you are free to be an Agent after a couple of years and work with more powerful Specters. It is the only way to be a Protector."


    "Living in a city only gets you so far."


    Simon did not like Nick anymore, but for the good of mankind, he wanted to give this new policy a real shot. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Aria frowned and remained silent.


    "I want that contract that you talked about," she said.


    Nick nodded. "Of course."


    "Additionally, I don''t want you to lord over me and pull rank every time wee to a disagreement. I am the Governor, and this is my city. If this is going to happen, we have to work together as equals," she said.


    "That''s what I was nning on telling you as well," Nick said. "You are a Hero. I''m an Expert."


    Aria didn''t agree with that. "You have the higher position. Power is not important in this matter."


    Nick shook his head. "Power is more important than rank. Even if I don''t think you will, you can use your power in a subtle way to sway me. Fear is a powerful thing."


    "It was not legal for me to infiltrate and destroy Anatomy, but I did it anyway, and I survived. There is surely a way for you to do something simr to me."


    Aria didn''t immediately answer.


    In a way, she agreed, but she also disagreed.


    Sure, there was a way, but that would be extremely dangerous.


    She could do it, but she would be betting on her life.


    "I''ve been a Chief Zephyx Extractor ever since I was 16, and I built Dark Dream from the ground up until it became what it is today," Nick said. "If I ignored every bit of criticism just because I have a higher position, Dark Dream would have long since copsed."


    "I have made many, many mistakes in my past, and I know that I will continue to make more. I need more experienced people and their insight to help me avoid making them. You have been a Chief Zephyx Extractor for much longer than me, and you know even more than me. Ignoring your words just because I technically outrank you would be idiotic."


    "I require cooperation from you, and cooperation always goes both ways. I need to trust in you and your abilities to make this work. I can''t run a city alone," Nick said.


    Aria took a deep breath.


    She really didn''t have a good feeling about this.


    Yes, Nick was powerful, but he was just in his early thirties.


    ''I''m going to have my work cut out for me,'' Aria thought.


    "Fine, I agree," she said.


    "Thank you," Nick answered.


    "I want that contract now," she demanded.


    "You got a pen and paper?" Nick asked.


    Aria handed him a pen and paper, and Nick quickly wrote down a contract.


    He had written so many contracts in his life that it barely took him a minute to write the entire thing.


    Then, he handed it to Aria, who read through it.


    Naturally, Aria had seen more contracts in her life than Nick had seen paper, and she wouldn''t miss any sort of suspicious wording.


    However, the contract was fine.


    It said exactly what they had agreed on.


    Aria sighed and signed at the bottom.


    Nick also signed and handed it to Simon.


    Simon read through it before summoning a pen and some paper.


    Then, he made several copies of the contract in just a couple of seconds, which everyone signed again.


    Simon put the original contract into his Space Bag.


    This contract would be handed over to Aegis for safekeeping, while Aria and Nick got to keep a copy each.


    "Go to the Aegis stronghold here," Simon said as he told Aria a couple of directions, which led to about 2,000 kilometers to the west. "I will tell them about you, and they will deal with your initiation into Aegis. You should go sometime between tomorrow and next week. It will only take a couple of hours."


    Aria remembered Simon''s instructions and told him that she would be going there in three days.


    Naturally, Aegis had many strongholds all over the world.


    The initiation of a Governor didn''t require them to go to Aegis'' headquarters.


    Any stronghold was fine.


    Then, Simon looked at Nick. "I don''t have all day. Let''s go deal with thest part so I can leave," he said with cold neutrality.


    "Of course," Nick said before standing up and turning to Aria onest time. "I will be Dark Dream''s Chief Zephyx Extractor for two more months to deal with my session. After that, I will assume the mantle of Liaison."


    Aria nodded. "I will also need a couple of weeks, but it won''t be a problem. Kugelblitz''s ownership is no longer scattered since all the directors died, and ownership will soon return to Kugelblitz after buying the shares back from the scattered shareholders."


    Nick also nodded.


    The two of them said their goodbyes, and Simon and Nick left Kugelblitz.


    The two of them went to the upperyer and met with the gate guardian.


    Naturally, the two of them entered the upperyer without any sort of verification.


    It wasw to test everyone passing through, but Aegis stood above thew, and the gate guardian wouldn''t try to enforce the cityws on a Protector from Aegis.


    The two of them entered the big locker room, but they didn''t change their clothing at all and just walked into the beautiful upperyer with their normal clothing.


    Then, the two of them traveled to the middle of the upperyer, where they found a big castle made of stone.


    This was the central administration of Crimson City.


    This was where they kept the copies of all the important contracts, held prisoners, and where the Governor resided.


    The two of them just walked through the entrance, none of the guards even daring to stop them.


    Every powerful Extractor recognized Aegis'' uniform.


    The two of them went up a flight of stairs until they reached the highest floor.


    The highest floor just had a short hallway, which led to a singr door.


    Before they even reached the door, it opened, and the Governor walked out.


    Markus Julius.


    Markus bowed respectfully to Simon. "Esteemed Protector," he greeted.


    Simon did not return the greeting and just continued walking, while Nick walked just behind him.


    The Governor politely moved to the side, and the two of them walked past him into his office.


    Although, office should be put between quotation marks.


    The entire highest floor of the castle was just one huge room filled with art, furniture, a pool, expensive beverages, and other luxuries.


    The only thing that told of its status as an office was the big and ostentatious wooden desk at the end of the room.


    When Nick saw the room, he openly sneered in disgust.


    A den of decadence and gluttony.


    Even the Left Arm''s office was barren.


    While it wasn''t necessary to live as spartan as the Left Arm, there was no reason to go so crazy with decoration and luxury as a servant of Aegis.


    Markus entered the office after them and politely stood behind his desk. "How can I help you, Protector?" he asked.


    Simon didn''t say anything.


    "Markus."


    Markus looked with narrowed eyes at Nick, who had just spoken.


    Nick fearlessly looked back.

 Chapter 502 – Simon Leaves

    Chapter 502 ¨C Simon Leaves


    "Your time as Governor is done," Nick said.


    Markus furrowed his brows. "And who are you to make such a judgment?"


    "It''s not me making it. It''s Aegis," Nick said.


    Markus looked at Simon.


    "Markus Julius, Aegis is not satisfied with how you have run Crimson City. The Left Arm has deemed you corrupt, and you will be guarding the entrance of the local stronghold for the foreseeable future."


    "Corrupt?!" Markus shouted in rage and shock. "How am I corrupt?! I always gave Aegis the tribute every single year without fail! Even when half the city was destroyed by the Crimson Sea, I still managed to get enough Zephyx for Aegis! A corrupt Governor would have said that we couldn''t pay, but I still paid everything!"


    Simon didn''t seem impressed. "This is not my decision, but the Left Arm''s. You can send a letter of protest to her and state your case, but I wouldn''t hope for anything."


    The current Governor had seemed rather neutral so far, in Simon''s opinion.


    However, when he saw the Governor''s "office", he also felt some disgust.


    He wasn''t as extreme as Nick, but the sheer wealth in this room alone could probably pay for an entire yearly tribute.


    Obviously, Crimson City had wealth to spare.


    Sure, in a way, Markus could do whatever he wanted with his profits, but Simon still felt a bit of disgust regardless.


    Markus clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "This is an injustice!"


    Then, he pointed at Nick. "And who is he that he can just waltz in here and talk to me like that?!"


    "I am Crimson City''s new Liaison," Nick said.


    "Liaison?" Markus asked with furrowed brows.


    "I am going to rule together with the new Governor. I will be implementing reforms, which will lead to an increase of 20% of the tribute within five years."


    "I can give Aegis more than you, Markus," Nick said neutrally.


    "20%?!" Markus shouted. "That is impossible! You have no idea how much Aegis demands every year! 20% willpletely bankrupt the city!"


    Nick just looked back. "Because you have run it inefficiently. Crimson City is a gold mine. The Crimson Fungus has an entire city from which to draw Zephyx, but you only utilize 20% of it."


    Markus snorted. "What? You want to grow the Dregs even more? Weren''t you always on about the poor, and now you want them to suffer even more?"


    "No," Nick answered. "Quite the opposite."


    Markus just sneered as Nick continued talking.


    "The blood tax will change from being voluntary to mandatory. The amount of blood paid will be reduced, but everyone will have to pay."


    "Inner City, Outer City, loweryer, middleyer, upperyer, Extractors. Everyone."


    Markus was taken aback.


    Then, he startedughing.


    "What naivety!" he shouted. "You want to make these lions pay in blood? You have no idea what they can do! You will be dead within the year, and the poor will suffer even more after that!"


    "They want their money, and they will be getting it regardless! If they have to pay with their own blood, they want credits in return that far outweigh the worth of their blood, and they will be getting that! Whether you like it or not!"


    Nick didn''t seem impressed. "The powerful have power, but in the end, they are also just humans."


    "In your endless indulgence, you have grown scared. You are afraid of stomping out a rat because you are scared of getting bitten."


    "Your vast storage of Zephyx is wasted. Your power is just wasting away in your possession."


    Nick looked at Markus. "No businessman would let their money just rot away in a bank ount. You have to invest to make more money."


    Markus also wasn''t impressed by Nick''s words. "Spoken like a na?ve child that never had to contend with the true elite of the city."


    "You mean yourself?" Nick asked. "The only thing I have seen you do with the elite was lick their boots."


    "You were never in control of Crimson City. Kugelblitz, Anatomy, and Ghosty''s Lab were."


    "But let me entertain that thought for a bit. Assuming I had to contend with the shrewdest businessman in all of Crimson City, someone far more experienced and shrewd than me, who would leave with more money?" Nick asked.


    Markus sneered. "Are you saying that you would?" he asked, not convinced.


    "Yes, I am saying that," Nick said.


    "How?" Markus asked with a snort. "Are you saying you are shrewder than them when you yourself said in your hypothetical that they are the shrewdest?"


    "No, I''m not," Nick said, "and the fact that you can''t see the answer shows how warped your perception of reality is."


    Nick turned to Simon. "It should be obvious to you why I would leave with more money."


    Simon frowned.


    "Yes, but I don''t like the answer," he said.


    Nick turned to Markus. "It''s the same reason why the Dregs suffer, and the upperyer thrives."


    "Power."


    Markus frowned.


    "I am more powerful than them. The shrewdest businessman will never forget that truth."


    "Displeasing the government is the quickest way to the afterlife."


    "The shrewdest businessman is so shrewd that they realize this. They will lose on purpose to get on my good side, hoping to gain my support in the future."


    Markus just shook his head at the idiocy. "This is not how society works. We all have to abide by the same rules. Society will not exist otherwise."


    Nick just looked at Markus neutrally. "I make the rules now, and everyone will abide by them."


    "And my rules are that Aegises first!"


    Markus just kept shaking his head at the stupid and na?ve words Nick was speaking.


    "I''ll let you find out on your own," Markus said with a voice that showed that he gave up trying to convince Nick.


    "Sure, I will be guarding the gates of the local stronghold."


    Markus smirked. "But that''s still a better fate than getting assassinated by some random bread merchant who saw their profits dwindle by a single-digit percentage."


    Markus looked at Simon. "I''m ready to go. Do you need anything?" he asked.


    Simon asked for several items required to run the city efficiently.


    The key to the central console, special contracts, contacts, manuals, finance sheets, and a couple of other things.


    It took almost two hours for Simon to get everything in order.


    Nick just silently stood to the side.


    Finally, all these things were left on the table.


    Nick walked over and pocketed all the important things under Simon''s supervision.


    He would share these things with Aria, who would have to do two jobs at the same time for a couple of weeks.


    The government would just barely do enough to keep existing for the couple of weeks that Aria needed, and she would only deal with the most important issues during that time.


    Everything else had to wait until she officially assumed the mantle of Governor.


    In the end, the three of them left the office, and Nick locked the door with the key.


    Nobody would be allowed to enter the office except Aria and Nick.


    Simon instructed the guards of the castle about what to do for the next couple of weeks.


    In essence, they had to forward the most pressing matters to Aria while stockpiling the unimportant things.


    Naturally, the guards were all extremely shocked.


    The Governor was leaving?!


    Was Aria going to be the new Governor?!


    Although, after thinking about it for a while, the guards realized that it actually made sense.


    The recent conflict with Anatomy was really bad.


    It actually made sense that the Governor would be held ountable.


    It didn''t even take two hours until everyone in the upperyer knew about the Governor leaving.


    The three of them went to the loweryer and left the megastructure. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Outside the megastructure, Simon turned to Nick. "Someone wille for Ghosty within the next couple of days. I have already dealt with the Heroes from Anatomy before we went to Aegis."


    "Everything has been taken care of. You and Aria are now in charge."


    Nick nodded. "Thank you."


    Simon looked at Nick with a frown.


    "I hope for the people whose lives ended unjustly that you seed," he said coldly.


    "If I don''t, I will die," Nick said evenly.


    "I will hold you to your word," Simon said with a threatening voice.


    "You may," Nick answered.


    Simon looked at Nick.


    He didn''t see any signs of dishonesty.


    Nick seemed deadly serious.


    He was really betting on his life.


    In a way, this calmed Simon down.


    Nick may be irredeemable, but he could still do good for the world.


    Maybe there was something to Nick''s words.


    After all, even Specters could give humanity power and hope by producing Zephyx and granting abilities.


    If even a Specter could be used to help humanity, why couldn''t a monster like Nick?


    A momentter, Simon left with Markus without saying a word of goodbye.


    He didn''t like Nick, but he wanted him to seed.


    Their methods and values were different, but both of them had the same goal.


    Humanity''s prosperity.


    Simon hoped that Nick would do well, even if that meant that one more monster would keep living in this world.

 Chapter 503 – Dark Dreams End

    Chapter 503 ¨C Dark Dream''s End


    After Simon left, Nick turned back to the city.


    Crimson City.


    Finally, he had the power to fix it.


    ''Crimson City''s current weakness is itsck of authority. Almost all the guards are borrowed by the Manufacturers. That''s the first thing I have to fix. If the government can''t have power, thepanies can''t be forced to follow thew.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''But first, I have to deal with Dark Dream.''


    Naturally, Nick had already made a n about how to deal with Dark Dream.


    Nick walked back into the city, wearing Dark Dream''s uniform.


    Just walking through the city like this hadn''t been possible just a couple of days ago.


    Anatomy had constantly been ready to take over the other Manufacturers, and Dark Dream had been one of their targets. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Walking around the city would have left Nick open to assassination attempts.


    But right now, no Manufacturer had the time to deal with Dark Dream.


    They were all too busy recovering from the battle with Anatomy.


    Kugelblitz was thinking about digesting Anatomy since they had received all of Anatomy''s Specters.


    Well, at least the ones that they managed to recapture.


    Since Anatomy had been almost emptied of Specters, Kugelblitz barely got ten Specters, and they weren''t even very powerful.


    Ghosty''s Lab would soon get a visit from someone from Aegis that would persuade Ghosty to leave, leaving them without a leader.


    Gemini probably wouldn''t want to cause any trouble right now.


    Sce was Dark Dream''s ally.


    This meant that Nick could walk around the city without fear.


    ''Wonder how long that willst,'' Nick thought. ''As soon as I implement my reforms, plenty of people will want to kill me.''


    Nick walked through the Outer City and entered the Inner City.


    After walking a bit more, he arrived in front of Dark Dream.


    There were a couple of Extractors waiting in front of the entrance.


    Usually, Dark Dream didn''t put guards up, but with Nick gone and Julian being a Specter, Dark Dream was at its weakest, which made them put guards in front of the entrance for now.


    As soon as the Extractors saw Nick, their eyes lit up, and Nick could see joy appearing in their eyes.


    "Boss!" one of them shouted, running over to him. "You''re back?" he asked with hope.


    Nick nodded. "For now. I''m going to work for Aegis in two months and take up a different position."


    The hope in their eyes died down.


    Boss was going to leave.


    "Don''t worry," Nick said, seeing their disappointment. "I already know what to do with Dark Dream. No, you guys will not be unemployed, and no, you won''t have to fear assassination attempts all day. I think everyone will be quite happy."


    The two Extractors smiled. "We trust you, Boss. You made Dark Dream into what it is today."


    Naturally, the two Extractors did not want to acknowledge Julian.


    When they heard that Julian was a Specter, they all felt like their world was breaking down.


    Their CEO had been a Specter?!


    They had been working for a Specter this entire time?!


    The best thing they could do was to ignore Julian''s existence.


    But that manner of thinking was also rtively new since Julian died just two hours ago or so.


    Before then, they had believed that Julian was wrongly used.


    Only when Julian died and his hold over the city vanished did they realize that he was actually a Specter.


    So, in a way, the realization that they had been working for a Specter was still rtively new.


    And that was when Nick appeared again, reigniting their hope.


    They still had their Boss!


    He would fix things!


    "I can''t tell you about the n yet since it''s confidential, but I can probably make the announcement within the month," Nick said.


    "We understand. We trust you," one of them said.


    Nick nodded. "Where are Jenny and Taren?"


    "They''re in their offices. It''s not the right time to work with Specters since they are the only authority figures currently in Dark Dream. Well, until now," the Extractor said with a smile.


    "Alright," Nick said. "I''m going to talk to them."


    Nick walked into Dark Dream, and on his way to his two team leaders, he had to talk with many Extractors, who were happy to see that he was back.


    On the highest floor, Nick knocked on a door.


    "Come in," a demotivated male voice said.


    Nick opened the door and saw Taren sitting behind his desk.


    Taren looked up, and when he saw Nick, his eyes widened.


    "Boss!" he shouted, jumping up from his chair.


    Nick nodded. "We have something to talk about. Meet in my office," he said, walking out of Taren''s office.


    Usually, such words would make Taren nervous, but his relief and happiness to see Boss return outweighed that.


    "Sure!" Taren shouted, almost running out of his office.


    Nick knocked on another door.


    "Come in," a solemn female voice said.


    Nick opened the door and saw Jenny.


    When Jenny saw Nick, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Boss?" she asked.


    "Come to my office. We need to talk about Dark Dream," he said.


    "O-of course," Jenny said, quickly getting out of her chair and walking over to Nick''s office.


    The three of them entered Nick''s office and closed the door.


    "Are you back for good?" Taren asked.


    Nick shook his head. "No, I''m just here for about two months before I have to take up a new position with Aegis."


    When Nick had left about a day or so ago, they had been uncertain about his future.


    Would hee back?


    Would he work for Aegis?


    Well, it was official now.


    Nick was going to leave.


    Naturally, the two of them knew that this was a good thing for Nick, but it was also a bad thing for Dark Dream.


    "Don''t worry," Nick said. "I already know what we are going to do with Dark Dream."


    The two of them listened.


    "Since Julian is no longer here and since I have to take up a different position, Dark Dream only has seven Veterans. Worst of all, everyone except Irwin is also a new Veteran."


    Jenny and Taren frowned.


    They were both Early Veterans, while Irwin was a Peak Veteran.


    For all intents and purposes, Irwin should be Dark Dream''s leader after Nick left.


    The two of them had known Irwin for many years now, and Irwin was well on his way to creating his Shell.


    Maybe one or two more years, and he would be an Expert.


    However, while Irwin was powerful and dependable, he didn''t seem like a leader.


    He always performed amazingly in his job, but he was more of a follower than a leader.


    In terms of personality and skill, Jenny was the best fit to lead Dark Dream, but she was still too weak.


    Dark Dream had nine Adults, and Jenny could only work with half of them due to her low level.


    This was troublesome.


    Additionally, with Julian gone, Dark Dream lost its shield.


    They were now open to assassinations, and the government could also use thews to confiscate several of their Adults since they didn''t have enough strong Extractors.


    "It pains me to say it, but I can''t give ownership of Dark Dream to either of you or Irwin," Nick said.


    The two of them were not surprised.


    "However, I''m also not going to leave you just like this or hand over ownership to a bunch of businessmen from the upperyer."


    Nick leaned back in his chair.


    "I''m proposing a merger with Sce," he said.


    The two team leaders thought about it.


    Naturally, it wasn''t easy to ept that.


    Dark Dream would essentially stop existing and get incorporated into an already existing Manufacturer.


    It was a hard pill to swallow.


    However, they also couldn''t see another way.


    This was the best thing for Dark Dream.


    Dark Dream had worked closely with Sce for many years.


    Their Extractors could go to Sce for new abilities and vice-versa.


    They went on excursions with Extractors from Sce.


    The Extractors of both Manufacturers also already knew each other.


    Sce also had around 25 Veterans, making the big number of Adults Dark Dream owned not an issue.


    Sce would essentially explode with power, allowing them to openly contend with Gemini.


    In fact, except for their number of Experts, Sce would eclipse Gemini in every other aspect.


    Their numbers of Newbies and Johns would reach aparable level to Ghosty''s Lab.


    Their numbers of Veterans and Experts would be a slight bit lower than than those of Gemini, but they would still be on an equal footing.


    However, the number of Adults they had would be a lot higher than that of Gemini, which meant that Sce would very quickly gain more Veterans than Gemini.


    This merger would essentially set up Sce to be the third strongest Manufacturer in the city since Anatomy no longer existed.


    They would only be below Kugelblitz and Ghosty''s Lab.


    The two of them thought about that proposition for a long time.


    It was a bit sad to let go of Dark Dream, but belonging to such a strong Manufacturer that they loved working for was also quite exciting.


    "It sounds like the best way forward," Jenny said.


    Taren sighed. "I agree. I don''t want to lose Dark Dream, but I don''t see a better way."


    Nick nodded. "Then, it''s decided."


    "This is Dark Dream''s end and the rebirth of Sce."

 Chapter 504 – Birth of Sky Dream

    Chapter 504 ¨C Birth of Sky Dream


    "d to see you back, Nick," Hera, Sce''s CZE, said with a smile as she shook Nick''s hand.


    Nick returned the handshake and smiled politely. "It''s not going to be for long, sadly. I''m going to join Aegis soon."


    Hera had already expected something like that. She had heard from Dark Dream''s Extractors that Nick was most likely going to join Aegis.


    "Congrattions. Everyone wants to get into Aegis," Hera said with a friendly smile.


    "Thank you," Nick answered.


    Next, Ramona, Sce''s CEO, stepped forward and also shook Nick''s hand. "Congrattions," she said.


    "Thank you," Nick said again.


    Then, the three of them sat down at a big table in Sce''s biggest meeting room.


    After a couple of pleasantries, Nick talked about the reason he was here.


    "You all have heard of Julian," Nick said.


    The smiles vanished, and the two nodded.


    It was still difficult for them to believe that Julian was a Specter.


    However, they didn''t think that Nick knew.


    After all, Julian even managed to fool them.


    With his power, it would not be difficult to fool Nick.


    Julian was just that powerful.


    "Julian has been executed by Aegis. I saw it with my own eyes," Nick said.


    The two of them took deep breaths in relief.


    This was for the best.


    "That''s good to hear," Hera said.


    "Now," Nick said, "with Julian dead and me leaving Dark Dream, Dark Dream is facing a huge issue."


    The two of them nodded.


    They expected Nick to arrive to ask for help.


    "Since Julian was outed as a Specter, I now fully own Dark Dream, but if everything works out, that won''t be for long." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The two of them raised their eyebrows.


    They could see where this was going.


    "Are you interested in a merger with Dark Dream?" Nick asked.


    The two of them looked at each other.


    A merger with Dark Dream.


    Dark Dream had a lot of weaker Extractors, and they had a lot of Adults.


    "We''re interested," Ramona said. "What are you thinking about specifically?"


    "Hera remains Chief Zephyx Extractor," Nick said, looking at Hera.


    Hera nodded.


    This was the most important part.


    If they had to split everything, things would be troublesome.


    It was important that there were no frictions in leadership.


    "Taren and Jenny have been Dark Dream''s team leaders for a long time, and they know how to work with all of the Specters. I would suggest leaving them as team leaders for now. If you want, you canter redistribute the teams, but for now, it would be better to leave the teams split."


    Hera and Ramona looked at each other and nodded.


    "That sounds reasonable," Hera said.


    Nick nodded. "I will show you all of the Specters and tell you how I have run Dark Dream until now. You are free to lead the future Dark Dream as you like, but I would ask you to consider how I led it until now."


    "Naturally," Hera answered.


    Dark Dream''s growth had been intense, and Hera could appreciate that.


    She could see that Nick had led Dark Dream excellently.


    "Next, I think you guys need a new building. Your building is big, but getting the additional Specters from Dark Dream will most likely make the building reach peak capacity," Nick said.


    "We were already nning on moving," Hera said.


    Nick nodded. "A big building close to the upperyer will be avable soon, which would be just perfect for Sce."


    Hera raised a skeptical eyebrow.


    "Do you mean Anatomy''s destroyed building?" she asked.


    Nick shook his head.


    Hera furrowed her brows.


    "How do you know that a building will get avable? The other ones belong to Kugelblitz, Ghosty''s Lab, and Gemini. I don''t think any of these buildings will be avable anytime soon," Hera asked.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Everything I am going to say now is confidential for the next two months. It is imperative that none of this leaves this room. Do you understand?" Nick asked.


    The two of them looked at each other.


    Nick''s aura had changed.


    It went from a polite business partner to authoritative.


    Usually, that would be considered as rude, but since Nick was going to join Aegis, he kind of already was their superior.


    "We understand," Ramona said. "None of this will leave this room."


    Nick nodded.


    "I am going to assume the position of Liaison for Crimson City," Nick said.


    After that, he exined to them what it meant to be a Liaison.


    By the end of Nick''s exnation, Ramona and Hera became much more nervous.


    They realized that they were essentially talking to the Governor right now.


    "I can''t tell you what I am going to n or how things will change, but if everything works out, the building in which Ghosty''s Lab resides will be avable soon," Nick said.


    Their eyes widened in shock.


    Didn''t that mean that Ghosty''s Lab would disperse?


    Or would they move to Anatomy''s building after it was rebuilt?


    They weren''t sure.


    "That would be a great opportunity for Sce," Ramona said.


    Nick nodded. "I take my position as Liaison very seriously, and I have to be clear that I will not treat Sce any different from any other Manufacturer."


    "We understand," Hera answered.


    "Many things in this city will change," Nick said. "In order to support Aegis better, the Manufacturers will have to change with it."


    "With my nned reforms, the way Manufacturers currently operate will reduce profitability by a significant margin."


    Naturally, the two were not happy to hear that.


    "You said as they operate now," Ramonamented.


    Nick nodded. "By changing how you operate, your old profitability will return, and it might even increase, but you would have to undergo a big paradigm shift."


    Nick frowned. "I want you two to keep one thing in mind."


    "The policies I will implement will seem like I am singling you out. Sce will be the Manufacturer that will suffer the most under them," Nick said.


    The two of them frowned.


    "However, I do not want Sce to fail, and I do not want to hurt Sce. While, at first nce, my reforms will seem like I want to ruin Sce, I am actually protecting you."


    "When you hear about them, just keep that in mind. Don''t think about theck of profits but of what would happen if Kugelblitz takes over Gemini."


    "If everything works out, neither Kugelblitz nor Gemini would be interested in taking over Sce."


    "Of course, the opposite also applies. You would also not be interested in taking them over."


    "If everything works out, none of the big Manufacturers would want to destroy other Manufacturers," Nick said.


    Hera and Ramona were skeptical.


    That sounded too idealistic.


    How would that even be possible?


    However, they had worked closely with Dark Dream for over a decade, and they knew Nick very well.


    If he said that would happen, it might be possible.


    "If I hadn''t known you for so long, I wouldn''t believe you," Hera said with a sigh.


    "Thank you," Nick said.


    "Now, onto the mary aspect of the merger."


    And there it was.


    Naturally, as the sole owner of the current Dark Dream, Nick wouldn''t leave without gaining anything from this merger.


    "One billion credits," Nick said.


    The two were surprised.


    That was not as much as they expected.


    Due to their calctions, Dark Dream was worth around two to three billion credits.


    "You do not have to pay everything in one go. 200 million a year sounds reasonable," Nick said.


    The two of them looked at each other.


    They had paid more for the Blinding Light, which was only one Adult.


    The fact that Nick was offering Dark Dream to them for one billion was an obvious act of not wanting to hurt Sce.


    Nick was essentially forgoing over a billion credits just to make it easier for his old employees and Sce.


    Nevertheless, the two of them started to negotiate, but Nick very quickly shut them down.


    He knew this was an amazing offer, and he didn''t budge at all.


    In the end, they could only ept.


    After ironing out the details over the next couple of hours, they all stood up and shook their hands.


    They would sign the contract a couple of dayster.


    Decisions like this needed ample time for consideration.


    "I think a name change is in order," Ramona said with a happy smile.


    "A name change?" Nick asked.


    "For Sce," Ramona said. "This is a merger, isn''t it? We are not acquiring Dark Dream but merging with it."


    That was notpletely urate.


    Nick called it a merger, but it was more of an acquisition.


    "Do you have anything in mind?" Ramona asked.


    Nick thought about it for a while.


    "Light Dream," Nick said.


    "Light Dream," Ramona repeated as she looked at Hera, who was also considering the name.


    It had a warm feeling to it.


    Sce chose their name since the light they delivered would be associated with the name.


    "We''re going to consider it," Hera said.


    The three of them said their goodbyes, and a couple of dayster, it was official.


    Sce would merge with Dark Dream.


    However, they chose a slightly different name in the end.


    Sky Dream.


    Dark Dream vanished, and Sky Dream was born.

 Chapter 505 – Ghostys Insight

    Chapter 505 ¨C Ghosty''s Insight


    One month had passed since Nick finalized the merger with Sce, creating Sky Dream.


    For the past month, Nick had been showing Hera how he ran Dark Dream up to this point.


    Naturally, since Hera was already a very experienced Chief Zephyx Extractor, she learned things very quickly.


    There were a couple of things that Nick learned from her as well, but most of the time, Hera was learning from Nick.


    Sce had it a bit easier when it was established since they had received a lot of funding back then.


    Even more, the city had wanted another Manufacturer since there hadn''t been a lot ofpetition back then, and Sce came at just the right time.


    Then, they got the Bright Candle, and their status as a Manufacturer was essentially unassable.


    Everyone needed light, and getting a good source of that wasn''t easy.


    Dark Dream, inparison, had it much harder.


    The battle with Cycle.


    The assassination attempt by the Spartans.


    The entire issue with Anatomy.


    Another thing to note was that Sce immediately stationed several of their Extractors in Dark Dream as soon as the merger was signed.


    Technically, Dark Dream wasn''t powerful enough to own so many Adults, and Sce rectified that by stationing several Veterans and even one of their Experts here.


    The policy regarding not having enough power to contain a certain number of powerful Specters was a good one in Nick''s opinion, and he didn''t n on changing it.


    Specters breaking out was a rare phenomenon, and when it happened, they were almost always contained again without being able to leave the building itself.


    In less than a month, Nick would officially be Crimson City''s Liaison.


    But before then, there was something else that Nick needed to do.


    He needed to talk to someone.


    Just yesterday, an Agent from Aegis had arrived to tell Nick why he was here in Crimson City.


    The Agent said that he had talked to Ghosty and that Ghosty agreed to leave Crimson City.


    He just needed a couple of months to deal with everything.


    Then, he would leave and work in Aegis'' central research unit inside their headquarters, directly under the Technician.


    The Technician had been eying Ghosty for a while already.


    Even the Left Arm had known about him.


    One day after the Agent had arrived, Nick left Dark Dream and traveled to Ghosty''s Lab.


    "Wee, Mr. Nick," the receptionist spoke politely.


    "I need to talk to Ghosty," Nick said.


    "Of course. He has already told me about your meeting," she said with a smile.


    Nick didn''tment.


    He had not told Ghosty that he wanted to meet him.


    Apparently, Ghosty had expected Nick to arrive.


    The receptionist led Nick to Ghosty''s office and politely knocked on the door.


    The door opened, and Nick could see Ghosty holding the door and looking at him.


    "Ah, Nick. Pleasure to see you," Ghosty said with a friendly smile.


    Then, he turned to the receptionist and politely told her to leave.


    The receptionist nodded and left.


    "Please,e in," Ghosty said, making space for Nick.


    Nick nodded and entered the office.


    Ghosty walked past him and calmly sat down in his chair.


    "You expected me?" Nick asked neutrally.


    Ghostyughed politely. "Yes, but I expected the reason to be a different one."


    "Could you borate?" Nick asked.


    Ghosty drank something from a mug on his table.


    "I expected you to try to kill me, like Vernon," he said.


    "That''s not necessary," Nick said without losing his calm. "Vernon was a danger. You aren''t."


    "I''m not a danger?" Ghosty repeated with a dryugh. "Are you saying Vernon is more dangerous than me?"


    Nick shook his head. "A strong Extractor working for the samepany is not as dangerous as a strong Extractor working for anotherpany."


    "You think we''re allies?" Ghosty asked.


    "We are neutral," Nick said. "You and Ghosty''s Lab have always been neutral in all conflicts up to the final fight against Anatomy. I believe you are someone who values safety and stability above risks and rewards."


    "Additionally, I''m not stupid enough to underestimate you. Not even the blind shareholders of Kugelblitz are that dumb, and you know that I know that."


    Ghosty looked with interest at Nick.


    "I presume the visitor from yesterday is because of you?" Ghosty asked.


    "He didn''t tell you?" Nick asked back.


    "No," Ghosty answered, taking another swig from his drink. "He only talked about Aegis and things rted to me. I talked to Aegis in the past, and I told them that I was not interested."


    "And yet, here they are, just one month after you left for Aegis, and this time, their offer was a lot bigger than back then," Ghosty said casually.


    "It was me," Nick confirmed. "I met the Left Arm, and I requested that you leave Crimson City."


    Ghosty raised an eyebrow. "You met the Left Arm? That''s not someone that you can easily meet."


    "I made a considerable contribution to Aegis, and I was rewarded ordingly," Nick answered.


    Ghosty eyed Nick. "I believe you are not willing to tell me what kind of contribution."


    "Even if I were, the Left Arm forbade everyone from speaking of it," Nick answered.


    "Hoh," Ghosty uttered with interest. "Intriguing."


    He put his mug down. "Why ask for me to leave Crimson City? If your contribution was that great, you could have asked for my death. They would have probably granted you that request."


    Nick looked back. "Because of how Ghosty''s Lab was run over the years. I''ve seen what shady things Kugelblitz, Anatomy, and even Gemini are up to. I''ve not seen any shady business done by Ghosty''s Lab."


    "It''s possible that you are just much better at hiding it, but I don''t think that''s the case. I believe Ghosty''s Lab doesn''t want to risk angering the government or Aegis."


    Ghosty listened to Nick as he continued speaking.


    "You''re not someone that I view as humanity''s enemy. You might y the game like everyone else, but you are not contributing to the game''s existence. You seem more like a spectator that''s along for the ride."


    "Additionally, your inventions have proven to be invaluable to Crimson City. You have done a lot of good, and I didn''t want such a person to die."


    "Even if that person knows of my deepest secret."


    "Because of that, I wanted you to leave Crimson City. I don''t want you to be a danger to me anymore," Nick exined.


    Ghosty looked at Nick with interest.


    Nick wasn''t able to guess what Ghosty was thinking.


    "You''re staying in Crimson City?" Ghosty asked.


    "I''m going to be Crimson City''s Liaison," Nick answered.


    Ghosty raised an eyebrow with interest, and Nick proceeded to tell him about the position of Liaison, why he was the first one taking it up, and why the position was created in the first ce.


    "You must have left quite an impression on the Left Arm if she was willing to create apletely new position just to give you an opportunity to prove yourself," Ghostymented. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Then, he leaned back in his chair. "Now, I really want to know what kind of significant contribution you have made to Aegis."


    Nick didn''t say anything.


    Ghosty stood up, went to one of his cupboards, and retrieved a couple of herbs.


    He put some water into his mug, and with a sh of Zephyx, the water was already boiling.


    The next moment, Ghosty put the herbs into the water and put the mug to the side.


    Nick could tell that this was not one of Ghosty''s abilities.


    The amount of Zephyx he had just felt in the atmosphere was far too high.


    Making a bit of water boil with an ability would barely use any Zephyx, which meant that Ghosty must have used Zephyx Maniption to warm it.


    Sure enough, Ghosty was a very experienced person.


    Creating this much heat was more difficult than creating a bit of light.


    His skills in Zephyx Maniption might even be higher than the old Governor''s.


    Nick wasn''t sure if Ghosty just casually made himself a drink or if he wanted to intimidate Nick.


    "You already got the manual," Ghostymented.


    "I joined Aegis," Nick said.


    Ghosty chuckled. "That''s what you say, but words do not always reflect reality. I prefer to see things with my own eyes."


    Nick watched as herbs inside the water levitated out of the water, and once more, Nick could feel a lot of Zephyx in the atmosphere.


    Ghosty had probably needed decades of practice just to aplish these two things.


    Funnily enough, these two abilities, with their current power, probably didn''t have a lot ofbat potential. Using these two methods to actually injure a Specialist would take more Zephyx than even a Hero had.


    Yet, Ghosty had still trained a lot just to attain them.


    ''Because he doesn''t need to be even better inbat,'' Nick thought. ''He''s most likely already very powerful, and no one in Crimson City is willing to attack him because of his frightening intellect.''


    "Now," Ghosty said as he drank from his tea. "Why are you really here?"


    Nick looked at Ghosty.

 Chapter 506 – Announcement

    Chapter 506 ¨C Announcement


    "What do you think they want to tell us?" a man wearing merchant robes asked the person beside him.


    "I have no idea," the other person, a woman wearing a fancy dress, said.


    Right now, over 5,000 people, almost half of the city, were gathered in front of the megastructure to the south.


    They were all looking up at a balcony about a hundred meters up at the megastructure.


    People from all parts of the city were there.


    A couple people from the Dregs.


    People living in the Outer City.


    People living in the Inner City.


    And even a few people living in the upperyer were here.


    "Quiet!" came a loud shout from the Expert standing on the balcony. The shout echoed throughout the entire city.


    All the talking stopped, and everyone looked up at the Expert.


    "Introducing the new Governor, Aria Light!" he proimed as he walked to the side.


    "Oh, we have a new Governor now," someone in the crowd said to the people beside him.


    "Shut up! I want to listen." a guy beside him said.


    Next, a beautiful woman stepped out from behind the Expert.


    She wore the beautiful white robes of a Governor, and she looked at the gathered people.


    "Ah, it''s Kugelblitz''s CZE. Seems like Kugelblitz will get an even stronger hold over the city. I''m notining, though," someone from the upperyer muttered.


    Aria looked over the gathered people, her white uniform making her seem like an angel standing above the masses.


    "My name is Aria Light, and I have been chosen as the new Governor of Crimson City," Aria said slowly. Her voice echoed throughout the city, and the rhythm of her speech made people subconsciously pay attention.


    "The old Governor, Markus Julius, has been deemed as corrupt by Aegis and will not return to this city."


    Some whispers started in the crowd.


    Some of them were quite surprised, but others were not surprised at all.


    Someone had to take the fall for the incident with Anatomy.


    The elite of the city believed that Markus had been made into a scapegoat.


    After all, he had run the city beautifully, and they had neverined about him.


    "Markus Julius has forgotten what it means to be a Governor," Aria continued. "A Governor is a servant of Aegis. Aegis is our strongest andst defense against the Specters, and Aegis'' prosperity and survival represents prosperity and survival for the human race."


    Some of the less educated people were not entirely sure what Aegis was, and they were a bit annoyed about Aria''s words.


    They had enough problems here!


    Why should they help some kind of organization that they hadn''t even heard of when they could barely survive here?


    "The Governor is a servant of Aegis, and every city in the world exists to provide Aegis the resources to protect humanity. Without Aegis, the most powerful Specters would have already killed all of us," Aria exined.


    "However," Aria said, "Aegis also believes that a healthier and happier poption has a greater well of resources to draw from. Taking thest veggie cubes from a poor person is more difficult than taking a loaf of bread from a bread hill."


    "What''s bread?" someone from the Dregs asked a person beside him.


    "Some fancy food, probably," the other person whispered back.


    "What''s a Veggie Cube?" somebody from the Inner City asked the person beside him.


    "Some disgusting food, probably," the other person answered.


    "This city has about 12,500 people," Aria said. "Around 2,000 of these people live in an area that is referred to as the Dregs."


    As soon as Aria said that, the mood in the audience shifted.


    The Dregs had never officially been acknowledged.


    The government had always only referred to the Outer City as a whole.


    After all, everyone in the Outer City had to pay taxes. It was just that the real people of the Outer City had enough money to pay it every month without issues.


    Because of that, the actual blood tax was only really a thing for the Dregs.


    50% of the people in the audience were not happy to hear that the Dregs were mentioned.


    They didn''t want to think about the disgusting filth that lived in that degenerate part of the city.


    Most of the others were interested.


    And the people of the Dregs were actually shocked.


    Someone from the government referred to them!


    That had never happened before!


    The only time the government interacted with the Dregs was when the tax collectors came with their mosquitos.


    "This city has been relying on the weakest of us to carry the strongest of us," Aria said. "A city built on relying on the weak is bound to fail."


    "It is time that the ones with the power to protect the city do their job and make this a ce in which our future generations are happy to live!"


    "A real human city is supposed to improve with time, and the old ones should look at the good ones and think about how easy the new generation has itpared to them. We are supposed to build our future for our children! Not for us!"


    The more Aria spoke, the more their opinions split into two extremes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The people of the Outer City were very happy to hear her words since they felt like they were finally being heard.


    Meanwhile, the ones living in the Inner City were not as happy.


    The city was already demanding 50% of their ie as tax! That was half of all that they made!


    Did they intend on taking even more?!


    The rich looked at the poor, who only had to pay a measly 100 credits.


    This was so unfair!


    The people of the middle and upperyers became quiet and looked at their new Governor with furrowed brows.


    If the Governor decided to grab even more from them, they would cause trouble.


    A city is nothing without its people.


    They were the ones that controlled the economy of the city.


    Many of the people from the upperyer looked at each other with furrowed brows.


    "This is the philosophy of the Liaison," Aria said.


    "Wait, what?" someone from the upperyer uttered as she looked back at the Governor.


    The Liaison?


    So, this wasn''t the Governor''s philosophy?


    "Two months ago," Aria exined, "Aegis made the decision to start a program about transforming their cities. This transformation is founded on the principles I just shared with you."


    "Crimson City is going to be the first and only city to undergo this transformation for now. Depending on the results, things might or might not return to how they used to be."


    "To oversee the transformation, Aegis has created a new position."


    "The Liaison."


    "The Liaison ranks higher than the Governor, but the Liaison is not strictly the Governor''s superior. The Governor and the Liaison are supposed to work together to actualize Aegis'' n for the city."


    The people from the middle and upperyers grew suspicious.


    There was a new guy in the city that outranked the Governor?


    This might make things more troublesome.


    "The Liaison for our city has already been chosen, and he will join me in creating a better future for Crimson City."


    Aria stepped to the side.


    "Introducing the Liaison for Crimson City."


    "Nick Dusk!"


    The next moment, Nick walked out from behind Aria with a serious expression.


    Naturally, he was already wearing his Liaison uniform.


    Some of the people in the audience became shocked.


    They knew this guy!


    "My name is Nick Dusk," Nick said with a deep voice. "Until recently, I have been referred to with the name Nick Nick."


    Some people felt the urge tough at the name, but for some reason, they didn''t feel likeughing.


    As soon as Nick spoke, the atmosphere seemed to be very heavy.


    When Aria spoke, the aura was inspiring.


    Many of the normal people felt like things were looking up and that what she said was right.


    However, as soon as Nick said something, they felt like they were standing in front of a scary individual.


    They did not feel likeughing.


    They felt trepidation.


    "I used to be Dark Dream''s Chief Zephyx Extractor before it merged with Sce to be Sky Dream."


    "I was born and raised in the Dregs, and I have made it my life goal to never have anyone go through these things that I''ve needed to go through."


    "Markus Julius has used the pain and misery of the Dregs to create a utopia for a select few lucky individuals."


    "He has benefited from the suffering of a great number of people."


    "His conduct is like a Specter''s."


    "That is not how humans are supposed to be."


    Nick put his hands on the railing of the balcony and looked at the gathered people below him.


    Nick''s eyes were narrowed, and even the distant people could feel his rage.


    "I will not allow a utopia to be built on the screaming and suffering corpses of the unluckiest of us."


    "Being born in the Dregs means being born into a situation in which escape and ascension are almost impossible."


    "I have had enough luck to be granted an opportunity, but almost everyone else hasn''t."


    "I will make it so that everyone gets an opportunity."


    "But, naturally, only the strongest and most intelligent ones will be able to realize it."


    "But you WILL get an opportunity!"


    "And even if you miss the opportunity, your life will not be as horrible as it is right now!"


    "I swear that on my life!"

 Chapter 507 – Construction

    Chapter 507 ¨C Construction


    After saying a couple more things, Aria and Nick retreated back into the megastructure.


    Aria looked at Nick with furrowed brows. "You were quite aggressive."


    "I''m the bad guy," Nick said. "You''re the good one. I will be making most of the policies that the elite hate. I will be their enemy, not you."


    "Why do you have to be like this?" Aria asked with a bit of annoyance. "I thought we agreed on working on this together."


    "And we will be," Nick said, "but I need the elite to hate me. If they realize that you support me in many of my decisions, you will also be a target."


    "They know of my background, and they know that I am only an Initial Expert. In their minds, getting rid of me is not associated with an awful lot of risk. Getting rid of you requires them to unite the entire city and get Kugelblitz as an ally."


    "Instead of gathering everything for one ultimate and devastating attack, they will only invest a little at a time. I am going to use the very thing that holds me in its grasp."


    "The sunk cost facy."


    "They will keep investing and investing a little at a time, believing that they just need to add a bit more to take care of me."


    "And before they know it, they will not have enough resources anymore to be a threat to you."


    "At that point, our rule is secure," Nick exined.


    "Nick, that might work on the people of the Outer City, but the people of the upperyer have decades of experience in these things," Aria said.


    "Aria, how intelligent was Julian?" he asked.


    Aria furrowed her brows. "What are you trying to say?"


    "I''m saying that even the most intelligent and scheming person can die to greed and arrogance. Being underestimated is one of the most powerful blessings," Nick answered.


    Aria remained silent for a while.


    She could see where Nick wasing from, but she didn''t think it would be so easy.


    She remembered how Nick had said that he would be betting with his life, and he hadn''t lied about that.


    Nick made himself the target of the elite.


    Aria hadn''t been sure if Nick would actually go through with his extreme mindset, but when it happened, she felt a bit nervous.


    "You''re risking your life," she said.


    "I have to," Nick said. "Things only got this bad because Markus wasn''t willing to risk his life."


    "We have both done things that are against thew," Nick said.


    Aria didn''t answer.


    "In this city, there is a game of politics, economics, and scheming. Either the people act by the rules, or they try to break the rules without being noticed."


    "I am going to eradicate this game."


    "I am not going to be a yer."


    Nick and Aria had already talked quite a bit about their uing ns.


    In fact, for the past week, they had done basically nothing else.


    However, there were things that Nick didn''t talk about.


    For example, how he was nning on dealing with opposition to their new policies.


    "Quite a speech."


    Nick looked to the side and saw a middle-aged man approaching.


    He was wearing the uniform of a Zephyx Extractor working for the city.


    The emblem on his uniform identified him as a Specialist.


    "But I''m a bit disappointed that you didn''t introduce us," he said with some feigned annoyance.


    "We still need to move your Specters," Nick said. "After we''re done, we''re going to announce it."


    The manughed.


    "I can already tell that this city will not remain calm for long. They just recovered from the incident with Anatomy, and now this is happening."


    "To think that I would be working for the city," the man said.


    The man was Herman Reichert, the former CEO of Ghosty''s Lab.


    Nick had talked to Ghosty for one specific reason.


    The biggest weakness of Crimson City was itsck of loyal Extractors.


    The vast majority of Crimson City''s forces were borrowed from the Manufacturers, which made it difficult to enforce thews on them.


    Nick wanted to rectify that first.


    And after negotiating with Ghosty for a while, he got his wish.


    Without Ghosty, Ghosty''s Lab had a precarious future.


    However, Ghosty didn''t want to give Kugelblitz even more power.


    Kugelblitz had not proven to be very reliable in the past.


    So, it was decided that Ghosty''s Lab, together with all their Extractors and Specters, would join the city.


    80 Newbies.


    170 Johns.


    55 Veterans.


    15 Experts.


    Two Specialists.


    Over 150 Specters.


    Together with the people who already belonged to the city, Crimson City''s government now had about 100 Newbies, 210 Johns, 70 Veterans, 25 Experts, and five Specialists.


    All of these people were as loyal as could reasonably be expected.


    Some of them would still be corrupt, but it was a huge improvement over how it had been before Nick took over.


    Crimson City''s forces eclipsed Gemini and Sky Dream to a considerable degree.


    Kugelblitz was the only danger since they still had more Experts, Specialists, and Heroes.


    However, Aria had already told Nick that a couple of Specialists from Kugelblitz would soon join the city.


    They had worked under Aria for decades, and a couple of them were willing to follow.


    Of course, only if they werepensated ordingly and received ess to Specters.


    Since it wasn''t announced yet that Ghosty''s Lab was absorbed by the city, they were not yet willing to join.


    Crimson City only had had a single Fanatic up to this point.


    With Ghosty''s Lab joining, they would have two, but that would only sway one or two Specialists to join.


    Many Specialists were interested in joining the city on a base level since they were reaching the end of their path.


    Bing a Hero was very difficult since Kugelblitz only had a couple of Fanatics and one Demon, which were shared amongst all of them.


    Logically, many Specialists were interested in joining the city to get a foot in the door with Aegis.


    If they could join Aegis, their future would be boundless.


    Nick and Aria went back to the upperyer and entered the old Governor''s office.


    They hadn''t touched a lot in there yet since they were too busy with other things.


    Soon, one shocking policy change after the other would take ce.


    Aria wanted Nick to progress slower, telling him that the city needed time to adjust.


    Even more, if things changed too quickly, a lot of pressure would be put on the wealthier ones, making them more likely to attack.


    However, Nick just answered that this was exactly why he wanted things to progress quickly. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Nick told Aria his n, and when she heard that, she had to release a nervous sigh.


    Nick was really willing to go all in.


    This would be very, very different from how Markus ran the city.


    Aria wasn''t sure if things would really improve in this way.


    Nevertheless, she had said that she would try Nick''s approach.


    Nick had spoken to the Champion of Light, and the Champion of Light was willing to trust him.


    Aria wanted to give him a chance.


    If things truly got out of hand, she would intervene.


    Of course, she wasn''t epting every single policy Nick made.


    A couple of Nick''s policies had to be scrapped since Aria was very much against them.


    And Nick conceded on these points.


    He said that he would work together with Aria, and Aria had proven that she was willing to work with him.


    If Aria waspletely against something, Nick would not force the issue.


    She was already giving him a lot of freedom and leeway, and Nick could see that.


    This was about as good as it could realistically get.


    The next day, Dark Dream''s Specters were moved to Sce''s old building.


    For a couple of days, Sky Dream needed to contain all their Specters in that building.


    The building was over maximum capacity, and they had to store Containment Units outside the building.


    However, for just a couple of days and with enough guards, this was eptable.


    Next, heavy construction started around Dark Dream''s old building in the middle of the loweryer.


    The pir was being widened, and a long line of houses leading to one of the walls was demolished.


    Naturally, the upants of the houses had received appropriatepensation.


    Over the next couple of days, a long and wide hallway was created leading from the central pir towards one of the edges of the megastructure.


    The hallway was suspended, allowing people to pass under it.


    The edge was where the old headquarters of the Spartans was located.


    The headquarters were renovated, and the hallway connected both sides.


    Over a couple more days, the old building of the Spartans was expanded.


    It started to stretch out of the megastructure and became the most imposing building in the Outer City.


    With Extractors, building something like this didn''t take a lot of time.


    Within one month, construction waspleted.


    Dark Dream''s old building was connected to the old building of the Spartans, which was additionally expanded into the Outer City.


    The guards could easily and quickly pass from the center of the Inner City to the Outer City.


    Finally, when construction wasplete, the first of many shocking events for Crimson City happened.


    Ghosty''s Lab was dissolved, and all their Specters were moved to the new building at the loweryer of the Inner City.


    Just like that, the second most powerful Manufacturer, one that had existed for about 150 years, was dissolved.

 Chapter 508 – Fall of Corruption

    Chapter 508 ¨C Fall of Corruption


    When the elite heard that Ghosty''s Lab fully joined the city, they became worried.


    This essentially quadrupled the avable number of loyal guards the city had.


    Gemini and Kugelblitz realized that it would be much harder to influence the guards for their own means.


    However, everyone had a price. That price would just increase by quite a bit.


    It was annoying, but there wasn''t much they could do about it.


    The game dictated that the city guards were difficult to influence due to their loyalty.


    The government hadn''t gone against their interests directly.


    They just made it harder to circumvent thew.


    But then, the second announcement hit, and the feelings of Kugelblitz and Gemini were very mixed.


    The policy of requiring 20% of Extractors working for a Manufacturer to be dedicated to the city waspletely scrapped.


    Now, the Manufacturers no longer needed to help the city''s forces by dedicating their employees to them.


    This was a very big change.


    It was both good and bad for Kugelblitz and Gemini.


    It was good in the sense that they could now theoretically produce 20% more Zephyx since they had 20% more employees avable.


    But, in practice, this only increased profits by about 5%.


    Manufacturers had hired and trained their Extractors to keep the 20% loss of productivity in mind, which meant that the Manufacturers had more Extractors than they needed to operate on full efficiency.


    Even more, the city had always paid the Manufacturers for the loss of productivity incurred by the policy.


    Now, there was no morepensation, with only a minimal increase in productivity.


    Because of that, the profits for the Manufacturers only increased slightly.


    One had to note that this was supposed to be the good part of the deal for the Manufacturers.


    After all, they now had 20% more employees.


    Who wouldn''t like that?


    Now, the bad part was that circumventing thew became even more difficult.


    It was easy to talk to a guard when one oneself was working with the guard.


    But now, one actually had to meet the guards and talk to them. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    There was a big difference between being active and being passive.


    If a colleague of a guard did a shady thing, and the guard noticed, there was a good chance that the guard would only reprimand their colleague without making a report.


    Or maybe they would be swayed to ignore this infraction.


    They just had to act like they didn''t see it.


    But now, since said colleague no longer had the authority of a guard, the actual guard would need to be active to be corrupt.


    Watching someone murdering someone else was easier thanmitting a murder oneself.


    In order to get these sneaky benefits, the guards now needed to actively do the illegal act, and convincing them to do that was way harder and riskier now.


    Of course, there were still corrupt guards, but they had to stay hidden from their colleagues.


    One corrupt guard could only do so many illegal things without looking suspicious.


    Naturally, since Kugelblitz had vastly more resources than Gemini, Kugelblitz almost monopolized the few corrupt guards.


    Gemini suffered the most under this policy change.


    Sky Dream only benefitted since neither Sce nor Dark Dream had tried to influence the guards in the past.


    Dark Dream hadn''t done so because of Nick, and Sce hadn''t done so since they hadn''t had enough powerful Extractors in the guards to get a foot in the door.


    There had always been members from other manufacturers on the guard teams, and those wouldn''t help Sce do anything shady.


    Almost all of Gemini''s illegal activities had to be put on pause.


    They needed to find new corruptible guards, which was extremely risky.


    If they tried to sway a very loyal guard, an investigation might ur.


    They had to be very careful.


    Kugelblitz had to pay much more money for the shady actions, but most of them could still be performed.


    It was still profitable, although not as highly anymore.


    But then, a couple of weekster, something happened that made Kugelblitz grind their teeth.


    Four of their Specialists left to join the city!


    Sure, the city paid for the Specialists, but those were Specialists!


    Every single one of them took decades to train!


    The number of Specialists loyal to the citypared to the time Markus was still in charge had tripled!


    Specialists had a terrifying level of perception, and doing illegal things became even more difficult!


    But that wasn''t the end.


    Two weekster, another bomb hit Kugelblitz.


    Almost every single one of their trusted corrupted guards was let go!


    The elites of Kugelblitz knew exactly how that happened.


    Aria!


    Aria knew all about their shady dealings!


    She had established most of them!


    Three Experts, twelve Veterans, and 18 Johns were let go!


    At least they had not been punished.


    They were just let go.


    That was Aria''s way of not going against Kugelblitz too directly.


    Now, just like Gemini, Kugelblitz had to find new guards to corrupt, which was extremely risky.


    Because of that, almost all of their shady dealings had to be put on ice.


    They needed to find a new way in first.


    The hidden profits of Kugelblitz were lowered significantly.


    Even worse, they still had to pay the same amount of taxes since these profits had been under the table and were not in the books.


    Of course, these actions also made it difficult for the elite, unrted to Manufacturers, to do shady things.


    They were not happy.


    At all!


    Those had been reliable sources of profit!


    And now, the city had taken all of them!


    Many of the elite were angry.


    They wanted to do something, but it wasn''t easy, specifically in this case.


    In the upperyer, nobody talked about where their money came from.


    Everyone had something to hide, and everyone was a shrewd businessman.


    Nobody would expose themselves to an attack by admitting to corruption.


    Otherwise, one food merchant might tell the city about another food merchant and then take over their food empire.


    It was imperative to seem clean in front of everyone.


    Of course, a couple of the elite still managed to join together in some shady groups.


    They were already nning their counterattack.


    But they needed an opportunity.


    They needed a good moment to strike.


    It was important to not strike too hastily.


    Patience was one of the most important virtues.


    Over the next weeks, Kugelblitz barely made any progress in corrupting new guards.


    They got two new Johns under their umbre, but the Johns didn''t have enough authority or power to oversee truly important things.


    Getting through this new barrier was not impossible, but it was very difficult.


    In the end, Kugelblitz decided to create one of the shady groups themselves.


    The two new owners of Kugelblitz, Vanessa Korint and Jornis Zealow, felt like they were incredibly unlucky.


    They had finally gained full ownership of Kugelblitz, but as soon as they did, these brutal new policies took effect, lowering profits to levels only seen shortly after the Crimson Sea incident.


    Of course, on the books, profits seemed unchanged, but that didn''t reflect reality.


    Jornis and Vanessa had worked for Kugelblitz for over a century, and they had done many shady things as well.


    It was basically impossible toe this far in Kugelblitz without being willing topromise one''s morality for the profit of thepany.


    Naturally, they were used to this ie stream, and having that ie stream vanish felt like someone was stealing from them.


    Kugelblitz was also nning on their counterattack, and their shady little group came into contact with other shady groups.


    However, establishing an alliance between newly formed shady groups wasn''t easy since no one in the groups wanted to expose their identities to the other group.


    They were all allies, but they were also all enemies.


    There was no trust between them.


    There was barely any trust within the groups.


    Progress was slow, but more and more people of the upperyer came into contact with each other.


    Too many people had their hidden profits dry up, and they wanted them back!


    The secret and unofficial leader of this alliance was Kugelblitz, but the people in the groups only knew the leader as Mr. Zero.


    Nobody knew where Mr. Zero hade from or how he had made his money.


    They didn''t even know where he lived.


    However, Mr. Zero had proven that he had terrifying resources by gathering information on his biggest rival in the group and forwarding that information to the guards.


    The rival was taken into custody, and all their belongings were seized.


    Some people guessed that Mr. Zero represented Kugelblitz, but asking for confirmation would see them in handcuffs next.


    Under the dictatorship of Mr. Zero, the groups made quicker progress, and more ns started to form.


    But before the group could decide on what n to put into action, something happened.


    The yearly meeting between the city and the Manufacturers took ce.


    And an unprecedented bomb of change was unveiled during it.


    The world of Manufacturers was put on its head.

 Chapter 509 – Tax Change

    Chapter 509 ¨C Tax Change


    "Excuse me, what did you just say?" Jornis Zealow, the new CEO of Kugelblitz, asked in shock.


    Vanessa Korint, Kugelblitz''s new Chief Zephyx Extractor, looked at Aria with just as much shock.


    Mindy Wunder, Gemini''s CEO, looked at the table with furrowed brows.


    Her sister, Cindy Wunder, Gemini''s Chief Zephyx Extractor, nced at her sister.


    Ramona Illium, Sky Dream''s CEO, looked like she had just heard that her business was going to be seized by the city, and Hera looked just as shaken.


    Well, their businesses wouldn''t get seized, but a huge part of their profits would!


    This was insane!


    At that moment, Hera remembered Nick''s words.


    Nick said that he would create policies that made it seem like he was going after Sky Dream specifically but that he was actually protecting them.


    If she hadn''t heard Nick''s words, she would never believe that Nick didn''t specifically target them.


    Just like he said, Sky Dream was the Manufacturer that suffered the most under this policy.


    By far!


    Everyone was inside the new city headquarters in the middle of the loweryer, and they were all looking at Aria, their Governor, in shock.


    Aria had just dropped a bomb.


    "I am going to repeat myself," Aria said calmly.


    "Starting from six months from now, the taxes every Manufacturer has to pay is equivalent to the number of contained Specters they own in rtion to the total number of Specters all private Manufacturers have contained in percent, with a minimum of 30% of taxes."


    "The first five Specters do not count towards the raise in taxes, but if you own a sixth Specter, it will increase."


    "For example, if there are 100 Specters contained in the private Manufacturers all over the city, and you have five Specters, you will pay 30% taxes. If you have six Specters, you will pay 31% taxes. If you own seven of the 100 Specters, it will be 32%. If you own 100 Specters, it will be 125%."


    "The total number of Specters owned by private Manufacturers right now is around 150. The Specters the city owns are not counted in the total," Aria exined.


    Silence.


    The people had to digest what they had heard first.


    In the past, the taxes had basically been fixed after a Manufacturer reached a certain size, which was true for all the Manufacturers present.


    50%.


    That''s what it had been.


    50% of the profits would be given to the city.


    But with this new policy¡­


    Kugelblitz would need to pay about 58% in taxes.


    Gemini needed to pay about 45% in taxes.


    And Sky Dream would need to pay almost 70% in taxes.


    Kugelblitz got an increase.


    Gemini got a decrease.


    And Sky Dream got a huge increase.


    "Why?!" Jornis asked loudly in his imposing and deep voice. "Were 50% not enough for you?"


    The two from Gemini remained silent.


    They benefited from this change.


    Ramona and Hera were still confused as to why Nick would do something like that.


    "Kugelblitz," Nick said evenly from beside Aria.


    Jornis looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    "Here," Nick said, making Jornis furrow his brows.


    Nick looked around the table.


    "Anatomy. Doesn''t exist anymore."


    "Ghosty''s Lab. Doesn''t exist anymore."


    "Gemini. Here."


    "Sky Dream. Here."


    "The Spartans. Don''t exist anymore."


    "Cycle. Doesn''t exist anymore."


    Nick remained silent for two seconds.


    "If we view the old Sce and Dark Dream as one Manufacturer, even in the past, we went from seven Manufacturers to three."


    "This city only has three Manufacturers."


    "Dark Dream was the newest Manufacturer that managed to gain any kind of traction, and that happened over 15 years ago."


    "Since then, four Manufacturers vanished, but no notable new ones appeared."


    "Aegis does not like monopolies, and this city is heading towards a monopoly."


    Nick stood up and looked at the present people.


    "I''ve been Dark Dream''s Chief Zephyx Extractor for about 15 years, and I know what things are going on beneath the surface. I''m not like Markus, who has been in his ivory tower for decades, forgetting what it means to be part of the private sector of business in the city."


    "And, frankly, I''m done with all of your hidden schemes to take each other down."


    "Just a couple of months ago, everything was heading towards a monopoly with Anatomy, which was a failure of the old government since it should have never reached this point, to begin with."


    "But this is a new government now, and I am not going to let things reach this state again."


    Nick looked at the two from Kugelblitz. "You still get all of the meat in the soup, but you have to leave the broth for everyone else."


    Jornis looked at Nick with furious eyes.


    This mere Expert!


    This Expert was talking to him, a Hero, like he was some regr employee!


    "Are the Specters of subsidiaries included in the overall taxes of the parentpany?" Vanessa asked.


    "Yes," Nick answered.


    Vanessa frowned.


    Her first thought had been to create several subsidiary Manufacturers, which would take all the weak Specters, leaving Kugelblitz with the strongest Specters while having to pay little taxes.


    But that didn''t work, apparently.


    "What about the city?" Jornis asked. "Why is the city not included in the total number of Specters? That seems unjust."


    Everyone looked at Nick.


    The city was no longer the old city.


    Just one year ago, the city barely owned 40 Specters.


    But now, the city had absorbed Ghosty''s Lab, the Manufacturer with the highest number of Specters.


    With the addition of Ghosty''s Lab, the city now had around 250 Specters.


    One had to remember that Ghosty''s Lab had an unimaginable number of Hatchlings and Adolescents while also having the most Adults.


    If one included the city''s Specters in the total number of Specters, the number would rise from 150 to 400.


    The city owned over 60% of all the Specters.


    "We can do that," Nick said. "I didn''t bring it up since I know that you would not want that." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Jornis raised a skeptical eyebrow.


    "We can include the city''s Specters in the total," Nick said. "However, the tribute that Aegis demands still needs to be paid, and with your suggestion, the city itself would need to pay fewer taxes than it already does."


    "If you want the city''s Specters to be included, we have to raise the minimum from 30% to 50% to keep the tribute payable."


    Several pairs of eyes widened.


    "50%! How can you justify that?!" Jornis shouted.


    "Because 90% of the Zephyx created by the city''s Specters is sent to Aegis," Nick said.


    Silence.


    Nick leaned back.


    "The new Governor and Ibined earn barely 10% of what Markus decided to pay himself," Nick said.


    "As the Liaison, I earn less than as the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream."


    Nick looked at everyone.


    "And why?"


    "Because Aegises first, and if I do not lead by example, I can''t expect you to follow."


    Nick stood up and looked at everyone with a serious expression.


    "Aegis is humanity''s shield, and we can''t keep cowering behind it while trying to eat everyone else behind the shield because we''re not happy with the girth of our already swollen bodies."


    Nick sat back down again.


    Kugelblitz and Gemini were not happy with Nick''s words.


    Not even the slightest bit.


    They earned their profits!


    They crawled out of the mud and managed to climb to their current positions!


    They worked for decades to achieve what they had, and now, some random youngster that got the luck of the draw was deciding on taking it from them!


    Aria remained silent during all of this.


    She had nned this together with Nick, but Nick said that he wanted to be everyone''s target.


    He was supposed to be the bad guy.


    So, she let him be the bad guy.


    Jornis wanted to protest again, but Vanessa put a hand on his shoulder to silence him.


    Jornis looked at her with annoyance, but when he saw the crafty light in Vanessa''s eyes, he decided to remain silent.


    Vanessa looked like she found something interesting.


    "The taxes are only based on the number, not the power or productivity of the Specter, right?" she asked.


    Nick looked at Vanessa.


    ''Finally, someone got it,'' he thought.


    "Correct," Nick said. "A Manufacturer that has ten Hatchlings pays the same percentage of taxes as a Manufacturer that has ten Fanatics."


    At that moment, everyone realized where this was going.


    Everyone did some math in their heads, and they realized something.


    This change actually favored the powerful!


    For example, 90% of Kugelblitz''s revenue came from their Fanatics and the Crimson Fungus, but those Specters only made up 15% to 20% of their total Specters.


    So, if Kugelblitz got rid of all Specters weaker than Fanatics, they would keep 90% of their revenue while having to pay less than 40% of taxes.


    That new rule actually increased Kugelblitz''s profits!


    Well, assuming they got rid of their weakest Specters.


    At that moment, Hera and Ramona also realized why Nick said that he was protecting them with this policy.


    Destroying and absorbing weaker Manufacturers would actually decrease the profits of powerful Manufacturers since having many weak Specters would increase the taxes.


    Kugelblitz wouldn''t want to touch Sky Dream since their taxes would shoot through the roof.


    In fact, they would even want Sky Dream to continue existing!

 Chapter 510 – Ten Times the Manufacturers

    Chapter 510 ¨C Ten Times the Manufacturers


    For the next hour, everyone talked about the tax change.


    This was the only topic of discussion for this meeting, and Aria shut down any other topics.


    The other topics could be talked about separately or during the next meeting.


    The Manufacturers had no issues with that since the tax change already required them topletely change the way their businesses operated.


    The direction was clear.


    All-around and big Manufacturers would suffer tremendously under this new policy.


    However, specialized Manufacturers profited.


    Having Extractors and Specters of all levels in a Manufacturer was a horrible idea now, favoring a small number of very powerful Extractors.


    Kugelblitz started to adapt very quickly.


    They could smell the increased profits of this policy.


    90% of the old profits while paying over 10% less in taxes!


    People bad in math would believe that the revenue wouldn''t change.


    After all, both parts only got changed by 10%.


    But that was actually not true.


    If a hypothetical Manufacturer earned 1,000 credits in profits, they would need to pay 500 credits to the city, leaving them with 500 credits of actual profit.


    With the new change, the hypothetical Manufacturer would earn 900 credits in profits.


    However, they only needed to pay 40% of the 900 credits in taxes. This meant that they needed to pay only 360 credits as taxes, leaving them with 540 credits.


    500 creditspared to 540 credits.


    That was an increase of almost 10% of actual profits.


    While Kugelblitz''s first impression of this new policy had been horrible, after further consideration, they loved it.


    10% more profits!


    They would be earning even more money now!


    And, even better, they didn''t even need to hide it since it was all legal!


    Kugelblitz absolutely loved that change, and the secretive Mr. Zero in the shady group of upperyer businessmen became surprisingly passive.


    The other members of the groups wanted to do something against the government, but Mr. Zero just didn''t seem interested anymore.


    This made it much more difficult for the businessmen of the upperyer to find a good way of dealing with the government.


    Mr. Zero had created and led these groups, and now, Mr. Zero was basically gone.


    Mr. Zero seemed so frustrated with the government just one week ago, and suddenly, he seemed to like it!


    Kugelblitz rapidly changed the way it operated.


    The first thing it did was to gather a group of their mostpetent Johns and Veterans.


    Kugelblitz''s management told them about the tax change and gave them an "opportunity".


    "Why are you still here? A new age is beginning! Tens of Manufacturers will be popping out of the ground within the next couple of years! Being an employee is nice, but you only get the real money if you have a business on your own! We paid you very well, and we know that you have considerable finances. Why don''t you buy a couple of our Hatchlings and Adolescents to get a head start over other entrepreneurs?"


    Within a month, Kugelblitz had sold most of their weak Specters to new entrepreneurs who used to work for them.


    Then, Kugelblitz publicly announced that it supported the growth of new Manufacturers and that they were willing to give loans and sell Specters.


    Selling Specters was also quite profitable in the short term.


    There was not a single Specter in the entire city that went for less than a million credits. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Naturally, many businessmen in the middle and upperyers were interested in having a Manufacturer of their own, and they invested in Extractors to build a business.


    They hadn''t done so until now since the business of Manufacturers was so cut-throat and brutal to get into.


    But now, that was no longer an issue.


    New Manufacturers popped up every week.


    Since a lot of weak Extractors were now out of a job, these new Manufacturers also weren''t weak.


    Many of them even had Veterans leading thepany.


    As for the couple of Newbies and Johns that still worked for Kugelblitz¡­


    They were let go.


    However, that was nothingpared to the following weeks, when Sky Dream started to reduce the number of their Newbies and Johns.


    Sky Dream had the most Hatchlings and Adolescents, except for the city itself.


    Sky Dream alone created over ten new Manufacturers, each with at least five Johns and one Adolescent.


    After three months, the creation of new Manufacturers slowed down.


    Crimson City now had over 30 Manufacturers.


    Yet, Kugelblitz wasn''t done.


    Kugelblitz''s revenue came from their Fanatics and the Crimson Fungus.


    This meant that they also needed to get rid of their Adults and Elders.


    Naturally, Kugelblitz knew the worth of these Specters and decided to hold a public auction.


    Of course, everyone knew exactly which two parties would have a bidding war in this auction.


    Gemini and Sky Dream.


    Both of them had simr numbers of Veterans and Experts, and they wanted to use this opportunity to make a big leap forward.


    However, their stomachs were only so big.


    Sky Dream had five Experts, and Gemini had six.


    This meant that they could only have five or six Elders before breaking the security rule.


    Meanwhile, Kugelblitz had about 20 Elders.


    Gemini and Sky Dream got their fill, each buying as many Elders as they were allowed to own.


    But that still left over half of the Elders open for the public to buy.


    That was when the rich people of the upperyer jumped in.


    They invested a huge sum of money to hire Veterans and Experts who left Kugelblitz to lead their businesses.


    This led to a rude awakening for Gemini and Sky Dream.


    Kugelblitz had always seemed so far away, but now that Kugelblitz was actually splitting up, they felt the true brunt of its power.


    Gemini was no longer the second most powerful Manufacturer in the city.


    In fact, it wasn''t even the third.


    Gemini fell to fourth ce, and Sky Dream had to contest with someone else for fifth ce.


    Kugelblitz used to employ around 40 Experts, and all of them were now making their own businesses!


    40 Experts!


    The biggest of the new Manufacturers had 15 Experts, and they bought five Elders!


    While their number of Elders was simr to Gemini and Sky Dream, they had thrice the number of Experts, making them far more profitable.


    It would take a long while for Sky Dream and Gemini to be powerful enough to contend with them.


    The second biggest neer had ten Experts and ten Veterans. They focused on Elders, but they also wanted a couple of profitable Peak Adults.


    Thest of the neers had three Experts and 30 Veterans. They only wanted a single Elder and many strong Adults.


    Gemini and Sky Dream suddenly had three powerful newpetitors.


    Things were bing brutal.


    Thepetition for Adults and Experts was tough.


    However, despite that, things still improved.


    After all, Kugelblitz was no longer interested in any Specter weaker than a Fanatic.


    This meant all the Specialists that searched for weak Specters vanished from thepetition.


    Now, only Experts were interested in Elders.


    This made the ying field more level, allowing the weaker Extractors to actually find Specters they could use.


    But things were even worse for the weaker Manufacturers.


    Each of them had to contend with over ten other Manufacturers.


    When it was finally time for the new tax policy to take effect, the city had be unrecognizable.


    Kugelblitz went from 50 Specters to just 13.


    They also only had 20 Extractors. 18 Specialists and two Heroes.


    Gemini and Sky Dream had 20 Specters, respectively. They still had all their Veterans and Experts, but the Newbies and Johns were dispersed into the smaller Manufacturers.


    The strongest new Manufacturer had five Elders.


    The second strongest new Manufacturer had two Elders and three Peak Adults.


    The third strongest new Manufacturer had ten Adults.


    Due to the drastic change in number of the Manufacturers, the requirements to attend the yearly meeting were raised to having at least one Expert in thepany.


    Naturally, as soon as the tax change took effect, the city took a heavy hit.


    After the new policy, everyone was essentially paying far fewer taxes.


    Instead of increasing the amount Crimson City could pay Aegis, it decreased.


    However, this was only the first part of Nick''s n.


    Now that the city was earning less money, it was time to implement the second change, which would put the city''s ie to the same level as before.


    The tax change was important for one reason.


    It divided the opposition.


    The Manufacturers liked the way the new tax system worked.


    Most of them got more money than before, and money was all they were interested in.


    In essence, the Manufacturers would not want to get rid of Nick for the time being.


    ''Big groups of humans are selfish,'' Nick thought. ''If their interests align, they will work together, but if helping others requires lowering your profits, they will no longer work together.''


    All the Manufacturers were gone from the opposition for now.


    So, Nick''s eyes went to somewhere else.


    His next target.


    The people living in the upperyer.

 Chapter 511 – Tyranny

    Chapter 511 ¨C Tyranny


    A man in pure white robes walked out of his beautiful house with a smile and went over to his mailbox.


    The mailbox was made of beautiful wood, just like his house.


    This was one of the richest people in the upperyer.


    He opened the mailbox and looked inside.


    There were a couple of letters in there.


    Most of them were from his various businesses, but there was one letter that was different from all the others.


    It was blood red and had the emblem of a fungus on it.


    The man took a deep breath to suppress his annoyance.


    ''Another change ofws?'' he thought in annoyance.


    "This is outrageous!"


    The man looked at his neighbor, who had just shouted.


    He was reading an identical letter.


    "Is it that bad?" the man asked his neighbor.


    "See for yourself!" the man shouted in anger as he tore the letter into pieces before throwing it to the ground.


    Then, he stormed back into his house.


    The first man took another deep breath and opened the letter.


    ''Due to the loss in tax revenue from the Manufacturers, the tribute to Aegis is in danger of not being paid. Therefore, the nature preservation program will receive no more funding from the city. Signed, Liaison Nick Dusk and Governor Aria Light.''


    The man''s eyes shot open.


    Then, he looked around.


    At the trees.


    The insects.


    The birds.


    The animals.


    The crystal clear water.


    The pure air.


    The upperyer.


    The nature preservation program was what made all of this possible!


    Without the nature preservation program, everything here would die out and turn into a floor filled with nothing but infertile mud and dirt!


    The letter also specified that the people living in the upperyer could pay for it themselves if they wanted to, but the city would no longer pay for it.


    Just like his neighbor, the man almost exploded in rage.


    What were they paying so many taxes for if the city wasn''t willing to pay for anything?!


    Within the hour, the entire upperyer was in an uproar.


    "I demand to speak with the Governor!"


    "I want to talk to the Governor!"


    Several people had gathered in front of Markus'' old castle,ining and demanding to speak to the Governor.


    The Extractor standing guard could just helplessly tell them that the Governor and the Liaison could be found in the new headquarters on the loweryer.


    Even though the guard was a Veteran, he was quite intimidated by the furious people in front of him.


    He could easily kill all of them, but every single one of these people had control over something vital for the city.


    Angering them could very easily be dangerous for the guard.


    Most of theining people thought about going to the loweryer, but just imagining the dirty metal everywhere made them decide against it.


    However, some of them still left.


    Sadly, they were all turned away at the gate of the new headquarters.


    Neither the Governor nor the Liaison were willing to meet with them.


    If they had anyints, they could write letters.


    For the entire day, the upperyer was in an uproar.


    They wouldn''t stand for this!


    The shady groups started to recruit more and more people, and they demanded to speak to Mr. X.


    Mr. X just said that they should be patient and make their own nature preservation program.


    If they had the power over it, they could also change its design.


    Mr. X was essentially telling them that he wouldn''t do shit in a very nice way.


    Naturally, the businessmen were not happy with that and started to gather in separate groups.


    Mr. X wouldn''t be helping them, but that wouldn''t stop them.


    They were the owners of all businesses inside Crimson City!


    They were the economy of this shithole!


    This was their fucking house!


    In the end, the groups decided to write and sign a collective letter.


    All of them decided to make their displeasure known in the letter and signed it.


    The letter was signed by over 20 people.


    Then, someone from their group delivered the letter to the headquarters.


    On the surface, the letter looked like they were just asking the government to reconsider, but there were a couple of subtle threats.


    "The bad environment would make it difficult to focus on our businesses, which would impact our profits and, therefore, the taxes."


    Stuff like that.


    Aria opened the letter and read it to Nick inside her office.


    Compared to the old Governor''s office, Aria''s office looked like an actual office.


    It wasn''t very big, and it was mostly filled with shelves and paper.


    "Mhm," Nick uttered as he retrieved a small ck booklet.


    "Who signed?" he asked.


    When Aria saw the ck booklet, she took a deep breath.


    This was something they had confiscated from Markus'' office.


    It was a book that detailed all the illegal activities the people did.


    Under Simon''s supervision, Markus hadn''t been able to get rid of it, which was how it ended up in Nick''s hands.


    Aria calmly read out the first name, and Nick flipped through the booklet.


    "He used grass trimmings from the upperyer to make the veggie cubes he produces heavier. He has been paying Markus over 100,000 credits in bribes per month," Nick said.


    Aria nodded and read the second name.


    "She is buying and hoarding steel to artificially increase the price via scarcity," Nick said.


    Aria read out the next name.


    "Clean," Nick said.


    A couple minutester, Aria finished reading out all the names.


    23 people had signed.


    13 of them had shady dealings with the Governor.


    "Alright," Nick said as he stood up from his chair. "Let''s clean a bit."


    Aria looked with a bit of worry at Nick.


    He had already made himself the enemy of the rich people, but with this act, he would truly enrage them.


    Aria left the room while Nick looked through the ck booklet a bit more.


    Outside, Aria called Herman Reichert.


    As the former CEO of Ghosty''s Lab, Herman was the most suitable person to lead a big chunk of the guards.


    Herman was responsible for around 100 of the guards, and his title was general.


    Aria gave her orders to Herman, who just looked at her with raised brows.


    "Sure, I''ll gather my men right away," he said.


    After gathering his men, Herman told them what they were about to do, and the men became quite nervous.


    They really didn''t want to anger the elite of the city, but orders were orders.


    Some minutester, over 50 guards left the headquarters and traveled to the upperyer.


    The gate guardian looked at the guards in surprise, but when the guards produced an official arrest warrant and an exception to the dressing code, she had no choice but to let them through. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The people in the upperyer watched as tens of guards walked through the gates of the upperyer.


    Initially, the people were a bit nervous, but when they remembered that they were invincible within Crimson City, they became annoyed.


    This city was truly turning to shit if even these lowly guards were allowed to walk around here.


    The guards split up into thirteen groups and walked in different directions.


    KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!


    Three powerful knocks came from the door of a wooden house, and a man opened the door with annoyance.


    It was the same man that had screamed earlier this morning about the change.


    "What?" he asked with annoyance.


    "Dirk Mendelwitz?" one guard asked with a serious voice.


    "This is my house, yes," the man answered with annoyance.


    "You''re under arrest for illegally poisoning the veggie cubes yourpany produces," the leader of the guards said.


    Dirk''s eyes widened in shock.


    What?


    Under arrest?!


    He wanted to protest, but one of the guards roughly grabbed him and pulled him out.


    Dirk was just a normal human, and he couldn''t even hope to resist an Extractor.


    "Search for evidence," the leader said to his guards.


    "Yes, sir!" the other guards answered, swarming into the house.


    Shortlyter, the screams of children echoed throughout the house.


    Dirk had a family, which was quickly picked up by the guards for interrogation.


    Over the next hour, the entire house was taken apart in search of evidence.


    In the end, they found a shed filled with fresh grass trimmings.


    There was literally no conceivable reason to keep grass trimmings.


    Citizens of the upperyer had to hand the grass trimmings over to the city so that it could turn them into fertilizer for the soil.


    Simr events were happening all over the upperyer, and once more, the upperyer was in an uproar.


    Everyone shouted that these people were innocent and that the government was tyrannical.


    The guards just ignored the loud people and continued their investigation.


    In the end, the guards only found evidence for ten of the thirteen people, but that didn''t matter.


    Nick was using the ck booklet as evidence for their conviction.


    Just minutester, the guards went to the businesses of these people and investigated them.


    Naturally, more evidence was uncovered.


    People kept protesting, but the guards did as ordered.


    Of course, the people of the upperyer weren''t stupid, and they quickly realized the connection between the arrests.


    Everyone who had been arrested had signed the letter.


    The government was silencing people who were peacefully protesting!


    This was tyranny!

 Chapter 512 – A Surprise

    Chapter 512 ¨C A Surprise


    For a couple of days, things remained calm.


    However, this was just the people of the upperyer preparing to make their move.


    And one weekter, they became active.


    Reports of rumors were brought to Nick''s attention.


    People in the Outer and Inner Cities started to believe that Nick was a Specter in disguise.


    Naturally, these rumors were unfounded and easily disprovable, but that didn''t matter.


    The people believed them anyway.


    ''You''re finally bing active, huh?'' Nick thought.


    ''I was waiting for that.''


    "Aria, what do you think was my rtionship with Julian?" Nick suddenly asked out of nowhere.


    Aria was a bit taken aback.


    Then, she frowned.


    She had put Julian out of her mind ever since he had been executed.


    However, deep inside, she had still been suspicious of Nick.


    "I''m not sure if he truly fooled you," Aria said.


    "He didn''t," Nick said, surprising Aria.


    She had expected Nick to deny knowingly working with a Specter.


    "I knew that he was a Specter ever since he became Dark Dream''s CEO."


    Aria had doubts, but hearing it straight out of Nick still shocked her.


    Nick had colluded with a Specter.


    Then, Nick proceeded to tell Aria about Horua and what Wyntor had done to him.


    After that, Nick told Aria about his bargain with Julian and why he had done so.


    Naturally, Aria''s opinion of Nick fell into the abyss.


    Kugelblitz had done many illegal things, but they had not colluded with Specters.


    Specters were humanity''s enemy!


    However, she didn''t voice her opinion.


    Nick told her that Simon already knew about it and that the Left Arm must have received her report from him already.


    The fact that over eight months had passed since then meant that Aegis wasn''t nning on doing anything about that.


    "You could have destroyed Crimson City," Aria said.


    "But I didn''t," Nick said. "Julian has been executed, and I''m now Crimson City''s Liaison."


    That didn''t do much to improve Aria''s opinion of Nick.


    "Why are you suddenly bringing up this topic?" she asked with annoyance.


    "As a Specter with control over half of the city, there were many things that Julian knew that no normal human could know," Nick said.


    "Send a squad of our assassins to keep watch over Leiman Gerlon," Nick said. "I want a list of every person entering and exiting from his house. Keep the surveince up for two weeks. It is important that the assassins don''t get noticed. Because of that, I only want Peak Experts or stronger in the squad."


    "Why?" Aria asked with furrowed brows.


    "It''s going to be a surprise. I''m the bad guy. Let me act like one," Nick said calmly.


    Aria wasn''t happy to hear that.


    She also didn''t trust Nick anymore.


    However, she was stuck with him now.


    Additionally, the policies he hade up with seemed to actually benefit Crimson City.


    Although, Nick was reserving quite a lot of manpower for this little surveince mission of his.


    These people had very important things to deal with, and those things had to be put on hold.


    "Take this as an opportunity to regain a small part of my trust," Aria said before leaving the office to make the arrangements.


    After Aria left, Nick nced at the door.


    ''She would''ve found out anyway. Better that I tell her myself,'' Nick thought.


    ''This is something that will put someone''s opinion of me into the lowest ce, eliminating all the positive things I have done until that point.''


    ''If I keep improving the city, her opinion of me will be better again with time, and I''m no longer in danger of losing all my social points with her.''


    Over the next two weeks, the rumors got worse, and people started to talk about Nick more and more while bing more and more afraid of the guards.


    People became extremely uncooperative with the guards, making it much harder to police the city.


    Even some of the guards started to believe the rumors.


    Two weekster, Nick received his report from his assassin squad.


    "And what are you going to do with this now?" Aria asked with annoyance.


    Nick stood up from his chair and walked to the door. "I''ll show you. Please apany me. Your presence in this is imperative."


    Aria wasn''t the biggest fan of how Nick talked, but she had decided to give him a chance.


    If this turned out to be a disappointment, Aria would no longer be as cooperative with him.


    The two of them left the headquarters and made their way to the upperyer.


    Naturally, the two of them could pass without any tests, and they simply strolled into the upperyer.


    The people of the upperyer saw Nick and Aria and immediately became careful.


    The two of them were their enemies!


    Several of the people of the upperyer gathered together and blocked the street.


    "Excuse me, Liaison," the person in the front said.


    "Yes?" Nick asked calmly.


    "What is your business here? Maybe we can be of assistance," the man said with fake politeness.


    "Leiman Gerlon," Nick said. "You can help me by bringing him here."


    The people looked at each other.


    "Of course," the man said. "Please, give us a moment."


    A couple of them left to get Leiman, and a couple of minutester, an older man walked towards the group.


    He was nked by several businessmen with strict gazes.


    Obviously, they had already told him that Nick and Aria were looking for him.


    Most likely, they had also told him to hide any kind of evidence that could convict him of a crime.


    They also quickly forged a story that gave Leiman an alibi for every day.


    The upperyer would not cooperate with the city.


    They would protect their people.


    "The Liaison wanted to speak with me?" the older man asked with a friendly voice.


    Nick nodded. "You''re a retired Expert, right?"


    Leiman just smiled. "Yes, I used to work for one of the old Manufacturers that no longer exist. Is there something you need of me?"


    Nick looked at him. "Do you still have a Barrier?"


    Leiman looked at Nick with suspicion. "Of course. Excuse me, what''s with this line of questioning?"


    "Are you wearing your Barrier, and is it active?" Nick asked.


    Leiman frowned. "Yes, naturally. Every Extractor feels unsafe without their Barrier."


    "Good," Nick said before he looked at the ground.


    Then, he saw a big stone and picked it up.


    The people were confused about what Nick was doing with the stone.


    Nick threw the stone in his hand up and down a couple of times.


    Then, his eyes focused on Leiman.


    BANG!


    Nick threw the stone with all of his power at Leiman.


    Leiman had not expected an attack, and the stone hit him right in the chest.


    The stone turned into powder, and Leiman was pushed back a couple of steps.


    The people around Leiman were shocked beyond belief.


    The Liaison had publicly attacked an innocent man!


    He hadn''t even used him of anything!


    He had just attacked!


    "What''s the meaning of this?!" several of them shouted in protest, stepping between Nick and Leiman.


    Meanwhile, Leiman''s expression was just filled with shock.


    "Quiet!" Nick shouted, using his Zephyx to drown out all the noise.


    The people immediately shut up.


    Then, Nick turned to Aria. "Do you understand now?"


    Aria looked with shock at Leiman.


    That stone had been thrown with so much force that even a Peak Expert would have some bruises.


    Yet, the skin showing through the hole in the clothing in the middle of the man''s chest didn''t even turn red.


    But that wasn''t even the most important part.


    The most important part was that his Barrier hadn''t activated!


    Something like this was ssified as a dangerous attack by any Barrier, no matter how cheap or expensive.


    "Why didn''t your Barrier activate?" Nick asked calmly.


    Leiman looked at Nick with shock.


    He tried to think of a way out of this situation.


    "I''m not wearing it," he quickly answered. "I forgot that I put it away earlier."


    Nick just looked at him evenly.


    "You don''t even seem angry at the fact that I just attacked you with a stone. Instead, you calmly answer my question. That''s quite unusual, wouldn''t you think?" Nick asked.


    "Of course I''m angry!" the man shouted. "What''s the meaning of this?!"


    Nick remained silent for two seconds before he took hold of another stone.


    Then, he looked at the other people.


    "Everyone will step away from him. Anyone that refuses will be executed for colluding with a Specter," Nick ordered.


    Everyone''s eyes shot open, and they reflexively jumped away from Leiman.


    A Specter?!


    The word Specter terrified every human who wasn''t an Extractor.


    "I''m not a Specter!" the man shouted in protest.


    A small smirk appeared on Nick''s face, and he turned to Aria, who looked at Leiman with narrowed eyes.


    "Aria, may I introduce you?" he asked. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Aria didn''t answer.


    Nick gestured to Leiman.


    "This is the False News."

 Chapter 513 – Trapdoor

    Chapter 513 ¨C Trapdoor


    Everyone looked with shock at Leiman.


    The False News?!


    Naturally, all the people here knew about the False News.


    It was a Specter that had gued Crimson City for decades.


    It had made problems long before the Crimson Sea had broken out.


    Leiman looked around with a nervous expression. "This is a baseless usation!" he shouted. "I am a citizen of the upperyer! It''s impossible for me to get in here if I were a Specter!"


    The people couldn''t help but nod in agreement.


    No one could get past the gate guardian without having their blood tested.


    That was also the reason why no one had even really searched for the False News in the upperyer.


    Nick just looked at the guy. "We found the trap door within your friend''s basement," he said, retrieving some papers and waving them around. "Many¡­ interesting¡­ goods find their way to the upperyer via this way, and it also circumvents the front entrance."


    "A trap door?!" someone shouted as she looked at Leiman with shock.


    Nick just looked at the woman who had just shouted. "Marianna Herickson, we have already received reports of your close rtionship with the False News. You don''t need to act innocent. The guards are going to pay you a visitter."


    The woman''s face turned white.


    "I''m not a Specter!" Leiman shouted.


    "Fine," Nick answered. "Then, let''s put that to the test. If you are not a Specter, you probably don''t have any issues with the Governor seeing if you bleed like a human."


    Aria was fully focused on Leiman.


    The False News.


    That was what Nick meant a couple of days ago.


    Nick had said that Julian knew things that no human could know.


    Naturally, since Julian had had such an insanely tight grip on the city, he also knew about the False News'' identity.


    Nick had known who the False News was for years.


    Originally, he didn''t have the power to do anything without giving Anatomy or Kugelblitz another dangerous Fanatic.


    But when Julian died and Nick became the Liaison, things became different.


    He could apprehend the False News at any time.


    But at that point, just apprehending the False News would be a waste of an opportunity.


    There was a high likelihood that the False News was using its power to gain allies. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    So, Nick had sent the assassins to surveil the False News.


    With that, he could take down several more of the corrupt people in the upperyer.


    Leiman looked at Aria, who just red at him.


    The next moment, Aria pulled out her long and t sword.


    Silence.


    Suddenly, Leiman''s entire demeanor changed, and a neutral and emotionless expression appeared on his face.


    Then, he looked at Nick. "I see," Leiman said. "It was Julian-"


    "Ah ah ah!" Nick interrupted Leiman. "We don''t want you to be seen as a dangerous Specter that needs to be eradicated, right?"


    Leiman looked at Nick emotionlessly.


    "I am willing toe peacefully," he said.


    The others were stunned.


    Leiman had admitted it!


    He was a Specter!


    The people fell into a panic and put as much distance between them and Leiman as possible.


    Only very few of them had ever seen a Specter in real life, and the Specters they saw were very weak.


    But this was the False News!


    A Fanatic!


    Terror assaulted all the people, and they didn''t dare to remain anywhere close to Nick or Leiman.


    "Good choice," Aria said coldly as she retrieved powerful Zephyx Suppressors.


    She slowly and carefully approached Leiman. "Don''t try anything funny."


    "I don''t intend to die," the False News answered.


    This was why Nick had asked Aria toe with him.


    The False News was a powerful Fanatic, but Aria was an Early Hero with a lot ofbat experience.


    A couple secondster, several chains surrounded the False News'' upper body.


    Nick slowly walked closer to the False News and looked at it. "Release your influence over the current people. You will get Extractors you can influence in the future."


    "I do not have that power," the False News said. "As soon as they believe what I tell them, I can''t stop them."


    "Fine," Nick said calmly. "The rumors you spread about me are more damaging than your Zephyx is worth. Execution is the only thing we can do now."


    "I can''t control what they believe," the False News protested.


    "Then, there''s nothing we can do," Nick said before turning to Aria. "Please, execute him."


    Aria nced at Nick before focusing on the False News.


    Then, she pulled her sword back, ready to strike.


    "Wait!" the False News shouted.


    Aria stopped.


    "I lied," it said. "I will release my hold of them. It might take a couple of days for them to change their minds, but they will recover in time."


    Nick nodded. "Then, you may live."


    The next moment, Nick told Aria to take the False News to a Containment Unit and that she should send about 20 guards up to the upperyer with an investigation warrant.


    Aria just left without a word, which meant that she understood.


    Aria led the False News out of the upperyer while Nick remained.


    BANG!


    The next moment, Nick charged in a seemingly random direction.


    He reached a shed in barely two seconds and burst through the door.


    There, he saw four people in various stages of trying to hide things while recing the trap door with a metal te.


    This was one of the reasons why he had publicized the trap door.


    He wanted to give them a chance to hide their evidence and then catch them.


    "Nobody moves," Nick said.


    Silence.


    Suddenly, Nick vanished.


    SHING!


    A head flew through the air, and Nick appeared in front of the body, which was shooting blood out of its neck like a fountain.


    The others froze in terror.


    "I said nobody moves," Nick repeated. "That includes hiding things in your pockets or anywhere else."


    "Y-you kill-"


    SHING!


    Nick''s de appeared in front of the person, touching the bridge of their nose.


    "You want to be next?" Nick asked.


    Silence.


    The man froze.


    And then¡­


    His pants became wet.


    However, Nick was the only one who took note of the guy''s wet pants.


    The others were too terrified to pay attention to something so trivial.


    Nobody dared to move.


    "You guys should know how terrifying an Expert''s senses are," Nick said as he approached the trapdoor. "If I hear any movement, anyone that moved will lose their head. I''ve also burned the image that I''m currently seeing in my mind. If it is different after I get back, you will all lose your heads."


    "If you give me a reason to execute you, I will dly use it," Nick said coldly.


    No one dared to move.


    After some seconds, Nick jumped into the trap door.


    He found himself in an empty space between two massive metal tes.


    This was the space between the middle and the upperyers.


    The light of the Sun shone through the metal the upperyer was constructed with, illuminating everything.


    The next moment, Nick popped his head out of the hole again to see if anyone moved.


    Nobody moved.


    Nick pulled his head back, and as soon as his ability reactivated, he turned into mist and rushed through the area.


    He did that so that nobody would hear his footsteps.


    As long as they didn''t hear his footsteps, they would believe that he was still near the entrance.


    Bang.


    Nick heard the sound of distant banging with his powerful perception.


    He quickly moved to the source and saw a metal te shaking slightly.


    Next, Nick saw nails being hammered into the metal te near the side.


    ''The exit,'' Nick thought.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the metal te, and it burst off the walls.


    CRRK!


    The metal te hit another wall, and Nick could hear the sound of bones breaking.


    Whoever had been hammering on the metal te was dead now.


    Nick didn''t care.


    The next moment, someone burst into the room.


    It was a small child.


    "Daddy?" she asked nervously as she looked at Nick. "Where are you?"


    "What''s your name?" Nick asked.


    The little girl was frozen in fear.


    "Helma Wilkon," she said nervously.


    "Do you live here?" Nick asked.


    "Y-yes. Where''s my daddy?" she asked.


    "Answer my questions first," Nick said coldly.


    Tears started appearing in the young girl''s eyes.


    "Were there strange peopleing in and out of this room regrly?" he asked.


    "I-I don''t know," she said, on the verge of tears.


    "Did you know that there is a door here?" Nick asked.


    "Y-yes. Daddy''s friendse visit us," she said.


    ''That means his wife also knows about this. I''m not about to prosecute a child, but her mother is not without fault.''


    ''I should invest in orphanages.''


    "Where''s your mother?" Nick asked.


    "Ou-outside, visiting Aunty Le," she said.


    Nick nodded. "I''m going to leave now. Some guards wille byter."


    Then, Nick ran back through the hole he made and came out of the trapdoor.


    No one had dared to move.


    "Good," Nick said as he looked at them.


    "You will follow me. We are going to interrogate all of you separately, and if anything you say differs from what everyone else says, you will all be executed. Predetermined stories are great and all, but if a single person of you makes a mistake, it''s gonna cost all of you."


    "Additionally, if even one of you decides to tell the truth, no manner of lying is going to save the remainder."


    "The truth is the only thing that''s reliable."


    None of the people present dared to move.

 Chapter 514 – Classified Code

    Chapter 514 ¨C ssified Code


    Nick received the guards with the people from the shed walking behind him. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    They were still carrying the same objects they had held in their hands when Nick had caught them.


    Nick handed them over and instructed the guards about what to do.


    Next, Nick handed the report from the assassins over to the captain and told them to apprehend everyone mentioned in it and to search for evidence with all their power.


    Tearing down walls.


    Tearing up the floor.


    Destroying furniture.


    They were allowed to do all of that as long as they found evidence.


    He also told them that if anyone dared to threaten them, they also were to apprehend that person and do the same thing to their home.


    And like that, the upperyer devolved into chaos again.


    Houses were destroyed left and right, and several people were apprehended.


    The guards also went to the exit that Nick had found, which led to the middleyer.


    The smashed corpse of the man behind the steel te was retrieved, and every friend of the family was put into custody and interrogated.


    The interrogators of Crimson City had their busiest day in years.


    A couple of dayster, the final report arrived at Nick''s office.


    Eight people from the upperyer were definitely involved, 15 might have been involved, and another 15 from the middleyer had known what was going on.


    Many of them said that they were ckmailed, but Nick didn''t care.


    If they were ckmailed, they must have done something illegal, which could be used to ckmail them.


    Otherwise, they could have simply gone to the guards.


    In the end, a total of 33 people were sentenced.


    The most severe offenders were executed.


    The less severe ones had all their belongings seized and were thrown into the Outer City with nothing to their person.


    Any children were put into orphanages in the Inner City, which quickly got additional funding from the city.


    Then, the city became silent again.


    The upperyer had to recover first.


    There were not many people living in the upperyer, and every person who was apprehended or executed was known by basically everyone.


    When everything was said and done, Aria asked Nick something.


    "What do you intend to do with all the belongings and businesses the city has seized?" she asked. "Do you intend to keep them?"


    "Kind of, but notpletely," Nick answered. "Having businesses run by pencil pushers working in administration will just make them copse. You need a businessman to run businesses at peak efficiency."


    "I was nning on holding interviews for any capable businesspeople in the middleyer. The city is willing to hand the majority of shares over to them."


    "However, anyone willing to ept these businesses will have their right to privacy revoked. All their belongings, offices, and homes are free to be inspected at any given moment. No valid reason for a search necessary."


    "The government will retain 40% of the shares to make additional profit, but thepanies are allowed to run themselves. The revocation of the right to privacy will make it extremely risky to do any shady things."


    "New businesspeople will ascend to the upperyer, and since they have no right to privacy, they would be stupid to try anything illegal. At least, until they befortable and greed takes hold of them," Nick said.


    Aria raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to make the city earn as much money as possible. Wouldn''t keeping the majority of shares for the city result in more profit for the city?"


    "In the short term, yes," Nick said. "However, if the city starts running things, the businesses will either copse or lose a lot of their profitability. Businesses need autonomy to contend with other businesses."


    Aria just looked at Nick. "If you think so, sure."


    Aria was still annoyed with Nick due to his rtionship with Julian, but she couldn''t help but admit that his recent choices, while very ruthless, benefitted the city a lot.


    If the businesses kept operating at simr profitability as before, the city would gain tens of millions of credits every month in additional revenue.


    However, that wasn''t even the most profitable thing Nick had done.


    Absorbing Ghosty''s Lab did not only increase the Zephyx output of the city by a lot, but Ghosty''s Lab was also thepany that made most of the technology used in suppressing and working with Specters.


    This meant that Containment Units, Barriers, Zephyx Suppressors, and simr things were now bought from the city directly.


    In thest couple of days, Aria had be uncertain.


    Yes, Nick had colluded with a Specter, which was one of the worst things a human could do.


    And yet, many good things hade from it.


    Thanks to colluding with a Specter, Nick had found and apprehended the False News.


    Julian was also the reason why Nick was as educated as he was now.


    Julian''s protection had allowed Nick to grow and be the Liaison, and until now, his policies had shown remarkable effect.


    So many issues that had seemed impossible to solve had been solved in less than a year.


    Guard corruption.


    Having a proper army.


    Having way more Specters.


    The False News.


    Theck of Manufacturers.


    Corruption in the upperyer.


    Any of these things had seemed impossible just a year ago.


    Sure, the city was getting fewer taxes from the Manufacturers as a whole, but the additional revenue streams more than made up for that.


    Aria was conflicted.


    Nick was ruthless, and he had done many shady things in the past.


    Yet, Crimson City was improving.


    That was undeniable.


    "You don''t seem to make any mistakes," Ariamented absentmindedly.


    "The present reflects the past," Nick answered. "I made more mistakes with more devastating consequences than basically anyone in the city. The fact that I made so many mistakes in the past is why I''m not making many in the present."


    "The more shit you go through, the more you learn."


    Aria could see the truth in Nick''s words.


    Naturally, Aria had also made many mistakes in her past, from which she had learned.


    ''Maybe I''m too passive,'' Aria thought. ''While Nick''s results are great, I can''t forget that he is essentially making himself a target for every powerful person in the city. He''s betting with his life every single day.''


    "That reminds me," Nick suddenly said. "We should ask the gate guardian if she wants to do something else. Having a Specialist stand in front of a door is a waste. We should station two Veterans there in the future."


    Aria nodded. "Sure, I''ll deal with it."


    Then, Aria left the office.


    Nick nced at the door. ''She seems a bit different. Wonder if that''s a good or a bad thing.''


    Nick looked at the calendar in his office. ''The Specter report is due in a week. I didn''t want to sour my rtionship with Kugelblitz just yet, but I don''t think they will try to do anything until the next meeting. The tax benefits are still too good for them. Also, this won''t exactly be my fault.''


    The Specter report was a yearly report that every city had to send to Aegis.


    If Aegis was very interested in a Specter, they were going to confiscate it and use it for the good of humanity.


    Nick finished the report within a day and handed it over to Aria to look through.


    Aria looked through it and noticed something peculiar.


    In one of Kugelblitz''s Specters, Nick had referred to a ssified code.


    If there was sensitive or secret information that nobody was allowed to see, someone who knew that secret could reference a ssified code in a document.


    One needed ess to Aegis'' database with fitting clearance to read what the code referenced.


    As the Liaison, Nick had his own credentials, and he could read any secrets he had ess to.


    Aria went to check what the ssified code referred to, but the database said that her credentials were not enough to view that information.


    ''What did Nick find out about the Fiend of Darkness? Is there something in there that we didn''t find?'' she thought.


    Naturally, the ssified code was mentioned in the part of the report dealing with the Fiend of Darkness.


    ''Did he actually get in touch with the Nightmare?''


    Aria shook her head.


    ''Impossible. I went in there myself, and I couldn''t find it. Also, the chances that the Fiend of Darkness directly leads to the Nightmare are minuscule.''


    ''Light doesn''t even work in there. You would need to blindly walk away from the harpoon, and nobody would do that. That''s suicide.''


    In the end, Aria signed the report and sent it to Aegis.


    Not even a single dayter, a team of Agents arrived in Crimson City.


    They were there to confiscate the Fiend of Darkness for the good of mankind.


    Kugelblitz could do nothing but grind their teeth.


    "You don''t need to worry," one of the Agents said. "You can still work with it for a price."


    "It''s going to be contained within Crimson City, but in one of the city''s Containment Units. Not in one of yours."

 Chapter 515 – Peaceful Protest

    Chapter 515 ¨C Peaceful Protest


    Kugelblitz was not happy.


    At all.


    The Fiend of Darkness had never been an issue, but as soon as the first report of the Specters was due, it was suddenly confiscated.


    Even more, it was not taken out of the city but left for the city.


    Naturally, Vanessa immediatelyined to Aria.


    Aria simply gave Vanessa a document as an answer.


    The document stated that this decision came from Aegis'' headquarters and that it was not rted to the local government.


    "But then why wasn''t it an issue until now?! Why is it suddenly being confiscated?!" she asked in anger.


    "The old Governor probably didn''t report it correctly," Aria answered. "He was corrupt. As the former Chief Zephyx Extractor of Kugelblitz, I know that better than anyone, and you should also know that."


    Vanessa was incredibly frustrated.


    "But why now, Aria? I just took over as the Chief Zephyx Extractor. Why does this have to happen now?" she asked in frustration.


    Aria sighed. "Things are no longer the same, Vanessa," Aria said with a familiar tone.


    The two of them had worked together for several decades, and they knew each other very well.


    "I saw the report myself, and while I can''t share all of the details with you, I can tell you that we were not the ones that requested its confiscation. It came from Aegis'' headquarters."


    This was the truth.


    Nick did not ask for it to be confiscated.


    He had simply referenced a ssified code.


    While Aria didn''t know what the ssified code contained, it wasn''t any of the standard codes used tomunicate with Aegis.


    Vanessa could only ept the current situation.


    Nevertheless, she was still quite frustrated.


    "I wouldn''t have thought that you would make things even more difficult for Kugelblitz," she said with cold annoyance. "I expected you to still feel some loyalty for your old home."


    At that moment, Aria narrowed her eyes. "Vanessa, I know better than anyone what shady things Kugelblitz is involved in. The fact that I did not start an investigation into everything is proof that I am still protecting you."


    "If I wanted, I could have told the guards everything, and Kugelblitz would be no more."


    However, Vanessa''s demeanor didn''t change. "Is that so? Or are you just afraid of having to fight Jornis and me?"


    When Vanessa said that, several things shot through Aria''s mind.


    She remembered Markus Julius.


    And she remembered Nick''s words.


    ''The reason why the government is so weak is that the Governor is not willing to put himself in danger.''


    Right now, Nick was the target of basically every powerful person in this city.


    And he was only an Initial Expert!


    When Aria heard Vanessa say that, she felt like her sore spot had been attacked.


    Nick was risking his life as a mere Expert.


    Meanwhile, Aria was an Early Hero!


    If someone like Nick could bet on his life, there was no excuse for why she couldn''t!


    "I can assure you," Aria said with an icy tone while ring at Vanessa with intensity. "That is not the case."


    "If Kugelblitz decides to overstep¡­"


    Aria''s aura became shaky with rage.


    "I will end you two myself," she said with icy coldness.


    Vanessa became a bit intimidated by Aria.


    Aria had been her boss for decades, and Vanessa knew that Aria was extremely powerful in a battle.


    Nevertheless, Vanessa was an Initial Hero herself, and she could deal with intimidation.


    "I don''t think we have anything to talk about anymore," Vanessa said neutrally.


    "Then, you may leave," Aria said equally as neutrally.


    Vanessa left Aria''s office without saying anything.


    A couple secondster, Aria released a deep breath, and all her momentum vanished.


    ''Why did I do that?'' she thought as she touched the side of her head. ''Vanessa is- was a good employee.''


    ''And I did that for whom? Nick. Someone that colluded with a Specter for over a decade.''


    ''He''s not worth defending.''


    ''He''s a monster who''s only interested in cleansing himself of the sins of his past.''


    ''He doesn''t want to help the people.''


    ''He just wants to relieve his guilt.''


    ''He''s selfish.''


    Aria walked over to one of the windows and looked at the city.


    For a while, she did nothing but look.


    ''And yet, his policies are working,'' Aria thought, losing her momentum.


    ''No matter what his intentions are, his actions help the people.''


    ''Crime has gone up, but that''s a good thing. Crimes have happened all the time. They just hadn''t been found in the past.''


    ''The number of crimes is not increasing. The number of crimes getting prosecuted is increasing.''


    Aria sighed.


    ''I really despise him¡­''


    ''But I also can''t help admiring him.''


    Aria sighed once more.


    ''Let''s just see how things develop.''


    In fact, the confiscation of the Fiend of Darkness didn''t really have an impact on Kugelblitz''s profits.


    Kugelblitz had received the Puppet of Suffering and the Bloated Corpse from Anatomy after the fight, two Fanatics.


    Kugelblitz only had 18 Specialists for 13 Fanatics.


    Their operation wasn''t at peak efficiency anyway since they didn''t have enough Extractors to efficiently work with all of their Specters.


    Naturally, the loss of a Fanatic still stung, but it was something Kugelblitz could bear.


    Aria didn''t think that Kugelblitz would directly go against Nick yet.


    Aria sighed again. ''But that might change during the next big meeting.''


    Naturally, Aria knew about the policies she and Nick had talked about, and the one that was being implemented during the next meeting would absolutely enrage Kugelblitz.


    But it was still a couple of months until then. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Sure enough, Kugelblitz wasn''t nning on going against Nick just yet, but Mr. Zero had be a bit more active after this event.


    Mr. Zero wasn''tmanding the shady groups to do anything yet, but he was keeping them close and ready.


    The shady groups were his insurance against Nick.


    The shady groups of the upperyer had lost quite a few of their members.


    First, over ten of them had been captured after writing the letter, and just a couple of days ago, even more had been captured.


    The worst part was that some of their former members had apparently known that Leiman had been a Specter.


    No matter how corrupt and greedy the people of the upperyer were, most of them would not even entertain the thought of colluding with a Specter.


    Colluding with a Specter was colluding with one''s natural predator.


    It was only a time until one was eaten.


    However, doing something shady was not the only way one could act against the government¡­


    While they were in the minority, there were people living in the upperyer who believed the risk of being prosecuted for a crime was not worth the reward.


    Some of them lived by thew.


    Naturally, when they heard that the government was no longer paying for the nature preservation program, they also became enraged.


    They were living ording to thew and were doing the right thing!


    And how did the government thank them?!


    By pulling back its support!


    These people gathered together in public.


    They had nothing to hide, which was why they didn''t need to act sneakily like the shady groups.


    The shady groups got wind of their ns and offered their support.


    However, the honest people refused the help of the shady groups.


    They did not want to be associated with anything that could endanger them.


    They were nning on using their legal powers to suppress the government.


    The shady groups stopped contacting the honest folk, but several individuals came forward to support the honest people.


    Naturally, they were from the shady groups, but they didn''t identify themselves as such.


    They were just individuals who wanted to help.


    So, the resistance group gathered more support, and when about 30% of the upperyer joined them, they decided to be active.


    As long as they followed thew, there was nothing the government could do to them.


    For a couple of days, nothing happened.


    But one monthter, the government noticed something.


    "The taxesing from the upperyer have dropped by over 30%," Aria told Nick.


    "What''s the reason?" Nick asked calmly.


    Aria was a bit surprised when she saw how calm Nick was.


    "About a third of all the biggest businesses in the city are implementing cost-cutting measures."


    "Their production of products has fallen by almost half, and they are only selling a little bit of their stock at a time for exorbitant prices."


    "The price of food and unpolluted water has almost doubled."


    "Crimes out of desperation have shot through the roof in the Dregs. People can''t afford many things anymore, and the number of people having to pay their taxes with their blood has reached an all-time high," Aria exined.


    "Naturally, this is their way of putting pressure on us for the nature preservation program."


    Nick nodded.


    "Did any of the participants do any shady things in the past?" Nick asked.


    "That''s the bad part," Aria answered. "They didn''t. As far as we can tell, everyone, or almost everyone, is living ording to thews."


    "The few honest people of the upperyer are dissatisfied with us, and they''re using legal means to protest."


    "They are not required byw to make a certain amount of money each month, and they know that."


    Aria looked at Nick.


    Nick seemed surprisingly calm.

 Chapter 516 – Truth of the World

    <h4>Chapter 516 ¨C Truth of the World</h4>


    Nick asked for a couple of names from Aria and cross-referenced them with the ck book.


    Sure enough, none of the people were in there.


    They were honest and followed thew.


    "You don''t seem worried," Ariamented. "What''s your n?"


    "Do you not know?" Nick asked.


    Aria furrowed her brows. "I wouldn''t ask if I did."


    Nick calmly stood up from his chair and walked to the door.


    "The fact that you can''t see it shows that you don''t see reality," he said.


    "Excuse me?" Aria asked with annoyance.


    "But I don''t fault you," Nick said. "You''ve been in this city for too long, and the only things you had to fight werepanies in the market and Specters."


    Aria became very annoyed with Nick''s arrogant tone.


    Nick was barely 34!


    Yet, he was talking to her, an Early Hero who was almost 200 years old, like she was a child.


    "I''ll show you," Nick said. "You don''t need to worry. I won''t need your protection. But if you want to see the truth of the world, I advise you toe along."


    Aria couldn''t stand Nick''s arrogant tone, but she still wanted to see what kind of "truth of the world" Nick wanted to show her.


    Not even Aria knew of what they could do against people who were following thew.


    She couldn''t think of anything they could do except enter negotiations with them.


    She wanted to see Nick fail.


    The two of them left the headquarters of the city and made their way to the upperyer.


    The gate guardian was no longer present, reced by two Veterans.


    Her powers were more useful somewhere else.


    Nick and Aria entered without changing out of their uniforms.


    As soon as they arrived, the entire upperyer quickly took notice.


    Many of them avoided looking at Nick and retreated into their houses.


    Every time Nick appeared in the upperyer, something horrible happened, and they didn''t want to be anywhere close to him when that happened.


    However, many of the people also came closer.


    Those were mainly the ones involved in the peaceful protest.


    They had nothing to hide, which was why they were not afraid.


    In just a couple of minutes, almost 30 people gathered in front of Nick and Aria.


    "Alright," Nick said evenly. "We noticed your little protest. Who are your leaders?"


    Aria didn''t let it show on her face, but she wanted to sneer at Nick right now.


    Sure enough, he was entering negotiations with them.


    Or was he nning on threatening them?


    That wouldn''t work.


    These people knew thew better than even Nick. They knew how to protest without breaking any of them.


    Several of the people had smiles on their faces.


    Some seemed polite.


    Some seemed derisive.


    Some seemed arrogant.


    A couple of secondster, three people stepped forward.


    Those three controlled some of the biggest businesses inside Crimson City, and they were three of the few who followed thew while also earning a horrifying amount of money.


    "We''re d to wee you, Liaison," one of them said with a polite bow.


    "It''s you three?" Nick asked calmly.


    "It''s a group effort," another one of them said. "We were simply chosen as representatives of the group. We don''t lead the group. Every member of the group is an autonomous individual with a shared goal."


    Nick evenly looked at them.


    "You think you''re clever, huh?" he asked.


    The present people were quite surprised.


    This didn''t sound like somethinging out of the mouth of an important member of the government but somethinging out of the mouth of a street hooligan.


    "Sir, we arew-abiding citizens," one of the three said with annoyance. "We gave you proper respect, and we think it is only fair if you reciprocate in kind."


    "Reciprocate in kind?" Nick repeated with a raised eyebrow. "I was nning on doing just that."


    The next moment, Nick bent down and grabbed three stones.


    Some of the people became nervous, but they still held strong.


    They followed thew!


    This was just intimidation!


    They did nothing wrong!


    "Sir, what-"


    "Shut up," Nick said calmly, but his voice reverberated throughout the entire upperyer.


    Silence.


    Then, Nick looked at all the people in attendance.


    "You forgot what the world looks like," he said.


    No one dared to answer.


    For some reason, Nick''s aura was extremely intimidating right now.


    "This is not a world of humans."


    "This is a world of Specters."


    "The only reason why you are even able to live in this beautiful garden of an upperyer is because Aegis and the Extractors keep the Specters away from all of you."


    "Aegis and the Extractors are protecting you so that you can live without having to constantly fear the Specters."


    "Aegis is the reason why you have a sessful business."


    "Aegis is the reason why you have autonomy."


    "Aegis is the reason why you are alive."


    "Going against Aegis means going against humanity as a whole."


    "You are not humans."


    "You are a cancer."


    "You are damaging Aegis by merely existing."


    "Today, I''ll show you reality."


    "All your money."


    "Your political power."


    "Your economic power."


    "Your maniption abilities."


    "Your negotiation abilities."


    "All of that is only worth something as long as Aegis protects you and allows you to y this little political game of yours."


    "Aegis gave you your life."


    Nick casually grabbed one of the stones and pulled his hand back.


    BANG!


    The head of one of the leaders exploded into a shower of blood.


    Blood, pieces of bone, and brain matter sttered across the people around them.


    "And it can take it from you just as easily," Nick said calmly.


    The people looked with absolute shock as the headless body copsed to the ground.


    Aria took a deep breath in shock.


    "Power!" Nick shouted.


    "Our power is the reason why you live in bliss!"


    "Without our power, you are just as helpless as a beggar from the Dregs!"


    BANG!


    Nick threw the second stone through another representative''s head.


    At that moment, panic set in.


    "Do not dare to move!" Nick shouted in a threatening voice.


    Everyone froze.


    This was an Expert!


    This was somebody who was over a thousand times stronger than a normal human, and that power could intimidate any normal human intopliance.


    "I have onest stone," Nick said with a threatening tone. "Don''t make me get a fourth and fifth one."


    Everyone looked with absolute terror at Nick.


    Thest of the representatives knew what wasing.


    She turned around, ready to run.


    BANG!


    Thest stone was thrown, and her head exploded. Visjt n??velbin(.)c??m for new updates


    Silence.


    All the people were terrified.


    No one dared to move.


    "I''ll repeat myself," Nick said. "Aegis is the reason why you are alive, and the only reason this city exists is to help Aegis in its fight against the Specters."


    "Standing in the way of Aegis equates to standing with the Specters."


    "If you are frustrated with my way of governing the city and believe I am wrong, you are free to leave the city. Nobody is keeping you here."


    "From today onward, anyone from the middle or upperyer is allowed to leave the city and go somece else."


    "I''m not forcing you to live in this city."


    "But as long as you do, you will support Aegis."


    "I don''t care about thews."


    "I don''t care about morals."


    "I don''t care about ethics."


    "I am here to turn this city into a ce that is more beneficial for Aegis."


    "I am a representative of Aegis."


    "Aegis might be your shield, but only against the Specters."


    "When there is a conflict between humans, Aegis will be my shield."


    "Not yours."


    "Aegis is thebined power of all of humanity."


    "In front of that, you are helpless."


    "You canin, be frustrated, or kill yourself out of protest."


    "None of that matters."


    "In front of Aegis, you are powerless!"


    "If you want to survive in human society, you WILL contribute to Aegis and help it in any way you can!"


    "Anyone that refuses to cooperate will be executed."


    Silence.


    "Get back to work. I have the tax and revenue sheets from all your businesses from thest decades, and if I see any kind of funny business going on, the city wille for you."


    "I expect simr tax sheets to the ones I received two months ago."


    "That''s all."


    Then, Nick turned around and calmly walked towards the exit of the upperyer.


    Aria was still nervous.


    Nick had killed innocent people in public!


    You couldn''t just do that!


    It was against the rules!


    And that was when Aria realized something.


    The rules.


    The rules only applied to the yers.


    Sure, the rules should also apply to the game master and referee.


    However, who was powerful enough to enforce the rules on the enforcers?


    Who could control the one in control?


    It still felt wrong to Aria to kill these honest civilians.


    Yet, what did that matter?


    While they were allowed to leave the city, not a single person would dare to do so.


    And while they were in the city, they couldn''t do anything against Nick.


    They could try tricks on the government, but that wouldn''t get rid of Nick.


    And as long as Nick existed, everyone was stuck following his orders.


    Unless someone more powerful than Nick decided to intervene.


    Now, Aria knew what Nick had meant with the truth of the world.


    Power.


    In front of power, nothing mattered.


    If one had power, one could do whatever one wanted.


    And the power Nick had was not his own.


    It was Aegis.


    Aegis was his power.


    And Aegis was the biggest power in the human world.


    Therefore, everyone was helpless in front of it.


    The only thing they could do was to try to assassinate him with a powerful Extractor.


    And if that didn''t work¡­


    They had to follow.


    Whether they wanted to or not.

 Chapter 517 – Desperation of the Upper Layer

    Chapter 517 ¨C Desperation of the Upper Layer


    The atmosphere in the upperyer changed drastically after Nick left.


    No one had cleaned the three corpses, and since there were barely any guards in the upperyer, none of them were about to.


    The few guards in the upperyer were all stationed in specific locations from which they were not allowed to leave.


    This was due to the people living in the upperyer.


    They were surrounded by a thick wall of steel, and the only entrance was guarded.


    Why would they need guards in here?


    In fact, why would they want guards here?


    Most of the guards were lower people, in their opinion.


    They didn''t have the same status as the members.


    But now, with the corpses lying in the middle of the road, they wished that there were some guards there.


    Most of the people in the upperyer remained at home today.


    They were frustrated.


    They were afraid.


    They were helpless.


    What were they supposed to do?


    What could they do?


    None of their powers seemed to work on Nick.


    Nick could just walk into the upperyer, kill a couple of innocent people, and walk out again.


    He and the Governor were the ones making and enforcing the rules.


    If they didn''t want to prosecute themselves, no one would.


    Only Aegis could.


    However, none of the people could get in touch with Aegis.


    The only way to get into touch with Aegis was the city console, and one also needed credentials to use it.


    Naturally, none of the people in the upperyer had the credentials, and even if they did, they couldn''t get past the guards.


    In the past, they might have tried bribing the guards to let them through, but things were very different now.


    Finding a corruptible guard was extremely difficult, and even just asking could already mean their death.


    No one dared to try.


    After a day, most of the people gathered in a public space to discuss the current situation.


    Some of them said that they should continue the protest.


    The Liaison couldn''t kill all of them.


    Yet, that opinion quickly got a lot of pushback.


    Even if it were true that Nick couldn''t kill all of them, none of them would want to be among the few that were killed.


    Even if there was just a 10% chance that they were the ones getting killed, they still wouldn''t be willing to take the risk.


    Yes, they loved their wealth, but they wouldn''t want to risk their lives for it. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Many of them had believed that they would, but when the decision was actually in front of them, they couldn''t bring themselves to.


    Of course, there were still some who were willing to do it, but they were in the minority.


    Not even ten people.


    With fewer than ten people, these brave businessmen couldn''t even make an attempt.


    On top of that, many of the new members of the upperyer straight up refused to partake in any of these matters.


    These new members had "inherited" the businesses of the dead members, and due to them giving up their right to privacy, they weren''t willing to do anything that might upset the government.


    These new members knew the best how expendable they were.


    All of them had been experienced businessmen living in the middleyer, and while inheriting the businesses had been a bit stressful, they just needed to keep the operations going and analyze a couple of things.


    At some point in apany''s growth, it became so big and autonomous that it basically ran itself.


    The new members had seen how easy it was to inherit a flourishing business, and they were intelligent enough to realize that there were plenty of people living in the middleyer who could do the same.


    Nick had finally done it.


    After many incidents, he had managed to split up the upperyer.


    They were no longer united.


    Everyone was frustrated, but almost no one dared to actually do something against Nick.


    In the following days, the upperyer put pressure on Mr. Zero to do something.


    He was the only one with enough power to do anything.


    Yet, Mr. Zero said that there was no good opportunity to get rid of Nick.


    Of course, since Mr. Zero was Kugelblitz, this was a lie.


    Kugelblitz could easily create an opportunity.


    But Kugelblitz didn''t want to get rid of Nick right now.


    While their revenue had fallen a bit, their profits were higher than ever due to the tax change.


    Sure, the loss of the Fiend of Darkness was bad, but their profits were still quite a bit higher than before Nick had taken on the role of Liaison.


    Now, the upperyer truly felt lost.


    Not even Mr. Zero was willing to do anything.


    In the end, there was nothing they could do but bow their heads and do what Nick told them to do.


    The production and sale of products reached their old levels, and the money was flowing in again.


    The people in the upperyer also agreed on a payment n for the nature preservation program.


    They had given up.


    They were done.


    They were helpless.


    Even two weeks after the event, the mood in the upperyer still hadn''t improved.


    They hated this!


    But what were they supposed to do?


    They couldn''t leave the city since they would just die.


    They would need Extractors to escort them to another city with all their wealth, and even if they aplished that, there was no guarantee that the other city wouldn''t just kill them and steal all their wealth.


    The only other way was to assassinate Nick, but that also required a powerful Extractor.


    But all the Extractors worked for Manufacturers or the city, and none of them wanted to get rid of the government right now.


    The upperyer had no ess to any Extractors to use in an assassination.


    For the first time, the economically most powerful people in the city felt truly helpless.


    As for the Manufacturers, when they heard that Nick had just randomly killed innocent people in public, they grew worried.


    Would Nick also attempt that with them?


    Naturally, that would be much riskier, but most of the Manufacturers weren''t powerful enough to resist the guards.


    The city had 22 Experts and nine Specialists!


    Not even Gemini or the three big new Manufacturers could fight against nine Specialists.


    Because of that, over 90% of the Manufacturers became very wary.


    They didn''t even dare to publiclyment on the matter.


    They acted like they hadn''t seen anything.


    The only Manufacturer that made a public statement was Kugelblitz.


    They denounced the Liaison''s actions.


    However, they did not announce any actions they would take against the government.


    Naturally, everyone living in the upperyer could see what this was.


    Virtue signaling.


    Kugelblitz wanted to seem just and empathetic on the surface to uphold their image.


    But these were all just empty words.


    They wouldn''t do anything.


    Even if it happened again, they wouldn''t do anything.


    They might publicly speak again, but the next time, it would probably be much quieter than before.


    While Kugelblitz had the power to fight the city, it really didn''t want to.


    Not without Aria''s support.


    Aria, on her own, was already a terrifying threat.


    Kugelblitz did not want to fight the government.


    Even if they won, they would lose several of their Specialists and maybe even Heroes.


    With so few Specialists left, their profits would fall drastically.


    And on top of that, there was also Aegis.


    How could they possibly talk themselves out of the usation of revolting against the government when they were the only ones powerful enough to do anything inside the city?


    As of this moment, no one was left who could resist Nick''s policies.


    The ones with the true power didn''t want to oppose Nick, and the ones that had the desire didn''t have the power.


    For now, the government was stable.


    But not for long.


    About two months after everything had blown over and just a couple of weeks before the next Manufacturer meeting, a miracle happened.


    Someone had covertly reached out to the shady groups of the upperyer.


    They were willing to help!


    And the best thing was that they had the power to do something!


    The party said that they were very unhappy with the Liaison''s policy changes.


    They hated what the upperyer had turned into.


    The upperyer used to be a peaceful environment whereughing kids could run around without any worry while being one with nature.


    They viewed it as pure and beautiful, and they hated that the Liaison had ruined this for everyone.


    The party was willing to assassinate Nick.


    However, they wouldn''t do it for free.


    50 billion credits.


    This was not something that only a single person could pay for.


    Yet, the upperyer was so desperate that the money had been gathered within less than a week.


    The group handed over ten billion as a contracting fee, and the other party nodded.


    "Give me two weeks."

 Chapter 518 – Assassination

    Chapter 518 ¨C Assassination


    Nick walked out of a Containment Unit.


    The Containment Unit was located inside Sky Dream''s new building.


    Naturally, Nick wouldn''t stop advancing, even though he was quite busy with his job as Liaison.


    Ever since bing the Liaison of Crimson City, he had worked with at least one Elder per day.


    One of the Elders Sky Dream had purchased was perfect for Nick.


    He only needed to work with it for about 30 minutes for a great amount of Zephyx.


    Naturally, Sky Dream wasn''tining.


    They didn''t have enough Extractors anyway, and Nick still gave them 50% of what he produced while working with it.


    He hade here basically every day.


    The hallways were rather empty since Sky Dream didn''t have as many Extractors anymore.


    They only had 32 Veterans and six Experts.


    In such a big building, this number might as well be zero.


    Nick basically never met anyone except for the guards in front of the building while going to oring from the Elder.


    But this time, it was different.


    As soon as Nick entered the hallway, his ability deactivated.


    Usually, someone wouldn''t feel scared about meeting another person while inside such a secure building, but over years of avoiding assassinations as Dark Dream''s Chief Zephyx Extractor, Nick''s ability was intrinsically connected to his emotions.


    Whenever his ability deactivated, even when Nick knew that he was safe, a spike of nervousness rose inside Nick.


    He did not feel safe while his ability was not active.


    So, as soon as Nick walked out of the locker room, his head quickly turned around the hallway to find the origin of whoever was looking at him.


    In an instant, Nick saw something.


    A sniper rifle.


    It was aimed at him.


    And the person holding the sniper rifle was a guard!


    As soon as Nick saw the rifle, it fired.


    BOOOOOM!


    A bright light appeared.


    A white Barrier appeared around Nick.


    CRACK!


    The Barrier broke into pieces, and the sniper round turned Nick''s head into dust.


    Nick''s headless corpse fell to the ground.


    The guard looked at Nick''s corpse for less than a second.


    A sniper rifle was extremely loud, and the bullet had shot through the building''s walls.


    Several people must have already noticed.


    In a fluid motion, the guard turned around and ran towards the wall.


    BOOOM!


    The guard kicked the wall, and it exploded into pieces.


    "STOP RIGHT THERE!" the guard shouted with all of his power, his voice reverberating throughout the floor on which Sky Dream was located.


    In an instant, several people appeared outside the building.


    "The Liaison was assassinated!" the guard shouted as he shot out of the hole he had just made.


    "I''m in pursuit!"


    Immediately, everyone''s eyes shot open in horror.


    The Liaison was assassinated?!


    The next moment, everyone saw a ck shadow jumping away from the building and entering the upperyer.


    The guard was in hot pursuit.


    The people around the building wanted to follow, but the guard and the assassin were simply too fast!


    They had to be Peak Experts, at least!


    The people quickly gave up.


    Half of them ran in all directions, searching for guards, while the other half jumped into the building to look for Nick.


    However, as soon as they entered the hallway, they were confused.


    Where was the corpse?


    "Maybe he was killed somewhere else! Search everything!" Taren shouted.


    Everyone scattered to search all the locker rooms and Containment Units.


    Yet, they couldn''t find a corpse.


    They saw the hole of the sniper rifle, but there was no corpse.


    What was going on?!


    A bit earlier, the guard ran up to the upperyer with all of his speed.


    The two Veterans guarding the upperyer were shocked when they saw how quickly the guard moved.


    Sadly, that was thest thing they saw in their lives as the guard threw two knives, which broke through their Barriers and killed them.


    The guard didn''t even touch the corpses and ran into the changing room.


    In a fluid motion, he tore his uniform into pieces and stashed the pieces away, revealing a white robe of the upperyer beneath.


    The guard''s heart was racing.


    He had nned out everything, and now, he just needed to pull it off and escape.


    The guard also pulled off the wig he was wearing, and calmly stepped out of the door, into the upperyer.


    Inside the upperyer, he covertly but quickly made his way to a house near the wall.


    He looked around and quickly entered when he saw nobody following him.


    In the house, he charged towards the back and opened a trap door.


    The trap door led to a small basement, surrounded by earth.


    Since no light could pass through the earth, there was only a singlemp hanging in the middle of the basement.


    Naturally, thismp used Sky Dream''swork of lights to keep the Nightmare at bay.


    "It''s done!" the guard shouted with urgency.


    In the middle of the room stood a woman who looked at the guard with furrowed brows.


    "Are you sure?" she asked.


    "I''m certain," the guard said nervously. "I blew his head off. I saw his corpse with my own eyes! Quickly! We have to escape the city! We don''t have any time!"


    "Were you followed?" the woman asked.


    "No! Hurry up!" the guard shouted with anxiety.


    "Good," the woman said.


    BANG! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Suddenly, she threw a spear at the guard, and his Barrier activated.


    With widely opened eyes, the guard watched himself getting flung against the surprisingly durable wall behind him.


    BANG!


    Then, another spear hit his Barrier, but this one hadn''t been thrown.


    The woman unleashed two more strikes, and the guard''s Barrier broke into pieces.


    BANG!


    The guard was turned into chunks of meat in an instant.


    It was obvious what had happened.


    The woman wasn''t willing to take the risk of being exposed by the guard.


    She was the one who had offered her help to the people of the upperyer.


    She was a Specialist.


    And who was she?


    The old gate guardian!


    The woman who had guarded the door to the upperyer for decades!


    Over these many decades, she had made friends with basically everyone in the upperyer.


    She watched children grow up into adults.


    In her eyes, almost all the adults in the upperyer still looked like innocent children in her eyes.


    And when she had heard that Nick had killed several, she had be furious.


    When they had been convicted of crimes, she got annoyed, but she could still deal with it.


    When Nick had gone after the people who had written the letter, she got quite furious.


    But when Nick had randomly killed people who had peacefully protested, she couldn''t take it anymore.


    Death was normal in this world, but the Liaison was a monster!


    He killed innocent people!


    During her several decades of working for the city, she had never seen anything this atrocious!


    After Nick had killed the innocent people, she talked to a couple of her colleagues to gauge their personalities.


    The guard whom she had just killed was someone who wanted power and riches but felt stifled by the Specters he had been assigned to work with.


    If he had more money, he could purchase working with Specters.


    So, the gate guardian had talked with him and, eventually, shared her n.


    He would get half of what she got from the upperyer, and they would immediately escape from the city.


    Their n was to run to Metal Works City and join a Manufacturer together.


    The guard had believed her and joined the n.


    However, the gate guardian had never intended to run away from Crimson City.


    She had talked to the people of the upperyer anonymously.


    The only thing she had done was to demonstrate her physical strength to prove to them that she had the power to kill the Liaison.


    For the entire day, she had stayed at home, and she had walked around in her garden all day to show her face.


    Her neighbors would confirm that she had never left her property that day.


    Additionally, she hadn''t been seen by anyone near the crime scene.


    As long as she quietly got rid of the guard and his corpse, no one would suspect her.


    And she would be filthy rich.


    She calmly pulled a small vial out of her pocket and scattered its contents across the basement.


    In a matter of seconds, all traces of the guard''s corpse vanished.


    ''I should destroy this basement next,'' she thought as she looked around.


    ''After that, I have to act normally for a couple of days and ept the remainder of the money.''


    When she thought about the money, her eyes fell on a massive chest at the end of the basement.


    ''Might as well bury it with the basement for now. I can still dig it upter.''


    What she didn''t notice was that some ck mist turned into a person behind her.


    Nick looked at the back of the gate guardian with hate-filled eyes.


    Then, he retrieved a small spear from his wrist¡­


    BANG!


    And threw it at themp, the only source of light in the basement!


    Themp was destroyed, and everything fell into darkness.

 Chapter 519 – Its Over!

    Chapter 519 ¨C It''s Over!


    The gate guardian heard the sound of the light exploding and fell into a panic.


    Her first thought was that the stupid guard had been followed!


    But then, she quickly threw that possibility out of the window.


    If he had been followed, she would have noticed.


    Additionally, no human enemy would destroy the only source of light in a room.


    That would put both of them under the influence of the Nightmare, effectively destroying the moment of surprise of the ambusher, if there were one.


    Both of them would be blind.


    Unless the ambusher had a way to make light, but if that were the case, she would quickly notice since the light of the ambusher would also illuminate her, taking her out of the Nightmare''s influence.


    All of these thoughts happened in a single instance, and the gate guardian could do nothing but internallyin about the shoddy workmanship of themp.


    And that was basically everything she could think about before the Nightmare''s influence fully hit her.


    The Nightmare''s influence wasn''t an on-and-off switch.


    It was a spectrum.


    When it was just a little dark, a couple of faint voices appeared.


    If it were darker, illusions appeared.


    But if it were pitch ck with absolutely no light, the most horrifying torture would appear, and someone would lose all their senses to the Nightmare''s influence.


    Naturally, since the basement was underground, this was about as dark as it could get.


    There was absolutely no light, and the Nightmare''s torture immediately started.


    "Argh!"


    The gate guardian wanted to scream since she felt like burning irons were piercing through her entire body, but her rational mind kept her in check.


    If she screamed right now, she would be found out!


    She wanted to get out of the basement immediately.


    Her first thought was to jump through the floor above her, but that might also alert people to her.


    Sadly, the gate guardian didn''t have an ability that could create light, and she had never practiced Zephyx Maniption.


    For decades, she hadn''t been in any kind of dangerous situation. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Her life had beenfortable for decades.


    It had also been decades since she had been in the darkness.


    She was very unused to navigating the Nightmare''s domain.


    She remembered which way she had been facing, and she turned around to go to the trap door.


    A bit of light woulde through the slits of the trap door.


    As soon as she reached it, the Nightmare''s influence would weaken, and she could open the door.


    She had to remain calm!


    Meanwhile, Nick watched with hatred as the gate guardian turned in thepletely wrong direction and started to walk towards a random wall.


    "You tried to kill me," Nick said with a voice shaking with hatred and rage.


    "I''ll make you wish you were dead!"


    Nick calmly took out one of his biggest spears and threw it with all of his power at the gate guardian.


    BOOOOM!


    A cerulean Barrier appeared around the gate guardian, and the spear stopped in the air before falling to the ground.


    The gate guardian didn''t even react and just blindly kept walking towards the wall.


    She had no experience with the Nightmare''s influence, and all the pain and torturepletely blinded her to the fact that she had just lost 30% of her Zephyx.


    The gate guardian was a Mid Specialist, and her Barrier was extremely expensive.


    "A Barrier that blocks kic force," Nickmented coldly.


    "That makes things easier," he said as he retrieved another spear.


    If the gate guardian had been flung against the wall, she might have realized that someone was attacking her.


    However, that actually wouldn''t have mattered.


    If she realized that someone was attacking her, she would jump through the ceiling and try to escape.


    Yet, the guards were currently swarming the city, including all the Specialists and maybe even Aria.


    Nick just needed to shout, and all the guards would swarm to his location.


    BANG!


    Nick threw another spear with full force, which was also stopped in mid air before falling to the ground.


    Meanwhile, the gate guardian became more panicked as she touched the wall in front of her.


    ''Where is the exit?!'' she thought in terror.


    ''It has to be here somewhere!''


    BANG!


    Nick threw a third spear, which was also stopped in the middle of the air.


    ''Susan Alborn, Mid Specialist,'' Nick thought. ''If she has one of the most expensive Barriers avable inside Crimson City, she should be almost out of Zephyx.''


    The next moment, a disy appeared in front of Nick.


    Nick had received a Barrier from Aegis after bing a Liaison, and this Barrier was vastly superior to any Barrier avable in the city.


    Nick looked at the gate guardian through the disy and saw two numbers.


    5% and 10%.


    This was a function that allowed Nick''s Barrier to estimate and disy the Zephyx an Extractor had left based on their Barrier''s fluctuations.


    After seeing the numbers, Nick slowly walked forward and picked up his spears.


    The gate guardian blindly walked along the walls.


    SHING!


    Nick''s de popped out of his sleeve, and he struck forward.


    BANG!


    The Barrier broke into pieces, and the gate guardian''s body shook.


    With no Zephyx, there was no more fuel for her body to move, and she copsed to the ground.


    Yet, even at that moment, she didn''t realize that she had been attacked.


    She thought this was all part of the Nightmare''s influence.


    ''As long as I keep looking, I will find the exit eventually!'' she thought.


    Her fingers weakly moved at the end of her motionless hands.


    The next moment, Nick retrieved a Zephyx Suppressor and put it on one of the gate guardian''s wrists.


    Next, Nick bent down and infused her with a bit of his Zephyx.


    This started the gate guardian''s Zephyx production again and restored her vital functions, but the Zephyx Suppressor stopped her from being able to use any of it.


    In effect, she was just a tiny bit stronger than a normal human right now.


    Nick grabbed her neck, taking special care to not break it.


    Then, he dragged her to the trapdoor and opened it.


    The gate guardian was pulled out of the Nightmare''s influence, and she came back to reality.


    Yet, she felt incredibly weak, and she felt an iron grip on her throat.


    Immediately, she tried to escape and use her abilities, but nothing happened.


    Her eyes quickly fell to her wrist, and she saw the Zephyx Suppressor.


    Panic set in.


    She didn''t know who was dragging her along, and she wanted to scream.


    But nothing came out.


    She felt herself getting dragged to the exit of her house.


    Then, towards the exit of the upperyer.


    "Nick!"


    The Governor''s voice!


    When the gate guardian heard the Liaison''s name, she became shocked and even more terrified.


    Was the Liaison currently dragging her behind him?!


    "I dealt with it," Nick said with barely contained hatred.


    "Susan?!" Aria asked in shock as she saw the gate guardian, who couldn''t answer.


    "It was a Peak Expert with a sniper," Nick said. "He ran towards this ce. The two talked, and she killed him to keep her identity secret."


    "I took care of her."


    Then, the gate guardian felt herself being dragged some more.


    "Where are you going?" Aria asked.


    "Information gathering," Nick answered, not stopping.


    The gate guardian saw the eyes of the people living in the upperyer falling onto her in shock.


    "Get the guards here," Nick said. "Lock everyone on thisyer in their houses and make sure nobody escapes. I''ll be back within a day."


    Aria looked with furrowed brows at Nick.


    "Alright," she answered.


    When the few people involved in the assassination attempt saw the gate guardian being dragged behind Nick, they felt like the world was ending.


    This was it.


    It was over!


    It was all over!


    Theirst, desperate n had failed!


    Nick didn''t pay them any attention and dragged the gate guardian towards Sky Dream.


    When the Extractors of Sky Dream saw Nick, they breathed a sigh of relief.


    Their Boss was still alive!


    "Get Jenny," Nickmanded as he walked into Sky Dream.


    Several Extractors followed Nick and asked him if he was alright, but Nick just gave them curt answers without stopping.


    "Boss!" Jenny shouted as she arrived in front of Nick.


    "Follow me," Nick said.


    "S-sure!" Jenny answered.


    The gate guardian tried everything to escape, but there was nothing she could do.


    She felt herself being pulled into a Containment Unit before being thrown onto the ground.


    She quickly looked around, and she immediately saw something in front of her.


    It was an owl that was as big as a man!


    Naturally, this was the Dreamer, and it had grown quite a bit over the years.


    "Put her to sleep," Nick ordered. "You get to keep 100% of all the Zephyx you get out of her."


    "She''s a criminal."


    "I want her to suffer as much as possible."


    "But I also need information."


    "Make her dream about important information. Jenny is going to look through her dreams while that is happening."


    The gate guardian''s mind fell apart.


    She couldn''t process anything anymore.


    CRK!


    The Dreamer stepped forward and grabbed her shoulder with its talons.


    Then, it forced her to look into its eyes.


    Since the gate guardian didn''t have any Zephyx avable, she couldn''t even attempt to resist the Dreamer''s influence.


    Naturally, the Dreamer was more than happy to do this.


    It got to use its ability on a Specialist, and it got to keep all the Zephyx!


    Great!


    On the side, a random Extractor opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.


    "Did eight hours already pass?" he asked in confusion as he looked at the people inside the Containment Unit.


    Jenny just ushered him out of the room beforeing back into the room.


    Then, she took a deep breath.


    Her ability had rarely been useful.


    But now, she could finally make use of it!

 Chapter 520 – No Resistance

    Chapter 520 ¨C No Resistance


    Jenny puked.


    "I said, focus on information gathering," Nick said with a cold voice to the Dreamer. "You can have your torture after we''re done."


    This was the second time Jenny had puked while inspecting the gate guardian''s dreams.


    "I don''t want this to happen a third time," Nick said with a serious tone.


    The Dreamer didn''t acknowledge Nick''s words, but Nick could see that Jenny was calming down.


    "Just make her go through thest month of her life. She nned the assassination attempt, and I''m sure that she had aplices. I need to know who they are."


    Nick waited at the side.


    An hour passed, and Nick was getting impatient.


    Finally, Jenny pulled her hands back from the gate guardian''s head, and she released a shaky breath.


    "I got it," she said with difficulty.


    "Good work," Nick said.


    Then, he turned to the Dreamer. "Now, you can do whatever you want with it. Just make sure that she doesn''t get rid of her hand. If she does, she can regenerate her Zephyx, and I''m certain that she will kill you first if that happens."


    The Dreamer didn''t seem to react, but a couple of secondster, it moved one of its talons to the gate guardian''s arm and stepped on it.


    "Since we can''t have you do this forever and stop all Zephyx production, you get one month or until you kill her. That should be more than enough," Nick said.


    For the first time, the Dreamer looked at Nick.


    It probably was annoyed, but that was only a guess.


    The next moment, Nick walked out, and Jenny followed after him.


    The two of them went past a couple of Extractors and entered Jenny''s office.


    Nick waited for Jenny to calm down.


    "I don''t have the names," Jenny said, "but I know their faces and what they do roughly. As long as I see them face to face, I will recognize them."


    Nick nodded. "That can be arranged."


    The next moment, Nick asked some of Sky Dream''s Extractors to get some kind of cloak that could keep Jenny''s identity a secret.


    Nick did not want Jenny''s identity to be public while she was identifying people in the upperyer.


    Some minutester, the two of them left Sky Dream and walked towards the upperyer.


    As soon as they reached the entrance, they saw six Veterans guarding it.


    "Liaison! d that you are alive!" the leader of the guards said with a salute.


    "How''s the situation?" Nick asked evenly.


    "All the citizens have been put into their houses. Several guards are patrolling the upperyer, and every citizen found outside their home will be apprehended. There have been no arrests so far," the guard reported.


    Nick nodded and walked past the guards.


    The guards threw interested nces at the cloaked person following Nick.


    They had never seen this person before.


    Who was that?


    "We''re not changing our clothes," Nick said, walking through the locker room.


    "We have to change our clothes?" Jenny asked. "I mean, usually."


    "Usually, yes," Nick said, opening the door to the upperyer.


    Jenny had never been to the upperyer before, and when she saw the green paradise, she became shocked.


    She had imagined many things, but she couldn''t have imagined that.


    It looked so¡­ peaceful.


    It looked nice.


    It was beautiful.


    "Did you get the names?"


    Aria arrived in front of Nick and Jenny.


    "No names, but faces and auras," Nick answered. "She can recognize them."


    Nick gestured to Jenny, who looked at Aria.


    Aria furrowed her brows.


    "Who''s that?" she asked.


    "One of Sky Dream''s team leaders, Jenny. She has the Dreamer''s ability and can look through dreams. I put the woman under the Dreamer''s influence and had her read her dreams."


    Aria raised an eyebrow.


    This ability might not be useful in battle, but for investigations, it was extremely useful.


    She didn''t know that Sky Dream had such a good information gatherer.


    "What about Susan?" Aria asked.


    "The Dreamer gets to have its fun with her for the next month. If she''s still alive by then, we''ll execute her," Nick said.


    Aria frowned a bit.


    She preferred clean executions.


    However, she realized that she would also be quite angry if someone tried to assassinate her.


    So, she didn''tment on it.


    "We''re going through all the households and have them introduce themselves to Jenny. Anyone she says is guilty will be executed," Nick said coldly.


    Aria took a deep breath and stepped to the side.


    ''Seems like more people will die,'' Aria thought as she watched Nick and Jenny walk past her.


    Just to make sure that nothing happened to Nick, Aria ordered a couple of guards to protect him.


    In the end, Nick, Jenny, and five Experts were walking towards the first house.


    Nick took out a city register and loudly knocked on the door.


    "All members of the household,e out and identify yourselves," Nick shouted.


    Half a minuteter, the door slowly opened, and Nick saw a man with a wife and three children.


    "Liaison," the man nervously greeted.


    "Names," Nick ordered.


    "Jerry Hendren," the man said before looking at his wife.


    "Lena Hendren," the wife answered with a shaky breath.


    Then, she gestured to her three children and said their names.


    Nick marked the people he had talked to in his register and looked at Jenny.


    "Not involved," she said.


    Nick nodded and turned back to the family. "You can go back inside. You''re free toe out of your houses tomorrow."


    When Nick said that, the entire family released sighs of relief, and the wife even copsed onto her knees.


    She had never been so afraid in her life.


    Nick closed the door and walked to the next home. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "What will happen to the guilty ones?" Jenny asked.


    "The one directly involved will be executed and all their assets seized. Their spouses will be sent without belongings to the Outer City. Any children will be put into orphanages in the loweryer for now. If the remaining spouse can prove that they managed to earn enough money to take care of the children, they can request to get custody back," Nick exined.


    Jenny took a deep breath.


    "Why punish the spouses?" she asked.


    "It''s not exactly punishment. Most of the time, it''s one of the two spouses who earns all the money, while the other one is just along for the ride. If the spouse earns enough to remain in the upperyer or anywhere else in the Inner City, they will not be thrown out."


    "This is simply a consequence of relying on the wrong person. If a Manufacturer goes bankrupt, all their Extractors lose their jobs. It''s just how things are," Nick exined.


    Jenny didn''t answer.


    She didn''t like destroying the lives of innocent people.


    However, corrupt criminals needed to be apprehended.


    As someone also born in the Dregs, Jenny also had some dislike for the people in the upperyer, but her dislike couldn''t bepared to Nick''s undying hatred.


    The next three houses were clean.


    But when they arrived at the fifth house, things became different.


    As soon as the door opened, Jenny focused on the man inside the house.


    "That''s one of them," Jenny said.


    The man became terrified. "W-what? I didn''t do anything!" he shouted.


    His family became terrified.


    "Take him to a cell," Nick ordered.


    One of the guards walked forward and apprehended the man.


    There was a lot of crying and shouting from the family, but they couldn''t stop the arrest.


    In the end, Nick looked at the family. "Someone wille to talk about your futures in the next couple of days," he said evenly before closing the door.


    Over the next two hours, Jenny and Nick visited every household.


    In the end, 18 people had been apprehended.


    Finally, in the evening, the guards announced that everyone was free to move again and left the upperyer.


    Yet, not many people left their houses.


    The mood could only be described with the words despair and defeat.


    It was over.


    There was nothing they could do anymore.


    Nick had won against the upperyer.


    There was no one left who dared to oppose him.


    However, just to make sure that the upperyer got the point, he called one member of every household of the upperyer to an open za behind the building that had once belonged to Anatomy.


    Everyone was gathered there.


    There was not a single person that wasn''t nervous.


    In the end, the 18 people Nick had apprehended a couple days ago were led to the za.


    Nick also arrived, and he pulled one of the criminals with him to the front.


    "This is what happens to people that resist Aegis," Nick said coldly.


    Then, he grabbed the neck of one of the criminals, lifted them into the air, and squeezed.


    The man couldn''t breathe anymore, and he started to kick around.


    However, Nick just ignored him.


    Nick choked the man for five entire minutes before casually breaking his neck.


    The people in attendance were absolutely terrified.


    Nick looked at them.


    He saw defeat.


    No one from the upperyer would oppose him again.


    Then, Nick grabbed the second prisoner.


    17 more to go.

 Chapter 521 – The Yearly Meeting Starts

    Chapter 521 ¨C The Yearly Meeting Starts


    90 minutester, Nick was done with strangling the life out of thest criminal.


    He turned to the watching people for onest time.


    "Aegis above everything else," Nick stated before walking away.


    Silence.


    "Aegis above everything else."


    Nick nced back at someone in the audience, who had just echoed his words.


    As soon as Nick looked at him, the man became scared.


    However, Nick just nodded and continued walking.


    "Aegis above everything else," another person echoed.


    "Yes, Aegis above everything else," a third person said.


    One by one, more and more people shouted that.


    After ten people had shouted it, everyone else joined in.


    A very small number of the present people actually believed Nick.


    However, they were probably only in the single digits.


    The others only joined in out of fear.


    They wanted to seem supportive of the government because they feared they would be next if they didn''t echo the sentiment.


    Nick had not nned for this to happen, but he also wasn''t against it.


    By the end, everyone had spoken that phrase at least once.


    Nick just nodded with respect at the present people before leaving.


    One of the guards stepped forward. "Everyone is allowed to leave!" he shouted.


    Slowly, one by one, the people left.


    It was done.


    The upperyer had beenpletely broken down.


    Even if Kugelblitz asked for support, the vast majority wouldn''t even dare to talk to them.


    Nick had thoroughly intimidated them.


    These were not young and idealistic people with the aim of changing the world.


    These were old and realistic people.


    They would never risk their lives for an idealistic goal.


    As long as they could keep living in the upperyer, they could deal with things.


    It was not as good for them as in the past, but they hadn''t truly lost anything too important, except for the few who had their spouses arrested or executed.


    As long as they didn''t go against the government, they could continue living in their little paradise while having a happy little family.


    A couple of weeks passed.


    Nick received a report that the Dreamer had killed the gate guardian.


    The corpse was fed to one of the city''s Specters.


    This corpse would give a lot of Zephyx.


    And then, it was time for the yearly meeting between the Manufacturers.


    The meeting was held within the new city headquarters.


    The meeting was no longer held in one of the Manufacturers'' buildings.


    Everyone gathered in the meeting room.


    "Are you prepared?" Aria asked Nick inside his office.


    "Yes," Nick said after he stood up.


    "This won''t be easy," she said. "With today''s announcement, you will make Kugelblitz your enemy."


    "I know," Nick said.


    Aria watched as Nick walked by her.


    "Why are you doing this?" Aria suddenly asked.


    "Do what?" Nick asked evenly.


    "Go so far. You will make an enemy of 18 Specialists and two Heroes. Any single one of them can kill you," Aria answered.


    "I have no other way," Nick said.


    "Yes, you do," Aria said. "You can change the policies more gradually. You don''t need to do all of this at once. You are putting yourself in unnecessary danger."


    "I am already doing it gradually," Nick answered.


    Aria''s eyebrows shot up in skepticism.


    "Aria, have you ever been in the Dregs?" Nick asked.


    "A couple of times, but not very often or long," Aria answered.


    "Every day, there are people that unwillingly sell their bodies for money. Either for themselves or for their children."


    "Every day, there is a robbery."


    "Every week, there is a murder."


    "Every week I wait is one more murder and many more crimes," Nick said.


    "Then, just increase the guard presence there," Aria suggested.


    "That would cause even more death," Nick said. "The people in the Dregs do these things to survive. If I suddenly send guards there to stop the crime, many people will die, even though they are only trying to survive."


    "The Dregs are not like the upperyer where everyone has so much to spare."


    "The Dregs are filled with poor people that have a hefty tax of 120 credits to pay every month. It is almost impossible to get such arge sum legally."


    "Forcing them to get such a sum legally means telling them to die."


    "If I''m not going to stand up for them, nobody will."


    "When I still lived in the Dregs, I hated all the rich and powerful people in the city."


    "I had to suffer in this poverty and had to do unspeakable acts to survive."


    "Yet, all the powerful people didn''t do anything."


    "Why do parents protect their children? It''s because they love their children and because their children are weak."


    "If their children were powerful, the parents wouldn''t need to protect them anymore."


    "People can be self-sacrificing for their loved ones, but they can''t do that for everyone else."


    "However, if everyone is self-sacrificing, everyone would have it much easier."


    "But that''s impossible," Nick added. "Everyone will always only look out for themselves and their loved ones."


    "Leaving it up to them will only end in the selfish ones taking advantage of the selfless ones, destroying all the selfless ones, while the selfish ones thrive."


    "Because of that, I have to force everyone into this mindset."


    "I can''t change the intent behind their actions, but I can change their actions, which will result in the same thing."


    "I am now one of the powerful ones, and I have the power to change things."


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    "I have to do it."


    "If I don''t do this, I will be what I have always despised."


    Then, Nick walked out of the door.


    Aria looked after him. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''Bing what you always despised,'' Aria repeated in her mind.


    Memories shot through Aria''s mind of when she had been young and idealistic.


    She also wanted to help the people.


    But then, she became too busy with work, and eventually, she had forgotten all about that.


    She had just be like everyone else.


    Just living her life.


    ''If he doesn''t do it, nobody will.''


    ''If he doesn''t change things, there will be no change.''


    Aria took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes.


    ''What am I doing? I''m the most powerful person inside the city and the Governor!''


    ''What Nick is doing should be my job!''


    ''I should be the one that''s supposed to change Crimson City for the better!''


    Deep inside, Aria felt inadequate.


    She was so much more powerful than Nick, but she hadn''t dared to risk her own life while he, an Initial Expert, did so.


    ''I will help him!'' Aria thought. ''He has done so much for the city, but now, he''s going against Kugelblitz!''


    ''Without my help, he will die, and the city will return to its old self!''


    Aria looked at the open door with determination.


    ''It''s time to put my life on the line as well!''


    Then, Aria left the office.


    She quickly caught up with Nick, and the two of them entered the big meeting room.


    When Nick entered, he saw twelve people.


    Six CEOs and six CZEs.


    The representation from the weaker ces was no longer here.


    Their presence had been a farce anyway.


    Everyone respectfully greeted Nick.


    The people from the three new Manufacturers with Experts.


    Hera and Ramona.


    Mindy and Cindy Wunder.


    Vanessa and Jornis from Kugelblitz.


    Nick greeted them back and sat down at the head of the big table.


    Aria sat down beside him.


    Vanessa nced at Aria with interest.


    ''She seems different,'' she thought.


    Vanessa wasn''t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.


    Nick looked around the table.


    "The yearly meeting between Manufacturers is now in session," he said.


    Everyone paid attention and listened to Nick.


    "There will be one major change and a couple of very minor changes."


    When the present people heard that, they became nervous.


    By now, they had learned that Nick was not afraid ofpletely changing the way the city operated.


    Just by changing the taxes, he had changed the way all Manufacturers operated drastically.


    Even more, he hadpletely tamed the Specter cave that was the upperyer.


    None of the Manufacturers believed that they had a chance against the government if even the entire upperyer had failed.


    Except Kugelblitz, of course.


    Everyone, except Kugelblitz, didn''t even dare to think about resisting Nick.


    "Since the major change will require the greatest amount of consideration, we will start with the minor changes first," Nick said.


    Over the next 30 minutes, Nick talked about some minor matters.


    A couple of small amendments to the taxes that only required minor adjustments.


    Some smallws that protected themon people from the power of the Manufacturers.


    "And now, for the big matter," Nick said.


    Everyone listened to Nick.


    "The blood tax will be eradicated and will be reced by a different system," Nick said.


    When Vanessa and Jornis heard that, their heart rates spiked with anxiety and anger.


    This new system better increase their profits!


    It wouldn''t.


    Instead, it would reduce their profits drastically.

 Chapter 522 – Establishing Authority

    Chapter 522 ¨C Establishing Authority


    "What is this new system?" Jornis asked with a dark tone.


    Nick looked at Jornis without fear.


    "From now on, voluntary blood donations will be reced by mandatory blood donations," Nick said.


    When Jornis and Vanessa heard that, they were positively surprised.


    That was good, right?


    "A powerful city is not supposed to rely on its weakest members to give it stability," Nick said. "Everyone has to contribute to a powerful city."


    "The minimum monthly tax will be lowered from 120 credits to 40 credits. Payment via blood is no longer an eptable recement for the tax. Everyone has to pay the taxes via credits."


    "Additionally, the tax-free age range will be increased to 16. Anyone below 16 years of age is exempt from taxes."


    "Okay," Vanessa said with furrowed brows. "And how is the city supposed to pay its tribute to Aegis without that?"


    "That''s where the new systemes in," Nick said. "Every member of the city, without exception, will have to donate 500 ml of blood every three months as long as they are 16 or older."


    "The Dregs, the Outer City, the loweryer, the middleyer, the upperyer, the Extractors, the Governor, the Liaison, the people in this room, the guards, everyone."


    "Every single person will donate 500 ml of blood every three months."


    "No exceptions."


    The people in the room were shocked.


    The people in this room as well?


    They had to donate blood now?


    They really didn''t like that idea.


    Forcefully taking their blood sounded¡­ wrong.


    It felt like something very important to them was being taken away.


    Vanessa and Jornis did some calctions.


    That would increase the blood gained via the blood tax by over four times!


    While the volume of the blood was about the same, the quality of the blood was very different.


    After all, blood from Extractors gave much more Zephyx than blood from normal people.


    Vanessa and Jornis were happy to hear that.


    However, their happiness was short-lived as Nick continued talking.


    "It is important to note that the blood gained this way is not seen as Kugelblitz''s property. The city''sws are the ones that make it possible to gather this blood."


    "Because of that, 90% of the Zephyx produced via this way will belong to the city, and only people working for the city will be allowed to be present in the Crimson Fungus'' Containment Unit while the blood is used."


    "90%?!" Jornis shouted as he stood up.


    "Yes, 90% will belong to the city. 10% will belong to Kugelblitz since you own the Crimson Fungus," Nick repeated.


    And just like that, Kugelblitz''s profits plummeted.


    The Zephyx generated via the blood tax would halve!


    "This is uneptable!" Jornis shouted.


    "Jornis!" Aria shouted as a tremendous amount of Zephyx gathered around her.


    Jornis looked with aggression at Aria.


    "You are speaking to the Liaison!" Aria said with a threatening tone. "You will keep yourself under control! Am I understood?!"


    Jornis looked with absolute rage at Aria.


    Some tense seconds passed.


    Jornis gritted his teeth, looked away, and sat down again.


    He didn''t want to admit it, but Aria intimidated him.


    She had been his superior for decades, and Jornis knew that Aria was still much stronger than him.


    "This is reducing our profits by over 20%," Vanessa said in an angry voice to Nick.


    However, her voice was not as loud or disrespectful as Jornis'' voice.


    "The tax change has increased your profits by over 10%," Nick answered. "This just puts it a bit below the time before I took over as Liaison."


    "That doesn''t change the matter," Vanessa said. "We can''t ept this."


    "Then, change the way you operate," Nick said. "You relied on the blood tax and the blood of your own Extractors for the Crimson Fungus. The 90% for the city only counts for the new blood donation system. You are still free to gather your own blood via transactions."


    "That''s not the same," Vanessa protested. "We never needed to pay them before this. This will change everything!"


    Nick looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Every liter of blood equals almost an entire kilogram of Zephyx for you. That amounts to almost a million credits."


    "Paying someone from the Outer City 10,000 credits for a liter of blood is barely 1% of what you produce with this blood."


    "The safe limit for blood donations is one liter every two months. If we search for amon denominator, that''s three liters every six months, while the new blood donation system only takes one liter every six months. You can still get two liters out of everyone. Of course, only if they are willing to donate voluntarily," Nick exined.


    This did not help Vanessa and Jornis at all.


    In a way, this wasn''t about profit.


    This was about them needing to pay for something that they didn''t need to pay for before.


    It was very simr to when the upperyer needed to pay for their own nature preservation program.


    Essentially, the city was taking something from Kugelblitz.


    It felt like the city was stealing from them.


    Even more, the dynamic between the city and Kugelblitz was different now.


    With the old blood tax, the city was working together with Kugelblitz.


    But now, it was the city forcing Kugelblitz toply.


    Kugelblitz had seen itself as a partner or ally with the city due to the blood tax.


    Yet, with this new change, it was like the city was pushing itself upward while pulling Kugelblitz down.


    The city was clearly stating that it was superior to Kugelblitz and that Kugelblitz had to bend to its authority.


    The loss of profits was not as important as this.


    If Kugelblitz let the city get away with this change, more changes would follow, and before they knew it, Kugelblitz would be helpless in front of the city.


    They couldn''t allow that to happen!


    "We''re not epting these terms," Vanessa said.


    Nick looked evenly at Vanessa.


    "Your eptance is not relevant in this matter," Nick said.


    Vanessa''s rage exploded, and she red at Nick as Zephyx gathered around her.


    At that moment, Aria stood up and pushed Nick behind her.


    Nick was a bit surprised by Aria''s action, but he didn''t let it show on his face.


    Jornis stood up and also gathered his Zephyx.


    The people in the room became nervous, stood up, and retreated to the door.


    They didn''t want to be anywhere near the parties if a fight suddenly broke out.


    Vanessa and Jornis red at Aria, who looked back with narrowed eyes.


    "Do you really want to do this?" Vanessa asked with a threatening tone. "You don''t know what has changed in thest 18 months."


    "You think I don''t know about Libran?" Aria asked. "I already know of her advancement."


    Vanessa became shocked, but she didn''t let it show.


    "Then, you know that we have three Heroes now," Vanessa said.


    "While you are alone."


    Aria didn''t falter. "I am not alone."


    "I have Aegis behind me," Aria said. "And while they can''t save my life¡­"


    "They can avenge me," she said with narrowed eyes.


    Vanessa gritted her teeth.


    "And even if I were alone," Aria continued.


    "I would still be standing here."


    Vanessa''s eyes narrowed even more as her fury reached new heights.


    She nced at Jornis, who seemed about ready to attack.


    She looked back at Aria.


    They should be able to win¡­


    But it was risky.


    Extremely risky.


    The battle was risky, and the aftermath would be even riskier.


    She wanted to do nothing but attack¡­


    But her rationality stopped her from doing it.


    "This is not the end," Vanessa said as she gestured for Jornis to leave.


    The two of them pulled their Zephyx back and walked towards the door.


    "The meeting isn''t over yet," Nick said, stepping out from behind Aria. "You are not permitted to leave yet."


    The two from Kugelblitz looked at Nick with unending fury.


    "Shut up!" Jornis shouted. "If you weren''t hiding behind a woman like a child, you would be dead right now!"


    Aria became furious.


    "I''m not hiding behind a woman," Nick spoke calmly but with authority. "I''m hiding behind a Hero working for Aegis."


    "I will happily forward your words to Simon Francium, who works under a female Justiciar, who works under the Left Arm," Nick said. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Your insult only works on insecure people."


    "Now, sit back down. The meeting isn''t over," Nickmanded.


    Now, it became clear.


    The city was demonstrating its authority over Kugelblitz.


    Nick wasn''t even allowing them to leave with some dignity.


    This was a humiliation!


    "Make it quick," Vanessa said with annoyance as she went back to her chair.


    Jornis followed unwillingly.


    The other people in the room also sat back down again.


    "Now, are there any matters that need addressing from your side?" Nick asked the people in the meeting.


    "No," Vanessa answered with a dark voice.


    Nick''s eyes went to Gemini.


    "No," Mindy said with nervousness.


    Gemini wanted to address something, but they didn''t dare to be the reason why Kugelblitz had to remain in here for another second.


    Within less than a minute, the meeting was over since nobody dared to talk about anything.


    "Then, the meeting is concluded," Nick said as he stood up and walked to the door.


    Aria walked after him, not looking at Jornis or Vanessa.


    Vanessa and Jornis looked as the two of them left.


    There was a dark glint in their eyes.

 Chapter 523 – Sharing a Life

    Chapter 523 ¨C Sharing a Life


    "Why did you do that?" Aria asked after the two of them arrived back in his office.


    "Do what?" Nick asked.


    "Antagonize Kugelblitz," she said with annoyance. "They already got the message. You didn''t need to humiliate them any further by forcing them to stay there."


    "I already told you," Nick said. "I have no way back. Even if you didn''t support me, I would have acted the same way."


    "Why?" Aria asked with furrowed brows. "You''re killing yourself!"


    "I have to," Nick answered with annoyance. "Aegis is the only thing protecting me and the only reason why I have any authority to begin with. If I take a step back, it would be equivalent to Aegis taking a step back."


    "Kugelblitz is not the ruler of the city. Aegis is."


    "If I step back in such a situation, I wouldn''t be any different from that coward Markus," Nick said with disgust.


    Aria was a bit surprised to see Nick genuinely annoyed.


    She rarely saw him annoyed.


    Then, she realized why Nick was annoyed.


    While Nick had defended his conduct, Jornis''ment still hit Nick.


    It didn''t matter that what Nick had said was true.


    Just based on instinct and evolution, almost every man had some inherent pride, and hiding behind a woman was always humiliating.


    This didn''t have anything to do with logic.


    This was a purely emotional issue.


    Even though it made logical sense, one''s emotions would still act up.


    "I would have done the same thing without your support," Nick said.


    "Then, you would have died," Aria said.


    "And if that had happened, they would die to Aegis. In the end, you would be the only hero left in Crimson City, and you would have full control," Nick said.


    "Is this really so important to you?" Aria asked. "Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the city?"


    "I have to," Nick said. "I have to put my life on the line. I have done terrible things in the past, and my only goal in life is to redeem myself."


    "I can''t bring back the people I have killed. The only thing I can do is improve the lives of as many people as possible."


    "And if I die trying, at least I can be happy with myself."


    "Also," Nick said, his voice much more casual, "it wasn''t certain that they would have killed me. The fact that they released their Zephyx and threatened me is a good indication."


    "It''s possible that they would have killed me, but you never know how humans will react when a life-changing decision is actually in front of them."


    "Was their anger so great that they would kill themselves to kill me?"


    "It''s possible, but I don''t think so," Nick said.


    Aria took a deep breath.


    Naturally, what Nick did was still extremely risky.


    Aria had worked with Nick for 18 months, and even though Nick had said something like this many times, Aria only understood what all of this meant at that moment.


    ''Many people hate Nick, but in this world, there is nobody that hates him more than himself,'' Aria thought.


    Of course, Aria still despised the things Nick had done in the past.


    And yet, she also felt pity for him.


    Was there really a reason for him to hate himself that much?


    "I will support you," Aria said.


    Nick looked at Aria.


    "I''m willing to also bet my life," she said. "I have seen what you have done for the city, and the meeting today was the most dangerous and important part of all of the nned policies."


    "And you still went through with it."


    "You said you would bet with your life, and you did just that."


    "I can admire that."


    "I watched from the sidelines for long enough."


    "It''s time for me to do my job and make this city a better ce for everyone," Aria said with conviction.


    Nick didn''t feel any falsehood from Aria.


    Yet, it was still very difficult for him to believe.


    While Nick had seen people in Aegis who shared part of his ideology, he didn''t remember seeing anyone who was willing to risk their life for their belief.


    This was the first time Nick saw this in somebody else.


    ''While she has probably done many despicable things as Kugelblitz''s Chief Zephyx Extractor, I doubt it canpare to the things I have done,'' Nick thought.


    "Thank you," Nick said with a sigh, "but there''s no need. I appreciate your support, but you don''t need to jump into the fire with me."


    "Why not?" Aria asked. "I''m powerful, am I not? Is it not my duty to risk my life for the weak people? Why do you need to risk your life while I can''t?"


    Nick didn''t like what he was hearing, but he didn''t find a logical argument to counter her words.


    ''Why do I not want that?'' Nick thought. ''This is what I always wanted from the powerful.''


    ''But as soon as she said that, I don''t want her to do it.''


    After a couple of seconds of thinking, Nick could onlye up with one answer.


    ''Is it because I don''t want to see her die?''


    Nick looked at Aria, who was still waiting for an answer.


    Nick thought about Aria risking her life in a fight against Kugelblitz.


    ''I don''t want that to happen.''


    ''But that is a possible risk if I want this city to be a better ce.''


    ''The Governor is supposed to keep the city in check, and Aria is Crimson City''s Governor.''


    ''She epted the job, and she has to do it.''


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    "Fine," he said in a tone that showed that he wasn''t happy. "We are in this together. If you are willing, we will share a life until death!"


    Aria was taken aback and looked at Nick in surprise.


    Then, Nick realized what he had just said. "Oh, sorry, this came out the wrong way. You know what I mean, right?"


    For the first time in over a decade, Aria saw Nick''s flustered side again.


    Aria couldn''t help butugh a little. "I understand," she answered.


    Nick sighed and moved the cor of his uniform a bit like he had been sweating.


    Saying that sentence had destabilized his demeanor more than enforcing his authority on two Heroes.


    "Anyway," Nick said after a couple of seconds, "we should get back to work."


    Aria nodded.


    One monthter, the new blood donation system was put into effect.


    When the citizens heard about the change, they became infuriated.


    They had to pay with their blood now?!


    Most of the businesses of the middleyer, loweryer, and the Outer City banded together to n a protest.


    However, that protest never took form.


    The reason was that every single member of the upperyer had declined to take part in it.


    As soon as any of them had heard of the protest, they had metaphorically run away with their tail between their legs.


    Not many people from the otheryers had heard of what had happened in the upperyer over thest year.


    When not even a single person of the upperyer dared to utter their support, the entire protest broke down.


    The upperyer owned over 90% of the economy, excluding Manufacturers.


    Even if every single member of the otheryers and the Outer City protested, it would only have a minor effect on the economy.


    Additionally, some people who tried to protest on their own were very quickly arrested by the guards.


    Some of them returned several dayster and gave up all resistance.


    Some of them never returned at all.


    While the people with disposable ieined, the people of the Dregs felt like they had entered a dream.


    40 credits?


    Only 40 credits?


    That was still a big sum, but it was possible to get that amount.


    Especially with the falling prices of food and clean water.


    For some reason, there was just much more food being produced, which reduced the price a lot.


    With the addition of the new blood donation system, the guard presence in the Outer City and the Dregs was increased severalfold!


    Usually, the collective Dregs saw only one guard per day.


    Now, every member of the Dregs saw at least five guards per day.


    With the increased guard presence, the gangs began to have huge issues.


    Especially since the guards were all Extractors with supernatural senses.


    Many people were arrested during the first couple of days. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    And then¡­


    Nothing.


    People realized thatmitting crimes was no longer easy.


    Even more, the necessity ofmitting crimes was no longer overpowering.


    Sure, some people whopletely relied on crimes had it worse now, but the lives of the majority of people had be better.


    While all of this was going on, Mr. Zero became very active in the upperyer.


    Mr. Zero had kept himself back since Kugelblitz didn''t have an issue with the government up to this point.


    But now, Kugelblitz was very unhappy, and it wanted to use the upperyer to put pressure on the government.


    Yet, Kugelblitz had a rude awakening.


    Everyone who had belonged to their shady groups had either been executed or didn''t dare to talk to them.


    After an entire month of trying to gain allies, Kugelblitz had only gained a single pensive ally, who was ready to jump ship as soon as anything risky happened.


    There was no one who would help Mr. Zero.


    Kugelblitz had not stood up for the upperyer when the government wasing for them.


    And when the government wasing for Kugelblitz, no one was left to stand up for them.


    The other Manufacturers were too scared by both sides to get involved.


    Kugelblitz was alone.


    Completely alone.


    Against Crimson City.


    Against the government.


    Against Aegis.


    Against Aria.


    Against Nick.

 Chapter 524 – Taking a Bit of Blood

    Chapter 524 ¨C Taking a Bit of Blood


    Another month passed, and the new blood donation system had already been in effect for an entire month.


    Due to the physical weakness of the people of the Dregs, they would be thest ones to donate their blood.


    The Inner City would be the first ones to donate, and they donated their blood during this month.


    The next month, the Extractors would donate their blood.


    And in thest month, the Outer City, including the Dregs, would donate their blood.


    After that, it would cycle from the beginning again.


    Naturally, the people of the Inner City and also the Extractors were not happy about having to donate blood at all, but there wasn''t anything they could do about it.


    The government was in full control, and the citizens could onlyply. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    However, Kugelblitz was the angriest about all of this.


    Naturally, they also used the blood of their Extractors to feed the Crimson Fungus.


    Yet, with the new system, they had to give their Extractors a pause so that they could donate their blood, lowering their profits.


    The Specialists of Kugelblitz mostly didn''t care.


    They had to donate blood almost daily to the Crimson Fungus.


    This wasn''t anything new to them.


    But the two Heroes from Kugelblitz were not happy at all.


    They felt suppressed by the city, which was a new thing for them.


    As soon as the new blood donation system took effect, four Experts from the city guards were sent to stand guard over the entrance to the Crimson Fungus'' Containment Unit.


    Kugelblitz hated that!


    Guards were stationed inside their building!


    This was their building!


    Naturally, due to the high risk of having to stand guard in front of the Crimson Fungus, the four Experts were appropriately reimbursed, and they also received offers to guarantee their survival and that of their families if Kugelblitz ever tried anything.


    And one monthter, when the blood of the Extractors was collected and delivered, all of this paid off.


    Jornis tried to subtly intimidate the guards so that he could stand near the Crimson Fungus while the first batch of blood was being poured in.


    Naturally, the Experts were scared, and they allowed him to go inside and do just that.


    However, as soon as their shifts ended, one of them filed a report with the city about what had happened.


    Aria immediately ordered a protective order on the four guards and their families.


    They wouldn''t allow loyal guards to suffer under the hands of Kugelblitz.


    "It was 30 liters," Aria told Nick. "Apparently, there was a small¡­ mistake¡­ in the numbers for the collected blood, and these 30 liters wouldn''t have been noticed without the reports from the Experts. Without the guards, Jornis would have gotten away."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "They want to test the boundaries. If they can get away with this bit of blood, they will be more and more daring."


    "We can''t allow them to do that," Nick said as he stood up from his chair. "I''m going to deal with this."


    "No," Aria said.


    Nick looked at Aria with furrowed brows.


    "I''m going to deal with this," Aria added with narrowed eyes.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    "I know that you are very powerful," Aria said. "You even managed to overwhelm the gate guardian."


    "However, I also know that you most likely can''t directly fight someone like that. You probably have to use many things to your advantage."


    "But as long as you are inside Kugelblitz, you don''t have ess to these advantages."


    Aria took a deep breath.


    "I can''t risk your death, and I think it''s high time for me to do my job. I am going to talk to Vanessa. I''m going to deal with this," Aria said with conviction.


    Nick remained silent for a couple of seconds as he weighed his options.


    "Are you sure you can do this alone?" Nick asked.


    Aria frowned. "Nick, I''m several times your age and several times more powerful. Your worry is appreciated but not necessary."


    "Well," Nick answered, "Markus was also as strong as you, and he couldn''t contend with Kugelblitz."


    At that moment, the atmosphere became tense.


    "Don''tpare me to that coward!" Aria spoke loudly, her annoyance very apparent. "I''m not like him. Have you already forgotten? We share a life now. I''m willing to risk my life for the city. Markus was not."


    Nick was reminded of his blunder in his conversation with Aria.


    However, he understood what Aria meant and nodded. "Fine. I trust you."


    Then, he sat back down.


    Aria smiled with confidence and a bit of arrogance. "No worries. I''m going to make sure this is not going to happen again."


    "You dealt with the upperyer, the middleyer, the criminals, the taxes, the Dregs, and the smaller Manufacturers. All of this was your doing, and I was just along for the ride."


    Aria narrowed her eyes, and her tone became darker. "Let Kugelblitz be my problem. I''m going to deal with them."


    Nick nodded. "Okay. I''ll leave it up to you."


    Aria nodded back and left the office.


    After Aria left, Nick sighed.


    ''I''m not used to getting this much help. I usually have to do everything myself if I want it to work out.''


    As he thought about Aria, Nick started to feel much calmer.


    Nick felt like, if he were to fall, there would be somebody there to catch him.


    He didn''t have to shoulder all the responsibility by himself any longer.


    A very powerful person was there to support him.


    ''I should trust her and give her the same support she''s been giving me.''


    After finally realizing that he had some support, Nick''s chest began to feel heavy and tense.


    It was like his body finally dared to rx after years of stress, and all the umted stress and damage came to the front.


    Humans, even Extractors, were not built to deal with this much stress for an entire lifetime.


    Humans were not meant to work alone.


    Humans could live on their own, but they needed support during the darkest times.


    ''I don''t have time for this right now,'' Nick thought as he suppressed all the negative feelings back into their cages.


    ''I have to be strong. If I''m not strong, the city won''t improve any longer.''


    So, Nick went back to work.


    Meanwhile, Aria made her way to Kugelblitz.


    As soon as she reached the entrance, she saw a couple of normal citizens guarding the entrance.


    Naturally, the city would no longer guard Kugelblitz''s entrance, and since Kugelblitz had gotten rid of every Extractor weaker than a Specialist, they were now stuck with normal people when it came to guarding their building.


    Technically, they didn''t need to guard their building.


    No sane person would break into this ce.


    The guards were more for appearance.


    When the guards saw the Governor, they became nervous.


    "Greetings, Governor. How can we help you?" the leader of the guards asked.


    "I need to talk to the CEO. It''s urgent," Aria spoke evenly.


    "Of course," the leader of the guards said. "I''m going to contact her right away. Please, wait here."


    Aria did just that, and the leader of the guards ran inside to contact the CEO.


    A couple minutester, the leader came back out. "Miss Korint is ready to see you in her office. Please, follow me."


    "Thank you," Aria said.


    The two of them walked into the building, and the leader of the guards led her to the highest floor.


    The leader stopped beside the door and gestured for Aria to enter.


    "I''m going to wait here," the leader said politely.


    Naturally, if Aria decided to cause some chaos, this man would be helpless to do anything.


    But that wasn''t the point.


    The point was to demonstrate that Aria was an outsider.


    This was to show that she couldn''t walk into Kugelblitz just like that.


    Aria immediately opened the door and stepped inside before closing the door behind her.


    "Greetings, Governor," Vanessa spoke with a distant and cold tone. "In the future, I would prefer if you could knock."


    Vanessa seemed confident and apathetic towards Aria.


    It was like she was talking to a stranger.


    Aria didn''t answer and just looked at Vanessa.


    The next moment, rage appeared inside Aria''s chest.


    Kugelblitz!


    Under Nick''s rule, the lives of the people in the city were improving!


    He was dealing with crime!


    He was dealing with the poor people!


    He dealt with the upperyer!


    He dealt with the False News!


    The city was improving!


    It was growing!


    And most importantly, its affluence no longer relied on the misery of its weakest citizens.


    Now, everyone had an opportunity to grow!


    The Dregs were no longer preupied with having to get this ridiculous sum of money every month.


    They finally had the time to actually work through their issues and to look for better opportunities.


    They were no longer stuck in an endless cycle of misery.


    They got a chance to improve their lives!


    But Kugelblitz!


    This greedy fuckingpany!


    Kugelblitz tried to stop the city from improving just so that they could have another bar of gold on their golden mountain!


    Aria was done!


    She was fucking done!

 Chapter 525 – Angry Aria

    Chapter 525 ¨C Angry Aria


    "Vanessa," Aria said with a dark voice.


    "I don''t feelfortable using first names any-"


    "I''m not up for your games, Vanessa," Aria said with a seething voice as she narrowed her eyes.


    Vanessa could feel the rageing from Aria, and that was definitely not amon thing.


    Aria was always very approachable and had herself under control.


    Vanessa wasn''t sure if she had ever seen Aria this angry.


    Vanessa also narrowed her eyes. "This is not a game. Our rtionship is different-"


    BANG!


    Aria waved her hand, and the furniture of the entire office was thrown towards the wall.


    "I''m done with you!" Aria said in a dark and threatening voice as she approached.


    Naturally, Vanessa jumped to her feet and became ready to fight.


    However, she was still very nervous deep inside.


    She had always looked up to Aria as a person and as a boss.


    Seeing her this angry intimidated her quite a bit.


    "We want to make this city better! Do you not understand that?!" Aria shouted as she stepped closer.


    "Nick wants to improve this city! Nick wants to make this city better for Aegis!"


    "Kugelblitz is not the leader of the city!"


    "Nick is!"


    "He might not have the physical power, but he has the intelligence and dedication! As a mere Initial Expert, he is willing to put his life on the line against several Heroes!"


    At that moment, Vanessa summoned her sniper rifle and pointed it at Aria.


    Aria stopped advancing, but her rage only increased.


    "If you dare to take a shot, I will kill you right this instant," she spoke in the darkest and most threatening tone imaginable.


    Even though Vanessa was intimidated, her arms were steady as she looked at Aria through her scope.


    "Don''te any closer!" Vanessa ordered.


    Aria looked at her with narrowed eyes.


    "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn''t slowly walk up to you like this," Aria said in a dark tone.


    "I am here to issue a warning."


    "Jornis has taken 30 liters of blood that didn''t belong to Kugelblitz and used it to work with the Crimson Fungus."


    "This is a break in our agreement, and I have all the authority to issue a hefty fine on Kugelblitz for that."


    "Instead, I am here to tell you about the facts."


    Aria took another step closer.


    Now, Vanessa''s arms started to shake.


    She wanted to pull the trigger.


    Aria wouldn''t be able to evade a shot from this distance.


    They could get rid of Aria right now.


    However, Vanessa knew that this would have dire consequences.


    Aegis would investigate, and they wouldn''t be able to keep this a secret.


    Aegis would most likely take them into custody and force them into servitude for decades.


    Killing Aria was akin to killing herself.


    "If you take another step, I will shoot! I am only defending myself!" Vanessa shouted.


    Aria deeply looked into Vanessa''s eyes.


    Then, she took another step forward.


    Vanessa''s arms shook more.


    "Why are you doing this?!" Vanessa shouted in a mix of panic, rage, helplessness, frustration, and betrayal.


    "You don''t have to do this!"


    Aria was reminded of when she had said these words to Nick.


    "Because I have no other choice," Aria said darkly. "You left me no other choice."


    "Nothing will stop Crimson City''s rise."


    "Not you."


    "Not the Specters."


    "Not Kugelblitz."


    "I finally have a worthy goal in my life, and I will not let it slip out of my grasp because of fear."


    Aria took another step forward.


    Vanessa''s arms shook more as she looked at Aria, who was only two meters away from her.


    She was already well within Aria''s attack range.


    Vanessa''s mind was going wild with images of how a battle would y out.


    She was under immense stress and felt like she was in a life-and-death battle.


    "If you pull the trigger, I will destroy Kugelblitz," Aria said with a dark tone.


    "I will kill you. I will kill Jornis. I will force all of your Specialists to work for the city. We will take your Specters, and the city will be more powerful than ever before."


    "Destroying Kugelblitz is the best thing that can happen to the city. Your blood taxes and your shady deals damage Crimson City more than anything else."


    Aria took another step forward.


    "Do you want this to happen?" she asked, taking another step forward.


    Aria stood directly in front of the barrel of the sniper rifle.


    Vanessa''s body was covered in sweat, and her fingers were shaking.


    "I will repeat," Aria spoke slowly. "Kugelblitz is not the ruler of the city."


    "Nick is." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "You willply with thew."


    "If you break it, I wille for you."


    "I worked for Kugelblitz for over a century, and I don''t want it to be destroyed."


    "But if I have to, I will do so without hesitation."


    "The blood donation system is thest change we need to fulfill the goal."


    "The goal is to increase our tribute to Aegis by 20%, and with the blood donation system, we managed to do just that."


    "We achieved our goal."


    "The only thing that stands in our way is your unwillingness to cooperate."


    Aria looked deeply into Vanessa''s eyes.


    She was unafraid.


    A powerful sniper rifle pointed right at her chest, but she was unafraid.


    Why?


    Because she was fighting for something that was more important than her life.


    This was what Nick taught her.


    Conviction.


    Dedication.


    Doing one''s best to achieve one''s dream.


    How could one expect to achieve one''s dream if one didn''t go all in?


    Meanwhile, Vanessa was a nervous and panicked wreck.


    Her mind was going wild.


    As she stood in front of Aria, she felt like a normal citizen standing in front of a Specter.


    She felt helpless.


    She felt like, even if she pulled the trigger, she would die.


    Her instincts were telling her that she couldn''t possibly win against Aria.


    The sheer confidence that Aria exuded intimidated her more than anything.


    It sounded cheesy, but the following statement was still true.


    People and animals only showed their true power when they were protecting something that was more important than their lives.


    While defending its cubs, a bear would be much more threatening than if it were fighting just for itself.


    The reason for that was conviction.


    Confidence.


    And right now, Aria was putting her life on the line for Crimson City and Nick.


    At this moment, protecting these things was more important to her than surviving.


    "Stop with your stupid games," Aria said after several seconds of silence.


    "This is no longer the old Crimson City."


    "With the new blood donation system, we do not need to go after Kugelblitz any longer."


    The next moment, Aria''s body rxed, and her expression was more cold and distant than threatening.


    "Your profits will no longer be negatively affected," Aria said evenly. "The way things are now is how they will stay."


    "ept your new reality."


    Aria slowly turned around and walked towards the door.


    Vanessa still aimed at Aria with her sniper rifle.


    Aria turned around onest time and looked at Vanessa with a deep gaze.


    "I don''t want any more incidents where blood mysteriously goes missing."


    "And if anything happens to Nick, I swear upon my life and everything important to me¡­"


    "I. Will. Kill. You."


    "Don''t test me!"


    Then, Aria calmly opened the door and walked out.


    The door closed, but Vanessa still aimed at it with her rifle.


    The next moment, her arms started to shake even more.


    Finally, she took a deep breath, let go of her gun, and weakly fell to her knees.


    Her entire body was shivering in stress and anxiety.


    She felt like she had just battled for her life.


    Vanessa didn''t recover for several minutes, and the scene from just now reyed in her mind over and over again.


    Meanwhile, Aria told the guard to lead her away.


    The sound in the office was isted, and the guard didn''t hear any of the mor.


    Aria was led out of the building, and she quickly returned to the city''s headquarters.


    As she walked back, she had a spring in her step.


    She felt great!


    She finally did something!


    She stood up for what she truly believed in!


    This was a great feeling!


    Nick was bound to be proud of her, right?


    At that moment, she stopped walking.


    ''Why did I think that?'' she thought.


    ''Is it important to me that Nick''s proud of me?''


    She imagined talking to Nick and telling him what happened.


    She didn''t want to admit it, but she realized that it would feel nice if Nick approved of her actions.


    Aria scratched the side of her head.


    ''Are we friends? Pretty sure.''


    She remained silent for a while as she looked at the ground.


    ''Is that all that I want to be?''


    In the end, she walked into the headquarters and went into Nick''s office.


    As she walked into Nick''s office, she felt more nervous than when she approached Vanessa''s sniper rifle.


    Nick casually looked at her. "How did it go?" he asked.


    Aria broke out in a wide smile.


    "I dealt with it! Kugelblitz will no longer be an issue!" she said with pride.


    When Nick heard that, he released a sigh of relief.


    "Good job. I''m d that I trusted you," Nick said with a slight smile.


    Aria''s smile brightened.


    "No problem!" she shouted.

 Chapter 526 – Success

    Chapter 526 ¨C Sess


    Weeks passed, and Kugelblitz didn''t try anything shady.


    In fact, it seemed like they had given up.


    ''Aria said that she dealt with it, but I''m still not certain,'' Nick thought. ''Would Kugelblitz give up this easily?''


    Kugelblitz was a bit too quiet for Nick''s liking.


    He had expected that there would be some kind of conflict, but there was just nothing.


    A couple more months passed, and the blood donation system worked without any major problems.


    Sure, there was the asional guy who tried to sneak out of paying, but those were quickly dealt with.


    The city was producing a lot of Zephyx.


    Even though the city was earning much less in taxes, the Specters the city owned and Ghosty''s research easily made up for that.


    And then came all the shares the city now owned by "advancing" middleyer businessmen.


    Lastly, thanks to the blood donation system, the city now earned more than enough to increase the tribute paid to Aegis.


    In total, the city earned about 35% more than before Nick took over.


    The goal had been to pay 20% more after five years.


    Instead, Nick managed to increase it by 35% within two years.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t willing to increase the tribute by that much.


    He would be fine with a 20% increase for now.


    The remaining extra money would be invested back into the city.


    Nick wanted to make Crimson City bigger.


    All the changes Nick had implemented had the side effect of improving birth rates.


    Children no longer needed to pay the blood tax.


    There were more orphanages, and more children survived to adulthood.


    More people in the Dregs managed to advance in their careers, giving them enough money to consider starting a family.


    However, as fewer people died and more were born, the prices of houses increased.


    In the past, everyone could basically just grab any random house. There had been far more houses than people.


    But now, it was a bit more difficult.


    It was not a problem yet, but it could turn into a problem in the future.


    Nick decided to spend the extra money on expanding the city towards the west.


    To the west of the city were the carbon fields that created carbon for the steel the city made, and Nick wanted to include the carbon fields in the city.


    However, this also meant that the city would directly border the Land of Desires, the home of an Elder that no one had suppressed yet.


    Yet, the reason why no one had suppressed it yet wasn''t because it was difficult to suppress.


    The main reason was that the city had strictly prohibited experimentation on the Specter.


    The Land of Desires was used as a defensive measure for the Carbon Fields.


    With the Land of Desires covering one side of them, all the ck slimes would run into the Land of Desires instead of the Carbon Fields.


    ''We can capture or kill the Land of Desires when we got a new wall,'' Nick thought.


    Nick and Aria ordered the expansion, and within a couple of months, the Carbon Fields had been fully engulfed by the city.


    The city walls had expanded to include a two-by-three-kilometer area to the west of the old city.


    This gave two square kilometers of additional building space and four square kilometers of fields, which could now be tended to by normal people.


    This opened up quite a few new jobs since the nts grew very quickly and had to be harvested almost weekly.


    As soon as the new wall was secure, Aria rescinded the protective order on the Land of Desires.


    Immediately, all the Manufacturers started to race to suppress the Land of Desires.


    Except for Kugelblitz.


    The Land of Desires was an Elder, and Kugelblitz was only interested in Fanatics and stronger.


    Within a single day, one of the Manufacturers managed to suppress and capture the Land of Desires.


    It was one of the new Manufacturers. The one that had 15 Experts.


    By the next day, everyone knew how powerful the Land of Desires was.


    Late Elder.


    A Late Elder Force Specter.


    That Specter was almost as valuable as Gemini''s main Specter, the Distortion.


    This was also the most valuable Specter of the new Manufacturer, and they decided to rebrand.


    Desire.


    That was their new name.


    With 15 Experts and six Elders, Desire now produced a bit more Zephyx than Gemini and Sky Dream.


    Gemini and Sky Dream had six Experts each, but they also had over 30 Veterans.


    They also had six Elders, but with only six Experts, they couldn''t work with all of the Elders.


    Because of that, Desire managed to earn more money with the same number of Elders.


    If judged by ie, Desire was now the second biggest Manufacturer, the city itself excluded.


    The Land of Desires vanished from the west of the city, and the city guards guarding the wall no longer needed to constantly fight the desire to consume all the tantalizing things in the Land of Desires.


    And like that, the third yearly meeting arrived since Nick had be Crimson City''s Liaison.


    The Manufacturers were prepared for another heavy hit.


    Yet, nothing really happened.


    Sure, there were a couple of changes, but they were all rather small.


    In fact, there was something that the Manufacturers liked pretty much.


    The city now offered help in searching for Specters.


    Any Manufacturer could pay the city a certain amount of money to rent volunteers from the guards, who were willing to assist in searching for Specters.


    And the most important part was that this service could partially be deducted from their taxes.


    The reason for this change was that the city had way too many guards.


    They had over a hundred Newbies, 200 Johns, and 60 Veterans.


    Around 3% of the entire poption was working as guards.


    That was a crazy high amount.


    So, Nick decided to give the guards something to do.


    The city would be earning even more money, and the volunteering guards would get to earn a bonus while gaining experience.


    Most importantly, the number of captured Specters would increase, which was a good thing for everyone.


    More Specters meant more Extractors meant more money meant more space meant more people meant more money and so on.


    During the meeting, Kugelblitz was surprisingly silent.


    They didn''t even say anything that could be viewed as uncooperative.


    ''Did they really stop resisting?'' Nick thought.


    An entire year had passed since Nick had announced the blood donation system.


    Except for that one incident near the beginning, nothing had happened since then.


    If Kugelblitz wanted to kill Nick, they could have tried so anytime within the past year.


    Nick wasn''t really keeping himself hidden away.


    He regrly left the city''s headquarters on his own.


    He had been prepared for a potential assassination attempt for a year now, but it never happened.


    ''What did Aria do to them?'' Nick thought.


    The meeting passed without any incident, and Nick went back to his office.


    One additional month passed, and it was finally time to pay the yearly tribute.


    Huge crates were transported from the Inner City to the Outer City.


    The people watched with interest as the crates were transported by powerful guards.


    By the end, there were 24 crates stacked on top of each other.


    Aria and Nick also arrived and stood in front of the grates.


    Then, they waited.


    About half an hourter, three people flew in from the outside andnded in front of Aria and Nick.


    "Governor," the man leading them said with a nod before turning to Nick. "Liaison."


    "Agent," Nick and Aria greeted back.


    The leading Agent looked at the crates behind them.


    "Why are there 24?" he asked.


    "Because I have done my job as Liaison," Nick said. "My job as Liaison is to increase the productivity of the city without increasing the misery. I had five years as a deadline, but I managed to finish it in a bit more than two. From now on, Crimson City''s tribute will be 20% higher. Instead of 20 tons of Zephyx, we deliver 24 tons now."


    The Agent furrowed his brows and looked at the crates.


    The next moment, he gestured for one of his people to go to the grates.


    Someone stepped forward, retrieved a device, and inserted it into a hole in one of the crates.


    She repeated the same thing for all 24 crates.


    Finally, she nodded in confirmation to her leader.


    The leader nodded with an impressed expression.


    "Seems like the project was a sess," the leader said to Nick. "Good job, Liaison."


    "Thank you, Agent," Nick said politely.


    "We are going to report back to our Judge, who will send a report to the headquarters. As far as I am aware, even though you managed to achieve your goal early, the deadline of five years still exists. Use the remaining three years to improve the city even more."


    "The better the city is, the better your impression will be."


    "Thank you," Nick said politely. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The Agents put the crates away and left the city after saying a couple more things.


    Nick and Aria watched as the Agents left.


    They had done it!


    They had fulfilled their mission!


    The Dregs were bing cleaner and richer as more days passed.


    The number of deaths was reduced drastically.


    The birthrates were up.


    Corruption was at an all-time low.


    The city was growing.


    The upperyer didn''t dare to try anything shady.


    Kugelblitz was surprisingly cooperative.


    They had done it!


    They had seeded!


    They had transformed Crimson City!

 Chapter 527 – Friends, huh?

    Chapter 527 ¨C Friends, huh?


    "So, what will you do now?" Aria asked after the two of them returned to his office.


    "I''m not entirely sure," he answered absentmindedly.


    Nick had barely even registered Aria''s question since his mind was drifting at this moment.


    He still remembered the time Horua had died and how he had nearly killed himself.


    Back then, the Parasite had talked to him and told him that he should just help a thousand people to make up for causing Horua''s death.


    That was when Nick''s goal was formed.


    Before then, he had had some vague goals about helping the poor people, but he hadn''t truly gone all in until that moment.


    ''Help a thousand people,'' Nick thought.


    A momentter, he thought about the Dregs.


    The Dregs were shrinking day by day.


    It wasn''t that people were moving out of that ce but that more and more people got enough money to live a normal life.


    The shops and stalls became more luxurious, and the food they sold increased in quality.


    More people were buying that food, which made the shops improve their image even more.


    The people also finally had ess to buying real clothing and didn''t need to walk around in iron wool anymore.


    There were still criminals, but the number was far lower than before.


    Of course, some people would never get out of the Dregs, but that was more of a personal issue for them.


    The opportunities were now there.


    As the city kept expanding, more and more jobs popped up.


    At this moment, there were more jobs avable than there were unemployed people.


    It went so far that many of thepanies even offered to help new hires to get a real education just so that they could get new employees.


    Even more, the pay for these jobs was surprisingly high.


    The reason for that was Kugelblitz.


    Kugelblitz needed to offer a lot more money for someone''s blood now, and the offer was so high that many people could easily survive by just donating their blood every month.


    Of course, with much more money now circting in the Outer City, the prices of everything increased, which meant people had a higher pressure to donate their blood.


    Donating blood was the only relevant factor about being able to survive or not, which was why no one was interested in a job.


    Well, that was until thepanies got much more ess to funds due to the higher prices and desperately needed more employees.


    Eventually, it became necessary for a sry to outss the money received from a blood donation to get an employee.


    The jobs became more and more lucrative, and the lives of more and more people improved drastically as a result of that.


    Right now, having a job was necessary to live afortable life, but with just the blood donation, it was possible to survive.


    Nobody needed to fight for their life anymore in the Dregs.


    Additionally, as long as the city kept expanding, even more people would be needed to fill out the space.


    Ironically, even though the minimum taxes the Dregs paid had been lowered, the city now got several times more taxes from the Dregs since most people were now far above the minimum amount of ie for the tax.


    Nick had done it.


    Essentially, the Dregs were no more.


    Everyone living in the Dregs had their life improved drastically.


    The dream he had aimed for almost two decades ago was fulfilled.


    And yet¡­


    Nick just absentmindedly looked at the wall.


    ''This guilt is still there,'' Nick thought.


    ''I know that I am only partially responsible for Horua''s death. Wyntor told me as much.''


    ''Additionally, I drastically improved the lives of over 2,000 people.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''So, why do I still feel like shit?''


    ''Why is this guilt still eating me up?''


    Nick''s mind wandered to the Crimson Sea incident.


    ''I guess that''s the reason. Improving the lives of 2,000 people is not enough to rectify the deaths of 1,000 innocent people.''


    ''I just need to do the same thing for several cities, and things will improve.''


    ''As long as I keep improving the lives of the normal people, things will be better.''


    At that moment, Nick''s heart rate sped up, and he became nervous.


    For some reason, he had difficulty believing his own thoughts.


    But that had to be it, right? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    What other way would there be to deal with all of this guilt?


    This had to work, right?


    Nick convinced himself that it had to work.


    Otherwise, what would the alternative be?


    Living forever with this guilt?


    ''I might as well end my life right now if that''s my fate,'' Nick thought.


    "Are you alright?"


    Nick''s eyes snapped to Aria.


    He hadpletely forgotten that Aria was in his office.


    "Yeah, everything''s alright. What was your question?" he asked.


    Aria raised an eyebrow.


    "What''s bothering you?" Aria asked with empathy.


    Nick furrowed his brows. "I told you. Everything''s alright."


    "Nick, I can see that you''re worried," Aria said. "Is it that difficult for you to tell me? Aren''t we friends?"


    Nick''s mind was catapulted back to hisst real conversation with Wyntor.


    Friends.


    Wyntor had been the only person Nick had considered a friend, but even that had proven to be false.


    Wyntor had just invested money into his employee, and he even killed Horua while letting Nick wallow in misery.


    That was not a friend.


    A friend was someone that Nick could trust.


    Someone without an ulterior motive.


    Nick looked with annoyance at Aria.


    Yet, he didn''t say anything.


    Friends¡­


    Aria had helped Nick many times, and she hadn''t asked for anything in return.


    Aria had been willing to risk her life for Nick''s dream.


    While she had done many things to help Nick, he didn''t feel like she had done so in an attempt to influence him.


    Aria feltpletely genuine to Nick.


    Additionally, Aria hadn''t done anything unforgivable to Nick.


    She was just¡­ nice.


    Nick''s gaze rxed.


    "A friend, huh?" Nick repeated.


    "Are we not friends?" Aria asked with a raised brow.


    Nick remained silent for a while as he looked at the wall.


    "It''s difficult toe to terms with it. I''m not sure if I ever had a true friend in my life. I''m not sure what a friend really is," Nick said.


    When Aria heard that, she felt bad for Nick.


    Not having a friend sounded horrible.


    "We achieved our goal today," Aria said. "Why don''t we take off for today as a celebration and talk a little?"


    As soon as Nick thought about not working, he started to be nervous.


    Whenever he stopped working, dark thoughts appeared in his mind.


    However, he also felt tired, which was ironic since Experts didn''t need to sleep.


    "Sure," Nick said.


    Aria smiled and led Nick to a break room inside the headquarters.


    A couple of people were already there, but when they saw Nick and Aria, they quickly excused themselves and left.


    Nick was still stuck in his thoughts.


    Then, a cup of coffee was put on the table in front of him.


    "No, thanks," Nick said.


    "I remember you and Vernon talking about coffee all the time," Aria said. "I thought you liked coffee."


    Nick sighed. "That''s not it."


    "Then, what''s the issue?" Aria asked, sitting down beside Nick.


    Nick sighed again. "I hate the upperyer for all their luxuries while the people in the Dregs suffer. Every cup of coffee costs a thousand credits, which is such a high amount of money that it could pay the blood tax of several people."


    Nick looked at the coffee. "I can''t hate the upperyer and indulge in the same things as them at the same time."


    Aria just looked at Nick with skepticism.


    "I can see where you areing from, but you''re stuck in the past," she said. "The price of coffee fell down to 500 credits per cup, and the money avable to the people of the former Dregs is so high now that they could afford a cup per month without having to starve."


    "Sure, everyone would view this as a waste of money, but if they truly wanted one, they could get it."


    Aria pushed the cup closer to Nick.


    "And you made all of that possible," she said with a smile. "You were the one that tamed the upperyer and implemented all of these reforms."


    "The people of the Outer City love you."


    "I don''t think anyone living in the Outer City would be angry that you''re drinking a bit of coffee."


    Nick listened to Aria and looked at the mug.


    Her words made logical sense, but his emotions didn''t agree.


    He felt like he didn''t deserve the coffee.


    He didn''t deserve to have any pleasure in life.


    However, when it came down to it, Nick believed his head more than his heart.


    "Do we have milk and sugar?" Nick asked.


    Aria''s brows rose in surprise.


    "Yeah, sure," she said before opening a fancy fridge to retrieve some milk.


    Nick put a ton of milk and sugar into his coffee before he drank it.


    Aria could have sworn that Nick was a person who drank his coffee ck.


    Seeing Nick essentially make a sweet milkshake with some coffee taste took her aback.


    It was so weird to see the serious and stoic Liaison drink a milkshake.

 Chapter 528 – Sharing His Story

    Chapter 528 ¨C Sharing His Story


    Nick slowly drank his coffee.


    It was so strange.


    It tasted good, but Nick didn''t want to drink it.


    It felt bad to drink it.


    After a couple of slow gulps, Nick decided to get this over with and swallowed the remainder in a single go.


    That made him feel much better.


    "Mind if I ask you a question?" Aria asked.


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    Usually, Aria just asked questions without asking for permission.


    The fact that she was asking for permission right now meant that Nick most likely wouldn''t like the question.


    "Sure," he answered evenly.


    "How was life in the Dregs?" Aria asked.


    Nick calmed down again.


    "Pretty bad," Nick answered.


    "Could you give me an example?" Aria asked.


    Nick gave several more curt answers, but Aria kept asking more questions about the Dregs and Nick''s life.


    It took a while to coax Nick out of his shell, but eventually, he just started narrating his life story from when he lived in the Dregs.


    Aria listened, and the more she heard about Nick''s life, the worse she felt for him.


    He had been just a child.


    Of course, Nick also told Aria about the less savory things he had to do.


    The time Nick had killed a woman on ident after she stole his money.


    The time Nick epted money from one of the gangs to assassinate someone from another gang.


    The time Nick robbed one of the bigger stores in the Dregs.


    The time Nick brought back a child that had run away from home.


    Thatst one had probably been the worst one since the child seemed to be petrified in fear as soon as she saw Nick delivering her to her father.


    Everyone had avoided that father since he seemed very unstable.


    The gangs had also not been interested in working with him.


    That was how the job came to Nick.


    Nick had killed four people in total while living in the Dregs, but giving that child back to her father had been the one weighing the most on his conscience from his time back in the Dregs.


    Eventually, Nick talked about the time he met Albert for the first time.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t tell Aria about his ability.


    Whenever he talked about something rted to it, he said that he couldn''t go into detail.


    Aria only knew two things about Nick''s ability.


    First, it gave him tremendous power under very specific circumstances.


    Second, it was unusual enough for an Expert to be interested in it.


    Eventually, Nick started talking about Wyntor.


    Aria had only asked about the Dregs, but she also showed interest in the other parts of Nick''s life.


    When she heard about how they had caught the Dreamer, she was impressed.


    Nick had shown a tremendous amount of willpower and resilience.


    Nick''s mood had been somewhat good up to this point.


    Then, his narration slowed down, and he became somber.


    Horua.


    In the end, Nick decided to tell Aria about Horua.


    From the get-go, Aria could see where this was going.


    There was a good reason why no Manufacturer considered people below the age of 14 when they hired new Extractors.


    Even more, 14-year-olds almost never made it through the selection process.


    Meanwhile, Nick was throwing an eleven-year-old in front of a Specter.


    The only reason why Nick managed to work with Specters at his young age back then was because he went through so much shit.


    Both literally and figuratively.


    An eleven-year-old couldn''t possibly work with a Specter.


    However, in Aria''s mind, Wyntor actually held a greater amount of responsibility than Nick.


    Nick had been uneducated.


    Meanwhile, Wyntor had received the best education avable in the city, and he had studied how to run a Manufacturer specifically.


    There was no way that Wyntor didn''t foresee what was about to happen.


    And instead of telling Nick, he allowed Nick to go through with it.


    Eventually, Aria didn''t even need to ask any questions anymore since Nick was just narrating his life to her.


    Naturally, there was no reason to keep the illegal things secret.


    This stuff happened so many years ago, and Aria probably did worse things.


    "Ardum Melfion," Aria repeated as Nick talked about Dark Dream''s conflict with Cycle. "I think he works for us now."


    "He does?" Nick asked.


    Aria nodded. "I saw his file a couple of weeks ago. He''s still a John. I think he doesn''t have the willpower to go through with Zephosis."


    Nick thought back to Ardum.


    He had always wished to take his revenge on Ardum for his horrible behavior.


    However, these things had happened so long ago.


    In the end, Nick just didn''t care enough to do anything.


    At most, he would ask for a corruption check on him.


    Ardum had also been quite young back then.


    Maybe he had changed for the better.


    Eventually, Nick talked about Vernon.


    "Were you the one that killed him?" Aria asked.


    Nick didn''t see any point in hiding it and nodded.


    Aria wasn''t surprised.


    "Why?" she asked.


    Nick wanted to say that he only did so to protect himself since Vernon knew about his ability.


    However, Nick realized that he was just lying to himself.


    That wasn''t truly the reason.


    "I hated him," Nick said. "He constantly asked Markus to increase the blood tax. When Wyntor died, he had been much more interested in Dark Dream''s shares than in finding Wyntor''s killer. He raised a monster like Ardum. He constantly acted like a nice guy and then just stabs you in the back with a smile."


    "I hate him."


    Surprisingly, Ariaughed a little. "I can see where you areing from. The only one of his kids that got anywhere was Samar, and she always acted rather curtly and coldly to her father. They worked together on the surface, but it wasn''t difficult to see the animosity she felt towards her father."


    "It was nice to work with Vernon since he was very reliable, but I always knew that I never wanted to advance our rtionship past the stage of colleagues."


    The two continued talking, and eventually, Nick reached the point where he got ambushed in his home.


    Nick hesitated for a while and looked at Aria.


    As Nick looked at her, he somehow felt¡­ at ease.


    He felt like he could tell her.


    But, at the same time, he also became a bit nervous.


    He was afraid of losing his only friend.


    In the end, Nick sighed and told Aria.


    About the Spartans¡­


    And about the Crimson Sea.


    Aria had to take a couple of deep breaths.


    That sure was something.


    She could also see how terrible Nick felt while talking about the Crimson Sea.


    "And you''re ming yourself for that?" she asked.


    "I was the one who freed it," Nick said.


    "You freed an Adolescent, Nick," Aria said.


    "As soon as it broke out, several Experts, Specialists, and even Markus gathered in front of the building."


    "No one could have possibly predicted how things would turn out."


    "Nobody knew that it could absorb Specters."


    "Nobody knew there was a hole in the ground."


    "Nobody knew that it would develop a terrifying fog ability that could kill thousands of people."


    "Sure, all of this wouldn''t havee to pass without your actions, but you were not the only one that failed."


    "So many people failed on that day, and they all share part of the me."


    "Imagine an angry child that throws her father''s bottle of alcohol against the wall. The bottle hits the wall in just such a manner that the entire house copses, killing her entire family in the process."


    "Would you say the child should be executed for murdering several people?" Aria asked.


    Nick could see where Aria wasing from.


    However, that didn''t change his feelings.


    Without his actions, all these people would still be alive.


    Why would they care whether Nick wanted to kill them or not? n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    In the end, he was the reason for their deaths.


    Yet, Nick still felt d that Aria didn''t hate him.


    Eventually, Nick talked about Julian and everything beyond that.


    The two of them had been talking for several hours by this point, and Aria had genuinely been interested in Nick''s life.


    After hearing so much about him, she also understood Nick much better.


    His actions made much more sense now.


    However, she could also see how Nick''s actions were wrong.


    Nick was essentially killing himself with his fanaticism to reach his goal.


    Aria had lived for a long time, and she was very experienced.


    She knew that even if Nick managed to save millions of people¡­


    His guilt wouldn''t reduce one bit.


    In fact, it might even increase.


    Nick was on a path to self-destruction.


    However, Aria also knew that she couldn''t just start talking about these things.


    Nick''s mindset had been formed over decades, and changing it would take a long time and many small conversations.


    Aria wanted to help Nick.


    Nick had done so much good for Crimson City.


    ''Although, that''s not the real reason, huh?'' Aria thought with a self-deprecatingugh.


    Aria looked at Nick, who looked back at her.


    ''Might as well jump into the cold water,'' Aria thought.


    "Nick," Aria said.


    "Yes?" Nick asked.


    "What do you think about romance?"

 Chapter 529 – Hands

    529 Chapter 529 ¨C Hands


    Nick was confused.


    That question hade out of nowhere.


    "Why do you ask?" Nick asked, genuinely confused.


    "Well," Aria said, twiddling with her fingers. "I was interested."


    Nick watched her, and he could tell that she was a bit nervous.


    ''No way, right?'' Nick asked himself in his mind.


    ''She knows of all the horrible things I''ve done.''


    ''She knows about all the people I have killed.''


    ''It can''t be that she''s actually interested in someone like me, right?''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "Don''t take this the wrong way," he said. "I might be mistaken."


    "But is there a possibility that you are interested in me? Sorry if that ispletely wrong," Nick spoke carefully.


    Aria looked with a bit of surprise and amusement at Nick.


    ''Not sure if I can make it any more obvious,'' Aria thought with augh.


    "Yes, Nick," Aria said. "I''m interested in pursuing a rtionship with you."


    Nick blinked a couple of times inplete shock and confusion.


    "But you''re so amazing," he couldn''t help saying. "You''re so powerful, experienced, beautiful, strong, and many more things. You''re probably the most radiant woman in the entire city."


    "Why would you choose someone like me?" Nick asked in confusion.


    Aria sighed. "You really can''t see yourself for who you truly are, can you?" she asked.


    Nick just looked with confusion at Aria.


    "You are the most powerful Extractor for his level in probably the entire world."


    "You are willing to risk your life for people with no rtion to you."


    "You have the courage to stand up to people who could kill you with a flick of their finger."


    "You can outmaneuver the shrewdest businesspeople of the upperyer."


    "In just two years, you tamed all of Crimson City and made it into an amazing ce to live in."


    Then, Aria yfully smirked. "Also, you''re quite tall and muscr."


    Naturally, thatst sentence was meant more of a joke since outer appearances barely counted for anything whenpared to Nick''s actual qualities.


    "Aria, you know why I do these things," Nick said carefully. "I''m just trying to redeem myself for what I have done in the past. In a way, I am following a selfish goal."


    "Does that matter?" Aria asked. "Someone that donates 10,000 credits to the homeless every year for a tax return has done more good than someone that volunteers for a couple of hours every month to feed the homeless."


    "One does it for a selfish reason, while the other does it for a selfless reason."


    "In the end, if you were homeless, would you rather get one meal from one man or a hundred credits?"


    Nick could see where Aria wasing from.


    Actions and intentions.


    This was a highly debated topic in human society.


    When there was a conflict between the two, opinions very quickly split.


    Someone who did a lot of good for selfish reasons versus someone who did a little bit of good for selfless reasons.


    Who was a better human?


    Opinions varied.


    "I know what you mean, but it doesn''t change my personality," Nick said. "I am selfishly going after the goal to redeem myself. If I were not gued by this guilt, I might not even help the people of the Dregs."


    "Nick, you are searching for purity in actions without considering the feelings. That is impossible. Feelings are the very things that make us do things."


    "Let me give you some examples."


    "If I didn''t selfishly want to have my daughter in my life, I wouldn''t have saved her life."


    "If I didn''t feel good while helping others, I wouldn''t help them."


    "If I didn''t love someone, I wouldn''t do anything for them."


    "Nick, feelings are the very things that make us do things. The fact that you feel guilty shows that you''re not a bad person. If you were a bad person, you wouldn''t feel guilty, right?" Aria asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    Aria''s logic was sound, but it was difficult to ept.


    In the end, Nick shook his head. "I still don''t get it. Why are you interested in me?"


    "Are you fishing forpliments?" Aria asked with a raised brow.


    "What? No! I''m just genuinely confused," Nick quickly answered.


    "I gave you several reasons," Aria said. "Do you want me to repeat them?"


    "No, that''s not necessary," Nick said as he thought back to the reasons Aria had named.


    The way Aria had portrayed Nick made him feel like she wasn''t talking about him.


    That wasn''t him.


    Yet, Aria didn''t lie.


    Everything she said was technically true.


    "I don''t know," Nick said with a sigh. "In three years, I''m most likely going to leave the city again, and I don''t know when I can return."


    "So?" Aria asked. "It''s not like you will be gone forever. I''m sure that you can travel to Crimson City a couple of times per year. Additionally, I might get an opportunity to be an Agent in a couple of years, which gives me much more leeway to travel around. If you can''t leave your new city, I can just visit you."


    14:21


    "So?" Aria asked. "It''s not like you will be gone forever. I''m sure that you can travel to Crimson City a couple of times per year. Additionally, I might get an opportunity to be an Agent in a couple of years, which gives me much more leeway to travel around. If you can''t leave your new city, I can just visit you."


    Nick seemingly became more nervous as he looked at Aria.


    "Nick," Aria said with a frown. "This also isn''t easy for me. You''re keeping me in limbo. It would be nice to get a definite answer."


    "Oh, sorry," Nick said, looking away.


    Aria just kept looking at Nick.


    Nick had always seemed filled with conviction and power.


    But right now, he seemed so insecure and uncertain.


    After a while, Nick sighed again. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I''m not experienced with these kinds of feelings," Nick said. "I''m not sure how to process them."


    "I feel like I don''t deserve to be with someone as wonderful as you. I have done so many horrible things, and there shouldn''t be anyone in this world who would want to be my friend."


    "Yet, you know all about the horrible things I''ve done, and you still say that you want to be with me."


    "It''s difficult for me to wrap my mind around this."


    Nick sighed again as he looked at Aria.


    "I feel like you''re a strong fire. I want to feel your warmth, but I''m afraid that I will burn into nothingness if Ie too close."


    Nick felt like the insides of his chest were shaking under stress.


    Guilt, self-loathing, hatred, anger¡­


    All these feelings bubbled to the surface, and Nick was doing his best to keep them in check.


    Feeling these things was bad.


    Whenever he felt these things, his motivation would vanish, and he couldn''t work on achieving his goal.


    He would just sit in a room all day and stare against the wall.


    He didn''t want to go back to doing that.


    Suddenly, something touched Nick''s hand, and he pulled it back.


    Aria looked at Nick and slowly moved her hand closer again.


    As Aria''s hand touched Nick''s shoulder, Nick felt his body shivering.


    It felt bad.


    It felt dangerous.


    Aria noticed Nick''s emotions and pulled her hand back.


    "So, I guess that''s a no then," she said.


    When Nick heard that, he became even more afraid.


    The thought of hurting Aria''s feelings hurt Nick.


    "I''m¡­" Nick said before trailing off.


    "I don''t know. Sorry. I just don''t know what''s going on anymore. I''m not even sure if this is real," Nick said with a defeated voice.


    "Let me ask you again," Aria said slowly. "And this time, I want a concrete answer. Yes or no."


    "Do you want to be with me?"


    Nick looked at Aria.


    It was so difficult to answer.


    He felt like he shouldn''t.


    But he really wanted to.


    He wanted to feel something other than all this crushing guilt and self-loathing.


    He wanted some color in his life.


    But he didn''t deserve any color.


    But he wanted color.


    But he didn''t deserve it.


    But he wanted it.


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    "I''m sorry," Nick said.


    Aria''s face slightly fell.


    "But I really, really want to be with you," he said.


    Aria looked with surprise at Nick.


    That was a yes, right?


    Meanwhile, Nick felt like he had lost all of his conviction.


    He felt like he had failed in achieving his goal by giving in to pleasure.


    ''I''m such a selfish person,'' Nick thought.


    Nick felt something touching his hand again, but this time, Aria''s hand mped down and kept Nick''s hand in her own.


    "You gave consent," Aria said with a careful voice.


    Nick became nervous.


    He was not familiar with any of this.


    "Eh, yes," Nick said.


    Aria smiled, and the next moment, she sat down beside Nick and just held his hand.


    "Then, how about we just sit like this for a while?" she asked.


    Nick''s nervousness lessened but didn''t fully vanish.


    "Sure," he answered.


    Nick tried to avoid looking at Aria, who just kept staring at him with a smile.


    "Is this so bad?" Aria asked after a minute of silence.


    Nick looked back at her.


    "No."


    The two of them continued sitting together.


    Join my Discord:


    https://discord.gg/EfePH46Aru


    Warmaisach


    Creator''s Thought

 Chapter 530 – Not as Envisioned

    Chapter 530 ¨C Not as Envisioned


    The next couple of days were like a dream for Nick.


    The two of them still had to rule the city, but since the biggest changes had already been put into effect, their workload was several times lighter than usual.


    Because of that, the two of them had time to spend with each other.


    While all of this was happening, Nick felt like nothing was real anymore.


    He had believed his life to be filled with nothing but self-loathing and monotonous dedication to his goal.


    Instead, he was spending a good time of his day just talking to Aria.


    A lot of times, the conversation moved to Nick''s dedication to making a better world.


    Aria still agreed with that philosophy.


    While she hadn''t been a fan of that philosophy in the beginning, the years of working with Nick had changed her.


    She felt like she could finally make a significant change in the world.


    Nevertheless, Aria believed that Nick was trying to achieve his goal in a very unhealthy way.


    It was almost like he wouldn''t be happy until he died for his cause.


    Sure, it was admirable to risk one''s life for one''s dreams, but actively pursuing death and martyrdom was not a good thing.


    A living person could live on to do more good, while a dead person couldn''t.


    Nick could see where Aria wasing from, but something like this couldn''t easily be solved.


    When it came to problems like this, logic and emotions were very often in opposition.


    Logic said one thing, but emotions said the opposite.


    Most of the time, logic ruled Nick''s mind.


    But in the few times in which he felt really weak, his emotions could take over.


    At that point, one''s logic could be warped.


    Illogical things could appear logical to one.


    As a metaphor, one only needed to imagine a small group of friends living in the Outer City.


    One of the friends constantly told everyone to be careful about where they were going, even though the others were already very careful.


    If this incident repeated at the worst moment, some of the friends might grow annoyed and frustrated for a couple of minutes.


    Now, if that reprimanding friend walked towards a hole in the street leading to the Crimson Sea without noticing, things might be troublesome.


    Under any other circumstance, the group of friends would tell them to look out and stop them.


    But during this short moment of frustration, they might believe that this was what the friend deserved.


    The friend was constantly telling them to watch where they were going.


    Why should they warn their friend now?


    During these moments, some people would think that this was justified and correct.


    Yet, after the friend actually fell into the Crimson Sea, all their rage would vanish, and they would realize that they had done something horrible.


    One of their friends had died!


    And it was their fault!


    They could have stopped this!


    Why didn''t they stop this?!


    Was it worth it to let their friend die just so that they felt right?


    Now, was the decision logical to let their friend die?


    In a vacuum, yes.


    They didn''t follow their own advice and acted like a hypocrite.


    However, real life was not a vacuum.


    These were not isted cases.


    There was a before and after.


    There were times in which the friend had helped them in the past.


    There was a time after the death.


    Was this validation of being right worth the loss of a lifelong friend and a lifetime of guilt and regret?


    Many humans could fall into this mindset, and the most susceptible ones were the ones that believed they had perfect control over their emotions.


    Nick was one of these people.


    When only emotions dictated somebody''s actions, they could be a danger to others.


    When only logic dictated somebody''s actions, they could be a danger to themselves.


    Not to their physical health but to their mental health.


    The angrier Nick felt, the colder and more calcting he acted.


    After talking with Nick for a long time, Aria had learned all of these things, and she wanted to make sure that Nick understood them.


    It was important that he understood what leading a healthy life meant.


    Yet, Nick didn''t fully agree.


    His cold and calcting nature was what allowed Crimson City to be that much better.


    If he had let empathy reign, he wouldn''t have killed so many people from the upperyer, and the upperyer would still cause trouble for Crimson City.


    If he hadn''t bet with his life, Kugelblitz would still try to control the city.


    It wasn''t easy for Aria to find an answer to that.


    She believed that there had to be a different way, but she couldn''t think of one.


    If Nick hadn''t done these things, Crimson City wouldn''t be where it was today.


    "But is that truly worth killing yourself over?" she asked. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I already told you. I''m not going to repeat myself," Nick answered with annoyance.


    Aria sighed.


    It wasn''t easy.


    Being in a rtionship with Nick wasn''t easy.


    Naturally, the two of them had gotten closer, but that was exactly the reason why it wasn''t easy.


    As a stranger, seeing a powerful leader risking their life to improve the world was an admirable thing.


    But if that leader was someone''s partner, they would only fear for their partner''s safety.


    The attractive aspect from the past was now a hurdle in the rtionship.


    Yet, what was Aria supposed to do?


    Nick had been very clear from the very beginning that his goal wouldn''t change.


    Aria had known fully well that he wouldn''t stop.


    He would continue risking his life for his dream.


    With or without her.


    Aria could feel it.


    Even though they had been talking this entire time, she still felt a certain distance between them.


    It was like she couldn''t feel Nick''s emotions.


    It was like he was not allowing anyone toe close to him.


    It wasn''t easy.


    ''Should I even try to get closer?'' Aria thought. ''If I do, he might start to regret things and stop pursuing his dream.''


    ''I''m not sure if he would ever recover from that.''


    Aria could see that Nick''s mental state was extremely unhealthy and dangerous.


    Yet, she could also see that it was specifically this unhealthy and dangerous mental state that allowed him to make these crazy decisions that benefited Crimson City this much.


    The mad conviction to bet with one''s life was a substantial tool for intimidation.


    If Nick hadn''t seemed so insanely convinced of his goal, several people would probably still think of trying to game the system.


    In an ironic way, giving Nick a healthier mindset might actually end up killing him.


    Hisck of madness and conviction could be the cause of an additional assassination attempt, which might seed.


    After a lot of thinking, Aria came to a conclusion.


    What was the issue?


    What was the core issue?


    Why did Nick have to act this crazy to achieve anything?


    The answer was simple.


    Power.


    More precisely, personal power.


    Nick wasn''t strong enough.


    If Nick were a Hero, he wouldn''t need to act so crazily.


    He could just calmly establish the rules, and nobody would dare to refuse.


    Which Hero would dare to attempt to assassinate someone as powerful as Nick without an advantage of several levels?


    Aria''s decision was simple.


    She wouldn''t try to change Nick.


    Not for now, at least.


    For now, Nick''s madness was necessary to keep him alive and to achieve his goal.


    In the future, when Nick finally became a Hero, there would still be time.


    When Nick was powerful enough, he wouldn''t need topensate for it with conviction anymore.


    This was not the kind of rtionship Aria had in mind, but she was still fine with it.


    In a way, this crazy side of Nick was the very Nick she fell in love with.


    It was a necessary evil for now.


    Months passed, and eventually, the fourth yearly meeting happened.


    Not much happened.


    Kugelblitz didn''t try anything.


    The government didn''t change a lot.


    Crimson City was peacefully growing without any major incidents.


    Kugelblitz also became much more approachable again.


    The government had kept their word.


    No more crazy policies had been added that endangered Kugelblitz''s profits.


    In the end, they decided that battling the government wasn''t worth the risk.


    The risk-reward ratio was absolutely horrendous.


    By now, Nick had be 36 years old, and he also finally became an Early Expert.


    The fact that it only took him four years was already crazy fast.


    The stronger one became, the slower the advancements got.


    If Nick kept advancing at this speed, he would be a Peak Expert when he was 48.


    Usually, people only reached that level in their 80s, at the earliest.


    After seeing that nothing much was changing in Crimson City, Nick became antsy.


    He wanted to do something.


    He wanted to help humanity.


    But he was essentially done with Crimson City and just had to wait.


    So, in the end, Nick decided to visit the cave system, which was far to the east of the city.


    Nick had found a ruin once before, and since he was now immune to the influence of the Nightmare, he wanted to make use of that.


    Maybe he would find something useful to humanity or himself.

 Chapter 531 – New Specters

    Chapter 531 ¨C New Specters


    Nick left Crimson City without being noticed.


    Something like that would have been difficult in the past, but with the ability from the Nightmare, this became much easier.


    Additionally, there was no red curtain around the city anymore, making it much easier to go out.


    One could just jump over the wall.


    Even more, as a powerful Expert, Nick could literally just jump a distance of several kilometers, as long as his ability was active. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    As long as Nick turned into smoke as soon as he jumped, nobody would take notice of him.


    He would look like a random bit of dust that just flew through the air.


    Sure, some people would find that strange, but they wouldn''t know that this was Nick.


    After all, nobody except a couple of people from Sky Dream and Aria knew that Nick could turn into mist.


    So, it was quite easy for Nick to leave the city without being noticed.


    Naturally, he had told Aria that he would be scouting the surroundings.


    Initially, Aria asked Nick to apany him, but Nick refused.


    "Keeping my ability secret is important. Not even you are allowed to know it," he answered. "It''s rted to my survival."


    Aria was a bit annoyed about that.


    She was willing to tell Nick about her ability, but Nick wasn''t willing to reciprocate.


    This was not what Aria had anticipated.


    Officially, they were in a rtionship, but it didn''t really feel like a rtionship.


    They hadn''t even kissed yet.


    However, Aria knew that being in a rtionship with Nick would be difficult.


    In the end, she just epted it and let Nick go out on his own.


    In the past decade, a couple of things had changed outside the city.


    The Desert had been eradicated.


    Sadly, every attempt at capturing it had failed, and in the end, the city ordered its extermination.


    Killing it was far easier than capturing it.


    The Land of Desires had been caught by the new Manufacturer, Desire.


    The south of the city had been filled with the Infesters, and after many years of research, Kugelblitz managed to capture the parent Specter, the Infestation, a Mid Fanatic.


    Sadly, the Domain of the Corrosive Dust was still there.


    The Corrosive Dust still hadn''t been captured, and its domain was growing, albeit slowly.


    Within thest ten years, it hade one kilometer closer to Crimson City.


    If it kept expanding at this rate, it would reach Crimson City within 50 years.


    Sadly, no one inside Crimson City was powerful enough to rival the Corrosive Dust.


    Everyone knew where the Corrosive Dust was.


    It was a huge pir in the middle of the dusty domain, and capturing it just meant going to it, suppressing its Zephyx, and pulling it away.


    However, it was a Late Demon, at least, and it wasn''t a weak Specter.


    While its single-target attacks were very weak, due to its ability, its area attacks were devastating.


    One Late Hero would have it easier fighting against it than five Mid Heroes.


    Sadly, neither Crimson City nor Darksky City had a Late Hero.


    Even more, the old Governor of Darksky City had left to be an Agent, leaving an Early Hero in charge of the city.


    No Late Hero would appear in either city within the next decade.


    Naturally, either city could ask Aegis to send a team of Agents, but that meant losing the Specter to Aegis.


    Both cities wanted to own the Corrosive Dust.


    The Forbidden Zone to the north no longer existed since the Sea King had been killed by Aegis, and people could finally go to the ocean.


    Although, it wasn''t that easy.


    While a lot of the old Specters no longer posed any issues, new Specters had appeared.


    An army of bloodthirsty and powerful sharks had made their home near the northern coast.


    Naturally, these sharks were not normal animals.


    They were all minions of a powerful Specter.


    Each shark had the power of a Fanatic, and there were thousands of them.


    There were even sharks with the power of Heroes, but they were rarer.


    Crimson City believed that this Specter was at least a Mid Demon.


    Most likely, it was a Late or Peak Demon.


    Even more, Stone Crystal City and Metal Works City also reported sightings of sharks, which meant that the sharks lived in a domain spanning almost 300 kilometers.


    These sharks had been problems for the other two cities for decades.


    The only reason why they hadn''t appeared near Crimson City before was the Sea King.


    When the Sea King had been captured, these sharks started to appear here as well.


    The sharks attacked everyone who approached the sea.


    Sometimes, they jumped out of the water andnded around one or two kilometers ind, but doing so weakened them significantly.


    Fanatics or not, sharks were not great at fighting onnd.


    Even an Expert could kill one of the sharks if it beached itself.


    Sure, it would quickly try to jump back, but a prepared Expert could easily kill it before it could do so.


    However, the sharks were not the only new Specters around Crimson City.


    To the northeast, a huge green domain had appeared.


    It was around three kilometers wide, and it was filled with strange green growths.


    The area looked like a constantly mutating green organism, and it spewed toxic substances everywhere.


    Additionally, it attacked whatever it could find.


    Luckily, the Amalgamation was only an Elder.


    The Manufacturers were already researching it, and they had found traces of it far to the east.


    While they were not in contact with Metal Works City regrly, they were quite confident that the Amalgamation had lived near it in the past.


    Most likely, the Amalgamation didn''t feel safe anymore near Metal Works City and fled to this ce.


    The sharks and the Amalgamation were not really big problems for Crimson City, but thest Specter was a very big problem.


    It was such a big problem that three Specialists working for the city had to constantly keep watch over it.


    The gue Vulture.


    The gue Vulture was a gigantic vulture with a decaying body that kept circling the area to the west of Crimson City.


    It was a Demon, but the city wasn''t sure how powerful it was exactly.


    The gue Vulture constantly flew around towards the west of the city, and it kept looking at Crimson City.


    Anyone who left Crimson City and went towards the west would be killed by the gue Vulture.


    Yet, it never came close to the city.


    Most likely, it knew that it couldn''t fight against the city on its own.


    However, it was patient.


    It waited.


    Every day.


    At some point, something would happen within the city, and a chance would arrive.


    And for that day, it waited.


    Because of the gue Vulture, the entire area west of the city was basically cut off.


    Just traveling towards the iron mine to the southwest was already extremely dangerous.


    Even more, the city found signs of new Specters appearing to the west of the city.


    Since they couldn''t hunt the Specters in that area anymore, new Specters kept popping up and taking residence over there.


    Kugelblitz''s entire focus was on the gue Vulture.


    They wanted to capture that at all cost!


    However, the gue Vulture was extremely fast, and when they had tried to attack it in the past, it fled towards the north.


    While the Heroes of Kugelblitz could deal with the gue Vulture, they couldn''t deal with the gue Vulture and the sharks at the same time.


    Naturally, the sharks and the gue Vulture didn''t attack each other.


    Some timeter, the gue Vulture would return from the ocean and circle the area to the west of the city again.


    This thing was a constant source of pressure for the city.


    Aria wanted to request a squad of Agents to deal with it, but there were three issues with that.


    First, Kugelblitz was against calling a squad of Agents.


    This was a Demon that could easily be suppressed as long as it was caught.


    They really, really wanted the gue Vulture.


    Second, the gue Vulture technically wasn''t causing enough damage to the city for a squad of Agents to show up.


    It was just flying around.


    Agents were extremely busy, and they couldn''t be everywhere at all times.


    Lastly, the city didn''t know enough about the sharks.


    What if the sharks were actually the minions of a Fallen?


    If a group of Agents arrived and chased the gue Vulture into the ocean, there would be a high likelihood of the entire group dying, assuming the sharks were the minions of a Fallen.


    A group of Agents was more important than a city.


    On the other hand, the city also couldn''t ask for a Protector for the same reason.


    It wasn''t certain whether or not the sharks belonged to a Fallen.


    Because of that, Crimson City was stuck with having this huge and troublesome bird constantly flying around them.


    In terms of security from Specters, Crimson City was in a much worse position than 20 years ago.

 Chapter 532 – Strange Extractor

    Chapter 532 ¨C Strange Extractor


    Nick ran past the mountain to the east of the city.


    Since the Desert had been killed, there were no more powerful Extractors stationed near this ce anymore.


    Most of the Extractors were further to the north, near the Amalgamation. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick still remembered the first time he had left the city.


    Back then, he had needed to be extremely careful.


    No one had been allowed to see him or his team.


    Otherwise, they would have been killed.


    But now, nobody would dare attack Nick, and even if they did, there was only a single Manufacturer that would have any chance of seeding.


    Kugelblitz.


    No other Manufacturer would have people powerful enough to kill Nick without him being able to flee.


    One had to remember that while Nick was extremely deadly in battle, his true power was his ability to escape from battle.


    With every ability advancement, his methods of escaping from battle became better and more numerous.


    A couple of secondster, Nick reached his destination.


    In front of Nick was a huge area filled with holes, crevices, and caves.


    Some of them were barely a couple of meters deep, while others seemed to be endless.


    This area was around four kilometers wide and was littered with countless caves.


    asionally, some Extractors walked around here to look for Specters, but they rarely found any.


    Crimson City was certain that some Specters had to be there, but there just wasn''t a way to reliably scout out the caves.


    Yes, Kugelblitz had the Shadow Shrouds, which allowed their Extractors to travel through dark spaces, but there were a couple of issues with that.


    First of all, keeping a Shadow Shroud running for a long time cost an insane amount of Zephyx.


    Second, if the Shadow Shroud got damaged, it would stop working, and the Extractor would find themselves surrounded by darkness.


    Third, the further away from light an Extractor got, the harder it was to resist the Nightmare''s influence.


    It was like the Nightmare was growing more powerful with less distance from the''s core.


    Or, as some people said, with more distance from the Sun.


    The Sun and abilities imitating the Sun''s power were the only things that could deal with the Nightmare''s influence.


    At some point, even abilities that replicated the Sun''s power became useless.


    This was also why nothing worked inside the Fiend of Darkness'' domain.


    All the light abilities in the world wouldn''t help in there.


    Naturally, the same problem urred within the cave system, just not as extreme.


    Keeping the Nightmare''s influence at bay just became vastly more expensive.


    Nevertheless, many Manufacturers had scouted out a couple of the caves and drew some maps.


    Sadly, none of them were willing to share their secrets with others, and Nick couldn''t just demand the maps.


    Also, he didn''t want to since that would tell them where he would be traveling to.


    ''With my immunity to darkness, I''m probably the most fitting person for this job,'' Nick thought. ''I don''t know if I''m going to find anything of note in there, but at the very least, I should be able to find a Specter. This ce is too protected from humans for Specters not to live here.''


    ces like these were like retreat ces for Specters.


    Oftentimes, a Specter silently left its hideout, killed a human, and went back to its hideout to wait for the rm to die out.


    Most of the Specters living outside of cities were Specters that required a human to die in order to feed.


    Specters that didn''t need to kill humans could survive much easier in a city.


    Nick looked around for a while and saw a random Extractor jumping out from a cave.


    When Nick saw the Extractor, he raised an eyebrow.


    He was wearing Dark Dream''s uniform.


    No, this was not a mistake.


    The Extractor was wearing DARK Dream''s uniform.


    He was not wearing Sky Dream''s uniform.


    ''Interesting,'' Nick thought as he turned into mist before following after the Extractor.


    There was only one reason why an Extractor outside of the city would wear Dark Dream''s uniform.


    That reason was that they didn''t know about Dark Dream''s merger with Sce, which meant that they were not from Crimson City.


    Most likely, this was an Extractor from a neighboring city who was masquerading as an Extractor from Crimson City.


    For the next 30 minutes, Nick kept following the Extractor.


    The Extractor very carefully moved around and constantly made sure that nobody was following him.


    Then, he entered a cave, lit up a fancy candle, and explored the cave for a bit.


    The deeper the Extractor walked into the cave, the stronger the candle burned.


    At some point, the Extractor would run out again, and he would search through more caves.


    ''He''s just searching for Specters,'' Nick thought as he watched the Extractor.


    The Extractor wasn''t even very powerful.


    Most likely, he was just an Extractor from another city that wasn''t powerful enough to search through the immediate surroundings of the city for Specters, which was why he had traveled this far.


    There was no more reason to follow the Extractor, but Nick didn''t want to start looking through some caves while this guy was still running around.


    In the past, Nick would have just killed him.


    After all, he was from a different city, and these people were generally considered hostile.


    However, since Nick had joined Aegis, his viewpoint had expanded.


    All cities belonged to Aegis.


    Killing someone from a city without a good reason would mean needlessly damaging Aegis.


    So, Nick decided to watch the guy just a bit more.


    In the next cave, the guy became surprisingly ballsy, and he didn''t turn around for quite a while.


    Eventually, the man came upon a mysterious gate.


    It was made of reinforced wood, and it was almost four meters tall.


    Nick looked at the gate with interest.


    Wasn''t something like this exactly why he was here?


    The Extractor gritted his teeth, ran to the gate, and kicked it open in urgency.


    When the Extractor saw a long staircase behind it, he cursed and looked at his brightly burning candle intensely.


    Then, he took out a second candle and lit this one as well.


    "80,000 credits," the man said with a sigh.


    ''80,000 credits?'' Nick thought with surprise. ''That''s insanely cheap for something that offers light for that long.''


    Nick would have expected one of these candles to cost around 500,000 credits.


    10:41


    After lighting the next candle, the guy quickly ran down the stairs.


    Naturally, Nick followed him.


    After descending the stairs for over a kilometer, the Extractor became troubled.


    His candle was burning away rapidly.


    However, he seemed desperate to get some return for his investment and kept running forward.


    The two of them were no longer in a cave but in straight hallways made of uniform stone.


    There were several intersections of many more hallways, which led to different stairs.


    Some hallways were perfectly horizontal, while some were angled.


    The architecture was quite confusing, but Nick could easily keep a mental map of the area.


    He wouldn''t get lost in here.


    After around a minute more of running through random ces, the guy became agitated again.


    He seemed quite lost.


    ''Shouldn''t have gone this far,'' Nick thought calmly.


    Nick watched as the candle rapidly burned away.


    And then¡­


    The guy suddenly calmed down.


    From one second to another, he just stopped panicking and looked with a dead expression down the hallway.


    Then, he slowly turned around and looked behind him, seeing an empty hallway.


    Naturally, Nick turned into ck smoke and kept hovering behind the man.


    The candlepletely burned away, and everything fell into darkness.


    The man calmly looked at the hallway for a couple more seconds.


    Nick was no longer rxed, but his ability was telling him that the "man" hadn''t perceived him yet.


    The next moment, the man calmly walked toward the wall¡­


    And walked through it.


    He vanished.


    It was like he was a ghost.


    Nick looked at the ground and saw that the burnt candle had also vanished.


    Even the Zephyx the man and the candle had given off had gone through the walls.


    Nick had a bad feeling.


    ''Is this a Specter?'' Nick thought, looking at the hallway.


    Then, he thought about all the hallways and staircases he had seen.


    ''Is all of this one Specter?''


    Nick looked in the direction he hade from.


    Then, he quickly flew down the hallway.


    He followed his mental map to get back to the entrance.


    Finally¡­


    Nick saw another hallway where the entrance gate should be.


    Nick continued down that hallway, went up some stairs, went down some stairs, traveled through several corridors¡­


    Ten minutester, he stopped.


    The mental map he had created inside his head had be absolutely humongous.


    And worst of all, it didn''t make any sense.


    New hallways appeared.


    Old ones disappeared.


    Stairs changed.


    Nick remembered what he had thought when the "man''s" candle was going out.


    ''Shouldn''t have gone this far.''

 Chapter 533 – Labyrinth

    Chapter533 ¨C Labyrinth


    Nick was still in his mist form.


    Turning back into his normal form would be extremely stupid right now.


    ''That Extractor was used as a lure,'' Nick realized. ''He runs around to lure people into this ce.''


    ''Most likely, if he was attacked, he would try to save his ass by telling the attacker that he found a mysterious ce.''


    ''In fact, it wouldn''t even matter whether or not he was killed.''


    ''The man is basically just an apparition created by the main Specter''s ability. At most, it would lose a slight bit of Zephyx.''


    ''Even more, the bait was extremely realistic. It moved around convincingly and even exuded a very natural stream of Zephyx.''


    Nick thought about the entrance gate.


    ''Is that gate even still there? What if the gate vanished as well?''


    The cave system was vast, and it was possible that thisbyrinth ran alongside the caves.


    It could probably create and destroy entrances in innumerable locations along the different caves.


    One thing was clear.


    Nick was stuck, and he wouldn''t be rescued anytime soon.


    ''I wonder how many people have already been captured by thisbyrinth,'' Nick thought.


    Nick was just one of many flies trapped in a web.


    Or was he?


    Well, there were several differences between the other humans that thebyrinth had captured and Nick.


    First, thebyrinth still hadn''t perceived Nick.


    This meant that thebyrinth didn''t know that Nick was there.


    Second, Nick was immune to the Nightmare''s influence.


    And third¡­


    Maybe Nick was an ufortably big bite for thebyrinth.


    Specialists essentially never vanished from Crimson City.


    If a Specialist vanished, the entire city would hear about it.


    Experts vanished very rarely, and as far as Nick knew, none of them had vanished near the cave system.


    Veterans and Johns vanished the most, and many of them walked around this ce.


    ''If this thing consumes Veterans, it''s either an Adult or an Elder. I doubt it''s a Fanatic,'' Nick thought.


    ''As long as it doesn''t know I''m here, I have a chance at dealing with it.''


    Nick looked down the hallways.


    ''It''s quite obvious what this thing feeds on.''


    ''Humans getting lost. It''s simr to the Fog in this regard.''


    Nick looked at one of the walls.


    ''I could try breaking one of the walls, but that would rm it to my presence. Additionally, I''m not even sure how strong these walls are.''


    ''For now, I should stay hidden and look around.''


    Nick decided to remain in his fog state to keep his presence hidden.


    If his physical body touched thebyrinth, it might notice him.


    Nick flew down several hallways.


    The more he looked around, the less sense everything made.


    For the next three hours, Nick searched through hundreds of kilometers ofbyrinth.


    He had no idea where he was anymore.


    However, he didn''t despair.


    ''There has to be some logic to all of this. Additionally, since it doesn''t know I''m here, it can''t actively manipte how things work.''


    ''I refuse to believe that thisbyrinth stretches across the entire world.''


    So, Nick continued searching.


    Eventually, a couple of minutester, Nick noticed something peculiar.


    Lights were turning on in one of the hallways.


    Naturally, Nick kept himself hidden and watched.


    Some secondster, the lights at the intersection turned on, and Nick saw a woman walking out of one hallway and down another one. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    As she continued walking, the lights behind her turned off.


    Something like this would terrify any human.


    After all, what if the lights above them turned off, and they were stuck in the darkness?


    Yet, the woman walked around with a calm demeanor and a rxed speed.


    After the lights turned off, Nick decided to follow after them.


    However, he wouldn''t enter the lights and just follow from the darkness.


    From the fluctuations, Nick could tell that the woman was somewhere in theter levels of the Veteran Stage.


    ''Pretty sure that''s an actual human. Makes sense, actually. If thisbyrinth kidnaps Veterans and feeds on them getting lost, it can feed off them for decades. Veterans don''t need food, water, or sleep. As long as they have light and Prephyx around them, they won''t die that easily.''


    After around 30 minutes of following the light, the woman stopped.


    ''Wonder for how long she has been in here.''


    After around 30 minutes of following the light, the woman stopped.


    A big gate was in front of her.


    ''I didn''t see any gates until now,'' Nick thought. ''I''ve run through hundreds of kilometers, and I didn''t find a single gate like this. Yet, after walking around for barely a couple of kilometers, she reaches one?''


    Nick saw the woman sigh in defeat.


    Then, she opened the door.


    "Heeey! Another round!"


    As soon as she opened the door, a chorus of three voices echoed out from behind it.


    The woman sighed again and walked through the doors.


    The lights in the hallway quickly turned off, and Nick rushed forward.


    Nick slowly put one of his fog tendrils into the illuminated room.


    His ability was not bing unstable.


    The next moment, he saw the woman closing the gate, and Nick rushed past it, entering the room.


    Nick found himself in a big hall that was almost a hundred meters wide.


    In the middle of the hall was some kind of ornate fountain made of ancient stone.


    The fountain was spouting beautiful and clear water, which gathered in the basin around it.


    Around the fountain were several trees with plenty of fruit and nuts growing on them.


    The light in the room was constant, and it came from a big orb floating in the middle of the hall.


    Nick also saw a total of six people inside the hall.


    One of them was the woman he had followed.


    Beside her, there were four men and one more woman.


    All of them were adults, and all of them seemed to be rather rxed and calm.


    ''They''ve probably been here for a long time,'' Nick thought as he looked at the different pieces of "furniture" littered around the hall.


    Tents made of clothing.


    Mud huts.


    Mud stools.


    Stone tables.


    The only material Nick didn''t see was wood.


    ''They probably don''t dare to touch the trees since it''s the only source of food.''


    While Veterans didn''t need food or water¡­


    Nick looked at three of the men.


    They were Johns.


    They had also been the ones who had shouted earlier.


    Right now, the three of them were sitting on a muddy bench, drinking some kind of foul liquid from stony mugs.


    Nick scanned around the room and noticed a part of the room that had several shovel marks all over it.


    ''I heard that alcohol can be made by burying fruit in the ground,'' he thought.


    "No luck," the woman said in defeat. "I''ll try againter."


    "Why u do dis, capn?" one of the men slurred. "Is benik a fundret times. Jus givup and drenk."


    To punctuate his statement, the man drank from his mug.


    "Why do you always talk like that when you''re drunk, Jimmy?" one of the men asked with annoyance. "It''s annoying."


    "Fak u."


    Silence.


    The man sighed. "Jimmy might be an idiot, but he might be right. Why do you keep trying to get out of here? It didn''t work thest thousand times. What''s different this time?"


    The woman frowned. "The difference is that we haven''t had a Late Veteran yet. I just recently became a Late Veteran, and I want to see if I can change something."


    "Melinda," the only male Veteran said with a heavy voice. "Power won''t change anything. What''s more power going to aplish? We can already break all the walls."


    ''That''s interesting,'' Nick thought. ''So, they can already break the walls. Yet, they are still stuck here.''


    "There must be a way," Melinda said. "I''m sure that the Specter knows that we are here. Otherwise, all the lights wouldn''t keep turning on and off. It has to manually change theyout to keep us here, and if I just run fast enough, I should be able to outrun it."


    "Are you even listening to yourself?" the man asked with a shake of his head. "If that were the case, it would just stop turning on the lights."


    "But what if the lights are automatic?" Melinda countered.


    "Automatic or not automatic? What is it now?" the man asked with annoyance.


    "The creation of the hallways is manual, but the lights are automatic. It can be both," Melinda answered.


    The man just shook his head. "And if it''s not?" he asked with a tired voice.


    "It has to be!" Melinda said with conviction. "If you would just help me and run in a different direction, we could overstress its mind!"


    As the two of them kept arguing, Nick realized something.


    ''Funny,'' he thought. ''It''s actually the other way around.''


    ''Thebyrinth doesn''t know I''m here, which is why the lights are not turning around.''


    ''Yet, I can run for hundreds of kilometers without finding an end.''


    This seemed unimportant, but only for people who didn''t know a lot about Specters.


    However, Nick knew a lot about Specters.


    ''If I''m right¡­''


    Nick floated to the door he hade from, and this time, he dared to squeeze through one of the gaps.


    His ability didn''t deactivate.


    Nick traveled a couple hundred meters away.


    And then¡­


    He materialized and stepped on the ground.


    The next moment, a smirk appeared on his face.


    ''Ability''s still active.''


    ''Just as I''ve thought.''

 Chapter 534 – Algorithmic Generation

    Chapter 534 ¨C Algorithmic Generation


    The conversation between the captured people had told Nick everything he needed to know.


    After testing out his hypothesis, Nick immediately turned back into ck smoke before he hid near a corner.


    He didn''t want to tempt fate.


    ''The lights are manually activated, but what about the corridors?''


    ''I ran for hundreds of kilometers, and I didn''t find an edge. Additionally, I also didn''t find this ce on my own.''


    ''Lastly, if thisbyrinth truly were hundreds or thousands of kilometers big, what would be the chance of me just stumbling across one of six humans who are captured here? I would need to run around for months, if not years, to find any of these people if thebyrinth were truly that big.''


    ''This means that thebyrinth isn''t actually big.''


    ''It''s just getting shuffled constantly.''


    ''No new corridors are being created. The old corridors are just being recycled.''


    So?


    While it sounded great to know all of these things, most Extractors wouldn''t be able to make use of this.


    They could break down all the walls and randomly run through thebyrinth, and they would still be stuck.


    Knowing these things wouldn''t help them in escaping.


    Yet, these bits of information were the key to breaking out of thisbyrinth.


    Sadly, only an extremely experienced Extractor who had researched Specters for a long time would be able tobine the clues.


    Luckily, Nick had been a Chief Zephyx Extractor for over a decade.


    He knew exactly how Specters worked.


    All of these bits of information led to one conclusion.


    ''This is not a Force Specter. Nor is it a building.''


    ''Thisbyrinth is an algorithmic construct that keeps generating newyouts by shuffling its corridors around.''


    The most important clue had been that Nick had never seen any of the corridors actively being manipted.


    If the Specter only moved the corridors around manually, it would have definitely moved one of the corridors while Nick was close to it since the Specter didn''t know that Nick was here.


    However, that had never happened.


    This meant that the shuffling of the corridors happened automatically, but it could also be manipted manually.


    ''Every corridor has to be in use somewhere, but the algorithm keeps shuffling everything in a very unintuitive way, keeping normal people away from the exit.''


    ''And if any of the people manage to crack the code ore close to the exit on ident, thebyrinth gets shuffled manually, resetting their progress. In the worst case, the Specter can just stop turning on the light, forcing the people to take a different path.''


    ''This also exins why the Nightmare''s influence works in here. The Nightmare''s influence doesn''t work inside a Specter''s body or domain, but it seems to work here. That can only mean that this is neither a Specter''s domain nor their body.''


    ''This entirebyrinth is just the manifestation of an ability. It''s creating a space.''


    Nick looked down one of the hallways.


    ''But that also means that this space isn''t fully connected to the Specter. The Specter can''t feel its touch like it''s its own body. It also can''t listen to every ce at once.''


    ''And most importantly, it can''t look at every ce at all times.''


    ''The Specter can probably only focus on one ce at a time, and since it doesn''t think that anyone else is in here, it will keep watching the people while searching for new victims.''


    ''This means it won''t look for me.''


    ''When people search for enemies, they usually don''t search for them on their chest. They''re too busy looking at their surroundings and the distance.''


    ''I just have to crack the code without being noticed. Then, I''ll get out.''


    Nick went back to the door leading to the big hall and went to one of the corners. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Next, Nick ced a tiny bit of his mist there and ripped it off his body.


    Nick lost a bit of his Zephyx, and a tiny splotch of blood appeared at the corner.


    Luckily, the speed of Nick''s Zephyx recovery was insanely fast, and he recovered everything within seconds.


    After that, Nick went to the other end of the corridor and did the same thing to one of the corners there.


    Nick slightly altered the appearance of the splotch.


    The splotch was so tiny that Nick would need to get rather close to recognize its shape.


    If thisbyrinth were a Force Specter, it would definitely notice the splotches.


    However, this was only an algorithmic generator.


    The Specter would need to look at thebyrinth with its eyes like everyone else.


    The only difference was that it could probably ess any part of thebyrinth, but only one at a time.


    As long as the Specter didn''t look at every tiny bit of dust in all of the corridors, it wouldn''t take note of these tiny blood splotches.


    Nick entered one of the intersections, marking its middle and every entrance of the hallways he could ess.


    After doing that, Nick entered one of the hallways and marked its other end before returning.


    He wanted to know if the area had already been shuffled or not.


    When he returned, he noticed something peculiar.


    His hallway and the intersection were still the same.


    The hallways visible from the hallway through the intersection were also the same.


    However, any hallway that had be invisible after entering his hallway had changed.


    While the hallways looked identical, the splotches had vanished.


    ''The shuffling is based on losing and gaining sight,'' Nick realized.


    ''Now, the question is, how will the shuffling proceed?''


    Nick marked all of the new entrances again before entering the same hallway asst time.


    After reaching its end, he returned again.


    And the hallways had been shuffled again.


    Nick proceeded to mark the hallways again before repeating his test.


    After the fifth time, Nick noticed that one of the first hallways had returned while the others were unmarked.


    ''That means there''s no setyout. The algorithm creates the connections based on math, not on a repeating pattern. The only thing I can be sure of is that the shuffling isn''t random. There''s logic behind it.''


    Nick proceeded to repeat the same test for over two hours.


    And eventually, no more new corridors appeared.


    At least, the chance of new corridors appearing had be so small that Nick hadn''t seen one after 20 shuffles in a row.


    ''I marked 97 corridors so far,'' Nick thought. ''Now, I need to check how the corridors themselves affect the shuffling.''


    Nick went into a different corridor for the first time and went to its end.


    When he reached its end, Nick noticed something extremely interesting.


    One of his splotches.


    ''That means the corridors also spin. An exit might be an entrance after some shuffling.''


    ''That makes things much easier since this means that the number of corridors is actually only half of what I expected.''


    Over the next two hours, Nick kept going in and out of corridors, connecting all the markings.


    In the end, he counted a total number of 53 different corridors.


    ''Now, I need to check the intersections and stairs.''


    Nick kept traveling through different corridors and intersections for several hours.


    Thanks to his powerful mind, he could keep track of all of the different corridors, stairs, and intersections.


    By the end, he found a total of ten different intersections and six different stairwells.


    Nick had assigned names to all of them, and he had created a mental map in his head.


    Nick wanted to take a deep breath, but he was still in his mist form.


    ''Now, the difficult part starts.''


    He entered the first hallway and exited again.


    He did that many times, taking note of every kind of hallway that appeared in the intersection.


    After that, he did the same thing with a different hallway but the same intersection.


    What he found after countless tests wasn''t good news.


    ''There is no repeating pattern,'' Nick thought. ''This is like pi.''


    ''The same numbers will show up if I go for long enough, but things will seemingly devolve into randomness again.''


    ''The same numbers showing up is nothing but coincidence.''


    ''There might be an overall value that decides which corridors appear, and the corridor I enter and exit from adds to the value, creating new corridors.''


    ''However, since the pattern doesn''t repeat, it''s highly likely that the values are rted to prime numbers.''


    ''I don''t think that the values will increase endlessly. At some point, they have to reset and start from the beginning again.''


    ''But wouldn''t that mean that the pattern would start to repeat at some point?''


    ''What if the endingyout of the corridors creates some sort of seed for the calction of the new starting number?''


    Nick was starting to realize how difficult this was going to be.


    ''Well, seems like Crimson City needs to live without me for a couple of days.''


    ''I just hope Aria isn''t all that worried.''


    Nick just wanted to sigh.

 Chapter 535 – Loop

    Chapter 535 ¨C Loop


    Nick felt like his brain was burning.


    Thousands upon thousands of use cases and connections were gathered inside his mind.


    So many patterns.


    So much shuffling.


    For five days, Nick had been running through hundreds of thousands of kilometers ofbyrinth.


    As an Expert, Nick''s mind was very powerful, but even he needed to take notes to remember everything.


    He had evene up with a new kind of ssification for connections based on equations between connecting points.


    The names of the corridors and intersections had long since be irrelevant.


    Everything inside Nick''s mind was ssified into connections.


    Eventually, he even stopped moving and just hovered near the corner of one of the hallways.


    He had been there for over eight hours by now.


    Nick was reviewing all the data he had gathered and was running simtions in his head.


    He was trying to find an equation that would make all the connections make sense.


    A ridiculous amount of numbers and equations shot through his head.


    He just kept calcting without end.


    Nick was trying absolutely everything to make this make sense.


    Another two days passed.


    Nick still wasn''t moving.


    Then, he suddenly started flying down one of the hallways.


    He shot through many different hallways before stopping again for several minutes.


    Nick kept doing that for a couple more hours.


    The more time passed, the more Nick''s brain seemed to burn.


    He was retaining more and more information, and he was essing it all at the same time.


    He felt like all of this was pushing his logical thinking to the absolute limit.


    Some hourster, Nick shot down one of the hallways again.


    Then, he shot through five different intersections before reaching his starting ce again.


    This time, he didn''t pause and shot down the hallway again.


    He shot through seven intersections this time before reaching his starting location again.


    As Nick saw his starting location, he started to be agitated and excited at the same time.


    ''No way, right?''


    He shot down the hallway again, and this time, he also took two stairs before reaching his starting location.


    Nick paused for a couple of minutes.


    Then, he finished his equation and used it as he flew down the hallway.


    He sessfully predicted all the connection points he was flying past.


    ''This fucker uses three different numerical systems!'' Nick thought with excitement and annoyance.


    ''A base-3 for the stairs. A base-5 for the intersections. A base-53 for the corridors.''


    In Nick''s mind, an equation with six different variables appeared.


    Entrance point.


    Exit point.


    Vision modifier.


    Connection seed.


    Conversion seed.


    Total seed.


    ''How the fuck did this assholee up with such an insane algorithm?!'' Nick thought in frustration.


    Nick experimented with the equation for a couple of minutes, confirming that it could predict all the connections.


    Nick was so relieved when he realized that he no longer needed to dedicate so much brain power to math.


    ''Alright. The most difficult part is done. Now, I need to break it.''


    ''Sadly, the way the equation is built makes it a closed system. It is literally impossible for me to find an entrance or exit point. All the variables just lead into each other, no matter what I do.''


    ''This thing can continue indefinitely.''


    ''No matter what entrance or exit I choose, I will never leave this system.''


    ''However¡­''


    Nick thought back to the big room in which all the humans were gathered.


    After days of flying around, Nick hadn''t found that room again, even though he had traveled for hundreds of thousands of kilometers in a space with 53 possible hallways.


    ''This means that the central room and the hallways leading to it are outside the loop.''


    ''I can''t reach the room unless the room enters the current total seed of thebyrinth, and that can only happen manually.''


    ''That means I have to wait for one of the people to leave the room.''


    For the next couple of hours, Nick kept flying through the hallways, flying in such a way that he circled through all possible hallways, intersections, and stairwells in as little shuffles as possible.


    As soon as one of the hallways got connected to the main room, Nick would notice.


    Sure enough, about half a dayter, Nick noticed a new hallway with one of the Johns casually strolling through it.


    The guy didn''t seem very hopeful or urgent.


    He looked like he was just casually strolling.


    Most likely, he was bored.


    Nick took note of all of the connecting points.


    ''Alright. This is it!''


    As soon as the man reached the intersection, Nick shot out of the darkness and transformed into his physical form in front of the man.


    For the first time in a week, Nick''s ability deactivated.


    The man was frightened beyond belief and almost fell on his ass.


    "Do not move!" Nick shouted with authority. "I''m from Aegis, and I''m here to save you!"


    The man looked like his heart was about to stop. "Ae-aegis? What''s that?!" he asked in shock.


    Nick became frustrated.


    The existence of Aegis had only truly bemon knowledge in Crimson City after the battle with Anatomy.


    Before then, only strong Extractors and powerful people knew of Aegis'' existence.


    This guy was a John, who had been inside thebyrinth for years by now.


    "I''ll exinter," Nick said. "I need you to do one thing for me."


    The man was still in shock and just looked at Nick with a dumbfounded expression.


    "W-what?" he asked.


    After he asked that question, lights appeared above Nick.


    Apparently, the Specter had recovered from its shock and was now epting Nick as part of its hoard, and just like it did with the other humans, it gave Nick some light to protect him from the Nightmare.


    The Specter probably had no fucking idea where this guy had suddenly appeared from, but he was here now, and it couldn''t change that fact anymore.


    If it let Nick escape, he would just destroy the ground and caves around him to find the Specter, and it wouldn''t be able to escape.


    The Specter was forced to keep Nick inside itsbyrinth.


    Andpared to the people, it knew Aegis.


    The Specter knew that things wouldn''t be as easy as they had been until now.


    However, it had worked on its creation algorithm for decades, and it was impossible to crack it.


    As Nick looked at the man, a Specter looked at a three-dimensional cuboid hovering above it.


    It focused on one hallway and intersection in the middle of the cuboid, which was the ce where Nick and the man were talking.


    It was fully focused on Nick specifically.


    It knew that Aegis was extremely dangerous, but Nick was in its world.


    It was the creator of the rules in this ce.


    In here, it was God!


    "I need you to stay here," Nick said, pointing at the spot between the hallway and the intersection.


    "I need you to keep the entrance of the main room in your vision and most of the hallways from the intersection."


    The man was confused. "Okay. Anything else?"


    "No, that''s it," Nick said. "I''ll deal with the rest." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The man was quite surprised.


    That''s it?


    "Oh, one more thing," Nick said. "If the lights turn off, don''t move. At most, you have to resist the Nightmare for five minutes. If the light turns off, it means that the Specter wants you to move from this spot, which means that I''m making progress. If the light turns off, you know that the Specter is panicking."


    "Whatever you do, do not move! Got it?" Nick ordered.


    The man was still confused.


    "Eh, sure. I won''t!" he said before quickly assuming his position.


    Nick nodded before turning down one of the hallways.


    His eyes exuded a light of confidence.


    Numbers shot through his mind, and the equation gave a clear answer.


    "Well then. Shall we go?" he muttered.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick charged down one of the hallways.


    From the outside, the Specter was watching as Nick ran diagonally toward one of the corners.


    The internal structure of the cuboid rearranged itself.


    Nick rapidly shot into a staircase, which, bizarrely, continued going towards the corner.


    The Specter became suspicious.


    Nick reached the next intersection and ran down another hallway.


    When the Specter saw Nick running in apletely different direction, it calmed down.


    But then, Nick suddenly stopped and turned around.


    He entered the same intersection and then shot into the hallway he hade from.


    Yet, the hallway had already shuffled, and a new hallway appeared that led directly to the corner of the cuboid!


    At that moment, the Specter realized that Nick knew exactly where he was going.


    Countless numbers shot through the Specter''s mind, and it came to a terrifying realization.


    There was a number overflow!


    The John near the big room locked the connecting hallway to the loop!


    The system could no longer continue indefinitely!


    It was no longer a loop!


    The Specter had to get rid of the John connecting the big room to the loop.


    So, it turned the lights off

 Chapter 536 – Outside

    Chapter 536 ¨C Outside


    The lights near the big room turned off, and the John immediately fell into a panic.


    However, since Nick had already warned him, he simply fell to his knees while screaming in pain.


    He didn''t move.


    The Specter noticed that the guy wasn''t moving and realized that things were bing worse and worse.


    The algorithmic construct was amazing at keeping people inside, but it didn''t have any kind of offensive capabilities.


    A Late John, like this guy, could easily survive a couple of walls crashing onto him.


    Worst of all, the Specter couldn''t just move the corridors.


    If anyone fell through the gaps that the shuffling created, they would fall out of the construct, returning them to the outside.


    And this fucking John was perfectly on the edge!


    If the Specter moved any of the two corridors, the John would fall out and appear right in front of the Specter!


    Yet, the Specter didn''t despair and focused on Nick again.


    Numbers and equations shot through the Specter''s mind.


    There was a way to amodate the additional hallway and room into the loop, but the Specter needed topletely recreate the algorithm for that.


    Otherwise, one number overflow would vanish just to create three other ones.


    The Specter saw Nicking closer to the edge and manually moved corridors around.


    Nick ran forward with incredible speeds, numbers and equations shooting through his mind.


    Nick wasn''t thinking in directions or orientations.


    Everything had turned into numbers, and he was simply entering hallways that would increase the number to a value he desired.


    Nick didn''t know that he was essentially running straight for a corner.


    Seeing that Nick was close to the corner, the Specter deactivated the algorithm and moved the rooms around manually.


    The Specter noticed that Nick ran away from the corner and calmed down a bit.


    However, Nick suddenly stopped as he saw an unexpected mark.


    This didn''t fit the numbers.


    ''It switched to manual shuffling,'' Nick thought.


    The next moment, Nick smirked.


    ''I won.''


    Why was the algorithm so important?


    Why did it exist?


    Speed. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The reason was speed.


    BANG!


    Nick charged through a random wall, breaking into a new corridor.


    The Specter became nervous again.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Nick randomly charged around.


    Sometimes, he broke through the top.


    Sometimes, he broke through one of the sides.


    There was no rhyme or reason.


    The corridors and rooms kept shuffling.


    The movement of the rooms was no longer graceful and calcted.


    When looking at the construct from outside, it just looked an unstable domain that kept changing in a frenzied manner.


    Rooms and corridors appeared inpletely irrelevant directions.


    The Specter''s mind was going crazy as it dealt with the repairs of thebyrinth while also trying to stop Nick from breaking out.


    The scene of the Specter trying to contain Nick resembled the scene of a normal human trying to capture a fly.


    BANG!


    Nick broke through another wall, and an instantter, a light appeared in his eyes.


    Just now, he had seen the walls move for just an instant.


    ''I''m at the edge!''


    BOOOM!


    The next moment, Nick exploded with light, and the Specter became blinded for just an instant.


    However, it had seen where Nick had been running to, and it dumped a ton of corridors in that direction.


    Yet, when the Specter recovered a secondter, it couldn''t see Nick anymore.


    BANG!


    A loud explosion echoed throughout the ce the Specter was in.


    Then, it saw a blue dot moving out of the opposite side of thebyrinth.


    This had been Nick''s n.


    He wanted to get as close to the edge as possible to put the Specter into a panic.


    And then, he would run in the opposite direction.


    All the corridors from behind Nick would be dumped in front of him since the Specter would think that Nick would immediately try to break through.


    The reason why flies were so difficult to capture was that they could suddenly make 90¡ã or even 180¡ã turns without losing a lot of speed.


    The eyes of the human would continue looking at the predicted path of the fly just to lose it from their sight.


    It looked like the fly just vanished.


    The blue dot representing Nick grew in size, and an instantter, it grew to the size of a human.


    Nick took note of his new surroundings.


    There was a construct made of blue lines just behind him.


    In total, the construct was about five meters wide and high.


    This was thebyrinth that Nick had just been in.


    Nick also noticed something else at the same time.


    The Specter.


    On the ground was a three-meter-long slug with a human brain sticking out of its front.


    When Nick saw it, some of his nervousness vanished.


    The Zephyx it gave off was not very dense.


    He guessed the slug was between the Initial Elder and Mid Elder levels.


    And most importantly of all, its body was not made forbat.


    Yes, its body was extremely powerful, but there was no way for it to use that strength in any meaningful way.


    SHING!


    Nick''s des shot out of his sleeves as he looked at the slug.


    "I concede."


    Some kind of voice appeared within Nick''s mind.


    Naturally, this was the slug.


    "I can''t fight you. Don''t kill me. I can produce Zephyx for you," the voice spoke quickly.


    Nick looked at the slug for a second before he pointed at the construct.


    "Make light for the people inside," Nick ordered.


    "Done," the slug answered.


    Nick looked over and didn''t see any change.


    To him, it just looked like a couple of small dots in a chaotic mess of lines and circles.


    Nick looked back at the slug. "You''re going to go to Crimson City with me. You should know how Manufacturers work."


    "I do. I willply," the slug answered.


    "Is this transportable?" Nick asked, gesturing to the algorithmic construct.


    "Yes," the slug answered.


    "Keep it running. I don''t want to dump the people inside into the dark cave. Keep it running while we are walking to the surface. You go first. If I see anything fishy, I will kill you," Nick spoke in quick and short orders.


    "I understand," the slug said before it moved in a seemingly random direction.


    The two of them were inside a cave.


    The slug wasn''t very fast, but it was still faster than a normal human.


    After about ten minutes, the two of them reached a bunch of rocks that were blocking the way forward.


    "I created an avnche to block my hideout. Break the stones," the slug said.


    Nick did just that, and a new cave was revealed behind the stones.


    The two of them continued moving forward, and after a couple of minutes, Nick saw the light again.


    They were outside!


    "Deactivate your construct," Nick ordered as soon as they exited.


    "Affirmative," the slug answered.


    The next moment, the blue lines shook before scattering in all directions.


    Some blue dots remained, which quickly expanded, revealing several humans.


    The six people looked around in confusion and shock.


    What was going on?!


    The John, who had talked to Nick earlier, became excited.


    Had he seeded?!


    The next moment, the man saw Nick, and he almost couldn''t believe it.


    They were out!


    "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!" the John shouted as he kept bowing his head in front of Nick.


    The others looked at the John before looking at Nick.


    "What''s going on?" the female Veteran asked.


    "You''re free," Nick said calmly. "I captured the Specter."


    Then, they looked at the slug.


    This was the Specter that had contained them for years?


    It was not a Force Specter?


    It was just a fucking slug?!


    Nick calmly took out a couple of Zephyx Suppressors before wrapping them around the slug.


    Naturally, the slug didn''t dare resist.


    After containing the slug, Nick took out two of his spears and rammed them through its body.


    He really wasn''t interested in carrying a slug with his hands.


    Nick kept holding the slug with his spears and nced at the people.


    "Crimson City has changed dramatically since your absence," Nick said.


    Nick specifically looked at the uniform of the male Veteran. "For example, you''re unemployed, and you should be happy about that. In fact, getting captured by this slug is the best thing that could have happened to you."


    The man was shocked and confused as he also looked at his uniform.


    Anatomy''s uniform.


    "If you need a job, go to the city center. Tell them that the Liaison sent you," Nick said.


    Then, Nick jumped away and ran to the west.


    The others couldn''t even ask any questions before Nick was gone.


    Nick ran towards the west and reached the city after less than a minute.


    The slug hadn''t said anything during the journey.


    Nick calmly walked towards one of the entrances.


    When the guards saw Nick, their eyes widened.


    "L-Liaison?" they asked in shock.


    "Yes, I''m back," Nick answered before shaking the slug a bit. "This guy kept me upied for a while."


    "Could you please tell Aria that I''m back?"

 Chapter 537 – Big Brain Slug

    Chapter 537 ¨C Big Brain Slug


    "I was worried sick about you!" Aria shouted inside Nick''s office.


    "Sorry," Nick answered neutrally, "but there wasn''t much I could have done about that."


    "Why did you even go on your own? Something could have happened!" Aria shouted in anger.


    "I told you," Nick answered, his tone still neutral. "I don''t want you to learn of my ability."


    Aria took a deep breath as she kept her anger in check.


    "Why would that be so bad?" she asked. "We''re in a rtionship, right? Our lives are connected, right? How is it possible that you prefer risking your life over telling your girlfriend a bit more about your life?"


    Nick frowned. "I already told you that the secret of my ability is the biggest and most important secret I own. My ability can be rtively easily countered as long as someone knows about it. Just telling you that much is already putting me into a dangerous situation."


    "Dangerous situation? How is me knowing dangerous to you? Do you think I would just tell any random person or Specter about your secrets?"


    Aria seemed quite insulted. "Even if we were to have some kind of falling out, I would still not unveil your secrets. Betraying these secrets would be akin to betraying the memory of this rtionship and myself."


    "The fact that I didn''t tell you about any of the shady things Kugelblitz has done while I still worked for them is proof enough."


    Nick didn''t show any outward reaction to Aria''s words for a while.


    "0.0001 is infinitely higher than 0," Nick said. "Even if you were to use your entire power and mind to protect my secret, there would still be ways to get it. Jenny is a good example."


    Aria red at Nick.


    She loved Nick, and she wanted to be in a rtionship with him.


    Yet, he always kept his distance.


    He agreed to be in a rtionship with her, and he also said that he loved her.


    Nevertheless, he always stayed away from her, acted on his own, and kept all his secrets to himself.


    How was this a rtionship?


    Wasn''t a rtionship built on trust?


    If you couldn''t trust your partner, why were you in a rtionship with them?


    Well, some people would say sex, status, or wealth, but none of that applied here.


    Nick was uninterested in sex.


    His status was higher than Aria''s.


    And while he wasn''t as rich as Aria, Nick really didn''t need any more money.


    ''What''s even the point of this rtionship? I don''t get it,'' Aria thought with annoyance.


    "I think it''s better we stop here for today and continue some other time," Aria said.


    Nick nodded.


    The two of them exchanged some uninteresting and empty sentences before Aria left Nick''s office.


    After Aria left and Nick''s ability reactivated again, he sighed.


    ''I have no idea what to do,'' he thought.


    ''I want to tell her more, but I can''t. Telling her more will put her in danger.''


    Interestingly enough, Nick wasn''t referring to any external sources.


    He was referring to himself.


    There was one thought that Nick had had for a couple of years already, and ever since he hade up with it, he had never forgotten.


    ''What if my ability can be even more powerful by bing more unknown?''


    ''The Null kills everything that learns too much about it.''


    ''What if my ability can be even more powerful if there are no humans left in the world that know of my ability?''


    Nick remembered how the Champion of Light had acted.


    The Champion of Light had deliberately told Nick to keep his ability secret from the other two Shields.


    There had to be a deeper meaning to this if the Champion of Light didn''t even want his closest allies to know of Nick''s ability.


    Nick wasn''t certain, but he didn''t want to take any chances.


    Additionally, he also couldn''t shake the feeling that being close to him was extremely dangerous in general.


    Almost everyone who had been close to Nick was dead.


    His family, Trevor, Wyntor, Julian, Albert¡­


    The only one that survived for a long while was Jenny.


    Nick logically knew that there wasn''t some kind of higher power or whatever that forced him into one tragic scenario after the other, but he still didn''t feel safe allowing someone toe closer.


    The closer someone was to him, the more scared Nick became of their death.


    Nick shook his head. ''I can''t solve this stuff now anyway. I should focus on doing something that actually matters.''


    Nick left his office and went down to the Containment Units.


    However, he didn''t enter any Containment Unit.


    Instead, he searched for one of the local extraction captains.


    Since the city wasn''t technically a Manufacturer, they also didn''t have a Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Instead, the duty of organizing Zephyx extraction was dispersed over five people.


    Each of these five people was responsible for every Specter on a single level.


    One guy was responsible for all the Hatchlings, another guy for all the Adolescents, and so on.


    Nick went to the extraction captain, who was responsible for all the Elders.


    By now, the extraction captain should have already finished creating a basic profile of the new Specter.


    And sure enough, he had already created it.


    The slug''s official name was Big Brain Slug, and it was a Mid Elder.


    Even more, it was worth quite a lot of money since working with it was very easy and wasn''t limited to a small number of people.


    The more people were lost in the Big Brain Slug''sbyrinth, the more Zephyx it produced.


    Additionally, weaker people could work with the Big Brain Slug as well.


    They hadn''t been able to test what kind of ability it would give new Extractors yet, but even if it turned out to be pointless, the Big Brain Slug would probably still be the most valuable Mid Elder in the entire city.


    By capturing the Big Brain Slug, Nick had given the city a valuable treasure.


    And that wasn''t even everything!


    Five of the six people Nick had rescued had joined the city guard.


    While they were not a gigantic help, two Veterans and three Johns still amounted to something.


    After looking at the report, Nick decided to pay the Big Brain Slug a visit.


    He entered its Containment Unit and looked at it.


    For now, nobody was working with it since the extraction captain still needed to create a shift n for it and also had to teach the Extractors how to work with it.


    "Since you''vee peacefully, your rate of Zephyx confiscation is only at 90%. You get to keep 10% of what you produce," Nick said.


    The Big Brain Slug didn''t show any reaction.


    It had expected that it would be something like that.


    90% was on the lower side but stillmon.


    "However," Nick continued, "you have the unique opportunity of increasing that ratio to your favor."


    "There are Specters with lower rates since they are helping us in unique ways. For example, I''ve worked with one for years that only has a 75% confiscation rate."


    The Big Brain Slug didn''t seem to react, but Nick could somehow tell that it was paying more attention to him now.


    "How can I improve my rate?" it asked tly.


    "You canmunicate," Nick said. "Additionally, you are very intelligent and have lived in the outside world for a long time."


    "You want information," the Big Brain Slug answered.


    "Correct," Nick answered with a nod. "I want to know more about the cave system and what we can find there."


    "What do I get out of this?" the Big Brain Slug asked. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Depends on how valuable your information is," Nick said. "I''m willing to lower the confiscation rate to 50% until a multiple of the value of your information has been repaid. If your information isn''t very valuable, you get to keep this confiscation rate only for a couple of days. If it is extremely valuable, it could remain this low for decades."


    The Big Brain Slug weighed its options.


    "How can I trust that you won''t go back on your word? I''m not human. Yourws don''t protect me," it asked.


    "Because we both know what you will do," Nick said. "You will give us a rtively cheap one to see whether or not we keep our word. If we do, you will give us a better one, and so on."


    "If I break my word, you will simply stop giving out any information. I know that. You know that. We all know that."


    The Big Brain Slug thought about Nick''s words for a while.


    "I am fine with the deal," it answered a couple of secondster.


    Nick nodded. "Then, what''s your first bit of information?"


    "There''s a level two Possession Specter hidden in one of the caves. You just have to walk up to it and grab it. It has no offensive capabilities."


    "However, it is pretty deep in the cave, and you will require a lot of light."


    Nick didn''t show any reaction, but he felt like he had picked up a treasure.


    The first secret the Big Brain Slug was telling him was alreadyting him an Adolescent Possession Specter.


    "Alright," Nick answered. "We are going to check the validity of your information, and if it is valid, we will lower your confiscation level to 50% for around a week."


    "A week?" the Big Brain Slug asked. "That''s not much."


    "Slug, you are no longer going to be working with only six weak people at a time," Nick said.


    "This Containment Unit is going to be packed very soon."


    "A week is more than enough."

 Chapter 538 – Past Civilizations

    Chapter 538 ¨C Past Civilizations


    A couple of months passed, and the Big Brain Slug shared a couple more secrets.


    The short excursion had paid off quite well.


    The Zephyx production of the city forces had increased by around 5% just because of the Big Brain Slug itself, and with its additional secrets, the city earned even more.


    By now, reaching the new goal for Aegis'' tribute was no longer difficult, and the city had a lot of leftover capital to reinvest.


    The number of Extractors also steadily kept increasing since the smaller Manufacturers needed more people to search for Specters.


    About 10% of all the people living in the city were Extractors, which came to about 1,200 Extractors.


    There were about 400 Newbies, 500 Johns, 200 Veterans, 70 Experts, and 30 Specialists.


    Additionally, the number of Specters Crimson City contained kept increasing with time.


    Crimson City was gaining far more Specters than it was losing.


    Aegis'' tribute adapted to the power and number of Specters contained in a city.


    Naturally, as the city gained more Specters, it also had to pay a higher tribute.


    The reason why the Big Brain Slug increased the city''s ie by that much was that 90% of the Zephyx it produced went directly to Aegis.


    The more Specters the city itself owned, the easier it was to pay the tribute.


    After all, Manufacturers only gave between 30% to 40% of their Zephyx to Aegis, while the city gave 90%.


    In thest couple of months, Nick hadn''t left the city.


    Originally, he wanted to investigate the cave system some more, but with the Big Brain Slug, he didn''t need to do that.


    He just needed to wait for the Big Brain Slug to talk about the cave system some more.


    And eventually, it did.


    After handing over a couple of Hatchlings and Adolescents, the Big Brain Slug was willing to talk about important secrets.


    Nick went to the Big Brain Slug and listened to its secrets, and when he came out again, he knew that capturing it had benefited humanity greatly.


    A quick argument with Ariater, Nick traveled to the cave system.


    Naturally, Aria wanted toe with him, but as always, Nick refused.


    The main reason was that Nick''s destination was surrounded by darkness, and he didn''t want Aria to know that he was immune to the Nightmare''s influence.


    When Nick arrived at the cave system, he searched around for the cave the Big Brain Slug mentioned.


    It took a while, but Nick found it eventually.


    After looking through his surroundings, Nick entered the cave and traveled down.


    The darkness became more and more pervasive the further Nick went, but he could still see everything as if it were bright as day¡­ or night¡­ that kind of didn''t matter since the Sun always shone.


    The cave system was ratherplex, and Nick had to take a couple of detours through tight cracks.


    Theoretically, Nick could just dig through the stone with his hands, but if he caused the cave to copse, it would be difficult to find his target.


    It took Nick almost two hours to get to the ce the Big Brain Slug talked about since he got lost a couple of times.


    But now, he was here.


    Nick looked with narrowed eyes at the thing in front of him.


    A metallic door.


    A ruin!


    The Big Brain Slug had told Nick that there was a human ruin inside the cave system, but it didn''t know what was inside.


    Initially, Nick didn''t believe the Big Brain Slug.


    After all, why wouldn''t it want to look through the ruin?


    However, its answer was as simple as it was logical.


    "There are no humans there."


    Well, Specters only wanted to grow stronger, and they needed humans for that.


    There was simply no reason for the slug to look.


    As Nick looked at the door, he furrowed his brows.


    ''This one is in a worse condition than thest one I found,'' Nick thought as he looked at the crooked doors.


    The doors stood at a 60¡ã angle, and Nick was rtively certain that the builders of this ce hadn''t intended the doors to be angled to the side.


    ''I''m about five kilometers deep, and I don''t think someone would want to build something this deep underground. Just getting here is a pain in the ass.''


    ''Most likely, this building used to be higher up, but due to something, it fell through the ground and ended up here. Earthquakes, maybe.''


    Nick approached the door and touched it.


    ''Zephyx,'' Nick thought as his hand caressed the cold metal. ''Not a ruin of the Ancient Ones.''


    ''This is a ruin of one of the other past civilizations.''


    Over the past decade, Nick had learned a lot about the past civilizations.


    Not only had Julian talked a lot about them, but Nick had also gained ess to a lot of secret information after joining Aegis.


    It was important that Governors knew about the past civilizations so that they could give urate information to Aegis in case they found something.


    ording to Aegis, over 20,000 years had passed since the Ancient Ones had vanished.


    It was important to note that 20,000 years was the lower end of the estimate. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Higher estimates went as high as 150,000 years.


    As Nick touched the wall, he put more pressure on it.


    The wall started to bend and crack under Nick''s increasing power.


    ''Not very durable,'' Nick thought as he reduced his power. ''There is Zephyx in the walls, but the walls are not nearly as advanced as the walls of the Ancient Ones. Nevertheless, they contain Zephyx, but the fusion of Zephyx and materials seems crude. It''s almost like they just dumped steel in Zephyx and called it a day.''


    ''Additionally, a lot of time must have passed for this building to sink this low into the ground.''


    ''Most likely, this belongs to the Recovering Ones.''


    ording to Aegis, there had been five civilizations in this world. There was a possibility that there had been more, but there wasn''t enough evidence to support that hypothesis.


    The people of the first civilization were called the Ancient Ones, and their technology had been unmatched.


    Weapons that could destroy continents.


    The power to harvest the energies of other worlds.


    Their power had been terrifying.


    But then, they all vanished, and some timeter, a new civilization appeared.


    ording to the ruins, the second civilization tried to recover the knowledge of the Ancient Ones while slowly learning about Zephyx.


    Sadly, their development speed was slow.


    The oldest and newest ruins made by that civilization that had been found seemed to have a bigger difference in age than the oldest and newest ruins of the Ancient Ones.


    Yet, the technological level wasn''t very great.


    Even near the end.


    While their maniption of Zephyx had increased by a lot, their technological level had been worse than the technology Aegis had ess to currently.


    In fact, Aegis could also produce much better materials out of Zephyx than the Recovering Ones.


    The current civilization was much stronger than the civilization of the Recovering Ones.


    Nevertheless, the Recovering Ones also vanished one day, and a new civilization appeared.


    The Enlightened Ones.


    They were called as such due to their rapid speed of development.


    The oldest and newest ruins from that civilization were far closer in age than the oldest and newest from the Ancient Ones.


    Additionally, they had attained impressive levels of technology that far outssed all the technology Aegis had ess to.


    On top of that, their mastery over Zephyx had also reached a very high level.


    Their mastery over Zephyx was about equal to Aegis'' mastery over Zephyx.


    Sadly, the Enlightened Ones also vanished at some point.


    The fourth civilization was called the Suffering Ones.


    The reason for that name was the incredible rarity of ruins from them, and the few of them that were found were crude, small, and isted.


    The ruins spoke of istion from each other.


    Either there had been almost no humans during that time, or they had all been forced to live in istion from each other.


    The Suffering Ones had only been marginally more advanced than the Recovering Ones.


    Yet, just like the other civilizations, the Suffering Ones also vanished.


    And the next civilization¡­


    Was the current one.


    The current civilization, whenpared to the past, was pretty advanced but not the best.


    The Enlightened Ones had been more advanced in total, while the Ancient Ones had been far more advanced in terms of technology.


    Due to the crudeness of the wall and the low level of Zephyx, Nick believed that it could have only been created by the Recovering Ones or the Suffering Ones.


    However, if it were made by the Suffering Ones, it couldn''t have sunk this far into the ground.


    Nick didn''t think that enough time could have passed since then.


    ''A ruin from the Recovering Ones, huh?'' Nick thought.


    ''I wonder what I will find inside.''


    Then, Nick approached the door.

 Chapter 539 – Hot

    Chapter 539 ¨C Hot


    Nick approached the door and looked at the console at the wall.


    ''No power,'' Nick thought. ''Seems like the power source of this set of ruins isn''t working anymore.''


    Nick put his hands on the door and pushed forward.


    The metal was creaking, but that was all it did.


    ''I thought I could break through this, but apparently, I can''t. The material isn''t very hard, but it seems to be extremely thick.''


    ''Well, there are more ways to get through this.''


    Nick pulled his des out and put them into the door.


    Nick''s des went through the door like butter, and he started to cut pieces of the door away.


    The material this door was made out of was about four times as hard as normal steel, but that didn''t matter in front of an Expert.


    With Nick''s ability active, the power he could put out was equivalent to the power an animal with a weight of about 1,000 tons could put out.


    It wasn''t enough to push through the door, but it was more than enough to cut off pieces.


    Nick kept cutting and throwing the pieces of the door away.


    After about a minute, Nick had already created a tunnel that was about two meters deep.


    For just a moment, he stopped digging and pressed onto the wall in front of him.


    It creaked more than before, but that was the only difference.


    ''This thing has to be tens of meters thick,'' Nick thought. ''I wonder why they would make such thick walls.''


    For a couple of minutes, Nick kept cutting.


    When he was about 15 meters deep, he felt a difference.


    ''I might be able to break through the door now,'' Nick thought.


    BANG! BANG!


    Nick rammed his two des into the slit between the two doors and pushed to the side.


    CRRRRR! CRK!


    The metal creaked and bent, and Nick''s des lost their grip.


    ''I can open it, but the metal isn''t hard enough to deal with the leverage. It''s just going to bend and break.''


    Nick had already tried to push the two "walls" at his side to the side, but they just bent inwards until Nick''s body wasn''t wide enough to push both sides at the same time.


    ''I should just dig more.''


    A couple of minutester, Nick was at a depth of over 20 meters.


    ''This is a thick wall!'' Nick thought as he kept digging.


    A momentter, he pushed forward again, and this time, Nick could feel the metal bending in a way that suggested that Nick was close to the end.


    CRK! CREEEAK!


    Nick felt several cracks from before him, and he pushed more.


    An instantter, a small but deep crack appeared in front of Nick, and an extremely bright beam of light shone through it.


    As soon as Nick saw that, he became confused.


    ''Light? But the power source shouldn''t be active. How can there be light?''


    And then, something terrifying happened.


    Nick''s Barrier projected a crazy number of warnings while sounding an extremely loud rm.


    Nick''s eyes widened in terror, and he immediately charged out of the hole.


    BOOM!


    The doors mmed shut again.


    Luckily, the doors were designed to m shut if there was no power avable instead of the other way around.


    Nick had already appeared outside the hole he had dug.


    Everything had fallen back into darkness.


    Sweat appeared all over Nick''s body, and he looked at one of the disys of his Barrier.


    20%.


    That was how much Zephyx he had left.


    This had been way too close!


    Nick calmed down over the next couple of seconds, took a deep breath, and tapped on his Barrier a bit.


    Several readings and disys appeared, and Nick read through them.


    ''Radiation?'' he thought with furrowed brows. ''Radiation shouldn''t be an issue for my body.''


    Mortals feared radiation since it destroyed DNA, essentially turning one''s entire body into one gigantic tumor.


    Meanwhile, powerful Extractors didn''t have that issue. Their DNA had remarkable capabilities of self-repair, which was also the reason why they could live for so much longer than normal people.


    The only way to threaten an Extractor with radiation was to use so insanely much that it essentially turned into aser.


    And that was exactly what had happened just now, ording to Nick''s Barrier.


    As soon as the small ray of light appeared, Nick''s Barrier activated and warned him of the danger. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It had registered the light as a heat-based energy attack and blocked it.


    Nick had only found out that it was actually radiation after checking through the different readings.


    The radiation reading of his Barrier had essentially broken, and the increase in radiation on the graph was essentially a vertical line going from the bottom to the top of the graph.


    Nick''s Barrier came from Aegis, and it was more advanced than any Barrier inside Crimson City.


    If it had been worse, Nick might have died.


    ''Is it some form of defensive mechanism? Probably not,'' Nick thought.


    ''Then, what is it?''


    ''It doesn''t seem to be alive since my ability never deactivated during this entire thing. The chances of it being a Specter are low.''


    Nick tried to find an answer, but he couldn''t think of any.


    Whenever something with such destructive power appeared, it was almost always a Specter.


    However, a Specter would have noticed Nick, which would have deactivated his ability.


    Additionally, this entire area was isted by insanely thick walls.


    How could the Specter grow this powerful, to begin with?


    Also, if it were a Specter, it would be powerful enough to just break out.


    ''Unless it''s a Possession Specter,'' Nick thought. ''But that would be ridiculous. The power of the radiation is so high that it would need to be a Demon, at least.''


    ''I should check.''


    Nick looked at the wall again before ramming his de into one side.


    Then, he started to cut out a huge panel, which he then bent into the shape of a shield.


    ''This material seems to be able to iste the rays. As long as I block all of them, it should be fine.''


    Then, Nick pushed himself back into the hole he had dug while pointing his new shield forward.


    When he reached the end, he carefully continued digging through the hole.


    He wanted to make thest part as thin as possible so that he wouldn''t need so much power to push the doors apart.


    After a bit of digging, Nick felt the wall heating up tremendously.


    ''Is that why the walls are so thick?'' Nick thought.


    Nick continued digging, and then he found something interesting.


    ''The gap between the two doors is not straight. In fact, it doesn''t look manmade at all,'' he thought.


    Nick turned back and looked at the hole he had dug.


    ''While digging, the gap between the doors always seemed straight, but now, not anymore.''


    Naturally, Nick knew what this meant.


    ''That also exins why it was so hard to push them apart.''


    ''The metal inside the building is molten.''


    ''The doors were fused together, and I broke them apart earlier.''


    The metal in front of Nick had reached a temperature that would melt normal steel.


    However, since this material was strengthened with Zephyx, it still held together.


    It was quite hot around Nick, but his body was powerful enough to resist the heat.


    ''I should be close to the end,'' Nick thought.


    Nick made sure that his shield blocked his entire body and pulled out one of his spears.


    He leaned the spear onto the right side of the hole and grabbed a second one.


    Nick held the spear horizontally and expanded it.


    BANG! BANG!


    The spear''s butt hit the left side, while its tip hit the second spear to the right.


    If Nick had just expanded his spear like that, it would have just made a hole in the wall.


    That was why he used a second spear to distribute the forces.


    Next, Nick used his own power to expand the spear more.


    CRRR!


    The walls were creaking.


    BANG!


    Nick saw light passing by his shield, and he felt his shield warming up quickly.


    His Barrier was already active since part of the light reflected back onto Nick.


    Luckily, this bit of reflection couldn''t bepared to being hit by the thing directly.


    Nick saw both ends of his spear turning red and warping.


    His spears were not made to withstand that much heat.


    The sheer power of the radiation was ridiculous!


    Nick quickly started to do his tests.


    First, he created a small opening in his Barrier and moved his arm out.


    Next, he put the front of his left index finger into the light.


    And pulled back immediately!


    Nick gritted his teeth as he looked at his finger.


    It had turned red and ck!


    ''It''spletely denatured!'' Nick thought.


    Nick quickly cut off his finger with one of his des, and a new finger started to form.


    Veterans already had the power to regrow limbs, and Experts were even faster at that.


    Regrowing a limb only took a minute for an Expert.


    Next, Nick changed the form of his Barrier and moved a small part of it into the light.


    The Barrier flickered, but it still worked.


    The Barrier was in a different mode.


    Earlier, it had blocked the rays.


    This time, it was allowing them to pass through so that it could analyze them.


    A couple of secondster, Nick pulled the arm of the Barrier back and looked at the readings.


    When he saw them, he took a deep breath.


    ''High density of Zephyx, which was recently converted from Prephyx.''


    ''This is a fucking Specter!''

 Chapter 540 – Too Hot

    Chapter 540 ¨C Too Hot


    SSSSSS!


    ''Ah, fuck!'' Nick thought as he looked at the ground.


    Liquid metal was flowing in from the opening and passing by Nick''s shield.


    CRK! BANG!


    At the same time, an extremely loud bang exploded from Nick''s left, and all the light vanished.


    Under the heat, Nick''s spear couldn''t keep its form anymore and had broken under the pressure of the doors.


    It exploded, and the two doors mmed shut again.


    At the same time, the metal surrounded Nick''s shoes and tightly grabbed onto them.


    Nick jumped forward, breaking his shoes in the process andnding outside the hole.


    Inside the hole, the metal slowly started to solidify, but not before bending and slightly melting Nick''s shield.


    Nick just looked back at the hole.


    ''A fucking Specter. It''s actually a fucking Specter,'' he thought. ''And it has to be a Possession Specter.''


    ''A fucking Demon Possession Specter.''


    Nick remembered Ghosty''s hypothesis.


    The amount of suffering an object caused would trante into power if it ever turned into a Possession Specter.


    How much suffering had this Possession Specter caused?


    Also, why was it in there?


    ''I wonder,'' Nick thought. ''Was this thing surrounded by metal before or after it turned into a Specter?''


    Nick looked up and remembered how deep down he actually was.


    ''Is the creation of the Specter rted to this building getting buried this far into the ground?''


    ''Could be, but I can''t be sure. I don''t have enough information.''


    Next, Nick tapped around on his Barrier for a bit, and a momentter, a picture appeared.


    This Barrier also made a picture of the light while measuring it.


    When Nick saw the picture, he furrowed his brows.


    ''About as expected,'' he thought.


    The source of the light was a very bright white ball.


    However, Nick wasn''t sure if this was just the great amount of light hiding the object or if it was an actual white ball.


    ''I also can''t tell how far away it is. It could be ten meters away, but it could also be a kilometer away.''


    ''Based on the readings, if the object is just ten or a hundred meters away from the edge, it should be a Demon, but if it''s further, it could even be a Fallen.''


    ''I should measure the building. If it''s a Demon, Crimson City can contain it. If it''s a Fallen, we need Aegis.''


    Nick put the disys on his Barrier away and went back to the wall.


    Next, he started to go along the walls and carefully dig through the stone walls of the cave.


    After a bit of digging, Nick noticed something.


    ''The building is round. That makes things easier.''


    Nick summoned his Barrier and told it to calcte the circumference of the wall by analyzing a small part of it.


    After a bit of math, Nick got all the numbers of the building, assuming that it was a perfect sphere.


    ''Diameter of about 100 meters,'' Nick thought.


    ''The walls are around 30 meters thick, which means the open space in the middle should have a diameter of 40 meters.''


    ''If the thing is in the middle of the building, it should be about 20 meters away from the wall. With that distance and the power of the radiation, I can calcte the approximate power of the Specter.''


    Nick did a bit of math.


    ''Early or Mid Demon. More likely a Mid Demon.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''Capturing the Big Brain Slug sure as hell was worth the risk,'' Nick thought.


    ''Now, we just need to suppress and contain it.''


    Nick thought about the size and danger of the Possession Specter.


    ''But that''s easier said than done. The easiest way would be to carry and transport the entire building, but that thing has to weigh over a million tons.''


    ''We could shave off the outermost 20 meters, which should reduce its weight by over 90%, but that would still be tens of thousands of tons.''


    ''We would need Aria to carry it after shaving it.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''But that''s impossible,'' Nick thought as the image of the gue Vulture shot through his mind.


    ''If Aria leaves Crimson City for more than a couple of seconds, the gue Vulture might actually decide to attack the city.''


    ''That means I can only rely on my Specialists.''


    While Nick kept nning the suppression of the Specter, he kept digging around a bit.


    He wanted to make sure that the building was an actual sphere.


    After about an hour, he got confirmation.


    Yes, it was a sphere.


    ''This will take a long time,'' Nick thought as he looked at the metallic walls.


    Nick could tell that this was going to be a project spanning several years.


    Just for starters, they had to dig a hole to this depth to unearth the building, which was already a lot of work.


    ''I should get back and tell Aria,'' Nick thought.


    Nick told his Barrier to create a map and to keep this ce marked.


    Then, he traveled through the caves until he reached the top.


    This time, it barely took two minutes since Nick already knew the way.


    On the surface, Nick looked at his Barrier and traveled to the part of the surface that was directly on top of the buried building.


    Nick marked the ce and left for Crimson City.


    A whileter, Nick arrived in Crimson City and directly went to the city''s headquarters.


    When Aria saw him, she sighed in relief.


    "You were gone for quite a while," shemented.


    "I got lost in the caves," Nick answered.


    "Anyway, I got good and bad news. What do you want to hear first?" Nick asked.


    "The bad news," Aria answered with a sigh.


    "We have a huge project in front of us that will take years and a lot of powerful Extractors toplete," Nick said. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Aria looked with positive surprise at Nick. "That sounds more like good news. After all, why would you suggest investing that many resources into something if it isn''t worth it?"


    Nick scratched the side of his head. "I guess so."


    "Anyway, the good news is that we got a non-sentient Mid Demon Possession Specter."


    Silence.


    Aria''s eyes were opened widely, and she looked with shock at Nick.


    A Mid Demon Possession Specter?


    That was¡­ insane!


    "Are you for real?" she asked.


    Nick nodded and told her what he had found.


    In the beginning, Aria seemed excited, but when Nick told her about the readings and the picture, her excitement turned to worry.


    "You said there''s molten metal, right?" she asked.


    "Correct," Nick said. "It started to flow out as soon as the crack appeared."


    "How high was the crack?" Aria asked.


    "It started at a height of about one meter and stretched for another 80 centimeters upward," Nick exined.


    Aria nodded as she furrowed her brows. "Show me the picture again."


    Nick did just that, and Aria looked at it.


    Then, she grimaced.


    "There''s no reflection," she said.


    "Reflection?" Nick asked.


    Aria nodded and pointed at the picture. "The molten metal reached your ce, even though the crack starts at a height of ten meters. That means that theke of molten metal has to be a meter deep, at least."


    "However, if it only had that depth, we should be able to see a reflection of the light. The liquid metal should reflect the light like water reflects the Sun''s light."


    "But there''s no reflection," Aria said.


    At that moment, Nick started tobine the clues in his head.


    The liquid metal had to be high enough to get through the crack, but there was no reflection.


    This meant that the actual level of the liquid metal had to be higher than the height of the camera, which, at the time of the shot, was around 160 centimeters.


    This meant that at least 80% of the crack''s height had been blocked by liquid metal.


    Most likely, all of it had been blocked.


    The reason why the hole hadn''t immediately been flooded was that the liquid metal was extremely viscous.


    Nick looked at the picture again, and with the new context, this picture became far more intimidating.


    Nick''s calctions had all been correct.


    Everything had fit perfectly¡­


    As long as there was air between him and the object.


    However, that wasn''t the case.


    The object''s light hadn''t reached his camera through around 30 meters of air.


    No, it had reached his camera through around ten meters of air and 20 meters of molten metal.


    This thing was visible through 20 fucking meters of molten metal!


    This thing could kill Nick in less than a second while shining through 20 meters of metal!


    "Nick, that is not a Demon," Aria said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    "I realize that now," Nick answered.


    "That thing is a Fallen and not a weak one."


    Nick did a couple of calctions.


    "This has to be a Late Fallen."


    "At least!"


    Silence.


    Several seconds of silence.


    "I''m calling Aegis," Nick said.


    Aria nodded. "You should."

 Chapter 541 – Investigating the Specter

    Chapter 541 ¨C Investigating the Specter


    Nick and Aria waited in a za in the Outer City and looked towards the sky.


    They had contacted Aegis a couple of minutes ago, and Aegis told them that they would send a scout.


    Sending a Protector was a huge act, and Aegis wouldn''t do it without a very good reason.


    Someone from Aegis'' main force had to confirm the power of the Specter.


    After waiting for a while, the two of them saw someone flying towards the city.


    Aria lifted her arm and shot a beam of light into the sky, eliciting nces from everyone around them.


    The person changed their trajectory and flew directly to the beam of light.


    SHING!


    In almost an instant, the person appeared in front of Aria and Nick.


    It was a man who looked to be in his thirties. His hair was long and green, and he wore the uniform of an Agent.


    Aria could tell that this man was quite a bit more powerful than her.


    She estimated that he was a Late or Peak Hero.


    The man nodded at Aria in greeting before looking at Nick with furrowed brows.


    "Identify yourself," the man demanded. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick bowed politely. "Nick Dusk. I am a Liaison, a new position created by Aegis. I am above Governors but below Agents in authority."


    The man had a skeptical expression on his face, but he dropped the matter.


    What Nick said was suspicious, but he wasn''t here to police this city.


    He was here to check on a Specter.


    "Where is the Specter?" the man asked.


    "To the east of the city. Have you brought enough light?" Nick asked.


    The man nodded. "The message said I should, and I did."


    "I''ll lead you there," Nick said.


    However, the man looked at Aria instead. "Apany us," he ordered.


    "I''m sorry," Aria said politely, "but I can''t leave the city."


    The man looked unhappy. "Exin," he demanded.


    Aria pointed towards the west.


    The man focused on the west, and a couple of secondster, his eyes shone.


    "If I leave, it might attack," Aria said, referring to the gue Vulture.


    "That is an issue," the man said. "Fine, you can stay here."


    The next moment, the man looked at Nick before taking out a small device.


    He tapped a bit on the device and read something on its screen for a couple of seconds.


    Earlier, he hadn''t cared about Nick''s identity, but after learning that he would be alone with Nick in the darkness, he decided to verify Nick''s identity.


    First, he read through the local database of his digital assistant.


    The device the man was using couldn''t connect to Aegis'' mainwork.


    For security reasons, every Agent received a new device with an updated database every year.


    As long as Nick''s position wasn''t newer than a year, it should be in there.


    And sure enough, the man saw that Liaison was an official position.


    However, the specific number of Liaisons and their identities were confidential.


    Next, a Barrier appeared around the man, and he clicked on a button.


    The next moment, Nick''s Barrier also activated for a short moment.


    Finally, the man nodded. "Fine, lead the way," he said.


    Nick had passed all identity checks.


    He was part of Aegis.


    "Of course," Nick answered before jumping out of the city towards the east.


    The man took to the sky and followed Nick.


    A couple of secondster, they arrived at the cavework.


    "The Specter is about five kilometers below this spot, inside a big ruin made by the Recovering Ones. We can travel through the caverns, which will take us about a minute. Alternatively, we could dig down," Nick said.


    The man furrowed his brows. "There was no ruin in the report," he said.


    "Because the ruin is quite literally only a shell," Nick said. "The Specter emits so much radiation that every bit of metal around it is liquid. I don''t think there will be anything inside the ruin that has survived."


    The man wasn''tpletely happy with that exnation, but he didn''tin.


    "We''re going to create a small hole. Don''t resist," the man ordered.


    Next, the man grabbed Nick with his left arm and flew to the side.


    "Here good?" the man asked, pointing at a spot.


    "Yes, this leads to the entrance," Nick said, hanging from the man''s hand.


    The Agent pointed his other hand at the ground.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"


    Nick''s heart almost stopped as an iparably loud screech of absolute terror exploded out of the man''s hand.


    Nick saw a green force shooting out of the man''s hand.


    Inside the green force were faded faces of terrified humans, screaming and screeching in horror.


    The green wave hit the ground, and the ground turned into tiny pebbles before turning into dust.


    The dust rapidly flowed outward and created a cloud that grew bigger and bigger.


    The two of them were descending through the rapidly expanding cloud, and the surroundings grew darker and darker the deeper they went.


    Ding!


    The man''s Barrier activated and started to give off a bit of light.


    Nick looked with surprise at the Barrier.


    ''Wait, Barriers can create light from an Extractor''s Zephyx?''


    But then, he felt where the Zephyx came from.


    The Zephyx, the Barrier used to create light, came from one of the man''s pockets.


    The Barrier wasn''t using the Agent''s Zephyx.


    It was draining a solid brick of Zephyx in the man''s pocket.


    Nick guessed that there were several kilos of Zephyx in the man''s pocket.


    Aegis required a lot of Zephyx from all of their cities, and this was one of the ways the Zephyx was used.


    Agents needed light, and the best and most reliable way to make light was to convert Zephyx into light.


    BANG!


    The screaming stopped as the man broke through a wall, which led into a cavern.


    The next moment, he waved his right arm upward, and the cloud of dense dust blew out of the hole.


    Light returned.


    Since the sun was perfectly above them, the light even reached such a depth while shining through a hole that was barely two meters wide.


    The man looked around but didn''t see anything special.


    "We need to go one deeper," Nick said. "We still have about a kilometer to go."


    The man frowned before pointing his arm downward again.


    "AAAAAAHHHHH!"


    The screaming returned.


    About 30 secondster, they reached another cave, and the man dispelled the cloud of dust.


    Almost immediately, he noticed the walls of the ruin.


    "This is it?" he asked, looking at the ruin.


    "Yes," Nick said.


    The man dropped Nick, and Nicknded in the only bright spot of the cave.


    The five-kilometer-long hole created a pir of light in the cavern, and Nick stood in exactly that one.


    The man approached the ruin.


    "Be careful," Nick said. "I got hit by a tiny bit of light and lost almost all my Zephyx."


    The man didn''t answer and walked into the hole.


    Nick watched from the pir of light with worry.


    He hoped that the man wasn''t going to die to his own arrogance.


    Luckily, the man wasn''t that stupid.


    He carefully pushed the door open, and a beam of bright light shot out of the hole.


    Nick couldn''t look into the hole, which meant that he couldn''t see what the man was doing.


    A couple of secondster, the light vanished, and the man walked out of the hole.


    The next moment, he looked at Nick.


    "You did the right thing by calling us," the man said. "I can''t get an urate reading of its power since I don''t know how much the liquid metal is weakening the readings, but at the very least, it''s an Early Fallen. At most, it''s a Peak Fallen. Most likely, it''s a Mid Fallen."


    Nick took a deep breath and nodded.


    "What''s the n?" Nick asked.


    "I''m going to make a report. Crimson City already has an open work order. Something about taking away the Crimson Sea. The work order has a rtively low priority. Most likely, the retrieval of this Specter will be added to the work order, and the work order''s priority will be raised significantly. If that''s the case, expect a Protector within the next couple of weeks," the man exined.


    "Thank you," Nick said.


    The man nodded, and the two of them left by going through the long hole.


    As soon as they reached the surface, the man left to make his report, and Nick went back to the city.


    Life in the city continued for some time.


    And then, three weekster, some people arrived in front of the city.


    It was a group of five people wearing Aegis'' uniforms.


    Shockingly, four of them had three stripes, identifying them as Protectors.


    However, the most surprising was the leader.


    He was an old man with long silver hair, wearing a uniform with four stripes.


    This was a Justiciar, a Peak Protector.


    "This is Crimson City, sir," one of the Protectors said.


    The old man''s head turned to the city, and his empty and ck eye sockets seemed to focus on the distant city.


    "Get the Governor," the man ordered with a smooth voice.

 Chapter 542 – The Crimson Sea Is Suppressed

    Chapter 542 ¨C The Crimson Sea Is Suppressed


    Nick and Aria bowed with respect in front of the five people in front of them.


    "We are here to deal with two matters," one of the Protectors said. "First, we are going to deal with the Crimson Sea."


    "Of course," Aria answered. "Is there anything you need?"


    A big map appeared in the man''s hand, and it started to float in front of him.


    The map depicted Crimson City and its surroundings, including the new districts in the city''s west.


    "Mark the Crimson Sea," the Protector ordered, handing the map over to Aria.


    Aria took the map and drew a big circle over almost the entire city.


    "How deep is it?" the man asked evenly.


    "I am not sure," Aria answered. "More than 20 meters but less than 50."


    The man scratched his beard before turning to the Justiciar. "Sir?"


    "It''s only a Fanatic," the man said emotionlessly. "Standard procedure."


    "Of course," the Protector said before turning to Aria. "Open a path to the Crimson Sea."


    "Naturally," Aria said before flying towards Crimson City.


    The four Protectors didn''t move, but the Justiciar slowly floated after Aria.


    Nick watched Aria and the Justiciarnding near Crimson City''s edge, and the next moment, he saw Aria pulling a couple of tes off the ground.


    For the first time in a long while, the Crimson Sea was exposed to the sky again.


    Several eyes floated in an endless sea of red, all looking at the sky emotionlessly.


    "The Crimson Sea, sir," Aria said respectfully before stepping to the side.


    The Justiciar floated forward until he was just above the Crimson Sea.


    At that moment, all the eyes of the Crimson Sea gathered together into one huge eye, which focused on the Justiciar.


    The Justiciar didn''t show any reaction and floated down until he was touching the Crimson Sea.


    He lowered his hand into the gigantic eye and lightly moved it around.


    It was almost like he was dipping his hand in normal water since nothing of note happened.


    WHOOOM!


    At that moment, a ripple went through the Crimson Sea, and it suddenly started to rise.


    Aria watched in surprise as the Crimson Sea gained two additional meters of depth, and she knew what had just happened.


    It had advanced!


    However, the Justiciar didn''t seem surprised.


    ''He probably made it advance on purpose,'' Aria thought as she looked at the calm Justiciar.


    The Justiciar kept looking at the huge eye with his empty eye sockets.


    Then, the ckness of his empty eye sockets seemed to rotate, and a bit of purple appeared in it.


    Thin purple streaks moved around the middle of the ck nothingness, and when Aria saw that, she immediately associated them with whirlpools.


    It was like they were trying to suck her in.


    WHOOOOOM!


    Suddenly, the entire Crimson Sea began to shake violently, as if a devastating earthquake had happened beneath it.


    The shaking became stronger and stronger.


    This scene continued for several seconds before Aria noticed something changing.


    The eye was shrinking!


    It was almost like the eye was being absorbed by the Justiciar''s arm!


    Next, Aria noticed that the edges of the Crimson Sea started to change color.


    The red was vanishing, and it was reced by clear water!


    Aria watched in shock as the red shrank more and more until only a small puddle of red was left below the Justiciar. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The next moment, the Justiciar pulled his hand back, and a two-by-two-by-two-meter cube of crimson liquid was pulled out with him.


    The next moment, a big Specter cage appeared in front of the Justiciar, and the crimson liquid was put inside.


    The cube copsed inside the Specter cage and started to violently expand.


    BANG!


    However, the door of the cage mmed shut before the liquid could expand out of the cage.


    And that was it.


    The Crimson Sea was suppressed.


    Just like that.


    Aria was shocked by how easy this looked.


    The Crimson Sea had been an unsolvable problem for Crimson City for almost two decades!


    Yet, the Justiciar had solved it just like that.


    "Do you want to know how this works?" the Justiciar asked while looking in a seemingly random direction.


    Aria was a bit taken aback by the Justiciar talking to her.


    He didn''t seem like someone of many words.


    "Yes, sir," she answered.


    "Force Specters can be ssified in many more categories, but these are not important until your mastery over Zephyx Maniption reaches a certain level," the man calmly exined.


    "The Crimson Sea is not a sea. It is a Specter attached to water the same way you are attached to your body. The only difference is that it can survive without a body."


    Aria understood what the Justiciar meant.


    Technically, one could argue that a human was only someone''s brain and that a body was only a vehicle for the brain.


    Essentially, the Justiciar had pulled the "brain" out of the Crimson Sea''s body without killing it.


    "If you decide to join Aegis as an Agent, you will learn these things," the Justiciar said.


    "Thank you for exining," Aria said respectfully.


    The man didn''t answer and just floated out of the city''s underground.


    Aria threw onest look at the clear water beneath her.


    The Crimson Sea had made the water rise quite significantly, and there were now only three meters of space between the water''s surface and the city''s floor.


    ''It''s clean,'' Aria thought, looking at the water. ''It''s pure water without any dirt.''


    ''Where did all the dirt go?''


    Aria shook her head and left the city''s underground before arriving near the group again.


    The Justiciar had already handed the Specter cage to one of his people.


    "The Crimson Sea has been dealt with," one of the Protectors spoke. "Where''s the radiation Specter?"


    "I can bring you there," Nick said as he stepped forward.


    The Protector furrowed his brows.


    "Lead the way," the Justiciar said.


    The Protector immediately took a step to the side without saying anything.


    "Of course, sir," Nick answered before running towards the direction of the cave system.


    The group of people followed after Nick, and a couple of secondster, they reached the hole.


    However, a big part of the hole had already copsed again.


    "It''s five kilometers below this point," Nick said. "The Agent who has investigated this ce has created this hole, but it copsed."


    One of the Protectors stepped forward without a word and pointed his hand at the hole.


    WHOOOOM!


    Nick saw the air below the man''s hand get distorted before entering the hole.


    For ten seconds, nothing happened.


    "You, go first," the man ordered Nick, pointing at the hole.


    "Sure," Nick answered before jumping into the hole.


    As Nick fell into the hole, he noticed that it had reached its old length and that all the dust and copsed rock had vanished.


    There weren''t even any clouds of dirt!


    While Nick was falling, he looked up and saw the guy floating downward, just a couple of meters above Nick.


    "How did you do that?" Nick asked with interest.


    The man seemed a bit annoyed that Nick asked him a question.


    "Compression," he answered with annoyance. "I used the stone and dust topress and strengthen the walls of the hole."


    "Thank you for exining," Nick said carefully, not wanting to annoy the Protector too much.


    "This is taking too long," the Protector spoke a momentter before pointing at Nick.


    Nick''s eyes widened, and the air between him and the Protector warped.


    WHOOOOM!


    Suddenly, Nick''s entire world seemed to warp, and a tenth-of-a-secondter, Nick felt ground beneath his feet.


    SHING! SHING! SHING!


    At the same time, five people came out of the hole above Nick, their Barriers giving off a bit of light as they continued to hover above Nick.


    "Is that it?" one of the Protectors asked Nick while looking at the metallic wall in front of him.


    Nick looked over.


    Sure enough, they had already arrived at their destination.


    "Yes, it''s inside there. The inside is filled with liquid-"


    "We know," one of the Protectors said. "The report was very thorough, and we''ve all read it."


    "Scout," the Justiciar spoke.


    One of the Protectors flew forward and stopped in front of the half-destroyed door.


    Naturally, a Justiciar was extremely valuable, and they wouldn''t risk his life by letting him go in first.


    If there were unforeseen circumstances, the scout of the team would die instead.


    Nick watched as the scout entered the big hole inside the door.


    Momentster, an extremely bright light came out of the hole.


    Five secondster, the light disappeared again, but the scout didn''te out.


    ''He entered and closed the door behind him,'' Nick thought.


    A full minute of silence passed before light reappeared inside the hole.


    The scout reappeared and closed the door before calmly looking at the Justiciar.


    "Mid Fallen Possession Specter," the scout reported. "It''s a ming ball of fire that converts Prephyx into radiation. It produced Zephyx when I let its radiation touch my skin."

 Chapter 543 – Reward

    543 Chapter 543 ¨C Reward


    "Is there anything else in the ruins?" the Justiciar asked.


    "No, sir," the Protector answered. "Everything else has been turned into liquid metal."


    "What era?" the Justiciar asked.


    Another Protector walked forward. "The ruins are made of crudeposite material, and the architectural style is typical for the Recovering Ones. While crude for our standards, this was actually very advanced for the Recovering Ones. My first guess would be that this ce was built within thest 20% of the civilization''s reign."


    The Justiciar didn''t look at the Protector. "Any guess as to how this Possession Specter became this powerful?"


    Two of the Protectors looked at each other.


    Naturally, every Protector had their own specialty.


    One of them knew almost everything there was to know about past civilizations.


    One of them knew almost everything about the cities and their rules.


    One of them knew almost everything about Specter theory.


    And one of them was just a scout.


    "It''s a big burning ball of fire that gives off incredible amounts of radiation, right?" the Specter researcher asked the scout.


    "Yes," the scout answered. "It''s about five meters in diameter and has incredible power. Its radiation is so strong that it uses up my Zephyx faster than I can recover."


    The Specter researcher rubbed his chin. "A Possession Specter needs to possess something living or something dead. This ball of fire doesn''t sound like something that''s alive, which means that the Specter must have possessed it as an object."


    "However, big balls of fire don''t tend to exist very long under normal circumstances. If this is just a momentary explosion, the chances of it turning into a Specter are minuscule, which means it must have been rtively stable for quite a while."


    The Specter researcher looked at the civilization researcher. "Is there any ancient technology that creates long-living balls of fire?"


    The civilization researcher nodded. "It''s called nuclear fusion," he answered. "The Recovering Ones weren''t able to transform Zephyx into electricity. None of them had been creative enough to think of the Orwell-Mandrake-Model, which locked the true ess to the power of Zephyx away from them."


    "Nuclear fusion is an inefficient way to create energy by fusing nuclei together. While the theoretical output of energy is very high, the many different control processes required to keep it running are prone to error and consume a lot of the resulting energy."


    "Can you get to the point?" the Specter researcher asked.


    The civilization researcher sighed. "It makes a big ball of fire, which is then used as an energy source."


    "Thank you," the Specter researcher said. "Now, is there a way that this ball could cause a lot of suffering for the people?"


    "You''re applying the Ghosty Hypothesis?" the civilization researcher asked with raised brows.


    Nick looked with surprise at the two of them.


    They knew about Ghosty?


    "It''s the best exnation," the Specter researcher answered.


    "Fine," the civilization researcher said. "Nuclear fusion is extremely dangerous. One wrong input and the fireball can essentially ''explode''. If that were to happen, everyone in the surroundings would turn into dust."


    The Specter researcher looked at the ruin.


    "I have a theory," he said as he looked at the Justiciar.


    The Justiciar only nodded without turning to him.


    "It''s possible that the fireball has already caused a bit of suffering before the explosion. At some point, it transformed into a Specter, which changed its properties and increased its powers."


    "When that happened, it broke through its restraints and killed everyone inside the ruin."


    "All of this must have happened so fast that it managed to increase its level of suffering before fully transforming into a Specter."


    "Based on its power, it must have killed over 50 people while causing immense suffering to thousands more. It most likely killed all the researchers, and since it was no longer possible to harvest its energy, several settlements in the surroundings were without power for a long time. That would fulfill all the criteria."


    The Justiciar just looked at the ruin.


    "So, it''s a Possession Specter possessing a big explosion," the Justiciar said.


    "Yes," the two Protectors answered.


    "Can I use Exkrep''s Detachment without killing it?" the Justiciar asked.


    "If there is a way to feed it what it needs to keep exploding, it would work."


    The Specter researcher turned to the civilization researcher after saying that.


    "The effort required to do that would not even be close to worth it," he answered.


    Nick listened as the Justiciar asked about more and moreplicated methods of extracting the Specter, while the Protectors kept shooting down his ideas.


    "Zephyx Suppressors?" the Justiciar asked.


    Nick knew what this method entailed.


    "That would kill it," the Specter researcher answered without hesitation.


    Silence.


    "Carrying the entire building is too risky," the Justiciar said after a while. "If we get attacked on our way back and this thing gets out¡­"


    "Seems like there''s no other way," the Justiciar said with a determined tone.


    The Protectors looked with concern at him but didn''t protest.


    It was truly the only way.


    Nick wasn''t sure what they were talking about but kept watching.


    "Bring the Liaison back to the city and give them an appropriate reward," the Justiciar said as he turned to the scout and the city researcher.


    "Affirmative," the two of them answered before they approached Nick.


    Without saying anything, they flew out of the hole while pulling Nick behind them.


    Nick was pulled out of the cave quickly and was put down on the surface.


    The two Protectors gestured to the city, and Nick started to run towards it.


    "What is the Justiciar doing?" Nick asked.


    The two of them didn''t immediately answer.


    Near the edge of the city, they stopped and looked at Nick.


    "The Justiciar is the best Suppressor in the world," one of them said seriously. "He has an ability that allows him to suppress any Specter. Even if technology and knowledge fail us."


    "However, using that abilityes at a heavy price. Every time he uses it, his body ages several years."


    "He doesn''t have many years left."


    Nick could feel the mood turning solemn, and he didn''t ask for any specifics.


    The fact that the two had answered his question so far was already incredible.


    "Thanks for telling me," Nick answered.


    "What do you want for your reward?" one of them asked, looking at Nick. "You are the Liaison, which means you can decide for Crimson City, correct?"


    Nick nodded. "I can."


    "Do you know what you want?" the other Protector asked.


    Nick nodded. He and Aria had already talked about what they would want from a potential reward.


    "Can you capture the gue Vulture and give it to Crimson City?" Nick asked.


    "The big bird flying to the west of here?" one of them asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "Does the city already have a Demon?" he asked.


    "Kugelblitz has one. The city itself does not have one," Nick said.


    "How powerful is the Governor?" the man asked.


    "Early Hero. She will be a Mid Hero within the next three years."


    The two Protectors looked at each other.


    "Do you have a Containment Unit big enough to suppress this thing?" they asked.


    "No," Nick said.


    The gue Vulture was almost 50 meters long. If they wanted to suppress it, they would need a Containment Unit that was at least 75 meters long.


    On top of that, it would need to be powerful enough to contain an aggressive Demon.


    "How long would it take to construct one?" one of them asked. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick did some math.


    "Around five days," he answered.


    "Do you have three tons of Zephyx in liquid funds?" one of them asked with furrowed brows.


    Nick nodded, and the two of them raised their brows.


    "You do?" one of them asked in surprise.


    "Yes," Nick said.


    The man had only asked out of courtesy.


    He hadn''t expected that the city actually had three whole tons of Zephyx just lying around.


    The two Protectors looked at each other and nodded after a while.


    "Alright," one of them said, looking back at Nick. "We''re going to contain it as your reward. We''re going to use a special kind of Zephyx Suppressor, which can be powered by Zephyx. Three tons of Zephyx can keep the gue Vulture''s Zephyx suppressed for around nine days, which should give you enough time to construct its Containment Unit."


    Nick sighed in relief.


    The gue Vulture had been a humongous issue for the city.


    It kept several Specialists busy and blocked off the entire western direction.


    With the gue Vulture finally taken care of, the city would finally be able to spread its wings, metaphorically speaking.


    "Where do you want it?" one of them asked.


    "For now, dump it in the crater to the south of the city," Nick said.


    The two of them looked to the south and nodded. "Sure. Give us about two hours toe up with a n and another hour to put it into motion."


    "You will have your rotting bird by the end of the day."


    Join my Discord:

 Chapter 544 – Concept Transmission

    Chapter 544 ¨C Concept Transmission


    The gue Vulture circled over the area west of the city.


    It had been doing that for years by now, and it wouldn''t stop for several more years.


    At least, that''s what it thought.


    The gue Vulture''s eyes focused on Crimson City as it noticed somebody charging in its direction.


    The gue Vulture had lived for a very long time, and it had fought many different people before.


    In fact, it had already helped destroy an entire city.


    Naturally, the gue Vulture hadn''t been the only Specter that had caused chaos in the city.


    It had just done what it always did.


    Add to the chaos.


    After the city had been destroyed, the gue Vulture had been greeted with a feast.


    So many weak humans that it could rot away.


    This was how the gue Vulture grew in power. The more humans and animals it could dpose, the more powerful it would be.


    The destroyed city had made it advance from an Initial Demon into an Early Demon.


    On top of that, it was already near the end of its current level.


    Just a hundred more humans or so, and it would be a Mid Demon.


    At that point, it could almost consider attacking a city on its own.


    The gue Vulture was very experienced when it came to dealing with humans and their forces.


    So, when it saw the human charging towards it, it immediately realized that the human was extremely powerful.


    Far more powerful than the gue Vulture.


    Without waiting to see what the human had nned, the gue Vulture charged toward the north as quickly as it could.


    Naturally, the gue Vulture had created several contingency ns for something exactly like this.


    It would just escape into the domain of the sharks, and any human that followed it would die.


    The human was extremely fast, but they couldn''t possibly reach it before the gue Vulture reached the ocean.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"


    The gue Vulture stopped as a gigantic wall of screaming faces appeared in front of it.


    It could tell that the wall of faces was so powerful that it would die if it touched it.


    Without hesitation, the gue Vulture extended its wings, and green dust started to gather on its wings.


    In one fluid motion, the gue Vulture threw the dust towards the approaching human from its back.


    Ding.


    Yet, the human just moved his arm from right to left, and the entire cloud of decay was redirected.


    The next moment, the human pulled out a handgun and slowly pointed it at the gue Vulture''s head.


    BANG!


    The gue Vulture''s head exploded.


    Yet, a momentter, its body gathered more gue around it and created an explosion of death and decay.


    The gue Vulture didn''t need a head to survive or fight.


    BANG! BANG!


    Two more shots rang out, and two gigantic holes appeared in the cloud of decay.


    The cloud of decay scattered in all directions, reced by a cloud of blood.


    The gue Vulture''s wings had exploded.


    "Stop resisting or your feet are next," the wielder of the gun spoke calmly, his voice easily reaching the gue Vulture by the use of Zephyx. "We''re not killing you."


    The gue Vulture didn''t understand humannguage, but for some reason, the words inside the waves of Zephyx were extremely clear to it.


    It had never talked to any other Specter or human, but it perfectly understood what the human wanted, which was bizarre.


    The gue Vulture stopped moving before slowly lowering itself towards the ground.


    Naturally, it gave up.


    It wasn''t sure what the humans had nned for it since itcked the intelligence to understand what Manufacturers did, but staying alive was better than dying.


    As Nick watched the Specter giving up, he was a bit surprised.


    Sure, he had expected that the two Protectors would be able to capture it, but he hadn''t thought that they would be able to convince it to stop resisting.


    Crimson City had tried tomunicate with the gue Vulture many times in the past, but all signs pointed towards the gue Vulture not being able tomunicate with anyone.


    It had the intelligence of a regr animal.


    It was very intelligent when it came to hunting and fighting, but that was everything there was to its intelligence.


    ''How did he do that?'' Nick thought.


    Nick watched as the Protector approached the gue Vulture before summoning a gigantic chain.


    The gigantic chain surrounded the gue Vulture, and a momentter, it started to give off a terrifying amount of Zephyx.


    One part of the chain had a bright white cube in it.


    That was one ton of pure Zephyx.


    It would keep the gue Vulture suppressed for about three days.


    With the gue Vulture''s Zephyx suppressed, its power dropped considerably.


    However, it still wasn''t harmless.


    When a human was suppressed, their power dropped to the level of a normal human.


    Yet, the gue Vulture was still a gigantic being, and its base power was already incredible.


    Even with its Zephyx suppressed, its body was still about as powerful as the body of an Expert.


    The second Protector shot out from the ground and arrived beside his colleague.


    A momentter, the two of them threw the gue Vulture into the crater south of the city.


    Three Specialists were already waiting there.


    Naturally, Nick had given those three the task to keep the gue Vulture imprisoned until the city could finish building its Containment Unit.


    The Specialists looked with excitement and satisfaction at the gue Vulture.


    This fucking thing had been a pain in their asses for long enough!


    Additionally, they felt excited at the prospect of having a Demon.


    With the gue Vulture, the city could finally rival Kugelblitz in terms of ie!


    Well, at least theoretically.


    They still had to find out what the gue Vulture needed to be more powerful.


    If it needed to kill people, it wouldn''t produce nearly as much Zephyx as the Crimson Fungus.


    "Thank you," Nick said to the two Protectors after arriving at the scene.


    "No need to thank us," one of them said evenly. "This was your reward."


    Nick nodded.


    "May I ask a question?" he asked.


    "Make it quick. We have to get back," one of them said with annoyance.


    "How did you manage tomunicate with the gue Vulture?" Nick asked.


    "Concept Transmission," one of them answered. "We use our Zephyx to trante concepts into waves, which are then picked up by the center of consciousness. It''s much more efficient than speech, instantaneous, and everyone understands it. It''s an advanced form of Zephyx Maniption and takes a couple of years of practice to master."


    Nick looked with interest at the Protector. "Zephyx Maniption? I received a rank three manual in Zephyx Maniption, and it didn''t say anything about that."


    "You got a rank three manual?" the other Protector asked in surprise.


    Nick nodded.


    "You must''ve done something incredible for humanity if a Shield gave you ess to a level three manual as an Expert," the Protector answered. "As for your question, no, it''s not in any of the Zephyx Maniption manuals. Transmissions have already been mastered, and aplete technique has already been created. There is no need to learn how to recreate it since it''s already perfect."


    "You can purchase it with contribution coins in one of the strongholds, but you need the rank of Agent to ess it."


    "Wait," the other Protector said. "Are you sure?"


    "What do you mean?" the first Protector asked.


    "Do you know what permissions a Liaison has?" the second Protector asked.


    The first Protector furrowed his brows. "Huh, maybe you''re right." Then, he turned to Nick. "Maybe you can actually purchase it. You should check. It''s not very expensive."


    "Thank you," Nick said.


    "Was that everything?" the first Protector asked with impatience.


    "Yes, thank you again on behalf of Crimson City," Nick said respectfully.


    "Sure," the two of them said with a nod before flying towards the ruin with the big fireball.


    Nick looked at the direction of the cave system for a couple of seconds before turning back to the gue Vulture.


    Its head had already regrown, and its wings were nearly done regrowing.


    ''This guy heals fast,'' Nick thought.


    The gue Vulture noticed that the powerful humans were gone and strained against the Zephyx Suppressors.


    BANG!


    One of the Specialists used a gun to st a huge hole into the gue Vulture''s head, and it fell over.


    Even a dumb animal would understand what this meant.


    And even if it didn''t, with enough bullets, it would learn to understand.


    Nick oversaw the gue Vulture''s suppression for a couple more minutes to make sure that nothing would go wrong.


    WHOOOM!


    The earth began to shake violently, and Nick saw the earth crumbling far to the east. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It wasing right from the cave system.


    BANG!


    The next moment, five white beams shot out from the ground before vanishing on the horizon.


    The Protectors and the Justiciar had left.

 Chapter 545 – Five Civilizations

    Chapter 545 ¨C Five Civilizations


    Nick returned to the city.


    Many things had changed within thest couple of hours.


    In a way, Crimson City had undergone a change more significant than Anatomy''s destruction.


    The Crimson Sea had vanished.


    The gue Vulture was suppressed.


    It took a while toe to terms with these drastic changes.


    The first thing Nick did after getting back to the city was to go towards the sewers.


    He opened one of the entrances to the city''s underground inside the megastructure and jumped onto a balcony.


    This was the ce where the Roachers had gathered in the past.


    Compared to back then, things had be extremely different.


    There was no more red mist.


    There was no bright glow anymore.


    Everything outside of the entrance was perfectly dark.


    The sewers had changed once again.


    In the beginning, they had been filled with disgusting liquid, while light had shone through many different holes.


    Then, it had transformed into a rednd of death.


    And now, it was perfectly dark and mostly filled with beautiful and clean water.


    As Nick looked at the city''s underground, a mix of emotions rose from his chest.


    Fear, wonder, calm.


    Fear because he still felt like looking down would kill him.


    Wonder because the ruins below the city were finally essible again.


    Calm because the silent and unmoving wonder created an atmosphere of tranquility.


    For a while, Nick just looked at the darkness.


    A normal Extractor would only see a ck wall since there was no light source in the underground, except for the exit.


    Yet, Nick could see everything as if it were illuminated by the Sun.


    Nick saw a seemingly endlesske of clear water.


    Inside the clear water, Nick saw an incredible number of ruins from different civilizations.


    Back when the Crimson Sea had broken out for the first time, Markus had destroyed the majority of the floor beneath the sewers to make the Crimson Sea fall down oneyer of ruins.


    That destroyed many buildings, but not all of them.


    On the highestyer of the ruins, Nick saw a couple of scattered buildings made of ck metal.


    These buildings all stood on top of different buildings from other civilizations.


    ''The Suffering Ones,'' Nick thought as he looked at the buildings.


    The buildings were made of rtively good quality steel, which had been treated with Zephyx.


    Something like that could withstand the strength of an Initial John, but a Late John with a strong weapon could break through these materials.


    Below them were smooth, chrome-ted buildings.


    The metals used were so advanced that Nick couldn''t even recognize them.


    He wasn''t sure if Aegis knew how to make these.


    Nick felt no Zephyxing off these buildings, but that didn''t mean that they were not treated with Zephyx.


    Quite the opposite.


    The Zephyx treatment was so incredibly advanced that it perfectly integrated with the metals.


    These materials were insanely advanced.


    ''The Enlightened Ones,'' Nick thought.


    Over 90% of thatyer was still intact.


    Markus had only created a couple of holes since thisyer was not nearly as fragile as theyer from the Suffering Ones.


    Ssh!


    Nick jumped into the water and moved downward.


    Nick didn''t need to breathe, and he also didn''t need to swim to move underwater.


    He already knew the principle of flight that Heroes used, and he was using exactly that to move around underwater.


    He couldn''t use it to fly since the density and recovery rate of his Zephyx weren''t high enough, but he could use it in the water.


    Nick went to the secondyer and touched one of the chrome-ted walls of a building.


    BANG!


    Nick punched the wall with almost all of his power.


    The wall began to vibrate, and the water around him shook.


    Yet, that was all that happened.


    ''Even with my ability, I can''t damage this wall easily,'' Nick thought. ''If I were to go all out with my de, I might be able to create a couple of cuts, but it would take minutes to make a small cut that goes through one of these walls.''


    One had to remember that Nick''s ability was active right now.


    This meant that these walls could resist Specialists.


    ''The fact that an entire city is made of such advanced materials is insane to think about. Was it really so easy for the Enlightened Ones to create materials of this level? Was it so easy that they could just use this for any random ce?''


    Nick moved away from the wall and swam through one of the scattered holes.


    He found himself in apletely newyer of the ruins.


    The thirdyer.


    Thisyer was different from the other ones since it contained structures from two different civilizations.


    The buildings on thisyer were made by the Recovering Ones, but there were also many chrome-ted pirs that supported theyer of the Enlightened Ones.


    Naturally, they made these pirs to support their own buildings.


    Meanwhile, the buildings on the thirdyer looked simr to the buildings of the firstyer, but a bit worse.


    The steel was of around the same quality as the steel from the Suffering Ones, but the Zephyx used to treat these metals was essentially only ayer on top of the metal.


    An Initial John with a good weapon could break one of these walls with a couple of swings.


    ''This also exins why the Enlightened Ones created these pirs. This material can''t withstand a lot of weight,'' Nick thought as he pushed one of the walls a bit, bending it.


    ''The Recovering Ones have the same level of technology as the Suffering Ones but worse Zephyx Maniption.''


    Next, Nick looked at the floor.


    Most of it was covered in chrome-ted metal, but the floor inside the buildings was made with materials created by the Recovering Ones.


    ''Crimson City has existed for over a century, and it was created by Aegis. I''m certain these ruins have already thoroughly been examined by Aegis. There''s probably nothing of value left here.''


    Nick entered one of the buildings.


    ''But I still wanted to see for myself.''


    Nick broke through the floor of one of the buildings and found himself in a different building.


    Surprisingly, there was already water in this ce.


    ''Which means that there is a hole to thisyer somewhere on the previousyer.''


    Nick looked at the walls of this building, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.


    ''Not metal?'' he thought.


    He swam over and touched the walls.


    ''Stone?'' he thought as his hand moved across the wall. ''It looks too uniform to be made of stone. It''s almost like the stone was molded into this form.''


    Nick pressed against it.


    CRACK!


    The wall caved in, and several pieces of stone fell away, revealing a thick pir of steel beneath the wall.


    ''Steel surrounded by stone?'' Nick thought. ''What a strange way of constructing a building.''


    ''Even more, this stone is not strong at all. Even a Newbie can break it.''


    Nick knocked on the steel pir and felt it ringing with vibrations. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''The quality of this steel is amazing. It''s not treated with Zephyx, but its purity seems perfect.''


    After looking at the wall for a bit, Nick swam down the stairs and left the building.


    When he came out of the building, he looked around in surprise.


    ''No pirs?'' Nick thought.


    Nick had expected that he would find more pirs supporting the upperyers since the walls seemed very fragile.


    And yet, there were no pirs.


    ''How are these walls supporting that much weight?'' Nick thought as he looked at the buildings around him, which all supported theyer above this one.


    ''Once more, the Ancient Ones prove to be the most exotic civilization,'' Nick thought.


    Naturally, thisyer was made by the Ancient Ones.


    It was still so bizarre to think that a civilization without ess to Zephyx could achieve such incredible power.


    The materials were weak and brittle.


    And yet, with these brittle materials, the Ancient Ones created weapons that could destroy continents.


    It was unbelievable.


    Nick swam around thisyer and found a couple of interesting things.


    First of all, the ground was made of stone, not metal.


    Second, there were many spots filled with sand.


    Nick believed that this had once been normal earth.


    Maybe there had been nts there?


    Nick also saw many rusted remains from different big machines.


    He wasn''t sure what these machines had been used for in the past.


    After looking through many more buildings, Nick came out to the streets again.


    ''Just as expected, there''s nothing of value left. Everything that''s left is just junk.''


    Nevertheless, Nick didn''t believe it was a waste of time toe here.


    Seeing the architecture of all five civilizations gathered in this ce taught Nick a lot of things about the civilizations and their differences.


    ''We should change the way we deal with our waste,'' Nick thought, looking around. ''The water is clean now, and turning this back into a disgusting sewer will cut off these ruins again.''


    Nick looked at the ruins for a couple more minutes before leaving.

 Chapter 546 – Absolute Power

    Chapter 546 ¨C Absolute Power


    A couple of dayster, the Containment Unit for the gue Vulture had beenpleted, and it was transported into it.


    Due to the size of the Containment Unit, the city decided to build it in the Outer City.


    Getting the gue Vulture through the megastructure would be too big of an unnecessary project.


    So, a gigantic ck cube, almost 100 meters in dimension, appeared in the Outer City, bing the biggest building beside the megastructure.


    Constructing this Containment Unit had been extremely expensive, but it was worth the investment.


    A couple dayster, the gue Vulture was fully analyzed, and the results were promising.


    It became more powerful by rotting organic matter.


    In a way, it was like the Dung Heap, just better.


    The Dung Heap only epted food, while the gue Vulture could use any organic matter.


    However, there were still big differences in Zephyx production based on the matter given to the gue Vulture.


    Inedible nts barely gave any Zephyx.


    Edible nts gave more.


    Animal corpses gave even more.


    Human corpses were even better.


    ¡­and living humans were the best.


    However, Nick and Aria would not send living humans to the gue Vulture, unless they were some sort of horrible criminal.


    Fortunately, or unfortunately, there was barely any crime in the city anymore since the power and strong surveince of the government mademitting crimes unreasonably risky.


    In the end, the gue Vulture barely produced 20% of what the Crimson Fungus produced, but that included the Blood Donation System.


    Without the Blood Donation System, the gue Vulture produced about 80% of what the Crimson Fungus produced.


    That was more than satisfactory.


    Some of Kugelblitz''s Specialists started to covet a position in the city guards, but they wouldn''t switch just yet.


    Specialists working for Kugelblitz could basically choose which Specter they wanted to work with.


    After all, Kugelblitz didn''t have enough Extractors for optimal Zephyx production.


    For now, staying in Kugelblitz was the right decision in their mind.


    Vanessa and Jornis felt the pressure ramp up as soon as the city caught a Demon.


    With time, the city would start to produce Heroes.


    This meant that the gap in peak power between Kugelblitz and the city wouldn''t keep widening.


    So, if Kugelblitz couldn''t win against the city now, they would never be able to win against it.


    The two of them yed with the thought of attacking the city, but deep inside, both of them knew that they were only dreaming.


    They wouldn''t go through with it.


    Things were different now.


    The city was in charge now, and Kugelblitz had to adapt if it wanted to keep existing.


    More time passed, and soon, only six months were left before Nick had to change positions.


    In six months, Aegis would investigate Crimson City and judge whether or not it was a good idea to expand the Liaison program.


    Every major change had already been put into practice.


    As Nick looked at the city, he no longer felt disgust and pity.


    The Dregs, as a part of the city, had essentially vanished.


    There were still a couple of homeless beggars walking around, but their numbers were in the double digits.


    The city had given these people all the opportunities for a stable life, but these couple of people just couldn''t grasp them.


    The city was willing to help people, but only people who were willing to help themselves.


    Having something like 30 beggars among 13,000 citizens was eptable.


    Everyone else had housing, and they were also not in danger of starvation.


    Some families had to be careful with food expenditure, but they could still survive without having tomit crimes.


    The people in the Inner City were not as happy as they had been five years ago, but their happiness hadn''t decreased as much.


    Sure, giving blood every three months infuriated them, just like the increased taxes on the rich.


    However, there were also far fewer wild Specters running around, and stuff like Debilify hadpletely vanished.


    They could deal with it.


    Of course, the people in the upperyermented their current situation, but they just had to get over it.


    They still had their nature paradise.


    They still had more money than they could spend.


    They still had happy and healthy families.


    The Manufacturers felt much better in the current city, with Kugelblitz being the only exception.


    They didn''t need to fear more powerful Manufacturers consuming them anymore.


    They paid fewer taxes. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    There were many more opportunities since not every Manufacturer was interested in every single Specter anymore.


    Nick had done it.


    He had turned the city into what he wanted.


    It hadn''t been easy, but he had done it.


    And what was the thing that made all of this possible?


    Power.


    Achieving something like this had seemed impossible in the past.


    It had seemed impossible to Markus, Aria, and even Simon.


    But that was because all three of them had forgotten the truth of the world.


    Power was everything.


    Could a god create a paradise?


    Could a god create hell?


    Yes, they could do both.


    And what was it that decided which one it would be?


    The god''s personality and values.


    Absolute power was not inherently bad.


    Power was just a tool.


    It all depended on the wielder of the tool.


    With a mix of personal power, Aria''s support, and authority granted to him by Aegis, Nick had be the most powerful person in Crimson City by far.


    Because of that, he was able to implement reforms that the entire city would fight against, antagonize the elite, and kill "innocent" people in broad daylight.


    Yet, Nick knew very well that the results he had achieved in Crimson City were an exception, not the rule.


    Nick had the good of Crimson City at heart.


    That was why it had worked out.


    However, how many powerful people truly had such altruistic goals?


    Reaching such a level meant that this person had won apetition with thousands of participants.


    Would a nice and altruistic person be able to triumph over so many ruthlesspetitors who were willing to use every dirty trick in the book to their advantage?


    That would be a miracle.


    Because of that, in the vast majority of cases, granting absolute power to the most powerful people was a very bad idea.


    A fire that burned down tens of houses wouldn''t suddenly start building houses when gasoline was poured into it.


    Nick kept looking over the city as he nned his future in another city.


    Naturally, if Aegis decided to expand the program, Nick would need to prove himself in an unfamiliar city to show that this hadn''t been a fluke.


    For that, Nick needed toe up with strategies.


    Most of the time, when he was thinking about such strategies, he just looked at the city from the megastructure.


    Yet, today, Nick noticed something.


    Nick saw something running from one corner of an abandoned street to another.


    As Nick saw that, data from thest couple of months appeared in his mind.


    The poption of beggars stayed roughly the same, but many normal citizens were still bing beggars.


    Naturally, the suicide rate amongst beggars was quite high, but it shouldn''t be THAT high.


    Also, why were so many citizens bing beggars in the first ce?


    There didn''t seem to be a connected cause.


    Devastating death in the family here.


    Overinvestment there.


    Insanity.


    Addiction.


    These things hadn''t seemed very suspicious.


    But now, Nick knew what was going on.


    Nick narrowed his eyes and jumped off the megastructure.


    His eyes had already locked onto his target, which was scurrying around in the Outer City.


    Within a couple of seconds, Nicknded on the street.


    Without waiting an instant, he darted towards an abandoned alley and extended his hand.


    "Screh!"


    A screech came out from the thing in Nick''s hand, and Nick pulled it deeper into the abandoned alley.


    Inside the alley, Nick held his hand in front of him and red at the thing in his hand.


    It was a rat.


    The rat kept screeching and trying to bite Nick''s hand, but that naturally didn''t aplish much.


    "You think you can fool me?" Nick asked with a dark tone.


    The rat just kept screeching in panic.


    "I know that it''s you, Parasite," Nick said. "Do you think I just randomly grab rats I find off the street and interrogate them?"


    The rat just kept screeching in panic.


    "Fine, if you don''t want to bargain, I will order a sweep."


    "Every rat inside the city will be purged."


    "No exception."


    The rat kept screeching.


    "When we''re done, you won''t even be able to negotiate with me anymore since all your minions will die before getting to me."


    The rat was still in panic.


    Nick looked at the rat for a bit longer.


    "Suit yourself," he said before walking out of the alleyway, rat still in hand.


    Nick walked to the entrance of the megastructure, and several guards saluted in greeting.


    "New orders," Nick said. "The Parasite is back. Every rodent inside or outside of the city will be killed. If the problem persists, we are going to put a bounty of 100 credits on every rat corpse. The gue Vulture should be happy about the corpses."


    The guards were surprised but saluted in confirmation.


    "Whoa, whoa, whoa."


    Nick pulled his hand up and looked at the rat he was holding.


    "Nick, calm down," the rat said. "Let''s talk first, okay?"

 Chapter 547 – Fuck Off

    Chapter 547 ¨C Fuck Off


    Back in the abandoned alleyway, Nick red at the rat in his hand.


    "I wasn''t focusing on this minion earlier," the rat said with a justifying tone. "If I had known that you captured one of my minions, I would have immediately tried to talk to you."


    Nick just kept ring at the rat.


    The rat just looked nervously at Nick.


    "We''re buddies, right? Remember how I saved you from killing yourself? Remember when I told you what you can do about Julian''s influence? Remember when I told you how to infiltrate the Spartans? Come on, we''re on the same team here," it said.


    Nick just kept ring at it.


    The rat seemed quite nervous.


    The Parasite still had issuesing to terms with the new Crimson City.


    Thest time the Parasite had been in Crimson City was before the Crimson Sea broke out.


    That had been around 14 years ago.


    Back then, Nick had been a Peak John.


    Except for his position as CZE of Dark Dream, he had been a nobody.


    Their hard and soft powers had been worlds apart.


    But now, things were very different.


    Now, Nick had the power to eradicate the Parasite''s influence in Crimson City with a couple of words.


    Just putting out a bounty of 100 credits on rat corpses would be a devastating blow to the Parasite.


    Every creation of a minion needed Zephyx, and the Parasite needed corpses to regain Zephyx.


    With one normal human corpse, the Parasite could create over 100 rats, but even such an efficient conversion had its limits.


    If Crimson City were filled with suicidal people, it would still be worth it to fight through the bounty.


    But that wasn''t the case.


    The Parasite had never had such huge issues in convincing people to kill themselves.


    It had already tried to convince every single beggar to kill themselves.


    A couple of them had done so, but that was it.


    There were no more beggars to convince.


    As for the normal people in the Outer City¡­


    Why would they want tomit suicide?


    Sure, not everyone was super happy, butmitting suicide required more than just feeling a little blue.


    So, the Parasite had started to manipte people.


    It gave incorrect advice to the few people who were willing to listen, causing them to lose all their belongings.


    The sudden devastation of losing everything would make them prime targets.


    Additionally, the Parasite had even forcefully torn some people apart by swarming them with rats.


    But that was always extremely risky due to the high perception abilities of the Extractors around the city.


    Crimson City had already be the least profitable location for the Parasite.


    A bounty on every rat would turning to this city into a loss.


    The Parasite hadn''t wanted to talk to Nick earlier since it knew Nick very well.


    It knew that if the two of them were to talk, things would most likely turn out very badly for the Parasite.


    The Parasite viewed Nick as a contradictory person.


    Ruthless and merciful. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Egoistic and altruistic.


    Shrewd and na?ve.


    Negotiating with an idealistic fool was almost impossible.


    "Hey, can you maybe let me go?" the rat asked awkwardly. "It feels nice that you''re hugging me this tightly with your hand, but I don''t think this is the right- AAHH!"


    Nick squeezed his hand more, and some of the rat''s bones creaked.


    "Here''s my offer," Nick said coldly.


    "You fuck off, and I don''t kill your main body."


    The rat had an ufortable smile on its face.


    "That''s quite a convincing offer, but I think we can refine that a little bit," it said.


    Nick just red at the rat.


    "How about you give me five corpses per month, and I''m not going toe to the city anymore?" it asked.


    "Fuck off or die," Nick repeated.


    "Nick, that''s not how negotiations work," the rat said.


    "Fuck off or die," Nick said again.


    The rat''s smile vanished. "That''s an empty threat, and you know it," it said with annoyance. "I''m present in six cities. There are over ten Heroes that want to see me dead. So, stop trying to intimidate me with such baseless threats."


    Nick didn''t seem impressed. "I don''t need to kill you to kill you. I just need to find your main body. As soon as I know where you are, I will just send Aria. Or maybe I just ask Aegis directly. You''re quite a big threat to several cities."


    The rat groaned. "Nick, seriously, stop trying to intimidate me. You''re not scary," it said. "No one is going to find my main body. If I were that easy to find, I wouldn''t be here, would I?"


    Nick still didn''t seem impressed. "You know about my ability."


    "I dealt with Julian."


    "I dealt with the False News."


    "I dealt with Kugelblitz."


    "I dealt with the entire upperyer."


    "I killed a Mid Specialist who tried to kill me."


    "I am not confident in iming that I am the most powerful Early Expert in this world, but I am confident in iming that I am the best in staying undetected."


    "I just have to wait until you find a victim and follow your rats back, and who knows, maybe I will go to another city first and follow you from there? After all, you would be careful while going back from this city."


    "And even if I fail and get found out, what stops me from simply trying again from another city on another day?"


    "Are you willing to increase security measures across all of your harvests significantly from now until forever?"


    The rat red at Nick.


    Nick''s ability to stay hidden had always been terrifying.


    Sure, the Parasite could probably find him if he tried to follow it, but it would need to look extremely closely during every delivery.


    Just due to Nick''s ability andbat style, he was more dangerous to the Parasite than any of the other Governors who wanted to see it dead.


    "Didn''t you overlook something?" the rat asked with a grin. "There''s something that you just said that''s very interesting."


    "I know what ability you have."


    "I know that you have the ability of the Null, and I know that you can turn into mist."


    "If people found out, countering you would be easy."


    "How about cing a powerful mine? It''s not sentient. If it senses you, your ability won''t deactivate."


    "How about explosions based on calctions and probabilities of where you should be?"


    "How about sending a couple of people to just look at you while others attack you?"


    "How about just cing some kind of tracer on you?"


    "I can send my rats to tell everyone in this and every neighboring city about your ability."


    "Within the next five hours, over 30,000 people will know about your ability."


    "Do you really think you are in a position to negotiate?" the rat asked.


    "Yes, I do," Nick said without hesitation. "Go ahead. Tell everyone."


    Nick''s eyes narrowed, and a deep well of anger and hatred seemed to be buried in them.


    "But if you do, I won''t rest until you are dead."


    The rat red back. "You''re just bluffing," it said.


    Nick looked at it.


    The rat looked back.


    "Are you stupid?!" the rat shouted in aggression. "You would destroy your future just for some random people you don''t know from a random city?!"


    "Would you?" Nick asked with a dark tone.


    The rat kept ring at Nick.


    They were in a situation of potential mutually assured destruction.


    If one of them struck, both of them would die.


    Naturally, none of them wanted to die.


    "You really want to throw your life away for this city?" the rat asked with a dark tone.


    "I''ve been doing that for almost five years now," Nick answered in the same tone. "I put my life on the line every single time I''ve implemented a change in the city."


    "I am not living for myself anymore."


    "I am living for others."


    "I live for Aegis."


    "I live for humanity."


    "And if I kill you, I will have helped humanity greatly."


    "So, onest time."


    "Fuck off or die."


    CRKSH!


    And Nick crushed the rat in his hand.


    Nick threw the smashed corpse onto the ground and cleaned his hand.


    Then, he walked back to the entrance of the megastructure.


    "Liaison, please, wait a moment!" someone shouted.


    Nick turned around and saw one of his captains. "Yes?"


    "Could you please specify your order regarding the rodents a bit more?" he asked.


    "The Parasite is back. Kill every rodent in the city. Wait with the bounty for now. We have plenty of guards who are just standing around and doing nothing. Send them on rat-hunting patrols," Nick ordered.


    The captain nodded. "Affirmative!"


    Nick walked back to the city''s headquarters.


    By the end of the day, over 2,000 rats had been killed by the guards, and even more rats were found fleeing from the city.


    The next day, not a single rat was found inside the city.


    In the distance, a lonely rat red at Crimson City.


    ''I might not be able to deal with you without dying myself,'' the Parasite thought.


    ''But there are parties who can.''


    Then, the rat scurried away.

 Chapter 548 – One Lap Around the City

    Chapter 548 ¨C One Lap Around the City


    Another month passed, and Nick was preparing everything for when he had to leave.


    Only five more months.


    However, Nick also knew that something dangerous would happen within those five months.


    It was very obvious that the Parasite wasn''t the happiest Specter and that it would try to find a way to get rid of Nick without breaking their agreement.


    As long as it could get rid of Nick, it would gain ess to Crimson City again.


    Naturally, Nick could stop this from happening by going through with his threat and killing the Parasite.


    But that was extremely risky.


    If Nickmitted one mistake, the Parasite would see him, and at that point, it would immediately tell the entire world about his ability.


    That wasn''t worth the risk.


    Yet, there were other ways to deal with Nick, and Nick was quite sure about what the Parasite would do next.


    Envy.


    Envy still wanted to gain Nick''s ability.


    Envy''s first servant had arrived over 15 years ago.


    The Prison.


    Naturally, Julian told Nick about the Prison and what had happened between them.


    The Prison was a Late Demon, and it was one of Envy''s most powerful followers.


    Back then, Julian had managed to get rid of it by threatening it with unmasking its identity in front of the city.


    A Late Demon was powerful, but several Heroes could still take it down.


    So, the Prison had no choice but to retreat.


    Two yearster, another servant of Envy''s infiltrated the Spartans and used them to capture Nick.


    That servant died to the Crimson Sea.


    Then, nothing had happened for several years. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    That was because everyone believed that Crimson City had been destroyed.


    After all, only a huge wall of corrosive mist was left.


    Eventually, Nick came face to face with the Sea King, a powerful Demon that was also loyal to Envy.


    That was when things became uncertain.


    Did the Sea King tell Envy that Nick was still alive before getting captured or not?


    Nick believed that it didn''t tell Envy.


    The reason was simple.


    Less pressure.


    If Envy thought Nick was dead, it wouldn''t put immense pressure on the Sea King to capture him.


    So, even if the Sea King failed, it wouldn''t be killed.


    And if it seeded, the deed of capturing Nick would protect it from Envy''s wrath for a long time.


    Telling Envy would only put a target on the Sea King''s back.


    Naturally, the Sea King couldn''t contact Envy while being in Anatomy''s custody.


    Anatomy would not allow the Sea King toe into contact with a powerful Fallen.


    Crimson City needed to exist for them to rise to power.


    That was also thest time any of Envy''s servants hade to Crimson City.


    Although, it was also possible that Envy actually knew that Nick was still alive but just couldn''t find a way to get to him.


    After all, it didn''t know that Julian was already dead.


    As long as Julian was still in Crimson City, no Demon could enter.


    But that actually didn''t matter.


    The Parasite would tell one of Envy''s servants about the current state of Crimson City anyway.


    No Julian.


    Nick was still alive.


    One of Envy''s servants was bound to arrive within the next couple of months.


    Envy had many servants, but it only had so many powerful servants.


    Getting Demons as servants wasn''t easy for Envy, and it couldn''t have that many.


    The Sea King had already been dealt with, which had to have been a brutal strike to Envy''s forces.


    Envy didn''t have that many options, which made it quite obvious what would happen next.


    The Prison.


    Nick was sure that the Prison would show up in Crimson City soon.


    And this time, there was no Julian.


    Additionally, they had fewer Heroes, and they also didn''t have a Mid Hero.


    Things were much more dangerous than then.


    But there was no way out.


    Nick had to deal with this issue.


    Running away would ruin his future, and he also couldn''t just randomly keep a couple of Agents on standby.


    Crimson City had to deal with the Prison on its own.


    The days passed, and Nick waited for the Prison to arrive.


    Aria was worried just as much as Nick, but she didn''t let it show.


    The atmosphere between them had be distant and cold.


    Technically, they hadn''t broken up yet, but their rtionship existed in name only.


    Nevertheless, Aria still wanted Nick to survive.


    Several caravans arrived and left.


    And then, one day¡­


    "Halt!" an Expert from Crimson City''s wall shouted at a caravan. "Identify yourself!"


    A silver-haired man stepped forward from the caravan with a smile. "We are the Starksilver Trading Caravan. We used to do business with Crimson Fungus City about 20 years ago."


    The silver-haired man took out a crystal card and threw it to the guard.


    The guard looked at it and nodded.


    The identity was valid.


    These cards were given out by Aegis and included all kinds of information about the trading caravan.


    The guard threw the card back. "Please, stay where you are. The second step of verification will nowmence."


    The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow. "The card isn''t good enough?" he asked in surprise.


    "No. This is a temporary policy. If you want to do business with Crimson City, you have toply," the guard shouted.


    The silver-haired man furrowed his brows. "What do you need?" he asked with annoyance.


    At this moment, someone jumped down from the walls and approached the caravan.


    "Blood verification," the guard shouted from the wall.


    The silver-haired man didn''t show any outward reactions.


    "You want me to hand over my blood to you?" he asked in an insulted tone. "There are many ways to injure someone by just having a vial of their blood."


    "We are not going to keep your blood," the guard answered with a calm voice. "You just have to put the needle into your finger. You can do that yourself. We just need to see it to verify your identity."


    The silver-haired man looked at the guard with narrowed eyes.


    "Fine," he said as he extended his right hand. "This better be worth it."


    One of the guards approached the silver-haired man and handed him a silver needle. "Just poke your index finger with it and let it stay inside for five seconds. Please remember to keep your hand and the needle visible during the process."


    The man took hold of the needle without saying anything and stabbed it into his index finger.


    The guards and the other members of the caravan looked at the needle.


    It was giving off a crimson glow, and some Zephyx came out of the needle.


    "That is enough," the Expert from the wall shouted. "You may clean the needle and hand it back. You passed."


    The silver-haired man snorted in annoyance and threw the needle to the Expert on the wall.


    "Can we enter now?" the silver-haired man asked.


    "One moment," the Expert said. "There''s onest step of verification, but it will be very easy and quick."


    "Another one?" the silver-haired man asked, suppressed rage audible in his voice.


    "We apologize for the inconvenience," the Expert said. "It will barely take five seconds. You can enter the city after."


    The silver-haired man took a deep breath. "Alright, what do we have to do now?"


    "A little jog," the Expert said.


    "A jog?" the silver-haired man asked with a raised brow. "borate."


    "Simple," the Expert said. "You run onep around the city clockwise, and the second most powerful person of the caravan runs ap around the city counterclockwise. Both of you have to do it at the same time. With your powers, it will not even take five seconds."


    The silver-haired man looked at the guard like he was crazy.


    "A jog around the city?" he repeated. "I''m not some kind of servant that you can just order around! This is ridiculous!"


    "Sir, it''s important that you follow the procedure," the guard shouted.


    "Procedure?!" the man repeated, insulted. "How is something like this procedure?! You are just doing this to humiliate me!"


    "It''s procedure," the guard answered. "Over 20 different guards are listening to us right now. Breaking the rules and humiliating you would just cost me my job."


    The man snorted. "I''m done. I''m not going to partake in this child''s game."


    "You are refusing to confirm your identity?" the guard asked.


    "I already identified myself in two different ways! I refuse to identify myself again in such a ridiculous way," the silver-haired man shouted back in annoyance.


    "This is not a request."


    Everyone turned to look at the sky above Crimson City at the person who had just spoken.


    Aria Light.


    "Are you the new Governor?" the silver-haired man asked.


    "I am," Aria spoke, "and you are not allowed to leave until you have identified yourself. You may file aint with Aegis after you leave, but only after you have identified yourself."


    The man protested, but Aria kept shutting him down.


    Over two minutes passed, and the man refused to split his caravan up.


    After all, he couldn''t.


    The Prison hid itself by using illusions.


    If two of its illusions traveled too far away, it couldn''t keep them up any longer, and they would vanish.


    It was such a simple request.


    Just run around the city once.


    But it was impossible for the Prison to do that.


    The n failed.


    It wouldn''t be able to sneak into the city.


    That only left the aggressive approach.

 Chapter 549 – The Prisons Ultimatum

    Chapter 549 ¨C The Prison''s Ultimatum


    Aria was looking at the silver-haired man, and the silver-haired man looked back with an angry expression.


    However, Aria knew that this expression didn''t reflect the silver-haired man''s real feelings.


    After all, Specters weren''t known for having a wide variety of emotions.


    Yes, Aria already knew that this was the Prison.


    In fact, she had been over 90% certain after the blood test.


    The blood test used spores from the Crimson Fungus.


    Any human blood that touched the spores would turn into Zephyx.


    But didn''t the needle give off Zephyx when it was stabbed into the silver-haired man''s finger?


    Didn''t that prove that he was human?


    Yes, the fact that the needle gave off Zephyx proved that it hade into contact with human blood.


    However, the amount of Zephyx was the important part.


    The amount of Zephyx that had been given off was way too little.


    ording to the density of Zephyx, the needle hade into contact with an Expert.


    Not a Hero.


    Naturally, that was extremely suspicious, but it wasn''t enough to unmask the Prison 100%.


    Nevertheless, the guards informed Aria as soon as the blood readings were taken, and she arrived almost immediately.


    And then, she only needed to ask the Prison to split up to be sure.


    The fact that the caravan resisted this simple proof this much basically confirmed that it was the Prison in disguise.


    "Will you run around the city?" Aria asked with a serious voice.


    The silver-haired man looked at Aria for several seconds with narrowed eyes.


    "Are you sure you want to force this issue, little girl?" the silver-haired man asked with a dark tone.


    WHOOOM!


    The next moment, a dense cloud of Zephyx came out of the silver-haired man and washed over Aria.


    However, Aria wasn''t intimidated.


    She had already expected the Prison to be a Late Demon, at least.


    Sadly, Aria was still an Early Hero, and her chances of winning against the Prison were low.


    Aria might be very experienced, but the Prison was probably just as experienced.


    "If you know about me, you also know why I''m here," the silver-haired man spoke.


    "I do," Aria answered evenly, "but aren''t you afraid that we will call Aegis to apprehend you, or why are you willing to just show up like that?"


    "I''ve been to many cities, and I have seen many battles, girl," the silver-haired man spoke. "I can sense the distress signal. If you had activated it, I wouldn''t be here talking to you."


    A light seemed to appear in the silver-haired man''s eyes. "The fact that you didn''t activate it can only mean two things."


    "Either you are a fool who believes that you can win and contain me inside your city¡­"


    "Or you are open for negotiation."


    Aria looked back. "I am not arrogant enough to think that I can suppress you on my own."


    SHING! SHING! SHING!


    At that moment, three people appeared behind Aria.


    "But I''m not on my own," she said.


    The three Heroes of Kugelblitz had arrived.


    Jornis stood in the front.


    Vanessa stood far in the back.


    And the third Hero, a man with blue hair, Libran Baneling, stood between the two.


    Four Heroes.


    Two Early Heroes, Aria and Jornis, and two Initial Heroes, Vanessa and Libran.


    A team of four people could take down something that was far more powerful than them.


    However, the silver-haired man didn''t seem very worried.


    "What foolishness," he spoke. "Human bonds are only as strong as the benefits gained from them."


    "You are not as united as you present yourself."


    The silver-haired man looked at Jornis. "You must be Jornis Zealow," he said.


    "I am," Jornis answered evenly.


    "You know why I am here and what I want," the silver-haired man spoke.


    "Nick Dusk," he added.


    "Master Envy desires Nick Dusk''s power, and he is willing to do everything in his power to obtain it. Do you know how powerful Master Envy is?" he asked calmly.


    "I do," Jornis answered calmly.


    "Then, you must know that Master Envy is not someone a mere Crimson City can resist. Even if I were to fail today, at some point, one of Master Envy''s Commanders will find some time to visit Crimson City."


    "Can Crimson City withstand one of Master Envy''s three Commanders?"


    "One of three Fallen?"


    Nobody gave an answer.


    Yet, they seemed just as calm as before.


    "Hand over Nick Dusk," the Prison demanded. "If you don''t, I willy waste to Crimson City."


    "You will not get another chance."


    "If you refuse today, you will die as soon as one of Master Envy''s Commanders arrives, at thetest."


    "One Expert."


    "For an entire city."


    "For your lives."


    "You decide."


    Silence.


    Surprisingly, the three Heroes from Kugelblitz didn''t seem worried or perturbed.


    It was almost like the Prison hadn''t said anything.


    "It''s quite clear that you are not human," Vanessa spoke up from the back. "You don''t know how to negotiate. What you gave us is an ultimatum, not an offer."


    "An ultimatum is an offer," the Prison spoke. "It is just an offer that you can''t refuse."


    Jornis grinned aggressively. "Watch us."


    The Prison furrowed its brows.


    It hadn''t expected that.


    Usually, humans were only interested in their own survival and wealth.


    Fighting against the Prison was risky, and there was no potential payoff.


    No powerful human would take such an unnecessary risk.


    "You were right," Aria said. "Most human bonds are only as strong as the benefits gained from them."


    Jornis smirked. "Which is why we have been paid very well in advance."


    "We''re sorry," Vanessa spoke from the back, "but your offer is not good enough."


    "We reject," Libran added.


    Aria just looked at the silver-haired man in silence.


    If the Prison hade a couple of months earlier, things might have turned troublesome.


    At that point, Kugelblitz might have turned against Aria.


    But that was no longer a possibility.


    Once again, it was important to repeat what the Prison had said.


    Human bonds were only as strong as the benefits gained from them.


    The Prison had spoken that sentence while referring to Crimson City and Kugelblitz.


    However, that sentence also applied when referring to Kugelblitz''s leadership and Kugelblitz itself.


    Vanessa, Jornis, and Libran were Kugelblitz''s leaders, but they were also three individual humans.


    In order to convince Kugelblitz to help the city, Aria and Nick only needed to convince their three leaders.


    And how did they aplish that?


    Future.


    In the past, all doors to the future had been open for Kugelblitz.


    They had essentially ruled over the city.


    But now, they could no longer rule the city.


    Aegis was in charge.


    And a couple of months ago, Nick spoke to them and asked them a question.


    "What do you want to aplish in life?"


    Good question.


    What did they want to aplish in life?


    They had thought that it would be easy to answer that question, but it was surprisingly hard.


    Was being the leaders of Kugelblitz the thing they wanted to be for the remainder of their lives?


    That was a nice thought, but it also felt so final.


    It felt like they were stopping.


    Powerful humans were powerful because they had more ambition than most humans.


    Their desire to be powerful was far higher than that of the average human.


    Would such an ambitious person be content with just stopping?


    No, they wanted to go much further.


    However, Kugelblitz''s future had been cut off.


    There was no way for Kugelblitz to regain its old power in the politicalndscape.


    Kugelblitz couldn''t possibly rival Aegis.


    What was Kugelblitz to Vanessa, Jornis, and Libran?


    A tool.


    A job.


    A way to be more powerful.


    And what did humans do when a tool was no longer useful?


    They searched for a better one.


    In this case, Aegis.


    The highest possible level they could achieve in Kugelblitz was Mid Hero.


    That was it.


    There was no way forward anymore.


    And then what?


    Remain a Mid Hero and executive for the remainder of their lives?


    No, they wanted more.


    They wanted to be Peak Heroes!


    They wanted to be Protectors!


    And how could they achieve that?


    Aegis! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    A couple of days after talking to Nick, they were willing to talk some more with him.


    Kugelblitz had be a dead end.


    Was there a way they could continue advancing?


    And sure enough, there was.


    There were rules that every city had to follow, and one of these rules was thatpetition needed to exist.


    One party shouldn''t own all the power.


    This was to promotepetition, which would result in more efficiency for the market.


    But Nick was the Liaison.


    As the Liaison, it was his job topletely restructure the way Aegis operated the cities in an experiment to see if it was possible to increase profitability.


    Nick could change these rules for his city.


    So, he changed them.


    All the Demons would be owned by the city, including the Crimson Fungus.


    All the Heroes would work for the city.


    The Heroes wouldn''t work for their own wealth anymore but for a potential position in Aegis.


    Agents were always needed.


    This had been Nick''s theoretical end goal, but he hadn''t been sure if he would be able to actualize it in Crimson City before he had to leave.


    Absolute authority for the government.


    Most of the Zephyx went to Aegis.


    And the city would act as a nursery for future Agents.


    With all of that said, how was this possible?


    Because of the truth of the world.


    Power was everything.


    The Heroes of Crimson City just needed a reminder of this truth.


    They had to have their path forward destroyed so that they would walk on Nick''s path.


    Powerful and ambitious people always searched for a path forward, and when they saw Nick''s path, they would dly follow it.


    The Prison wasn''t standing in front of Kugelblitz and Crimson City.


    It was standing in front of Aegis.


    "Killing you should give us a good chance to join Aegis as Agents without needing to prove ourselves as Governors," Jornis said with a bloodthirsty grin.


    SHING!


    All of them pulled out their weapons.

 Chapter 550 – Gamble

    Chapter 550 ¨C Gamble


    BANG!


    The silver-haired man and the caravan vanished as Libran shot a bullet at it.


    The bullet shot forward at insane speeds and left behind a streak of pure ck that seemed to implode.


    It was almost like the ck streak consumed all the space around it.


    As soon as the caravan vanished, everyone saw the Prison''s true appearance.


    A cluster of metallic prisons growing into a gaunt but humongous torso. Several long and powerful arms of steel extended out of the torso which ended in terrifyingly sharp des.


    The figure was almost 20 meters tall.


    "Foolish humans," the Prison spoke as it avoided the shot.


    At that moment, the Prison unleashed a terrifying cry, which seemingly shook the entire world.


    Everyone who heard the cry felt their vision blurring and their minds spinning.


    It was like they were being spun around rapidly while hanging upside down.


    Luckily, the power of the cry weakened with distance, and the people inside the city weren''t hit as hard.


    However, the same thing wasn''t true for the Heroes.


    Surprisingly, only three of the four Barriers activated.


    Aria''s Barrier didn''t seem to block the attack.


    Yet, paradoxically, the three Heroes from Kugelblitz felt their minds spin while Aria felt almost nothing.


    At that moment, the three Heroes from Kugelblitz noticed that their Zephyx was dropping rapidly.


    Aria took note of that.


    ''An attack that only causes significant damage if your Barrier tries to block it?'' she thought in shock.


    Naturally, such an attack was anything but ordinary.


    Barriers were supposed to protect against Specters.


    But in this case, they effectively amplified a Specter''s power.


    And these Barriers were not cheap!


    The Barriers the three Heroes from Kugelblitz used cost over a billion credits each!


    They were the best Barriers avable inside the city!


    Of course, as a Governor, Aria had ess to Barriers made by Aegis, which were far better than any Barrier that could be manufactured inside Crimson City.


    Her Barrier had noticed the nature of the attack and actively avoided blocking it.


    Because of that, Aria only felt minorly disoriented while the three other Heroes clutched their heads in pain.


    An instantter, Aria looked at the Prison and swung her t sword forward.


    SHING!


    A concentrated beam of light shot forward and hit the neck of the gaunt figure, burning a hole through it.


    The loud cry stopped, but the Prison seemed barely injured.


    Sure, a big hole had been seared through its neck, but this was a Specter, not a human.


    Killing a Specter was very difficult.


    The Heroes from Kugelblitz recovered in an instant andunched their own attacks.


    Libran started to fire several bullets aimed at the gaunt figure.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Big dents appeared all over the figure, slowly distorting its shape.


    BOOOOOOM!


    Vanessa released one gigantic bullet, punching an enormous hole through the gaunt figure''s chest.


    Finally, Jornis charged forward.


    His club grew to a gigantic size, and he-


    BANG!


    Jornis'' Barrier activated as several metallic spears shot at him from one of the cells on the Prison''s body.


    The human who was inside the cell screamed in pain and fell to the ground.


    Nobody knew if he was unconscious or dead.


    Jornis was pushed back and lost a lot of his Zephyx, and the other Heroes realized what had just happened.


    ''The Prison can use the Zephyx and the abilities of its prisoners,'' Aria thought.


    Around 25 people were imprisoned in different cells.


    The weakest was an Initial Veteran, while the strongest was actually a Hero.


    The person who had just lost consciousness was a Late Specialist.


    Suddenly, three more people screamed, butpared to the person just now, they actually turned into ck dust.


    The next moment, several attacks wereunched from the Prison at the three Heroes.


    These humans had not been as powerful as the Late Specialist.


    However, by converting their entire being into Zephyx, their attacks had still reached tremendous power, and the Heroes needed to be careful.


    The three Heroes from Kugelblitz had to deal with the attacks, and the Prison opened its mouth again.


    SHING!


    But then, a thin beam of light went past the Prison.


    CRK!


    The gaunt figure fell from the amalgamation of prisons below it as the two thin parts of its torso beside the bullet hole were cut in two by Aria''sser.


    Aria seemed much more exhausted than before.


    ''If Vanessa hadn''t already made that gigantic hole there, I wouldn''t have been able to bisect it,'' she thought.


    The other Heroes finished dealing with their attacks and looked at the two parts of the Prison.


    They all knew that the Prison wasn''t dead yet.


    However, they needed to know which part of its body its core was in.


    The next moment, Libran pulled out his guns again and shot several bullets at the severed torso.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The shots showed much more effect on this part, which meant that the Prison''s core most likely wasn''t in there.


    "AAAHH!"


    Over ten people screamed inside the cells before turning into dust.


    The next instant, a cacophony of attacks shot at Aria.


    The Prison was prioritizing Aria!


    Suddenly, Jornis'' gigantic club appeared in front of her.


    BOOOOM!


    Jornis'' club was destroyed, and its front half shot into the horizon.


    However, several of the attacks were blocked, and Aria could deal with the remaining ones.


    At that moment, Aria felt a signaling from the back of her Barrier, and she turned around.


    She saw the severed torso of the Prison reaching for her with its long de fingers. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    SHING!


    Aria was surrounded by a beam of light before the des passed through it.


    Luckily, they didn''t hit her.


    BOOOOM!


    Suddenly, a gigantic fist hit the severed torso, throwing it into the distance.


    Yet, the torso stopped in the air and turned towards the Heroes again.


    At the same time, more Zephyx was being gathered by the individual cells.


    ''Does it have a split core?'' Aria thought, looking at both halves. ''That makes things troublesome.''


    BANGBANGBANGBANG!


    A cacophony of gunshots rang out from the direction of Crimson City, and the upper half of the Prison was being pelted with bullets.


    Everyone looked over and saw ten Specialist guards and five Specialists from Kugelblitz shooting at the torso.


    Their attacks were not as powerful as the attacks of the Heroes, but the sheer number of them still dealt tremendous damage to the torso.


    The Heroes immediately split up.


    Jornis charged towards the torso, while the other three charged towards the cells.


    The offensive powers of around 15 Specialists were not any weaker than theirs, but the Specialists couldn''t defend themselves as easily, which was why Jornis would defend them.


    Several more prisoners turned into dust, and the three Heroes had to defend themselves.


    "I''m out!" Vanessa shouted after defending from thest attack aimed at her before retreating.


    As a sniper, Vanessa used almost 50% of her Zephyx in one shot, which meant that she had essentially started the battle with half of her maximum Zephyx due to her shot.


    She would need to recover, which would take a couple of seconds.


    However, a couple of seconds was a long time in such a high-skill battle.


    Libran and Aria got through the avnche, but they were also running low on Zephyx.


    The number of attacks unleashed by the Prison went far beyond what a Late Demon should be able to put out.


    That was because it was using the Zephyx of its prisoners.


    More prisoners turned into dust, but at that moment, Aria felt a signaling from her Barrier.


    Aria narrowed her eyes.


    WHOOOOM!


    The next moment, she bathed the entire world in light.


    BANG! BANG!


    Explosions urred in the world of light, and Aria shot out, crashing in front of Crimson City.


    Her Zephyx was dangerously low.


    Libran was still in his earlier position, but his Zephyx was also extremely low.


    However, the Prison was also out of prisoners¡­


    Nearly¡­


    There was onest prisoner left.


    The Hero.


    It was an Early Hero.


    A man with dark green hair and razor-sharp eyebrows.


    The Prison hadn''t touched this prisoner yet, but that prisoner was obviously its biggest weapon.


    Libran gritted his teeth when he saw that.


    This was not how he had expected this battle to go!


    "Foolish humans," the torso spoke as its de fingers threw Jornis into the distance.


    Vanessa and Libran seemed to despair.


    However, Aria only narrowed her eyes.


    She had gone all-in with her gamble.


    She only hoped that it had paid off.


    The first signal her Barrier had sent her had been sent from another Barrier from Aegis.


    Additionally, the Specialists had all attacked simultaneously and the same target, which meant that somebody had been giving them orders.


    Lastly, the second signal had also been sent by another Barrier.


    It was Nick.


    The second signal only meant one thing.


    Distract the enemy.


    Aria hadn''t seen Nick anywhere near the battlefield, but that didn''t mean that he wasn''t there.


    Aria didn''t know what ability Nick had, but she knew that Nick was extremely good at staying hidden.


    Nevertheless, she still wasn''t sure what Nick could be able to aplish against such a terrifying foe.


    She just hoped that her gamble would pay off.

 Chapter 551 – William Drawhand

    Chapter 551 ¨C William Drawhand


    Time seemed to stand still.


    Libran, Aria, and Vanessa were almost out of Zephyx and couldn''t rejoin the battle.


    At least the battle against the torso seemed to go well. It was damaged beyond recognition and could barely move anymore.


    Its swipe that pushed Jornis away was itsst desperate attack.


    However, the torso didn''t seem worried in any way.


    Its core was in the middle of its amalgamation of cells.


    It could easily recover.


    Crack.


    A subtle sound of something hard getting cracked came from one of the Prison''s cells.


    While no normal person would be able to notice this subtle sound, the senses of the Heroes were terrifyingly sharp.


    To them, it was like a gunshot going off.


    They looked at the cell and saw something shocking.


    The green-haired man inside the cell had cracked some kind of big green pill with his teeth.


    The next instant, they noticed that something was in front of the man that hadn''t been there before.


    A long sword!


    Suddenly, the man''s eyes shot open.


    SHING!


    With one swing, the bars of the cell were destroyed, and the man jumped out of his cell.


    At that moment, the torso''s calm vanished.


    What?!


    That was impossible!


    It absorbed all Zephyx that any of its prisoners regenerated, leaving them weak and helpless.


    So, how did its prisoner suddenly regain enough Zephyx to break out?!


    Also, where did that weapone from?!


    The man stopped in the air in front of the Prison.


    Then, he threw the sword to the side and put his hand into a sack hanging from his belt.


    A Space Bag!


    A momentter, a revolver was pulled out of the bag, which the man then pointed at the Prison.


    "Appreciate the sword," the man spoke slowly, "but I''m more of a gun person."


    BANG!


    The revolver shot at the lower right part of the Prison, destroying it.


    The man turned pale and almost fell from the sky after the shot.


    His shot had been weak since he had barely recovered 5% of his Zephyx just now before unleashing it.


    At that moment, two long legs lifted the amalgamation of cells.


    However, the right leg was broken in several ces and barely worked.


    Nevertheless, the left leg did its best and tried to flee as quickly as possible from the battle.


    The Heroes noticed that they were at an advantage now and flew after it.


    Aria, Vanessa, Libran, and the green-haired man were out of Zephyx and weren''t very quick, but Jornis still had some Zephyx to spare.


    BANG!


    Jornis reached the Prison and punched it towards Crimson City.


    The Prison was remarkably fast, even though one of its legs had be unusable.


    If the green-haired man hadn''t crippled that leg, the Prison might have been able to flee.


    Suddenly, the metal bars of the cells rubbed against each other in such a way that it mimicked a high-pitched human voice.


    "I concede!" the voice shouted in urgency.


    The Heroes looked at each other.


    "We''re handing it to Aegis," Aria ordered, specifically looking at the green-haired man.


    The green-haired man was probably filled with hatred after being imprisoned for an unknown period of time.


    "I won''t kill it," the green-haired man spoke with surprising calm, cleaning his uniform.


    "Thanks," Aria said.


    She had anticipated that the man might not follow her orders.


    After all, he also wore the uniform of a Governor.


    It seemed like the Prison had already destroyed a city before, which actually wasn''t surprising.


    That thing had been very powerful.


    Aria gestured to the others, and they took out several Zephyx Suppressors.


    They put them around the Prison and its torso.


    They had won!


    A momentter, the signal for Aegis came from Crimson City.


    Naturally, the Prison felt the signal, but it didn''t even try to flee.


    There was no way for it to flee.


    Its fate was now up to Aegis.


    It only hoped that Aegis would consider sparing its life in exchange for valuable info about Envy.


    "How ironic," the green-haired man spoke coldly. "The Prison is being imprisoned."


    Then, he turned to Aria and bowed in gratitude. "Thank you for freeing me."


    At that moment, Vanessa and Libran remembered the weapon and the pill that had appeared inside the man''s cell.


    "How did you do that?" Vanessa asked Aria. "How did you manage to sneak something into the cell without any of us noticing?"


    Since Vanessa was soon going to be part of the same organization as Aria, there was no more reason to be antagonistic to Aria.


    "Wasn''t me," Aria said.


    Vanessa, Libran, and the green-haired man looked with shock at Aria, while Jornis looked at them in confusion since he had no idea what had happened.


    "It was Nick," Aria said.


    "The Liaison?" Vanessa asked in shock. "How?!"


    "I don''t know," Aria said. "Not even I know what he can do."


    At that moment, the three Heroes from Kugelblitz realized how terrifying Nick actually was.


    Nick was only an Early Expert, but he had managed to do something that none of them could.


    How was that possible?!


    What kind of abilities did someone need to have to sneak something like that onto the body of a Late Demon as an Early Expert?!


    Naturally, Nick had been under the man''s cell for quite a while.


    He had snuck there while it had been shouting.


    He had been quite disoriented by the shout, but his Barrier didn''t activate, and Nick just dealt with the disorientation with pure determination.


    Then, when Aria had unleashed her light, Nick had just peeked past the cell and threw in the stuff before fleeing.


    Luckily, everyone had been preupied with watching each other. Otherwise, the Prison would have easily noticed the small suspicious cloud of dust traveling across the wastnd.


    Yet, it wasn''t that hard, all in all.


    Infiltrating Anatomy had been much more difficult.


    "What''s this city called?" the green-haired man suddenly asked.


    "Crimson City," Aria answered.


    "I remember," the man spoke with furrowed brows. "You have a terrifying Specter in your city." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Specter?" Vanessa asked.


    The man nodded. "The Prison had a standoff with it about 15 years ago. It has the form of a young man with blue hair, and it can transform into mouths."


    "Oh, you mean Julian," Aria said while the other Heroes lost their interest. "He''s already dead. He has been killed by a Protector."


    The man sighed in relief. "Good."


    "How long have you been inside the Prison?" Aria asked.


    "30 years," the man answered. "It destroyed my city."


    "Walpurgis City?" Aria asked.


    "You know of it?" the green-haired man asked.


    "Not many cities get destroyed," Aria answered. "Walpurgis City is the only one that vanished in that timeframe. Nobody knows what kind of Specter destroyed it. You are probably the only person in the world that knows."


    The man furrowed his brows. "It was two Specters. They united against the city. One was the Prison, and the other was a big decaying vulture."


    Aria blinked a couple of times. "You mean the gue Vulture?" she asked.


    The man looked at Aria with skepticism. "You know of it?"


    Aria nodded. "We have it suppressed," she said as she pointed at the huge ck cube in the distant Crimson City. "Right there."


    Once more, the green-haired man became shocked.


    "That puts my mind at ease," the man spoke.


    After a couple of seconds, he looked at Aria again. "Could I stay in Crimson City for a couple of days? I still need toe to terms with my regained freedom, and I don''t have a home anymore."


    "Of course," Aria spoke with a smile.


    The man nodded and offered his hand. "William Drawhand, former Governor of Walpurgis City."


    "Aria Light, Governor of Crimson City," Aria answered as she shook his hand.


    The others also introduced themselves.


    At that moment, three people suddenly appeared in the sky above Crimson City.


    They scanned the city.


    When they saw that the city was still okay, they looked at its surroundings and noticed the Heroes hovering in the air.


    These three people were an emergency response team sent by Aegis.


    "What happened here?" one of the Agents asked Aria.


    Aria told them about the battle.


    "Good job!" one of them said with a prideful nod. "Envy''s servants belong to humanity''s biggest enemies! This will be reported to Aegis and will be considered in any future correspondence with us."


    When the three Heroes from Kugelblitz heard that, they smiled politely.


    That was exactly why they had agreed to fight.


    "What am I supposed to do?" William asked the Agents.


    "ording to documentation," one of the Agents spoke, "this city is ruled by a Liaison. They will deal with this matter."


    "A Liaison?" William asked.


    Yet, the Agents just glossed over the question and continued talking to Aria.


    In the end, the Agents pulled a huge Containment Unit out of a Space Bag and dumped it in front of the city.


    The Prison would remain here for the next couple of months until someone from the Envy unit had time to take it away.


    Until then, nobody was allowed toe into contact with it.


    Finally, the Agents left.


    "What''s a Liaison? Is it the same person that freed me?" William asked.


    Aria just pointed at a person standing on the city walls.


    "He is," she said.


    William looked over and immediately knew why the others had been surprised.


    An Expert?!

 Chapter 552 – Aide

    Chapter 552 ¨C Aide


    William Drawhand got acquainted with what a Liaison was pretty quickly, but it still wasn''t easy for him to ept that an Expert outranked him.


    However, he was still shocked that it was Nick who had saved him.


    How had an Expert managed to sneak a pill and a weapon into his cell without him noticing?


    William had looked out, and when the light vanished, the objects had already been there.


    "You can stay here for now," Nick told William. "You should get reacquainted with normal life first before doing anything else. I would advise you to stay in Crimson City for a month before you think about your future."


    "You could try bing another Governor. You could join another city as an Extractor. You could join this city. You could also try bing an Agent right away. There are many options, and you should think about it for a month. Just tell me what you want in a month, and I''ll forward the message to Aegis."


    William was still a bit surprised that an Expert was talking to him like that, but he nodded anyway.


    Too many things had happened today, and he just epted the shocking events as they came.


    Nick ordered a Veteran to be William''s assistant and to show him around the city. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    A Hero was a powerful person, and they needed to be treated with respect.


    The Prison was put into the new Containment Unit, and the doors were locked.


    Only Nick and Aria had ess to the Containment Unit.


    Time passed.


    Over the next couple of months, Nick dealt with the future of Kugelblitz''s Heroes.


    Nick requested a new position for the Heroes in Crimson City from Aegis.


    The request was epted, and a special position for the Heroes in Crimson City was created.


    Aide.


    That was the name of the new position.


    An Aide was a Hero who worked for a city and took orders from the Governor.


    In the past, the position of Governor was only used by two kinds of people.


    People who had no more ambition in their lives after reaching this level of power or people who wanted to be Agents and wanted to prove themselves.


    While Aegis needed Agents, they still couldn''t ept just anyone.


    It was important that the Agents were loyal to Aegis.


    A corrupt Agent could destroy several cities.


    But if an Aide was corrupt, they would only damage a single city.


    Additionally, Aides were not only evaluated on their personal achievements and powers but also on the city''s achievements.


    An Aide was chosen by the Governor.


    If the city wasn''t producing a lot of Zephyx, the Governor would most likely not be very good, and the Aides they had chosen would most likely not be any good either.


    That made the Aides invested in the city''s prosperity.


    A strong city meant a strong governor meant strong Aides.


    Of course, this also tied the Aides to the Governor''s reputation.


    If the Governor was trash, the Aides still needed to back the Governor and make them appear amazing so that they themselves appeared amazing.


    This ensured a high level of loyalty from the Aides.


    Nick had been the one that designed 90% of the position, and Aegis mostly just epted whatever he wanted.


    This was supposed to be an experiment, and if Nick was blocked now, the experiment would be tainted and be almost meaningless.


    Nick could do whatever he wanted with Crimson City as long as he improved profitability for Aegis.


    Eventually, Jornis, Vanessa, and Libran officially handed Kugelblitz''s shares over to their two most powerful Specialists.


    But not before handing the Crimson Fungus to Crimson City.


    It was done.


    The city was now unassable from the inside.


    The only five Heroes of the city worked for the city directly.


    Five?


    Yes, five.


    William Drawhand decided to be an Aide to be an Agent in the future.


    All Heroes were united.


    The city had absolute, untouchable power.


    Over thest couple of months, Nick showed the new Aides how he ran the city and what his thought process was while making decisions.


    Keeping his thought process secret was no longer necessary and would only damage Crimson City''s future.


    Nick taught them that only power was relevant and that the only relevant power was Aegis.


    Aegis owned the city, and as long as they represented Aegis, they would be the most powerful.


    But he also told them that they had to be genuine.


    Aegis would only be their shield as long as they genuinely wanted to help Aegis.


    One more important part was that sess was different for the city than it was forpanies.


    Long-term growth was much more important than short-term growth.


    Since the city was the most powerful party by far, there was no reason to hastily make decisions.


    Things had to be properly thought through before being implemented.


    After learning from Nick, the three former Heroes from Kugelblitz realized why they had lost against him.


    He was right.


    Nick was Aegis.


    For several moments in the past, they had thought that they could deal with Nick.


    However, that had never truly been the case.


    Because of one simple reason¡­


    Killing Nick meantmitting suicide.


    It was essentially mutually assured destruction, and in such a situation, one''s conviction was most important.


    How much danger were they willing to put themselves in for something they wanted?


    And Nick always went all-in.


    The Heroes from Kugelblitz didn''t share such convictions.


    They believed that they could have gone through with killing Nick, but those had only been coping mechanisms.


    Deep inside, they had always known that they would never risk attacking Nick.


    After all, they didn''t want to die.


    Finally, they epted it.


    They had lost against a 36-year-old Expert.


    The Aides also epted that, while Nick''s physical power was weak, his strategy and conviction were things that they should study and implement.


    They also understood why Aria was willing to trust Nick so much.


    Nick''s conviction was contagious.


    While they didn''t exactly copy his ideology, they couldn''t deny feeling a me burning inside of them when they felt his undying conviction to improve the city and the world.


    The way he spoke almost made it seem like changing the city, or even the world, was an inevitability.


    They had never met anyone that exuded such an aura of conviction.


    It could also be described as zeal.


    Or fanaticism.


    Eventually, the five years were up.


    Nick had be Crimson City''s Liaison five years ago.


    Any day now, somebody would arrive to analyze Crimson City''s development.


    Five days after the deadline passed, Crimson City received a transmission.


    In three days, someone woulde to look at the city.


    When Aria heard that, she had mixed feelings.


    Their rtionship had iced over.


    When the two of them had started their rtionship, Aria had said that they would be able to deal with anything.


    Yet, was Aria actually willing to do anything now?


    This rtionship was very different from how she had imagined it to be.


    She had tried to initiate intimate contact with Nick before, but he always walked away when it seemed to develop.


    Aria knew why this happened.


    Deep inside, Nick believed that he wasn''t allowed to feel happy.


    Whenever any kind of happiness or excitement appeared in his heart, he felt a mountain of guilt and pressure.


    He was betraying his conviction.


    He was betraying all the innocent people he had killed.


    Aria could tell that Nick genuinely wanted to be in a rtionship with her, but she could also tell that Nick couldn''t bring himself to do anything with it.


    In fact, as soon as they entered a rtionship, they talked even less with each other than before.


    Yet, even though Aria understood Nick, she was also extremely frustrated.


    At some point, understanding couldn''t suppress the frustration anymore.


    One partner couldn''t always give, give, and give.


    At some point, they also needed to take.


    And Nick wasn''t giving anything to Aria.


    He was only giving to the city.


    This was not a rtionship.


    They had had a couple of years to deal with Nick''s issues, but they made zero progress.


    And now, Nick had to leave again very soon.


    There was no more time left to deal with Nick''s issues.


    Naturally, Aria wasn''t willing to keep up such a rtionship for the years or decades it would take for them to see each other again.


    There was no point.


    The rtionship had been on life-support since it was born.


    "Nick, can we talk?" Aria asked after she entered Nick''s office.


    Two days from now, the inspector would arrive, and Nick would most likely leave with them.


    "I''m nning some things right now," Nick spoke without looking at Aria.


    "It''s important," Aria said with an ufortable voice.


    Nick frowned, sighed, and looked up at Aria. "What is it?"


    Aria took a deep breath.


    "We need to talk about our rtionship," Aria said.


    Nick felt two conflicting sensations.


    Dissociation and intense pressure.

 Chapter 553 – End of a Dream

    553 Chapter 553 ¨C End of a Dream


    Aria left Nick''s office again.


    Nick only looked at the sheet of paper on the table.


    He was trying to focus on reading the paper, but he kept rereading the same line again and again.


    It was like he couldn''t remember the sentence he had just read.


    He felt like he was in a dream, but he also felt like he had just woken up from a long dream.


    Aria had told Nick about how the rtionship had been for her for almost ten minutes.


    She said that she wanted to help Nick.


    But she couldn''t.


    She tried and tried, but no matter what she did, she didn''t have the power to help him.


    And she believed the reason was that he didn''t want to help himself.


    She also said that a rtionship was supposed to improve the lives of both partners.


    Yet, Nick had only made Aria''s days worse.


    Sure, in the beginning, it was great, but after the initial excitement vanished, she was filled with worries and frustrations.


    And then, she said something that really hit Nick.


    "And I don''t think this rtionship improves your life either."


    That stung because she was right.


    Nick had enjoyed the idea of being in a rtionship, but he hadn''t enjoyed being in one.


    He had dreamed about being excited and happy for once.


    Yet, deep inside, he knew that this would never happen.


    It was impossible.


    And when he had finally been confronted with an actual rtionship, he only felt guilt and wanted to do nothing but avoid it.


    Whenever any happiness came into Nick''s life, it was overwhelmed by unending guilt, pressure, and suffering.


    This made Nick unconsciously avoid any happy moments.


    And talking with Aria made him happy¡­


    So, he avoided Aria on a personal level.


    She was right.


    This rtionship was dead.


    It had always been dead, and Nick felt a cold feeling of affirmation inside of himself.


    He knew from the very beginning that it couldn''t possibly work.


    He had known.


    And yet, he had still tried.


    Like an idiot.


    He had dreamed of having a bit of warmth in his life, and for just a moment, he had foolishly convinced himself that he could truly achieve it.


    The worst part was that Nick knew that this was all himself.


    He knew that this was all in his head.


    It was not Aria''s fault.


    He was at fault.


    He was the one that made this rtionship impossible.


    Yet, logic and emotions were both on his side.


    He had killed too many innocent people to logically rationalize that he deserved happiness, and his emotions agreed.


    Often, logic and emotions disagreed heavily on something, but not this time.


    ''Greed,'' Nick thought after a couple of minutes. ''I was greedy.''


    ''I was selfish.''


    ''Happiness is not why I am still alive.''


    ''I am here to pay for all the damage I have caused.''


    ''Wasn''t Markus chasing happiness when he epted bribes from criminals?''


    ''Wasn''t Vernon chasing happiness when he increased the Blood Tax?''


    ''Weren''t the three leaders of Anatomy chasing happiness when they converted all their employees into puppets?''


    ''People do things that they believe will make them happy.''


    ''I will feel happier when I have a billion more credits.''


    ''I will feel happier when I rule the city.''


    ''I will feel happier when I kill the people who wronged me.''


    ''People try to amplify positive feelings while trying to get rid of negative feelings.''


    ''And if you''re not careful, you will soon lose yourself in a whirlpool of greed.''


    ''But I''m not any better.''


    ''Am I not chasing happiness by trying to redeem myself?''


    Nick''s mind started to think about something, but he couldn''t decipher what his mind was thinking about.


    He only knew that he was thinking about something, but he didn''t know what he was thinking about.


    Maybe he was just trying to process his new reality.


    For almost 30 minutes, Nick just stared at the wall.


    Ironically, the thing that hurt the most was that it didn''t hurt a lot.


    It had been inevitable.


    He had been prepared for it.


    He knew it would happen.


    That was the worst thing because it meant that there was no hope left.


    If Nick had truly had some hope, he would feel worse.


    But he didn''t.


    ''What now?'' Nick thought.


    Silence.


    ''I guess back to work.''


    ''Nothing has truly changed.'' N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''We will still talk about the same things as before.''


    ''We might have officially been in a rtionship, but we haven''t truly been in one.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''I can''t have a rtionship.''


    ''I will only end up pulling my partner down, and I, on the other hand, might get distracted from the true purpose of my life.''


    ''Bettering humanity.''


    ''I was responsible for the deaths of over a thousand people, and I need to improve the lives of at least a million people in return.''


    ''When I''ve aplished that, I can think about happiness.''


    Nick put his ex out of his mind and focused on nning for his departure from Crimson City.


    While Nick was nning, he felt like everything happened automatically.


    It was almost like he was watching someone else working on something while he just looked on.


    He tried to tell himself that everything was over and that he had to go back to work, but it wasn''t that easy.


    He was a human, and humans were not machines.


    Eventually, it was like nothing had happened that day.


    And yet, Nick still felt different.


    Distant might be the right word.


    Over the next few days, Nick finished a 20-year n for Crimson City''s development.


    The n wasn''t supposed to be followed strictly since unforeseen incidents were bound to happen.


    It was more meant as a guide and checklist.


    It included the goals the city should achieve and what things needed to be avoided.


    Naturally, the n also included detailed exnations about why these things had to be avoided.


    Everything was for the long-term prosperity of the city.


    And then, Nick was done.


    There was still onest day left before the inspector woulde, and Nick didn''t have anything left to do.


    The city was already running on its own.


    He didn''t even need to talk to Aria anymore.


    From tomorrow onward, she would rule the city on her own, and Nick had already given her all his tasks.


    At this moment, Nick was only a watcher.


    So, that was what Nick did.


    Nick left the headquarters, turned into mist, and entered the city.


    He didn''t want to be recognized while looking at the city onest time.


    Tomorrow, he would leave, and Nick wanted to take onest look at the city.


    His first stop was the Dregs, specifically the ce where he had lived.


    Sadly, the ce had bepletely unrecognizable.


    The alley in which he had met Albert and Horua''s house had both fallen into the Crimson Sea when it broke out.


    The ce where he and Wyntor had caught the Dreamer was also unrecognizable.


    All of these changes reminded Nick of what he had done.


    He was the reason why all these old ces were gone.


    He was the reason why the Dregs no longer existed.


    In the bad and in the good sense.


    Eventually, Nick reached a very familiar street.


    A hotel and a warehouse.


    The hotel was where Nick had taken care of Horua, and the warehouse had been Dark Dream''s first building.


    As Nick looked at the warehouse, he felt like he was transported back to his youth.


    He had been so uneducated¡­


    But he had alsoughed so much.


    Had he been happy back then?


    Maybe not, but he had definitely been closer to being happy back then.


    Then, Nick went to another big building in the Outer City.


    Dark Dream''s second building.


    Sometime within thest decade, someone had finally moved the big building to a proper ce.


    Keeping such a big building leaning on the megastructure didn''t feel safe, and the fact that it wasn''t moved earlier was a good example of Markus'' corruption.


    Something like this should have been dealt with within months at thetest.


    Nick thought back to the time when he worked in that building.


    He had already felt pretty bad back then, but things had been simpler.


    Nick had believed that he would change Crimson City, but he didn''t have the power back then.


    But now, he did, and that put a lot more pressure and responsibility on him.


    Things had been easier back then.


    Eventually, Nick entered the Inner City and looked at the outer part of the new headquarters.


    This was the building that had once belonged to the Spartans.


    The events from that day went through Nick''s mind.


    Back then, he wouldn''t have believed that this little mission would change his entire life.


    Finally, Nick looked at the center of the Inner City, at the new headquarters.


    This had been Dark Dream''sst building before it fused with Sce to be Sky Dream.


    In a way, Nick''s home hadn''t changed since then.


    Over the next minutes, Nick also looked through the middleyer, but there wasn''t anything interesting to him there.


    He decided against looking into the upperyer since he only felt disgust for it.


    That was it.


    For a couple of minutes, Nick looked at Crimson City.


    And then, he went to work with one of the city''s Specters.


    By the time he was done, the day of departure would have already arrived.


    Join my Discord:

 Chapter 554 – Inspectors

    Chapter 554 ¨C Inspectors


    Nick waited on top of a building in the Outer City.


    There wasn''t much for him to do anymore.


    Everything had already been taken care of, and he had already said his goodbyes to the few people who were still relevant to him.


    Some people from Sky Dream.


    A couple of the Specialists from the city.


    The Heroes.


    From time to time, Nick looked down at the city.


    ''I changed things,'' he thought. ''This is the city that I always wanted to see.''


    Yet, whenever he thought about these things, he also felt empty.


    In the beginning, he still felt a bit of achievement and excitement.


    But now, it wasn''t very impactful anymore.


    Yes, he had changed the lives of thousands of people for the better, but whenpared to the mountain of guilt and shame, this wasn''t much.


    10,000 people.


    Nick had helped 10,000 people.


    But to get to his goal of one million people, he needed to improve another 99 cities.


    One percent.


    All of his work over thest five years only dealt with one percent of his guilt.


    It was so much.


    Nevertheless, he wouldn''t stop.


    He would continue.


    Nick lifted his head as he noticed four distant figuresing closer in the sky.


    ''They''re here,'' Nick thought as he stood up.


    All of the mncholy and aimlessness vanished from Nick in an instant, and his determined gaze instantly returned.


    This wasn''t just a mask he put on.


    He actually immediately felt significantly better.


    The four people stopped in the sky above Crimson City and looked at it for a while.


    They were inspecting itsposition and analyzing what the citizens were doing.


    Nick had to wait almost five minutes until they came down to him.


    Nick recognized one of them, but he had never seen the other three.


    "Simon," Nick said respectfully with a nod.


    Simon Francium looked back.


    "Nick," he said with a neutral tone.


    Surprisingly, his neutral tone wasn''t really distant.


    It was truly just neutral, which was different from thest time they had talked.


    Back then, Simon''s neutrality had been a sign of distance, but now, it wasn''t.


    It was a sign of uncertainty.


    He wasn''t sure if he should like or dislike Nick.


    Naturally, he hadn''t forgotten what Nick had done, and he still thought he was a monster.


    Yet, the things he had seen in thest five minutes were unbelievable.


    Simon remembered the time Nick had shown him around, and things looked very different back then.


    For example, there were barely any malnourished people left.


    Sure, the average height of many people was pretty low since they used to be malnourished while growing up, but they definitely were no longer malnourished.


    In fact, a ton of them were fat.


    That was actually a normal development.


    When somebody who was used to hunger for a while suddenly got ess to a lot of food, they often started to gain weight very quickly.


    For these kinds of people, eating was a feeling of safety, and everyone desired to feel safe.


    Yet, such a massive change was basically unprecedented in such a short time frame.


    In order to change the fundamental health of the city to such a degree, one would need decades.


    But only five years had passed.


    "Let me do the introductions," Simon said after a while, stepping to the side.


    "This is Marvin Marvel," Simon said as he pointed to an old man with long grey hair. "He is a Protector working under the Technician as city manager. He and his team create all of thews the Governors of the cities have to follow."


    ''Marvin Marvel? That''s a name,'' Nick thought.


    Marvin Marvel held out his hand for Nick, and the two shook hands. "Marvin is fine," he said in a calm but professional tone.


    "Greetings, my name is Nick Dusk, and I''m the Liaison for Crimson City," Nick answered.


    Marvin nodded and stepped back before Simon gestured to the next person. It was a middle-aged man with ck hair who had a sharp gaze. It almost felt like the person could immediately discern what someone was thinking. "This is Leopold Junfan. He is a very experienced Agent who specializes in city studies."


    "Leopold is fine," Leopold said as he shook Nick''s hand.


    Nick also quickly introduced himself before Simon went to thest person.


    Thest person was a young man with beautiful white hair. His clothing and style exuded an aura of cleanliness and freshness.


    "This is Mentos Nomen. He is the Governor of Sky Water City, one of the biggest and most sessful cities in the world," Simon said.


    "Just address me as Mentos," Mentos said with a wide smile as he shook Nick''s hand.


    Nick introduced himself onest time.


    "Wee to Crimson City," he told everyone.


    "It is quite a beautiful city," Mentos said with a smile that didn''t reach his eyes. "It looks like you''re taking good care of it."


    "It''s mostly because a lot of it is newly built," Nick said.


    "Oh? What''s the reason for such a sudden renovation?" Mentos asked.


    Nick already guessed that Mentos wasn''t here to be nice.


    His demeanor had given Nick bad vibes since the start.


    It was also obvious why Mentos asked such a question.


    Renovating such a huge part of the city in such a short timeframe was unnecessarily costly.


    The only reason for doing that would be to impress the judges, and Nick couldn''t possibly admit that without taking a big hit on his credibility.


    "I can actually answer that," Simon interjected.


    "Oh?" Mentos uttered with fake interest, hiding his annoyance.


    "The Crimson Sea destroyed a huge part of the city something like 15 years ago, and the city just recently managed to rebuild. Thest time I was here, construction had just finished," Simon exined.


    "Oh, that exins things. Thanks," Mentos answered.


    "But that big part to the west is new," Simon added. "What happened there?"


    "I noticed that as well," Marvin said as he cross-referenced the city''s shape with the maps stored in the headquarters. "About six square kilometers of city were added to the west. Nick, what was your motive behind this expansion?"


    "Housing, jobs, and security for our resources," Nick said. "The majority of the added city is fields, which exist to harvest carbon for our steel. Additionally¡­"


    Nick talked about the reason for the expansion for a couple of minutes.


    "Why use that much steel just to include these fields in the city?" Mentos asked innocently. "A couple of Extractors should be enough to defend the fields."


    "Jobs," Nick answered. "If the fields are inside the city, they are safe, and normal people can easily enter and exit. More jobs mean less unemployment. Additionally, it opens apletely new branch for the people. Carbon harvester is apletely new job that normal people can do that hasn''t existed before."


    Then, Nick talked about jobs, housing, and economics for a couple of minutes.


    "A waste in the short-term," Leopoldmented coldly from the side, "but a good investment in the long-term. The city''s carbon is unassable and renewable. What about the iron?"


    "The n I drafted for the future includes building a big underground tunnel towards our iron mine, which is around four kilometers to the southwest," Nick answered.


    "And the light?" Mentos asked immediately.


    "Artificial light is very easy and cheap in Crimson City," Nick answered before talking about Sky Dream and their two light Specters.


    "And what if something happens with Sky Dream?" Mentos asked. "You are opening yourself up, giving them a vulnerable point to attack."


    "They would never do that," Nick said with full confidence.


    Mentos did his best to suppress his snort of disdain. "You can count yourself lucky if you haven''t experienced a revolt within thest five years."


    "Oh, people tried," Nick said. "I had plenty of attempts, but those are in the past. They wouldn''t dare to try another one."


    Mentos just looked at Nick with an unimpressed gaze. "You''re overconfident."


    Nick just looked into Mentos'' eyes. "There are 100 Newbies, 210 Johns, 65 Veterans, 25 Experts, 10 Specialists, and 5 Heroes working directly in the government. All of them work under the Governor and me. We own a third of all Experts, a third of all Specialists, and every single Hero. Even if all of Crimson City banded together, they wouldn''t win, and they all know that."


    "Revolution is suicide."


    This took the four people by surprise.


    That was¡­ a lot!


    "Right, the Aides," Marvin added from the side. "I remember overlooking the creation of this new position."


    Leopold also nodded from the side. Naturally, he had read up on Crimson City beforeing here.


    "You are trying to keep that many Heroes under the same banner in the city?" Mentos asked with skepticism. "That sounds very risky."


    "Why?" Nick asked.


    "Because all of them have proven time and time again that they can use every opening to get ahead in life. Even if it means stepping over corpses and breaking the rules," Mentos said.


    Nick nodded. "Because they are selfish, right?" he asked.


    "That''s your way of phrasing it," Mentos said.


    "So, because they are selfish," Nick repeated, but this time not as a question.


    "Their selfishness is the very reason why they won''t revolt," Nick said.


    Mentos raised an eyebrow. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "They want to be stronger. They want to be Agents and Protectors. They want that more than anything."


    At that point, Marvin interjected. "And the position of Aide ties their future prospects to the health and reputation of the city and the Governor."


    Nick nodded. "Exactly."

 Chapter 555 – Beggars

    Chapter 555 ¨C Beggars


    "How can there bepetition if the government has so much power? It sounds like you''re wasting Zephyx," Mentos asked.


    "There ispetition," Nick said. "Just not for the top spot."


    "The government is the undisputed ruler, and there is no possible way to dethrone it. I would even go so far as to say that if there is a chance that the government can be dethroned, you have alreadymitted a mistake."


    Mentos furrowed his brows. "Companies are the ones that create the Zephyx, andpetition is the thing that makespanies efficient. If only the weakestpete with each other, you will only get the smallest profits."


    Nick looked at Mentos with an even expression. "Are you that dead-set on ignoring everything happening before your eyes right now?" he asked with annoyance.


    Nick had enough of Mentos'' bad-faith questions.


    Marvin raised his brows while Simon just frowned.


    Leopold seemed neutral.


    "We are having a discussion," Mentos said with a cold tone. "Your arguments-"


    "No, we are not having a discussion," Nick interrupted Mentos. "I told you how I run my city. You know the numbers I put out. This is indisputable. These are facts. You are trying to argue about facts by using hypotheticals that are not based on reality."


    "I told you how many Specters the city has and how powerful they are."


    "I told you what we pay in tribute."


    "I told you how we are achieving that."


    "Yet, here you are, arguing about how things should be based on your experiences and beliefs instead of how they actually are. You are ignoring facts in favor of a prognosis that is unnecessary and frankly untrue."


    Mentos looked at Nick coldly.


    Then, he turned to the other three for a second before turning to look at Nick again.


    "If you are not willing to have a civil discussion, I see no reason to keep a polite tone either."


    "What I am saying is that I think you are not presenting an urate picture of the facts."


    "I think you are keeping things hidden," Mentos said.


    Nick looked with a bored expression at Mentos. "Fine. Go ask around."


    Mentos raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Excuse me?"


    "Go ask around," Nick repeated. "Go ask anyone. Outer City, Inner City, I don''t care. Ask literally any single person or Extractor. I am not keeping any secrets from you. I might have the power to manipte a couple of people into lying to you, but I can''t manipte all 12,000 people to such a fine degree."


    "Ask anyone."


    Mentos frowned. "I''m not here to ask anyone. You are the one that is supposed to present the city."


    "But I''m lying," Nick answered. "So, why do you keep talking to me if you think I''m lying? There is an easy way to get to the truth. You can just ask around. That will show whether or not I''m lying."


    "You are free to go to any ce in the city and talk to anyone. Do whatever you want to find out how this city is run. I''ll wait."


    Mentos seemed more than annoyed. "We are-"


    "That''s a good idea," Marvin interjected calmly.


    Mentos frowned as he turned to Marvin, who continued talking.


    "We are here to find out how the city operates," Marvin exined. "Looking at the city ourselves is the best way to do that."


    Leopold nodded. "I want to know more about the Extractors. I think I''m going to go to a couple of them and ask them about the city."


    "I''m interested in the social aspect," Simon said. "Quite a few things changed, and I want to take a closer look at them."


    Marvin let out a small smile. "Perfect, because I''m interested in the business aspect of things. How about we gather here in two hours?"


    The other two nodded.


    "What are you going to do?" Marvin asked Mentos.


    Mentos looked coldly at Nick. "I think I''m going to take a look at the government."


    "I''ll dly apany you," a new voice said.


    Mentos looked to the origin of the voice and saw Aria looking at him.


    Nick had sent a signal to Aria.


    He didn''t trust Mentos at all.


    Mentos threw a cold nce at Aria before his demeanor returned to normal. "I would appreciate it."


    "Then, see you in two hours," Marvin said before he flew away.


    Leopold also quickly left while Aria led Mentos away.


    Now, only Nick and Simon were left.


    "A lot of things are different," Simon said.


    Nick nodded. "I told you that everything will be different the next time you are here."


    Simon just nodded wordlessly.


    "Want me to show you around?" Nick asked.


    "Sure," Simon answered.


    Nick and Simon walked around the Outer City for a while.


    Simon looked at the bustling streets and took note of the different atmosphere.


    Thest time he was here, the atmosphere had been oppressive.


    But this time, the atmosphere seemed bustling.


    Naturally, it wasn''t filled with happiness. Such an atmosphere only existed in fairy tales.


    Yet, it was still filled with life and ambition.


    Nevertheless, not everyone could have a good life, and Simon eventually came across one of Crimson City''s beggars. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The beggar sat on the side of the road with a metallic mug and just slept.


    He looked disheveled and stank to high heaven.


    Simon had lived for a long time, and he had seen millions of people over the centuries.


    Inexperienced people would believe that this beggar was just like the poor people of the old Dregs, but that wasn''t actually true.


    The difference was in ambition.


    The people of the Dregs Simon had seen five years before were fighting for their lives.


    They were working themselves to the bone and taking immense risks to stay alive.


    They might have been just as dirty and disheveled as this beggar, but everything else was different.


    This beggar wasn''t trying very hard to stay alive.


    He just didn''t care.


    This attitude could have many different reasons.


    A tragic ident that took away all of his hope.


    Self-hatred.


    Addiction.


    Mental illness.


    Depression.


    Or he was just a very entric andzy person.


    Simon could see this difference very clearly.


    Someone who wasn''t willing to fight for themselves would find themselves at the bottom of society unless they had someone fighting for them.


    Simon and Nick continued walking, and they soon found a couple more beggars.


    One of them was rapidly pacing around the streets, talking to herself loudly.


    One was walking around while looking at everyone with hatred.


    Another one was extremely thin and constantly scratching a wound on his arm.


    It was clear that all of these people had issues.


    "What can they do to improve their circumstances?" Simon asked Nick after a while.


    "Donate half a liter of blood," Nick answered immediately. "That gives you more than enough money to eat for a month. Housing is also pretty cheap since we have more houses than people. Right now, the city is searching for handymen to expand the sewer system since we don''t want everything to turn into a bigke of shit again."


    "Getting back on your feet isn''t difficult in Crimson City."


    "The only things that can stop you are mental illness and yourck of will to fight," Nick said.


    "What about the mentally ill?" Simon asked.


    "I''m not running a charity," Nick said. "If you are unable to take care of yourself, someone else has to take care of you, and if you don''t have anybody else, nobody will take care of you."


    "I want to improve the lives of the people, but I can only do so as long as this benefits Aegis as well."


    "If the people want to take care of the mentally ill, they are free to do so. I''m not stopping them from making hospitals, asylums, or whatever."


    "But the city won''t pay for it."


    Simon just nodded.


    Naturally, there were always ces that could be improved, and in Simon''s opinion, this was one aspect.


    However, highlighting that fact would be overly critical.


    Crimson City already had the fewest poor people in every city Simon had seen in his life.


    Criticizing Crimson City for that number would be putting too much focus on a rtively small issue.


    Eventually, two hours passed, and everyone walked back to the meeting ce.


    When Nick arrived, Marvin and Leopold were already animatedly talking with each other and sharing their findings.


    They seemed positively surprised by Crimson City.


    "Ah, Nick," Marvin spoke with a friendly smile. "Just the person I wanted to speak to."


    "Yes?" Nick asked.


    "How did you manage to be so hated by the people?" he asked.


    "Which people?" Nick asked.


    "The ones living on the top floor."


    "Ah, the upperyer," Nick repeated. "Well¡­"


    Then, Nick told Marvin exactly what he had done to the people of the topyer, and the more he spoke, the more Marvin''s eyebrows rose in surprise.


    That was¡­ very unorthodox.


    "Why did you antagonize the most powerful people of the city to such a degree?" Marvin asked.


    "Because they weren''t willing to give a small part of their wealth so that the poor can have a life."


    "If I don''t take it by force, it will never leave their hands."


    "Theyply or die."


    "There is no third choice."

 Chapter 556 – Farewell

    Chapter 556 ¨C Farewell


    "That''s tyranny!" Mentos spoke as he arrived in front of Nick.


    "Yes, it is," Nick said. "So?"


    "So?" Mentos asked in shock. "Aegis is supposed to help humanity, not suppress them."


    "Yes, Aegis is supposed to help humanity, but that doesn''t necessarily trante to helping humans," Nick answered.


    Mentos'' eyebrows shot up in shock.


    What nonsense was Nick speaking?!


    Marvin and Leopold listened from the side.


    "What about corrupt Governors? Are they not human?" Nick asked. "Is helping them the same as helping humanity?"


    "That''s different," Mentos said with annoyance.


    "Yes, it is," Nick said. "They are humans, but they are not on humanity''s side. A human that is not on humanity''s side is not on Aegis'' side."


    "Almost all humans are selfish, and they would rather take one credit instead of giving somebody else a thousand."


    "Even worse, humans are distrustful of other humans to a ridiculous degree."


    "A significant portion would still choose to receive one credit, even if the other person promised to give them 500 of their 1,000 credits."


    "The richer you are, the more distrustful you be. Rich people are powerful and intelligent, but they are very often also blind."


    "They can not see where they need to go, and they refuse to listen to anyone else. After all, why should they? They have already reached this ce on their own. It has worked very well up to now."


    "These people need someone that tells them what to do. They need someone that forces them into helping others."


    "That is my job."


    "I represent Aegis in this city, and I force them to follow my path, Aegis'' path."


    "If they refuse to follow, they are against Aegis and, therefore, against humanity."


    "People in Crimson City that refuse to follow mymand are humanity''s enemy and will be eradicated," Nick spoke with a cold but calm voice.


    Silence.


    Marvin and Leopold looked with interest at Nick, while Mentos looked with disgust at him.


    "So, that''s how you managed to reach these numbers," Mentos spoke coldly. "You forced everyone to follow your dictatorial regime, stole their belongings, and forced them into very."


    "very?" Marvin repeated incredulously from the side. "By the Champion, if the people I saw on the highest floor are ves, I would assume that almost everyone would want to be a ve."


    "Those are some happy ves," he added with a light chuckle.


    Mentos grimaced. "That''s not what I meant."


    "Why?" Nick asked. "Who else would you be talking about? The people of the upperyer are the ones that paid the most. Extractors paid the second most, and the people of the middleyer paid the third most. The loweryer barely felt anything, and the Outer City received far more than they lost."


    Mentos seemed to be quite angry. "These people worked hard for their wealth, and you''re just stealing it! They worked for decades to get to the ce where they are now! The powerful people of the past did not help them. So, why should they help the weak people of today?!"


    Marvin raised an eyebrow while looking at Mentos, and Leopold frowned.


    "Because we are humans," Nick said. "And humans are supposed to make the world of their children better than theirs."


    "The fact that your elders did not improve your life is unfair, but that doesn''t mean that it''s okay to forward that crime to the next generation. The next generation has not done anything to hurt you."


    "The powerful need to take care of the weak as long as they are still part of humanity."


    "I don''t care that nobody helped these people when they were weak. I won''t sit idly by as these people repeat that same crime."


    "Poweres with responsibility, and somebody who doesn''t deal with this responsibility is not human in my eye," Nick spoke darkly.


    Mentos glowered at Nick.


    Many of the things Nick had said had hit Mentos where it hurt.


    "Helping humanity," Marvin spoke from the side, and Nick turned to him. "Helping the next generation."


    "What about the Specters? What about Aegis?" he asked with interest.


    "Aegis is protecting humans from the Specters," Nick answered calmly. "Aegis is powerful, and it is protecting the weak. Isn''t that exactly what I said a human is and what they should do?"


    "Aegis is humanity. Supporting Aegis means supporting humanity. Without Aegis, there can''t be a next generation. Without Aegis, these cities wouldn''t even exist."


    "Anyone who refuses to help Aegis is against humanity and is, therefore, an enemy," Nick spoke with conviction.


    Simon''s eyes shone when he heard that.


    Maybe he had been wrong about Nick.


    Nick had done many horrible things in the past, but his heart seemed to be in the right ce.


    "Empty words," Mentos spoke with derision from the side.


    "Empty words?" Leopold spoke up with a cold voice.


    Mentos looked over with a skeptical eyebrow.


    "Crimson City''s tribute was supposed to increase by 20% within five years," Leopold spoke. "Yet, Nick surpassed even that. He was only supposed to deliver 120% of the tribute, butst year, it was 122%, and this year it was even 125%." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Beforeing here, I did the math. If Sky Water City wants to rival this level of tribute, it needs to pay 7% more. Can it do that?" Leopold asked with a confronting tone.


    "Naturally," Mentos answered immediately.


    "Then, why doesn''t it?" Leopold asked back.


    "If Aegis needs more resources, it just needs to tell me, and I will deliver," Mentos exined.


    Leopold looked at Mentos for a couple of seconds before slowly shaking his head.


    Finally, he looked at Marvin. "I''m done with my observations."


    Marvin nodded. "Me too."


    Simon nodded.


    "I''m ready to leave," Mentos said after throwing Nick a side-eye.


    "Alright," Marvin said before turning to Nick. "We''re going to share our thoughts. We''ll be back in a couple of minutes with our verdict."


    "Thank you," Nick answered.


    The next moment, the four of them flew to the sky and talked with each other.


    Nick just watched them.


    While Nick was looking at them, Aria looked at Nick and sighed.


    She was happy for Nick''s sess, but she was alsomenting the end of their rtionship a bit.


    She regretted that it didn''t work out.


    ''At least he''s making a difference,'' Aria thought. ''He might not be a good partner, but he''s still an amazing human.''


    Aria sighed again. ''I just hope he finds happiness.''


    The two of them didn''t exchange a word for the several minutes it took for the four inspectors toe to their decision.


    Marvin flew back andnded in front of Nick with a smile.


    Then, he extended his arm. "The Liaison experiment was a full sess! Congrattions!"


    Nick smiled back politely and shook Marvin''s hand. "I''m happy to hear that. What happens now?"


    "While this experiment was sessful, we still need additional ones for more data. You''ve lived in Crimson City for your entire life, and you know it better than any of us. There might have been factors specific to Crimson City that allowed this experiment to seed."


    "We would like you to repeat the experiment on a couple more cities as soon as possible. How soon can you leave?" Marvin asked.


    "I can leave right away," Nick answered. "I already expected that I would leave Crimson City today. Aria is already dealing with everything on her own, and I trust her. She''s an amazing Governor."


    Aria smiled from behind Nick.


    The two of them had just broken up, but despite the break-up, Nick still praised her in front of an important member of Aegis.


    "That''s a wee surprise," Marvin said with a smile. "Then, we will leave shortly. But before that, I have a reward for your sess."


    Nick raised an eyebrow. He thought that he would only receive contribution points.


    Marvin took a small ck sack out from one of his pockets and put it in Nick''s hand. "Here you go," he said.


    Nick looked at it before opening it.


    It was empty.


    That was when Nick realized what this actually was.


    "A Space Bag?" Nick asked in surprise.


    Marvin nodded. "This is your reward. You earned it."


    Nick took a deep breath.


    Space Bags were extremely rare and expensive.


    Even a team of Agents had only one or two Space Bags collectively.


    "Thank you so much," Nick said with gratitude.


    "There is no need to thank me," Marvin said with a chuckle. "You are part of Aegis. Rewarding you is rewarding ourselves."


    Nick nodded.


    He had never regretted joining Aegis, and he was sure that he never would.


    Crimson City wasn''t his home.


    Aegis was.


    "Gather your things," Marvin said. "We''re waiting here."


    "I will," Nick said.


    Nick quickly entered the city''s headquarters and left just as quickly.


    He had already packed everything and just had to shove it into his new Space Bag.


    "I''m ready to go," Nick said.


    Marvin nodded.


    The two of them started to float, and Nick threw onest look at Aria, who smiled at him.


    "Good luck and farewell, Aria," Nick said.


    "Farewell, Nick," Aria answered.


    And then, Nick and Marvin flew to the others.


    That was it.


    Nick left Crimson City.


    From now on, Crimson City would exist without Nick.

 Chapter 557 – Back in Aegis

    Chapter 557 ¨C Back in Aegis


    So, this was it.


    Nick was finally leaving Crimson City.


    The ce he had called home for his entire life.


    In a certain way, Nick felt a bit bad about leaving Crimson City, but he also looked forward to contributing more to humanity.


    With the help of Aegis, he finally had the power to fully redeem himself.


    Yet, it would still be a long way until then.


    Additionally, Nick wasn''t sure if he could continue redeeming himself at this very moment.


    After all, the next cities he would be going to were not Crimson City, and there was a very important difference.


    Nick wouldn''t have any allies.


    In Crimson City, when he started being its Liaison, Nick had Sky Dream and Aria backing him.


    On top of that, he had decades of nning and experience in the city.


    Doing the same thing in another city would be difficult since there was no real leverage for Aegis'' power.


    That meant that there was no physical power helping Nick enforce Aegis'' political power.


    In short, Nick was too weak.


    Nick could deal with assassinations from Specialists, but he wouldn''t be able to survive an assassination attempt from a Hero.


    Even more, the cities had Specters that Nick wasn''t familiar with, and there was a high likelihood that some of these Specters could be used to kill him.


    While Nick was nning his future, the group stopped above a huge city.


    The city was filled with gigantic buildings, and it was several times bigger than Crimson City.


    However, this city didn''t have a megastructure.


    Another interesting thing about the city was the seemingly endless ruins surrounding it.


    The ruins stretched as far as the eye could see, and it was obvious that a huge metropolis had once been here.


    ''It probably has three to six times as many citizens as Crimson City,'' Nick thought as he looked at the city.


    Even though Nick had been nning his future, he had still paid attention to the direction they had been going.


    They had been going west for a while.


    "An enjoyable outing, as always," Mentos spoke politely to the others. "Sadly, we were not of the same opinion this time."


    Marvin just nodded. "Until we meet again, Mentos."


    The others also said their goodbyes, and Mentos flew into the city.


    ''This must be Sky Water City,'' Nick thought as he watched Mentos go into the city.


    "This is Sky Water City," Simon said from Nick''s side, confirming his guess. "We are currently on the southernmost edge of the Grand Continent, the biggest continent in the world."


    Simon pointed towards the south, and Nick could just barely make out something that wasn''t water or ruins. "To the south is an ind of simr size to the ind Crimson City is on, along with a couple more but smaller inds. To the east, you will find many inds, both big and small."


    "A couple hundred kilometers to the southeast is the local stronghold of Aegis. It''s on the northwestern corner of a medium-sized ind. This stronghold is responsible for all of the cities in the scattered inds. The ind group is around 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers wide."


    "Crimson City is on the eastern edge of this group of inds."


    Simon''s exnation finally gave Nick an image of where he had lived his entire life.


    He knew that the Deste Continent was south or southwest of Crimson City''s ind, but he hadn''t known that Crimson City was part of a group of inds.


    Nick also hadn''t known about the Grand Continent to the north.


    "I''ll also leave," Leopold said.


    "I''lle with you," Simon said. "I need to go that direction anyway."


    Leopold just nodded before looking at Marvin. "Thank you for the opportunity to expand my horizon."


    Marvin just waved his hand dismissively. "I''ll add the contribution points to your ount."


    Then, Leopold looked at Nick. "I sincerely hope you can prove that Crimson City wasn''t just luck."


    "I''ll do my best," Nick said with a nod.


    "Nick," Simon said. "I''m sure we''ll meet again at some point."


    "Most likely," Nick answered.


    "You did well," Simon added. "The things you told mest time proved to be true, and I''m d that''s the case. You even captured the Prison for us."


    "Thank you," Nick answered in a respectful tone.


    Simon nodded with a smile, and some secondster, he and Leopold shot towards the south.


    Now, it was just Nick and Marvin.


    "What''s the n now?" Nick asked.


    "We''re going to the headquarters," Marvin said. "The Technician wants to hear my report, and I presume that he would also want to talk to you after that. He will decide what you will be doing next."


    Nick nodded. "Okay."


    Then, the two of them shot toward the east.


    The only reason why they hade here was to escort Mentos and partially Leopold.


    Only Protectors were truly safe while traveling suchrge distances.


    After flying over a big ind, Nick saw nothing but ocean.


    He had traveled over this ocean once before when he had told Aegis about the Nightmare.


    ording to Simon, this was the biggest ocean in the entire world, and just like the first time, Nick simply couldn''tprehend how big it was.


    The water was absolutely endless!


    Marvin was traveling almost 50 kilometers a second, and it still took them over four entire minutes to reach the western border of the Great Triangle.


    That was insane!


    Nevertheless, even such a big ocean wasn''t endless, and the two of them arrived at the western edge of the Great Triangle.


    After they reached the continent, they continued flying east.


    The Great Triangle was a pretty big continent, and they needed to cross its entire width.


    Yet, the Great Triangle couldn''tpare to this endless ocean in size.


    Eventually, the two of them reached the eastern edge of the Great Triangle.


    Everything below Nick was covered in ruins, and in those ruins was the gigantic building that represented Aegis.


    A five-kilometer tall white pyramid.


    Nick also remembered the name of these ruins.


    ''New York,'' Nick repeated in his mind. ''What a strange name. Was there an Old York?''


    Marvin and Nick approached the building andnded on a tform about halfway up the pyramid.


    Nick saw two Heroes guarding the door, and they quickly approached and bowed in front of Marvin. "Wee back, Protector."


    Marvin ignored them and just walked past.


    Nick did the same thing.


    After all, these Heroes were here as a punishment.


    No matter how nice or pitiful they appeared, they had caused great amounts of suffering for humanity to end up here.


    Due to their power, it was possible that they had killed even more innocent people than Nick.


    "Do you know of their crimes?" Nick asked Marvin as they approached the building.


    "No, I never bothered to find out," he said.


    Nick just nodded and didn''t continue the conversation.


    The two of them quickly reached a wide Extractor Shaft and went down.


    Right now, they were in the middleyer of the gigantic structure, which was reserved for the most dangerous Specters that Aegis had contained.


    The topyer was for administrators, Shields, the Hall of Remembrance, and the Champion of Light.


    The bottomyer was for all the people living here, which mostly consisted of families and friends of powerful Aegis members.


    The underground was for valuable storage and research.


    The Technician was the chief researcher of Aegis. He was the most powerful and most intelligent scientist in the entire world, and almost all of Aegis'' technologies came from him and his team.


    Because of that, the Technician always stayed in the undergroundyer of Aegis'' headquarters.


    He was too busy researching.


    Marvin was part of the Technician''s team, which meant that he also lived there.


    The two of them reached the undergroundyer after a while, and Marvin stopped in front of a metallic door.


    "Wait here," Marvin said.


    Nick just nodded, and Marvin entered the room.


    Silence.


    As Nick waited, he just looked around the hallway.


    The lighting from the ceiling felt incredibly warm, and the white walls seemed so clean and pure.


    ''Aegis,'' Nick thought as he looked around the silent hallway. ''My home.''


    ''My people.''


    ''My redemption.''


    ''My power.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    This was where he was supposed to be.


    Just being here ignited his desire to help humanity.


    ''But I need to be realistic,'' Nick thought. ''I need the power to change cities first.'' n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''In Crimson City, I had Aria to rely on. In the next city, I won''t have anybody.''


    ''In fact, even the Governor will be my enemy, most likely.''


    ''I don''t have to be powerful enough to kill all the Heroes, but I need to be powerful enough to flee with my life intact.''


    Nick sighed.


    ''And I''m not powerful enough currently.''


    ''I finally have a shot at redeeming myself, and I can''t risk wasting it.''


    ''I should-''


    The door opened, and a younger man with white hair looked at Nick with a smile.


    "Good job," the Researcher said.


    Nick bowed politely. "Thank you, sir."


    The Researcher nodded and gestured inside. "Come in."

 Chapter 558 – Changing Priorities

    Chapter 558 ¨C Changing Priorities


    Nick walked through the door and entered the area behind it.


    He had been here before.


    It was a disorderly room with many small gadgets strewn around.


    As Nick looked around, he noticed another door at the back of the room.


    ''Marvin probably left through the back,'' Nick thought since he didn''t find Marvin inside the room.


    "Take a seat," the Technician said as he sat down behind the desk.


    Nick sat down in front of the desk and looked at the Technician.


    "Alright, so," the Technician started, "ording to what I have heard from Marvin and the other three, you''ve had some good results?"


    Nick nodded. "I increased the city''s tribute by 25%."


    "I heard," the Technician said with a slight lean back, "but I want to hear more about the things you actually care about."


    Nick raised an eyebrow in uncertainty. "I''m not sure what you mean."


    "You said," the Technician said, "that the powerful are only interested in lining their own pockets as they drain the blood of the people who have nothing but their blood left. You also spoke about the former Governor quite a lot."


    "Aegis now receives 25% more from Crimson City, but how about themon people? What changed for them?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "A lot," Nick answered. "The poorest people don''t have tomit crimes anymore to survive."


    "And how is that possible?" the Technician asked.


    Over the next hour, the two of them talked about the changes Nick had implemented in Crimson City.


    The Technician was especially interested in where the Zephyx for Aegis came from.


    After all, a city only had a limited amount of Zephyx, and if Aegis'' tribute was increased by 25%, that had toe from somewhere.


    One had to differentiate between credits and Zephyx here.


    The city paid fewer credits for the Zephyx since it produced more Zephyx itself, but the total amount of Zephyx shouldn''t have increased since the number and power of Specters hadn''t increased.


    At least, that''s what the Technician had thought.


    "So, the Zephyx production actually increased due to the Crimson Fungus producing more?" the Technician asked.


    Nick nodded and exined the new blood donation system to the Technician.


    In the end, the Technician nodded with a frown. "Interesting. In normal cities, that would never work."


    "The power distribution, right?" Nick asked.


    "Partially," the Technician answered. "Sure, the power distribution is also not as centralized as in Crimson City since most of the cities are mainly run by the biggest Manufacturers, making this essentially impossible."


    "However, the much bigger issue is that this method requires the government to support a Manufacturer."


    "The Crimson Fungus belongs to a Manufacturer, and the city is using its authority to help the Manufacturer. If there were aparable Manufacturer to the biggest one in Crimson City, they would immediately protest."


    "The neutral stance of the government would be jeopardized, and the government wouldn''t be viewed as trustful anymore by the Manufacturers," the Technician exined.


    "That was not how Kugelblitz reacted," Nick said with a snort. "They reacted like I was siding with everyone else over them."


    "Yes," the Technician answered, "because the old Blood Tax that you told me about was even worse and should have never been implemented in the first ce. While, in a normal city, your policy change would have been viewed as helping Kugelblitz, in Crimson City, it would be viewed as damaging them."


    "If you do anything like that in another city, problems will ur."


    "Why?" Nick asked. "Aegis is the most powerful organization that exists. Aegis is mankind''s shield against the Specters. Anything and anyone that refuses to bow to Aegis is mankind''s enemy. Is that not correct?"


    The Technician had an uncertain expression. "Well, yes, but also not really."


    Nick''s eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, it''s true that nobody can resist Aegis, but there are things that we can''t force. There are things that the people have to give willingly," the Technician exined.


    "What?" Nick asked in surprise.


    "Belief," the Technician answered. "The Champion of Light needs belief to stay at his current power."


    "If the people start resenting and hating Aegis, that belief in Aegis'' symbol will weaken and maybe even vanish."


    "We could hold guns to everybody''s heads and order them to believe, but that wouldn''t work. The Champion requires true belief. He requires hope."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Okay, but if the life situation of more people improves, they should be more willing to believe in the Champion of Light, right? Therefore, having full authority over the people should be positive, as long as I improve their lives."


    "Weeelll," the Technician slowly spoke.


    Nick just looked at him in shock.


    ''This can''t be, right? He''s not about to say that this isn''t true,'' Nick thought.


    "That''s not reeaally correct," the Technician answered.


    "Okay," Nick slowly answered. "Then, what is?"


    The Technician slowly moved his head from side to side, as if to evaluate whether or not he should tell Nick.


    "Okay, let me just tell you about the issue," the Technician said. "We are Aegis. We want to help humanity. That is true. That is a fact. Understand?"


    Nick nodded.


    "However, helping humanity doesn''t necessarily equate to making them happy."


    "Sure," Nick said. "I can see that."


    "The thing is, we need two things," the Technician continued.


    "First, we need Zephyx."


    "With Zephyx, we can make better weapons, increase the power of our Extractors, help themprehend Zephyx Maniption faster, and many more things. The more Zephyx we have, the more we can do and the faster we grow in power."


    Nick nodded to show that he understood.


    "Second, we need enough true power to resist the most powerful Specters. That means we need Shields. Yet, the issue with that is-"


    "The Maw," Nick interjected.


    "Right," the Technician confirmed. "Because of the Maw, we can only have seven Shields at most. If we get another Shield, everyone will be pulled into the Maw, and only one Shield wille out."


    "As soon as that happens, Death, that big Adversary camping in front of our headquarters, will destroy our headquarters, and all of humanity will essentially die. So, we are stuck with seven Shields."


    "Okay, since we can''t have any more Shields, the next best thing is to make the Shields we have as powerful as possible."


    "But we only have a single Adversary, and working with it is extremely dangerous. Not for the Extractor personally but for humanity and Aegis as a whole. That means we can''t work with it very often, which means that we can essentially only have a single Shield working with it."


    "Since we only have a single space for a Shield, we are naturally going to use our strongest one, which is the Champion of Light. Due to the Champion of Light''s ability, he is much more powerful than any other Extractor on his level."


    "Yet, even though he worked with our only Adversary for centuries, he only managed to be a Mid Shield."


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    The Champion of Light was only a Mid Shield?


    "Usually, that wouldn''t be enough to keep so many Adversaries at bay," the Technician answered. "However, thanks to all the people believing in the Champion, his power is still extraordinary. His power is so big that almost all the Adversaries prefer waiting for him to die of old age over attacking Aegis."


    "Without the Champion, we will fall into a horrible war, which we will most likely lose."


    "Is it clear that the Champion''s Battle-Strength is of utmost importance to the survival and prosperity of humanity?" the Technician asked.


    Nick nodded. "I wasn''t sure about the details before, but I understand his importance now."


    "Okay, good," the Technician said. "Now, who would want to see a significant change in the world more badly? A suffering person or a happy person?"


    Nick frowned as he started to understand where this was going.


    "A suffering person," Nick answered unwillingly.


    "Right," the Technician confirmed. "So, you see, the two things are connected. In order for the Champion to remain powerful, we need humans to desire a change in the world."


    Nick''s mood had dropped considerably.


    He had tried to improve the lives of themon people.


    Yet, by the sound of things, he had actually weakened the Champion of Light by doing so.


    "Up until now," the Technician continued, "we didn''t put a lot of importance on the quality of life for the normal people. As long as they survived and paid their tribute to Aegis, we would protect them."


    "However, I have to emphasize that Aegis does not actively try to make the lives of the people worse. The Champion of Light has never asked us to do any of that, and we try not to do it."


    The Technician sighed. "But if the Champion bes too weak, we might have to."


    Nick frowned.


    "At least, that''s what the original n was," the Technician added.


    Nick''s brows rose as he looked at the Technician. "Huh?" he uttered.


    "Well, the entire thing with you changed things," the Technician said with a sigh. "Also, the Champion doesn''t have much longer."


    "That means we won''t be able to rely on him for much longer."


    "Our priorities are currently changing, which is also why we are experimenting with the Liaison position."


    "If we can improve the lives of people without damaging Aegis, we would prefer that."

 Chapter 559 – Surprises

    Chapter 559 ¨C Surprises


    When Nick heard that, he felt relieved.


    For a moment, he had thought that his efforts of trying to help people was jeopardizing Aegis'' power.


    Although, in a way, that was still true. After all, the Champion of Light was still alive.


    He just wouldn''t be for much longer¡­


    "You scared me there," Nick said with a sigh.


    "I know, but it''s still important that you realize our current predicament," the Technician spoke slowly. "In a way, changing our priorities means admitting that Aegis will no longer rely on the Champion of Light in the future."


    "It''s difficult for many of us to grasp," the Technician said with a sigh.


    Nick could see where the Technician wasing from.


    Aegis had relied on the Champion of Light for over a thousand years. In a way, the Champion of Light was Aegis.


    But now, that would soon change.


    "I wanted to talk to you about these things so that you understand the difficulties we face," the Technician exined. "You are part of Aegis now, and it''s important that you understand the bigger picture so that you can make well-informed decisions."


    Nick nodded. "I understand."


    The Technician nodded back to signal that he was now going back to the main topic. "Now, we are naturally interested in sending you to a couple more cities. What are your thoughts about that?"


    "Naturally, I am willing to do that," Nick said. "However, achieving the same thing in other cities won''t be possible for me right now."


    "Oh?" the Technician uttered. "Howe?"


    "Because of my personal power," Nick said. "I can survive almost all assassination attempts, but if a Hero actually tries to kill me, I will die."


    The Technician rubbed his chin as he looked at Nick.


    "Usually, your personal power wouldn''t be very relevant due to how we normally run cities. After all, the government has to work together with the most powerful people in a city. Drastic changes that would motivate powerful Manufacturers tomit such a risky act would be very unusual and would not be what Aegis wants."


    "However," the Technician added, "your way of running a city is very different. From what you have told me, you are much more authoritative in your approach to leadership. In a way, you are not working together with the powerful Manufacturers but forcing them to work for you."


    "Our approach has worked well for over a thousand years, but your approach has not failed yet. Additionally, we are supposed to experiment, which means giving you much more freedom than normal and seeing what will happen."


    The Technician shrugged. "I guess there''s not much I can do if you need power."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"


    "I mean that if we want this experiment to seed, we need you to have the tools to make sess happen. How powerful do you need to be?" the Technician asked.


    "Preferably Initial Specialist," Nick said.


    The Technician''s eyebrows rose. "Initial Specialist? Only?"


    Nick nodded. "I don''t need to be powerful enough to kill my enemy. I just need enough power to survive and escape."


    The Technician seemed skeptical. "Sure, but an Initial Hero is still ten times as powerful as you, and an Early Hero is 15 times as powerful. I don''t see how you would be able to escape from such an assault."


    Nick seemed a bit ufortable. "I have my ways," he said, avoiding a direct answer.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t want to tell anyone about his ability and what it could achieve.


    Even if it was the Technician.


    The Technician looked at Nick with skepticism for a while.


    An Initial Specialist that could survive an assassination attempt from an Initial Hero¡­


    That seemed unbelievable.


    That was like a normal human surviving an attack by an Initial Adolescent.


    An Initial Adolescent could already bend steel with a strong attack and run as fast as a normal bird could fly.


    How was a normal human supposed to escape from that?


    Yet, as the Technician thought back to the Champion of Light''s conduct in front of Nick, he started to entertain the possibility.


    After all, the Champion of Light appeared to be very interested in Nick.


    Although, if all of that proved to be true, Nick would be the most powerful Runner in history.


    Nobody could escape from such an ambush.


    "Alright," the Technician said. "If you say that''s all you need, I can help you with that."


    "Thank you," Nick said with a sigh.


    He had been unsure if the Technician would have allowed him to increase his power before continuing.


    After all, the Liaison experiment involved all of Aegis.


    Depending on how it went, the way all cities operated could change.


    A dy in the experiment could end with decades of potential missed profits.


    "On what level are you? How old are you? How long do you need to advance?" the Technician asked.


    "I''m currently an Early Expert. I''m almost 37, and I need about three years of optimal Zephyx extraction to be a Mid Expert," Nick exined.


    At that moment, the Technician''s eyebrows shot up. "You''re 37 and already an Early Expert?" he asked in surprise. "How did you achieve that?"


    "Well, I became a Chief Zephyx Extractor when I was 16, and I always prioritized my own growth. I need to be the strongest Extractor as CZE," Nick exined.


    The Technician''s eyes widened again. "Since you were 16? I knew that you were a CZE, but I didn''t know you already had that position when you were 16."


    Nick nodded. "I captured my first Specter as an Initial Newbie with the help of another Mid Newbie, who was the CEO of our Manufacturer."


    The Technician became quite interested in Nick''s story.


    After all, a 16-year-old CZE was unheard of.


    However, they had already been talking for quite a while, and the Technician needed to get back to his other duties.


    Because of that, he didn''t ask Nick about more things from his past and went back to the topic.


    "Okay, and how did you be an Expert this quickly? The Shell needs quite a while to form," the Technician asked.


    "I used an Elixir," Nick said.


    The Technician was surprised once again. "But you weren''t part of Aegis back then," he said.


    Nick nodded.


    "So, where did you get that Elixir from?"


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "Can I only get one if I am part of Aegis?"


    "Usually, yes," the Technician said. "Elixirs are very difficult and expensive to produce. We don''t just hand them out to anyone."


    "Well," Nick said before trailing off.


    For a second, he wasn''t sure if he should talk about his deal with Kugelblitz.


    But then, he remembered what the Champion of Light had said.


    He had said that it wasn''t important what Nick had done. It was only important that Nick''s heart was filled with conviction to do the right thing.


    Additionally, Simon had probably already told Aegis about everything that had happened.


    "I received it from Kugelblitz in exchange for dealing with Anatomy," Nick said.


    "Kugelblitz was the biggest Manufacturer of Crimson City, right?" the Technician asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "Who or what is Anatomy?"


    "The second biggest Manufacturer of Crimson City," Nick said.


    Nick''s answers only made more questions appear in the Technician''s mind.


    Why did Kugelblitz have an Elixir? Why did they ask a Peak Veteran to deal with Anatomy? How strong was Anatomy?


    But instead of asking these questions, the Technician took out a pad and tapped on it a couple of times.


    He quickly read through several pages while Nick waited for him to finish.


    Eventually, the Technician frowned. "There''s nothing about this in your file. Have you told anyone of Aegis about this?"


    Now, it was Nick''s turn to be surprised.


    Simon hadn''t made a report?


    "I did," Nick said with difort. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "But?" the Technician asked after Nick stopped talking.


    "I don''t want to tell you who it was. By not telling you, this person is protecting me, and I don''t want to cause issues for them," Nick said.


    The Technician frowned and looked at the pad for a while.


    Then, he scratched the side of his head.


    Finally, he shrugged and put the pad away.


    "Okay, so, tell me about Anatomy and that deal," he said, dropping the other issue.


    Nick released a covert sigh of relief and told the Technician about the entire incident with Anatomy.


    When the Technician heard that Nick had killed over 200 "Extractors" on his own without being noticed, he almost couldn''t believe it.


    That was unreasonable!


    Yet, he had to ept it.


    If Nick wanted to lie, he wouldn''t use a lie that was so easily debunked.


    "So, Kugelblitz receives an Elixir every three years from the Governor, right?" the Technician asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "That exins things," the Technician said. "We give the Governors one Elixir every three years. Those are being given to the most talented Peak Veterans of the city. In exchange, those Peak Veterans then enter Aegis as Bailiffs. This is essentially the only way to enter Aegis without being a Hero."


    "However, it''s very unusual for the Elixirs to be in the hands of the Manufacturers. Usually, the Governor hands them out directly."


    Nick had known about that part since they had also handed out an Elixir.


    He just hadn''t known that this was the only way to receive an Elixir.


    He had thought that it could also be purchased via contribution points.


    "Anyway," the Technician said. "You are very young, and you''re advancing rapidly."


    "That''s a very good thing."


    "Keeping you here for two decades as training shouldn''t be a big issue."

 Chapter 560 – Aductress

    Chapter 560 ¨C Aductress


    Nick and the Technician talked about the details of his immediate future before Nick left the room.


    After leaving the room, Nick remained standing in the hallway.


    Several minutester, someone walked out of the hallway and approached him.


    It was a young woman with green hair and two long swords hanging from the sides of her legs.


    Her expression was strict and serious, and Nick could tell that she was somebody who didn''t like hearing or making jokes.


    "Nick Dusk?" she asked in a neutral tone.


    Nick nodded. "Yes, Agent," he answered respectfully.


    The woman in front of him wore the uniform of an Agent, which meant that she was a powerful Hero.


    "The Technician has told me all about you," she said without any emotions. "You will be under my care until you have advanced to the level of an Initial Specialist."


    "I am responsible for the training of talented Bailiffs so that they might be Agents in the future."


    Then, the woman turned around.


    "Follow," shemanded as she started walking with quite some speed.


    Nick was unused to being spoken to like this, but she outssed him both in rank and in power.


    "My name is Pavelka Stormde. You will be referring to me as Aductress for the duration of your stay. Am I understood?" she asked with a stern voice.


    "Yes, Aductress," Nick answered. He still wasn''t used to this kind of dynamic, but that didn''t mean that he was opposed to it.


    Usually, more powerful people still spoke in a polite tone, but that wasn''t strictly necessary.


    A politer tone often made it easier to work with someone else, but during a long-term cooperation or rtionship, a very direct tone could be more efficient.


    The Aductress didn''t let it show, but her opinion of Nick improved slightly.


    Why was she talking down to the Bailiffs, even though it was not the norm?


    Discipline.


    Aegis'' headquarters also served as the local stronghold for the Great Triangle.


    This meant that all the talented Peak Veterans from all of the cities ended up here.


    These Peak Veterans were the most talented and most powerful Veterans in their cities, and they had a great deal of confidence in their powers.


    Most of the time, they were progeny from the most influential families in their city and had received years of finely tuned training and education.


    Naturally, these families invested literal tons of Zephyx to sway the local government to ept their progeny as Bailiffs.


    All for the single hope of finally being able to leave the isted pond that was their city and join the vast ocean that was Aegis.


    Most of these families were led by a Hero who had already reached the highest position achievable in their city.


    Governor, Chief Zephyx Extractor, Chief Executive Officer¡­


    Some of them were interested in joining Aegis as Agents, but bing an Agent was not easy.


    They needed to prove themselves first, and that was almost impossible while being isted in some kind of city.


    Others were toofortable with their current power and position to try, but they still wanted their progeny to be even more powerful than them.


    Nevertheless, in either case, if their progeny seeded in the training, a spot as an Agent would be secure, which tranted into a relocation for the family.


    The family could finally leave the city and move to Aegis'' headquarters.


    That meant living in the most prestigious, powerful, and important ce in the entire world!


    As soon as they moved there, every member of the family would have it much easier to get into Aegis.


    For one, the leaders of the families could easily prove themselves and be Agents.


    Other members could directly join as administrative workers.


    Dealing with paperwork, managing resources, supporting others, and so on.


    Those members would also be Bailiffs, and just being a Bailiff already opened many possible avenues to fame and glory.


    This was why all the powerful families tried their best to get their progeny into Aegis.


    And these progeny, most of the time, were not the humblest humans out there.


    Because of that, the Aductress talked down to them to get them back in line.


    These Bailiffs had to understand that they were now the lowest of the low in Aegis.


    They were trainees.


    They were not valuable in any way.


    They were not contributing with their power.


    They were not contributing to any administrative work.


    They were not working with Specters that could otherwise not be worked with.


    They were not producing a great amount of Zephyx.


    They were not fighting Specters.


    They were not paying any tribute to Aegis.


    They were contributing nothing.


    They only cost money.


    They were here to be assessed and to be molded into someone who could contribute to Aegis.


    It was important that the neers understood their status.


    When the Aductress talked to the Bailiffs, she often saw the outrage on their face.


    Some of them even dared to voice it.


    However,ints and outrage wouldn''t get them very far here.


    The Aductress had a very high status.


    They didn''t know it, but the Aductress was one of the most powerful Heroes in all of Aegis.


    In fact, she was only in the headquarters because she was working with a Peak Demon so that she could be a Judge, a Protector.


    The teaching of the talented Bailiffs was of high importance, and Aegis wanted the Bailiffs to only learn from the best of them.


    However, they had a very limited number of Judges.


    Because of that, they gave the task of teaching the talented Bailiffs to an Agent who was in the process of bing a Judge.


    Such a process generally took decades toplete.


    The Aductress had been doing this job for a couple of years now, but she still had about two decades ahead of her.


    In these years, she had seen many Bailiffs, and she could also see if they were useful or not.


    Most of them were not very useful and found themselves back home again.


    The families tried their best to teach them aboutbat and all the duties an Extractor had toplete, but more often than not, the personalities and motivations of these people were not what Aegis wanted.


    In the end, less than 10% managed to be Specialists before being thrown out, and even fewer managed to actually be Agents.


    Nick didn''t know a lot about the Aductress and the people she taught.


    The Technician only told him that he would be sending him to the regr training camp for Agents.


    The reason why the Technician didn''t tell Nick a lot about this department was simple.


    There was no need to.


    The Technician knew that Nick had vastly more experience than any other Expert out there.


    Many of them had worked with many more Specters than Nick, and many of them had lived much longer than him.


    However, none of them had gone through so many dangerous situations, and almost none of them had decades of experience leading a Manufacturer or running an entire city.


    Nick had enough experience and contributions that he could assume the mantle of Agent if he were a Hero.


    Nick had already proven that his mindset, experience, and power were more than sufficient to be an Agent.


    Warning him about any dangers in the training department was unnecessary.


    He knew how to handle himself.


    After walking for a while, the two of them arrived in a room that was a mix of storage and office.


    "Oh hey, Pavelka," a young man wearing the uniform of a Bailiff said as he stood up from his chair to approach. "What''s up?"


    The Aductress just red back. "I have a new trainee," she said.


    "Oh!" the young man said as his face became a bit red with embarrassment. An instantter, his gaze steeled, and he purposefully did his best to act like Nick didn''t exist any longer.


    "Do you require a standard-issue uniform?" he asked with a serious voice.


    The Aductress nodded. "Yes."


    "Of course," the young man said before turning to Nick.


    He was just about to tell Nick to follow him, but he hesitated when he inspected Nick''s uniform.


    He already had an Aegis uniform?


    Even more, he had stripes!


    Stripes were only for Governors and higher!


    The man was supposed to be serious and disciplined in front of the trainees, but¡­


    This was someone who had, at least, as much authority as a Governor.


    He couldn''t be rude to someone like that!


    "It''s fine," Nick said, realizing what was happening. "Just treat me like any other trainee."


    The Aductress frowned, but she didn''t look at either of them.


    She wasn''t happy about the current development since this was not how things were normally done, but she had to concede that there was no other way.


    To the Aductress, Nick wasn''t different from a Bailiff. Both of them were beneath her rank. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    But for another Bailiff or a Governor, things were very different.


    The man mouthed a silent thank you before his gaze hardened.


    "Follow, trainee!" hemanded as he walked into another room.


    Nick followed.

 Chapter 561 – First Level

    Chapter 561 ¨C First Level


    The two of them stepped through the door and closed it behind them.


    As soon as the door closed, the man turned to look at Nick with a helpless smile. "Sorry, but I have to act like this."


    Nick wasn''t surprised that the man had essentially broken protocol.


    "I understand," Nick answered.


    "Thank you," the man said with a quick bow. "Please remove your uniform and hand it over together with all of your belongings. The only things you may keep are your weapons."


    "What about my Barrier?" Nick asked.


    "That as well," the man said. "Every trainee receives the same Barrier and uniform. Almost all the trainees have the best equipment a city can offer, but not all cities are equal. Weapons are not difficult to manufacture, but Barriers can vary greatly in their power."


    Nick nodded and removed his Barrier before removing his uniform.


    After removing everything, he put it into his new Space Bag and handed it over.


    When the man saw Nick''s Space Bag, he took a deep breath.


    A Space Bag!


    Not even all of the Agents had the privilege of owning a Space Bag!


    This guy must have done several great services for Aegis if he was rewarded with a Space Bag at such an age and power level!


    The man carefully handled the Space Bag and made sure to double- and triple-check the locking mechanism of the safe in which he put the bag.


    If this Space Bag got lost, he might lose his job or even worse!


    Meanwhile, Nick took note of aedy of the current situation. He had just received his Space Bag, and now, he lost ess to it for the next 20 years or so.


    Nick received a new uniform.


    It was a white uniform without any streaks, which meant it was of the lowest rank.


    Yet, being at the lowest rank in Aegis was still superior to being at the highest rank in any Manufacturer.


    ''I guess this rank befits my actual power,'' Nick thought as he looked at his uniform.


    Naturally, all the ranks in Aegis were rted to an Extractor''s power, with Nick being the only exception.


    Now, his uniform reflected his power.


    The lowest of the low.


    An Expert.


    An Expert was someone amazing in a city but just amoner here.


    Nick also took a look at his new Barrier.


    He pressed a couple of buttons and found out that he had no authority to change any settings of the Barrier.


    Although, that was to be expected.


    He didn''t really own the Barrier.


    Nevertheless, he could see its statistics, which told him that this Barrier was about as strong as the average Barrier of a Specialist in a city.


    Yet, that was still a downgrade for almost all of the trainees who arrived here and a significant downgrade for Nick, who had used a Barrier fit for an Agent.


    A momentter, the man held out a booklet for Nick, who grabbed and read it.


    It was just a manual that introduced him to his new department.


    Nick found a couple of interesting things but put the manual away without any questions.


    "Do you have any questions?" the man asked.


    "No," Nick answered simply.


    The man nodded and gestured towards the door.


    A momentter, he opened the door and walked out with a stern expression while Nick followed him.


    The Aductress just looked at them without saying anything.


    "Belongings confiscated and secured. Uniform, Barrier, and manual handed over. No problems, Aductress," the man said with a serious tone.


    The Aductress nodded and wordlessly gestured for Nick to follow her.


    The two of them left the room and traveled further upwards, towards the middleyer of the headquarters.


    This was where all of the Specters were held, but that wasn''t the only thing that was on the middleyer.


    The trainee camp was also here.


    As the Aductress approached the door, a light beside it turned green, and the door opened.


    Nick had already read through the manual and knew exactly what would be waiting for him behind this door.


    A gigantic room with nothing but people and metal.


    The room was 300 meters wide and 300 meters long but only 10 meters high.


    There was no furniture.


    No beds, no chairs, no tables, nothing. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Yet, Nick could see a lot of people in the room.


    He estimated that there were about 600, and all of them wore the same uniform and were of simr levels.


    As soon as the door opened, everyone looked over and became silent.


    This door opened rarely.


    It only opened when a new trainee came to the facility.


    "Wee home," the Aductress said with a cold voice before turning around and leaving through the same door.


    Nick didn''t say anything and just looked at all the people looking back at him evenly.


    The manual had already exined everything about this ce.


    This was the First Level.


    Everyone stayed here for a maximum of three years.


    If they managed to stay here for three years, they would advance to the Second Level.


    If not, they would be sent back to their cities.


    Only around 20% of trainees would advance to the Second Level.


    After some seconds, everyone went back to doing whatever they were doing.


    Almost everyone was standing or sitting close to the walls or the few corners.


    The only people in the middle of the room were walking from one part to another.


    It seemed like nobody liked to upy the middle of the room.


    Nick remembered what he had read in the manual and walked diagonally towards a distant door.


    "Hey, neer," a guy with a smirk said as he stepped beside Nick. "What''s your specialty in academics?"


    "Not sure," Nick answered neutrally. "I never focused on any specific field of study. I need to do the tests first to see how I''m doing."


    The man''s smirk vanished, and he rubbed his chin in thought as he looked at Nick.


    "If you want to exchange answers, you can find me on the west side of the room in the mornings," he said as he walked towards the west.


    "I''lle to you soon," Nick answered as he continued walking.


    As the man walked away, a dark glint appeared in his eyes.


    ''This guy is dangerous,'' the man thought. ''He just arrived and already knows what this is all about.''


    Was that true?


    Did Nick already see through the true purpose of the First Level?


    Partially.


    He had an inkling, but he couldn''t be sure.


    Three more people came to Nick, asking about the same thing as the first guy and receiving the same answers.


    Eventually, Nick arrived at the door and passed through it.


    This time, Nick found himself in a huge hall with around 1,000 tables with consoles on them.


    Around 80 people were currently sitting in front of different desks, tapping away on their screens.


    Nick walked up to a random desk, sat down, and tapped on his console.


    The screen brightened, and Nick also started tapping away on it.


    Trainees on the First Level had to earn a minimum amount of different kinds of points and a minimum total amount of points.


    There were four different kinds of points.


    First, Battle Points.


    These points were earned by going into the battle arena and fighting Specters.


    Winning against a Specter gave three points times the difficulty multiplier of the Specter.


    Surviving for a minute gave one point times the difficulty multiplier.


    Losing gave no points.


    One could only earn points one time each month per Specter.


    The minimum amount required each month was five Battle Points.


    Second, Fitness Points.


    Trainees just had to undergo physical exams without being allowed to use their abilities to gather points.


    Third, Specter Points.


    Specter Points were earned by sessfully working with certain Specters.


    There were Specters that were difficult to work with and ones that were easy to work with.


    Naturally, the ones that were more difficult to work with gave more points.


    Lastly, there were Academic Points.


    There were different tests with randomized questions on different topics with differentplexities avable.


    One could repeat these tests as many times as one wanted.


    However, after a test, one would only get to know their total score of correct answers, not which answers were correct or which questions were correct.


    There were over 3,000 randomized questions per level per topic, and they were all worded in a way that required one to exin the answer in detail.


    Now, the interesting part was¡­


    There were no teachers.


    There was no library.


    One could not find any official way to study for these tests.


    And while getting the minimum amount of Academic Points was not difficult, the minimum amount of total points was brutal to get.


    The minimum amount of total points was the main reason why so many people failed the First Level.


    Nick opened the first test, did not even look at its topic, and read the first question.


    ''I know that,'' he thought while typing in his answer.


    Then, he looked at the submit button before taking note of the checkbox beside it.


    The checkbox read:


    "Did someone tell you the answer? (Might result in reduced score)."


    Nick didn''t check the checkbox and clicked submit.

 Chapter 562 – Categories

    Chapter 562 ¨C Categories


    The test consisted of 50 questions pulled from a pool of thousands.


    While Nick had been able to answer the first question, he quickly realized he might have been lucky.


    ''Well, biology isn''t my strong suit,'' Nick thought.


    This test was about the biology of not only humans but also animals and nts.


    Nick knew a lot about human biology, but he knew almost nothing about the other two.


    After a while, Nick answered all the questions, and he immediately got his score.


    ''15 out of a hundred,'' he thought. ''How did I even get an odd score with an even number of total questions? Do I get half points for partially correct answers, or do the questions give a different number of points?''


    ''Nevertheless, that''s not even close to getting a point.'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Someone could earn up to three points per test based on the score.


    30 out of a hundred gave one point.


    60 gave two.


    90 gave three.


    There was no reward for getting a hundred percent, and the manual made that very clear.


    The reason was that going from 90 to 100 points was far too much work for little benefit, and that was not what Aegis wanted from their trainees.


    After someone reached 90 points, they should get to the next level and try to get 30 there.


    Sometimes, perfection was not a good thing because it could cannibalize efficiency.


    When he finished the test, Nick checked the other categories.


    ''Luckily, that was my worst field from all the ones here,'' Nick thought. ''Might as well go with my second worst.''


    Then, Nick clicked on Zephology.


    Zephology was the study of Zephyx and Prephyx and how they interacted with the world.


    One would expect that a former CZE would know a lot about Zephology, but that was actually not true.


    Zephology was mainly aboutbining Zephyx with materials to create machines or equipment.


    This was something for engineers and inventors like Ghosty.


    Nick knew a bit about this, but not a lot.


    However, when Nick saw his score, he was surprised.


    ''52 points?'' Nick thought. ''That test was far easier than I expected. Sure, I only got 52 points, but that''s my second worst category.''


    ''Am I just that bad at biology, or is this test just far easier?''


    Nick shook his head. ''Doesn''t matter. I''ll just get to the next one.''


    Next was physics, and Nickpleted the test rtively quickly.


    ''74 points,'' Nick thought with raised brows. ''These tests are far easier than I thought.''


    After finishing three tests, Nick had already gained three points.


    The number of points he could earn from here was crazy.


    ''Next, history,'' Nick thought.


    As he answered the questions, Nick realized that almost all questions referred to the current era.


    There were just three questions that tangentially rted to the past eras.


    ''28 points,'' Nick thought with annoyance. ''I don''t know a lot about history from this era.''


    Instead of choosing the next category, Nick opened the level two test from history and was quickly confronted with a question about the Suffering Ones.


    Nick smirked a bit and answered.


    Nick had learned a lot about history from Julian and Aegis'' database while being Crimson City''s Liaison.


    ''It''s probably too difficult to gain ess to knowledge about the past eras,'' Nick thought while answering questions.


    After a while, he finished the level two test of history, and he was much more confident this time.


    ''62 points,'' Nick thought with a smirk. ''That''s six points!''


    Since the level two tests were far more difficult than the level one tests, they also gave far more points.


    Getting a score of 30 gave three points, 60 gave six, and 90 gave nine.


    Level three tests were even crazier, giving ten, twenty, and thirty.


    ''I should also attempt the level three test,'' Nick thought.


    It took a long time for him to answer the questions, but in the end, he received his score.


    ''21 points,'' Nick thought with a sigh. ''It seems like myck of knowledge in other fields is pulling down my history score.''


    The level three history questions talked about specific things like past technology, which also required advanced knowledge in Zephology.


    Luckily, Nick managed to answer a couple of the questions thanks to his vast knowledge of another category, which he hadn''t tested yet.


    ''Next, warfare,'' Nick thought as he clicked on the warfare category.


    Warfare, in this context, referred to group battles.


    Extractors against other Extractors.


    Several Extractors against one Specter.


    Several Extractors against several Specters.


    Stuff like that.


    Nick was quite confident in that category since he had been in many battles and had to create many parties to capture Specters.


    Dark Dream''s losses had been very low, which meant that Nick couldn''t have been that bad at warfare.


    Also, once more, Julian had been a treasure trove of knowledge.


    When Nick finished the test, he smirked.


    ''93 points,'' he thought.


    Yet, he immediately shook his head to get rid of the smirk.


    ''Don''t getfortable. These are tests for children. There''s no value in feeling pride about these aplishments,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    Nick clicked on the second level of warfare and started answering.


    ''96 points,'' Nick thought without emotion after finishing the test.


    How had Nick scored even better in the second level than the first?


    Because the second level mostly dealt with battles against Specters, while the first one mainly dealt with human battles.


    After finishing the second level, Nick went to the third level.


    He had been quite confident, but his confidence took a severe hit very quickly.


    All of these questions included the abilities of Specialists, Heroes, and even Protectors.


    Nick could answer a couple of the questions, but he wasn''t sure about his answers.


    ''24 points,'' Nick thought. ''Barely missed. The third-level tests are insane.''


    Nick had been typing away on the console for several hours now, but he didn''t feel exhausted.


    Compared to his job as CZE or Liaison, this was essentially a vacation.


    It was even almost fun.


    ''Halfway done. Next, psychology.''


    Nick was confident in psychology due to his troubles over the decades and his job.


    Naturally, as CZE and Liaison, he had to know how people thought and how they would react.


    However, Nick encountered a problem with the questions.


    ''Many of these questions are asking about words for specific actions and thinking patterns. I know what they all do, but I''ve never officially learned them, which means I don''t know the correct terminology for most of these things.''


    In the end, Nick only got 68 points.


    Nevertheless, he went to the second level, but it didn''t get any better.


    42 points.


    Yet, Nick still attempted the third level, and he was positively surprised.


    48 points!


    The reason for the score was that the third level mostly gaveplex scenarios and asked Nick to predict what certain people would do and why.


    Essentially, the third level wasn''t asking about the terms but tested the trainees actual experience in the field and if they had properly understood the concepts.


    ''The first time I got points from the third level,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick looked at the four remaining categories.


    His four best categories.


    ''Mathematics!''


    Nick had learned a lot about mathematics inside the Big Brain Slug''sbyrinth.


    However, as Nick started to answer the questions, he took longer and longer.


    The reason was that there were no easy ways to solve these equations.


    At least, ording to his knowledge.


    ''It''s very possible that there are ways to simplify these equations, but I don''t know them. I have to calcte all of them the hard way.''


    In essence, Nick had toe up with his own way of solving these equations, which put a lot of pressure on his mind.


    Hours passed.


    Days passed.


    Yet, halfway through the test, Nick clicked on cancel, destroying all of his efforts.


    ''I can''t waste so much time just on math,'' he thought with frustration. ''I actually have to earn points to stay here. I can deal with the math in my free time.''


    So, Nick went to the next category.


    Leadership.


    Leadership was a field mixed from many different fields.


    Psychology, economics, warfare, history.


    Nick charged through the questions, not even needing to think about the answer.


    ''100, 80, 64,'' Nick thought while reading his scores for the three levels.


    Nick had been in charge of other people for his entire adult life, and he had managed an entirepany while it was growing more and more powerful.


    Even on the third level, he had been certain of almost all of his answers, and he believed that most of the cases in the third test were based on opinion rather than objective truth.


    His score wasn''t high enough to earn all of the points, but he also didn''t believe that he was wrong.


    ''Two more categories,'' Nick thought before looking at the next category.


    He had to suppress a smirk of confidence.


    Wasn''t this the thing he had dealt with for the past five years?


    ''Economics.''

 Chapter 563 – Fitness

    Chapter 563 ¨C Fitness


    Nick started the first test of the economics group and immediately realized something.


    ''These questions aren''t easy,'' he thought, ''but that makes sense.''


    ''The tests are not made with normal people in mind but with the average trainee in mind.''


    ''I don''t need to talk to the other trainees to know what kind of people they are. Since only one person per city cane here every three years, only the most powerful families can send their children here.''


    ''That means almost all of them have a high level of education but not that much experience.''


    ''If every test were created with the sameplexity, ''unimportant'' topics like math and physics would be unsolvable while everyone would get 100 points in economics. After all, all these people must have learned a lot about economics during their educations.''


    The more tests Nick did, the more he understood how the tests were constructed.


    ''The first level checks academics and what you would learn during your education.''


    ''The second level checks the peak of academia. With that, I mean the peak of theory.''


    ''The third level checks if the person can actually use the knowledge in a real situation. In short, it tests someone''s experience in the field.''


    Nick answered the questions rapidly.


    ''91 points,'' Nick thought. ''Once more, I don''t know some of the terminology.''


    After that, he took the second economics test.


    ''45 points,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''There is too much terminology, and there are way too many questions about avoiding taxes. I don''t know a lot about avoiding taxes.''


    ''Well, let''s see what the third level is like,'' he thought as he started the hardest test of economics.


    ¡­or, as it turned out, the easiest.


    Almost all of the questions were about how the popce would act with their money whenws changed or what the city should do in a given scenario.


    These questions would be almost unanswerable by any of the trainees since people often acted counterintuitively in most of these situations, which often went against academia.


    Yet, all of these questions seemed insanely easy to him, but that had been expected.


    When Nick saw his final score, he raised an eyebrow. ''98? I got one wrong? I''m quite confident in all of my answers.''


    ''Do they have a mistake in there?''


    In the end, Nick just shook his head. ''Doesn''t really matter. It''s only one question. There''s no reason to cause a scene over two points.''


    ''I got 98 points on the third level, which is already more than enough.''


    As Nick went back to the menu, he looked at thest category.


    Spectology.


    Spectology was the study of Specters.


    Their abilities, how they functioned, how they acted, and so on.


    Nick had been a CZE for over a decade, and he had worked with over a hundred different Specters in his life.


    Nick rapidly finished the first test and got a 96.


    Then, he finished the second test and got an 84.


    Finally, he went on to the third test.


    ''98 again?'' Nick thought with a raised brow. ''Well, at least this time, I know which answer I most likely got wrong.''


    The question established the attributes of a new Specter and asked the tester to ssify the Specter.


    The thing was that everything pointed to it being a Possession Specter but in the form of a human.


    Nick hadn''t seen a human Possession Specter yet, which was why he had gone with something else.


    Was it possible that Specters could also possess humans?


    Nick wasn''t sure.


    ''Anyway, that''s it, for now,'' Nick thought as he added up all the Academic Points he received.


    ''140 Academic Points,'' Nick thought. ''That''s easily more than enough to stay here, but I still need the minimal points from the other three kinds.''


    ''Although, getting five points from each shouldn''t be difficult.''


    For the first time in several days, Nick left the room with the consoles and entered the main room again.


    As Nick passed through the room, he met eyes with a couple of people.


    "You want to exchange academics?" one of them answered as he approached Nick.


    "Let me finish the other three categories first," Nick said.


    "Oh, if I remember correctly, you only arrived here around a week ago. Were you busy with the Academic Points for the entire week?" the man asked.


    Nick just nodded.


    "Guess you were studying," the man said with augh. "People usually don''t need more than a day to finish all tests."


    When Nick heard that, one of his suspicions was confirmed.


    ''As I''ve thought, my scores are probably abnormal. The easiest tests alone take at least 60 minutes, and many of them take two hours. Ten tests in less than a day sounds realistic.''


    "I can talk to youter," Nick said as he continued walking.


    "Sure," the guy answered.


    Eventually, Nick reached the room that tested fitness.


    Nick found himself in a huge hall with ten big ck cubes.


    Each of the cubes was around 50 meters in dimensions.


    ''Those should be the testing halls,'' Nick thought, remembering the manual.


    Four of the cubes showed signs of being in use, but Nick still found a free one and entered.


    The fitness test could only be taken three times per month, which was why they didn''t need as many testing areas as in the room for academics.


    Academics could be improved rapidly, while physical power needed a long time to improve.


    After entering the cube, Nick found himself in a world of white.


    There was nothing but whiteness in here.


    "Speed test," Nick spoke.


    The next second, two lines appeared on the ground, and Nick stopped in front of one of them.


    There were two parts to the speed test.


    eleration and top speed.


    This was the eleration test.


    Nick took a deep breath and readied himself.


    It was less than 50 meters to the other line.


    He could start running whenever he wanted. The time would be measured automatically.


    BANG!


    Nick exploded forward and reached the other line in the blink of an eye.


    ''Pretty good, considering it''s without my ability.''


    Abilities were not allowed to be used during the fitness test.


    Luckily, Nick''s ability hadn''t been active ever since he entered Aegis'' headquarters.


    ''Explosive speed is one of the most important things for me,'' Nick thought. ''I need it to flee, to attack, and to quickly get from cover to cover.''


    A momentter, the two lines disappeared, and some kind of treadmill appeared on the floor.


    Nick jumped to its middle and started to elerate.


    The treadmill kept him perfectly in the middle of the room, and Nick sped up more.


    After some seconds, he narrowed his eyes and jumped forward with all of his power.


    This jump would have catapulted Nick over kilometers of distance, but he didn''t move at all on the treadmill, making for quite a bizarre picture.


    The speed meter shot up for an instant before slowing down again.


    Nicknded on the treadmill and continued running since the treadmill was still moving at insane speeds.


    After a while, the treadmill slowed down, and Nick could finally leave.


    The treadmill vanished, and Nick saw a console with the points he received.


    ''Seven points,'' Nick thought. ''Seems about right.''


    There were five categories, and one could earn up to ten points per category, making for a total of 50 points.


    One would expect that the average would be five points, but that wasn''t true.


    ording to the book, every point represented a drop of 50%.


    100% of trainees could earn one point.


    50% could earn two points.


    25% could earn three points.


    And so on.


    With seven points, Nick was in the top 1.6% of trainees or something like that when it came to speed.


    That was about what he had expected. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After all, Nick''s body was about as good as it got.


    He would probably receive simr scores in the other categories.


    The only way to get even more points was to reduce one''s points in other categories.


    In order to increase his speed, Nick would need to lose muscle mass to reduce his weight, making the strength test much harder.


    The same thing was true the other way around.


    Essentially, Nick needed to specialize in order to get eight or more points in a category.


    "Agility Test," Nick said.


    The next moment, the terrain inside the white world transformed, creating walls in random ces.


    There were tight corridors that zigzagged, walls that blocked almost the entire width of the room, round tunnels, and so on.


    It was a chaotic world with many obstacles, twists, and turns.


    Nick saw a timer appear, which counted down from 30 minutes.


    At the same time, Nick saw a yellow light shining through one of the walls.


    The yellow light originated from the goal he had to reach, and it could pass through obstacles and walls.


    Yet, instead of running right at it, Nick inspected the entire room.


    The timer existed so that Nick could get familiar with the room''syout.


    In 30 minutes, the real test would start.

 Chapter 564 – Fitness Score

    Chapter 564 ¨C Fitness Score


    Nick ran around the room for a couple of minutes before he ran towards the goal.


    The goal was just a yellow spot on the floor, a wall, or the ceiling, and Nick just had to touch it.


    After touching it, the next goal immediately appeared in a random ce inside the white world, and Nick charged at it.


    This was not the real test yet.


    The ce where the yellow dot appeared waspletely random every time.


    Nick practiced until only five minutes were left on the timer.


    Then, he recovered his power.


    ''10, 9, 8¡­'' Nick thought as he readied himself near the current goal.


    ''0.''


    Now, as soon as he touched the goal, the true test would begin.


    Nick took a deep breath and focused.


    Then, he hit the goal before immediately finding the next goal.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Nick exploded forward, jumping from wall to wall with all of his power.


    BANG!


    Nick mmed his hand onto the goal while searching for the next goal.


    Funnily enough, the next goal appeared barely two meters beside him.


    This was quite lucky, but it actually didn''t matter.


    This test would go on for an entire minute.


    With Nick''s speed, he would catch around a hundred targets in that minute.


    With 100 random targets, his luck was bound to equal out.


    Plenty of lucky coincidences and plenty of unlucky ones.


    For an entire minute, Nick charged back and forth.


    Finally, the goal vanished.


    The minute was up.


    ''103,'' Nick thought as everything returned to white.


    A momentter, his score appeared.


    ''Seven,'' Nick thought. ''Same as my speed score. Seems about right.''


    ''Let''s get to the next one.''


    "Strength Test," Nick said.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ten cubes of metal appeared all over the room.


    All of them looked the same and had the same size.


    However, they all had vastly different densities.


    ''One cube, one point, I assume,'' Nick thought as he approached the left cube.


    He carefully grabbed it and lifted it.


    It was extremely easy to lift.


    For a normal person, this weight would be equivalent to 20 kg.


    Sure, there were people who couldn''t lift 20 kg, but all of the people here were athletes with trained bodies.


    20 kg wasn''t a lot for an athlete.


    The scoreboard went from a zero to a one before Nick went to the next cube.


    ''As expected,'' Nick thought as he lifted the cube to his chest. He didn''t need to lift it over his head. ''This would probably be equivalent to 60 kg for a normal person. Athletes specialized in running or jumping might not be able to lift that.''


    Then, Nick went to the third, and he had to slow down quite a bit.


    It was no longer easy to lift the cube, but Nick still didn''t have any issues.


    ''That''s probably something like 100 kg for a normal person.''


    The scoreboard counted to three as Nick walked to the next stone.


    ''Around 130 kg,'' Nick thought as he dropped the cube after releasing a deep breath.


    Things were bing quite challenging.


    Nick went to the fifth cube, and he took quite some time to finish the lift.


    When Nick went to the sixth, he mentally prepared himself for a while.


    As he lifted the cube, his arms started to shake, but he still managed to lift it in a rtively smooth motion. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The scoreboard went to six, and Nick approached the seventh stone.


    He wasn''t sure if he could lift this one.


    Nick took several deep breaths and gritted his teeth.


    Then, he went down and violently pulled upward.


    Nick''s entire body was shaking, and the cube barely moved upward.


    But it did.


    After over a second, it only reached a height of ten centimeters, and it started to slow down.


    Nick didn''t have issues with straightening his legs, but his arms couldn''t pull the cube upward.


    He was barely able to keep it steady with his outstretched arms.


    Sadly, that wasn''t enough.


    He needed to pull it to his chest.


    Nick''s mind started to distort, and his vision began to blur as he pulled.


    The cube moved upward.


    It was moving!


    More!


    Just a bit more!


    Then, Nick lost all of his strength and dropped the cube.


    His muscles just gave up.


    He looked at the scoreboard, but it didn''t count up.


    ''I have to try again!'' Nick thought as he prepared himself for another lift.


    Some secondster, he tried it again, but this time, his muscles gave out even earlier.


    ''Nah, I can''t lift that,'' he thought. ''Six points it is.''


    "I''m done," Nick said.


    The next moment, all the cubes vanished, and Nick took some time to regain his strength.


    "Zephyx Recovery Test," Nick said.


    A momentter, a huge barrel appeared in front of Nick.


    Zephyx recovery was essentially stamina for Extractors.


    It was basically cardio.


    The more often an Extractor lost and regained their Zephyx, the faster their Zephyx recovery became.


    Up to a limit, of course.


    But for Nick, things were different.


    Nick imagined the Shell around his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    His Shell was very different from other Shells.


    ''Most likely, my Zephyx recovery is better than any Zephyx recovery achievable by training alone.''


    In a way, Nick was cheating, but that wasn''t entirely true.


    He was just built different.


    "Start," Nick said.


    The next moment, the barrel started to shine red.


    BANG!


    And then, a redser shot at Nick.


    Naturally, theser was made of very concentrated light, which meant that Nick didn''t even see theser move.


    Light was moving quite a bit faster than him.


    Light was also moving faster than Eternals, and it wasn''t even close.


    Naturally, Nick''s new Barrier activated immediately to block the attack.


    Theser gained power before reaching a stable power.


    Nick closed his eyes and felt his Zephyx.


    It wasn''t reducing.


    He was recovering more Zephyx than he was using.


    After a couple of seconds, theser gained a bit more power.


    For Nick, nothing changed.


    Then, it increased again.


    And again.


    Finally, Nick''s Zephyx started to very slowly decrease.


    And then¡­


    Theser stopped, and the barrel vanished.


    The next moment, a scoreboard appeared, and it said ten.


    Nick wasn''t surprised.


    His Shell was very different.


    "Overall Test," Nick said.


    This was thest test.


    In this test, one needed to use everything.


    The world transformed.


    Walls appeared everywhere, simr to the agility test, but there were also new things.


    There were breakable walls and some straight corridors.


    If someone had high speed but bad agility, they could decide to take a longer but straighter way instead of a short, curvy path.


    If someone had a lot of strength, they could break through the walls.


    However, the walls would immediately rebuild after the person passed through, and it would be harder.


    Usually, running through the walls was the fastest way, which was why almost everyone started with that.


    Then, at some point, the walls would be so hard that one couldn''t break through them anymore, and one would need to take a different path.


    Additionally, breaking through many walls would cost a lot of Zephyx.


    Lastly, this test would continue for ten minutes.


    Over such a long time, Zephyx recovery would also be very important.


    All four base categories were important here.


    Nick got 30 minutes to look around again and did just that.


    When the 30 minutes were up, Nick readied himself.


    This would be thest of the fitness tests.


    He took a deep breath.


    And then, he hit the yellow goal.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Nick immediately charged through three walls and hit the next goal.


    BANG! BANG!


    Another two destroyed walls.


    For the next two minutes, Nick just destroyed walls to get to the goals.


    But then, things started to be difficult.


    Nick''s speed dropped drastically while charging through the walls, and he also started to lose Zephyx.


    When Nick lost almost 5% of his Zephyx with a single punch, he decided against breaking more walls and focused on his other two aspects.


    Sometimes, a straight path directly led to the goal, which made speed very important.


    Sometimes, a squiggly corridor would lead to it, which required agility.


    In the first instance, agility wouldn''t be important, and in the second one, speed wouldn''t be important.


    However, since Nick was good at both of them, he never needed to choose.


    He just took the quickest path.


    When only a couple of seconds were left on the clock, Nick changed his tactic again.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Nick charged through the walls again.


    His Zephyx was dropping rapidly, but that didn''t matter.


    DING!


    And finally, everything vanished.


    The test was over.


    Nick was quite exhausted, but he felt good.


    He already knew his score before looking at it.


    It was the only logical score.


    After a while, Nick looked up.


    Ten.


    Obviously.


    Nick was amazing in every single category.


    There were people who were better in singr categories, but they would be worse in the others.


    ''7, 7, 6, 10, 10," Nick thought. ''40 of 50.''


    ''I''m fine with that.''

 Chapter 565 – 20 Specters

    Chapter 565 ¨C 20 Specters


    After getting his points, Nick left his big ck cube and went towards the main hall again.


    He quickly walked towards the next testing room, avoiding some people on the way there.


    Nick stepped through a door and entered a new hallway.


    This one was filled with rooms on both sides, and Nick saw a couple of people going back and forth.


    Surprisingly, the first rooms had actual queues in front of them.


    ''These Specters are probably easy to work with,'' Nick thought as he looked at the queues.


    This hallway contained several Specters that the trainees could use to train.


    As Nick looked at the sign above one of the doors, he knew why so many people waited in front of this one.


    ''Discipline level one,'' Nick read.


    In total, there were 20 Elders that the trainees could work with, and all of these Elders could be worked with many times per day without requiring a long time.


    Aegis had thousands of Elders all over the world. They had enough Elders to pick from for their most talented trainees.


    These 20 Elders were divided into four categories, and each of them required different strengths to work with.


    Pain.


    Focus.


    Discipline.


    Danger.


    These were the essential fourponents that Extractors needed to work with Specters. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    They needed to be able to resist pain and trauma. Good examples were the Blinding Light, the Can, and the ze, which all belonged to Sky Dream.


    They needed to be able to focus for a long time and notmit any mistakes. Good examples were the Attention Seeker, the Annoying One, and the Talker.


    They needed to be disciplined and resist allures. Good examples were the Gambler, the False News, and the Berry Bush.


    Lastly, they needed to be powerful enough to deal with unstable Specters since many of them were extremely dangerous, even while working with them. Good examples were any Blood Specters, the Tragedy, and the Bleeding Lady. Working with any of these could put the Extractor''s life in danger.


    There were five Specters per category, and they each gave a different number of points after sessfully working with them.


    It was important to note that these Specters only gave points once a month.


    However, they could be worked with however many times the trainees wanted.


    All of the queues stood in front of the first-level Specters.


    ''Almost all of these people will be gone within the month,'' Nick thought.


    The only people who used the testing Specters to advance their level were people who had no points to spare.


    Behind the testing hallway was an actual training hallway, which contained Specters that were less dangerous and easier to work with.


    However,pared to giving points, these took points.


    Obviously, if a trainee barely managed to get their 50 total points in the month, they wouldn''t have any points left to work with an easy Specter, forcing them to work with the test Specters.


    Yet, since they already barely had any points, they most likely also couldn''t work with a lot of the Specters here. Otherwise, they would have more points.


    That doomed them to work with the level one Specters every day.


    So, how many points could one earn while working with these Specters?


    Quite a lot.


    Sessfully working with a level one Specter gave one point.


    Level two gave five points.


    Level three gave ten points.


    Level four gave 20 points.


    And level five gave 35 points.


    If someone managed to work with a level five Specter, they only needed the five minimum points from the other three categories to stay as a trainee.


    In short, they only needed to be amazing at working with the Specters and fulfill the basic requirements.


    To stay in the trainee program, one only needed to be really good at one thing or pretty good at everything.


    The trainee program was there to find the truly talented people.


    ''20 different Specters,'' Nick thought. ''Reminds me of Dark Dream.''


    After looking at the rooms for a while, Nick walked up to one of the queues.


    Nick saw people talking with each other while waiting for the Containment Unit to be free.


    Nick just walked past them, eliciting several nces from them.


    The people looked at each other and shook their heads.


    They didn''t know Nick.


    Nick approached the door, and his Barrier activated.


    A momentter, the white light of his Barrier turned green before vanishing.


    When the trainees saw the light, they groaned or sighed.


    "Can''t you test something else?" one of them asked with annoyance.


    "There are queues in front of all level one Specters," Nick answered. "I have to start somewhere."


    The man looked at the other queues and just looked away.


    The reason why the man was annoyed was simple.


    People who were here to earn points had a higher priority than people who were here to train.


    The trainee''s Barriers acted as identifications, and if one of them wanted to work with a Specter, they needed to register with the Containment Unit by using their Barrier.


    If someone hadn''t worked with a Specter before this month, the light would shine green, and they would get higher priority.


    If they had already worked with that Specter, the light would turn yellow, and they would need to go to the back of the queue.


    The light could also turn red, but that only happened if someone didn''t fulfill the minimum requirements to work with a Specter.


    However, the Specters that needed minimum requirements were not level one Specters.


    After a break filled with annoyance, the people started to talk with each other again.


    Nick just waited.


    About five minutester, the door opened, and a young girl walked out.


    At that moment, Nick''s Barrier shone green, which meant that it was his turn to enter now.


    Nick entered the locker room in front of the Containment Unit and closed the door behind him.


    On the wall, Nick saw a couple of illustrated instructions, which he had to follow.


    ''Remove my shirt, huh?'' Nick thought as he looked at the illustrations. ''Sure.''


    Nick removed his shirt and put it to the side before approaching the actual entrance of the Containment Unit.


    DING!


    The door opened, and Nick walked in without fear.


    This was the first level of pain, and he wasn''t worried.


    Nick had been under the Nightmare''s influence for hours at a time.


    He could deal with pain.


    As soon as he entered, he saw the Specter.


    It was a one-meter-tall vampire bat that stuck to the wall. Its eyes werepletely red, and it focused on Nick as soon as he entered.


    This Specter''s name was, fittingly, the Vampire Bat.


    Nick held his right arm forward, and the Vampire Bat slowly approached.


    It looked at Nick with care, and based on its behavior, it seemed intimidated by him.


    Naturally, Specters didn''t really have fear, but the Vampire Bat still knew that a strong Extractor could kill it, which was why it acted so carefully.


    And Nick felt very powerful and confident.


    After some seconds, it carefully stretched its ded tongue to Nick''s arm before moving it back and forth.


    Nick felt a cut opening up on his arm, but the cut was very clean and not very painful.


    Then, the Vampire Bat''s tongue started to suck the blood out of the cut.


    The experience was more ufortable than painful, but that was to be expected.


    Being able to work with such a Specter was viewed as a bare minimum to be an Extractor.


    Specters rarely got more harmless than this.


    Of course, that was only true while the Specter was contained.


    If this thing were free, it would probably suck the blood out of countless civilians, turning them into dried husks.


    After some minutes, a green light appeared inside the Containment Unit, and the Vampire Bat immediately pulled back.


    Naturally, the Specters here had been trained thoroughly so that they didn''t identally kill the trainees.


    Nick slowly lowered his arm, which was already half-healed.


    Then, he walked out without hesitation.


    Back in the locker room, Nick put on his shirt again before leaving.


    ''That went about as expected,'' Nick thought as he walked past a guy who was entering the Vampire Bat''s Containment Unit.


    Nick looked around the hallway. ''I should do all the level one Specters first.''


    Nick approached the next queue and registered with his Barrier, eliciting some annoyed sighs from the people.


    This time, Nick had to wait almost 30 minutes for his turn.


    Apparently, this Specter needed more time than the Vampire Bat, but that was to be expected.


    ''Level one of focus,'' Nick thought. ''Would not be a test of focus if it ended in a couple of seconds.''


    Nick entered the locker room and immediately walked into the Containment Unit.


    On the far end of the Containment Unit, Nick saw a desk with a console on it.


    The console was the Specter.


    Nick approached the console and tapped on a couple of buttons.


    The console shifted between ten different camera angles of random locations, which Nick had to remember.


    After looking through the different camera angles for about a minute, Nick clicked on the screen.


    Something inside the picture had changed, and Nick had to highlight the change.


    If he failed, the Specter would consume some of his Zephyx.


    That was basically it.


    Nick just needed to find the abnormalities in the camera feeds and highlight them for about 30 minutes to finish the test.


    That wasn''t very difficult for an Expert with enhanced senses.


    The Specter was called the Observation.


    ''Guess I''m on Observation duty,'' Nick thought as he clicked on the screen again.

 Chapter 566 – Level One and Level Two

    Chapter 566 ¨C Level One and Level Two


    The green light appeared about 30 minutester.


    Checking for abnormalities in a camera feed was extremely easy for Experts.


    As long as an Expert paid just a tiny bit of attention, nothing would go wrong.


    Nick walked out of the Containment Unit and approached the first level of discipline.


    Once more, the people in the queue groaned in annoyance when they saw the green light.


    This time, Nick had to wait for almost an entire hour.


    Eventually, the Containment Unit became free, and Nick entered.


    As soon as he entered, he saw the Specter.


    It was a two-meter-tall tree.


    It looked just like a normal tree, except for one difference.


    Valuables were hanging from it.


    Gold, fruits made of Zephyx, Barriers, and some weapons.


    Nick just looked at the tree and waited.


    That was all he had to do.


    He just needed to stay in the same room as the tree for one hour to pass the test.


    Naturally, he was not allowed to take any of the valuables, even though the rules said that he was allowed to keep them if he picked them.


    Of course, he wouldn''t be allowed to work with the Money Tree again in the future if he did so.


    Nevertheless, the allures of the Money Tree were not very difficult to resist, and Nick left an hourter without taking anything.


    ''Three done, 17 to go,'' Nick thought.


    Although, Nick wasn''t sure if he couldplete all of them.


    Sure, he knew that he was extraordinary when it came to working with Specters, but he wasn''t good at everything.


    Nick walked over to thest queue and registered.


    The people didn''t even groan in annoyance since they had already seen Nick registering at the other queues.


    After some minutes, Nick entered the Containment Unit for danger level one.


    As soon as he entered, he saw the Specter.


    It was a dirty man who seemed quite nervous.


    "Wait! Who are you?!" the man shouted nervously.


    "I''m Nick. I''m a trainee," Nick answered calmly.


    "Are you?! You''re not with them, are you?!" the man shouted in a panicked voice.


    Nick just kept answering calmly.


    This Specter was called the Insane One.


    The Insane One was extremely unstable and often attacked without any warnings.


    Naturally, the trainees would need to deal with the danger if it urred.


    It was important to note that dealing with danger did not necessarily mean neutralizing the threat.


    Running out of the Containment Unit was also ok.


    In order to pass the first level of danger, the trainee only needed to talk to the Insane One for 20 minutes or get attacked by it and deal with the danger.


    Nick and the Insane One talked for 20 minutes, but nothing noteworthy happened.


    Nick was very good at talking with Specters.


    After all, he had worked with the Talker for years.


    Working with the Insane One was nothing inparison.


    Nick left the Containment Unit and approached pain level two.


    This time, there was no queue, and Nick could immediately enter.


    ''Gotta remove my shirt again, huh?'' Nick thought as he saw the illustrated instructions in the locker room.


    Nick did just that and entered the Containment Unit.


    Inside the Containment Unit, Nick saw a huge red rock with several holes.


    Except for its red color, it didn''t seem strange.


    Nick approached the red rock without any hesitation and put his entire arm deep into one of the holes.


    Then, he waited.


    A couple of secondster, Nick felt several stabs in his arm and grimaced a bit.


    He didn''t see what happened, but he didn''t need to see to know what happened, thanks to the manual.


    This Specter was called the Needler, and it consumed blood, just like the Vampire Bat.


    The only real differences were that it consumed more blood and that it was far less nice about it.


    The pain one felt while working with the Needler was like being stabbed in the arm by a knife.


    Even more, one needed to keep one''s arm inside for a full two minutes.


    If someone felt the pain and pulled their arm out, they wouldn''t get the points.


    Most trainees didn''t want to work with the Needler, but some of them still needed to.


    After all, getting points wasn''t easy.


    Some minutester, Nick walked out of the Containment Unit and approached focus level two.


    The Specter in focus level two was a weird statue that didn''t move.


    Nick''s job was to look at the statue for half an hour without blinking.


    The physical power of this statue was off the charts, but it only attacked people who didn''t see it.


    It was a bit like Nick in a way.


    This Specter was called the Unmoving One, and making a mistake while working with it could even result in the death of the trainee.


    Not many people worked with the Unmoving One because of that.


    Luckily, keeping one''s eyes open as an Expert wasn''t difficult. The dust particles that irritated the eyes of normal people barely had any effect.


    It just required focus.


    Nickpleted this level, left, and entered discipline level two.


    The Specter inside discipline level two was a man wearing a ck coat.


    "Hey, you wanna feel something? You wanna feel like a kid again?" the man asked with a smirk before taking out some purple dust.


    Nick felt the desire to try the dust, but he resisted.


    This was the Drug Dealer, and it sold the most amazing drugs in existence.


    One could relive their happiest memories or achieve their wildest dreams.


    Of course, none of that would be real, and one would lose a bit of their Zephyx.


    Sadly, if anyone gave in and tried the drugs, they would never be allowed to work with the Drug Dealer again.


    The reason was that nobody had ever managed to resist the Drug Dealer after giving in once.


    Nick just stayed inside the Containment Unit for a couple of minutes until the green light appeared.


    It wasn''t very difficult to resist, and he left the Containment Unit again.


    ''Seven done,'' Nick thought as he approached danger level two.


    This time, Nick waited a short moment before entering.


    He slowly opened the door.


    BANG!


    Nick unleashed a kick, throwing the Specter at the back of the room.


    The Specter immediately got up and ran at Nick as he entered the Containment Unit.


    Nick had worked with these kinds of Specters many times in his life.


    It was one of the Blood Specters originating from the Blood Ancestor.


    Dark Dream had owned a couple of them, and apparently, one of the Blood Specters ended up here.


    It was called the Blood Ape, and it looked like a tall ape without any skin.


    The trainees only needed to beat up the Blood Ape a couple of times to pass.


    For a Blood Specter, the Blood Ape was of average quality.


    It wasn''t a pushover like the Blood Fish, but it also wasn''t as scary as the Blood Horse.


    Rtively speaking, of course.


    Nick kicked the Blood Ape around a bit and left again.


    ''That was number eight,'' Nick thought. ''No issues so far. I already earned 20 points in this category.''


    For a moment, Nick stopped in the hallway and looked at the queues again.


    ''I would expect all of my Extractors to work with these Specters. Maybe they wouldn''t need to work every day with the Needler, and maybe I wouldn''t send everyone to the Drug Dealer, but I would expect them to have the ability to work with the other Specters.''


    Nick looked at the people.


    ''How is it so difficult to earn enough points to stay here? Aren''t these the elite of all the cities?''


    ''I wouldn''t even hire most of them.''


    A bitter, Nick turned around and walked towards the third level of pain.


    A couple of people saw him walking towards it, and their eyes widened.


    The third level of pain was no joke!


    Only the most desperate of them would go there, and most of them failed.


    Even more, from those few that went there, almost nobody went there a second time.


    There were probably fewer than 30 trainees who regrly worked with the third level of pain.


    And Nick agreed. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Starting at the third level, things got serious.


    Those were Specters that Nick wouldn''t expect all of his employees to work with.


    These were Specters that required specialized personnel, people who were specifically hired to deal with them.


    The best example of such a kind of Specter was the Lover.


    Nick entered the locker room for the third level of pain and took a deep breath.


    He could deal with pain, but this still wouldn''t be easy.


    Yes, he had been under the Nightmare''s influence many times, but the things he was experiencing there were not real.


    The things he would be experiencing here would be very real.


    Before entering, Nick looked at the illustrations.


    He saw the picture of someone taking their shirt off.


    ''Of course.''

 Chapter 567 – Level Three

    Chapter 567 ¨C Level Three


    After taking off his shirt yet again, Nick walked into the Containment Unit.


    As soon as he entered, he saw a thin wolf that looked like it was going to starve to death any minute now.


    Naturally, this was the Specter, and it was called the Hungry One.


    The wolf carefully eyed Nick but didn''t dare to get close.


    Just like all the other Specters in here, it knew that killing any of the trainees would end very badly for it.


    Nick took a deep breath andid down on the floor.


    "You can start," Nick said.


    The Hungry One carefully walked closer and stopped beside Nick, who was just looking at it with neutral eyes.


    Then, the Hungry One bent down its head, opened its maw, and bit into Nick''s torso.


    Nick''s muscles hardened out of reflex, but that didn''t aplish anything. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The Hungry One ripped and tore at Nick''s abdomen until it tore off a big chunk of muscle.


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    He could deal with the pain, but it definitely wasn''t pleasant.


    The next moment, Nick clenched his fists.


    He knew that it wasn''t over yet.


    After swallowing the muscles, the Hungry One continued tearing off more of Nick''s abdomen.


    When all of Nick''s abs were consumed, a green light appeared, and the Hungry One moved back.


    An instantter, a faucet came out of the ceiling above Nick and started to leak regenerative fluid.


    The fluid hit Nick''s body, and his abdomen healed rather quickly.


    About a minuteter, Nick had fully recovered, and he could stand up again.


    The Hungry One grew more powerful by eating human flesh, and in order to get through the test, one needed to feed the Hungry One their abdominal muscles.


    Doing that for a living was quite rough, and Nick wouldn''t expect all of his Extractors to do this.


    After throwing ast nce at the starving wolf, Nick left the Containment Unit.


    Pain level three,plete!


    As soon as Nick came out, he immediately walked to Focus level three.


    ''I have to be careful with this one, or I might not be able to do anything for multiple days,'' Nick thought.


    Nick walked into the Containment Unit and saw an old, depressed man, who was just sitting in the middle of the Containment Unit.


    "Are you here to listen to my story?" the old man asked.


    Nick approached the old man and sat down in front of him, his eyes focused on the downtrodden elder.


    "I was very young when I became an Extractor," the old man said. "I had a meaningful conversation with somebody I considered an enemy."


    Nick''s first conversation with the Parasite popped into his mind.


    "Luckily, with the help of someone strong, I managed to find my way," the old man continued.


    The image of Albert popped into Nick''s mind.


    "And three yearster, I met someone I considered a friend."


    Wyntor Melfion popped into Nick''s mind, but at the same time, his eyes shone.


    It was beginning!


    This Specter was called the Aging One, and it gained power by changing somebody''s memories.


    It achieved its goal by siphoning out information from the Extractor and then telling it back to them with very subtle changes.


    Over a long period of time, somebody''s memories would get muddled.


    Just now, the Aging One said that it took three years to find Wyntor when it actually was two years.


    Nick had to focus on his memories and not allow the Aging One to change even one of them.


    If he managed to resist the Aging One for three hours, he would pass the test.


    As the Aging One kept talking, Nick felt his mind bing hazier.


    It was almost like there was some kind of drug in the air that made him lose focus.


    Yet, Nick kept focusing.


    It definitely wasn''t easy, but he managed to retain control until the green light appeared.


    As soon as the green light appeared, Nick immediately stood up and walked out of the Containment Unit.


    After he left, he felt his mind recover, and he took a deep breath.


    ''I nearly lost myself there,'' Nick thought. ''This was no joke.''


    Nick rested for a bit and went over to discipline level three.


    Inside the Containment Unit, Nick saw a big manufacturing machine.


    There was only limited information about the discipline Specters in the manual, which was why Nick didn''t know what this machine could do.


    Luckily, there was another manual here, and this one actually included the Specter.


    Nick went over and read through it.


    ''Interesting,'' he thought while reading it. ''So, I can let it create an extremely powerful weapon in exchange for one year of my Zephyx, and if I choose the weapon, I am actually allowed to keep it. The only bad part is that I wouldn''t gain ess to levels three, four, and five of discipline for my remaining stay here.''


    Powerful weapons were very difficult to manufacture.


    Most cities couldn''t create weapons that couldpare to the weapons the Assembler could make.


    Even if someone was sent back to the city, as long as they got a weapon from the Assembler, their time here wouldn''t be wasted.


    Nick considered using it shortly before his time here was up.


    But he only considered it.


    ''I can just get one from Aegis. I have enough confidence in my ability to earn contribution points. The Assembler is probably more for people who are confident that they can reach the second stage of the trainee program but not confident that they can be Agents.''


    ''It''s not worth it,'' Nick thought as he walked out of the Containment Unit.


    Discipline level three,plete!


    Nick walked over to danger level three and stopped in front of the Containment Unit.


    By now, more people had gathered in the hallway.


    They were all here to watch the new guy.


    After all, it rarely happened that someone went to all four level three Specters.


    Even more, by the looks of things, Nick was actually seeding with all of them!


    That meant he had already earned 30 points!


    On top of that, just based on the way his body looked, he probably also got far more than the minimum points in the fitness test.


    Everyone in the hallway knew that Nick would not get kicked out in his first month.


    Well, unless he was an idiot and didn''t score any points in the academic part.


    After Nick walked into the Containment Unit, one of the people in the hallway turned to his neighbor. "You think he''s gonnae out?" he whispered.


    "I don''t know," the other guy said. "I saw several people die to this one."


    "Die?" the first guy asked in surprise.


    The other guy nodded. "Yeah. The danger level three Specter is the first one that has an actual chance at ending your life."


    Meanwhile, Nick looked at the Specter in the middle of the Containment Unit.


    It was a small girl with a frown.


    "And why are you here?" the girl asked.


    "You know why," Nick said.


    "Another one of you blind fools," she said with a sigh. "Well, I won''t say no."


    Then, she looked at Nick for a while. "You seem like your life isn''t a lot of fun."


    "It''s not," Nick answered.


    "Is it because of the unending guilt that''s eating you up inside?" the girl asked as if she already knew the answer.


    "I live to redeem myself," Nick answered evenly.


    "Redeem," the girl repeated in a mocking tone. "I''ve seen thousands of people like you, and I can tell when somebody chases an unreachable goal."


    "Tell me, do you truly believe you can be redeemed?" she asked.


    Nick''s insides strained a bit.


    "I don''t know," he said, "but I have to try."


    "What''s the point in trying?" the girl asked. "You know exactly that you can''t redeem yourself. So, why continue suffering?"


    The atmosphere seemed to be heavier and darker.


    "Because I refuse to be a coward," Nick said. "Killing myself will only make all the sacrifices meaningless."


    "They are already meaningless," the girl answered. "Have you ever heard of the sunk-cost facy?"


    Nick knew what the girl was referring to.


    This girl was the Hopeless One, and she was essentially like the Parasite.


    She gained power by making peoplemit suicide, and she achieved this goal by making them believe that everything in their lives was hopeless.


    Naturally, she also used her Zephyx to create an oppressive atmosphere that seemed to suck all the positivity out of the world.


    She didn''t need to make Nick fall into a depression.


    She just needed to make him say the Sentence.


    Just one moment of weakness was everything she needed.


    The Hopeless One had been responsible for the deaths of many trainees.


    Many of the trainees had never truly felt any significant setbacks in their lives, which meant that they didn''t know how to recover from a seemingly hopeless situation.


    That was where the Hopeless One was at her deadliest.


    However, while she was doing her best, she would find Nick to be unkible by that method.


    While Nick might not be the most stable person, words were not things that could easily destabilize him.

 Chapter 568 – Peak of Pain

    Chapter 568 ¨C Peak of Pain


    Nick walked out of the Containment Unit, and the people in the hallway watched in surprise.


    This new guy went through all of the level one, level two, and level three Specters in a single day!


    That was extremely rare!


    In just a single day, he earned 40 points, securing his stay here!


    It was important to note that the points per category for Specters didn''t add up.


    This meant that Nick didn''t earn one plus five plus ten points in the danger category, but just ten since he managed toplete level three.


    Everyone knew that it was almost impossible for Nick to fail.


    At least when it came to having too few points.


    He might very well fail by dying to a powerful Specter.


    Some of the people started to approach Nick as he walked towards the main hall again.


    But before they reached Nick, he turned towards his left and entered another Containment Unit.


    When the others saw that, they took a deep breath.


    This madman actually directly went for level four of pain!


    "He''s going to regret that," one of them said with a worried expression.


    "Why? Is that one bad?" another guy asked.


    "Really bad," the first guy said. "He won''t die, but he won''t dare to enter again."


    Meanwhile, Nick entered the locker room in front of the Containment Unit and looked at the rules.


    ''Don''t need to remove my shirt for once,'' he thought. ''Wonder what kind of Specter is in there.''


    The manual only included Specters up to level three.


    Level four and level five Specters were generally kept secret.


    It also wasn''t possible to enter their locker rooms unless one hadpleted the level preceding this one.


    Trainees were also told not to talk too much about the high-ranking Specters, which was why the vast majority of people didn''t know the specifics of the level four Specters.


    Even more, some Containment Units required the trainee to have earned a certain number of points in a specific category.


    After all, while danger was a constantpanion while working with a Specter, Aegis wanted to make sure that the Extractors could actually survive.


    Nick looked around the locker room and didn''t find any sort of manual for the Specter, which meant that he still didn''t know what kind of Specter was in there.


    After some seconds, he approached the door.


    That was when he noticed a sign on the door.


    Apparently, in order to work with this Specter, someone needed to have earned at least two points in all of the fitness tests.


    This meant that somebody needed to be above average in physical fitness in order to work with this Specter.


    On top of that, it also required a sessful session of work with the Unmoving One, the level two focus Specter.


    ''Things are getting strict,'' Nick thought as he touched the door.


    His Barrier shone green, and the door was unlocked.


    When Nick entered, he immediately saw the Specter.


    It was a big white rock sitting in the middle of the room.


    Nick could tell what kind of material the rock was made of since his nose was assaulted with the thick scent of salt.


    ''A Possession Specter made of salt, huh?'' Nick thought as he noticed some illustrations hanging on the wall.


    The first illustration showed an Extractor putting some sort of cuff with a chain on one of their legs.


    The second illustration showed a healthy Extractor touching the stone.


    The third illustration showed the Extractor falling to their knees and bing thinner.


    The fourth illustration showed a husk lying in front of the salt rock.


    Thest illustration showed the chain on the cuff bing taut and pulling the Extractor away.


    ''Alright,'' Nick thought as he looked at the cuff and the chaining out from a small hole in the wall.


    The next moment, he walked over and put the cuff around one of his ankles.


    Finally, Nick approached the stone and touched it.


    As soon as he touched the stone, he became thirsty, which was extremely strange since he hadn''t been thirsty in over a decade.


    It was an alien feeling to him.


    Then, Nick''s muscles felt like they were burning.


    ''It''s pulling all the moisture out of my body,'' Nick thought as he started to grit his teeth.


    It was one thing to just pull the stored water out of somebody''s body, but this Specter was also pulling the water out of the molecr makeup of Nick''s body.


    This meant that Nick''s molecules were being denatured, turning from one kind of molecule into another one.


    While the chemical process wasn''t identical, the denaturing of molecules also happened in processes like being submerged in acid or being burned.


    And that was what Nick was feeling right now.


    His skin was bing brittle.


    His organs dried up.


    His eyes sank into the back of his head.


    Nick''s senses distorted, and a strong feeling of vertigo and weakness enveloped his whole body.


    He was dying.


    He felt like he was dying.


    He felt like a sickly old man who was about to draw hisst breath.


    A momentter, Nick fell to his knees, but his hand still stuck to the rock of salt.


    In fact, Nick couldn''t pull his hand away, even if he wanted to.


    For the first time in a long while, he was reminded of the Nightmare.


    He felt like every part of his body was burning!


    It was like he drank highly concentrated acid!


    Even worse was that Nick felt helpless.


    He couldn''t let go of the salt rock, and it just kept destroying him!


    The only thing that kept him from going crazy was the thought that Aegis wouldn''t let their trainees die like this.


    If even Nick, with his higher level and powerful body, couldn''t free himself from the Specter, none of the trainees could.


    And sure enough, three secondster, a green light appeared inside the Containment Unit, and the chain leading to the cuff on his ankle violently pulled back.


    Nick was torn away from the salt rock, but the burning pain didn''t vanish.


    PSSSSSH!


    An instantter, streams of water came out of the wall, showering Nick''s entire body.


    Surprisingly, the water vanished almost immediately after entering the room.


    The salt rock was also absorbing all the moisture in the air.


    The pain slowly vanished, and Nick regained his strength.


    Slowly, Nick stood up again.


    For a couple of seconds, he didn''t move.


    Then, he looked at the salt rock.


    To be honest, he was a bit intimidated by it.


    If he could avoid it, he wouldn''t want to work with it again.


    Nick could deal with going through this event once, but he wouldn''t be able to stomach going through it regrly.


    That was just too much.


    In fact, it was so bad that Nick would even sell the Specter if he owned it.


    After all, it would be almost impossible to create Zephyx with this one since working with it was so insanely difficult.


    Such a Specter was only good for one thing, and that was to give someone the experience of being in an absolutely horrible situation.


    However, it could also be used as a form of torture.


    In the end, Nick sighed and walked out of the Containment Unit.


    He wouldn''t being back into this Containment Unit.


    There were enough Specters to work with.


    When Nick left the Containment Unit, he saw almost 30 people looking at him with impressed expressions.


    "Pretty bad, huh?" a girl with a sharp expression uttered.


    Nick looked at her and just nodded.


    "That''s the worst one from what I know," she said.


    "What about pain level five?" Nick asked.


    "Nobody does pain level five," the girl said with a frown. "People who manage to pass level four are not very likely to even enter level five, and people who could deal with level five won''t pass level four."


    "It''s not about pain tolerance. It''s about not being human anymore," she said cryptically.


    Then, she gestured to the door leading to the fifth level of pain. "Go in. You don''t need to have any requirements except seeding in level four."


    The girl''s words piqued Nick''s interest, and he walked towards the fifth level of pain.


    "What''s the fifth level of pain?" a bystander asked the girl.


    "Trust me," she said. "You don''t wanna know."


    When Nick entered the locker room, he saw several illustrations showing him what he needed to do.


    Nick looked at the illustrations for a while.


    Then, he shook his head and left the locker room.


    He would not even attempt level five of pain.


    When everyone saw Nicking back out again, they became shocked.


    This guy had justpleted level four and was willing to attempt level five.


    Yet, he came out almost immediately after!


    Was level five truly that bad?!


    "I see what you mean," Nick said to the girl.


    The girl nodded knowingly.


    "I would''ve lost respect for you if you actually went through with pain level five," she said.


    "I understand," Nick said.


    Inside the locker room, Nick had seen several illustrations of a sickly-looking old man having different kinds of sexual rtions with Extractors.


    The Specter was called the Revulsion, and based on the illustrations, it transformed into the most disgusting and vile form imaginable and forced itself on any Extractor.


    Sure enough, withstanding something like that without anysting mental damage required being not human or a very broken human.


    Or a very specific fetish.


    If it were a life-or-death situation, Nick could force himself to go through with it.


    But it wasn''t.


    This was for a measly 15 extra points.


    There was no point in going through with that.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 569 – Brutal Requirements

    Chapter 569 ¨C Brutal Requirements


    Nick looked at the people standing in front of him.


    He had attracted quite a lot of attention.


    But that didn''t really matter a lot to him.


    Nick would most likely not meet any of them again after advancing.


    "How are your scores for the academy test?" the same girl asked him. "Are you interested in exchanging some answers?"


    Nick looked at her for a moment.


    She was barely 160 cm tall, had ck hair, and looked at Nick with a mix of basic respect and neutrality.


    Nick could tell that this girl was different from most trainees. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    She spoke in a way that made it clear that she knew about the salt rock Specter and that she had experienced it herself.


    Someone who could clear pain level four was not an average Extractor.


    Until now, Nick had agreed to talk with most people about the academic portion, but he preferred talking with fewer people as long as the result was simr.


    "We can talkter. I still need toplete the Specters and the battle portion," Nick said.


    The girl nodded. "I will be waiting here," she said.


    Nick nodded back and directly walked to the next Containment Unit.


    Focus level four.


    Nick didn''t find any exhaustive guide about the Specter inside the Containment Unit.


    The only thing that was exined to him was that he had to stay conscious for two hours in the Containment Unit and that he would receive a very noticeable signal as soon as the two hours were up.


    Nick stopped in front of the Containment Unit and took a deep breath.


    The level four Specters were not easy.


    The level four Specter of pain had been brutal, and this one probably wouldn''t be any easier to deal with.


    Then, Nick opened the door and entered.


    As soon as the door opened, Nick saw a haze of green, red, orange, white, and ck.


    It was like the entire Containment Unit was filled with some form of storm made of colored smoke or mist.


    Nick had no idea what was waiting for him.


    He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.


    The first thing that happened was that Nick smelled something.


    Almost immediately, Nick''s body started to jerk with the irresistible urge to vomit.


    It was so disgusting!


    This was even more disgusting than the sewer he had swum in!


    The smell was absolutely atrocious!


    It was like it was a mix of fermented vomit, cat piss, acid, poison, shit, mold, cheese, and every other horrible smell.


    Worst of all, stopping his breathing didn''t help!


    It was like the smell was entering through his skin and traveling up his body into his nose!


    Nick''s body kept trying to empty its stomach, even though there was absolutely nothing in there.


    After all, Nick never ate.


    Then, Nick was hit by the taste.


    It was just as bad as the smell!


    It was like someone was moving a rotting piece of meat all over the inside of his mouth, leaving behind the disgusting juices!


    Nick couldn''t resist the urge to vomit anymore and heaved.


    Yet, nothing came out, naturally.


    But his body just kept trying.


    It just kept on trying to vomit.


    Again and again.


    Then, the next part started.


    Nick started to sweat as the air around him started to feel extremely hot and humid.


    It was so fucking hot and wet in here!


    Next, screeching, high-pitched noises rang throughout his ears.


    Nick had to hold his ears, but that didn''t help at all.


    The next moment, everything in front of him became blurry and moved around in random ways.


    It was almost like the world around him had stopped making sense and was turning randomly.


    Naturally, Nick''s sense of bnce was alsopletely thrown off, and he felt like he was constantly about to fall over.


    He waspletely disoriented.


    Horrible smell, horrible taste, extreme heat, extreme humidity, shifting surroundings, no sense of bnce, constantly puking.


    Once more, Nick felt like he was dying, but this time, he felt like he was dying from a disease.


    But he had to stay conscious.


    That was what he needed to do.


    Nick constantly felt like he was about to lose consciousness, but he wasn''t allowed to.


    He had to stay awake.


    He had to force himself to stay awake.


    He needed enough willpower to keep his consciousness from fading away.


    He needed enough focus.


    So, Nick held on.


    This was different from all the other kinds of suffering he had been through, but at the same time, it was also simr to something else.


    Amongst all the difort, Nick was involuntarily reminded of the pain he kept mentally inflicting on himself.


    For decades, Nick had been putting himself under immense and brutal pressure.


    He didn''t deserve to be happy.


    Feeling good meant wasting time.


    Feeling good meant disappointing the people he had killed.


    Yet, Nick kept going forward through all of this.


    It was so easy tomit suicide, but he persevered.


    He kept walking forward.


    And that was exactly what was needed to pass through this trial.


    The will to continue going.


    The will to resist giving up.


    So, Nick kept going.


    He kept heaving.


    He kept suffering.


    And he didn''t stop.


    He wouldn''t stop.


    It took so long.


    It felt like days had passed.


    But eventually, a green light appeared, and the chaotic surroundings gave way to a pure white.


    All the suffering stopped, and Nick could see a wall of white Zephyx keeping the chaotic world of colorful mist away from him.


    ''It''s over,'' Nick thought as he took a deep breath.


    Then, he quickly left the Containment Unit.


    By now, even more people had gathered in the hallway.


    The girl from earlier was also here, and she looked at Nick with genuine surprise.


    She hadpleted pain level four, but she had failed at focus level four.


    She couldn''t imagine how anyone could resist such a horrendous sensation for two entire hours.


    She had tried once, and she left after barely five minutes.


    She would much rather go to the salt rock again than try the colorful mist again.


    It was just that bad.


    "Did you do it?" she asked.


    Nick had regained his calm by now and just nodded.


    The girl sighed.


    "There''s only one other guy currently here that managed to do that," she said.


    "What about focus level five?" Nick asked. He couldn''t imagine anything being worse than this one.


    But then, he remembered pain level five and realized that there actually were worse things.


    "Nobody knows," she said.


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "Did that other guy not look inside?"


    "I couldn''t."


    The girl turned to a red-haired guy who walked out from the crowd.


    He had been the one who had just spoken.


    "The requirements are too high, and there was no manual in the locker room," he added with a sigh.


    The red-haired guy seemed quite casual and rxed. In a way, he seemed like somebody that just didn''t care a lot.


    "What are the requirements?" Nick asked.


    "Two points in strength, four points in agility, having cleared level three of pain and having cleared level four of danger," he said with a shrug.


    Nick heard the sound of air being pulled through teething from the audience, but he couldn''t fault them for their reaction.


    These requirements were brutal.


    Four points in agility meant being in the top 12.5% of trainees in that aspect, and clearing level four of danger was probably¡­ quite dangerous.


    "As you can see, I''m not the fittest," the red-haired guy said with a bitter smile, showing his thin arms. "Also, I didn''t even try danger level four. Danger level four needs you to be quite fast on your feet."


    Nick thought about the things he had heard for a bit.


    This seemed way too risky for just 15 additional points, but he was also interested.


    After all, nobody had seen the focus level five Specter.


    Nick wanted to know what kind of Specter it was.


    "You look like somebody that can clear danger lever four," the red-haired guymented. "You seem rather strong."


    "What''s danger level four?" Nick asked.


    "A battle against a pretty powerful Specter," the girl from earlier said. "It''s like danger level two but much more dangerous."


    Nick remembered the Blood Ape on danger level two.


    "Let me take a look," Nick said as he walked over to danger level four.


    The people in the hallway watched with interest as Nick entered the next Containment Unit.


    Would he win?


    When Nick entered the locker room, he saw a couple of illustrations that made it very clear what he had to do.


    He had to survive for two minutes or win against the Specter inside.


    Nick stretched his back and arms for a bit and entered the Containment Unit.


    BANG!


    It was like the air had been cut apart as Nick jumped to the side.


    BANG!


    Another attack immediately arrived, but Nick managed to avoid getting hit by weaving with his torso.


    That was when Nick finally got a good look at the Specter.


    It was a metallic tiger with swords as ws.


    It was brutally fast, durable, and extremely powerful.


    Yet, Nick''s physical condition was as optimal as it could be.


    His speed and power had reached the peak of possibility for his level, and he had been in many dangerous fights in his life.


    If he couldn''t win against this Specter, nobody could.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the Specter, and the entire Containment Unit shook as it hit the wall.


    CRACK!


    Then, Nick''s des sunk through the metallic body of the tiger.


    From almost all of the levels Nick had gone through, this was amongst the easiest ones.

 Chapter 570 – Accepting the Specters Trade

    Chapter 570 ¨C epting the Specter''s Trade


    The Containment Unit shone in a green light.


    Nick pulled his de out of the metal tiger''s carapace and stepped back.


    The metal tiger quickly stood up but didn''t dare to attack Nick again.


    It wasn''t the smartest Specter, but it was smart enough to know that Nick could kill it if he so chose to.


    Nick slowly walked out of the Containment Unit and entered the hallway again.


    When everyone saw Nick, they got excited.


    They weren''t happy that Nick had survived, but that one of them could finally see what level five of focus Specter was!


    Nobody had ever seen that Specter before!


    Nick looked at the red-haired man and the ck-haired girl. "What about the level five danger Specter?" he asked.


    The girl frowned, while the man just shrugged.


    The girl nced at the man, and when she saw his shrug, she turned to Nick. "We don''t know. I tried the level four of danger once but immediately ran away. I wasn''t strong enough to get to the level five of danger Specter."


    "You''re not going to even attempt it," a new voice suddenly said.


    Everyone turned to look at the new person who had just talked.


    It was a smaller man with a serious expression and green hair. Two thin rapiers hung from his belt, and he carried himself in a way that made him seem extremely powerful.


    Just looking at him made one think that this man was extremely strong inbat.


    "The danger level five Specter is like the pain level five Specter," the man said. "Attempting to work with it is not worth it."


    The red-haired man and the ck-haired girl looked with basic respect at the smaller man, which was different from how they looked at most trainees.


    They weren''t directly looking at the trainees with arrogant eyes, but they were definitely looking at them like they were not exactly their equals.


    It was like a professional sportsman looking at an amateur sportsman. There was still a lot of respect between them, but they couldn''t really talk on the same level about their sport.


    Nick could tell that these three were probably part of the top ten trainees.


    They probably even had the talent to actually be Agents in the future.


    "You got through the danger level four Specter?" Nick asked evenly.


    The green-haired man nodded. "I''m quite good in a battle. Publicly, I have the highest score in the battle portion."


    "Publicly?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Right, you''re new," the green-haired man said neutrally. "There is no official leaderboard, but most trainees still talk about their points publicly. There are ways to somewhat verify if they are speaking the truth or not, but we can only test for an approximation, not the exact number."


    Nick looked at the man with interest and gestured for him to continue exining. He was interested in that part.


    "You can buy ess to Specters for training," the girl said from the side. "You can''t go beneath the 50 points you need to stay here while purchasing ess to the Specter. If you have enough points to enter, your Barrier will turn green in front of the door, but the points will not be deducted, unless you enter. That''s how we can somewhat verify the truth."


    "It''s possible that there are stronger people, who are in hiding," the red-haired man said casually as he leaned back. "But we don''t know for sure. Publicly, he''s the strongest Extractor we have and one of only three people that got through danger level four."


    Then, the red-haired man grinned and pointed at himself. "But I''m the only one that got through focus level four! So, that''s a way bigger aplishment."


    The green-haired man didn''t look at him. "And yet, you have to beg for people to teach you Zephology to get the minimum total points," hemented dryly.


    The red-haired man whistled innocently and looked away, not answering.


    Nick could see that the three of them were outstanding in some categories.


    The girl could deal with a lot of pain.


    The red-haired guy had an insane amount of willpower and focus.


    And the green-haired was extremely powerful in battle.


    "What about discipline?" Nick asked. "How many people get through that category?"


    "Most people," the girl answered. "While the discipline Specters are not named in the manual, most people get through them, and everyone basically knows about them."


    "We suspect the discipline Specters act as a participation reward and as baseline points," the red-haired manmented. "You can earn points from them every month. It''s easy to resist their temptation when the option still exists the next time."


    "Most people use their rewards when they are about to advance or leave the camp. Until then, they just use the discipline Specters as ten free points."


    "Ten?" Nick asked with a raised brow.


    "You only get to visit level four and five once in your stay," the green-haired man said. "If you ept their trade, you won''t be able to earn anything from the discipline category anymore. If you don''t ept, you will earn 35 points every month for your stay."


    That surprised Nick a bit.


    "I can see what you''re thinking," the girl said, looking at Nick. "Yes, the reward is THAT good."


    "Check for yourself," she added, gesturing to discipline level four. "There is a manual that tells you what they offer. Your chance won''t get wasted as long as you don''t enter the Containment Unit."


    Nick looked at her for a moment before he followed her advice and entered the locker room leading to the level four of discipline Specter.


    As soon as he entered, Nick saw the manual.


    ''That''s unexpected but very valuable,'' Nick thought. ''If the level five Specter isn''t even more amazing, I will most likely ept this trade. I have enough points.''


    Nick left the locker room again and went back to the group of three. "What about the level five of discipline Specter?" he asked.


    "Check for yourself," the red-haired man said casually. "You can enter without going past level four."


    Nick nodded and went to the level five of discipline Specter.


    When Nick entered, he saw the manual.


    As he read, his eyes widened in shock.


    This was¡­!


    Too good to be true!


    And sure enough, as he kept reading, his eyes narrowed.


    ''I see,'' Nick thought. ''This is an amazing trade for 95% of Extractors here, but it''s not an amazing trade for me.''


    Nick walked into the Containment Unit without stopping and saw a machine with writing on it.


    This machine was the Specter.


    The Elevated Limiter.


    "Wee. Are you interested in a trade?" the disy in front of the machine asked.


    "I can make you a Late Expert today," the disy added. "In exchange, you will be consumed if you ever be an Initial Protector."


    Yes, this Specter could immediately increase Nick''s level by two.


    It could turn him into a Late Expert.


    But in exchange, being a Peak Hero would be the limit of his life.


    This trade was actually insanely good.


    It was like offering a person ten million credits in exchange for making it impossible for them to be billionaires.


    How many people would ept that?


    Billionaire? Dude, I didn''t expect I could be a millionaire, and now I''m getting ten million? Sign me up!


    Protectors were so far away from Experts that reaching their level seemed unachievable.


    There were probably not even a hundred Protectors in the entire world.


    It was crazy.


    Naturally, most people would ept the trade.


    "Not interested," Nick said before leaving the room. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    But not Nick.


    Nick had to be a Protector if he wanted an opportunity to repay the people he had wronged.


    To him, epting the trade was akin tomitting suicide.


    After leaving the Containment Unit, Nick walked over to the level four of discipline Specter.


    This trade was much more to his liking.


    Nick entered the Containment Unit of the discipline level four Specter and saw a book in the middle of the room.


    Nick approached and saw a menu written on it.


    They were the categories of the academic points.


    Biology, economy, psychology, mathematics, physics, history, Spectology, Zephology, warfare, and leadership.


    In exchange for one year of Zephyx, the Specter would give the trainee enough knowledge about a topic that they would always get 100 points in the relevant level one test.


    Sure, this seemed like an easy way to earn some points, but Nick was much more interested in the knowledge itself.


    Nick would gain knowledge equating to months of studying in an instant!


    Even more, getting ess to some of the topics wasn''t easy.


    The Zephyx wasn''t much of a cost.


    He would be a Specialist one yearter. So what?


    What was the difference between a 60- and 61-year-old?


    A Specialist could live for 300 years.


    Nick wanted to choose something useful.


    He didn''t need to learn the basics of economy, psychology, physics, Spectology, warfare, or leadership. He had very good scores in those already.


    Math could easily be learned.


    Biology wouldn''t be very useful to Nick.


    Zephology would be nice, but it would only be really useful with even more knowledge in the topic, but Nick wasn''t nning on bing an engineer.


    So, Nick chose thest category.


    History.


    Nick knew a lot about past civilizations, but he knew almost nothing about the big picture of the current era.


    He knew about some cities and Aegis, but he didn''t know about Aegis'' past and which cities were important.


    Additionally, knowing more about the past would help Nick make better decisions in the present.


    He would be a Liaison again in the future, and knowledge of history would be of utmost importance.


    Nick pressed on the history category.

 Chapter 571 – True Purpose

    Chapter 571 ¨C True Purpose


    As soon as Nick epted the trade, he felt his body bing weaker.


    It was like he was rapidly running through the stages of starvation.


    Around 30 secondster, Nick felt extremely weak, and for the first time in many years, he had the desire to sleep.


    Finally, Nick copsed to the floor, and the feeling of weakness stopped bing stronger.


    The book started to shine for a moment before returning back to normal.


    And then¡­


    Nothing.


    That was it.


    Nick breathed heavily for a while before standing up.


    ''What now?'' Nick thought as he looked at the book. ''Shouldn''t I receive a lot of knowledge?''


    The next moment, a red light appeared inside the Containment Unit, and Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''I didn''t notice it before, but this is actually a Containment Unit designed with the Manderville theorem in mind.''


    Nick raised an eyebrow. ''Wait, didn''t notice, or did I not know that before?''


    ''Have I already received the knowledge?''


    ''I don''t know.''


    It was difficult to remember if one didn''t know something at a certain point if they didn''t remember specifically learning about that something.


    Did Nick know about the Manderville theorem beforeing into this Containment Unit or not?


    ''What did Ie here for? What was it that I wanted to know? I wanted to know about Aegis,'' Nick thought.


    ''Aegis was created over 3,000 years ago by a group of powerful Extractors from the Great Triangle. They decided to create Aegis after seeing how horrible life was for almost all citizens all over the world¡­''


    Aegis'' entire history shot through Nick''s mind in nearly an instant.


    Nick would be surprised about the things he was learning about, but he kind of already knew all of this.


    Because of that, he couldn''t really be surprised.


    It was a strange feeling.


    A momentter, Nick''s mind was pulled to Aegis'' future.


    ''The next 80 years will be a time of great upheavals,'' Nick realized with furrowed brows.


    ''The False Prophet is the very reason why Aegis can fight the Trio of Destruction and Death in the first ce, but working with it puts all of Aegis at risk every time.''


    For the first time, Nick could actually paint a picture of humanity''s future for himself.


    And it wasn''t a happy one.


    Humanity needed another Late Shield to have a chance against Death, but to achieve that, humanity needed to work with the False Prophet, the only Adversary humanity had ess to.


    Nick shook his head.


    ''I can''t change things anyway. I''m too weak,'' he thought as he put humanity''s bleak future out of his mind.


    Instead, Nick focused on his future as Liaison.


    He remembered many cases in which cities turned unprofitable due to seemingly smart reforms.


    Nick wasn''t sure if he had known these things before, but he could tell that knowing the past of these cities would help him tremendously.


    4,500 years.


    That was the approximate length of this current era, based on the oldest records ever found.


    It was possible that the era had existed for longer, but it couldn''t have been more than another couple hundred years.


    At most, this era had been going on for 5,000 years.


    During these years, the concept of what constituted a city had undergone many changes, and Nick remembered the history of the most noteworthy cities of this era.


    Nick also remembered his old ns for his job as Liaison and realized that there were much better ways to aplish his goal.


    ''This was worth it!'' Nick realized while restructuring his ns for the future with his newfound knowledge of history.


    Nick turned to look at the exit of the Containment Unit. ''Aegis has a history of producing new Agents who seem toe out of nowhere. These people muste from this ce.''


    ''It seems like this training camp is very effective.''


    ''I should continue. There are only two Specters left.''


    Nick walked out of the Containment Unit and looked at the gathered trainees.


    The trainees had heard that Nick would soon go towards the focus level five Specter, a Specter nobody had ever seen.


    Naturally, they wanted to be here for this asion.


    "You epted the knowledge exchange?" the ck-haired girl asked with furrowed brows.


    Nick nodded. "History," he answered.


    This elicited several furrowed brows from the trainees.


    History? Really?


    Why not economics? With that, he could be rich and powerful in any city.


    Alternatively, psychology would make it far easier to manipte people while avoiding falling for other people''s schemes.


    Why not Zephology? That would give him the power to create his own weapons.


    Or warfare.


    Instead, he went with history?


    That was such a strange choice.


    "I''m going to take a look at thest danger Specter," Nick said as he walked over to its Containment Unit.


    The three powerful trainees just nodded.


    The green-haired man knew what that Specter was, and he was certain that Nick wouldn''t attempt to work with it.


    Working with it was ridiculously risky for minimal benefit.


    As Nick entered the locker room, he saw several illustrations exining the Specter.


    ''Why?'' was the only thing Nick thought. ''Why would they even offer such a Specter? What''s the point? Who would possibly decide to work with something like that?''


    The illustration showed a slot machine and an Extractor pulling its lever.


    In one illustration, the slot machine fell onto three Zephyx symbols, and the Extractor seemed to be more powerful.


    In another illustration, the slot machine fell onto three skulls, and the Extractor died.


    This was ridiculous.


    This was literally just chance.


    This had nothing to do with danger.


    This was simply stupidity or desperation.


    Nick shook his head and left the locker room again.


    Sure enough, he wouldn''t be working with this Specter.


    Once again, Nick wouldn''t receive all possible points in a category.


    He hadn''t gone to the Revulsion.


    While he had denied the level five discipline trade, he had epted the level four discipline trade, making him drop to ten points in that category.


    And now, he had refused to work with the danger level five Specter.


    ''These level five Specters are crazy. But maybe that''s exactly what they are supposed to be,'' Nick thought. ''Maybe the good trainees are not supposed to use the level five Specters.''


    ''These Specters probably exist as some sort of personality test instead of a test of talent and dedication.''


    That was when Nick was reminded of the academic portion.


    ''Now that I think about it, there was also an option to dere that you only know an answer because another trainee taught you.''


    ''Most people would probably believe this to be a bad thing.''


    ''In that case, they would probably lie and not admit that they learned these things from anybody, and Aegis will most likely find out. That would expose them to be untrustworthy, which is one of the attributes that Aegis hates the most.''


    ''Alternatively, they would just never ask anyone and try to get enough points on their own via trial and error. However, that would make it extremely difficult to get a total of 50 points. The academic portion gives the most points, and people need that.''


    ''That means people who refuse to help others or refuse to ept the help of others are also filtered out.''


    ''Now, we have these level five Specters that no sane person would work with.''


    ''I guess they exist to filter out people who are "lucky".''


    ''People who have personalities that are broken in just such a way that they can clear one of these categories.''


    ''Someone that likes being absolutely abused and ruined to an extremely unhealthy degree could get through level four of pain and then go do the level five of pain.''


    ''Someone that doesn''t care about their life and just chases the thrill of risking their lives might do the level five of danger Specter.''


    ''I see,'' Nick thought, finally realizing the true purpose of the trainee camp.


    ''This is not actually about testing our talents. This is about testing our personalities and if we are a good fit for Aegis.''


    ''The key to surviving here is not being outstanding but being social.''


    ''At first nce, the other trainees seem like ourpetitors, but that is not actually true.''


    ''What kind of disadvantage does a trainee gain if every other trainee suddenly gains five more points in the academic portion?''


    ''The spots are not limited.''


    ''There are also more than enough Specters. In fact, if everyone had more points, people could choose more Specters, making it even easier for everyone else to advance in level.''


    ''It''s only important how many points I gain. It''s not important how many points I gain in rtion to others.''


    ''This is not apetition.''


    ''We are working together.''


    ''And that''s why so many people are failing this part.''


    ''Everyone tries to stand out in the crowd, but that''s not what Aegis is searching for.''


    ''They want team yers.''


    ''They want people that can work together.'' N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick looked at the three people in front of him.


    ''Why not?''


    ''If I''m going to be here for a while, I might as well make some allies.''

 Chapter 572 – Focus Level Five

    Chapter 572 ¨C Focus Level Five


    Nick approached the three people. "Only an insane or desperate person would consider working with that," he said.


    "Told you," the man with the green hairmented. "How many more are you missing?"


    "Only the level five focus one," Nick said.


    These words immediately gathered the interest of the other trainees in the hallway.


    The level five focus Specter!


    Nobody had ever seen that one!


    "I wouldn''t keep my hopes up," the casual man with the red hair said. "All the other ones are a bust. Chances are this one isn''t any different."


    The man with green hair frowned. "But we still want to know what it is, right?" he asked, looking at the red-haired man.


    "Of course!" the red-haired man countered.


    The ck-haired girl also nodded from the side.


    Nick looked at the three of them. "Is there any kind of rule that forbids me from telling you what it is?"


    "Not really," the ck-haired girl said. "People who speak too much about Specters get a small warning from the supervisors, but only if they talk too much. If someone finds a perfect tactic for one of the Specters, Aegis might need to rece that Specter since it can''t be used to filter out people anymore. That''s a hassle, and the supervisors don''t really want to go through that."


    "Agreed," the green-haired guy said. "Just getting to the level five of focus Specter is already nearly impossible. Any advice you can give people would be useless since they can''t even fulfill the requirements to make use of it."


    Nick nodded. "Then, I''m going in."


    The red-haired man smiled while the other two watched with intensity as Nick entered the locker room.


    The entire hallway fell silent.


    They wanted to know what thisst Specter was.


    After Nick entered the locker room, he approached the door to the Containment Unit.


    His Barrier appeared and turned green.


    The next moment, the door opened, and Nick could finally see the Specter.


    It was a wall filled with holes.


    In the middle of the Containment Unit was the cutout of a metallic wall.


    The cutout was around three meters high, two meters wide, and one meter thick.


    There were several big holes all over the wall, and there was also a thin metallic tform in front of the wall.


    Nick looked into one of the holes from a distance and saw a thin metallic spike at its back.


    As soon as he saw the wall, Nick immediately knew what it was.


    He had never seen this thing before, but this was a device that had beenmonly used around 2,500 years ago.


    Without the trade with the level four of discipline Specter, Nick wouldn''t have known what this was.


    ''An execution wall,'' Nick realized with furrowed brows. ''If my guess is right, I now understand why they require the trainees to have fulfilled danger level four and have high speed.''


    Nick looked at the walls and saw illustrations that showed what he had to do.


    ''That''s insane,'' Nick thought. ''Just as expected.''


    As the name suggested, execution walls had been used to humanely and efficiently execute criminals.


    Back then, feeding people to Specters had been seen as inhuman, and since Aegis had still been somewhat new, it decided to make a statement and ban giving criminals to Specters.


    So, they developed and deployed the execution walls.


    These walls had spikes inside them that exploded forward with the press of a button, prating somebody''s heart, lungs, liver, and brain.


    After the criminal was executed, one could just pull the spikes back into the wall by turning a crank and letting the corpse fall to the ground.


    ''I could work with this one,'' Nick thought.


    One would think that such a Specter gained power by killing people, but that wasn''t true.


    Based on the illustrations, Nick was quite certain that this Specter gained power either via fear or concentration.


    The illustrations showed that the trainee needed to stand in front of the wall and wait for 20 minutes.


    If nothing happened, the trainee would just need to step back after 20 minutes.


    However, there was also a chance that the execution wall would activate, shooting its spikes forward.


    At that moment, the trainee would have to react instantly.


    The spikes probably shot at absolutely insane speeds, and any loss in focus would lead to death.


    Additionally, just standing in front of the wall would require an insane amount of focus.


    Nick looked at an illustration that showed a crossed-out Barrier.


    Working with this thing was genuinely dangerous.


    Once again, only an insane person would work with this thing for 15 points.


    ''Although, maybe not this time,'' Nick thought. ''This Specter might be different.''


    ''If this were simply a sanity test like all the other times, there wouldn''t be such insane requirements. They would just let anyone enter.''


    ''Almost everyone would realize that this Specter has to be more dangerous than thest one and more draining. I don''t think many people would have the confidence to try this one after going through that horrible experience.''


    ''Only the most idiotic and confident people would attempt this and promptly die to their hubris.''


    At that moment, Nick''s thoughts stopped.


    ''Like me right now¡­''


    Silence.


    ''But is it really¡­?''


    Nick kept evaluating the execution wall in front of him.


    This could be extremely dangerous.


    Or not dangerous at all.


    Nick looked at the illustrations again.


    ''There''s no illustration for that¡­''


    Then, Nick looked at the wall again.


    ''Well, it doesn''t say I''m not allowed to do that. So, might as well.''


    Nick walked towards the execution wall, but instead of going towards the tform, he stopped beside it.


    Then, he put his hand on the wall and felt it.


    It was extremely robust.


    Just as expected from an Elder.


    But how powerful was it really?


    One of Nick''s des shot out from his sleeve, and he rammed it into the wall.


    CRK!


    Nick''s de buried into the wall, and a piece of it broke off.


    When Nick saw that, a glint appeared in his eyes. ''That''s, at the very most, an Early Elder. Most likely, it''s an Initial Elder, but it might even be a Peak Adult.''


    ''If it hits me, I will still die, but just due to its level, it can''t possibly be so fast that I can''t react.''


    ''As long as I pay attention, it won''t be able to hit me.''


    Nick stepped back and looked at the holes.


    There were five.


    One pointing at Nick''s forehead, one at each of his lungs, one at his heart, and one at his liver.


    ''Actually, only the one pointing at my head is truly dangerous. I''m not a normal person. I can survive having a big chunk of my organs destroyed. As long as I have Zephyx, I can deal with that.''


    ''And since my Barrier will be deactivated, I will have enough Zephyx.''


    Several ns formed in Nick''s head.


    In the end, he decided to take the one with the least danger.


    Sadly, it was also the most painful.


    Nick took a deep breath and walked onto the tform.


    He stopped right in front of the wall and looked into the hole that pointed at his head. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Then, Nick put his arm into the hole and grabbed the tip of the spike.


    If this were the arm of a normal person, the spike would shoot through it like it was air, but Nick was an Early Expert.


    And now, it was time to wait.


    Silence.


    Nick just kept looking at the spike with intensity.


    His arm waspletely taut.


    If the spike shot forward, it would just push part of his upper body away instead.


    Nick would still get impaled by the other spikes, but his head would be safe.


    He would survive, and while it would definitely be painful, he could deal with the pain.


    The risk would be minimized, and the danger would essentially vanish.


    So, Nick waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    And then¡­


    Green light.


    As soon as the green light appeared, Nick jumped back.


    The execution wall didn''t do anything.


    The illustrations said that it didn''t always activate.


    However, Nick still felt like it should have been activated.


    This felt kind of anticlimactic.


    But that''s just how things went sometimes.


    Nick took a couple of breaths and looked at the execution wall for a time.


    Then, he turned around and left the Containment Unit.


    That was it.


    Nick had worked with all of the test Specters, and in the end, he had earned a total of 85 points.


    20 in pain.


    35 in focus.


    10 in discipline.


    20 in danger.


    As he walked out of the locker room, everyone turned to look at him with interest.


    Nick slowly walked over, and everyone became silent as they waited for him to tell them about the Specter.


    Nick looked at them.


    "It''s an execution wall," he said. "You have to stand in front of it for 20 minutes. That''s it."

 Chapter 573 – Battle Portion

    Chapter 573 ¨C Battle Portion


    The trainees looked at Nick in silence.


    Now, they finally knew.


    They knew that the focus level five Specter was an execution wall.


    Sadly, most of the trainees didn''t know what an execution wall was. After all, the execution walls were used over two thousand years ago.


    Nowadays, it was eptable to throw criminals to Specters.


    "What''s an execution wall?" one of the trainees asked.


    One of the other trainees quickly spoke up and exined the concept of an execution wall.


    When the trainees heard what an execution wall was, they showed mixed reactions.


    Such a Specter was most likely extremely deadly, but it was also just so¡­ in.


    It was just a wall with spikes.


    "What did you have to do?" the ck-haired girl asked.


    "Stand in front of the wall for 20 minutes. React if it tries to kill me," Nick said.


    The girl furrowed her brows, while the red-haired guy sighed.


    "Just as expected," the red-haired guy said as he casually leaned back. "Another personality test or whatever that stuff is called."


    The green-haired man also seemed annoyed.


    "Not entirely," Nick said.


    This made everyone look at Nick.


    "I worked with it," Nick said.


    Silence.


    Someone had actually worked with a level five Specter?!


    "Why?" the ck-haired girl asked.


    She didn''t ask how, but why.


    After all, putting oneself in so much danger for 15 measly points sounded insane.


    "Because I found a way to work with it without endangering myself," Nick said.


    The next moment, Nick told them about how he worked with it and what would have happened if the execution wall fired its spikes.


    When the trainees heard that, they looked at each other.


    That¡­ actually made sense.


    That was quite a good way to deal with it.


    Sure, it would still hurt a lot, but it wasn''t any worse than pain level three.


    Additionally, it also wouldn''t require a high level of speed to pull off.


    This essentially trivialized the Specter.


    The requirements no longer seemed necessary.


    "You should tell the supervisor at the end of your month," the ck-haired girl said.


    Nick nodded without saying anything.


    The general manual said that every trainee would get to talk to one of the supervisors every month.


    For most of the trainees, this meeting was the time when they were thrown out of the program.


    The ones that could stay would just receive some feedback.


    "It''s been a while since we had a new person on your level," the green-haired man said.


    "Thanks," Nick said absentmindedly. He didn''t really care and was just being polite.


    If it were up to him, Nick would just continue earning points and working with Specters, but he knew that working together with others would most likely be important for the next 20 years or so.


    "Are you interested in an exchange of knowledge?" the red-haired man asked suddenly.


    "I''m always up for learning more things," Nick answered.


    Since he was going to be stuck here for a couple of years, the best thing to do was to learn more things.


    The more things he learned, the more informed his future decisions would be.


    The red-haired man smirked with confidence. "d to hear, but I hope you have something good to distribute! You only get something if you have something valuable you can give in return!"


    Nick just nodded. "Naturally."


    "I''ll join you," the green-haired man said.


    "You?" the red-haired man asked with a mocking tone. "If I remember correctly, you barely have anything to contribute."


    "That was eight months ago," the green-haired man answered neutrally. "Not everyone is always stuck at the same level, like you."


    "I''ll also join you," the ck-haired girl interjected.


    The green-haired man nodded before turning to Nick. "When do you have time?"


    "I still have to do the battle portion. I don''t know how long that takes," he said.


    "Not long," the green-haired man said. "There are seven Specters in total, and it barely takes five minutes per fight."


    Nick nodded. "Then, in about four hours?"


    The other three nodded, and everyone agreed to meet in four hours to discuss things.


    After that, Nick left to go to the battle portion.


    He walked through the hall and entered the hallway to its north.


    Most of the trainees looked at Nick, but they didn''t follow him anymore.


    The battle portion wasn''t as interesting as the Specter portion.


    Nick entered the hallway and saw nobody else here.


    ''That was to be expected,'' he thought. ''I don''t think there''s any reason to battle the Specters regrly.''


    Nick approached the first Containment Unit and entered its locker room.


    There were no illustrations, which meant that the standard rules applied.


    The main manual Nick had received naturally told the trainees about the rules ofbat.


    Killing the Specters was forbidden unless it was by ident or couldn''t be helped.


    Survival was guaranteed for the first three levels.


    Levels four and up would not guarantee a trainee''s survival.


    In the first levels, a trainee would lose if their Zephyx ran out or they conceded.


    In theter levels, they would lose if they died or conceded.


    The trainee would win if the Specter was rendered immobile or conceded.


    Some of the Specters had alternative win conditions, but those would be exined in the locker rooms.


    These were the basic rules.


    There were seven levels in total, and the points received from each level were not additive. The trainee only received the points from the highest level they couldplete.


    The first level gave five points.


    The second ten.


    Then, 20, 35, 50, 70, and 100.


    Naturally, being able toplete level four already guaranteed someone enough points to stay in the program. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Most likely, someone like the green-haired man hadpleted at least level four.


    Without hesitation, Nick opened the door and walked in.


    When the door opened, he saw a young man standing in the middle of the room.


    The man looked into Nick''s eyes, and Nick looked back.


    Two seconds of silence passed.


    "You pass," the man said neutrally.


    Ding!


    The next moment, a green light appeared inside the Containment Unit, signaling to Nick that he had passed.


    It seemed like the first level was only there to get rid of the absolute weakest people.


    Nick just nodded before leaving the Containment Unit again.


    Naturally, getting the minimum requirement of points per category was almost guaranteed.


    One just needed to have the absolute bare minimum of qualifications in the four departments.


    The hard part was getting the 50 points in total.


    For that, one needed to show some talent.


    ''Or be sociable,'' Nick thought. ''As long as you can convince others to teach you some basics, you can earn quite some points in the academics portion. Although, getting 30 points in that without being able to work with any level two Specter would still be extremely difficult.''


    Nick walked out of the Containment Unit and entered the next locker room.


    There were no special rules here.


    Nick walked into the Containment Unit and saw a muscr wolf that was dripping in blood.


    The wolf was almost as tall as Nick, and it looked at Nick with intense eyes.


    "Leave," the wolf spoke with a dark voice, "you are too weak. Come back when-"


    BANG!


    Nick exploded forward and rammed his de through the wolf''s brain.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick kicked the wolf against the wall, shaking the entire Containment Unit.


    Several of the wolf''s bones broke, but it quickly shot to its feet again.


    "I concede!" It shouted immediately, not daring to let Nick out of its vision.


    Ding!


    A green light appeared, and Nick walked out of the Containment Unit.


    When Nick had seen the wolf for the first time, he didn''t feel like it was a true danger to him.


    Sure, it was still an Elder, but it didn''t feel very powerful.


    Yes, it seemed quite intimidating, but that was it.


    ''Most likely, this thing isn''t very strong. It''s just very imposing,'' Nick thought. ''It''s most likely there to filter out people that don''t dare to fight something scary, even if their survival is guaranteed.''


    Naturally, there was no reason not to try fighting the wolf. After all, the manual said that survival was guaranteed for the first three levels.


    Nick left the Containment Unit and walked over to the next one.


    It was time for the third level.


    Yet, when Nick walked into the locker room, he noticed two doors instead of one.


    ''Interesting,'' he thought as he saw the illustrations.


    Besides one door was an illustration of an Extractorpressing a cloud of smoke.


    Besides the other door was an illustration of an Extractor fighting a beast.


    ''It makes sense, actually,'' Nick thought. ''Being able to suppress a Force Specter is also part of one''sbat ability, but it requires specialization. Punishing Suppressors because they can''t wrestle a monster seems unfair, and forcing a powerful fighter to suppress a Force Specter is just as nonsensical.''


    Naturally, Nick walked over to the door that would lead him to a Physical Specter and entered.

 Chapter 574 – Angry Girl

    Chapter 574 ¨C Angry Girl


    Nick walked into the Containment Unit-


    BANG!


    And immediately jumped to the side as several rusty nails shot past him.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    More and more rusty nails flew past Nick as he swayed back and forth to avoid them.


    Near the wall of the Containment Unit was the tall and gaunt figure of an old man. It was almost 2.5 meters high and was chained to the walls by ck chains.


    The entire figure was covered by rusty nails, which detached from the body to fly right at Nick.


    "AAAHHH!"


    The gaunt figure aggressively shouted in pain as it tried to tear itself from the wall with all of its strength.


    Naturally, the chains were so stable that the Specter couldn''t tear itself off that easily.


    The nails were shooting at Nick with a lot of speed, but he managed to avoid them pretty well.


    ''I guess this is a defense or evasion test,'' Nick thought as he avoided another barrage of rusty nails.


    Moments after the rusty nails hit the walls behind Nick, they fell to the ground and turned into ck smoke.


    At the same time, new nails grew out of the Specter''s body.


    ''I can avoid the nails from a distance, but it''s not easy to avoid them if I close in,'' Nick thought.


    ''But that isn''t an issue.''


    BOOOM!


    A spear entered the Specter''s chest and pushed it back.


    Naturally, this was one of Nick''s throwing spears.


    Nowadays, Nick rarely got any opportunities to use his throwing spears, but he still carried them with him.


    Usually, since Nick was an Assassin and Runner, he fought with his des since they could attack faster.


    A proper throw was extremely powerful, but Nick couldn''t throw a second spear before his enemy reacted.


    That was much easier to aplish with des.


    "AAHH!"


    The Specter kept shouting and threw more nails at Nick.


    BANG!


    Nick''s spear punched through the Specter''s head, disturbing its aim.


    BANG!


    Since the Specter''s aim and attack speed had suffered massively with that hit, Nick charged forward and decapitated the Specter.


    The body kept writhing and shooting more nails as the head slowly turned to ck dust.


    Ding!


    Then, a green light appeared, and the Specter''s body started to cramp up as some small bolts of ck lightning came out of the chains, binding it to the wall.


    These ck bolts of lightning could suppress the use of a Specter''s Zephyx, turning them immobile. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick walked forward and grabbed one of the two spears stuck in the Specter.


    DZZZ!


    Some ck lightning hit Nick''s hand, but he barely felt anything.


    Nick''s Zephyx was isted from the outside world, and the ck bolts of lightning were designed in such a way that humans could still touch them without getting injured.


    Nick pulled his two spears out and quickly left the Containment Unit.


    Technically, the Specter could still fight, but that was only because Nick didn''t go for a kill shot.


    If an Extractor had the opportunity to decapitate a Specter, most likely, they could have also killed it.


    ''20 points already,'' Nick thought as he walked to the fourth level.


    Getting past the first two levels wasn''t difficult.


    The first level was almost unlosable, and the second level only required someone to have some guts.


    The third level was a bit more difficult. In a way, this was the first actual fight, but it was still quite easy.


    After all, the Specter couldn''t even move.


    Hitting it wasn''t an issue as long as someone could deal with the ranged attacks.


    Nick walked into the locker room for the fourth level and once again saw two different entrances.


    There were no special rules for this one either.


    Nick entered the door leading to the Physical Specter and readied himself.


    Surprisingly, Nick could enter without getting attacked immediately.


    On the other side of the Containment Unit, Nick saw a little girl with long green hair. She looked not older than eight, but there were two things that identified her as a Specter.


    First of all, she didn''t have eyes. There were only ck holes in her eye sockets.


    Second, six ck tentacles covered in teeth came out of her back.


    "Are you here to y with me?" the girl asked innocently with a distorted voice.


    "I am," Nick answered.


    "Yay!" the distorted voice answered while the girl''s body didn''t move in any way. "Mister, how strong are you?"


    Nick looked deeply at that Specter.


    "Early Expert," Nick answered.


    "Early Expert?" the girl repeated with delight. "I get to use 25% of my power! Thank you!"


    Usually, Nick immediately attacked his opponent, but not this time.


    When he had seen the little girl, he had felt a strong feeling of danger.


    Either this Specter was extremely powerful for its level, or it was on a higher level.


    Nick assumed that it was of a higher level and that it was simply supposed to adapt its power to its opponent.


    And sure enough, based on what it just said, Nick was right.


    "Let''s y! Let''s y!" the voice repeated with excitement while the head slowly lifted to look at Nick with a dead expression.


    Nick readied his des.


    ''Survival is not guaranteed here. This is a good opportunity for a test,'' Nick thought.


    "You can have the first turn," Nick said. "But be careful. Our ytime might end before you can hit me."


    The girl''s mouth slowly widened into a grin.


    "I like cocky meat the most!" she said.


    WHOOOM!


    Then, she suddenly charged forward, and her tentacles expanded to cut off all of Nick''s escape routes.


    WHOOOM!


    Suddenly, an explosion of light urred, and the girl was blinded.


    Nevertheless, her tentacles mped together like the maw of a monster.


    CRKSH!


    But then, her upper and lower bodies separated and flew in different directions.


    Nick appeared an instantter behind the girl''s upper body.


    ''Nobody''s watching,'' Nick thought.


    Naturally, Nick''s ability hadn''t activated in the hallways or any of the other rooms, but it was possible that it could activate in this room.


    After all, levels four and up of the battle portion were supposed to simte real fights and include real danger.


    So, there was a chance that nobody would be looking into this ce.


    However, it was also possible that they were looking into this ce to see if the Specter was ying ording to the rules.


    Nick couldn''t be sure either way.


    Because of that, he used his explosion of light to test that.


    If nobody was watching, his ability would activate, and he could easily win.


    If somebody was watching, Nick would just cut through one of the tentacles and jump to the side.


    But it was also possible that somebody was watching and that Nick''s light could also fool them.


    Maybe there was some kind of device that could transmit videos?


    Well, whether the device was here or not didn''t make a difference.


    Nick''s ability worked.


    It was important to note that the Specter had only felt truly dangerous to Nick as long as his ability didn''t work.


    However, since Nick''s ability actually worked, it was no longer a big deal.


    With his ability and his powerful body, Nick''s effective physical power was on the level of an Initial Specialist.


    That was at least two times stronger than this Specter.


    The Specter copsed into two shocked heaps.


    "I lost?" the little girl asked in surprise.


    Ding!


    At that point, the light turned green, and Nick walked towards the exit.


    "You lied to me!" the girl shouted.


    Then, the tentacles of her upper body suddenly moved with a lot of power and threw her towards Nick.


    Naturally, this was not part of the test.


    Nick hadn''t expected the Specter to suddenly be crazy and attack him with its full power, but this also wasn''t the first time he worked with Specters.


    And an experienced Extractor knew to never let down their guard in front of a Specter.


    WHOOOM!


    An explosion of light.


    BANG!


    The torso of the girl shot out of the explosion of light and hit the wall at the back of the Containment Unit.


    Nick just opened the employee entrance and left.


    The girl looked at the closed door for a while before slowlybining her halves again and waiting in the middle of the room.


    ''Seems unsafe,'' Nick thought as he walked towards the fifth level. ''It was obviously a Late or Peak Elder, but they trusted it enough to test Initial Experts.''


    ''This could very quickly end with unnecessary deaths. This is abat trial, not a danger trial.''


    ''I should talk about that when I get to meet one of the supervisors.''


    Nick entered the locker room for the fifth level.


    Surprisingly, there was only a single door.


    ''No difference between Physical and Force Specters?'' Nick thought with a raised brow.


    Then, Nick saw an illustration.


    ''A special rule, huh?'' Nick thought as he looked at it.


    ''I just have to use up all of the Specter''s Zephyx?''


    ''Sure,'' he thought as he opened the door.

 Chapter 575 – The Careless Cut

    Chapter 575 ¨C The Careless Cut


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought as he looked at a small gray cloud hovering in the corner of the Containment Unit. ''A Force Specter.''


    The only thing Nick could usually do if he came into contact with a Force Specter was to run away.


    Yes, Nick was extremely powerful and had many ways to fight multitudes of Specters, but he was almostpletely helpless when it came to dealing with Force Specters.


    Sure, there was some equipment that made it possible to suppress Force Specters, but that was extremely cumbersome.


    One only needed to think back to the time Crimson City tried to suppress the newly released Crimson Sea.


    One needed special abilities to effectively deal with a Force Specter, and if a Force Specter was very big, not even that would be enough.


    Back then, the Crimson Sea had been pretty weak and had "only" been a couple hundred meters wide, but the city still needed to use its entire power to slowly suppress it.


    Under normal circumstances, after seeing such a Force Specter, Nick would either follow it from a distance to wait for reinforcement or just directly run away.


    ''However,'' he thought, ''this is a test for Suppressors and normal Extractors. That means that there has to be something I can punch.''


    And sure enough, a momentter, something separated from the small cloud and moved towards the ground.


    Some grey mist reached the ground and slowly turned into the shape of a human.


    Nick raised his eyebrow. ''This could be very easy or very difficult,'' he thought as he looked at a copy of himself.


    A tall and very muscr man with lifeless grey eyes looked at Nick.


    Shing!


    Nick''s copy activated its des and shot forward.


    CLING!


    Nick activated his own de and blocked the copy''s de.


    ''Identical strength,'' he thought as he pushed against the de.


    Suddenly, the copy lifted its left leg to kick Nick in the abdomen.


    CRKSH! N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Yet, it only kicked the tip of Nick''s left de.


    ''But it does not copy my techniques,'' he thought as he cut the copy''s legs off.


    The fact that the copy''s leg was mutted didn''t seem to bother it, and while it was falling forward, it shed with its other de.


    Nick changed the angle of his right de, his right arm sliding past the enemy''s right de.


    BANG!


    When his elbow reached his copy''s hand, he knocked it to the side.


    Nick moved inward, sliding between the two outstretched des.


    SHING!


    And decapitated his copy with his right de.


    Just to be safe, he also kicked the body away.


    He didn''t want to be surprised by the body suddenlyunching another attack.


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought as he watched the copy turning into ck dust. ''It can copy my body, but it can''t copy my techniques or my abilities.''


    ''If this thing could copy abilities just by looking at me, it would be even superior to Envy. Somehow, I doubt that''s the case.''


    Nick waited for a moment as he just watched the grey cloud in the corner.


    ''But this is a bit too easy for level five. There has to be more.''


    Sure enough, a secondter, two Nicks appeared in front of him.


    ''Ah, I see,'' Nick thought.


    BANG!


    The two Nicks exploded forward and attacked him.


    Instantly, Nick jumped towards one side and shed with one of them.


    The key to winning while fighting against superior numbers was to not fight against superior numbers.


    As in, turning one brutal battle into many smaller manageable battles.


    If Nick got surrounded, he would have a huge disadvantage.


    However, as long as Nick used one of them as a barrier to block the other one, he only needed to fight one of them.


    In that case, his superior technique would easily win the two fights.


    And, sure enough, while one of the copies tried to get around the other copy, Nick had already killed one of them.


    A secondter, the second one also died.


    Then, Nick returned to waiting again.


    Some secondster, three Nicks appeared.


    The three of them immediately charged at Nick.


    BANG!


    But this time, Nick charged forward as well.


    In an instant, he reached the rightmost copy, weaved past its des, and kicked it away.


    Naturally, the other two immediately attacked him, but Nick just moved in a way that used one of the copies as a barrier again.


    It was back to a one-on-one battle.


    Nick quickly dealt with the first one.


    Then, he used the second one as a barrier for the third one while killing it.


    And finally, he killed the third one.


    Nick waited.


    When Nick saw four pieces of mist splitting from the Specter, he took a deep breath.


    ''Three is as much as I can manage without my ability,'' Nick thought.


    He could kick one of them away, but after that, he would need to find another opening to kick a second one away.


    Sadly, the first one would already be joining the fight again before that became possible.


    Dealing with four copies was impossible as long as they were not fighting like children.


    He could kick one of them away, but after that, he would need to find another opening to kick a second one away.


    Sadly, the first one would already be joining the fight again before that became possible.


    In the end, they would overwhelm him.


    Technique could bring one only so far.


    The four copies shot at Nick simultaneously.


    SHING!


    Nick released a bright explosion of light.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    In an instant, he kicked and punched all of them.


    It was important to note that these copies were not as resilient as Specters.


    They were essentially Extractors without Barriers.


    And with his ability active, Nick was five times as powerful as them.


    This was akin to four dainty girls getting kicked by a massively muscr professional male fighter.


    The four copies all hit the surrounding walls with several broken bones and ruptured organs.


    However, they were notpletely human, which was why they tried to stand up and continue fighting.


    Yet, in their current condition, Nick could easily take care of them.


    After Nick dealt with the four of them, he waited.


    The next moment, he saw more misting from the Specter, and he readied himself.


    Yet, before the fifth copy could fully form, a green light appeared.


    The first four copies turned back into mist and entered the Specter again.


    ''Seems appropriate,'' Nick thought.


    It wasn''t very difficult for Nick, but it was enough for him to be forced to use his ability.


    Technically, he wouldn''t have needed to use his ability on level four, but he needed to use it here.


    A momentter, Nick walked out of the Containment Unit and went to the sixth level.


    ''No special rules,'' he thought as he looked at the illustrations. ''There are also two different rooms again.''


    ''I should be able toplete level six.''


    Nick walked through one of the doors and prepared himself.


    As soon as he entered, he saw a humanoid figure in the corner of the room.


    The humanoid figure was standing with its hands behind its back, and it was wearing a big ck cloak.


    Nick was reminded of the Doom Sayer.


    "It''s been a while," a sickly voice spoke.


    Nick readied his des.


    "Don''t die too quickly," the humanoid figure spoke as it revealed its arms.


    Its arms ended in long des that almost reached the ground.


    But that wasn''t everything.


    Two more arms came out of the cloak, also ending in des.


    Then, another two arms.


    And another two.


    By the end, eight arms ending in des stretched out from the figure.


    "They call me the Careless Cut," it slowly spoke. "You will know why very soon."


    Then, all of its des rubbed against each other as if it were sharpening them.


    BANG!


    And charged forward!


    Nick could tell that this Specter was extremely experienced in fighting.


    Additionally, its superior number of limbs would make it almost impossible to muster a defense.


    Its attacking power was very high.


    Its defense was very high.


    Its speed was passable.


    Its versatility was very high.


    This was definitely quite a bit more powerful than the average Specter.


    ''And I haven''t even seen its ability,'' Nick thought.


    Just looking very scary didn''t count as an ability.


    The Careless Cut most likely had an additional ability.


    Nick waited until the des of the Specter were almost touching him.


    SHING!


    Then, he released an explosion of light.


    DING! DING! DING!


    Nick''s Barrier activated several times as it blocked the des.


    CRKSH!


    Yet, at the same time, the Specter''s body separated vertically, and the two halves flew in different directions.


    Nick was revealed again.


    His Zephyx had reduced by 50%, but he had expected that.


    Sometimes, getting hit and making use of one''s Barrier made it easier to win.


    Getting hit by the des stopped the Specter''s momentum and allowed Nick tond a clean hit.


    Nick looked at one of the halves and saw half of a ck sphere in its chest.


    This was its core.


    The two halves tried their best to move toward each other, but with a split core, that became extremely difficult.


    "Is that why you were called the Careless Cut?" Nick asked.


    The green light appeared.

 Chapter 576 – Scores

    Chapter 576 ¨C Scores


    After leaving the Containment Unit, Nick looked towards the entrance leading to thest level.


    ''Should I?'' he thought.


    It wasn''t a given for Nick to immediately enter the next level.


    After all, he had just lost 80% of his Zephyx, and if things turned out really bad, he might be biting off more than he could chew.


    It was important to remember that the highest points in every category were always extremely difficult to achieve.


    Getting ten points in any physical test was already nearly impossible.


    Working with any level five Specter was almost impossible or just in idiotic.


    So, what about this one? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    There were only so many times that Nick could use his ability in a fight.


    What if the next Specter managed to survive the first attack, learn to deal with any follow-up attack, and cut off his retreat?


    He might very well die.


    It was important to remember that as soon as somebody knew how Nick''s ability worked, Nick would lose the majority of his strength.


    Nick''s way of battling was all or nothing.


    Immediately winning against and killing a Specter or Extractor did not mean that it was easy or riskless.


    It was like flipping a coin.


    ''And for what?'' Nick thought. ''For 30 more points? I already have 70 points in this category. What''s the difference between 70 points and 100 points? Sure, 30 points may be a lot for others, but I already have 335 points. That''s not even 10% of my total. I''m not even sure if there is anything that I can use these points for.''


    ''If there were some kind of incentive to fight thest Specter, I might take the risk.''


    ''But there isn''t.''


    ''What''s the point of risking my life for no reward?''


    In the end, Nick shook his head and decided against going to level seven.


    In a small and unimportant way, Nick felt a bit disappointed that he didn''t even try to achieve victory, but he knew that making correct and intelligent decisions was more important than following idiotic desires.


    So, that was it.


    335 points.


    That was Nick''s total.


    Nick left the hallway for the battle points and walked back to the main room.


    Not much time had passed since Nick told the others that he was going to get his battle points, but the other three had already gathered there.


    Nick approached them, and they looked with interest at him.


    "How did it go?" the red-haired man asked.


    "Good enough," Nick answered. "I''m done with getting all of my points."


    The group nodded.


    "Let''s start the exchange," the serious girl with ck hair said. "Since this is his first exchange, let''s introduce ourselves."


    "I''ll start," she said, holding her hand to her chest. "My name is Cynthia Mason, and I''m an Early Expert. My promotion to level two will happen in one year."


    With level two, Cynthia referred to the second stage the trainees would go to on their way to bing Agents.


    "Finally, I get to know your name," the red-haired guymented.


    Cynthia threw a side-eye at the guy but didn''t answer.


    "I''m Mendor Orlen," the red-haired guy said, pointing at himself with his right hand. "I''m also an Early Expert, and I will advance to the second level within the year."


    It wasn''t surprising that two of them were already close to advancing.


    After all, it needed time to be outstanding in the trainee camp.


    Almost no trainee was outstanding as soon as they arrived.


    The truly outstanding ones would only stand out after a year or more of being here.


    "My name is Steve Werkling," the small green-haired man said with a serious expression. "I''m an Early Expert, and I will advance in a couple of months."


    The other two nodded at him before looking at Nick.


    "My name is Nick Dusk, and I''m an Early Expert. I just arrived," Nick said.


    When the other three heard that Nick was an Early Expert, they were a bit surprised.


    Usually, people were immediately brought over after they consumed the Elixir, which meant that everyone was an Initial Expert.


    "Did you ept the trade of the level five discipline, Specter?" Steve asked with furrowed brows.


    "I didn''t," Nick answered.


    Silence.


    Naturally, the three of them were interested in how Nick managed to do that, but they knew that it wasn''t appropriate to ask about his background just yet.


    "Let''s talk about our academic points," Cynthia said. "Please, only name the categories in which you reached at least 90% for the first test and 30% for the second test."


    The other three nodded.


    "I''ll start," Cynthia said. "I mainly focus on fields rted to math. My biology scores are always above 90% for the first level, and I recently reached 60% on the second level. I have always aced level one in mathematics and am close to reaching 90% on the second level. I might also reach 30% in the third level before I advance."


    The others nodded. That was already very impressive.


    However, Cynthia wasn''t done.


    "I alwaysplete the first level of physics, and I am above 60% in the second level."


    "Lastly, I also do okay in Zephology, but I am only at about 40% for the second level."


    "That''s it for me," Cynthia said.


    Nick was already interested since he barely knew anything about biology and Zephology. Additionally, he needed to learn the different forms for physics and mathematics.


    Cynthia would definitely be Nick''s main source of knowledge here.


    "My turn," Mendor said as he leaned back with a smile. "I''m at over 30% in the second level of history, and I''m at nearly 90% in the second level of psychology."


    The psychology score interested Nick.


    Then, Mendor smirked arrogantly. "And I''m at 60% in economics."


    After saying that, he held three fingers forward.


    "On the third level!"


    The others nodded, impressed.


    That was a lot!


    However, Nick was more interested in the second level of economics since he already aced the third level.


    Then, it was Steve''s turn. "Warfare, 60% on level two," he said slowly. "Leadership, 60% of level two. Spectology, 30% of level two."


    The others nodded.


    Steve''s scores were good but definitely the weakest out of everyone.


    However, he probably still had the greatest number of total points due to his Battle-Strength.


    Finally, everyone turned to Nick.


    "I onlypleted my tests once. So, I can just give you those scores," he said.


    The others nodded.


    "Biology, 15, 0, 0."


    That was expected. Not many people knew about biology.


    "Economics, 91, 45, 98."


    The entire atmosphere froze.


    "Wait, what?" Mendor asked with a shake of his head. "Just to be sure, you said you got 98 points in the third level of economics?"


    Nick nodded.


    "Are you sure?" Cynthia asked.


    "It was the third level of economics."


    "Okay, okay," Mendor said. "Then, exin to me this¡­"


    Mendor asked a difficult question from the third level of economics that he was sure he had answered correctly, and Nick answered.


    When Mendor heard the answer, he blinked a couple of times in surprise.


    The other two looked at him. "And? How''s his answer?" Cynthia asked.


    Mendor scratched the back of his head. "Just a minute ago, I would have said that it was incorrect, but after he exined it, I''m not so sure anymore."


    "I might have been the incorrect one."


    The other two looked at Nick with burning eyes.


    That was extremely impressive.


    They weren''t sure if anyone had ever gotten over 90% in any third level.


    "I''ll continue," Nick said.


    The other three nodded.


    "Psychology, 68, 42, 48," Nick said.


    Once again, the three others were shocked.


    What was this?!


    How did Nick have more points in the third level than the second?!


    That made no sense!


    "Math, 0, 0, 0," Nick continued.


    That was also quite surprising.


    "Physics, 74, 0, 0."


    "History, 28, 62, 21."


    Once more, they were surprised.


    "Wait, that actually makes sense," Mendor said. "You know a lot about the past but not a lot about the present, right?"


    "It used to be like that," Nick said. "Don''t forget that I epted the trade of the level four discipline Specter and chose history."


    "Oh, right," Mendor said. "So, it should now be 100, 62, 21, right?"


    "Probably," Nick said. "I''ll continue."


    "Spectology, 96, 84, 98."


    Shocked silence.


    That score was unreal.


    "Zephology, 52, 0, 0."


    "Warfare, 93, 96, 24."


    "Leadership, 100, 80, 64."


    Silence.


    Stunned silence.


    "You have 140 academic points?" Cynthia asked silently.


    Nick nodded.


    "How?" she asked.


    She didn''t care anymore whether or not it was appropriate to ask Nick.


    She wanted to know.


    "I was a Chief Zephyx Extractor for around 15 years," Nick answered. "I know a lot about leading people, how they think, how money works, and how Specters work."


    "I''ve never truly had any kind of official education. Almost all of my knowledgees from experience, which is why my scores for the third levels are often higher than my scores for the second levels."


    Once again, everyone was stunned.


    15 years of experience as a CZE.


    Cynthia, Mendor, and Steve had all worked for the strongest Manufacturers in their cities, and the CZEs they worked under were always far beyond their levels.


    CZEs seemed to know everything, and they always seemed to make the right decisions.


    They viewed Nick with different eyes.


    Nick was a goldmine of knowledge!

 Chapter 577 – Karma

    Chapter 577 ¨C Karma


    Within minutes, Nick and Cynthia started talking.


    Naturally, Nick was most interested in Cynthia''s knowledge since she knew a lot about fields that Nick didn''t know a lot about.


    Sadly, Mendor and Steve didn''t have a lot to offer to Nick, but they could help each other pretty well.


    They were not the biggest fans of each other, but that didn''t matter.


    They were here to improve each other''s scores.


    For many hours, the group kept exchanging knowledge.


    Cynthia told Nick about basic mathematic forms while he told her about Spectology.


    Several times, others asked to join, but Cynthia sent them away.


    That was until Nick stopped her.


    "Sure, you can sit to the side and listen, but only interject if you are certain that one of us is wrong."


    Cynthia furrowed her brows.


    Naturally, since she had been here for a couple of years already, she knew about the hidden purpose of the first level.


    She knew that the trainees were being tested on their ideology and personality. They were supposed to help others.


    But help was also based on reciprocity.


    It was important that the other person could somewhat repay part of the help.


    Yet, Nick just invited them to join.


    Cynthia found this to be a bit unfair.


    She was contributing.


    Nick was contributing.


    The onlookers were not contributing.


    Yet, they were benefiting from them.


    She was essentially just giving her knowledge away for free, which didn''t feel good.


    "Why are you doing this?" she asked Nick with a bit of annoyance as the sixth person sat down beside them.


    "Because they are humans," Nick answered.


    Cynthia furrowed her brows.


    So?


    She didn''t see the point of stating that.


    She knew that they were humans.


    "They are humans," Nick repeated. "They are part of Aegis. The more powerful they be, the more powerful Aegis bes."


    Cynthia looked at Nick with a skeptical expression.


    That sounded way too na?ve and idealistic.


    That was something that a small child would believe.


    Sure, humanity and the Specters were enemies, but humans were often even more dangerous to humans than Specters.


    Why should she give random people valuable knowledge without getting anything in return?


    Yet, she decided against speaking out.


    Nick''s knowledge was too valuable, and she didn''t know him well enough to gauge his reaction if she were to disagree.


    So, even though she really disliked it, she kept sharing her knowledge for free.


    Mendor and Steve kept talking to each other on their own, but more and more people kept gathering around Nick and Cynthia.


    After a couple of hours, almost 15 people sat around them, listening intently.


    Their thoughts were very different from each other.


    Some of them felt like Nick was an idiot to give them such valuable bits of knowledge for free.


    Some of them were simply interested and didn''t think a lot about the implications.


    Some of them were thankful.


    Naturally, many of these people would never reciprocate the kindness they had received, but some of them would.


    And most interesting of all, in the future, this moment of receiving kindness would make them extend kindness to someone else.


    Nick would not benefit from these acts of kindness.


    But humanity, as a whole, would.


    Even if it was just a tiny bit.


    The discussion continued.


    "That''s actually not correct."


    Cynthia stopped and furrowed her brows as someone interrupted her.


    She looked over and saw a young man with brown hair looking at her.


    She remembered seeing this guy from time to time, but he had never appeared outstanding or interesting in any way.


    He was just one of those background characters who lived in one''s general vicinity.


    "Exin," Cynthia demanded.


    "The Bicolor form is outdated," the guy said. "It''s no longer used nowadays since it bes inurate with very small numbers. Advanced Zephyx Engineers use the Hulburry form instead for increased uracy. It''s a bit longer and moreplicated, but it is perfectly urate with any number."


    Cynthia furrowed her brows. "That''s news to me," she said with annoyance. "We always used the Bicolor form."


    "Have you ever produced an Expert-level weapon?" the guy asked.


    "How''s me not producing a weapon rted to math?" Cynthia asked with annoyance.


    "It is," the guy said. "Academia is a good thing that gives you a good overview, but when ites to applying your knowledge, you will realize that there is much more to it."


    "Uh huh," Cynthia uttered without being impressed. "And you know that how?"


    "My father is the Lead Zephyx Engineer of my city. He''s producing all the Specialist weapons and Barriers, and I learned under him for thest 20 years."


    "I have over 60% in the level three Zephology test."


    Everyone''s eyes widened.


    This was a guy who could produce weapons that would be useful to the trainees.


    "Can you exin this form to me?" Nick asked.


    The guy turned to Nick. "Sure, why not? You''ve taught me quite a bit about Specters."


    Over the next minute, the guy talked about Zephology.


    This was not the original topic of the conversation, but the parts of Zephology the man talked about were all intrinsically rted to math.


    He was less talking about forms and more about how the mathematical forms came to be and how they were applied to Zephyx Engineering.


    In essence, the guy was sharing experience instead of knowledge, which was much more valuable.


    In the beginning, Cynthia was annoyed since this random guy was essentially stealing her thunder, but as more time passed, she realized that this was actually a good thing.


    She was learning something about her own specialties.


    Learning the basics of other fields was easy.


    Learning extremely advanced knowledge of a field was difficult.


    And now, she was receiving this knowledge for free.


    That was when she realized something.


    Earlier, she hadined that the others were benefiting for free.


    But now, wasn''t she the one benefiting for free?


    How did that happen?


    ''Is this because of Nick?'' she thought as she looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    The thing that had just happened was something everyone knew as karma.


    Karma wasn''t something supernatural or spiritual.


    Karma did not mean that doing one good deed would return one good deed.


    Karma was something general and dealt with probabilities.


    It was actually pretty easy. A stranger would be nice to one with a higher likelihood if one had been nice to them first.


    Greeting someone with a smile and apliment would elicit a nice greeting in return with a higher likelihood than greeting someone with an aggressive insult.


    That was karma.


    On average, others would be nicer to one if one was nicer to them.


    Had Nick known that someone would return his act of kindness?


    No.


    But the chances of that happening were higher than if he hadn''t.


    In this environment, strengthening other humans did not hurt Nick.


    In apetition, this would obviously be bad, but this wasn''t apetition.


    Nick only needed to increase his own points.


    If Nick didn''t share his knowledge, he would not receive any new knowledge, which meant he would not gain any additional points.


    If he shared his knowledge, somebody else might gain ten more points, while Nick would only gain one.


    Yet, one was still more than zero.


    In this case, being nice and helpful was the best way forward. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    This was not always the case, but here, it was like this.


    Cynthia still wasn''t the biggest fan of that, but she couldn''t deny that she had benefited from Nick''s generosity.


    Also¡­


    "Now, you''re the one that''s wrong," Cynthia said to the brown-haired man. "I might not know as much about Zephology as you, but I know my way around math, and I can tell you that you can shorten that calction by a lot."


    The brown-haired man listened to Cynthia for a minute.


    And by the end¡­


    "You know what? You''re actually right," he said. "Thanks."


    Cynthia nodded with a serious expression.


    Yet, deep inside, she felt proud of herself.


    "Are you having a party here?" Mendor asked as he walked over, looking at all of the people. "Why are there so many of you here?"


    "Oh, we''re just listening," the brown-haired man said with a smile. "You want to join us?"


    Mendor raised a skeptical eyebrow as he looked at Cynthia before looking at Nick.


    "Sure?" Mendor asked with uncertainty before sitting down.


    Steve joined them after a bit, and the conversation resumed.


    The brown-haired man and Cynthia started to talk about math and Zephology.


    The discussion got quite heated, but it never turned into an argument.


    Cynthia seemed to want topete with the man, while the man was just interested in the things Cynthia said.


    "Why?" a new person suddenly asked. "Why would you use that?"


    Cynthia red at the new person while the brown-haired man looked over with interest.


    "What? The recluse algorithm?" he asked.


    "Yes, that''s outdated," the newest person said. "Our city came up with a better version."


    And so, the conversation continued.


    Within two days, over ten different experienced Zephyx Engineers were talking in a circle, and almost 300 people were listening in.


    Everyone was benefiting immensely.


    The average scores of the Zephology tests would soar in the future.


    And how did all of this happen?


    All of this happened because Nick was willing to share some of his knowledge for free.

 Chapter 578 – Performance Review

    Chapter 578 ¨C Performance Review


    Ding!


    Suddenly, Nick''s Barrier shone with a yellow light, but no one paid attention to him.


    By now, Nick was no longer even part of the entire discussion.


    His discussion with Cynthia had been infiltrated by several Zephyx Engineers, and they were all debating math and Zephology by now.


    Nick wasn''t even really sitting in the middle of the circle of people anymore.


    Just like everyone else, he was in the audience.


    From time to time, some of the Barriers turned yellow.


    When a Barrier just randomly turned yellow, it meant that it was time to meet the supervisor.


    Everyone had to meet the supervisor once a month for a quick interview, and now, it was Nick''s turn.


    This entire debate about Zephology and math had been going on for weeks by now.


    It wasn''t always the same people talking.


    Old participants started to lose interest just for new participants to join in, keeping the conversation going.


    Neither Cynthia nor the brown-haired man were part of the conversation anymore.


    When Nick''s Barrier turned yellow, he stood up and left the area by jumping over the audience.


    This was the easiest and quickest way to leave.


    Nick''s Barrier blinked yellow from time to time, and he asked a random trainee about where to go.


    The trainee sent him to the hallway with all of the testing Specters. Apparently, the meeting rooms were beyond those.


    Nick walked into the hallway, passed the queues, and entered another hallway.


    This hallway waspletely empty and didn''t look special, except for the yellow lighting out of one of the doors.


    The yellow light was identical to the light from Nick''s Barrier.


    ''I guess I have to go there,'' Nick thought as he approached the door.


    He put his hand on the door and pushed, opening it.


    Nick found himself in a standard office.


    Desk, chairs, folders, papers¡­


    Nothing special.


    The person sitting behind the desk was a serious man who looked to be in his thirties.


    He looked at Nick with a neutral but cold expression.


    "Sit, trainee," he ordered.


    Nick entered, closed the door behind him, and sat down in front of the desk.


    "I assume this is your first interview?" the man asked.


    Nick nodded. "Correct. I joined about a month ago."


    The man nodded. "In this interview, we are going to talk about your performance in thest month, and we''re going to find ways to improve your results, assuming you managed to reach the minimum threshold of points. Did you reach the minimum?"


    ''I guess he didn''t look at my file yet,'' Nick thought.


    Then, he nodded. "I did."


    "Good," the man said as he grabbed a folder at the edge of the table. "Now then, let''s see where you stand."


    The man opened the folder, and Nick saw a page with all his personal information on it.


    As soon as the man saw the page, he blinked a couple of times.


    "You were sent here by the Technician?" the supervisor asked with furrowed brows.


    Nick nodded. "I originally worked as a Liaison. I am here to be a Specialist so that I can resume my duties."


    "Liaison," the man repeated. "I haven''t heard of that before," hemented as he started to tap away on a console on his desk.


    For almost a minute, the man kept tapping and reading in silence.


    "Alright," he said, looking away from the console. "I see what this is about. As far as I can see, you are not truly part of the trainees since the trainees are here to be Agents in the future. You are only here until you are a Specialist."


    Nick nodded.


    "That''s a bit of a special case, but I think we can deal with it," the man said, his voice bing less stern.


    Naturally, the supervisor had to appear intimidating and serious in front of the trainees.


    He wasn''t truly someone that didn''t know how to have fun.


    When he saw that Nick wasn''t really a trainee, he rxed quite a bit.


    Nick was more of a peer than a trainee.


    "Nevertheless, officially, you are a trainee, and I have to review your performance," the man said as he turned to the next page without looking at it. "Now, let''s take a look at your points."


    Then, the supervisor looked at the page that summarized the points Nick earned in all categories.


    The man looked at the page silently.


    His eyebrows rose.


    He blinked a couple of times.


    He furrowed his brows.


    He raised his right eyebrow.


    He scratched the side of his head.


    He took a deep breath.


    "Ooookaaaay," he slowly said as he turned to the next page.


    He looked at the page with the fitness scores.


    Then, he looked at Nick''s body.


    He nodded a couple of times with an impressed expression.


    After that, he looked at the page with the battle points.


    He let out an impressed whistle.


    "Did you try the seventh level?" he asked.


    "No," Nick answered.


    The man just kept nodding.


    "Makes sense," he uttered as he went to the page detailing Nick''s academic points.


    The man looked at the page for quite a while.


    "That actually makes a lot of sense, considering your background."


    Nick just nodded.


    Finally, the man looked at the page detailing the Specter points.


    When the man saw the 35 points in the focus category, he furrowed his brows.


    "Usually, getting 35 points in danger, pain, or focus is a bad thing, not a good thing. Can you exin why you went for the level five in focus but not the other two?" the man asked.


    "Because it''s not risky to work with the execution wall," Nick said.


    After that, Nick exined what method he used to work with it.


    The man leaned back as he listened to Nick.


    "That actually makes a lot of sense. Seems like the Aductress didn''t consider that before bringing that Specter here," the supervisor said. "I mean, she''s an Agent, not a Chief Zephyx Extractor. It actually makes sense that you would find a better way to work with it. I guess that was your job for the majority of your life." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Nick just nodded.


    Nick might not have as much experience as the Aductress, but when it came to finding ways to work with Specters, not many people couldpare to him.


    "Alright, so," the supervisor said after closing Nick''s file. "There''s not really anything you can improve with your fitness. I don''t think it''s possible to improve your physical statistics without using any abilities. As long as you can keep your current score, you''re good."


    Nick nodded.


    "The same thing is true for your battle points. Don''t make this public, but the highest points in the battle and Specter categories are only there to filter out people with an unhealthy level of ambition. I can''t tell you what the seventh level of battle is, but what I can tell you is that it is dumb. Really dumb and stupidly dangerous."


    Nick nodded again.


    "Your Specter points are also as good as they can possibly get. There''s no need for you to improve yourself in that regard."


    "I guess the only thing you can do is to improve your academic points, but I don''t think I need to tell you that. You seem to have everything under control," the supervisor said casually.


    "I do," Nick answered.


    "Alright. So, is there anything you want to talk about specifically?" he asked.


    "There is one thing, actually," Nick said.


    The man nodded, telling Nick to continue talking.


    "Level three of battle. The little girl."


    "Yes?" the man asked.


    "After I defeated her and the green light appeared, she used me of lying about my level and attacked me with her actual power," Nick said. "If I were weaker, she would have killed me. I don''t think having a Late or Peak Elder attacking Initial and Early Experts with all of its power is appropriate for level three."


    The man''s eyes widened, and he took a deep breath.


    "Please, tell me exactly what happened," he requested.


    Nick did just that.


    After Nick was done talking about it, the supervisor grimaced.


    That was a fuck-up on their part.


    That should never have happened.


    "Sorry about that," the supervisor said. "I am going to tell the Aductress, and we are going to act ordingly. Most likely, we are going to rece it with a different one."


    "Is there anything else?"


    Nick shook his head. "No, that''s everything."


    The supervisor nodded once. "I think keeping you here for four years is a waste. Would you be okay with staying here for one year to learn a bit more about academia before advancing to level two? Level two has more hands-on experiences."


    "That sounds good," Nick said.


    "Good. Then, we''re going to proceed like this," the man said before standing up and extending his hand.


    Nick also stood up, and the two of them shook their hands.


    "See you in a month for your next review," the supervisor said with a respectful nod.


    Nick nodded back. "See you."

 Chapter 579 – First Level

    Chapter 579 ¨C First Level


    After Nick left the office, he went to check up on the Specters he could buy ess to with points.


    While his main priority was increasing his expertise in many academic fields, he also needed to advance in his level.


    When Nick entered the hallway with these kinds of Specters, he was surprised to find over 30 of them.


    Compared to the test Specters, these Specters were not kept secret, and all the information about them was disyed in front of their Containment Units.


    After looking at a few of them, Nick saw that the prices were dependent on three factors.


    How easy it was to work with the Specter.


    How long one session of work took.


    How much Zephyx the Specter produced.


    A Specter that was hard or painful to work with was not as expensive as one that was easy to work with.


    Of course, time was also a factor. If someone needed 18 hours to work with a Specter, they would barely have time for anything else.


    Lastly, the amount of Zephyx was also important. While there was a limit to how much an Extractor could absorb in a day, that limit was quite high.


    Most Extractors needed to work with three or four Specters to reach that limit unless the Specters gave a lot of Zephyx.


    These three attributes decided the price one had to pay to work with a Specter.


    In general, one bought ess to a Specter on a monthly basis.


    Of course, since others might also want to work with the Specter, one didn''t have ess the entire time but fixed shifts during which they could work.


    The prices varied highly.


    The cheapest Specter cost five points for the entire month and was basically as good as the level one test Specters.


    The only positive thing about these Specters was that much fewer people would be working with them.


    From what Nick had heard, most of the experienced people worked with the Specters, which cost ten to fifteen points.


    If one didn''t care about a bit of pain, one could fulfill one''s daily quota with only two of those Specters while not using more than eight hours.


    However, that required paying 20 to 30 points per month.


    80% to 90% of people did not have that many points, considering that they had to keep 50 of them to stay here.


    The truly talented trainees could afford the Specters, which cost 50 points.


    There were only three of them, but they all gave a lot of Zephyx while only needing two hours of work, at most.


    Then, there was one Specter that cost 100 points.


    In order to get ess to that Specter, one needed 150 points in total or more.


    Getting that was already very difficult.


    For example, Cynthia probably earned a good 50 points from academia alone and another 40 points from the Specters.


    However, her Battle-Strength and fitness levels were probably just a bit above average, giving her 20 points in each, at most.


    That would put her at barely 130 points, which wouldn''t be enough.


    While Mendor achieved even more points in academia, his physical power was even weaker.


    He most likely also couldn''t get 150 points.


    The only person Nick knew who could realistically get 150 points was Steve, but it was probably close.


    This 100-point Specter was obviously reserved for only the top 1% or 0.5% of all trainees.


    Nick walked up to the entrance and spent his points on it.


    100 points was not even a third of his total.


    He walked through the door and entered the locker room.


    The locker room looked pretty normal, except for a bunch of basins stacked near the wall.


    Nick walked over to one of the basins and pushed it under a hole in the wall.


    Then, he pulled a lever.


    The next moment, a wave of white objects tumbled out of the wall, falling into the basin.


    When the basin was full, Nick looked at it.


    It was filled with bones.


    Animal bones and human bones.


    There were about 50 kg of bones in the basin.


    Nick lifted the basin and approached the employee entrance of the Containment Unit.


    The entrance opened, and Nick walked in.


    As soon as he entered, he saw a pile of bones in the middle of the room.


    On top of the pile of bones were three upper halves of human skulls with ghostly light in their eye sockets.


    The lights seemed to follow Nick as he walked through the room.


    Oooohhh.


    A ghostly wail echoed throughout the Containment Unit.


    Nick walked up to the pile of bones and poured the bones over it.


    OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!


    The wail became way louder, and it sounded almost orgasmic.


    It seemed like the pile really, really liked the bones.


    A momentter, smoke came out of the bones, and they started to vanish.


    It was like they were slowly turning into fine mist.


    While this was happening, Nick felt an avnche of Zephyx filling the Containment Unit.


    Just based on the amount of Zephyx, Nick could tell that this was, at least, a Fanatic.


    And it was not a weak Fanatic.


    ''No wonder this thing gives off so much Zephyx,'' Nick thought.


    Within five minutes, all the bones vanished, and the three heads looked at Nick.


    Nick almost felt like they were begging him to bring them more bones.


    "Tomorrow," Nick said. "You get another load tomorrow."


    Ooooohhh.


    Then, Nick turned around and exited the Containment Unit.


    That was it.


    The ultimate Specter when viewed from an Extractor''s perspective. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    It didn''t attack.


    It didn''t move.


    It gave a ton of Zephyx.


    The only work one needed to do was to lift and empty a basin.


    And it barely took five minutes.


    ''In a way, this reminds me of the Dung Heap,'' Nick thought as he put the empty basin back. ''Just better. It even has a simr name, the Bone Heap.''


    After dealing with the Bone Heap, Nick went back to the main hall.


    Naturally, the discussion was still going on, and Nick went back to join.


    Nick learned a lot over the next couple of days.


    Then, he went back to earn his points again.


    Once a month, everyone had to earn most of their points again.


    Nick made good progress in his math exam, cracking the 40% on the first test without having to think for several hours.


    He also made a bit of progress in Zephology.


    His history exam was also far better, thanks to his trade.


    Otherwise, everything basically remained the same.


    These were big topics, and Nick would need a while to make progress in them.


    The fitness test went over rather quickly.


    Luckily, he didn''t need to repeat the battle portion.


    Earning the battle points was dangerous, and if one had already proven themselves, there was no need to prove themselves again.


    Anytime someone fought a Specter, there was a non-zero chance of death.


    However, Nick had to work with all of the Specters again, but he decided against going all out.


    He worked with the level five of focus Specter again since it wasn''t dangerous to him and since he didn''t need to earn his qualifications again.


    But he skipped levels three and four of pain.


    There was no reason to go through so much pain again when he really didn''t need the points.


    So, Nick earned about ten points less in total this month, but he was still above 300.


    Every day, he also paid a visit to the Bone Heap to shower it with a couple more bones.


    For the remainder of the time, Nick went and exchanged his knowledge with Cynthia, Mendor, and Steve.


    Sometimes, Nick just randomly took a couple of tests to find things that he didn''t know yet.


    After around two months, most people already knew Nick.


    The vast majority had never talked to him, but they had listened to him talk to others, and they felt like he was a pretty cool guy.


    Although, that was to be expected since all of them benefited from him.


    Many of them even walked up to Nick to teach him a couple of things without expecting any repayment.


    They liked him, and they felt good when they helped him.


    It was a genuine cooperation.


    As more and more time passed, Nick had to put a tick in the "learned from another person" field in the tests much more often.


    However, Nick saw that as a good thing.


    It didn''t matter from where he had learned something.


    It only mattered that he knew much more than before.


    Eventually, Nick stayed here for almost an entire year.


    Nick was now 38 years old, and he would soon advance to the second level.


    Nick had seen an incredible number of traineese and vanish within the month.


    Most of them were very distrustful of everything around them, viewing the entire trainee camp as a brutalpetition.


    To them, putting others down meant getting ahead.


    Sadly, that was exactly what Aegis didn''t want.


    And finally, Nick''s Barrier turned yellow.


    It was time for him to leave.

 Chapter 580 – Second Level

    Chapter 580 ¨C Second Level


    Nick left the hall, saying goodbye to a couple of people. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Over thest year, he got to know a few of them on a surface level.


    They had talked from time to time, but they had never truly been friends.


    Whenever any of them asked Nick about his personal life or his beliefs, he avoided the topic.


    Nick was not the biggest fan of making actual connections.


    Every connection he made didn''t work out.


    However, as long as some distance remained between them, Nick could work together with them without any problems urring.


    After leaving the hall, he already noticed the supervisor.


    This supervisor was one of two people responsible for the first level of the trainee program.


    The supervisor nodded at Nick, and they walked down one of the hallways.


    "Did you say your goodbyes?" the supervisor asked.


    "I did," Nick answered.


    "How do you feel?"


    "As always."


    The supervisor nodded. "I get it. It''s probably nothing special to you."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    The two of them approached the door at the end of the hallway, and the supervisor''s Barrier shone for a moment.


    The door opened, and Nick saw the corridor behind it.


    It looked like any other corridor.


    White and bereft of anything of note.


    However, Nick hadn''t been here before, which made this corridor just a slight bit special to him.


    The two of them walked over to a door, and the supervisor knocked politely.


    A momentter, the door opened, and the two entered.


    "Here is Nick Dusk, Aductress," he spoke politely.


    The green-haired and serious woman looked up from a sheet of paper she was reading and looked at Nick.


    "Dismissed," she spoke without looking at the supervisor.


    "Good luck," the supervisor mouthed with a little smirk to Nick before turning around and leaving.


    The door behind Nick closed.


    Silence.


    The Aductress just looked at Nick with a serious expression.


    "Are you proud of your achievements?" she asked in a neutral voice.


    "No," Nick answered evenly.


    "Why not?" she asked as if she had expected the answer. "Breaking the point record seems like something most people would be proud of."


    "Because it''s meaningless to me," Nick said. "I am not a trainee. I already led an entire city for five years."


    "I don''t need practice in a school. Points and grades are meaningless to my situation."


    The Aductress looked at Nick with a neutral expression.


    Nick couldn''t be sure what she was thinking about.


    "What have you learned over thest year?" she asked suddenly.


    "I learned a lot about academia," Nick answered.


    Silence.


    "And?" the Aductress asked expectantly.


    "That''s it," Nick said.


    The Aductress frowned.


    "What about teamy and unity?" she asked.


    "I already knew that," Nick answered.


    The Aductress looked at Nick with a strict frown.


    Usually, she would believe this to be baseless arrogance by a spoiled youngster.


    However, she knew about Nick''s background.


    In his case, this might as well be true.


    "Luckily for you, the second part of the training is different from the first," she said after a bit. "Has your supervisor told you about the second part yet?"


    "No," Nick answered. "He told me you would tell me everything I needed to know."


    The Aductress nodded once.


    "The second part of the trainee program is for gathering experience in the outside world. You will join a team of four and will be put under a tutor. The tutor will act as the supervisor of your squad. They will not directly partake in missions, but they will be nearby to oversee everything."


    "Your group of four is supposed to work on its own toplete different missions. Some missions are artificial, with artificial Specters and artificial rebels. Some missions are genuine."


    "Most of the time, you will not be told if the mission is genuine or artificial, and in these cases, you are supposed to treat the mission as genuine. Sometimes, you will be told. That will mostly happen when your targets are humans."


    When the Aductress spoke thatst line, she looked at Nick closely.


    Nick didn''t show any reactions.


    Almost all trainees showed nervousness or fear when the Aductress told them that they were supposed to kill humans in some missions.


    Yet, Nick didn''t bat an eye.


    Just based on that, the Aductress could tell that Nick had killed many people before.


    "You will not be on missions every day," she continued. "The vast majority of the time, you will be stationed in a stronghold or a city. During these times, you are technically free to do whatever you want, but it is expected of you to maximize your sess rate in any potential future mission by training with your teammates."


    "ess to Specters will be granted, and you are expected to advance at the fastest possible pace during your training."


    "The second stage of the trainee program will continue until you are a Specialist."


    "Do you understand?" she asked.


    Nick nodded.


    "Are there any other trainees that you know and would like on your team?"


    Nick thought a little bit about that question.


    "Cynthia Mason, Mendor Orlen, and Steve Werkling," Nick said, remembering the three trainees he had met during his first two weeks.


    Nick remembered them specifically because they had all sessfully worked with at least one level four Specter.


    Additionally, they also had simr advancement dates.


    Lastly, their knowledge was also specialized in different fields, and on top of that, they had different weapons and different fighting styles.


    Although, it was important to note that Cynthia and Mendor were just average when it came to Battle-Strength.


    But that wouldn''t be so important since Nick would take care of most of the battles on his own.


    They were more useful for their unique abilities, scouting, information gathering, and support.


    A squad needed to do more than just fight.


    "I''ve had requests from them too," the Aductress said. "They also named you when I asked them."


    "It''s not umon for a squad to form during the first part of the program. In general, we support the existence of these squads."


    "Starting at the second part of the program, we are interested in the sess of your missions and want you to seed as many times as possible. Fostering a natural squad, like yours, is a good investment."


    "In another month, thest member of your squad will advance. At that point, I will create your squad and assign a tutor. Until then, you are free to talk with the other trainees and work with the local Specters."


    The Aductress pulled out a silver box and put it on the table.


    "These are your belongings. Only your Barrier has ess to them. Nothing should be missing," she said.


    Nick opened the box and checked through the contents.


    Everything was here.


    His old Barrier.


    His uniform.


    Everything.


    "For now, I want you to hold onto your trainee uniform," the Aductress ordered. "Walking around in your Liaison uniform will make it difficult for my staff to properly work with you."


    Naturally, the Aductress was afraid of any potential rule exceptions Nick might gain due to his rank as Liaison.


    After all, he technically outranked the tutor since the tutors had the same level of authority as a Governor.


    "Otherwise, you may use whatever you own. You also are allowed to keep your current Barrier, but you are not required to use it anymore. Your own Barrier should have all the permissions you need and more."


    Nick pocketed his belongings and exchanged his Barriers.


    His actual Barrier was much better than his trainee Barrier.


    Nick was also d that he finally had ess to his Space Bag again.


    The next moment, the Aductress put a booklet onto the table. "This is a guide to the second part of the trainee program. Read it as soon as you have an opportunity. You will find everything you need to know in there."


    "Thank you," Nick said as he grabbed the booklet.


    "Dismissed," the Aductress said.


    Nick nodded once and left the office.


    That was it.


    Nick found himself alone in an unknown hallway.


    There was nobody there to escort him anywhere.


    This alone demonstrated the difference between trainees of different levels.


    Trainees of the first level were not allowed to roam around randomly, and they were not allowed to leave their trainee area.


    Yet, trainees of the second level were technically not confined anywhere.


    These trainees had already proven that they were talented and that their mindset suited Aegis.


    One could say that trainees of the first level were applicants, while trainees of the second level were actual trainees.


    They actually belonged to Aegis now.


    Nick opened the guide and read through it as soon as he left the Aductress''s office.


    ''Sure enough, the rules are no longer strict. In fact, they''re quite basic,'' he thought.


    This guide was a lot shorter than the one for first-level trainees since there were far fewer restrictions.


    Near the end of the guide, Nick found a map of most of Aegis'' headquarters.


    He also saw where he had to go next.


    There was an area for second-level trainees.

 Chapter 581 – Tutor

    Chapter 581 ¨C Tutor


    A door opened, and someone entered the room.


    Inside the room were four people.


    One of them was a young and small woman with ck hair, who exuded a serious aura. On her belt were two guns.


    This was Cynthia.


    Another one was a taller man with red hair, who seemed quite casual and rxed. On his back, he carried a long sniper rifle.


    This was Mendor.


    The third person was a smaller man with long and green hair. He seemed constantly angry or annoyed, and he wore two rapiers on his belt.


    This was Steve.


    Thest person was a taller man with ck hair. He had a muscr and wide frame, and his expression seemed neutral but exuded quiet confidence. He didn''t seem to carry any weapons with him.


    This was Nick.


    The person that just entered the room was really small, maybe barely reaching 145 centimeters in height. It was a woman with red hair, wearing the uniform of a Governor.


    If one only looked at her appearance, one would think this was a man.


    She had short hair, and her body reached the peak of athleticism.


    However, the fact that she was a woman was only really discernible due to her small height.


    If one only looked at her appearance, one would think this was a man.


    She had short hair, and her body reached the peak of athleticism.


    In a funny way, one could say that she looked like a man and a woman had a child.


    Her narrowed eyes focused on everyone present with intensity.


    She seemed just as annoyed and ready to explode as Steve.


    "Gather," she ordered with an authoritative voice.


    The four trainees walked over to their tutor and waited.


    "I am the tutor of this squad," she spoke with a voice that was obviously forced lower than it was naturally. "I have been told that you four have voluntarily formed this squad. Is that correct?"


    They nodded.


    "Aegis does not mandate an exchange of personal history between members, but this is my squad, and I want my squad members to know about each other when they are going to trust their teammates with their open backs."


    "Do you know each other''s backgrounds?" she asked.


    At that point, the trainees furrowed their brows and looked at each other with uncertainty.


    Nick just shook his head.


    "We are going to change that," the woman said. "You are going to be working together for over a decade, and I want you guys to be familiar with each other."


    "Aegis does not mandate an exchange of personal history between members, but this is my squad, and I want my squad members to know about each other when they are going to trust their teammates with their open backs."


    "I will start," she said. "My name is Shirley nders, and I am currently an Initial Hero. I have been with Aegis for 50 years, and I joined as a trainee, just like you."


    "I went through the first stage and learned what it meant to join Aegis. I went through the second stage and gathered experience. After that, I went through the third stage and found the best way I can contribute to Aegis."


    "While I am no longer a trainee, you could view this as the fourth stage of being a trainee. I went through the same things you went through, and now, it''s my duty to teach you what I have been taught."


    "You," Shirley said with an authoritative voice as she pointed at Cynthia. "Introduce yourself."


    Cynthia felt like she was put on the spot a little, but she was used to much worse situations.


    "My name is Cynthia Mason, and I am an Early Expert. I worked for Malthazar, the biggest Manufacturer in Brown Land City before I joined Aegis. I fight with two guns, and I am an all-rounder," she said with confidence.


    After Cynthia was done introducing herself, Shirley wordlessly turned to Mendor.


    "Hi, I''m Mendor Orlen," he said with a casual smile and a chipper voice. He felt that the atmosphere was a bit ufortable, and his first instinct in such situations was to lighten the mood with a bit ofughter.


    "I lived in Istion Stone City most of my life. I worked for a team of Aegis'' researchers for many years near the big ruins close to our city, and I got into Aegis via nepotism, you could say."


    Mendor awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Oh, and I also fight with a sniper, if you haven''t noticed yet."


    No one really cared about the nepotism aspect.


    Nepotism was kind of a prerequisite to get in here in the first ce.


    After that, Shirley turned to Steve, who looked back with a serious expression.


    "My name is Steve Werkling, and I worked for Treehouse, the biggest Manufacturer of Water Brain City. I fight with two rapiers, and I focus on a fast, efficient, and evasive fighting style. I am a Bruiser, an Assassin, and a Runner."


    "Oh yeah," Mendor said as he remembered something. "I''m-"


    "A Sniper," Steve interjected. "We know."


    "Hey!" Mendor answered in an insulted tone. "Not everyone-"


    "Quiet!" Shirley interjected with authority. "I don''t need more introductions from the two of you."


    Then, she turned to Nick. "Proceed."


    The other two decided to stop talking.


    "My name is Nick Dusk," Nick said evenly. "I worked as the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream in Crimson City. I fight with des and asionally throwing spears. I am an Assassin, a Runner, and a Senser."


    The other three already knew a slight bit about Nick''s background, but Shirley didn''t seem to know about it yet.


    "You were a Chief Zephyx Extractor?" she asked with doubt.


    Nick nodded. "Me and another guy created Dark Dream together, and I was the Chief Zephyx Extractor for about 15 years."


    "Why are you not a Chief Zephyx Extractor anymore?" Shirley asked.


    Apparently, Shirley was only interested in Nick''s background.


    She wasn''t sure about all of this.


    "Dark Dream fused with another Manufacturer called Sce, creating Sky Dream. Sce''s CZE became Sky Dream''s CZE. I officially started working for Aegis shortly after the merger," Nick exined.


    Shirley narrowed her eyes.


    She wasn''t sure about all of this.


    It sounded like Nick was sugarcoating what happened.


    It sounded like Sce had consumed Dark Dream and acted like it was a merger.


    Naturally, when something like this happened, the old leaders were usually thrown out to make the employees loyal to the new leaders.


    What Nick said sounded exactly like that. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    But then, how did Nick end up here?


    He had to be below 50 years of age if he managed to join the trainee program.


    Well, technically, it was possible to be an Expert before reaching the age of 50 without taking the Elixir. One just had to work with perfect efficiency and start their career very young.


    It was rare that people joined without consuming the Elixir, but it was possible.


    "Good," Shirley said, ending the conversation. She didn''t want to pry too much. "I am going to be your tutor starting today. I will assign missions to you, and I will follow you from a distance. I will not get involved in any of the missions directly except in the case that you face a threat that is obviously beyond your powers tobat."


    "There will be artificial and genuine missions, and the sess of all of them hingespletely on you."


    "If you have a genuine mission to save a bunch of people from a Specter and fail, those people will die. I will not get involved. Even if people''s lives are at stake."


    "You are already more powerful than 99% of all living humans, and you already carry the responsibility of their lives on your shoulders. You are the ones that defend humanity from the Specters."


    "You have to realize this responsibility and live up to it!"


    The four squad members nodded.


    "The first thing I want to do is to learn more about the way you fight. I am going to have a private conversation with each and every one of you to keep most of your fighting style and abilities confidential," Shirley said.


    And then, just as she said, she invited them all into her office one by one and asked them several questions.


    What were they good at?


    What position were they mostfortable in?


    How much experience in battle did they have?


    Based on the answers, Shirley created a line-up for the squad.


    "Mendor will be the squad''s Sniper and will be positioned far in the back. His entire battle style is focused on delivering few but very deadly shots," she said.


    Mendor nodded with satisfaction.


    "Cynthia will be stationed in the middle as a Flex. She will support the front or the back, depending on who needs help. She is decent at everything and has a wide variety of skills, useful in many different situations."


    Cynthia nodded.


    "Steve will be stationed at the front as a Bruiser and mainbat force. Steve will be doing the bulk of fighting due to his strong focus on and great experiences in battle."


    Steve nodded.


    "Nick will be our Scout. He has a lot of experience in the real world of Extractors, is very fast, and can stay hidden very well. Additionally, he has ways to find Specters and people, which make him a Senser as well."


    Nick nodded.


    At that point, Mendor and Cynthia silently looked at Nick with raised brows.


    They didn''t know the details, but they had thought that Nick was about as powerful as Steve.


    Apparently, that was not the case.


    The main reason for Nick''s position was one question.


    "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your Battle-Strength?" Shirley had asked.


    Mendor had said five.


    Cynthia had said six.


    Steve had said 9.5.


    Nick had said eight.


    So, Steve was put as the main fighting force.


    And Nick was the Scout.

 Chapter 582 – The Bird Watcher

    Chapter 582 ¨C The Bird Watcher


    "Thank you for arriving so quickly!" an older man shouted with a grateful voice as he politely bowed.


    "What''s the situation?" Steve asked in a serious voice. Nick, Cynthia, and Mendor were standing behind him.


    Almost immediately, the man pulled out a big map, which he then put into a slot in his Barrier.


    DING!


    The next moment, an image was projected into the space in front of him.


    Nick had never seen any Barriers with such a function, but he had heard that different cities had different technologies.


    Some things that were normal in one city might bepletely unimaginable in other cities.


    The squad looked at the projected map.


    On the top right of the map was the name of the city.


    Country Roads City.


    Country Roads City did not have a megastructure, but it had a lot of space.


    It was made of many different buildings, the tallest one being only 50 meters high. On top of that, each building had a rtively great amount ofnd.


    Apparently, because of the most powerful Specter in the city, the city was forced to have a low poption density.


    Because of that low poption density, the city was essentially filled withnd and roads.


    From end to end, the city was probably around ten kilometers wide.


    Country Roads City was not a very technologically innovative city, but it still had a couple of specialties.


    "Just yesterday," the man said as he pointed at a part of the map, "I gave my Chief Zephyx Extractor the official order to capture and contain the Specter we have been watching for several weeks now."


    "As far as we know, the Specter has the power to muddle the minds of any nearby human, turning their minds into those of children. Since the first thing these victims paid attention to were the birds flying in the sky, we decided to call the Specter the Birdwatcher."


    "The Specter looks like an old and confused man without any eyes, and it usually stands in the middle of a deep cavern."


    The man took a deep breath. "My Chief Zephyx Extractor did not return, which is why I called you."


    Steve nodded.


    For today, he would be the leader.


    Shirley wanted to give everyone several chances to lead the squad over the following years to see if anyone was particrly talented in leading the group.


    Sure, she could also just look at the leadership points in the academic portion of the first level for trainees, but knowing something and being able to put something into practice were different things.


    Because of that, she wanted to see all of them lead the team at different times.


    She chose Steve first since he seemed like a dependable and powerful person.


    "How powerful is your CZE?" Steve asked.


    "Peak Veteran with apleted Shell," the man said.


    "How powerful is the Specter, presumably?" Steve asked.


    "We believe it''s an Initial Elder."


    ''Risky,'' Nick thought. ''I guess the stronger Manufacturers in this city refuse to give the CZE of this smallerpany an opportunity to advance his ability. I can''t imagine any other reason why they would want to capture that Specter before advancing.''


    Naturally, Steve had the same thought, but he knew that they weren''t here to judge the CEO''s actions.


    They were here to save the CZE and deal with the Specter.


    Country Roads City was one of the cities that had a training agreement with Aegis.


    Contacting Aegis from this city was much easier than for other cities, and even Veterans, unaffiliated with Aegis, could contact Aegis from here.


    In these kinds of cities, any person with enough wealth could request help from Aegis regarding an Elder threat or lower.


    Aegis would arrive with a squad of trainees and deal with the threat while handing the eventual rewards to the requester.


    Of course, the squad would also get paid extremely well for their work.


    Alternatively, people could also create fake scenarios and send them to Aegis.


    If Aegis thought that the fake scenario would be good practice for one of its squads, it would send one of the squads there to deal with it as well.


    The only difference was that Aegis would be the side that paid the requester, not the other way around.


    Aegis'' fees were exorbitant, but sometimes, it was still worth it.


    If a Manufacturer asked a bigger Manufacturer for help, the bigger Manufacturer might just kill the captured Extractors while keeping the Specters for themselves.


    With Aegis, that wouldn''t happen.


    Naturally, the biggest Manufacturers of these kinds of cities never called for a trainee squad from Aegis.


    These Manufacturers had Specialists and sometimes even Heroes.


    They didn''t need a group of Experts.


    "How certain are you that it''s an Initial Elder?" Steve asked.


    "Around 70%?" the CEO answered, stating it like a question.


    Steve looked at the marked spot on the map and nodded. "We''re going to deal with this."


    "Thank you!" the CEO said respectfully.


    Then, Steve turned to his team and gestured to get going.


    The four of them shot towards the distance and ran towards the east.


    Steve was running in front, while Nick was running between him and the remainder of the team.


    Cynthia and Mendor were running behind him, and while Cynthia seemed to be able to keep up, Mendor seemed to be at his limit when it came to speed.


    "Nick, you''re out of line. Front!" Steve ordered, his voiceing out of Nick''s Barrier.


    Nick''s expression didn''t change. ''I am here on purpose because you''re running too fast for the other two, leaving us open,'' he thought with annoyance.


    Nevertheless, Nick was not the leader, and he decided to follow orders.


    Nick easily overtook Steve and charged at the front.


    After Nick overtook him, Steve looked at Nick with fiery eyes.


    Was this some kind of power y?


    Was Nick trying to disy his superiority by overtaking him with such ease and speed?!


    Steve grew suspicious and angry.


    Meanwhile, Nick didn''t even really pay attention to Steve and focused on the front.


    He was the Scout, and it was his job to scout.


    "I''m going under to scout," Nick said, his voiceing out of Steve''s Barrier.


    Steve looked at Nick''s back with furrowed brows but didn''t answer.


    The next moment, Nick jumped behind a big rock, and Steve lost sight of him. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Steve and the team passed by the rock, but they couldn''t find Nick anywhere anymore.


    It was like he was gone!


    "Nick, report!" Steve ordered with a serious voice.


    "I''m here," Nick''s voice came out of the Barrier.


    "Where?" Steve asked with annoyance.


    "I can''t give you a visible signal without attracting attention from any possible third party."


    Steve gritted his teeth.


    Nick was ying with him!


    Was he taunting Steve with his ability to remain hidden?!


    Was he trying to show Steve that he was a better Assassin?!


    Steve was furious at Nick, butpared to the undisciplined and rebellious Nick, he refused to act in an unprofessional manner during a mission.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t doing anything like that.


    He literally just did exactly what he said he would do.


    As long as he was hidden, Nick''s ability would activate, and he would know if somebody was looking at him or not.


    After some seconds, the team arrived in front of the entrance to the cavern.


    The cavern entrance was almost 20 meters high and 50 meters wide.


    While the entrance of the cavern was pretty bright, it quickly became darker and darker the further one went into it.


    The three looked at the cavern.


    "Nick, scout out the cavern. Locate the target and give feedback," Steve ordered.


    "Affirmative," Nick answered.


    Nick was still hidden. So, Steve wasn''t exactly sure if Nick was actually inside the cave or not.


    For around 30 seconds, Steve just looked at the entrance of the cavern.


    Steve grew angrier as more time passed.


    Eventually, he activated hismunication device again.


    "What''s your-"


    Booom!


    The entire cavern suddenly shook.


    Booom! Booom!


    In just one second, several quakes thundered through the cavern.


    "Charge in!" Steve ordered.


    A secondter, all their Barriers activated and started to give off light.


    At the same time, they felt their Zephyx draining.


    The light from these Barriers could only shine for about two minutes before they used up too much Zephyx.


    However, two minutes was a lot of time for a group of Experts.


    They immediately entered the cavern and then-


    They stopped as a light approached them, followed by several people in Extractor uniforms.


    They immediately entered the cavern and then-


    They stopped as a light approached them, followed by several people in Extractor uniforms.


    As soon as Steve saw the light, his rage exploded.


    "Nick! You broke my orders!" Steve shouted. "I explicitly ordered you to only scout! You were not to engage the enemy!"


    Nick arrived in front of Steve and looked at him silently as the confused people behind him looked around.


    The next moment, Nick dumped a severed torso on the ground, not taking his eyes off Steve.


    "I had no choice," Nick said neutrally. "Your voice alerted the enemy to my presence, and I had to engage."

 Chapter 583 – Steves Issues

    Chapter 583 ¨C Steve''s Issues


    As soon as Nick exined what had happened, Steve''s rage vanished.


    It was like a bucket of cold water was emptied over him.


    His angry sneer turned into shock.


    And then, it turned into anger again, but this time, his anger was directed inward.


    He knew he had messed up, and he felt like the biggest idiot.


    "Sorry," Steve said in a low voice. "Let''s go back to the tutor. You can exin the details there."


    Nick wasn''t surprised by Steve''s reaction.


    Steve might have forgotten himself at the moment due to all of the pressure and uncertainty surrounding him, but he was still an adult with decades of experience.


    He could see that his anger was misced and that he had messed up.


    Was Nick angry?


    Of course.


    One of Nick''s teammates had uncovered his spot due to idiocy, putting him in potentially life-threatening danger.


    However, Nick could also see that Steve did not do it on purpose.


    Was Steve an asshole?


    Yes.


    Did Steve try way too hard to seem impressive?


    Yes.


    Did Steve want to kill Nick?


    No.


    He just lost control.


    Naturally, Nick''s anger told him to give Steve a good punch.


    Of course, such a punch would feel amazing and incredibly relieving.


    But that was not how adults solved conflicts.


    This was how teenagers solved conflicts.


    Nick walked past Steve, and the ten people behind him followed him.


    He left the torso on the ground, and Steve picked it up a momentter.


    The Specter''s core was inside the torso, but it had be way too weak to use its ability.


    Additionally, it had very quickly realized that further resisting Nick would kill it.


    It had seen into the minds of many people, and it could tell that Nick would kill it if it made things any more difficult.


    Lastly, it knew that its ability wouldn''t work on Nick.


    Why not?


    The answer was actually rather simple.


    Nick''s Barrier.


    The Bird Watcher''s ability could get through most Barriers, but Nick''s Barrier was far too advanced.


    As soon as the Bird Watcher had seen Nick, it had tried to pull him into its domain, but Nick''s Barrier simply activated, and the Bird Watcher''s ability was stopped.


    In fact, the Barriers of the other three trainees would also block the ability.


    While their Barriers were not nearly as good as Nick''s Barrier, they were still vastly superior to the Barriers of almost every person living in Country Roads City.


    The four of them stepped out of the cavern while the ten people behind them started to slowly regain some rity of mind.


    Four of them had been in the haze of dementia for a day, while the others had been inside it for years.


    It was a bit difficult to regain one''s faculties after such an experience.


    But that wasn''t Nick''s job.


    Some timeter, the group arrived back at the Manufacturer that had given them the mission, and they saw Shirley standing beside the CEO.


    When the CEO saw his CZE, he looked like the perfect representation of relief one could paint.


    He even almost fell to the ground.


    There was no denying that this had been a real mission, not an artificial one.


    The group gave the confused Extractors to the CEO and said their goodbyes.


    Shirley had already collected the payment.


    Finally, the group left Country Roads City and stopped on a random rock several kilometers away.


    The squad gathered in front of Shirley, who focused on Steve. "Report!" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "We arrived in Country Roads City at¡­"


    Steve began to retell everything that had happened that day, including his talk with the CEO and the exact words exchanged between him and his team.


    He also came clean about his mistake and urately reported what error he hadmitted.


    In the end, Shirley nodded with a neutral expression. "How would you rate your performance?"


    "Zero," Steve said.


    "Why?" Shirley asked.


    "My idiocy has unnecessarily endangered one of my teammates," he answered.


    Shirley nodded once again.


    Then, she turned to Nick. "How would you rate his performance?" she asked.


    Steve prepared himself.


    "Three out of ten," Nick said.


    This surprised Steve, and his serious expression gave way to a shocked one.


    "Why?" Shirley asked.


    "While we do know each other, we have not been on a mission before," Nick exined. "He did not know what kind of ability I have or if I am reliable on a mission or not. He asked for more information a couple of times because he didn''t have a read on me."


    "One mistake was that instead of trusting me, he mistrusted me. Another error was that he didn''t ask the requester for more information. We did not know how deep the cavern is or how many people were around the Specter."


    "He sent me in without a backup n and told me to find the Specter. He did not tell me what I should do with that information. Naturally, the worst part was that his voice unveiled me and put me in danger."


    "However, when confronted, he epted the truth and realized his mistake. He made a horrible mistake, but he also did a couple of things correctly. Additionally, there was no real malice in his actions."


    "Therefore, it''s a three out of ten. Still uneptable, but not horrendously atrocious," Nick exined calmly.


    Nick''s words had a mixed effect on Steve.


    On the one hand, he felt relieved that Nick didn''tpletely obliterate him with criticism, but on the other hand, Nick''s cold and factual evaluation ringed with nothing but truth, having no hint of exaggeration.


    Naturally, that made the feedback sting that much more.


    Shirley nodded and turned to Cynthia. "How would you rate his performance?"


    "One out of ten," she said coldly with narrowed eyes. "Putting your teammates at risk is the worst thing you can do as a leader."


    Then, Shirley turned to Mendor.


    Mendor just smiled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I think the others said enough."


    Shirley just nodded.


    Mendor obviously didn''t want to get involved in the drama.


    Finally, Shirley turned to Steve. "You heard it yourself. You did not perform well today."


    Steve didn''t answer.


    "Try to do better the next time."


    Steve furrowed his brows. "Tutor, I''m not certain that there should be a next time."


    "What?" Shirley asked with a snort. "You believe that every leader who puts one of their people''s lives at risk should never be a leader again? If that''s true, we wouldn''t have any leaders left."


    Shirley turned to Nick. "Have you put one of your people''s life needlessly at risk before?"


    Nick immediately nodded.


    He had done that many times.


    Back when he had walked around with his team on the mountain before being ambushed by the Abductor.


    When he had sent weaker Extractors to work with stronger Specters.


    "Mistakes happen," Shirley said, looking back at Steve. "The important thing is that you learn from them. You are a trainee, not an executive. You are here to train. Making mistakes is more forgivable in your situation than in any other."


    "Take this as a learning opportunity."


    Steve just nodded with a frown.


    The things that Nick and Shirley had said made sense, but that didn''t improve the burning feeling of self-hatred raging inside his chest.


    He had let his emotions take control of him, which led to a horrible mistake.


    He believed that he was stronger than that.


    "Steve," Shirley said with a different tone.


    Steve looked up.


    "It might not be my ce, but I have been in a very simr situation to you in the past," Shirley spoke in a polite, firm, but also gentle voice. "If you are willing to talk about some troubling things, you are free to look for me in my office."


    "I am here to teach all of you, and that includes teaching you about dealing with personal issues as well."


    Steve didn''t lookfortable. "Sure," he answered.


    Yet, that sure might as well have been a no.


    Shirley did her best to suppress a sigh. "We''re going back!"


    The team nodded, and everyone started the journey back to Aegis'' headquarters.


    Shirley and Nick had enough experience to see Steve''s issues.


    Steve was an outstanding person.


    He was extremely strong, reliable, and had a powerful will.


    He was the only other trainee who had had enough points to work with the Bone Pile.


    Yet, that was not how he perceived himself.


    In his mind, he only saw his ws.


    He was not good enough.


    He was never good enough.


    He tried to prove to himself and the world that he was good enough.


    And because of that, he put unreasonably high standards on himself.


    Most of the time, he acted perfectly.


    Yet, when he made a small mistake, everything broke apart, and he felt like he was the most useless person in existence.


    Shirley had once been in a simr situation.


    Due to her very feminine name and her tiny frame, she had often had difficulties in establishing authority in a group.


    Butpared to Steve, she managed to deal with her issues already.

 Chapter Chapter 584 – Vandalize

    584 Chapter 584 ¨C Vandalize


    A cloud of mist moved through the darkness.


    It moved through tiny openings, skirting past metallic pipes and walls.


    "You getting excited?" said the voice of a man from below the cloud of mist.


    "I don''t know," answered a female voice. "I''m more nervous than excited."


    "Why?" the man asked with a heartyugh.


    "Because none of you ever told me what this is even about!" the woman answered in annoyance. "Whenever I ask about this ''surprise'', you guys are always vague andugh. That makes me nervous, okay?"


    "Oh,e on," the guy answered with augh. "All employees go through this ritual. We were all nervous before it happened, but after that, we were actually happy that it was a surprise."


    "Why?" the woman asked.


    "Because hearing about it is not nearly as good as experiencing it," the man answered cryptically.


    "Okay," the woman answered after some ufortable seconds. "That''s true for a surprise party as well, but I don''t think people would still insist on keeping this a secret when the recipient feels so nervous about this entire thing."


    "It''s gonna be fine," the guy answered with a roll of his eyes. "We''re nearly there. You''ll see. You''ll thank me that we left this as a surprise."


    The cloud of mist saw the two Extractors walking through a door, which led to a staircase.


    A momentter, lights turned on, and the two of them stopped in front of a door.


    Knock, knock, knock!


    The man knocked on the door and waited.


    "Where does this door lead to? I''ve never been here," the woman asked, looking around.


    "Storage," the man answered.


    "Why would we-"


    Then, the door opened, revealing another woman.


    "Chief!" the woman eximed in surprise. "Why are you here?"


    The new woman smiled. "Why, for you, of course," she answered with a smile.


    "I-I didn''t know that this surprise involved you, Chief!" the woman answered.


    "See?" the man added with a smugugh from the side. "Isn''t it worth the surprise?"


    "Come in," the Chief said with a nod as she stepped to the side.


    The man and the woman passed through the door, and the Chief closed the door behind them.


    The woman found herself in a big storage area with all kinds of things.


    While the woman was looking around, the Chief walked to the back of the storage area and walked past some old and unused Containment Units.


    The other two followed the Chief.


    Eventually, the Chief walked into one of the deactivated Containment Units.


    "What are we doing here?" the woman asked in a whisper to the guy.


    "This is our most sacred ce," the guy said. "This is where we will hold your initiation."


    "In here?" the woman asked. "I thought we would be holding that in a hall or an office, not in some random storage room."


    "Pearly," the guy answered, "not everything is as it appears on the surface. All Manufacturers have their secrets, and we are no different. Juste with us, okay?"


    When Pearly heard that, she became nervous again.


    That was a bit too forceful for her liking.


    "And that''s why I never made you a team lead," the Chiefmented with annoyance. "You''re not good at dealing with people during stressful situations."


    "Yes, Chief. I''m sorry, Chief," the man quickly replied in an apologetic tone.


    "Chief?" Pearly asked.


    "Yes?" the Chief answered as she stopped in the middle of the Containment Unit, looking back.


    "Why are we doing my initiation here?" Pearly asked.


    The Chief bent down and put her hand on the ground.


    BANG!


    The next moment, she pushed onto the ground, and a big te detached.


    DING!


    The te fell for about 50 centimeters before itnded on something.


    Pearly''s eyebrows rose in surprise when she saw that.


    A secret passage?


    "Because," the Chief answered as she pushed the metallic te to the side. "As a fully-fledged member of Vandalize, you have to know our true face."


    BANG!


    The Chief kicked the ground again, detaching another metallic te.


    This time, the metallic te fell for nearly three meters.


    The Chief looked into the dark hole and retrieved something from her pocket.


    It was a white crystal with some kind of malleable y on the bottom.


    The Chief attached the crystal to the ceiling below the hole, and momentster, it started to shine with bright light.


    Now, Pearly could finally see what was beneath her.


    It was a small cave!


    "After your initiation," the Chief said, pointing at the light crystal. "You won''t need this anymore."


    "Huh?" Pearly uttered. "Wait, I''m also receiving my very own Veil of Darkness?"


    The Chief nodded with a smile. "Yes. As a fully-fledged member, you also get ess to the very thing that makes us outstanding in Mark Wild City."


    Pearly looked excited, but she was also nervous.


    The Veil of Darkness.


    The technology that gave the most powerful Extractors of Vandalize the ability to travel through the darkness without using a lot of resources.


    The ability to walk through darkness unhindered was one of the most useful abilities one could imagine, and Vandalize was at the forefront of traveling in darkness.


    Naturally, Vandalize was very secretive about their Veil of Darkness, and nobody knew how it worked.


    The Chief and the man jumped down andnded in the cave.


    A momentter, Pearly also jumped down.


    When shended, she came face to face with an open door.


    Pearly''s eyes widened as soon as she saw the opened door.


    This was not just any door.


    This was the big door of a Containment Unit!


    The door that was used to put Specters into Containment Units!


    08:23


    A Containment Unit with an opened big door might as well just be a room.


    "Why are we-"


    Pearly wanted to say something, but she was interrupted as a bright light exploded from the middle of the opened Containment Unit, blinding her.


    In panic, she turned to her Chief and only saw a calm and happy smile on her face.


    Pearly quickly looked back at the ball of light.


    And then, six white wings extended from the ball of light!


    "Child," a warm voice spoke.


    DING!


    Pearly''s barrier activated and turned red, and several warning signs covered her vision.


    Pearly immediately knew what all of this meant.


    A powerful Specter with a mental ability!


    "Don''t be afraid, child," the winged ball of light proimed as it slowly flew closer to Pearly.


    Pearly looked at her Chief in horror before turning to the man.


    Then, both of them fell to their knees in prayer!


    Pearly didn''t want to believe it, but there could only be a single exnation for this!


    Her Chief and the man were minions of this Specter!


    BANG!


    Pearly turned around and began to charge to the exit. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    BOOOOM!


    The ear-shattering sound of a bullet being fired reverberated throughout the underground.


    Two holes were in Pearly''s Barrier.


    The Chief put her gun away again.


    Pearly felt all her Zephyx leave her, and she felt like she couldn''t breathe anymore.


    Her Zephosis was interrupted!


    Pearly copsed the next moment.


    "Every time," the Chief said with a sigh. "Why do they always resist the gift of the Lord?"


    The man stood up and approached Pearly.


    The next moment, he retrieved a vial with green liquid and dumped it onto Pearly.


    Pearly''s Zephosis restarted, but she was still dangerously low on Zephyx.


    "Come on," the man said in a calm voice as he pulled Pearly up by the arm. "Properly greet the Lord."


    "Do not be afraid, child," the ball spoke. "You will be part of our family soon."


    "Power, light, and virtue. This is what makes us Vandalize," the ball spoke.


    Pearly tried to think of any way to escape.


    She didn''t want to be a minion!


    But the more she looked into the light, the more weing it seemed.


    Maybe it wouldn''t be so bad.


    After all, the Chief seemed quite happy.


    The ball of light stopped right in front of Pearly, and the next second, it enveloped her with its wings.


    Pearly felt warm.


    She felt nice.


    It was so soft.


    She felt loved.


    It was okay.


    Everything would be okay.


    After a while, she opened her eyes again, and when she looked at the winged ball, she only felt love and loyalty.


    This was the Lord!


    This was the destined one!


    He would transform the world into a paradise!


    But then¡­


    "AAARGGHH!"


    Pearly started to shout in pain.


    The light that had been flowing into Pearly was nowing out of her.


    Even more, far more light was leaving her than had entered!


    After some seconds, Pearly, copsed, and when there was no more light to be extracted, she just looked at the ground in a neutral expression.


    "You are part of our family now," the ball spoke.


    Pearly looked up at the ball.


    She didn''t feel anything.


    No happiness.


    No anger.


    No sadness.


    No fear.


    No safety.


    She felt nothing.


    Well, except for one thing.


    She felt longing.


    Longing to feel this warm embrace again.


    The warm embrace from just now had been the most beautiful thing she had ever experienced, andpared to the greyness around her right now, it was infinitely better.


    She longed for the warm embrace.


    This was the only desire inside her.


    Join my Discord:

 Chapter 585 – Eight Years

    Chapter 585 ¨C Eight Years


    The cloud of mist floated out of a high tower and seemingly vanished an instantter.


    The high tower was painted in red and ck, and the word "Vandalize" was painted across its front.


    This was the third biggest Manufacturer of Mark Wild City and was led by three people, the most powerful member being the Chief Zephyx Extractor, who was a Peak Expert.


    Vandalize''s tower was big, towering over almost every other building in its surroundings.


    However, there were still two buildings that were even taller, but they were over two kilometers away.


    In fact, one of them was so big that it counted as a megastructure with a height of over a kilometer and a width of almost 300 meters.


    This megastructure housed the government and the biggest Manufacturer of the city.


    In many cities, the biggest Manufacturers worked together with the government in a symbiotic rtionship.


    This was not really how Aegis envisioned its cities to be run, but it''s a sad reality that over 30% of cities were run like this.


    Inside the megastructure, in a random room 75% way up the building, four people sat in different locations, doing different things.


    This was Shirley''s squad.


    The red-haired Mendory on the couch, acting like he was sleeping, which he definitely wasn''t.


    Cynthia sat on a chair in front of the desk, talking animatedly with Shirley, who sat opposite her.


    Surprisingly, the two of themughed quite a bit as they talked.


    Near the kitchen, Steve drew several lines on a sheet of paper.


    All the sheets of paper were covered with the blueprints of Vandalize''s tower.


    "You got an idea yet?" Cynthia shouted to Steve.


    "No," Steve answered, not looking up.


    "Then, what are you still doing there? If you didn''t get one by now, what makes you think you will get one in the future?" Cynthia asked casually.


    Steve frowned.


    "I have to be prepared," Steve answered without looking away from the ns.


    "Steve, we need to wait for Nick," Cynthia said with a sigh. "You can look through the ns all day, but as long as we don''t know where the Specter is, you won''t get anywhere. Also, we don''t even know if the requester is actually right. This might just be another one of these attempts to get rid of an upstart Manufacturer."


    Sadly, Cynthia''s attempt at calming Steve down didn''t achieve anything.


    He didn''t want to show his true feelings in front of his team, but he failed.


    The squad had been working together for around eight years now, and everyone already knew everyone else.


    Mendor and Cynthia could see that Steve was incredibly nervous.


    However, they couldn''t fault him.


    "You''ve been lucky so far," Shirley spoke calmly as she turned to look at Steve''s back. "But you can''t keep being lucky forever."


    Steve took a deep breath.


    "I know," he answered.


    The atmosphere seemingly became heavier.


    Mendor lightly opened his eyes, but he didn''t look around.


    There was a rare look of worry in his eyes.


    In fact, everyone in here was worried.


    Even Shirley.


    Just a week ago, they had received a mission that was marked to be genuine.


    The strongest Manufacturer of Mark Wild City was the requester, and they requested an investigation with the eventual eradication of Vandalize.


    The requester suspected that Vandalize was harboring an illegal Specter that proved to be a danger to the entire city.


    Naturally, the government had already done many sweeps and tests, but they never found anything.


    After many of these sweeps, the smaller Manufacturers, led by the second-biggest Manufacturer, banded together because of the obvious favoritism the government was giving the biggest Manufacturer.


    All these pointless sweeps and inspections were obviously just there to intimidate Vandalize and to interrupt their work.


    Because of that, the government had to be really careful.


    Sure, the government and the biggest Manufacturer were stronger than everything else in the city, but if an actual civil war broke out, the city wouldn''t be able to pay its tribute to Aegis.


    That was thest thing the Governor wanted since that would ruin their chances of ever bing an Agent.


    Additionally, they had already issued so many inspections and sweeps on Vandalize that the Governor might even be in danger of being judged as corrupt by Aegis.


    But they weren''t corrupt!


    They were sure that Vandalize was hiding some kind of dangerous Specter!


    The signs were there!


    But would anyone believe them?


    In the end, the biggest Manufacturer decided to call Aegis.


    Naturally, the Governor became terrified, but it was already toote. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Shirley''s squad arrived just hourster.


    Cynthia sighed.


    She was just as nervous as everyone else.


    The squad had worked together for eight years by now, and they had not lost a single person, which was rare.


    However, that was actually not the thing she was worried about.


    In the past eight years, they had also not needed to kill a human.


    Criminals rarely came into contact with the squad since those were handled by the local governments.


    They had only apprehended four criminals within thest eight years.


    Three of them were handed over to the government, and one of them had been taken care of by Nick in secret.


    The team had had many practice fights with Extractors from other squads.


    The team had also had many genuine fights with Specters.


    However, they had never been in a genuine life-and-death battle with humans.


    That also included their time before Aegis.


    Cynthia, Mendor, and Steve were all progenies from households of extreme elites.


    They had incredible education, perfect training, and streamlined careers.


    They had rarely been involved with anything illegal, and they had never joined any really dangerous battles.


    After all, they were the ticket for their families to finally get a foothold in Aegis.


    Their families wouldn''t risk their lives that easily.


    Sadly, that meant that they had never genuinely fought another Extractor.


    Almost nobody looked forward to killing another human for the first time, and those who did almost certainly wouldn''t find themselves working for Aegis.


    They knew that they had to kill humans sometimes, but after working for Aegis for so long, they had also internalized Aegis'' ideology.


    Logically, they could rationalize killing humans, but emotionally, there was a huge barrier.


    They really hoped that this was just another case of somebody trying to use Aegis to get rid of a rival.


    The squad hade into contact with something like that more than once over the years.


    Suddenly, the door opened, and everyone looked over.


    Nick entered the room with a neutral expression.


    The expressions of his squad members were nervous and attentive, while Shirley looked at him with furrowed brows.


    Naturally, Shirley had killed many humans before.


    She wasn''t as inexperienced as the other three.


    However, after such a long time with the squad, she also had mixed feelings.


    On the one hand, it was important to learn about killing humans for trainees, but on the other hand, she really didn''t want to see her squad go through such a harrowing experience.


    Well, except¡­


    Shirley looked at Nick.


    She still didn''t know a lot about Nick''s background since he kept all details secret, but she could tell that Nick must have doomed more than his fair share of people if he managed to create a powerful Manufacturer out of nothing.


    The opposition must have been powerful, and yet, Nick''s Manufacturer still prevailed until he was an Expert.


    Nick had to have a lot of experience when it came to killing people.


    Shirley nced at the other three.


    But he was different from those three.


    "What''s the status, Nick?" Steve asked after taking a deep breath and turning around.


    Nick emotionlessly looked at Steve.


    "There is an unsuppressed Fanatic in their basement. The entire upper echelon of Vandalize is made of its minions. I witnessed how a Peak Veteran was turned into a minion with my own eyes," Nick neutrally reported.


    The atmosphere seemingly froze.


    Nick had confirmed their worst fears.


    The Governor had been right.


    Vandalize waspletelypromised.


    Mendor closed his eyes again as he took a deep breath.


    Cynthia furrowed her brows and looked to the ground.


    Steve slowly stood up and walked to the middle of the room.


    "Could you have saved the new minion?" Steve asked calmly.


    "No, because that would go against your orders," Nick answered.


    Steve clenched his fists.


    Steve was the leader of this squad.


    After many missions, everyone agreed that Steve should be the leader.


    Cynthia couldn''t handle the responsibility, and Mendor was not interested in leading the team.


    That left Steve and Nick.


    In the beginning, Nick led the team, but as more time passed, he gave Steve more and more responsibility.


    The main reason was that they were trainees and that they were supposed to learn things.


    Despite Steve''s initial problems, he actually had a very fitting personality for being a leader.


    Additionally, leading a squad while infiltrating enemy lines was not the best option.


    As the scout, Nick was the furthest one from his team, making it difficult to adequatelymand them.


    When Steve heard that Nick said that he couldn''t have saved the Veteran due to orders, his emotions wanted to explode on Nick.


    However, Steve had learned to control himself and to logically analyze a situation, even while extremely furious.


    Nick was right.


    Steve had given him the order to scout and report back.


    This was on him.


    ''Additionally, would I be happy if he attacked the enemy?'' Steve thought. ''No, I would have called him reckless.''


    ''Nick did the right thing.''


    Steve took a shaky breath.


    His orders were the reason why a human died.


    But his orders had also been correct.


    Sadly, that didn''t help with the pain.


    "Good work," Steve said.

 Chapter 586 – Leaders Responsibility

    Chapter 586 ¨C Leader''s Responsibility


    "Do you want a coffee? Oh, yeah, right, sorry, forgot," Steve said awkwardly as he sat down on the railing again.


    As always, the Sun shone brightly in the sky, even though it was 2AM.


    Steve sat on top of a railing on the top of the megastructure in Mark Wild City.


    Over thest couple of hours, they had gone through many ns.


    What ns?


    Well, ns to eradicate Vandalize.


    Nick walked closer to Steve, who had just pulled back his cup of coffee.


    It wasn''t difficult for Nick to see how nervous and insecure Steve was at this moment.


    Usually, Steve always showed a strong front, but when it was just him and Nick, that front often cracked.


    That was because Nick was Steve''s idol.


    When Steve had worked under Nick, he had been surprised at how insanely good Nick was at leading the team.


    His calls were always correct.


    His missions were always clean sesses.


    They had not lost a single member.


    Even more, Nick always seemed to know exactly what to do and what to say.


    He had never threatened anyone, and he had never raised his voice.


    And yet, everyone had followed him withoutints.


    When Steve had seen how Nick was as a leader, he had felt hopeless.


    He felt like he had tried to kill the Sun.


    How could he even attempt to lead a team if the leaders were supposed to be this good?


    He wasn''t that good!


    Steve had given up trying to be a leader back then.


    However, that was what allowed him to talk to Nick without any feeling ofpetition.


    Steve could be honest.


    Over the years, Steve had learned from Nick.


    The two of them had regr talks, and Steve basically used Nick as a release for all his insecurities and doubts.


    And the only thing that Nick did in return was to give curt answers that made Steve fall into deep thoughts until he finally saw his own inadequacies.


    When Steve became the leader again, he felt extremely insecure.


    Yet, the missions all went pretty smoothly.


    Sure, not everything was perfect, but it was good enough.


    Until, eventually, he even saw himself as the leader of the squad.


    At that point, his conversations with Nick became less and less frequent.


    But today, Steve was in a nostalgic mood.


    He remembered how it was seven or eight years ago.


    Things were so much simpler back then.


    In the end, he called Nick to talk again.


    Naturally, Nick approached Steve and stopped beside him.


    Yet, he didn''t say anything.


    He just looked at the distant tower of Vandalize.


    Silence.


    "Could you have saved her?" Steve asked suddenly in a calm voice.


    "Does it matter?" Nick asked back in an even voice.


    "It does to me," Steve answered quietly.


    "Have you made a mistake with your orders?" Nick asked.


    Silence.


    "No," Steve answered.


    "Then, don''t ask such questions," Nick answered.


    Steve didn''t answer.


    "These kinds of questions lead to regret," Nick said.


    Steve just listened.


    "What if? Could I have? Should I have? There''s a time for these questions, and that''s when you suspect that you made a wrong call," Nick exined.


    "But you didn''t. Your call was correct. We both know that."


    "In that case, asking these questions will bring nothing but misery to you."


    "When you are sure you made the right call, but you''re still in pain, the only thing you can do is to deal with the pain."


    Steve looked at the city in silence.


    That sucked.


    Steve had acted correctly, but he still felt regret and pain over his decision.


    There was nothing he could have done better.


    This was already the best-case scenario.


    And yet, it still felt so bad.


    However, Steve knew that this was what it meant to be a leader.


    Normal employees did not have the luxury of deciding the direction of the entire unit, but in exchange, they also weren''t responsible for the unit''s decision.


    The leader was responsible.


    If the unit aplished a mission perfectly, the leader would be praised.


    If the unit failed a mission, the leader would be reprimanded.


    If the n was perfect but the mission failed, the leader would be reprimanded.


    If the n was horrible but the mission seeded, the leader would be praised.


    If one employee saved the mission, the leader would be praised.


    If one employee ruined the mission, the leader would be reprimanded.


    Everything was on the leader''s shoulders.


    Was it fair?


    Not entirely. After all, why should the leader be reprimanded because of the failings of a single employee?


    Sadly, the existence of said employee in the leader''s squad falls under the leader''s responsibilities.


    The leader was supposed to only hire good people and deal with bad people.


    But that wasn''t so easy.


    Sometimes, bad people were extremely good at disguising themselves as good people.


    If, by all appearances, the person was good, wouldn''t it be an incorrect decision to refuse them?


    Unfortunately, leaders were evaluated on their sesses and failures as a unit, not as individuals.


    "Do you think the n is bad?" Steve asked after several seconds of silence.


    "Based on all avable information, the n is about as good as it can get," Nick answered.


    "Why the qualifier?" Steve asked.


    "Because a n can only be as good as the avable information," Nick answered. "Most of the time, there are even better ns, but they require even better information."


    Steve looked at Nick with uncertainty.


    "Could you contribute more than you are already contributing?" Steve asked.


    "Can you?" Nick asked back.


    Steve wasn''t entirely sure.


    "I genuinely don''t know," he said after a bit.


    "You shouldn''t," Nick said. "Even if you can."


    "Why not?" Steve asked in surprise.


    "Because we are trainees," Nick exined. "Our first priority is learning and gaining experience, not fulfilling missions."


    "Going all-in on a chance of sess might give us plenty of rewards, but our worth in Aegis'' eyes is higher than what it would gain after 100 risky missions from us."


    "We are being seen as future Agents."


    "We are supposed to protect entire Cities."


    "Maximize the experiences you gain while minimizing the risks you take. Do not include profits earned or missions aplished," Nick said.


    Steve had heard that before.


    Shirley had said something very simr to him in the past.


    Sadly, Steve still didn''t like it very much.


    Sure, they were here to learn, but many people suffered so that they could learn.


    They were essentially building Heroes on the foundation of innocent corpses.


    But then, what else were they supposed to do?


    Not give any Agent any real experience before handing them responsibility over entire cities?


    That would be so much worse.


    Steve didn''t like it, but just like before, this was already the best-case scenario.


    Everything was muddy.


    There were no ck and white decisions.


    They were all just different iterations of grey, and it was basically impossible topletely banish ck''s influence from the result.


    "Is that how you have acted within thest eight years?" Steve asked.


    Nick wordlessly nodded.


    Steve thought back to all the times he had told Nick to infiltrate enemy lines.


    "Have you risked your life?"


    Nick just shook his head.


    This surprised Steve.


    He had asked Nick to do quite some risky things in the past, but Nick said that he hadn''t risked his life yet?


    What was that supposed to mean?


    Naturally, Steve had suspected many times over the years that Nick was far more powerful than everyone thought he was.


    So, Steve had given him several risky missions and even gave Nick the opportunity to decline them.


    Yet, Nick justpleted them without any fanfare orints.


    But even then, Nick said that he hadn''t risked his life yet?


    That was when Steve remembered that Nick had dodged the question earlier about whether or not he could contribute more.


    Then, Steve remembered that Nick had said that the n was as good as it could get for the avable information.


    By now, Steve was certain that Nick could do much more.


    "Nick," Steve slowly said.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Could you deal with the Specter on your own?" he asked carefully.


    "The conversation is over," Nick said neutrally before turning around and walking back inside.


    Steve gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    "Sorry, it''s fine," Steve said as Nick opened the door to leave. "Forget that I asked."


    However, Nick just entered the building and closed the door behind him.


    This always happened whenever Steve asked Nick about anything specific rted to his past or his person.


    Mendor often joked that Steve and Nick were the best of friends since they talked so often in secret.


    Yet, Steve always felt like that wasn''t urate.


    In fact, he didn''t know much more than everyone else.


    They talked so many times, and Steve had learned so much about himself.


    And yet, he had learned nothing about Nick.


    Nick was like a distant image. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Steve had seen this image countless times, but he had never managed to get any closer to learn more about it.


    There was a wall between them, and no matter what Steve did, it was impossible to get past it.


    Steve wished that they could be friends, but that wish would nevere true.


    And he knew that.

 Chapter 587 – Mission Start

    Chapter 587 ¨C Mission Start


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    A man was punching a huge cube made of powerful material treated with Zephyx.


    Whenever he unleashed a punch, the entire room shook.


    The man wasn''t wearing any clothing while punching the cube, and he was already sweating profusely.


    After several minutes of doing this, he stopped and grabbed a towel to get rid of his sweat.


    He looked at the cube for a while.


    One day, he would be powerful enough to break it.


    Theoretically, it was possible for him to break the cube, but he needed to build a bit more muscle.


    And even then, he would need to punch and kick it for several months to properly damage it.


    The next moment, the man looked at the clock at the edge of the room.


    It was time to go to work!


    The man walked to the exit.


    But then, he noticed that the wall in front of him started to distort!


    It was like the wall was growing.


    Or was he shrinking?


    Dunk!


    And then, it stopped distorting.


    The man tried to move, but he couldn''t.


    That was when he noticed that his mind became weaker.


    When he saw a headless body falling to the ground, he finally understood what had happened.


    So, that was it, huh.


    This was the end.


    He wasn''t sure what he should think-


    And nothing.


    It was over.


    No more thoughts.


    Nick bent down and stashed the head and body into a trash bag, which he then threw into his Space Bag.


    Nick looked into his Space Bag again and looked at the trash bags again to confirm their number.


    ''Yep, it''s three. The elite exploration squad isplete,'' he thought.


    The elite exploration squad of Vandalize was responsible for capturing the strongest Specters so that Vandalize could grow more powerful.


    Vandalize had a total of seven Experts, and the elite exploration squad ounted for three of those.


    The leader of the elite exploration squad, the newest trash bag inside Nick''s Space Bag, was the only Late Expert of Vandalize.


    The other two members were Early Experts.


    ''That leaves the CZE and the three team leads.''


    Nick turned into a cloud of mist again and vanished from the isted room.


    Some secondster, he materialized on top of a small building.


    "Elite exploration squad eliminated," Nick spoke into his Barrier.


    The other three members of the squad heard Nick, and they became more nervous.


    There was no way back anymore!


    Steve felt the pressure on his shoulders increasing.


    Yes, the three members of the elite exploration squad were minions, but they were living minions.


    That meant that they were still human and that they only obeyed the Specter due to maniption.


    If these Experts could think clearly, they would definitely refuse to work with a Specter.


    Most likely, they had been forced intopliance by the Chief Zephyx Extractor, having their minds permanently altered against their will.


    Sadly, this specific kind of maniption couldn''t be cured.


    Some maniption techniques, like mind seals or hypnosis, could be broken by killing the Specter, but this wasn''t one of these techniques.


    From what Nick had guessed, the Specter imprinted an unbreakable and eternal addiction in its minions.


    Breaking that addiction would result in a slow and painful death in over 90% of cases, and the few survivors also had a high likelihood of seeking revenge since they wouldn''t perceive their addiction as problematic or wrong.


    Because of that, the minions had to die.


    Steve took a deep breath.


    But that didn''t make it any easier.


    "Good work," Steve answered. "Get ready for phase three."


    "Affirmative," Nick answered.


    Then, Steve looked at Cynthia and Mendor.


    The two of them nodded at Steve with determination.


    Steve nodded back.


    "Go!" he shouted.


    Then, Steve pulled out his two rapiers and jumped over the wall behind him.


    Cynthia pulled out her two guns and jumped after Steve.


    Mendor pulled out his sniper rifle and looked over the wall.


    Steve and Cynthia fell towards the streets below, where the entrance to Vandalize was located.


    BANG! BANG!


    Cynthia released two shots.


    CRACK! CRACK!


    The two Barriers of the people guarding the entrance exploded, but they didn''t suffer any injuries.


    Cynthia had purposefully shot just a slight bit beside them. That would activate their Barriers but not hit their bodies.


    The two guards were only Johns, and ording to what Nick had reported, they were almost certainly not minions. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Nick was quite sure that only Peak Veterans and higher were minions.


    After all, every additional minion increased the chance of being found out.


    Because of that, Vandalize would only show their true selves to their elites.


    Steve and Cynthianded in front of the entrance.


    The next moment, several more peoplended in front of the entrance.


    All of these people wore the uniforms of the city guard, and they quickly contained the two guards from Vandalize.


    While the city guard wouldn''t enter the building, they would remain outside to contain the humans.


    The Governor was under a lot of scrutiny, and they didn''t want to appear like they were taking advantage of this situation.


    They would let Steve''s squad handle all the killing and cleaning up inside the building.


    As long as no member of the city guard or any other Manufacturer entered the building, no one could me the Governor.


    Several of the city guards immediately started to iste the area, forcing every person far away from the building.


    Meanwhile, Steve and Cynthia entered the building.


    As soon as they entered, they saw several normal employees.


    BANG!


    Cynthia fired at a wall, and a green cloud exploded out of the wall, rapidly nketing the entire floor.


    The people couldn''t even decide on what to do before they lost control over their faculties and fell to the ground.


    The green cloud was a special gas which Aegis used to take normal people and Newbies out of a fight without injuring them.


    Surprisingly, the gas seemed to be extremely good at spreading.


    It was almost like the individual particles inside the gas were rejecting each other, forcing the entire cloud to disperse faster and faster.


    Within three seconds, the gas already covered a radius of 50 meters around the building, and within ten seconds, almost every room within the building came into contact with the gas.


    All the normal people lost consciousness.


    Naturally, all of this didn''t pass without being noticed.


    And almost immediately, red lights appeared all over the building while loud sirens rang out.


    Moments after the rms began to ring, several people wearing the uniforms of Vandalize came out of the city and ran towards the building.


    "Nobody move!" the leader of the city guardsmanded.


    The leader of the city guards was a Late Specialist, and he could take Vandalize down on his own.


    Sadly, the unstable politics in the city forbade him from killing anyone.


    Nevertheless, he could still assist by using his authority to suppress any of the membersing to help Vandalize.


    An instantter, the captain''s Barrier began to shine in a bright and warm yellow light as he lifted a scroll.


    "Aegis has found that the leaders of Vandalize are minions! Every member of Vandalize found to resist will be executed immediately!" the captain shouted.


    When the neers saw the order, they felt like their world was breaking apart.


    Yet, over half of them immediately thought that this was another one of the Governor''s tricks to suppress Vandalize.


    CRACK!


    Suddenly, the Barrier of one of the members broke into pieces, and his head turned into bloody dust.


    BANG!


    An instantter, the sound of a high-caliber rifle shot thundered throughout the surroundings.


    Everyone looked with shock at the headless corpse.


    Up above, on top of a building, Mendor reloaded.


    He looked suspiciously calm, but his heart rate had already skyrocketed to unreal levels.


    The corpse was of a Peak Veteran belonging to Vandalize.


    This had to be a minion.


    Mendor had killed a human.


    Yet, the only thing he consciously felt was some form of greyness or emptiness in his chest.


    He didn''t feel atrocious or anything.


    It was just¡­ empty.


    It was like he had destroyed a mannequin.


    Then, Mendor found another Peak Veteran from Vandalize.


    His rifle aimed at the neer.


    BOOOOM!


    Her head also turned into white mist as her Barrier broke apart.


    At that moment, panic broke out, and everyone started to flee.


    The city guards also started to move, but they were not in a panic.


    They had already been told how everything would happen.


    With military precision, they charged at every member of Vandalize who dared to move and wasn''t a Peak Veteran.


    The power of the city guards vastly outssed Vandalize, and all of their Extractors that dared toe close to the building were apprehended.


    However, none of them were injured or brought out of sight.


    All of them were contained in public, visible to everyone.


    It was imperative that everything the city guards did was in the view of the public.


    They could not allow the opposition to sow even more doubt and uncertainty.


    Mendor looked around.


    He saw another Peak Veteran.


    It was a woman who tried to sneak into the building from the top.


    Mendor''s rifle aimed at her.


    And he fired.

 Chapter 588 – First Kills

    Chapter 588 ¨C First Kills


    Cynthia stopped in the middle of the ground floor of the building.


    In front of her were three doors leading into Extractor shafts, while to her side were two doors leading to staircases.


    One of the biggest weaknesses of the building was that these were the only ways to move floors, making it easier to guard them.


    Although, that could also be considered a strength since the enemy only needed to guard this area to hold off all invasions.


    Cynthia eyed all of the doors, while Steve charged through one door after the other, checking through all of the rooms.


    Steve kicked in all the doors, inspected the rooms, and left again.


    Whenever he checked a room, he used his Barrier to scan for signs of any Barriers.


    If it felt any other Barrier inside the room, it would send an rm to Steve.


    When Steve kicked in a door, his insides seemingly constricted in nervousness.


    He knew that he had to kill people today, but he was still hoping that he wouldn''t find any powerful person.


    Bang!


    Steve kicked in another door.


    DIIING!


    Steve''s Barrier warned him, and he immediately focused on the back of the room.


    There was a person at the back of the room, but to Steve''s highly trained senses, they were moving extremely slowly.


    In an instant, Steve arrived in front of the person.


    The person froze.


    Veterans had an acute sense for Zephyx, and they could somewhat estimate the power of another Extractor based on the density of Zephyx they felt.


    These senses couldn''t pinpoint someone''s exact level, but they were precise enough to tell them that the other person was either so weak that they were not a threat or so strong that fighting was meaningless.


    And, right now, the person felt that Steve was so strong that they couldn''t even attempt fighting.


    So, the person immediately threw up their arms in surrender.


    Steve grabbed the person''s arm, ran out of the room, and threw them towards the exit. "Surrender to the guards! Wait for further instructions!" he shouted.


    At that moment, the person felt a wave of relief wash over them, but they quickly followed Steve''s order and came out of the building with their hands raised.


    The guards quickly took the person into custody.


    This was only a Mid Veteran.


    Steve was a Late Expert.


    Steve continued opening doors.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, one of the doors to the stairwell exploded, its splinters hitting the surrounding walls.


    At the same time, thick purple fog flooded the first floor, making it difficult to see anything.


    Immediately, Cynthia''s Barrier activated, and an image was oveyed.


    Her Barrier showed her people rushing out of the stairwell.


    Cynthia felt her heart beating in her ears.


    The enemy!


    This was the enemy!


    She had to stop them!


    She shot at the first person.


    BANG!


    But hit the wall behind them.


    She had missed.


    Next, Cynthia saw the silhouette of the person turning towards her.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Bullets scattered around Cynthia, and a couple of them even hit her Barrier.


    At that point, Cynthia panicked.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    And shot back.


    The silhouettes that her Barrier was portraying turned into shiny pieces before vanishing.


    One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.


    After Cynthia had killed the seventh person, no one else dared toe to the ground floor.


    Cynthia''s ears were ringing constantly, and her eyes were torn open.


    She wasn''t thinking about anything.


    Her body was looking for any remaining attackers.


    "Status?!" Steve shouted as he arrived near Cynthia.


    Out of reflex, Cynthia pointed her gun at Steve, but she quickly regained control and lowered it before she could truly lock onto him.


    "I-I''m fine!" she answered. "They came through the right staircase. I dealt with everyone that passed through." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Cynthia was trying her best to sound professional, but her voice shook asionally.


    When Steve heard that, his own anxiety lessened.


    For some reason, hearing Cynthia''s repressed fear and anxiety calmed Steve down and gave him a clear mind.


    "Good work! Continue!" Steve ordered as he returned to checking through the rooms.


    BOOOOOM!


    The sound of a sniper rifle firing entered the building.


    Steve and Cynthia knew that Mendor had just shot someone.


    When Cynthia heard that, she calmed down a bit.


    She was not the only one in this situation.


    The purple fog quickly lifted as it turned back into Prephyx. Obviously, the fog had been an ability of an enemy Extractor.


    As the fog lifted, Cynthia finally saw the corpses.


    She felt like the organs in her chest shook in horror.


    She had seen corpses many times in her past, but she had never seen the corpse of someone whom she had killed.


    Brains, blood, bones, organs, fluids¡­


    Headless corpses.


    Bloody chunks.


    What she was looking at didn''t even feel human.


    It was just meat.


    BOOOM!


    Suddenly, Cynthia''s Barrier activated, and she saw a huge bullet turning into scrap as it hit her Barrier.


    It was the bullet of a sniper rifle.


    Cynthia felt that she lost some Zephyx and immediately turned to the other staircase.


    BANG!


    Out of instinct, she shot through the new hole in the door and saw a shower of blood appearing behind it.


    A momentter, Cynthia realized how much Zephyx she had lost.


    Around 3%.


    That was barely anything.


    That meant that the person who had shot at her had been an Early Veteran at most.


    She realized all of this, but she only felt greyness in her chest.


    This incident was put in the back of her mind, and she focused on the task at hand again.


    No other incident happened until Steve was done checking through all of the rooms on the ground floor.


    "Ground floor clear. Mendor, is the outside secure?" Steve asked.


    "Perimeter has been established," Mendor answered as he looked at the surroundings of the building.


    By now, the entire surroundings were covered with guards, and no one had escaped from the building for over a minute.


    Naturally, while the squad had to do the dirty work, they were notpletely alone.


    They were working for Aegis, and the city guards were supporting them.


    While the guards would not kill anyone, they would still apprehend anyone who would escape the building.


    "Good! Advance!" Steve ordered.


    Mendor put his rifle away and jumped over the wall.


    Hended in front of the main entrance and entered.


    When Mendor saw the staircases and Extractor shafts, heid down and pulled out his rifle.


    This building was hard enough to resist the power of Mid Experts, which meant that the vast majority of people could only change floors via windows, staircases, or shafts.


    Naturally, if they broke through the windows, the city guards would take care of them.


    Steve had secured the entire floor, which meant that the enemies could only be on the other floors now.


    This meant that Mendor would not get ambushed.


    Only the Chief Zephyx Extractor and the rogue Fanatic could break through the floors and walls.


    While Mendor waited here, Steve and Cynthia charged into the Extractor shaft to go to the next floor.


    As soon as Steve entered the Extractor shaft, he saw several people aiming their guns at him.


    Steve narrowed his eyes and jumped upward.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The people unleashed a hail of bullets, but none of them were fast enough to hit Steve, who was over three levels stronger than the strongest of the ambushers.


    BANG!


    Steve broke the Barrier of the first person, grabbed them, and threw them at the ground of the Extractor shaft.


    This was only an Initial Veteran, which meant that they were not minions.


    They didn''t have to die.


    Steve quickly reached the next people and did the same to them.


    After just two seconds, four people were thrown down.


    BANG! BANG!


    While Steve was looking for any more enemies, he heard gunshots from below him.


    One of the Veterans had somehow recovered some Zephyx and was shooting at someone outside the Extractor shaft.


    BANG!


    And then, their head exploded.


    When Steve saw that, his insides churned.


    They had attacked him, but since he didn''t have the guts to kill them, he had just incapacitated them.


    ''I''m a failure!'' he shouted at himself.


    They had attacked him, but since he didn''t have the guts to kill them, he had just incapacitated them.


    And because of that decision, they were attacking his teammate, Cynthia, which forced her to kill them!


    It was his job to kill them!


    But due to his weakness and insecurity, he had put another life on Cynthia''s conscience.


    Steve gritted his teeth and jumped down.


    CRKSH!


    Hended on top of the people and cut all their heads off with his rapiers.


    He had already messed up and forced Cynthia to do his work for him.


    He would not do so again!


    Steve looked out of the door and looked at Cynthia.


    She nodded at him.


    He nodded back.


    Then, Steve jumped upward again and entered the second floor.


    A momentter, Cynthia entered as well and joined him.


    As Mendor kept watch over the staircase and shafts, he heard more shots.


    Cynthia and Steve were fighting on the other floors.


    BANG!


    And then, the floor below him exploded, and his Barrier activated.

 Chapter 589 – Orders

    Chapter 589 ¨C Orders


    BANG!


    Mendor''s Barrier activated, and he was immediately thrown back as someone broke through the floor.


    As soon as the floor broke, Mendor knew that it was either the Chief Zephyx Extractor or the Specter.


    Mendor quickly regained his footing and aimed his sniper rifle forward.


    However, as soon as he looked forward again, he saw the cold yellow eyes of a woman directly in front of him.


    The Chief Zephyx Extractor!


    Mendor tried to aim at her, but she was too close.


    BANG!


    Another attack hit Mendor, and he lost almost 50% of his Zephyx.


    Steve and Cynthia wouldn''t be able to get there in time, even if they realized what was going on.


    The Chief Zephyx Extractor quickly shot after Mendor to destroy his Barrier.


    If she managed to do that, she could put him under the influence of the Lord, which would hopefully open up a way to escape this situation.


    Mendor tried his best, but the Chief Zephyx Extractor was on him again before he could do anything.


    At that moment, light exploded out of the Chief Zephyx Extractor, and Mendor lost track of his surroundings.


    BANG!


    Mendor was hit again and flew backward.


    He knew there wasn''t much he could do, but he still tried to regain control over his body.


    He pulled his rifle up and aimed forward.


    Headless corpse.


    Mendor''s arms shook as his crosshair moved back and forth.


    But there was nothing to shoot at!


    The Chief Zephyx Extractor had turned into a headless corpse!


    Mendor''s hands jerked to the side, and the sniper rifle aimed at the person standing beside the headless corpse.


    Mendor''s arms shook more before he took a deep breath and lowered his rifle.


    Nick just nodded at him neutrally.


    Naturally, it hadn''t been the Chief Zephyx Extractor who had released the light.


    It had been Nick, who had been behind the Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Nick wanted to make sure that Mendor''s perception wouldn''t mess with his ability.


    BANG!


    Cynthia and Steve charged out of the Extractor shaft and looked around.


    When they saw the corpse and Nick, they rxed.


    "Phase threeplete," Nick said evenly.


    Phase one had been to kill the most powerful members who were not currently inside the building.


    Phase two had been the invasion and clearing of the first floor.


    Phase three had been to lure out the Chief Zephyx Extractor and to let Nick and Mendor kill her.


    Nick had reported that the rogue Specter was in the basement.


    The first logical thing the Chief Zephyx Extractor would do after realizing that they were under attack would be to go to the Specter to see if it was still okay and to receive orders.


    After that, the Chief Zephyx Extractor would wait for a chance to attack since she couldn''t just flee.


    The only way out was to manipte Steve''s squad and to let herself and the Specter get "suppressed" and then released again outside the city.


    A lonely sniper in the middle of a big hall.


    Wasn''t that the best target?


    Yet, that lonely sniper had only been bait.


    ording to the n, the Chief Zephyx Extractor would attack Mendor.


    She was more powerful than him but not powerful enough to destroy his entire Barrier with one attack.


    As soon as Mendor was pushed back, Nick would join the battle and attack the Chief Zephyx Extractor.


    Lastly, Mendor would kill her from a distance with a devastating shot.


    Everything yed out just as expected, except for the veryst part.


    "Phase threepleted," Steve echoed.


    Then, he turned around and charged into the Extractor shaft again with Cynthia.


    They still needed to clear the building.


    Mendor went back to watching over the staircases, and Nick entered the hole the Chief Zephyx Extractor had created.


    Time passed.


    Over the next 30 minutes, people were continually thrown out of the windows of the building.


    All of the people were Extractors and were strong enough to survive such a fall.


    Naturally, everyone who was thrown out of the building was also apprehended by the city guards.


    After 40 minutes, all the floors were cleared.


    Steve and Cynthia had found and eradicated all three team leads, who had all been Initial Experts.


    Mendor had killed a couple more Peak Veterans, and the other two also dealt with a couple of them.


    There were only two Peak Veterans left, but the team didn''t know where they were.


    It was possible that they were holed up in some Containment Units.


    While Steve and Cynthia were checking through the locker rooms of the Containment Units, they didn''t enter any of them.


    These were Specters, and entering Containment Units without exactly knowing what a Specter was about could end horribly.


    Analyzing all the Specters would happen when the battle was over and the city took hold of the building.


    Eventually, the three of them gathered on the ground floor again. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Phase fourplete," Steve announced without activating his Barrier.


    A momentter, Steve activated his Barrier and sent a signal.


    Almost immediately, he received a signal from somewhere.


    It was from Nick, and the signal meant that nothing had changed.


    Naturally, Nick was tasked to guard the entrance to the rogue Fanatic.


    He had to make sure that the Fanatic didn''t escape.


    Steve nodded and gestured for the team to enter the staircase.


    Then, all three of them entered the staircase and traveled towards the underground floor.


    As they traveled downwards, they became calmer.


    Yes, the Specter was more powerful than any of the human enemies here, but it was also just a Specter.


    They dealt with Specters all the time.


    The only truly scary part was that they weren''t entirely sure how powerful the Specter was.


    They knew that it was a Fanatic, but the power difference between an Initial and a Peak Fanatic was gigantic.


    When they reached the door leading to the big storage room, they stopped.


    Nick had marked the door for them.


    Once more, Steve activated his Barrier and sent the signal.


    Nick''s signal came back.


    Feeling Nick''s signal helped Steve calm down again.


    Then, Steve opened the door.


    Mendor and Cynthia stayed behind Steve and kept their weapons ready.


    Yet, as soon as the door opened, Steve noticed something.


    It was Nick!


    But he wasn''t alone.


    There was also a small ball with six wings hovering beside him.


    Immediately, everyone knew what this meant.


    "Nick! Report!" Steve ordered aggressively as everyone aimed at the Specter.


    ording to the n, Nick was supposed to stay hidden and check if anyone left the room.


    He was not supposed to engage the Specter on his own.


    Even more importantly, the Specter was supposed to be killed!


    They were not supposed to negotiate with it or contain it!


    Shirley dered the Specter deadly, and they were supposed to execute it!


    So, why was Nick suddenly standing there, beside the Specter, in front of them?!


    "It found me," Nick said. "My orders were not to engage, and I didn''t engage."


    Then, Nick pointed at the Zephyx Suppressor around one of the Specter''s wings.


    "It surrendered willingly, and I took it into custody," he exined.


    Steve was enraged and red at Nick.


    "Cynthia, keep Nick in your sight," Steve ordered.


    Cynthia grew more nervous, but she followed her orders.


    Nick didn''t seem to react.


    "Mendor, shoot the Specter," Steve ordered.


    After saying that, Steve red at Nick, keeping his weapons ready.


    Mendor aimed his rifle at the Specter.


    "You sure you want to do this?" Nick asked calmly. "This is an Early Fanatic, you know? It also gives an impressive ability and is easy to work with."


    Mendor hesitated.


    "Shoot it!" Steve shouted as he red at Nick. "The Specter has been ssified as deadly and has to be killed!"


    "Because we are not powerful enough to suppress it without putting our squad at risk," Nick argued. "Our squad is no longer at risk. ns have to adapt to new circumstances, and wasting this Specter would be a big misstep."


    Mendor didn''t fire yet.


    After a second, he looked at Steve. "Nick''s words make sense. Are you sure we should kill the Specter?"


    "Orders are orders!" Steve shouted aggressively. "We are on a mission! You can talk to me and criticize me all you want outside the mission, but during the mission, you have to follow orders!"


    Mendor looked at Nick.


    His gaze was uncertain.


    All of this felt way too risky.


    "Follow your orders!" Steve shouted at Mendor.


    "You do it," Mendor answered. "If anyone attacks you, I will shoot them."


    Cynthia''s and Steve''s eyes widened in shock.


    They had not expected this answer.


    Mendor was refusing to follow orders!


    Sure, Nick had also done that, but he actually had a reason to do so, and he didn''t straight up refuse to kill the Specter.


    "Cynthia, kill it!" Steve ordered.


    Cynthia took a deep breath.


    Then, she lifted her guns and targeted the ball.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    She unleashed several shots.


    DING! DING! DING!


    All three of them were blocked.


    But not by the Specter.

 Chapter 590 – Final Loyalty Test

    Chapter 590 ¨C Final Loyalty Test


    Cynthia''s bullets were blocked and fell to the ground as they hit a white Barrier.


    When they saw who blocked the bullets, their eyes widened.


    "Tutor?!" Steve eximed in shock.


    Shirley stood in front of the Specter.


    She was the one who had blocked the bullets.


    Usually, Shirley was always outside of the mission area, and she left everything up to the team.


    If they messed up, the mission would fail, and innocent people would die.


    It was important that these experiences were genuine.


    When Steve saw that Nick showed no reaction, he realized what had happened.


    This was a test, and Nick was in on it!


    Shirley looked at the team. "The mission is genuine."


    This elicited some raised eyebrows.


    Wait, the mission was genuine?


    Wasn''t this a test?


    "This was not supposed to be a test originally," Shirley exined. "However, I decided to spontaneously transform this mission into the final loyalty test."


    "Every squad has to get past the final loyalty test, and it is the very test that will decide whether or not Aegis will invest more into you."


    "The existence of the final loyalty test is confidential, and nobody is allowed to talk to anyone about it who has not undergone said test themselves. That is why none of you knew about its existence."


    "In order for second-level trainees to be third-level trainees, they need to fulfill several requirements."


    "First, they need to havepleted over a hundred training missions sessfully."


    "Second, they need to be Peak Experts."


    "Third, they need to have experience in killing the enemies of Aegis in both forms, Specters and humans."


    "Fourth, they need the endorsement of their tutor."


    "And fifth, they need toplete the final loyalty test."


    "The final loyalty test puts the squad in a situation that will make them question their loyalties. Those situations include betrayal of a powerful member of the squad, life-threatening danger, high bribes, and simr things."


    "I already gave all of you my endorsement, and I believed that the final loyalty test was only a formality," Shirley said.


    Then, her eyes fell on Mendor, whose face had already turned white.


    "But, apparently, I was mistaken."


    "I didn''t betray anyone!" Mendor shouted defensively. "I didn''t attack Steve! I even told him that I would protect him from anyone who attacked!"


    "Mendor," Shirley spoke with a serious tone. "During a critical moment in a mission, you defied your leader''s orders repeatedly. You feared that Nick had betrayed Aegis and were afraid that everyone in the squad would be killed by him."


    "You wanted to secure your own life by betraying Aegis."


    "While securing your life can be eptable if you take a neutral stance, taking a neutral stance during a critical part of a mission counts as a betrayal."


    "You were supposed to kill the Specter, and you refused."


    Mendor''s face turned white, and he gritted his teeth.


    "What about him?!" Mendor shouted as he pointed at Nick. "What about his loyalty?!"


    Nick didn''t react.


    "Nick''s loyalty has already been confirmed by the Aductress herself," Shirley said. "In her own words, Nick has proven his loyalty more times than necessary."


    Mendor looked like his world was crashing down.


    He just wanted to survive!


    Was that so wrong?!


    Without waiting for Mendor''s answer, Shirley looked at Cynthia. "Good work. You acted when Mendor failed."


    Cynthia nodded, refusing to look at Mendor.


    She was angry and ashamed.


    She was ashamed because she had thought that Mendor would have her back.


    And yet, he was about to betray Aegis, which included her.


    Then, Shirley looked at Steve. "You acted correctly, Steve," she said. "Getting close to the Specter would have been too risky. So, you ordered someone with a gun to deal with it while retaining your formation. Killing the Specter first would have also cleared the uncertainty surrounding Nick''s allegiance."


    "If he had joined the Specter, he would be forced to attack you before the gun fired. If he truly only wanted to suggest something, he would sit by and let you kill the Specter. One case equates execution for betrayal while the other case is an interrogation and reprimand."


    "You handled the situation perfectly."


    After hearing all of these praises, Steve should be happy. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    But he wasn''t.


    Mendor''s betrayal at the most critical moment had hit him pretty hard.


    Additionally¡­


    Steve looked at Nick.


    If Nick had truly betrayed them¡­


    Steve felt like they would have all been killed.


    Steve felt like Nick''s true power was endless.


    That thought also scared him.


    "Nick, please take out the Specter Cage," Shirley said.


    Next, Nick took out his Space Bag and pulled out a huge ck cube.


    When the other three saw that, their eyes widened in shock.


    Why did Nick have a Space Bag?!


    Not even their tutor had a Space Bag!


    Not even all of the Agents had a Space Bag!


    Not even their tutor had a Space Bag!


    Space Bags were only given to extremely powerful Extractors who had contributed a lot to Aegis!


    There was no way to purchase them!


    Naturally, when Shirley heard that Nick had a Space Bag, she was just as shocked.


    A couple of months ago, Shirley had visited the Aductress to talk to her about Nick.


    Shirley had felt that she couldn''t get a read on Nick.


    Everything about him was too mysterious, and she felt very suspicious of him.


    Instead of directly answering her questions, the Aductress just asked questions about Nick.


    How strong was he?


    Was he reliable?


    Did he learn a lot?


    What was his progress?


    Shirley answered all of the questions.


    Nick was outstanding in everything, but she was still concerned about his loyalty.


    At that time, the Aductress showed Nick''s full file to her.


    When she saw that Nick technically outranked her, she didn''t know how to respond.


    For over eight years, she had ordered someone around like they were a trainee, even though that person was actually their superior!


    When she read about Nick''s aplishments, she became even more shocked.


    While this guy was not powerful enough to be a true help against the Specters, he was still impacting all of Aegis.


    After all, if his methods proved to work, the way Aegis ran all the cities in the world would change fundamentally.


    Naturally, all of Shirley''s doubts vanished, and the Aductress told her that Nick didn''t need to go through the final loyalty test.


    Even if Nick somehow failed, he would still stay in Aegis.


    He had contributed too much to get rid of him for something like that.


    Naturally, when Shirley returned to the team, she continued acting like nothing had changed, but Nick immediately felt that Shirley acted differently from normal.


    So, at some point, he asked her privately about what was up.


    Seeing Nick in a new light, Shirley felt bad about keeping things hidden.


    She had no issues with lying to a trainee, but lying to someone who technically outranked her was somethingpletely different.


    In the end, they talked about some things, and they decided that the final loyalty test should be held soon.


    Nick would leave the squad after the test.


    When the mission came in, they decided that the final loyalty test would be held then and there.


    While the n was being carried out, Shirley covertly entered the basement of Vandalize''s building.


    After the Chief Zephyx Extractor died, the Specter immediately tried to escape.


    Naturally, Shirley stopped it and contained it.


    As long as it yed along, they wouldn''t kill it.


    Of course, the Specter didn''t have any other choice, and since it didn''t want to die¡­


    "Get into the cage," Shirleymanded.


    The Specter entered the cage without resisting.


    Entering the cage meant that they wouldn''t kill it, which was what it wanted.


    The cage closed, and the Fanatic was officially contained.


    Shirley nced at the cage and couldn''t suppress a small, devious smirk.


    That Specter was unworkable.


    It only gained power by working with strong Extractors, and any strong Extractor it worked with would be its ve.


    Aegis didn''t exactly have a great number of criminal Specialists or Heroes, and there were plenty of Specters that fed on those already.


    They didn''t need another one.


    This Specter would get to experience a new execution method.


    Around ten years ago, Aegis had found a Specter that could consume other Specters to produce Zephyx and be more powerful.


    Thanks to this Specter, Aegis had saved a lot of costs in keeping Specters suppressed without having to redistribute their Zephyx into the atmosphere.


    Naturally, that new Specter was the Crimson Sea.


    Sure enough, the Crimson Sea''s unique attributes made it very valuable to Aegis.


    The only bad thing was that it took up a lot of space.


    Keeping it in a small cube deactivated all of its abilities, which was bad in this case.


    They needed its abilities to kill Specters.


    Nick also knew that the Specter would be fed to the Crimson Sea soon.


    He found it a bit funny that some random Specter he got to meet somewhere in the world would die to the Crimson Sea, a Specter that had impacted Nick''s life severely.


    The little Adolescent puddle Nick let out in the building of the Spartans was now going to kill a Fanatic that had lived on the other side of the world.


    It was funny how the world worked sometimes.

 Chapter 591 – Purpose

    Chapter 591 ¨C Purpose


    "I heard you''re leaving," Steve said as he looked at the ruins of New York around Aegis'' headquarters.


    There were several terraces all over the pyramid, and they could be essed by anyone working for Aegis.


    Looking at the ruins from the ancient times was strange.


    Some of the pieces of rubble were so big that they could have onlye from buildings that were kilometers tall.


    It was almost like every single building was a megastructure back then.


    An entire city filled with nothing but megastructures.


    How many people would live there?


    How long did it take to build such a city?


    Nick also looked at the rubble.


    Yet,pared to Steve, Nick knew a lot more about the Ancient Ones.


    Over the past years, Nick had focused a lot on history, and he also learned a lot about ancient technologies.


    The Ancient Ones had no ess to Zephyx materials, but they managed to create many different kinds of matter with different attributes.


    Then, by perfectly cing them, all the weaknesses of these bits of matter vanished, only leaving their strengths.


    It was like building a group ofbatants in which people could cover for each other''s weaknesses.


    Naturally, it was much moreplex to pull something like that off than it sounded.


    There couldn''t be any impurities in any of the parts of the megastructure, which was something Aegis couldn''t achieve.


    Impurities were not that important for Aegis since Zephyx materials were many times more durable and flexible than any normal bit of matter.


    The Ancient Ones must have been unimaginably advanced in terms of technology.


    Steve just kept looking at Nick, who wasn''t answering.


    Was Nick distracted by something?


    "Sorry," Nick said absentmindedly, "I was thinking about something. Yes, I''m leaving."


    Steve sighed. "So, that only leaves me and Cynthia."


    Nick nodded.


    Naturally, Mendor had been fired after the mission.


    He was sent back to his city, and he wouldn''t be allowed to rejoin Aegis in the future unless his contributions to Aegis became extremely impressive.


    And now, Nick was also leaving.


    "What''s your actual background?" Steve asked. "You can tell me now, right?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick remained silent for a bit, butpared to all the previous times Steve asked such a question, he didn''t leave immediately.


    "Check the database for the title of Liaison," Nick said.


    Steve''s eyebrows rose.


    Finally, Nick was talking about himself!


    Steve pulled out a little pad and pressed a couple of buttons.


    His eyebrows rose more and more as he kept reading.


    "Are you the guy they are talking about in here?" Steve asked, pointing at a paragraph that mentioned that there was currently only a single Liaison and that this person was running experiments on different cities.


    Nick nodded.


    Steve took a deep breath. "So, you changed an entire city already?"


    Nick nodded again. "That''s also why I got my Space Bag."


    Steve nced at Nick''s Space Bag.


    Increasing an entire city''s output by 20% while simultaneously increasing the average quality of life for the citizens.


    That was a crazy aplishment.


    Steve realized that Nick was truly on a different level.


    Nick had achieved something that only Governors could achieve.


    "So, you were never a trainee?" Steve asked.


    "I was a trainee," Nick said.


    Steve could see that Nick was technically speaking the truth, but that was akin to saying that a Hero, who was working for a new and weak Manufacturer, was a new employee working for a new up-anding startup.


    Technically right, but it wouldn''t paint an urate picture.


    "Why go through all of this?" Steve asked.


    He didn''t know why Nick would go through so much trouble.


    He didn''t need all of this.


    "I had the same question when the Aductress sent me here for the first time," Nick said. "I only wanted to increase my power so that I can be a Specialist soon."


    "However, I very quickly learned that being here has taught me a lot."


    "I could test my knowledge and learn about different forms of academia. While I didn''t need more practice in fighting or working with Specters, the one thing I alwayscked was a formal education."


    "And I learned even more during the second phase. I traveled to many different cities in the Great Triangle, and I have seen how all of them operate."


    "I have seen all manners of ways the Governors rule over the different cities, and I could see their advantages and disadvantages."


    "Thest nine years have not been in vain, and I don''t feel like I have missed any opportunities to gain more experience."


    "It was the right thing to make me a trainee," Nick exined.


    Steve looked at Nick with a bit of surprise.


    He had never heard Nick speak so much.


    That made him seem very different in Steve''s eyes.


    It was almost like this wasn''t Nick.


    For the first time, the distant image that Nick was to Steve had finally be clearer.


    Sadly, this happened only when Nick was just about to leave the squad.


    At that point, Steve remembered something.


    "Wait, if you have the rank of Governor already and are living here, does that mean that your family already lives here as well?" Steve asked.


    Nick didn''t immediately answer.


    "No," he said after a bit without borating on his answer.


    Steve grimaced a bit. "Same thing with you?"


    "Something like that," Nick said.


    Naturally, the matter of family was not easy for any trainee.


    Steve had seen his family only once within thest twelve years.


    Yet, that wasn''t as bad as it sounded.


    The matter of family for these elite progenies wasplex.


    Many of them had been brought up with the expectation of reciprocity drilled into them.


    Ever since they were small children, they had heard that they needed to perform exceptionally so that the entire family would benefit.


    This made the rtionship with their family feel very transactional.


    Different trainees dealt with these expectations differently.


    As for Steve, he was not sure anymore what to do, and he had told Nick about that.


    He felt indebted to his family for investing so much in him and giving him his opportunity, but he felt no love for them.


    He did not look forward to seeing them.


    He only wanted to get them into Aegis'' headquarters so that he didn''t need to feel indebted anymore.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t have these issues.


    After all, he didn''t have a family.


    Two silhouettes of a man and woman shot through Nick''s mind.


    Nick thought about his parents from time to time.


    He had no idea who they had been, and he would most likely never find out.


    Whenever the Null killed anything, all records of the event were expunged.


    The less the people knew about the Null, the better.


    More importantly, he didn''t want to find out.


    By knowing more about his past, Nick might regain his memories from before he was ten, which would also bring back the memories of the fateful day, which would mean he remembered what the Null looked like.


    Knowing what the Null looked like was probably just as dangerous as saying the Sentence.


    "What will you do now?" Steve asked.


    Nick kept looking at the ruins.


    "Advance and quickly get through the Consumption."


    Steve sighed. "Right, we can already think about that. It''s closer than I thought."


    "Don''t waste your opportunity," Nick said.


    "I won''t," Steve said. "While I am certain that I can get past it, I know that my result will be, at best, above average."


    "What level are you aiming at?" Nick asked.


    "I want a Mid Elder," Steve said.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "I know," Steve added. "It''s my goal. I know I need a lot more mental fortitude and strength."


    Nick looked at Steve. "You have to change drastically if you want to survive a Mid Elder."


    Steve furrowed his brows. "I know I need more mental fortitude, but you act like it''s impossible for me."


    "It might as well be," Nick said, eliciting an annoyed frown from Steve. "You are missing something fundamental."


    "And what''s that?" Steve asked.


    "A purpose," Nick said.


    Steve raised an eyebrow. "A purpose?"


    "A purpose that drives you to survive and be stronger," Nick said. "Your current purpose is to repay the debt to your family and to look where things are headed."


    "You are not bing stronger for a loved one, and you are not filled with ambition. You are mostly just coasting along to see how things turn out."


    "Only try a Mid Elder if you know exactly why you are risking your life."


    "There is a reason why 50% of all Extractors die when they attempt the Consumption."


    Steve became more annoyed, and he wanted to argue with Nick.


    However, Nick just turned around and walked back into the building.


    "Don''t kill yourself because of your stupid pride," Nick said before entering the building.


    Steve became frustrated and looked away from the building.


    Minutes passed.


    A purpose¡­


    Didn''t he have a purpose?


    Did Nick have a purpose?

 Chapter 592 – Peak Expert

    Chapter 592 ¨C Peak Expert


    The next day, Nick officially left the squad.


    They had spent eight years together, and Nick left just like that.


    He didn''t even say goodbye to anyone.


    Steve and Cynthia felt a bit regretful.


    It didn''t feel good to lose contact with somebody they had been in contact with for so long, so suddenly.


    They had gone through many dangers together, and they had "grown up" together.


    Yet, there had always been this wall between them and Nick.


    The other three had felt pretty close, but Nick had always been isted from them.


    But that was it.


    It was over.


    Just like that, Nick was gone from their lives.


    Steve''s and Cynthia''s squad merged with another one that only had two.


    Usually, deaths weremon among the squads, and there were plenty of trainees searching for new squads.


    Cynthia hadn''t been certain why so many people died during the missions.


    Sure, their squad had been in a couple of dangerous situations, but things had never appeared uncontroble.


    Even during theirtest mission against Vandalize, they hadn''t been in true danger.


    Yet, during theirst couple of years as level two trainees, they would see two people of their squad die to unforeseen circumstances.


    Additionally, missions, in general, seemed to be much more dangerous.


    "Your missions aren''t bing more dangerous," Shirley told Cynthia two years after Nick left the squad. "You''re getting the same kind of missions as you have received previously."


    Cynthia almost couldn''t believe that.


    There were many more ambushes and traps.


    Additionally, the enemies often were more numerous than expected, and they also often showed abilities that they hadn''t expected.


    There were far more surprises in these missions, and a surprise during a mission was almost never a good thing.


    "The missions are not different," Steve told Cynthia another yearter when she mentioned this topic again.


    "Can''t you see what''s happening?" Cynthia asked with annoyance. "We lost Charly yesterday, and we didn''t even have a chance of saving him. Such hopeless situations just started urring three years ago!"


    "Yes," Steve answered. "And what happened three years ago? What changed?"


    Cynthia was reminded of Mendor and Nick. "Mendor and Nick left."


    "There you go," Steve said.


    Cynthia furrowed her brows. "Are you saying that our new teammates are that much worse than Nick and Mendor?"


    "No," Steve said. "Hamil is even better than Mendor."


    "Charly was a very good Scout as well, but¡­"


    "He wasn''t Nick," Steve added. "I didn''t want to tell you since I thought you would one day realize yourself."


    "Cynthia, our new missions are not harder than our old ones. The difference is just that we are finally carrying our own asses."


    Cynthia frowned. "Are you seriously suggesting that Nick was carrying us for eight years?"


    Steve sighed.


    And then, he nodded.


    "Took me a long while to ept it, but that''s exactly it," Steve said. "Almost every unwee surprise in the missions is a result of ack of information. This sounds obvious, but the only reason why things are unexpected is because they were not expected."


    "Charly was a great scout, but sometimes, he was found out, warning the enemy. Sometimes, he couldn''t travel deep enough behind enemy lines to witness their true power. Sometimes, he couldn''t tell what a Specter could do exactly since he is not an expert in Spectology."


    "And most importantly, I couldn''t tell Charly to assassinate the most powerful enemy every time."


    "Almost every time we were on a mission with Nick, I told him to assassinate the most powerful enemy, and he always delivered."


    "Our fights never included the most powerful enemy."


    "Now, they do."


    Cynthia couldn''t answer for a long time, and it took her a while toe to terms with that revtion.


    Their new teammates were definitely not bad.


    Whenever she looked at any of her three teammates, she didn''t look down on anyone.


    All of them seemed to be just as outstanding as her, and they could do things that she couldn''t do.


    And yet, the missions were still extremely dangerous.


    Realizing this gave Cynthia''s confidence a heavy hit.


    She had thought that everyone in their squad had been just as outstanding and that they had all been on the same level.


    But that hadn''t been the case.


    Luckily, their powers had already reached levels that reduced the dangers of the missions a lot.


    Without Nick, they might have already died in the first eight years.


    When the squad received their new scout, Cynthia talked with them quite a bit about different missions.


    "You''re exaggerating," the new scout said, a woman with long gray hair. "A Late Expert scout can''t sneak up on a Fanatic and watch them without being found out."


    Yet, whenever Cynthia mentioned something Nick had done in the past, she got harsh pushback from the new scout, who was saying that Cynthia was exaggerating and telling lies.


    And worst of all, Cynthia kind of had to agree with the newest scout.


    Right, how was that possible?


    How did Nick actually do that?


    Cynthia couldn''t find an answer.


    Four years after Nick left, the squad was dissolved.


    Everyone had be Peak Experts, and they had gained enough experience.


    For the foreseeable future, they would have to work towards their Consumption and their eventual ascension to bing Specialists.


    Of course, Nick had already been in that process for four years.


    Ever since Nick had left the squad, he had stayed in Aegis'' headquarters.


    He was working with Specters to advance in level, and when he was not doing that, he went to the big central library to learn more about the different cities, economics, history, math, and so on.


    Another thing Nick did during these four years was practice Zephyx Maniption.


    The more powerful an Extractor became, the more important Zephyx Maniption became.


    Extractors got ess to more Zephyx, which meant that the Refinement process of Zephyx Maniption no longer required as much time.


    Focusing on Zephyx Maniption would not pay off in the near future since there was so much to learn, but in the long term, it would definitely pay off.


    As Nick stayed in Aegis'' headquarters, he was barely noticed by anyone.


    Sometimes, people noticed him, but no one knew who Nick was.


    No one knew his name, and no one knew what he was doing here. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    He was just a guy who walked from Containment Units to the library to the training halls and then back to the Containment Units.


    All day.


    Every day.


    Four years passed, and Nick finally became a Peak Expert.


    Nick had reached the age of 49, which was iparably young for a Peak Expert.


    Even the most talented trainees from the most elite families became Peak Experts between the ages of 55 and 60.


    However, the youngest person who had ever be an Initial Specialist was already 65 years of age, and they had not been very powerful.


    The reason was the Consumption.


    Technically, the Consumption didn''t take a long time.


    Theoretically, one could go through it at any time, and it would take a couple of weeks at most.


    Yet, nobody attempted the Consumption easily.


    After all, one only had a single chance in their entire life, and the level of sess in the Consumption would shape someone''s entire future.


    One could use a Peak Adult for the Consumption, and one would survive with 99% certainty.


    Yet, that person would never be a Hero in their life.


    The sess of the Consumption determined many things.


    The speed of an Extractor''s Zephyx absorption.


    How much they could absorb.


    How much Zephyx they could store.


    And how talented they were in Zephyx Maniption.


    If one performed the Consumption with a Peak Adult, one would need almost a century to be an Early Specialist from being an Initial Specialist.


    With only 300 years of maximum longevity, such a person would never be a Hero.


    In general, only older people who had already given up their dreams of reaching for the stars would choose a Peak Adult.


    Most people used Initial Elders.


    Advancing a level would still take 50 years, but at least they would be Peak Specialists in their lifetimes.


    That was the next best thing after bing a Hero.


    However, only around 50% of the people who attempted the Consumption with an Initial Elder survived.


    The most talented ones tried Early Elders, and if they seeded, they would be able to advance within 30 years.


    As long as they were not already pretty old when they became Initial Specialists, they would be Peak Specialists before they were 200 years old, giving them an entire century to be Heroes.


    However, this was extremely dangerous.


    Only the most talented people attempted this, and only 30% managed to survive.


    There were also reports of people attempting the Consumption with a Mid Elder, but that almost never happened.


    Someone that seeded in this only existed in one of 50 cities.


    People who managed to get through this would be viewed as future Protectors by Aegis.


    As for Late Elders¡­


    Someone that managed to get through that only came about once in several decades in the entire world.


    Peak Elders?


    ording to the records, no one had ever seeded.


    Yet, if someone had seeded, it could have only been the Champion of Light.


    And Nick hoped that he could join him.


    The Champion had given Nick thest name of Dusk.


    If Nick wanted to live up to this name, and if he wanted to redeem himself¡­


    He had to, at least, reach the level of the current sun of humanity, the Champion of Light.

 Chapter 593 – Mental Fortitude

    Chapter 593 ¨C Mental Fortitude


    Some of Nick''s flesh fell to the ground.


    Yet, he only kept looking forward with an intense gaze.


    In front of him stood the Aductress, carrying a knife.


    Just now, she had cut off part of Nick''s chest.


    The Aductress looked deep into Nick''s eyes with coldness.


    "Give up!" she ordered.


    "No," Nick spoke coldly.


    The Aductress'' knife plunged into Nick''s ribcage, breaking through his sternum.


    Such a wound would be fatal for a normal person.


    "Consuming a Peak Elder is too risky," the Aductress spoke. "Even a Late Elder is already too dangerous."


    "No," Nick repeated.


    CRK! CRK!


    The Aductress moved the knife downward, breaking open Nick''s chest and exposing his heart.


    Nick just gritted his teeth.


    Nick''s chest rapidly healed, but the Aductress kept opening new holes.


    Naturally, someone like Nick was worth a lot, and Aegis wouldn''t allow their members to just throw their lives away by biting off more than they could chew.


    Nick wanted to consume a Peak Elder, and Aegis would not allow him to go through with that unless he proved his willpower.


    The Aductress had been cutting away on Nick''s body for three hours already, and she kept saying that he should give up.


    Yet, Nick just kept on going.


    CRK! CRK!


    The Aductress cut off two of Nick''s ribs and broke them again so that their ends were filled with spikes.


    Then, she moved the two ribs at Nick''s eyes.


    Nick didn''t close his eyes and didn''t look away.


    The Aductress watched Nick''s eyes closely. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick hadn''t been allowed to blink ever since this torture started.


    Otherwise, he would prove that he didn''t have the willpower to consume a Peak Elder.


    These trials were designed to bepletable in theory but basically impossible in practice.


    Theoretically, someone could keep their eyes open for days, but who could actually pull off something like that?


    The ends of Nick''s broken ribs touched his eyes, but he didn''t look away.


    The Aductress moved the ribs around a bit, and they slightly cut into Nick''s eyes.


    Tiny splinters that had already been loose before kept sticking into Nick''s eyes as the Aductress pulled them back again.


    The Aductress just looked at Nick, whose eyes were filled with splinters from his own ribs.


    She gritted her teeth.


    Didn''t this idiot realize that he was walking towards his death?!


    It was impossible to consume a Peak Elder!


    Allowing Nick to pass this trial represented allowing him to kill himself in the Aductress'' eyes.


    Because of that, she was doing her absolute best to keep him from seeding.


    But she only had 24 hours.


    This wasn''t the first time the Aductress had administered this kind of test, but this was the most extreme one she had ever administered by far.


    After all, she was allowed to try absolutely everything without any limit to dissuade Nick from trying to consume a Peak Elder.


    Now, why was all of this necessary, and what was the Consumption?


    In order for a Peak Expert to be an Initial Specialist, one needed to pass the Consumption.


    As the name implied, the Consumption represented consuming something.


    In this case, it represented consuming the core of a Specter.


    When a human consumed the core of a Specter, their mind would fuse with the Specter.


    Their two essences wouldbine, and the two souls would sh with each other.


    The one that managed to win would gain control over the entire body, while the one who lost would lose all intelligence and sense of self to be something like a subservient machine.


    Since all of this happened within one''s mind, one''s mental fortitude was the most important thing.


    The two wills would sh against each other, and their willpowers would weaken the enemy.


    For humans, the resources they used was their willpower, while for Specters, the resources they used was their Zephyx.


    Why was it different?


    Because a Specter''s willpower was perfect.


    Specters did not fear pain, imprisonment, weariness, hunger, exhaustion, or suffering.


    The only thing they "feared" was death, and they knew that losing in this battle represented death.


    Therefore, the Specters would continue fighting until their very existence stopped working.


    This was akin to a human that kept fighting until all of their muscles tore apart and all of their bones broke.


    A Specter''s willpower in this kind of fight could not be matched by a human simply due to the fact that they were not human.


    Therefore, in a one-on-one fight, the Specter would win 100% of every single match.


    It was like a normal person trying to work longer without breaks than a machine, and they were not allowed to slow down at any moment.


    So, the only thing that humans could do was to consume weaker Specters.


    This created an imbnce in mental powers.


    A Peak Expert that consumed a Peak Adult could force the Specter intopliance just due to the overwhelming power of their soul.


    It was like a grown human fighting against a rat.


    One slight weight shift onto the rat would make it feel like a humongous mountain was trying to crush it.


    That would cause the Specter''s Zephyx to burn away at insane rates.


    Of course, the stronger the Specter was, the smaller the difference in power there was between the twobatants.


    Consuming a Late Elder was already considered almost impossible.


    This was like an average adult human malepeting with an average adult human female in how long they could keep a weight of 20 kg held above their heads.


    At first nce, the answer would be obvious.


    But what if the female was so insanely determined that she ignored all the pain until all the muscles in her arm, chest, and back hardened and cramped until they were so damaged that trying to lower them would result in them breaking apart like twigs?


    Suddenly, the favorite in this battle was no longer the male.


    And trying to consume a Peak Elder would be likepeting with another male with the same willpower as the female.


    Even the perfect mental fortitude and attitude wouldn''t be enough since both parties would just die together in a draw.


    After all, both of them would fight with 100% efficiency.


    Therefore, there was no point in even trying to consume a Peak Elder.


    It was impossible to win.


    That was why the Aductress wouldn''t allow Nick to consume a Peak Elder.


    She would stop him!


    Over the next hours, shemitted the most horrible acts she could imagine on Nick.


    Skinning.


    Poisoning.


    Breaking.


    Burning.


    Gouging.


    Destroying.


    Yet, no matter how horrible the acts were, she made sure that Nick could still physically keep his eyes open and his body upright.


    After all, he had to willingly "give up".


    Hours passed.


    Yet, after just twelve hours, the Aductress stopped and just looked at Nick.


    He was still looking at her with determined eyes.


    She was out of ideas.


    How could anyone get past all of these tortures without cracking?


    What drove Nick to such a point?


    What was it that made him this determined to kill himself?


    After so many hours of torture, Nick didn''t even seem like a human anymore to the Aductress.


    Torturing Nick aplished the same thing as torturing a Specter.


    Absolutely nothing.


    "Why do you want to kill yourself this badly?" the Aductress asked.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Do you really intend to go through with this?" she asked again, her voice calmer than before.


    "Yes," Nick replied with a weak but steely voice.


    The Aductress took a deep breath and looked away.


    "I hoped that you would aplish great things," she said.


    Then, she sighed.


    "Sadly, your journey ends here."


    She looked back at Nick. "Consuming a Peak Elder is impossible. It is physically impossible."


    "There is no potential reward to be gained from granting you this opportunity, but we will be losing a Peak Elder."


    "This is a pure loss for Aegis."


    "You no longer have any value. You are someone who is going to die soon, and forcing you to relent will only make you betray us and try in secret."


    "Therefore, I will do the same thing that Aegis does to everyone else who tries to consume a Peak Elder."


    The Aductress pointed her hand at Nick.


    BANG!


    Nick''s body exploded and scattered across the room.


    BANG!


    Nick''s head hit the ground.


    "What a waste," the Aductressmented as she looked at Nick''s head.


    Yet, Nick''s head was still looking at her.


    His eyes were still focused.


    The Aductress looked back.


    There was no remorse.


    There was no wavering.


    He had done his best.


    He had done his absolute best to redeem himself.


    Did he seed?


    No.


    But he tried his best.


    The Aductress released a shaky breath.


    The next moment, healing liquid exploded out of the ceiling and doused Nick''s head.


    Slowly, Nick''s body began to reform.


    Naturally, a normal person would have already died.


    In fact, even a normal Extractor would have already died.


    The only reason why Nick didn''t was because his willpower kept him alive for just a couple more seconds.


    Nevertheless, it wasn''t easy to bring Nick back from the dead, and the Aductress had to use several different gadgets and medicines to keep Nick stable while his body reformed.


    Yet, during all of this, Nick didn''t lose consciousness, and he did not lose any of his fighting spirit.


    In the end, Nick stood reformed in front of the Aductress.


    He still hadn''t blinked.


    Onest time, the Aductress sighed.


    "You win," she spoke with resignation.


    "You''ll get your Peak Elder in one week."

 Chapter 594 – Consumption

    Chapter 594 ¨C Consumption


    Nick walked into a big room.


    A couple of people were already in the room.


    The Aductress stood in the middle and looked at Nick with a serious expression.


    Beside her stood an older man with grey hair.


    Nick actually knew this person. This was Marvin, a Protector working under the Technician.


    Marvin had been one of the four inspectors who had looked at Crimson City.


    Thest person was a middle-aged man who carried an expensive console.


    Based on the man''s uniform, he was a Governor, which almost made Nick raise an eyebrow.


    "This is Protector Marvin Marvel," the Aductress said, gesturing to the older man. "You already know each other."


    "We do," Marvin said with a smile.


    Nick nodded.


    Then, the Aductress gestured to the other person. "This is a Scribe."


    Nick nodded.


    He knew what a Scribe was. He just hadn''t known that this was a Scribe.


    A Scribe was someone who belonged to Aegis and whose task was to administrate the central database.


    While Governors and Agents were allowed to add things to the database, they were only allowed to do so bymissioning a Scribe.


    The only ones that could add things to the database without supervision were Protectors and stronger.


    Naturally, to make things official, the Aductressmissioned a Scribe to record everything that happened.


    It was important that Aegis had a paper trail when Nick inevitably died after consuming the Peak Elder.


    The Scribe stepped forward, and his Barrier activated a momentter.


    Nick''s Barrier activated in response and blinked a couple of times.


    "Nick Dusk," the Scribe said. "Identity confirmed."


    Next, the Scribe took out a couple of documents and handed them over to Nick. "Read these and sign them."


    Nick grabbed the documents and read through them.


    It was a whole bunch of legal bullshit that essentially said that Aegis was not killing him and that he was the one that asked them to consume a Peak Elder.


    Nick signed everything withoutint.


    Finally, he handed the documents back, and the Scribe moved all of them through his Barrier, scanning them.


    The Scribe looked at the Aductress and nodded. "You can proceed."


    The Aductress looked at Nick. "You requested the core of the Dark Cloud," she said.


    Nick nodded.


    Naturally, the choice of the Specter was also important.


    Choosing the right Specter wouldn''t make the Consumption easier or harder, but it would shape one''s future talent in Zephyx Maniption.


    The Specter Core that would be one''s subservient processor naturally had its own things it was good and bad at. It wasn''t some kind of new and untouched Core with no prior history.


    The Specter Core was already shaped, and the Extractor wouldn''t be able to reshape it.


    The Dark Cloud, the Specter Nick had chosen, was a Peak Elder, and just as the name suggested, it looked like a ck cloud.


    It was a Force Specter that consumed all the light around it, encasing its victims in darkness and allowing the Nightmare to torture them.


    It was one of several Specters that used the Nightmare as a form of inflicting suffering on humanity.


    Naturally, Force Specters were extremely good at being elusive and escaping, which was exactly what Nick wanted to specialize in.


    He didn''t want to be found by an enemy, and if he were found, he wanted to escape as quickly as possible.


    The Dark Cloud was perfect for that.


    The Aductress turned around and walked to a corner of the room, to a big ck cube.


    A Specter Cage.


    Her Barrier blinked for a moment, and the door of the cube opened.


    WHOOOM!


    Immediately, a thick cloud of darkness shot past the opening.


    SHING! SHING! SHING!


    The Aductress pulled out one of her swords and released several quick shes.


    To Nick, it seemed like the shes were all performed at the same instant.


    When the Aductress shed, the area around her sword seemed to distort.


    The ck cloud was separated several times, and the cut-off part turned into air.


    It was like the Aductress was cutting off marble to form a sculpture.


    After an unknown number of shes, a ck crystal poked out of the ck cloud.


    Naturally, if these were just regr shes, nothing like this would happen. Fortunately, the Aductress was also a Suppressor.


    DING!


    The tip of the Aductress'' sword touched the crystal, and all of the ck smoke vanished.


    The crystal fell to the ground, and momentster, it started to hover in front of the Aductress.


    "The Specter will die within 30 seconds," she said. "You have to consume the crystal before then."


    Then, she threw the crystal over to Nick, who looked at it.


    It was about the size of a finger and extremely durable.


    Nick pulled his head back and shoved the crystal down his throat.


    Swallowing wasn''t easy, but he could deal with something like that.


    As soon as the Specter Core entered Nick''s neck, it suddenly started to get attracted by something in Nick''s throat and stopped.


    A momentter, Nick felt the Specter Core moving toward the front of his throat.


    Ding!


    Then, Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer and the Specter Core touched.


    Suddenly, the real world vanished from Nick''s vision, and everything was covered in darkness.


    Thest thing Nick saw were the three people looking at him with serious expressions.


    Darkness.


    Eternal Darkness all around Nick.


    It was almost like he was back in the ce where the Nightmare stayed.


    Naturally, Nick knew what was happening. After all, he had learned everything there was to learn about the Consumption.


    An instantter, something appeared in the darkness.


    Some dark clouds gathered together and took the form of a human body.


    In just a couple of moments, apletely new body formed.


    It was Nick.


    A second one.


    The second Nick looked identical to the first, with one exception.


    Its eyes looked grey and dead.


    Nick had a simr expression, but there was still humanity visible in his eyes.


    This was the difference between suppressing one''s emotions and not having any emotions to begin with.


    The second Nick looked at Nick.


    And then, it approached. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick also stepped forward.


    After some time, the two of them reached each other.


    Both of them extended their arms.


    Their palms met.


    They pushed!


    That was it.


    This was what it meant to go toe-on-toe with a Specter in a battle of wills.


    The images Nick was seeing were just reflections of how his mind and the Specter''s mind interacted.


    The Specter Core and the Zephyx Synchronizer were already fighting each other.


    Nick was focusing with everything he had, pushing against the Specter.


    The Specter was doing the same thing.


    Time passed.


    They both kept pushing.


    More time passed.


    They kept pushing.


    It was more difficult for Nick to keep his focus.


    More time passed.


    Nick had the urge to lose consciousness.


    More time passed.


    Nick felt like he could only keep himself conscious by forcing himself.


    Yet, when he looked at the copy in front of him, he saw no difference.


    There was no exhaustion.


    There was no panic.


    There was no struggle.


    It was dead.


    It was just as dead as when it had appeared.


    Nick kept pushing.


    More time passed.


    Pain was coursing through Nick''s body.


    He felt like something inside of his head was breaking.


    His head was killing him, and he felt like his eyes were moving back into his head without his control.


    He kept forcing his eyes forward, but he was fighting a losing battle.


    On the other side, his copy just kept pushing.


    Crk.


    Nick stabilized himself immediately after his hands were pushed back a slight bit.


    Just now, he had lost his focus for just one millisecond, and in that millisecond, his hands had been pushed back just the slightest bit.


    The distance they had been pushed back was almost unnoticeable.


    And yet, it was different from before.


    The frontlines had moved.


    Nick continued holding against the Specter in his new position.


    However, no matter what he did, his new position would forever be behind the starting position.


    Under normal circumstances, in these kinds of battles, one only needed to keep pushing and wait for the enemy to make a mistake.


    But that was exactly what wouldn''t happen here.


    The Specters were perfect.


    They did not make mistakes.


    They never made mistakes.


    They never relented.


    They never gave up.


    The two of them kept pushing.


    Meanwhile, the Scribe was looking at an unconscious Nick.


    Four weeks had already passed.


    Nick had been in a battle with the Dark Cloud for four weeks.


    That was already more than the Scribe had anticipated.


    Most Consumptions ended within a day or a couple of days.


    When someone was consuming a Mid Elder, the fight might drag on for over a week.


    Reports about a Consumption of a Late Elder stated that the fighting could continue for up to four weeks.


    The fact that Nick was fighting a Peak Elder after four weeks meant that he would have definitely seeded against a Late Elder.


    This was somebody who had the talent to be a Peak Protector or maybe even a Shield.


    Sadly, Nick was too ambitious to continue living.

 Chapter 595 – Backup Plan

    Chapter 595 ¨C Backup n


    More time passed.


    Nick kept pushing.


    By now, the Aductress had joined the room and watched Nick just like the Scribe.


    They were entering unprecedented territory.


    The most anyone had ever managed to survive against a Peak Elder was six weeks.


    That was the record.


    And today, Nick cracked that record.


    The Aductress needed to make sure that no idents would ur.


    Nick just kept pushing against his copy.


    It looked like nothing had changed within thest six weeks.


    Except for one thing¡­


    Nick''s hands had been pushed back by three centimeters.


    That was not a lot, but these three centimeters were impossible to get back.


    Nick''s hands hadn''t been able to push forward for even a micrometer for the past six weeks.


    The Specter was perfect.


    There were no mistakes.


    There were no openings.


    It was wless.


    Nick had believed that he could win against the Specter.


    However, thest six weeks proved one thing.


    He was focused to an unreasonable and supernatural degree, but he was not wless.


    He was not perfect.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been pushed back by three centimeters.


    The Consumption was a battle of will, and it was impossible to further optimize such a battle.


    There were no tricks one could employ.


    Well, at least none that everyone could use or ones that worked.


    There was one thing that Nick could try.


    It was a backup n he hade up with before starting his Consumption.


    If this were only a battle of wills, Nick might not have had the confidence to attempt it.


    However, there was something about him that made him different than normal people, and if it came down to it, he would make use of it.


    But the chances of sess were low, and he would only use it if there was nothing left he could do.


    So, he kept on pushing.


    The Aductress looked at Nick.


    Two additional weeks had passed, and Nick was still just lying there.


    If Nick had lost, his body would give off Zephyx of a human nature, and he would slowly start transforming into the Dark Cloud.


    If Nick won, his body would give off Zephyx of a Specter nature, and he would slowly wake up.


    If both of them died, Nick would just die.


    However, Nick was still alive, and he did not give off any kind of Zephyx.


    This meant that he was still battling the Specter, which was unreal.


    It had been eight weeks.


    ''16 weeks is the theoretical maximum,'' the Aductress thought as she looked at Nick. ''No matter how much willpower you have, you will not be able to stop yourself from dying when 16 weeks have passed.''


    The Aductress narrowed her eyes.


    ''That will also be when the Specter will die.''


    Nick kept on pushing.


    More time passed.


    The Specter just continued to stare at him with its dead eyes.


    It didn''t think about winning or about the fact that it was in the lead.


    Its goal was not to win but to not die.


    It did not feel any happiness, smugness, or excitement.


    It just kept pushing with perfect efficiency.


    And it would continue to do so until the very end.


    It was impossible for it to lose.


    More time passed.


    Nick had been looking at the Specter in front of him for ten weeks.


    For ten weeks, it hadn''t made any mistakes or shown any bit of weakness.


    It was like Nick was trying to push an immovable object.


    The pressure was mounting.


    Nick was desperately searching for a glimmer of hope, but there was none.


    Nick started to consider that he might lose.


    More time passed.


    It had been twelve weeks.


    Nick had been pushed back by half a meter already.


    He was losing his concentration more and more frequently.


    Most of the time, his mind was in a state ofplete confusion and delirium.


    He was forgetting himself, and the most horrifying part was that Nick knew that this was not just a temporary effect.


    No, this was permanent.


    Nick''s mind was straining so hard that he was suffering permanent brain damage.


    He was forgetting things, and he knew that these things would not return, even if he won.


    This was the cost of sacrificing oneself.


    Nick''s memories were burning away.


    Of course, the same thing was happening to the Specter.


    The only difference was that it didn''t care about its memories.


    It only cared about not dying.


    Even if it lost 90% of all of its memories, it would continue pushing with perfect efficiency since the will to survive was in its very core.


    Meanwhile, if Nick lost 90% of his memories, he would have long since copsed since he wouldn''t even know who he was or what he was doing.


    Nick couldn''t get through.


    He couldn''t win.


    It was truly impossible.


    A Peak Expert could not win against a Peak Elder in a duel of wills.


    ''I can''t win,'' Nick realized in a moment of rity. ''I have to try my backup n.''


    At that moment, Nick was slowly being pushed back.


    That was because Nick was focusing on something else.


    He was focusing on his past.


    He was thinking about the image of the burning building.


    He was thinking about what had happened before then.


    What happened before he woke up in front of the burning building?


    Nick was trying his best.


    The ckness around Nick transformed into images.


    His memories.


    In the real world, the Aductress noticed that something was starting to push out of Nick''s throat.


    This was a sign that the Specter''s Core was winning the battle.


    She narrowed her eyes.


    The images around Nick started to morph as the burning building came and went.


    Shadows appeared.


    Shadows vanished.


    Fire appeared around Nick.


    A little boy carried something in his hand.


    The little boy focused on the hallway.


    "I met the Null," Nick spoke as his eyes focused on his copy. "I forgot everything about it."


    The Specter didn''t show any reaction.


    It just kept pushing Nick backward very slowly.


    "If I regain my memories, I will know what the Null looks like, and you will know as well."


    "I don''t think the Null cares whether or not you are a Specter. If you know anything about it, you will die."


    "What will it be?"


    "Will we both diepletely?"


    "Or are you willing to just lose part of yourself and survive?"


    This was Nick''s backup n.


    If he managed to remember the Null, it woulde and kill both of them.


    Remembering the Null represented a 100% chance at 100% death.


    Meanwhile, conceding to Nick would only be a 100% chance at 99% death.


    After all, part of the Specter would still survive.


    If one thought back to the minions of the Sea King, could one truly say that nothing of them had remained back then?


    They might not have had their souls and minds, but their bodies and abilities still persisted.


    Weren''t bodies and abilities still part of one''s self?


    Something like this would never work on a human.


    After all, they would feel so angry and hopeless that they would prefer both of them dying than giving the other side all of the benefits.


    But Nick wasn''t fighting a human.


    He was fighting a Specter.


    And Specters were very different.


    The images were distorting more and more.


    The inside of the house seemed to change.


    Nick felt like something inside the house was moving.


    There was something else inside the house.


    That could have only been the Null.


    Nick''s eyes were narrowed and focused on his copy in front of him.


    "Time is ticking. What''s your choice?" Nick asked.


    The Specter did not show any reaction.


    It just kept pushing.


    "You will die if you continue!" Nick shouted. "I have already shown you my willpower! You think I wouldn''t go through withmitting suicide if that means ending your existence as well?!"


    "In the end, I am also just human, and I would much rather kill us both than let you continue living!"


    The Specter looked at Nick.


    Nick knew for a fact that the Specter understood him.


    They were notmunicating via words.


    They weremunicating via concepts and thoughts.


    Everything that Nick had said registered in the Specter''s mind.


    He was sure of it.


    Yet, it showed no reaction.


    None.


    It just kept pushing Nick backward.


    Nick became nervous.


    It wasn''t giving up! N?v(el)B\\jnn


    It wasn''t stopping!


    "Fine!" Nick shouted.


    Then, he focused on his past with all of his power.


    The images surrounding him became clearer.


    Nick felt like he was back inside the house.


    He could feel it.


    There was something foreign inside the house.


    Something that shouldn''t exist.


    The little child turned its head towards a hallway.


    It knew that the thing woulde from there.


    The child waited.


    And then¡­


    BANG!


    The images broke into pieces around Nick, and his eyes widened.


    He quickly tried to resummon the images.


    They reappeared, and he found himself inside the house again.


    BANG!


    The images exploded again.


    He tried again.


    BANG!


    Nick''s eyes opened widely in horror.


    ''I can''t remember¡­''


    ''It''s impossible!''


    ''No matter how hard I try, I can''t remember the Null!''


    ''Everything always breaks apart before it appears!''


    Nick looked with horror at the Specter in front of him, which just looked back with a neutral expression.


    Yes, Nick had been right.


    One option was a 100% chance of 100% death, while the other was a 100% chance of 99% death.


    A Specter would choose the second one.


    Yet, Nick based his hypothesis on a faulty foundation.


    In truth, the first option was not a 100% chance of 100% death.


    It was actually a 90% chance of a 100% chance of 100% death.


    After all, there was a chance that Nick might not be able to remember.


    The Specter had seen that, and it found these odds to be more in its favor than the other one.

 Chapter 596 – The End

    Chapter 596 ¨C The End


    Nick''s backup n had failed.


    He couldn''t intimidate the Specter into conceding, and he also couldn''t pull through with his threat.


    Nick''s mind became more and more chaotic as he tried to find a way out of this.


    ns upon ns formed in his mind, but nothing would work.


    This was a direct battle.


    This was a human against a Specter.


    A Zephyx Synchronizer against a Specter Core.


    There was no kind of scheme that could be pulled off in such a straightforward fight.


    The one with the weaker will would lose.


    And that was Nick.


    Nick would lose because he was human.


    There was nothing he could do about it.


    He kept pushing back, but nothing changed.


    The Specter just kept pushing emotionlessly.


    ''What do I do?!'' Nick thought in panic.


    ''What can I do?!''


    ''There''s nothing I can do!''


    ''But there has to be a way!''


    ''There has to be a way out!''


    Nick continued trying toe up with a n, but none of his ns would change anything.


    Time passed.


    Nick fell into a state of delirium more and more frequently, and he was being pushed back.


    By now, he had been pushed back by five meters.


    Five more meters, and he would hit the wall of his mind.


    That represented death.


    There was nothing!


    There was nothing he could do!


    Nick''s mind just kept running in circles, creating the same n hundreds of times before throwing it away.


    And then, finally¡­


    He calmed down.


    ''It''s over,'' he thought. ''It''s truly over.''


    Scenes of Nick''s past materialized in the ck world.


    Him waking up in the Outer City before walking to the Dregs.


    His horrible life in the Dregs.


    His meeting with Albert.


    Meeting Wyntor.


    Creating Dark Dream.


    Horua.


    There was this other boy Nick had killed, but he couldn''t remember his name or why he had killed him. These memories had already been burned away permanently.


    Jenny.


    That other colleague. Nick didn''t remember what happened to him.


    Wasn''t there also something about some small Manufacturer? Wasn''t that rted to Wyntor''s family?


    Nick had had many employees, but he could only remember a couple of them. However, he did remember that he used to remember all of their names.


    The Crimson Sea. Nick still remembered everything about that incident.


    Wyntor''s death.


    Wyntor''s father. What was his name again? Cecil? Viron? Varon? He didn''t remember.


    Julian. He remembered Julian.


    Whatever happened to Albert? Did he die?


    The outside world.


    The ruins.


    The Sea King.


    Anatomy.


    The Nightmare.


    Aegis.


    Aria. He regretted that he had wasted five of her years.


    The trainee program.


    His squad.


    And that was it.


    Nick''s life.


    At least, everything that he still remembered.


    ''I caused a lot of suffering in my life,'' Nick thought as picture after picture of death and suffering shot through the dark world.


    ''But I was on my way to redemption,'' he thought as pictures of the happy people of Crimson City appeared in the world.


    ''I was doing my best.'' Pictures of stress and pressure appeared and disappeared in the dark world.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''The only thing where I didn''t do my best was with Aria. Frankly, I didn''t even try.''


    ''I felt happiness in the possibility, but I never dared to try to make it real.''


    ''I would do things differently if I had another shot.''


    ''I would actually try.''


    ''Maybe not for me, but for her.''


    ''I might not deserve happiness on my path to redemption, but others do.''


    ''The regret I feel is not my ownck of happiness, but her disappointment and pain.''


    ''Was giving up and letting her go the right choice?''


    ''Maybe fighting for her was what she wanted to see since I have never done that before.''


    ''Fighting¡­''


    ''I fought for everything and everyone except for her.''


    ''Yet, isn''t the fight for the person you love the most the most important?''


    ''If anybody is fighting for anything, it would be for their loved ones.''


    Nick could feel the end approaching.


    As he became distracted more and more frequently, the Specter kept pushing him back.


    Even when Nick was about to die, the Specter still didn''t make a mistake.


    Until the very end, it was perfect.


    Nick took a deep breath, and a feeling of eptance and resolve rose inside of himself.


    He looked at the Specter in front of him with determination.


    ''I will die.''


    ''But I refuse to let this Specter take over my body and get reborn!''


    ''This might hurt Aegis since they will lose a Peak Elder, but for once in my life, I want to be selfish!''


    ''I''m also just human.''


    "RAAAAH!"


    Suddenly, Nick shouted aggressively and pushed against the Specter.


    The Aductress saw Nick''s entire body cramping with strain.


    She knew what this meant.


    This was always what happened when a trainee was about to fail their Consumption.


    Inside the dark world, Nick was pushing the Specter back.


    However, the Specter was still calm.


    At this moment, Nick was using 120% of his power.


    However, using 120% of his power used up a ridiculous amount of focus.


    08:51


    Nick was essentiallymitting suicide.


    He pushed the Specter back to the original starting position.


    Yet, Nick had shortened his maximum time of survival during the Consumption by an entire week.


    Meanwhile, the Specter could still survive the full 16 weeks.


    It just needed to hold out.


    Nick kept pushing.


    The Specter was pushed back.


    One meter.


    Two meters.


    Three meters.


    Yet, when they reached five meters, they stopped.


    It was like the Specter had suddenly turned into an imprable and immovable wall.


    Naturally, the Specter could match Nick''s power output.


    It just hadn''t done so until now since it wanted Nick to use up his focus.


    Nick screamed and shouted.


    He tried to destroy the Specter.


    He tried to destroy it with absolutely everything he had.


    And yet, the Specter wouldn''t move.


    It was just as powerful as him.


    He couldn''t win.


    ''But I know that!''


    ''I don''t want to win!''


    ''I want to die with it!''


    The Aductress looked with a tragic expression at Nick''s body, which was already seizing.


    Nick pushed.


    His Zephyx Synchronizer was pressing against the Specter Crystal.


    The Specter Crystal didn''t move.


    CRK!


    Suddenly, Nick felt like something inside of him broke.


    The Aductress sighed.


    Human Zephyx wasing out of Nick''s body.


    Nick''s Shell had broken apart.


    The area between his Zephyx Synchronizer and the Specter Core was under so much pressure that his Shell couldn''t withstand it anymore.


    It broke and dispersed.


    It was over.


    Nick''s Zephyx regeneration wouldn''t be able to keep up with his usage anymore.


    Even if he managed to win against the Specter, he would die within the hour.


    Yet, this didn''t change anything for Nick.


    He was already dead!


    So, he kept on pushing.


    He would keep pushing until his mind and body were damaged beyond repair!


    He would destroy everything he had to such an absolute degree that the Specter would have nothing left to use to rebuild itself!


    "We are going to die!" Nick shouted at his copy.


    "I will die first!"


    "And you will die next!"


    CRK!


    A crack appeared inside Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer.


    Yet, it just kept pushing.


    "I will not allow you toe back!"


    "I don''t care if it was me that forced you into this duel!"


    "In the end, you are the one that will kill me, and I hate you for that!"


    "I don''t give a shit if you are in the right or in the wrong!"


    "I hate you, and I will leave nothing for you!"


    "We are going to die here and now!"


    CRK!


    More cracks appeared all over Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer.


    "The end is here," Nick spoke coldly.


    "I will die a viin."


    "I did not live long enough to see myself be a hero."


    Nick looked upward.


    "Aria, I''m sorry."


    Then, his eyes steeled, and he red at the Specter.


    He pushed with everything he had.


    "I don''t intend to die with you," the copy spoke.


    "You win."


    BANG!


    Suddenly, the copy stopped resisting, and the two of them broke past the border of the dark world.


    CRACK!


    Suddenly, the middle of the Specter Core became brittle, and Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer broke through the walls.


    And then, it entered the Specter Core!


    Nick could not believe what was happening, and he looked around inplete confusion.


    What was happening?


    He wasn''t dead?


    The Specter had¡­ given up?


    "In a way¡­"


    Nick looked to the side and saw a ck cloud floating in the emptiness.


    "I will continue to live on," it spoke. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Part of me will forever continue to live inside of you."


    "And maybe¡­"


    "I can cause more suffering like this."


    WHOOM!


    The ck cloud shot forward and engulfed Nick.


    The Aductress couldn''t believe what she was seeing.


    Human and Specter Zephyx wasing out of Nick!


    She had never heard of something like this happening!


    Meanwhile, inside Nick''s neck, the crystal representing Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer started to spin again.


    And the Specter Core surrounding it followed.

 Chapter 597 – Not Natural

    Chapter 597 ¨C Not Natural


    Nick''s mind became chaotic.


    He thought about many different things without any kind of logical connection.


    It was like he was inside a fever dream.


    Colors moved back and forth and transformed intopletely different concepts.


    Was he dying?


    Was he still alive?


    Was he dead?


    Everything became surreal to Nick.


    How fast was time passing?


    Was it even passing?


    From time to time, concepts and realizations entered Nick''s mind.


    While his focus might have beenpletely scattered, his mind was still generating thoughts.


    His mind was trying to make sense of Nick''s new reality.


    The Dark Cloud.


    Why had it suddenly given up?


    Some part of Nick''s mind realized that it actually made sense.


    Everything returned to the first two possibilities.


    100% chance at 100% death or 100% chance at 99% death.


    But this time, these chances and numbers were actually urate.


    The Dark Cloud had seen that Nick would have killed it.


    It had seen Nick''s undying will to kill himself together with it.


    He would have done so.


    There was no doubt about it.


    So, the Specter had chosen the other option.


    When Nick thought about that, the Specter''sst words shot through his mind.


    Part of it would forever continue to live on inside of him.


    Yet, how long was forever in this case?


    Nick''s Shell was destroyed, and he should be losing a lot of Zephyx rapidly.


    There was no way for him to recover enough Zephyx to keep his Zephosis going.


    The next moment, an image of Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer shot through his mind.


    Nick saw how it was embedded inside the bigger Specter Core.


    The two of them had aligned with each other, and when the Zephyx Synchronizer spun, the Zephyx Core around it spun as well.


    Both of them had the same shape.


    Both of them were rhombuses.


    In a way, a Specter Core and a Zephyx Synchronizer were almost identical.


    A Zephyx Synchronizer gave humans the power to control Zephyx and use it in many different ways.


    Wasn''t a Specter Core the same thing?


    Well, in a way.


    A Zephyx Synchronizer was to a Specter Core what a heart was to a body.


    A body included a heart, but there was much more.


    A Specter Core could do what a Zephyx Synchronizer could, but it also contained all of a Specter''s soul, mind, and Zephyx.


    In short, it was much more advanced than a mere Zephyx Synchronizer.


    There was also a fundamental difference between Specters and humans regarding their abilities.


    When an Extractor became more powerful, they attained new abilities that built upon their base ability.


    When a Specter became more powerful, it didn''t necessarily gain new abilities.


    Most of the time, the one ability it had just grew more powerful or attained new facets.


    The Nightmare didn''t have many different abilities. It could only create illusions. That was its only ability.


    For an unknown period of time, Nick looked at the two rotating rhombuses.


    They both belonged to him now.


    And yet, this was not how things were supposed to be.


    Usually, the Specter Core would lose all of its lines on its surface, which symbolized the Specter''s abilities and personality, and it would orbit the Zephyx Synchronizer.


    Normally, that orbit happened inside the Shell.


    After a Specter was eliminated during the Consumption, their Specter Core would pass through the Barrier and start orbiting the Zephyx Synchronizer inside the Shell.


    The Shell would pull in the Zephyx, which would then flow into the Zephyx Synchronizer.


    The Zephyx Synchronizer would say what would happen to the Zephyx and would send it to the Specter Core.


    The Specter Core would do the actual work of transforming the Zephyx and send the result out of the Barrier so that it could be used by the Extractor.


    The Specter Core could also use the Zephyx to create the abilities that the Zephyx Synchronizer had since the Specter Core would copy the Zephyx Synchronizer''s lines.


    It would essentially be a more powerful copy of the Zephyx Synchronizer.


    But this was not what would happen to Nick.


    First of all, his Barrier was broken.


    Second, his Zephyx Synchronizer was inside the Specter Core.


    Third, the lines on the Specter Core were still there.


    This Specter Core was not a clean te, which was how it was supposed to be.


    Nick had no idea how things would continue from here on out.


    Assuming he managed to somehow survive theck of Zephyx.


    Absentmindedly, Nick kept looking at the picture of the Specter Core surrounding his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    He looked at it for a long time.


    Slowly, the Specter Core was repairing itself, and it was epassing Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer more and more.


    Nick watched as the hole closed.


    The smaller the hole became, the colder Nick started to feel.


    And one day, the hole closed fully.


    Now, Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer was no longer showing at all.


    As soon as thest bit of his Zephyx Synchronizer vanished, Nick felt like he had been thrown into a pool of ice water.


    Everything around him started to feel cold.


    That was such an alien feeling.


    Nick hadn''t felt cold for decades.


    But now, he felt like he was freezing.


    Was this the feeling of running out of Zephyx?


    People felt cold when they were starving, right?


    Was this something simr?


    He waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    And yet, he didn''t die, and the coldness didn''t seem to expand or grow more extreme.


    In fact, Nick''s mind became clearer as time passed, and he seemed to regain some of his wits.


    He just kept watching the Specter Core.


    He knew a lot about Spectology, and he had also learned quite a bit about Zephology.


    So, he could somewhat tell what was happening.


    But when he actually tried to think about how this fusion was supposed to work, he drew a nk.


    ''I am definitely still alive, and I won''t die to this. That much is certain,'' Nick thought as he looked at the image.


    ''The Specter Core is absorbing enough Zephyx to keep my Zephosis running. Even without a Shell.''


    ''Now that I think about it, it actually makes sense. Specter Cores are far superior to Zephyx Synchronizers. A Specter doesn''t need a Shell to survive, and they don''t use any less Zephyx than humans.''


    ''Specter Cores naturally pull in more Zephyx than Zephyx Synchronizers. Even if the Zephyx Synchronizers have Shells.''


    ''Additionally, since the Specter Core also contains all the Zephyx of a Specter, my Zephyx Synchronizer should have ess to all of my Zephyx in its immediate surroundings, assuming the Specter Core stores all the Zephyx inside my body.''


    Nick''s brows furrowed.


    ''However, how will my abilities work?''


    ''There are Maniption Lines on the Specter Core, and while pure Zephyx can travel through them without being changed, Zephyx in the form of an ability can''t do that.''


    ''I can pull Zephyx to and from my Zephyx Synchronizer, but if I want to use any of my abilities, they won''t be able to get through the Specter Core.''


    ''Do I still have ess to my abilities?''


    Yet, this wasn''t the only issue that Nick foresaw.


    ''And how will my level grow in the future?''


    ''My Zephyx Synchronizer absorbs Zephyx that''s created by a Specter in order to advance in level, but Specters only create Zephyx under specific conditions.''


    ''Even worse, the Zephyx created from Specters can''t be used on Specters unless it''s the Crimson Sea using it.''


    ''So, if I were to work with a Specter, its Zephyx should theoretically not be able to reach my Zephyx Synchronizer since my new Specter Core is isting it.''


    More and more problems appeared in Nick''s mind.


    It was very clear that this was not a natural evolution of power.


    This was the result of an experiment.


    So many problems.


    An unknown period of timeter, Nick saw how the Specter Core fully reformed.


    His Zephyx Synchronizer and Specter Core had recovered.


    Shortly after Nick saw that, his mind started to hurt.


    Then, his body started to hurt.


    Nick put his hand to his head and gritted his teeth.


    He squinted his eyes as the world around him transformed.


    Everything became heavier and more oppressive.


    He was being pulled somewhere.


    Nick''s abdomen started to strain, and he felt his torso moving.


    "Oh, look who''s finally up." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick slowly opened his eyes and was blinded by the bright light around him.


    He massaged his head and tried to get used to moving again.


    His mind was in chaos, but it was calming down with remarkable speed.


    Nick still felt like he was freezing.


    After a bit, Nick looked around.


    He was inside a bed in the middle of a big hall filled with different devices.


    Nick could only recognize what about 30% of the devices did.


    He also saw someone standing beside his bed.


    It was the Technician, and he was looking at Nick with a grin.


    "Wee back to the world of the living, Nick," he said.


    Then, he took out some kind of device.


    "Are you ready to unearth the secrets of your new body?"

 Chapter 598 – New Body

    Chapter 598 ¨C New Body


    "Very interesting," the Technicianmented as he looked at a disy on his Barrier.


    The disy showed a person''s vital signs.


    Based on the vital signs, their blood pressure was elevated, and they had a heart rate of almost 150 beats per minute.


    All of these little nuggets of information were cool and all, but one didn''t need to see all of this to know what was actually going on.


    Nick looked at a tall and muscr man.


    The muscr man was breathing rapidly, and cold sweat was running down his entire body. His muscles were strained, and his eyes were fixed on Nick.


    The man was having an intense fight-or-flight response.


    His body would obviously choose flight, but the door behind him was closed.


    "He-hey!" the man shouted casually with a nervous smile. "What''s up?"


    Naturally, he was trying to dispel the awkwardness of Nick just emotionlessly looking at him.


    "You also from these parts?" he asked.


    The Technician observed further deterioration of the man''s mental state but chalked it up to Nick''s ability to highlight the presence of an awkward atmosphere by being silent and not reacting to anything.


    After a while, the Technician nodded, and a momentter, the door behind the man opened.


    The man almost jumped away in fear as he heard the noise of the door behind him opening.


    "Oh, hey, I-I think that means I should leave. Okay, bye!" the man said as he quickly stepped through the door.


    The man quickly walked to the exit of the research area and left.


    "I think that''s enough for now," Nick heard the Technician''s voice inside his head. "You really scared every single one of them just by standing there."


    Nick sighed. "I''m genuinely not trying to scare them," he said with what sounded like helplessness.


    "I could tell," the Technician said with augh. "But no matter what you do, every normal human will perceive your actions as threatening."


    Nick looked to the side with a lost expression. "There''s really no doubt anymore?" he asked.


    "Nah, that pretty much sealed it," the Technician said. "You''re 48 for 50. You scared almost everyone just by making different faces."


    Nick tried toe to terms with his new reality.


    The Technician had put Nick through many experiments over the past few days to learn everything that they could about his new circumstances.


    Nick even felt a bit guilty that a Shield was wasting all of this time on him, but the Technician just said that this was way more important than anything else.


    This concerned humanity''s future!


    At least, that''s what he said with an excited grin.


    Their most recent experiment tried to find out how Nick''s new state of being affected other people in his vicinity.


    To test this, they had brought in many different normal humans.


    Initially, Nick was just supposed to stand there and do nothing.


    Yet, every single time, the person in front of Nick started to get a fight or flight response and became very scared.


    When asked about their thoughts while standing in front of Nick, all of them reported that they felt like Nick was filled with unending hatred and that he was about to attack them any second now.


    He felt very, very dangerous to them.


    Naturally, the Technician had been present during all of these events, and he could tell that Nick was just rxed and normal.


    After that, Nick turned around for the next couple of people.


    The next people only saw Nick''s back, but they still felt afraid of him.


    They were terrified that he would turn around and that they would see something horrifying.


    Then, Nick started to smile and introduce himself as soon as the people entered.


    Nick had gone through many meetings in his life, and he was very good at appearing charismatic and friendly.


    Eight of the ten people still felt scared.


    Thest two weren''t scared, but they felt like they couldn''t possibly trust Nick.


    They felt like everything he said was a lie.


    No matter what Nick did, all of his actions were interpreted in the most hostile way possible.


    And sadly, that made sense.


    Since the Specter Core surrounded Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer, every bit of Zephyx that came out of it was Specter Zephyx, not human Zephyx.


    This meant that Nick essentially had the aura of a Specter, and humans were instinctively terrified of Specters.


    Specters were their natural enemies.


    Naturally, Nick was still human.


    He could still feel things, albeit in a dampened way.


    This was another thing that had changed.


    Even normal people had a slight bit of Prephyx and Zephyx traveling through their bodies, but the amount was so minuscule that it counted as basically nothing.


    However, this little bit still made a difference.


    Being around a Specter naturally made someone feel nervous and antsy.


    Even Extractors felt that. They were just used to it and could deal with the anxiety.


    It was human nature to be wary of Specters.


    So, what about Nick?


    He wasn''t any different.


    He also felt some anxiety while being around Specters.


    But the issue was that Specter Zephyx was continually traveling throughout his body.


    This meant that Nick''s subconscious constantly felt like a Specter was inside of him or surrounding him.


    Nick consciously and logically knew that this wasn''t the case, but his emotions didn''t care about that.


    They would continue feeling antsy and anxious.


    And that made it more difficult for Nick to feel other emotions.


    His "emotional pipeline" was constantly upied with housing anxiety, leaving less space for everything else.


    That left less space for any kind of emotion, including negative ones.


    Usually, one would think that panic, stress, rage, and sadness would be amplified and easier to feel in such a state, but that wasn''t the case.


    This wasn''t the normal kind of anxiety.


    This was anxiety born by being close to a Specter.


    His mind and body were in a constant survival mode.


    This created an "urgent and icy calm" inside of Nick.


    The Specter Zephyx was also what made Nick feel like he was freezing all the time.


    Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer wasn''t surrounded and bathed by the "warm and weing" Prephyx of the atmosphere but by the "cold and icy" Zephyx of a Specter.


    However, Nick wasn''t entirely sure if he was happy with this or not.


    On the one hand, he felt very unnatural, and he felt like he should really fix this state since humans were not supposed to be this way.


    But on the other hand, his guilt was no longer as overbearing as before since it was clouded by the new anxiety.


    It was not worse or better.


    It was¡­ different.


    Yet, that wasn''t all that was different.


    There was also a big difference with his powers and how they developed.


    A positive aspect was that Nick''s Zephyx regeneration was even faster than it was before.


    Additionally, he could be a Specialist and was ready to advance at any time.


    There was another positive aspect, but it would remain a negative for a couple of years.


    Due to the Maniption Lines on the Specter Core, Nick couldn''t properly use his abilities right now, weakening him considerably.


    However, the Technician was already in the process of developing a way to alter the Maniption Lines.


    Or, more precisely, he was working on a method to alter them.


    The Technician wouldn''t be able to alter them, but his technique would give Nick a way to alter them.


    The Technician had been working on this technique for centuries already, and it was nowhere nearplete.


    However, he was nning on giving Nick a prototype version to try out. It would be much easier for the owner of the Specter Core to change the lines.


    If everything worked out just as expected, Nick would be able to reshape the Maniption Lines to not only restore but augment his previous abilities.


    If shaped correctly, Nick''s Specter Core would be able to work as an amplifier for the unique Zephyxing out of his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    That was only possible by having a Zephyx Synchronizer inside of a Specter Core.


    Nick was already focusing on learning more about Spectology, biology, and Zephyx Maniption.


    He would need to know a lot about these topics if he wanted to reshape the Maniption Lines of his Specter Core.


    Yet, there was onest thing that was different, and Nick wasn''t a fan of that at all.


    It was concerning his future advancement in level.


    Just as expected, Nick''s Specter Core didn''t allow Zephyx from foreign Specters to go through it, which meant that Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer couldn''t advance.


    However, since it produced its own Specter Zephyx, Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer could absorb that.


    But how did his Specter Core produce Zephyx?


    After a lot of experimenting, the Technician and Nick found out how. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Nick was producing Specter Zephyx constantly, but the production was much higher during the day.


    In thete hours, his production fell by quite a bit.


    The reason was that humans were generally asleep in thete hours.


    Nick produced Zephyx like a Specter now, and his way of producing Zephyx was to make humans suffer.


    The more they suffered and the more powerful the suffering person was, the more Zephyx Nick produced.


    That was not easy for Nick to ept.

 Chapter 599 – Suffering and Help

    Chapter 599 ¨C Suffering and Help


    This new change was the hardest thing Nick had to get used to.


    His goal was to redeem himself by improving the lives of as many people as possible.


    For that, he needed to be powerful.


    Someone without power couldn''t change a lot.


    Yet, to be powerful, Nick needed to make people suffer.


    It was ironic.


    It was almost like some all-powerful being was ying a joke on him.


    "Alright, I''m done with experiments for now," the Technician said.


    Nick nodded absentmindedly and walked out of the experiment room.


    "You can go back to learning if you want to. I''ll call you when I need you," the Technician added.


    Nick nodded again and just started leaving.


    While the Technician waspiling some data, Nick walked through the corridors until he arrived in front of a door.


    He entered the door and found himself in an absolutely gigantic library.


    This was the Great Library, and it was the greatest repository of knowledge in the world.


    It was a hundred meters wide, 200 meters long, and about a hundred meters high.


    Everything was covered in shelves, and there were even books sitting outside the shelves since there was no more space for them.


    There were probably millions of books here.


    Even more shocking, almost none of them were fiction.


    Fictional stories were not deemed important enough to be stored here unless they were absolutely amazing or taught valuable things.


    Nick absentmindedly walked up some stairs in the library and seemingly stopped at a random ce.


    Then, he grabbed a book and continued reading.


    It described in detail how the pancreas created enzymes and what all of these enzymes were good for.


    The book was quite heavy since every single leaf of paper was encased in ss.


    This was due to the age of the book.


    It was written by the Ancient Ones.


    Naturally, Nick had to learn thenguage called English first to understand this book, but that didn''t take a long time.


    Sadly, just a couple of minutes into reading, Nick slowed down and felt his mind wander.


    ''I have to inflict suffering to grow,'' he thought as he read the same sentence for the fifth time.


    ''How can I redeem myself like this?''


    ''Will my future be a bncing act between helping people and damaging them?''


    Nick sighed.


    ''I shouldn''t jump to conclusions. The Technician is still running a couple of experiments on this aspect. We don''t know how exactly this works yet.''


    Nick closed his eyes for a second before re-opening them with newfound focus.


    Then, he actually started learning.


    After about two days, he was called back in for more experiments.


    This time, a Hero was sent in.


    The Hero walked in with his head lowered.


    "I am here to shorten my sentence," he spoke with shame.


    The Hero had deep blue hair, and he seemed quite young.


    He wore the outfit of a Governor, but Nick already knew what this was about.


    "One hour for one year," Nick said.


    Naturally, Nick had been briefed by the Technician about what he should do.


    He had done this rarely, but he had still done it a couple of times. Additionally, he had also been at the end of this act several times.


    "I understand," the man said as he slowly lifted his head to look at Nick.


    When he saw Nick, his heart started to race.


    The Hero wore a special Zephyx Suppressor that locked his Zephyx but still allowed his Zephosis to work.


    Like this, the Hero couldn''t hurt any Expert, but he could still survive.


    Naturally, this was one of the corrupt Governors who had been sentenced to stand in front of Aegis'' entrance as punishment.


    Nick had no pity for such people.


    Corruption was one of the things he hated the most.


    Of course, when the Hero saw Nick in his weakened state, he was sent into a fight-or-flight response.


    However, as a very experienced Extractor, he could deal with such a situation without doing anything stupid.


    "Lay on this table," Nick said, gesturing to a cold and metallic table with straps on it.


    The man took a deep breath and walked over, his fear increasing.


    He was not looking forward to this.


    Naturally, the obvious happened, and Nick strapped him to the table.


    The guy couldn''t move anymore.


    "One hour," Nick repeated. "I will stop as soon as one hour passes. You have to survive for that long."


    "I understand," the man said with anxiety. "Just do it."


    "Alright," Nick said.


    Then, Nick unsheathed his de and put it under the nail of the man''s big toe.


    "One hour. Starting now."


    CRRRKSH!


    The man gritted his teeth as Nick''s de entered the space between the man''s big toe and its nail.


    Nick moved his de around a bit until the big nail fell off.


    Naturally, the de hadpletely severed it.


    In less than ten seconds, the nail had already regrown.


    The Hero''s regenerative abilities were not suppressed.


    Next, Nick skinned the man''s soles.


    The man''s eyes bulged in pain, but he didn''t shout.


    This was the deal.


    One hour of torture in exchange for one year of his sentence.


    Obviously, something like this hadn''t existed before Nick had woken up from his slumber.


    This had only been created because the Technician needed somebody that he could experiment on without any moral issues.


    In the Technician''s mind, this experiment should give them valuable input into how exactly Nick produced Zephyx.


    After warming up for a minute with some foot stuff, Nick moved up the body and started to punch the man''s abdomen repeatedly.


    Naturally, if Nick used all of his power, this guy''s body would explode.


    So, he was very careful to inflict wounds that were only fatal to normal people, not Extractors.


    Inner bleedings were really bad for normal people, but Extractors would survive those rather easily.


    Yet, they still hurt like hell.


    Nick essentially made the guy''s liver explode over and over again as his kidney''s got squashed and his intestines ruptured.


    After less than a minute, the guy had already started to scream in pain, but he wasn''t asking Nick to stop.


    Not that Nick would stop.


    At this moment, Nick was producing a good amount of Zephyx.


    Torturing a Hero for an hour a day would give Nick enough Zephyx for the day.


    However, Nick actually didn''t need Zephyx.


    He could be an Initial Specialist any second if he wanted to, and as long as he didn''t advance, all this Zephyx would be wasted.


    But that wasn''t the purpose of this torture anyway.


    They wanted to find out how much Zephyx Nick could produce and how it worked exactly.


    After around ten minutes of destroying the Hero''s abdomen, Nick started to harvest ribs.


    He tore them out, threw them to the side, waited for new ribs to grow, and repeated the process.


    30 minutes into the torture, the guy started to beg that he wanted to get out. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "You''re not getting out," Nick said. "I''m doing this for your sake."


    "In 30 minutes, you are going to thank me."


    "You don''t want all of this to be for nothing, right?"


    Nick spoke these words in a very cold manner, and his torture didn''t stop for a bit.


    Eventually, Nick got to the guy''s teeth and worked on them a little.


    The more pain the Hero felt, the more Zephyx Nick produced.


    For the remaining minutes, Nick tortured the guy with random injuries.


    And then, 60 minutes were over.


    "We''re done," Nick said.


    The man was breathing heavily, and there was a sea of horror in his eyes.


    Nick calmly opened the straps, and the man quickly sat up.


    "So?" Nick asked. "Would you have wanted me to stop? 30 minutes for nothing or 60 minutes for a full year of your sentence?"


    The man didn''t answer for a while.


    "I''m not," Nick answered coldly. "The Technician is watching us right now. He wouldn''t let a Specter roam around freely."


    Then, he looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    "You created Zephyx," he said. "You''re a Specter?"


    "I''m not," Nick answered coldly. "The Technician is watching us right now. He wouldn''t let a Specter roam around freely."


    The man frowned.


    Sure, Nick felt like a Specter to him, but the way Nick acted was definitely human.


    "But you produced Zephyx. I''m sure of that," the man said.


    "Do you think it wise to ask these questions?" Nick asked evenly.


    The man''s heart shook.


    "Forget I said anything," the man said.


    Then, the man stood up and took a deep breath.


    "You''re right," he said, looking at Nick with some relief. "It was worth the 60 minutes. Yes, these 60 minutes were horrible, but it saved me an entire year."


    "Thank you," he said.


    "You can leave," Nick said as he gestured to the door. "Keep in mind that all of this is confidential."


    "I understand," the man said.


    Then, he left.


    After the man left, Nick looked at the door.


    His eyes had regained their conviction.


    "Those were some good results, eh?" the Technician''s voice appeared in Nick''s mind.


    Nick nodded.


    Nick had produced a lot of Zephyx while the man was suffering, but even though Nick had done something that the man actually wanted and even thanked him for, none of the Zephyx vanished.


    This proved that it was much easier for Nick to produce Zephyx than anticipated.


    Helping people did not cancel out the suffering created.


    If Nick made one person suffer and helped one person, the Zephyx produced would be the same as if he made one person suffer and helped a thousand people.


    Only the amount of suffering was important for Zephyx production.


    At least, that was the prime hypothesis right now.


    A bit more testing would be required.

 Chapter 600 – Report

    Chapter 600 ¨C Report


    Over the next two weeks, the Technician made Nick go through a couple more experiments, and in the end, they came to a conclusion.


    Yes, doing good did not interfere with the Zephyx produced by causing suffering.


    Even when it happened at the same time, it didn''t interfere.


    If, for example, Nick were a medical professional and he would deal with serious injuries to save someone''s life, he would still produce Zephyx if the process of dealing with that injury was quite painful.


    Naturally, Nick would be saving someone''s life, and the patient would be grateful the entire time.


    Yet, they would have still suffered, and Nick''s Specter Core would have still produced Zephyx.


    After Nick had learned all of this, he had be relieved.


    He had believed that he wouldn''t be able to help humanity anymore with his new state of being, but that wasn''t true at all.


    Sure, there were still some issues, but this had been the biggest issue, and it had been solved.


    The Technician and Nick had alreadye up with some ns about how Nick could produce enough Zephyx to keep advancing.


    However, they were still nowhere near done experimenting on Nick.


    While this issue had been dealt with, two other issues still needed to be solved.


    First, Nick needed to regain ess to his abilities.


    Second, they didn''t know how Nick''s advancement between levels worked.


    How would he gain new abilities?


    Usually, an Extractor''s Zephyx Synchronizer, when the Extractor was ready to advance, was in a vtile state, and the Extractor could will it to copy the closest Specter''s ability.


    But the closest Specter to Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer was his Specter Core.


    Any outside Zephyx from any other Specter would not be able to enter the Specter Core, which meant that it couldn''t touch Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer.


    So, how was Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer supposed to gain new abilities?


    Right now, it seemed impossible.


    However, there was always a way, and Nick had the support of the most intelligent and oldest researcher in the world, the Technician.


    The Technician hadn''t been this invested in a project for over a thousand years.


    Depending on the result, this might transform all of humanity.


    The Technician gave Nick all of his attention.


    By now, Nick had gotten used to the Technician, and the two of them were talking quite casually. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The Technician also wasn''t a person who constantly demanded respect.


    One day, during a seemingly random experiment, the Technician suddenly started frowning.


    Nick raised his eyebrow as the Technician pulled the wires from Nick''s body with annoyance.


    "We gotta go," he said as he walked to the door.


    "What''s up?" Nick asked, standing up from the table.


    "Helia has been a pain in my ass for a month now," the Technician said as he led Nick up the stairs. "She wants to know about the cities and several other research projects, and she is constantlyining about their progress."


    Naturally, the Shields talked to each other via voice transmission.


    Nick hadn''t noticed it, but the Technician had probably been talking with the Left Arm quite regrly.


    ''But then, why isn''t he just exining everything?'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    "Because we don''t talk often," the Technician answered as if he had just read Nick''s mind.


    Nick used to be surprised whenever the Technician did this, but after a while, he got used to it.


    A researcher who had lived for over a thousand years had talked to so many people and had such a fast mind that they could very often guess with quite a lot of uracy what someone was thinking about just based on their expression and context clues.


    "She only contacts me when she needs something, and I don''t want to waste my time by giving useless reports to her," the Technician exined as the two of them approached the central Extractor shaft. "She keeps supervising me like I''m some kind of baby."


    He might not be able to read minds word for word, but he could guess what was roughly going on in someone''s mind most of the time.


    "She only contacts me when she needs something, and I don''t want to waste my time by giving useless reports to her," the Technician exined as the two of them approached the central Extractor shaft. "She keeps supervising me like I''m some kind of baby."


    The two of them jumped into the Extractor shaft and moved upward.


    "Why are we here, exactly?" Nick asked.


    The Technician jumped through one of the doors of the Extractor shaft.


    "I''ll just introduce you and talk about all the possibilities now so that we don''t have to do this again," the Technician said as he opened the door to the Hall of Remembrance.


    Nick furrowed his brows, but before he could ask¡­


    "Not a lot," the Technician answered. "I was very vague."


    Nick''s eyebrows rose.


    The Technician turned around and pointed his finger at Nick with an annoyed expression. "Shut it!"


    Nick just looked at him with a neutral expression.


    Finally, the Technician sighed and rubbed the side of his head in annoyance. "Yes, yes, I get it. I know, I know."


    Then, he groaned in frustration before approaching the Left Arm''s office.


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t stop his thoughts from urring.


    ''If you were more dutiful in reporting, she wouldn''t constantly ask for a report.''


    The Technician didn''t react.


    He already knew all of that.


    But it was just so annoying!


    He just wanted to focus on his research and his work.


    Couldn''t everyone just leave him alone so that he could create new technologies and advancements in peace?


    Nick knew these kinds of people very well.


    They were amazing at what they did, but they were very often not very dutiful when it came to seemingly unnecessary things.


    Stuff like finances, marketing, legality, poprity, procedure, and so on.


    Naturally, due to their high intellect, they very often noticed when these things urred and knew about these ws of theirs very well.


    But it just wasn''t important enough to waste a lot of focus on.


    The Technician opened the door to the Left Arm''s office without knocking and just entered.


    Nick carefully entered after him.


    When he saw the intimidating Left Arm standing in the middle of the dim office, Nick bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Left Arm," he spoke.


    As always, the Left Arm had an expression that made it seem as if she were looking at a criminal.


    "James," she said with her cold voice as she looked at the Technician. "Please, tell me why this is so important."


    "Just look at him!" James said as he gestured to Nick. "He has a working Specter Core surrounding his Zephyx Synchronizer!"


    "I see that," the Left Arm spoke in a t tone. "Yes, that is indeed very interesting, but I don''t see how this is taking up your time to such a degree that three Agent promotions and 15 city bankruptcies are still waiting. The future Agents and the cities are waiting for you, and the procedures can''t continue without your approval."


    The Technician rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Don''t you see how big this is?! These little things are nothingpared to what might be in front of-"


    "Might," the Left Arm interjected coldly. "That is the right word. Might. It is not certain."


    The Left Arm narrowed her eyes as she red at the Technician. "Even if this guy were the future savior of humanity, he wouldn''t be able to solve anything within the next couple of decades, and if you continue ignoring your duties, Aegis might not exist after the next couple of decades."


    "Manage your things and do your duty so that Aegis can run smoothly until the time that your hope has a chance of paying off. We have to be alive to experience the fruits of hope."


    The Technician grimaced.


    In a way, he looked like a toddler who didn''t want to eat his veggie cubes.


    "Can''t somebody else deal with this stuff?" he asked with a voice devoid of hope.


    The Left Arm just looked at him with an icy re.


    "No," she spoke slowly.


    The Technician slowly took a deep breath.


    Then, his Barrier activated, and several pictures shed on it before vanishing.


    Five secondster, the Barrier deactivated.


    "Okay, done," he said. "Can I go back to researching now?"


    Nick rolled his eyes.


    ''Five seconds,'' Nick thought. ''This guy made all of this trouble for just five seconds of work.''


    ''Walking to the ground floor took already more than five seconds.''


    However, Nick wasn''t surprised.


    Many of these kinds of people were quite entric.


    "Tell me everything you found out about this new possible way of Consumption," the Left Arm ordered.


    "Oh, sure!" the Technician answered as his mood immediately improved.


    As soon as he got to talk about his research, his demeanor started to glow like a child that had just found a new toy.


    The Technician started to talk endlessly about what he had learned and what he thought would happen.


    "What about the best possible scenario?" the Left Arm asked, interrupting the Technician.


    "Well," the Technician said. "If we somehow manage to allow the Zephyx Synchronizer to attain new abilities, we would technically not be limited by the power of the Specters we possess."


    "Nick could potentially be a Peak Shield, and if everything goes well, he could even be the first human to reach the ninth level."

 Chapter 601 – Ability Experiments

    Chapter 601 ¨C Ability Experiments


    This was why the Technician was so invested in this new development.


    The entire reason why humanity couldn''t properly fight the Specters was because training a Shield was extremely difficult.


    If the current Shields could be Peak Shields, things would be very different from how they currently were.


    For one, they wouldn''t need to keep three of them at the same ce.


    They also wouldn''t need to endanger a huge number of people every single time they worked with the one Adversary they had in custody.


    If the Technician somehow found a way for Nick to keep advancing, all of humanity might transform.


    They might finally have a way of equally fighting the Specters.


    However, all of this was just potential.


    Right now, it was not a certainty.


    Additionally, it was important that all of this remained secret.


    "But we need to survive until then, first," the Left Arm spoke. "So, I need you to keep fulfilling your daily duties."


    "Yes, yes," the Technician answered dismissively.


    It was quite obvious that he would once again follow this order for only a limited time.


    "Try to find a way to advance. If you do find one, tell me," the Left Arm said before frowning. "We might need to wake the Champion again."


    It was quite obvious that he would once again follow this order for only a limited time.


    "Try to find a way to advance. If you do find one, tell me," the Left Arm said before frowning. "We might need to wake the Champion again."


    "Of course!" the Technician answered with an excited smile. Finally, all this unnecessary stuff was over, and he could go back to experimenting!


    "Come, Nick! Knowledge awaits!" the Technician shouted with excitement.


    Nick performed a quick bow in front of the Left Arm and walked after the Technician.


    The Left Arm watched Nick leave.


    There was another aspect about this entire thing that the Left Arm noticed but didn''t voice.


    At least not in front of Nick.


    And that was the mental effects of this transformation.


    Due to the way the Zephyx worked inside Nick right now, one could make an argument that he was partially a Specter now.


    He could be a Half-Specter, in a way.


    This meant that it was also possible that Nick could join the Specters instead of humanity, and that was an important thing to consider.


    If they invested everything into one human just for that human to help the Specters in the end, humanity might be doomed.


    Could they create a powerful being, and if they could, would that being help humanity or the Specters?


    This was an important aspect.


    This was a real danger.


    After all, Nick had told the Technician about the Specter Zephyx inside his body and how it dampened his emotions.


    While Nick would definitely remain human in the short term, in the long term, he might change into a Specter, mentally speaking.


    The Technician and Nick continued experimenting.


    During this time, Nick kept learning more about biology, Zephology, and Zephyx Maniption. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Time passed.


    After a while, the two of them focused solely on how Nick''s Specter Core worked.


    Having a human with a Specter Core gave one advancement after the next in the field.


    In just one year, the research into Specter Cores had progressed an equivalent of 50 years without Nick.


    After two years of research, the Technician managed to create a prototype that could allow someone to change the maniption lines of their Specter Core.


    But that was when the research became dangerous.


    From now on, they had to test things.


    And since there was only Nick¡­


    Nick''s first task was to map out every possible feeling that the Specter Core gave him.


    Nick could not perfectly look at his Specter Core.


    Sure, he could "see" the surface, but he couldn''t "see" the lines within the core.


    He could only "feel" how the Zephyx changed after passing through it.


    This meant that, as soon as they changed the maniption lines, Nick wouldn''t know what he would need to change to regain the current form of his Specter Crystal.


    He could only look at the result by remembering how it felt and trying things out to achieve the same result.


    Nick could potentially kill himself by removing or adding an incorrect maniption line.


    For example, what if he somehow isted the connection between his Zephyx Synchronizer and the Specter Core?


    That would result in his Zephyx Synchronizer being surrounded by an imprable wall.


    It would be like an insect inside a ss.


    Alternatively, a burst of poisonous Zephyx could cripple or destroy his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    They had to proceed with utmost care.


    Luckily, Nick had had almost two years to fully remember how his Specter Core felt.


    He was quite confident in being able to recreate the original.


    Finally, it was time to actually experiment.


    The first thing they tried was to delete some maniption lines.


    Maybe they could turn it into a nk te.


    Yet, they realized very quickly that this wouldn''t work.


    After they tried around a bit, Nick''s Specter Core stopped producing Zephyx, and Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer stopped receiving Zephyx in turn.


    They immediately changed it back.


    If they didn''t, Nick would essentially "suffocate".


    That made it clear.


    The Specter Core was required to remain a functional Specter Core since it was the only source of energy for the Zephyx Synchronizer.


    Turning it into a nk te would kill Nick.


    Next, they tried to restore the Specter Core''s old ability.


    After all, the Dark Cloud had been a Specter, and just like any other Specter, it had an ability.


    Sadly, they had to cut that experiment short after just a couple of days.


    The core of the Specter Core was distorted and essentially destroyed since Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer was inside of it now.


    Reverse-engineering the ability without changing the maniption lines on Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer would take decades, if not centuries, of dedicated research.


    It was too difficult, and the results couldn''t be applied to any potential new recruit since every ability was unique.


    So, they tried the next best thing.


    Was it possible to allow Nick''s abilities to be used without the Specter Core interfering with them?


    No.


    The Specter Core always interfered with them and distorted them.


    For example, when Nick tried to blind everyone around him, only a small white cloud woulde out of his body that barely illuminated anything and cost over 50% of his Zephyx.


    When Nick tried to influence somebody''s mind with illusions, some ck mist would leave him and fly over to the target before dispersing harmlessly.


    Naturally, that also cost a huge amount of Zephyx.


    Nick didn''t even attempt to turn into mist. If anything went wrong there, one could probably find his body pieces scattered across the entire room.


    Nick''s abilities and the Dark Cloud''s abilities interacted with each other, creating a useless mix.


    This left only onest option.


    They had to transform the Specter Core so that it changed Nick''s abilities without weakening them.


    And while they were already on that, they might as well shoot for an amplification effect.


    So, they started trying.


    Nick''s ability to release a burst of light was the first they focused on since it was the easiest to test and since it was also aparatively simple ability.


    They experimented for an entire year, trying different things.


    The result?


    Surprisingly great!


    "Show me!" the Technician said with a smirk.


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    The next instant, around a hundred tiny wisps of mist popped out of his body.


    WHOOOOM!


    The wisps exploded into bright light, which was just as powerful as Nick''s ability would have been without the Specter Core.


    The wisps also vanished immediately after giving off the light since their Zephyx had been converted into blinding light.


    This essentially meant that Nick had regained his light ability without making it worse.


    "Alright, use the other variant," the Technician ordered.


    Next, Nick held out his right hand, and a cloud of mist gathered on top of it.


    A momentter, the cloud of mist started to give off a gentle light.


    Then, the cloud floated higher and stopped above Nick''s head.


    The next moment, Nick walked around the room, and the cloud followed, still giving off a gentle light.


    When the Technician saw that, he couldn''t help smiling victoriously.


    This was not a new ability.


    This was simply another way of using Nick''s old ability.


    They hadn''t been able to decouple the mist ability.


    So, they had simply epted it and included it in the way Nick used his ability.


    After experimenting with the ability further, they had also found a way to change the output.


    This essentially gave Nick an additional ability that allowed him to illuminate his surroundings for a long time without using a lot of Zephyx.


    Naturally, for Nick, himself, this wasn''t very useful, but it would be useful to keep his ability to stay unaffected in the darkness hidden.


    Additionally, it gave Nick an easy way to escort others through dark areas.


    After the two of them had seen the sess in this part, they grew excited to experiment with Nick''s other abilities.


    And they quickly got more surprising and positive results.


    This new way of consuming a Specter appeared better and better as time passed.

 Chapter 602 – Domain of Nightmare

    Chapter 602 ¨C Domain of Nightmare


    The next ability they experimented on was Nick''s most recent ability.


    The one he had received from the Nightmare.


    Naturally, the Technician knew all about Nick''s run-in with the Nightmare, which made this much easier since Nick didn''t need to keep that part a secret.


    There were essentially two parts Nick had to keep secret about his ability.


    The fact that it came from the Null and that he knew where the Nightmare was.


    The other two abilities were not so critical.


    While the Technician and the Left Arm knew about Nick''s run-in with the Nightmare, they didn''t know about his run-in with the Null.


    They also didn''t ask since the Champion of Light had said that Nick didn''t need to tell them.


    The reason why they were experimenting with the Nightmare''s ability first was that it was the least dangerous one in case anything went wrong.


    If something went wrong while using this ability, Nick might lose a lot of Zephyx or damage something, but if something went wrong while transforming into mist, Nick might die.


    This time, it became much easier to make the ability functional again since they had already gained quite a bit of experience by changing Nick''s light ability.


    It barely took them six months toe up with a functioning model for the first aspect of the ability and only four months to deal with the second aspect of the ability.


    One had to remember that Nick''s fourth ability technically had two abilities.


    Immunity to darkness and control over someone''s perception as long as they didn''t perceive him.


    And now, both of them had changed after going through the altered Specter Core.


    "Is the first variant still working?" the Technician asked.


    "I''ll check," Nick said.


    They had just changed the maniption lines for Nick''s ability to change someone''s perception, and the Technician wanted to know if the other part of the ability still worked.


    The room the two were in was split in two.


    One part was the normal, brightly lit room.


    The other part was covered in ck cloth that isted the walls from all of the light, essentially creating a dark chamber.


    Nick walked from the brightly lit room to the dark chamber.


    As he passed by the curtains and entered the darkness, something happened.


    Nick''s body seemed to be ethereal.


    It was almost like he was vanishing.


    And that was kind of what was happening.


    Nick had not gained an additional function of his old ability. Instead, his old ability had been upgraded.


    In the past, he was simply immune to the effects of the Nightmare, and his mist form turned into ck smoke.


    Now, Nick''s body became transparent and ethereal.


    It was almost like he was bing part of the background.


    It was like he was bing one with the darkness.


    If a person were to pass by his location, they would not notice him unless they specifically knew what they were looking for and were searching the darkness very thoroughly.


    Nick could be just centimeters beside someone as they pass through the darkness, and they wouldn''t notice him.


    Even more, Nick''s new ethereal form made it far easier for him to move.


    His body basically had no weight, and he could "walk" through the air because of that.


    Yes, technically, Nick could fly, but he had to be surrounded by darkness.


    Sadly, if someone noticed him or sensed him, all of this would vanish, and Nick''s body would be solid once again.


    Nevertheless, this was definitely a big upgrade.


    "Is it working?" the Technician asked. He was deliberately not looking at Nick.


    He wasn''t quite sure how Nick''s ability worked, but Nick had told him that it was extremely important that no one got to know about his main ability.


    And since the Champion of Light had also said that they didn''t need to know Nick''s ability, the Technician had epted these circumstances and just looked away whenever Nick told him to.


    "It works fine," Nick said from the darkness.


    The Technician looked over and spotted Nick instantly in the darkness.


    Nick looked just like always.


    The Technician could only sigh. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Sure, Nick had to keep his ability secret, but couldn''t he just show the Technician the ability after it was already working?


    Naturally, the Technician had asked Nick to show him a bit more before, but Nick was extremely adamant that this would not happen.


    In the end, the Technician had to ept.


    "Good," the Technician said. "Now, let''s try the new one. You ready?"


    The Technician looked away again, and Nick turned ethereal on his own.


    Of course, he could always turn solid again. He just needed to will it.


    Nick nodded from inside the darkness.


    The Technician looked away again, and Nick turned ethereal on his own.


    Of course, he could always turn solid again. He just needed to will it.


    A couple of secondster, a person entered the room.


    It was a female Bailiff.


    She had brown hair and looked to be in her early thirties.


    Nick could tell that this was one of the Bailiffs who had joined Aegis by having a family member working for Aegis already.


    Most of the normal Bailiffs were family members of Agents or Protectors who were living in Aegis'' headquarters.


    As for how Nick knew that this was most likely her background, she moved in a very uncertain and inexperienced way.


    It was obvious that she didn''t have a lot of battle experience, and if she had joined via the trainee program, that wouldn''t be the case.


    After entering the room, the woman approached the darkness.


    The Technician was probably giving her instructions in her mind.


    Nick watched as she nervously approached.


    Naturally, walking into the darkness was terrifying for everyone.


    Over 99% of humans were deathly afraid of approaching the darkness.


    Of course, that wasn''t surprising since anyone who entered the darkness before had probably experienced one of the most terrifying things imaginable.


    No one wanted a repeat of something like that.


    The woman took a deep breath as she stopped in front of the darkness.


    For some seconds, she was trying to amp herself up.


    She only had to go in there, wait a bit, and leave!


    Then, she would get some amazing references, and she could advance her career!


    She would even earn a hefty bonus!


    Just enter the darkness.


    Come on, it''s not that hard.


    Just a couple of seconds.


    The woman took several deep breaths.


    Then, she stepped inside.


    As soon as she stepped inside, her vision began to swim.


    Immediately after, terrifying visages filled with hatred shot towards her.


    They wanted to consume her!


    She braced herself.


    But then, the visages suddenly went past her, avoiding her.


    In shock, she looked at the terrifying illusions around her.


    Yet, there was no pain.


    Then, was this some kind of other illusion?


    The Nightmare didn''t only use illusions of torture.


    Sometimes, it also just subtly changed someone''s perception to make themmit a dangerous mistake.


    While the woman was nervously looking forward, Nick''s eyes were focusing on her.


    He was losing a lot of Zephyx at this moment.


    As soon as she had entered, Nick had felt a terrifying force entering her.


    Naturally, that was the Nightmare.


    Nick had tried to influence that force, and he managed to push it to the side, figuratively.


    The malevolent force was flowing from one direction towards another, like a river, and Nick''s Zephyx was acting like a big pir splitting its flow in two.


    Yet, every moment Nick interfered with the flow, more Zephyx was required of him.


    But that was only a small price to pay for what he was currently doing.


    Nick could iste the Nightmare''s influence from somebody else!


    That might not be very useful since people could just use a bit of Zephyx light to achieve the same effect, but it still represented apletely new way to interact with the darkness.


    With Nick''s help, people could actually experience darkness without pain.


    After looking around for a bit, the woman noticed that the hate-filled visages suddenly stopped avoiding her, and in an instant, she was drowned in them.


    She was startled, but she quickly recovered her wits and gritted her teeth.


    She knew that a world of pain was awaiting her!


    And, sure enough, it happened.


    A cut appeared on her waist.


    Then, another cut appeared on one of her calves.


    One second of nothing.


    Another cut.


    She was in strong pain, but it was actually not as bad as expected.


    Beside her, Nick''s eyes were shining.


    ''I can control it!'' Nick thought.


    ''I can control how the Nightmare tortures her!''


    At this moment, Nick could see what the woman was seeing.


    He could feel what she was feeling.


    Nick also felt the pain of the cuts, but he could deal with that pain without any big issues.


    The important part was that Nick could give the Nightmare directions.


    He couldn''t perfectly tell it exactly what to do, but he could give it a general direction.


    It should focus on physical pain on the abdomen region, and it shouldn''t go too hard immediately.


    It should focus on torturing illusions regarding loved ones with a theme of betrayal.


    It should inflict extreme fear in her by focusing on her personal fears and exploiting them.


    Nick very quickly realized how insanely useful this ability could be for information gathering.

 Chapter 603 – Killed the Sun?

    Chapter 603 ¨C Killed the Sun?


    Eventually, the woman could no longer stay in the dark and ran out of the dark chamber.


    The Nightmare''s influence vanished, and the Technician told her that the experiment was sessful.


    Naturally, the Bailiff was asked to keep what she had seen a secret.


    While the Bailiff left the room, Nick thought about the possibilities of his new ability.


    ''I could use this to get some information out of people. I only need to lure them into the darkness.''


    Nick looked at the door leading out of the room.


    ''People would be shocked if they knew that the Nightmare technically isn''t conscious. In fact, I don''t even know if it is alive.'' n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Despite the fact that Nick was the only human who had seen the Nightmare, he still wasn''t sure what it exactly was.


    The Champion of Light seemed to havee to a realization after Nick had told him about the Nightmare, but Nick still couldn''t bepletely sure.


    The only running theory that he had was that the Nightmare used to be human, somehow.


    After all, the Champion of Light had said that "he knew now" after Nick stated that the Nightmare felt simr to him.


    Sadly, that didn''t exin a lot.


    Was it dead?


    Was it alive?


    Had it truly been a human before?


    Why was it no longer?


    Why was it in this isted, dark location?


    Where did all of this Zephyxe from?


    There were too many open questions.


    The only thing Nick knew was that the Nightmare did not have a perception or a will.


    That was also the only reason why someone as weak as Nick could control such a powerful force.


    ''But controlling something like this also isn''t easy,'' Nick thought. ''I''m not sure if any human can control the Nightmare''s perception. Maybe there are some Specters that can, but I don''t think there''s a human that can.''


    ''Although, the chances that there is a Specter that can actually control the Nightmare are extremely low. Specters might be able to transport people to the Nightmare, but they probably can''t actively control the Nightmare.''


    ''The reason is that they are not on the same level as the Nightmare and can''t find out how the Nightmare''s influence and its ability work. A Specter''s Core probably has the power to influence something like the Nightmare, but without knowing how it works, the Specter Core can''t be used to control it.''


    ''Meanwhile, a Zephyx Synchronizer copies a Specter, and since my Zephyx Synchronizer is partially attuned to the Nightmare, my Zephyx Synchronizer actually knows how the Nightmare works, somewhat.''


    ''However, a Zephyx Synchronizer is not sophisticated and powerful enough to control something like the Nightmare, despite knowing how it works. It simplycks the power.''


    Nick imagined his Zephyx Synchronizer and his Specter Core.


    ''I am the only one that has both. I partially know how the Nightmare works, and I also have a Specter Core that allows me to manipte it.''


    Nick looked at the lit part of the room again.


    With his new ability, Nick could also feel the Nightmare''s influence in the darkness.


    When the Nightmare''s influence touched the sunlight, it simply evaporated.


    It was like a spark falling into water.


    ''My ability also doesn''t get deactivated by being under the Nightmare''s influence since it doesn''t really have a perception.''


    Nick watched as the sunlight burned away the Nightmare''s influence.


    ''However, the Sun also doesn''t deactivate my ability.''


    ''Additionally, the way the Sun interacts with the Nightmare also doesn''t seem very deliberate. It just seems like two opposing forces attacking each other.''


    Nick''s brain started to connect some clues.


    ''Does that mean that the Sun actually also doesn''t have a perception?''


    Silence.


    ''In fact, I can''t remember a time in which the Sun has ever deactivated my ability.''


    ''If it perceived me, my ability would be deactivated, but that never happened.''


    ''So, does it not perceive me?''


    That was when Nick thought about the Nightmare again.


    ''Technically, the Nightmare can perceive me while I am in darkness, but my ability still remains active because it doesn''t consciously take note of my existence. It''s like a person watching a wastnd and not taking note of the stone-colored, camouged Specter on the ground. Technically, the Specter is in their field of vision, but they don''t actively perceive it.''


    ''However, the Sun could see me easily. After all, when I am outside, there''s a direct line of sight between the two of us, and its light perfectly shines on me.''


    ''I should be in its perception.''


    ''But I''m not¡­''


    ''Does that mean that the Sun''s circumstances are simr to the Nightmare''s circumstances?''


    ''Is the Sun actually not conscious?''


    ''Is it dead?''


    ''Like the Nightmare?''


    Nick''s mind was going wild with possibilities.


    Yet, the more he thought about things, the more confusing and unfitting everything felt.


    If the Sun were truly dead, how could it have killed the Ancient Ones?


    Had it been alive back then?


    That didn''t seem possible.


    But if it were dead, it wouldn''t suddenly do something that it wouldn''t normally do.


    Being dead usually meant acting quite passively.


    Several more contradictions shot through Nick''s mind.


    It seemed impossible that the Sun was dead since many other things wouldn''t make sense anymore.


    Yet, the way the Sun behaved was very simr to how the Nightmare behaved, and the Nightmare was most likely dead.


    "So?"


    Nick turned towards his left and saw the Technician, who had walked into the room. "How did it go?" the Technician asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows and shook his head.


    He had lost his train of thought.


    ''I still don''t know enough toe to a conclusion,'' Nick thought.


    "It was pretty-"


    Suddenly, Nick stopped talking.


    The Technician raised an eyebrow, and Nick started to look at him with furrowed brows.


    "Pretty what?" the Technician asked. "Pretty good? Pretty bad?"


    "Pretty much as expected," Nick answered with a strange voice.


    The Technician looked at Nick with a skeptical expression. "Why do I feel like I won''t like what you''re about to say, Nick?" he asked with suspicion.


    Nick looked at the Technician for a bit longer. "I have a theory."


    "Okay, shoot," the Technician said with apprehension.


    He didn''t have a good feeling about this.


    "Theoretically, could the Sun be dead? You know, like the Nightmare?" Nick asked.


    The entire atmosphere in the room changed.


    The Technician narrowed his eyebrows, and Nick could feel all the Technician''s casual humor vanishing.


    The Technician was dead serious right now.


    "Nick, there are things I''m not allowed to ask you, but there are also things that you are not allowed to ask me," the Technician spoke in a serious tone.


    "One of these things is anything rted to the Eternals."


    "These are secrets that no one outside the Shields is allowed to know. This concerns all of humanity."


    "Knowing too much will put humanity at risk."


    "Remember one thing. Every era of human history ended when they were at their most advanced and strongest."


    "Sometimes, knowing too much or being too strong will kill you."


    "Do not look into these things. If you ever join our ranks, we will tell you more."


    "Until then, do not look into the Eternals."


    "This will put you, us, and all of humanity at risk."


    Silence.


    Nick had never heard the Technician speaking in such a serious voice.


    "And don''t share any of your theories with others," the Technician added after about two seconds of silence.


    At that moment, Nick''s heart rate increased, and he could see that the Technician appeared even more serious after saying that.


    Not everyone would get the hidden message, but Nick did.


    The Technician had essentially told Nick that he was on the right track but that he was not allowed to ask any more questions.


    ''So, it''s true? The Sun is dead?'' Nick thought.


    "Stop thinking about these things!" the Technician added.


    Then, his serious demeanor instantly vanished, reced by a charismatic smile. "Instead, tell me what exactly happened. How did your new ability work?"


    Nick took a deep breath and put all of his thoughts rted to the Sun into the back of his mind.


    "It went about as expected," Nick said before he started to exin to the Technician how he could feel and manipte the Nightmare''s influence.


    The Technician seemed excited when he heard that Nick managed to shape the Nightmare''s influence.


    Today, humanity had stepped closer to the Eternals.


    There was finally a human that could partially influence the Nightmare, an Eternal!


    The two of them talked about how Nick''s new ability worked for a while before they focused on the next one.


    "Now, there are only two left," the Technician said. "Let''s start with your mist form. After all, I can''t help you with your main ability since I don''t even know how it works or what it does. You will have to fix that one on your own."


    Nick nodded.


    He didn''t disagree¡­


    But if he were truthful, he should have.


    Nick had fixed his main ability on his own already.


    In fact, that had been one of his first projects.


    He simply had progressed on it whenever the Technician wasn''t looking.

 Chapter 604 – Really?! Now?!

    Chapter 604 ¨C Really?! Now?!


    The two of them experimented on Nick''s ability to turn into mist.


    Luckily, due to their previous experience, they managed to unlock it rather early.


    It barely took two months.


    Naturally, they also found a way to expand the ability a little bit.


    Since Nick also assured the Technician that he had already dealt with his main ability, Nick was technically ready to continue.


    All his abilities worked again, and they had even been improved.


    Additionally, the Specter Core had increased Nick''s speed of Zephyx recovery and the size of his storage by quite a lot.


    Compared to someone on the same level, Nick was gaining Zephyx almost four times as quickly, and he had thrice as much Zephyx.


    On top of that, Nick''s abilities had also been elevated to a higher level.


    All in all, this newfound way to create Specialists had proven to be extremely beneficial.


    Sadly, advantages could have disadvantages, and disadvantages could have advantages.


    The advantage of being able to generate one''s own Zephyx sadly came with a disadvantage.


    In a way, benefitting from human suffering was inherently parasitical, and while one parasite usually wouldn''t damage a host too much, if the host were filled with parasites, it would die.


    Humanity could support feeding one Nick, but they wouldn''t be able to support a thousand. Maybe not even a hundred.


    There were only so many "bad" people that could be punished.


    If there were more people like Nick, there wouldn''t be enough suffering to go around for everyone. Either they would advance much slower or they would have to inflict suffering on innocent people.


    Additionally, the inherent stress of constantly being in an alert state of fight-or-flight could turn people mad.


    The Technician decided to officially call this new state Half-Specter.


    That title described the power and the risk associated with it very well.


    Naturally, the Technician and the Left Arm had talked about these dangers in private, and in the end, they were d that Nick had such an abnormal psyche.


    They could see that Nick''s ideology had been firmly shaped and put in ce by years of extreme emotional torture.


    The emotional torture had manifested his ideology so firmly and thoroughly that even his logicpletely followed it.


    Nick wanted to be a good person.


    However, that wasn''t his goal due to some holy and selfless reason like just making others happy.


    In fact, Nick wasn''t even reaping any emotional rewards from helping others.


    Whether he helped or damaged others, there wouldn''t be a big emotional difference.


    He felt almost identical in both cases.


    Nick was helping others solely to repay the debt he was perceiving.


    He just wanted to redeem himself.


    Such a mindset was obviously unhealthy and abnormal, but exactly that was what made Nick perfect to be a Half-Specter.


    Almost every single human was guided by emotions.


    Even extremely logical humans were guided by emotions. It was just very different from what one would think.


    Why did people make logical decisions?


    Because they wanted to make the right decision.


    And why was it so important to make the right decision?


    Because they wanted to feel good.


    Feel secure by having money.


    Feelpanionship by having a partner.


    Feelmunity by having friends.


    Feel status by having a good job.


    Feel fun by following one''s hobbies.


    All of that could be put together under the word happiness.


    Humans chased happiness.


    Whether they were animals that solely followed their instincts or scientists that followed logic and reason.


    Everyone wanted happiness.


    Nick also chased happiness.


    However,pared to others, it was almost impossible for him to ever find happiness.


    Yet, he kept chasing happiness.


    Probably forever.


    And the best way to achieve happiness was to remain a good person in Nick''s mind.


    Because of that, Nick had a uniquely fitting disposition for bing a Half-Specter.


    If Nick had been less broken, Aegis might not have risked investing too much in him in the future.


    Sure, in the short term, they would still invest in him and experiment on him, but would they ever consider letting him be a Protector?


    Definitely not.


    Luckily, that was not how Nick was.


    Nick''s mindset was a disadvantage most times he interacted with others, but in this case, it was an advantage.


    "That''s everything, right?" the Technician asked with acent smile as Nick transformed back into his material form.


    Nick nodded. "Since I have already fixed my main ability, I can say that the Specter Core has been fully integrated. All in all, I would call this a sess. My power has increased by a lot."


    The Technician grinned as he scratched his chin.


    Right now, he was thinking about all the possibilities.


    If they could make more Half-Specters¡­


    Sadly, at that time, problems after problems shot through his mind.


    How?


    Naturally, Aegis had already tried the method of forced suicide in order to get the Specter to capitte.


    But they had never managed to convince the Specter that they would actually go through with it.


    Additionally, they needed to experiment more to see how being a Half-Specter impacted Nick''s mindset.


    There were many things they had to consider.


    "I''m ready for ability advancement," Nick said while the Technician was thinking about the possibilities of Half-Specters.


    When the Technician heard Nick''s words, he put his current thoughts to the back of his mind and looked at Nick.


    Nick wasn''t sure, but he felt like the Technician''s demeanor had subtly changed after he had said that he was ready for ability advancement.


    "Sure," the Technician said. "Do you have an ability in mind?"


    "Do we have a list of avable Specters and what they can do?" Nick asked.


    The Technician furrowed his brows with a bit of annoyance, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Nick.


    That was an unusual reaction from the Technician.


    "Sure, but hurry up," the Technician said before sending Nick''s Barrier a file with abilities for Specters.


    There were hundreds!


    "So? Which one is it?" the Technician asked after a couple of seconds.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    What was up with the Technician?


    "I''m still thinking. I don''t want to rush this since this has an impact on the remainder of my life," Nick said.


    The Technician looked conflicted.


    "What about one of these five?" he asked as he highlighted five Specters.


    Nick looked closer at them.


    Sadly, the Technician didn''t know about Nick''s main ability, which was the reason why the five Specters he had chosen were not what Nick wanted.


    "No, I want something else," Nick said as he looked at the other Specters.


    The Technician took a deep breath. "Nick, you should really hurry up with your choice."


    "Why?" Nick asked, looking at the Technician.


    "Just¡­ hurry up, okay? I can''t tell you more. Just trust me on this, okay? I don''t want to hurt you," he said.


    These words made Nick nervous.


    When the Technician saw Nick''s skeptical expression, he started to roughly scratch the side of his head in frustration.


    "Argh, listen! Usually, I wouldn''t make a big deal out of this, but you''re our only Half-Specter. I don''t want to lose you to some random force of nature, okay? You''re kind of important," the Technician exined.


    The Technician looked at Nick, who still seemed quite uncertain.


    Finally, the Technician just groaned. "Nothing of what I say will leave this room, get it? If this gets out, I will kill you, understand?!" he said with a severe and urgent voice.


    Nick was taken aback, but he nodded with a serious expression. "I will keep it just as secret as my main ability."


    The Technician watched Nick for a second.


    Then, he looked around the room a bit.


    Finally, the Technician''s voice appeared in Nick''s mind.


    "The Maw really likes fights between Extractors that have used it for their ability advancement. It often abducts people when they are ready to advance, allows them to reach the next level while inside of it, and then makes them fight each other."


    "Research has shown that the word ability advancement increases the likelihood of being taken by the Maw by quite a bit." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Usually, I would even encourage you to enter a contest with the Maw since you would gain an amazing ability, but you are not a pure human anymore. You are a Half-Specter, and we don''t know how that will affect the Maw''s judgment."


    "It might just directly kill you after abducting you."


    "So, please, hurry up with your choice. I don''t want to tempt fate," the Technician rapidly exined.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    He had no idea!


    That exined the Technician''s urgency.


    "I understand," Nick answered.


    "I want this one," Nick said two secondster, highlighting one of the Specters.


    The Technician nodded and told Nick to follow him.


    The two of them went upward a couple of floors until they entered the floor with the Specter Nick wanted.


    The Technician opened the door¡­


    And a big hole filled with teeth appeared below Nick.


    Nick''s eyes widened in horror.


    The Technician''s eyes widened in horror.


    ''But I just regained my powers!'' Nick thought.


    ''Does this really have to happen now?!''


    And then, the Maw engulfed Nick.

 Chapter 605 – Taste

    Chapter 605 ¨C Taste


    It was difficult for Nick to ept what had just happened.


    He was just about to undergo his ability advancement, and now, he had been abducted by the Maw.


    There were several things that were hard to ept.


    First, Nick had been safe inside Aegis'' headquarters for years by now, and now, he suddenly got taken away.


    Second, this had happened right after the Technician had warned him. In a weird way, it would have been easier toe to terms with it if the Technician had simply said it.


    Third, this was an Eternal!


    Eternals were always very special, and interacting with any of them was something that happened extremely rarely.


    People rarely interacted with the Nightmare since they avoided it constantly.


    If people interacted with Nurse Alice, it was almost always only once in their lives.


    Nobody interacted with the Null.


    The Sun was ever present, but its presence was barely felt since it was almost like aw of nature. It was just always there.


    And not many people interacted with the Maw.


    After all, it was only interested in Extractors, and the vast majority of Extractors were never kidnapped by it.


    In Crimson City, some of Nick''s employees had vanished without any trace.


    Naturally, this could have happened due to other Specters or Manufacturers, but there was also a possibility that they had been kidnapped by the Maw.


    Nick had not met anyone in Crimson City who had been kidnapped by the Maw and had survived.


    Back then, Nick had simply thought that being abducted by the Maw was very rare, but that was not the entire reason why he had never seen anyone who had survived.


    In general, the Maw kidnapped a number of people with a multiple of eight.


    8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and so on.


    If some people in Crimson City had been kidnapped by the Maw, at least one of them should have been able to win and survive, right?


    ording to the odds, yes.


    However, there was an issue.


    Anyone below the level of Hero that managed to win would basically die anyway.


    Why?


    Because the Maw didn''t care about where it released its winner.


    The Maw didn''t put the people back from where it had abducted them.


    Newbies and Johns would very quickly die to any wild Specter.


    Veterans and Experts might be able to reach the closest city, but they wouldn''t have any way to get home.


    Most of the time, they were just killed on sight or absorbed by one of the local Manufacturers.


    There were some reports about surviving Specialists, but not that many. Naturally, that was for the same reason.


    A powerful Specialist that a Manufacturer could kill without incurring any enmity from a powerful Manufacturer?


    Great!


    That was some good Specter fodder!


    Heroes were the only ones that could return home with a high level of confidence.


    First of all, they could fly and were very fast.


    Second, fighting a Hero was always dangerous. Even for an entire city.


    Luckily, Nick had a Barrier and a uniform from Aegis, making it much easier to survive.


    As long as he found a city, he could just walk in, and nobody would dare to attack him.


    But he had to survive first.


    Nick was engulfed by an extending hole filled with teeth and eyes.


    He could barely discern any flesh since everything was covered in teeth, eyes, teeth-filled eyes, eye-filled teeth, teeth growing out of teeth, eyes growing out of eyes, eyes growing out of teeth, and so on.


    Nick felt watched by all of his surroundings, and obviously, his ability had already deactivated.


    The Maw was watching him closely.


    Nick didn''t dare to attack his surroundings.


    Angering the Maw might cause it to kill him.


    The floor below Nick opened, and he began to fall into a long hole filled with teeth and eyes.


    The teeth touched his Barrier, making it fuzz and spark.


    Nick felt his Zephyx reducing and refilling rapidly.


    The teeth definitely damaged his Barrier, but they did not do enough damage to use up Nick''s Zephyx.


    TZZZZ!


    More and more sparks came out of Nick''s Barrier, and it became extremely fuzzy.


    As Nick continued to fall, his Barrier distorted.


    BANG!


    Then, the white Barrier surrounding him broke apart, and its white shell was immediately absorbed by the eyes.


    At the same time, Nick felt something explode on his chest.


    Nick''s heart nearly stopped.


    His Barrier had broken!


    As in, it was ACTUALLY broken!


    The device just exploded!


    The entire device had be useless, and Nick was stuck without a Barrier until he could purchase a new one!


    As soon as Nick''s Barrier broke, the teeth and the eyes began to retreat as the hole widened significantly.


    This change was so sudden that it couldn''t be a coincidence.


    These teeth and eyes were explicitly designed to destroy Barriers!


    A momentter, Nick saw something approaching from the bottom.


    BANG!


    Nick was hit by a huge wall of moist flesh.


    For a moment, he wasn''t sure what this wall was, but then, it moved.


    The wall moved upward in a rolling motion, and Nick fell behind the wall.


    ''That''s a tongue!''


    Yes, the big wall of flesh had been a huge tongue.


    BANG!


    An instantter, Nick was hit by another tongue.


    But this time, he didn''t fall past the tongue immediately.


    Instead, countless smaller but very long tongues broke out of the big tongue and encased him.


    The tongues went through his clothing, licking his entire body.


    Nick felt a cold shudder going throughout his body.


    He was helpless! N?v(el)B\\jnn


    He couldn''t do anything against this!


    Surprisingly, Nick had stopped falling as the tongues tasted him.


    He felt like this wasn''t supposed to happen.


    A momentter, Nick''s heart nearly stopped, and he gritted his teeth.


    One of the tongues was trying to get into his mouth, and he refused to let it in.


    CRKSH!


    But it didn''t care.


    It pushed Nick''s teeth in, ignoring the shards and traveling down his esophagus and windpipe.


    Nick had to heave uncontrobly, but that didn''t help.


    CRKSH!


    Then, Nick felt a strong pain from inside his body.


    The tongue had pierced past his stomach and lungs, stretching and exploring the insides of his other organs.


    They were tasting all of him!


    Nick tried to bite down on the tongues and tear at them, but they were indestructible!


    At the same time, several other tongues made their way into his body through his other holes.


    They were all digging through his body, searching for something.


    And then, one of them touched his Specter Core, and immediately after, all the tongues went towards it.


    A normal human would have long since died, but Nick was an Extractor.


    He still had his Zephosis, and as long as he wasn''t out of Zephyx, he could survive something like this.


    When the tongues gathered around Nick''s Specter Core, he realized what was happening.


    ''They are confused by my Specter Core!''


    ''They''ve never seen anything like this and don''t know what to do with it!''


    Nick''s body was suspended in the air, over 20 long and thin tongues keeping him there.


    He was bleeding profusely as his arms and legs helplessly iled in the air.


    The tongues wound around his Specter Core, and Nick felt immense pain.


    They werepressing it!


    Nick felt like he was a tiny insect in the hands of a curious toddler.


    He waspletely at its mercy.


    If the toddler became bored, he would be killed.


    Maybe the toddler would tear all of his limbs off just to watch what he would do first.


    For several seconds, the tongues just tasted Nick''s Specter Core as they increased their strength.


    Nick''s panic increased.


    ''I''m going to die!''


    ''It''s going to kill me!''


    Its grip strengthened.


    CRK!


    A crack appeared in Nick''s Specter Core.


    When the crack appeared, some of Nick''s human Zephyx broke past the Specter Core for the first time and entered his body.


    Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer was no longer perfectly isted by the Specter Core.


    The tongues let go of the Specter Core and focused on the crack.


    They all gathered in front of it and consumed the Zephyx.


    Two secondster, they all pulled back, and finally, they left Nick''s body.


    Bang!


    The big tongue Nick was lying on moved, and Nick fell past it.


    Nick continued falling weakly, his body filled with blood and saliva.


    Yet, at this moment, Nick could only feel relief.


    ''I''m not going to die!''


    In this case, falling further represented entering the Maw''spetition, which meant being viewed as human, which meant having a chance to survive.


    If the Maw deemed him a Specter, he would have already been killed by the tongues.


    Bang!


    Nicknded on another tongue, but this one wasn''t like the others.


    It was filled with razors!


    The tongue moved Nick around and tore his clothes off, as well as quite a bit of his skin.


    After falling past several more tongues, Nick was left without any clothing.


    He was only left with his two des and about ten throwing spears that were stored as small cylinders.


    BANG!


    And then, Nick hit the ground.

 Chapter 606 – The Wait

    Chapter 606 ¨C The Wait


    Nick''s body healed within a couple of seconds, and he stood up to look around.


    He found himself in a fleshy room that was about three meters wide and long.


    The walls were filled with miniature versions of the hole that had swallowed Nick.


    The rims of the holes were filled with teeth and seemed to lead into another hole filled with teeth.


    In a way, the smaller maws looked a bit like mouths, which reminded Nick of his old boss, Julian.


    Nick was the only one inside the room.


    After looking around the room, Nick quickly found his weapons lying around him.


    His two des had been torn off his body by the tongues, and theyy in front of him while all of his spearsy around the room.


    While Nick rarely used his spears nowadays, he still carried ten around with him.


    He quickly grabbed his two des and put them back onto his arms.


    This immediately alleviated Nick''s distress.


    Then, Nick looked at his scattered spears.


    After looking at them for a while, he decided against picking them up.


    Why?


    Well, Nick was naked.


    Where was he going to store them?


    For the next several seconds, Nick just sat in the middle of the room.


    The things that had happened to him went through his mind again and again.


    He was used to many kinds of tortures, but this was a new one.


    He had feltpletely powerless, and he had not chosen to feel this way.


    It was inevitable to feel powerless while working with some of the Specters, but before it happened, the Extractors had decided to go through with this.


    Here, Nick hadn''t had that luxury.


    He had been forced to go through this experience.


    Even more, Extractors generally knew that they would survive working with a Specter, while this hadn''t been the case here.


    The Maw could have killed him.


    In fact, the Maw hade dangerously close to killing him.


    If Nick''s Specter Core had broken in a more unfortunate way, Nick would have bepletely helpless for a long time.


    Luckily, only a small crack appeared along one of the maniption lines.


    As long as Nick focused on fixing that maniption line, his power wouldn''t be impacted.


    For the next couple of minutes, Nick focused on repairing his Specter Core and re-created the damaged maniption line.


    Within ten minutes, Nick''s power had returned.


    And then, Nick waited.


    There was nothing else he could do.


    He couldn''t possibly break through any of the walls, and there were no openings except for the tiny maws.


    Well, Nick could turn into mist and go through them, but that would be suicide.


    The Maw would probably just kill him.


    Despite having the power to resist, resisting was often not the most intelligent thing to do.


    ''I guess I have to wait for it to gather everyone,'' Nick thought as he looked at one of the maws on the wall.


    ''This should be what the Technician told me about, a battle between people that have the Maw''s power.''


    Nick moved his hand over one of his des.


    ''Luckily, that shouldn''t be much of an issue.''


    ''The other Extractors will most likely also not have Barriers, which means that escape abilities are much more valuable than normal.''


    ''Humans can take a lot of punishment with their Barriers, but without Barriers, we die easily.''


    ''On top of that, my body is as good as it gets, and I have extensive fighting experience.''


    Nick took a deep breath as he remembered the tongues again.


    ''The most dangerous part has already passed. The Maw has epted me as a participant in its so-called duel.''


    ''Maybe this is actually a good thing.''


    Yet, when Nick thought that, several things shot through his mind.


    His Barrier was destroyed.


    His Space Bag was destroyed.


    He had lost all of his identification.


    Returning to Aegis might not be as easy as expected.


    ''However, I should receive an ability mutation with one of the Eternals. That would make me the only person who ever had ess to the abilities of three Eternals.''


    The only person Nick knew who had had ess to an Eternal was the Champion of Light since he had the Sun''s ability.


    Maybe the Champion of Light had also been in contact with the Maw before, at which point he would have two.


    Yet, the Champion of Light couldn''t possibly have had ess to the Null or the Nightmare.


    As for Nurse Alice¡­ Nick doubted it.


    In front of Eternals, like Nurse Alice, the Champion of Light wasn''t any more significant than an Extractor from a random city.


    Nick didn''t think that Nurse Alice would grant her abilities to him.


    Nick''s feelings regarding his current situation were mixed.


    Logically, this was definitely a positive thing.


    Yet, the memories of what the tongues had done to him popped into his mind again and again.


    After a while, Nick shook his head and forced the memories into the back of his mind.


    This wasn''t the first time he had done something like that.


    Nick knew that he had done the same thing after he had released the Crimson Sea.


    He also felt like this had happened another time before that, but Nick couldn''t remember why or when exactly.


    ''That''s probably part of the memories I''ve lost.''


    Over the past years, Nick had learned to deal with his memory loss, but it still felt alien.


    Nick remembered times when he had remembered something else, but he didn''t remember the specific thing that he remembered.


    He only knew what kind of feelings he had been roughly feeling back then, but he didn''t know why he had felt them.


    When he tried to remember what had happened, he only felt terror, dissociation, and guilt.


    But he didn''t know why.


    The number of memories he had lost felt staggering.


    It only felt like he had forgotten 10% or something like that, but these 10% were randomly scattered, making it feel like he forgot so many things.


    It was not easy.


    Nick just pushed the memories of the tongues to the back of his mind and focused on the future.


    He could deal with these things another time.


    Sadly, it wasn''t so easy.


    If Nick could upy himself, this would have been much easier.


    But he couldn''t.


    He was forced to wait in silence for an unknown period of time.


    He couldn''t learn.


    He couldn''t work.


    Even more, he couldn''t advance right now.


    Yes, he was essentially surrounded by a Specter, but there was absolutely no Zephyxing from the Specter.


    So, Nick waited, and while he waited, he kept focusing on the future.


    Time passed.


    More time passed.


    Even more time passed.


    Nick had no idea how much time had passed, but he was certain that it had to have been at least several days.


    However, he wasn''t sure if it had already been weeks or even months.


    Time kept passing.


    And passing.


    And passing.


    Nick had entered a form of trance in which he had only looked forward without thinking about anything.


    There was nothing to think about.


    He didn''t need food, water, air, sleep, or anything simr.


    He was just¡­ there.


    Finally, Nick felt something change.


    He didn''t know how much time had passed, but he knew that his wait was over.


    Zephyx!


    The small maws all over the room gave off Zephyx, filling the room!


    ''It wants me to advance!'' Nick thought as a gleam appeared in his eyes.


    Nick focused on the Zephyx and willed his Zephyx Synchronizer to attune to it.


    But then¡­


    Nothing.


    Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer didn''t attune to the Maw!


    He could feel the Zephyx from the Maw, but whenever he "took a gulp", he felt like it just went through him.


    He felt like a skeleton that was trying to drink.


    ''My Specter Core!'' Nick realized in horror.


    ''My Specter Core is isting my Zephyx Synchronizer from any Zephyx!''


    ''I can''t advance!''


    Nick''s mind was going wild.


    They wanted to experiment with ability advancement before he had been taken by the Maw!


    They didn''t know yet how Nick could advance his abilities!


    ''But I have to!'' Nick thought with gritted teeth.


    If Nick didn''t advance, the Maw would most likely directly kill him!


    He needed to get the Maw''s ability somehow!


    At that moment, the memories with the tongues shot through his mind again, but this time, he was actually d that it happened.


    Nick gritted his teeth, unsheathed his de, and put it to his neck.


    Then, he pressed it into his neck.


    When Nick''s de felt his Specter Core, an immense pain shot throughout his body.


    A momentter, Nick pushed his de even further into his neck.


    Crksh! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    A tiny hole appeared in his Specter Core, but it wasn''t deep enough yet.


    He pushed further.


    Nick felt like he was dying.


    CRK!


    Then, Nick felt some external Zephyx entering his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    The next moment, he felt his Zephyx Synchronizer shake.


    His ability was advancing!

 Chapter 607 - Fusion

    ?Chapter 607 - Fusion


    Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer was attuning to the Maw.


    Sadly, creating a hole in the Specter Core could prove disastrous for Nick.


    Cracking the Specter Core with pressure created a fracture that went along one of the maniption lines, which made it easily repairable.


    However, breaking through the Specter Core via forceful implementation of a de created a deep cut that didn''t go along any maniption lines.


    This meant that fixing the maniption lines after repairing the Specter Core wouldn''t be as easy.


    The problem was that trying to break the Specter Core in the same way the Maw had broken it was far too risky.


    To be frank, the fact that Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer didn''t break under the Maw''s forceful grip was sheer luck.


    It could have easily broken in two, which would have represented Nick''s death.


    On top of that,pressing the Specter Core in one''s own hands was not easy. Attempting to do that would have been far too risky for Nick,


    So, he had been forced to use his weapon.


    Yet, that was still far better than being killed by the Maw because he couldn''t attune to its ability.


    As Nick was attuning to the Maw, he felt his Specter Core repairing.


    Crk!


    Nick put his de back in to keep it from closing up.


    Simultaneously, Nick consumed more and more of the Maw''s Zephyx.


    Suddenly, a white light shone out of Nick''s neck through the hole that his de had created.


    He couldn''t see it, but at this moment, white lines were forming on Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer.


    At the same time, Nick felt his muscles shake and his blood boil.


    WHOOM!


    Then, the Specter Core around Nick''s Zephyx Synchronizer started to shine.


    BANG!


    Nick''s de was violently pushed out as the Specter Core rapidly closed.


    For a moment, Nick became panicked, but he quickly realized that the attunement had already beenpleted.


    His Zephyx Synchronizer was attuned to the Maw.


    However, Nick wasn''t entirely sure what was happening to his Specter Core.


    Nick focused on the Specter Core and felt maniption lines forming on it.


    ''Of course!'' Nick thought. "This is a Specter Core, not a nk te! This means that it is technically an entire Specter!"


    Just like how I am bing a Specialist, the Specter Core is bing a Fanatic!''


    ''But what does that mean for the maniption lines I''ve created?'' Nick thought with anxiety.


    Would the mutation of the Specter Core erase all the hard work of the past years?


    Nick felt the formation of new maniption lines and the deletion of old ones.


    Sure enough, all the old maniption lines were vanishing.


    This was bad!


    The new lines that formed were far less numerous than the ones that had vanished, and Nick felt his Zephyx being thrown into chaos.


    Nick''s entire body shook, and the back of his neck started to shine even brighter.


    "This is not just maniption lines!'' Nick realized.


    His entire Specter Core was shining, and Nick felt like he was being encased by molten


    iron.


    Everything was hot!


    It was like his heart was sinking into magma!


    He even swore that he could hear the sound of sizzling fleshing from his neck.


    Pain.


    Agony.


    It was almost like a hot liquid was slowly bing solid again.


    Crk!


    Burnt flesh fell from Nick''s back and neck as new flesh regrew.


    Nick remained lying on the ground.


    ''I''m still alive, he thought in relief.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After calming down, Nick slowly stood up.


    Next, he closed his eyes and focused on his Specter Core.


    Even without looking at it, he could already feel that something fundamental had


    changed.


    First of all, Nick felt very different on a base level.


    Earlier, the foreign Zephyx from the Specter Core had felt like a constant pressure or


    threat to him.


    But now, it was different.


    The foreign Zephyx was still there, but it didn''t feel foreign or alien anymore.


    Nick felt like the Zephyx was supposed to be there.


    He felt like this was his Zephyx.


    As Nick looked closer, he also realized something else.


    The shock he felt was one of the biggest ones he had ever experienced in his life.


    ''Where''s my Zephyx?'' Nick thought, not being able toe to terms with what he was


    witnessing.


    There was no human Zephyx inside of him.


    Nothing!


    Nick quickly checked his Zephosis cycle.


    Nothing!


    Nick was not undergoing Zephosis at this moment!


    Yet, he felt full of power.


    But how was that possible without Zephosis?!


    Without Zephosis, Veterans and stronger couldn''t survive since their vital functions used


    up more energy than nutrition and oxygen could provide.


    A shocking thought appeared in Nick''s mind.


    ''I don''t need nutrition or oxygen anymore, he thought slowly.


    ''I am essentially a walking corpse!


    ''Or...''


    Nick almost didn''t dare consider that possibility.


    ''A Specter!''


    Silence.


    "I can''t jump to conclusions, Nick thought with urgency as he narrowed his eyes. ''I have


    to test this!''


    The next moment, Nick looked at his left hand.


    Shing!


    He unsheathed his de and cut one of his fingers off.


    Nick gritted his teeth and watched his severed finger fall to the ground.


    And as he continued watching, more and more pressure built inside of his head.


    His finger...


    It was turning into ck mist!


    This was not how human bodies acted!


    This was how Specter bodies acted!


    Nick looked at the stump on his left hand.


    Then, he saw ck pir growing out of it before it changed colors and form to


    be Nick''s finger again.


    Silence.


    This was undeniable proof.


    This was no longer a human body.


    Nick gritted his teeth.


    CRK!


    A momentter, he made a hole in his Specter Core again.


    Nick went deeper and deeper until, eventually...


    CRK!


    The tip of the de came out of the other side.


    Nick''s perception was reeling, and was difficult for him to remain conscious due to the


    damage, but he forced himself to stay awake.


    Finally, he pulled his de out.


    Nothing.


    "There''s no Zephyx Synchronizer!'' Nick realized as his perception entered his Specter


    Core.


    The Specter Core was empty or, from another point of view, solid.


    The fact was that there was no Zephyx Synchronizer in the middle.


    There was only a Specter Core.


    At that moment, Nick took note of his surroundings, or more urately, the things lying


    around him.


    Flesh.


    Pieces of a human body.


    His human body.


    Nick could even see his own head and his own eyes lying on the ground.


    The human body was not in one piece.


    It looked more like the molt of an insect.


    It looked like something had crawled out of the body''s back and cast the old body off like


    trash.


    Nick felt a profound feeling of alienation.


    This was not him.


    He was not. Nick.


    Who was he?


    What was he?


    Nick''s mind panicked, and his emotions were going wild.


    ''Emotions?'' Nick thought at that moment. ''Specters don''t have emotions, right?''


    Nick focused on his own emotions.


    Were these emotions?


    The more he focused on his emotions, the more distant and artificial they felt.


    Was he actually feeling what he was thinking he was feeling?


    How could he tell whether or not his emotions were real?


    As Nick asked himself these questions, he calmed down.


    It was like the storm in Nick''s mind had moved to the back.


    So, these were not emotions...


    And yet, the storm of emotions was still there.


    It was just in the back of Nick''s mind.


    It had notpletely vanished.


    They were just very dulled.


    The storm of emotions in the background calmed down a little as Nick realized


    something.


    "This is not aplete transformation, he thought.


    "This is not aplete takeover of my old Specter Core. My old Specter Core did not


    Nick focused on his own emotions.


    Were these emotions?


    The more he focused on his emotions, the more distant and artificial they felt.


    Was he actually feeling what he was thinking he was feeling?


    How could he tell whether or not his emotions were real?


    As Nick asked himself these questions, he calmed down.


    It was like the storm in Nick''s mind had moved to the back.


    So, these were not emotions...


    And yet, the storm of emotions was still there.


    It was just in the back of Nick''s mind.


    It had notpletely vanished.


    They were just very dulled.


    The storm of emotions in the background calmed down a little as Nick realized


    something.


    ''This is not aplete transformation, he thought.


    "This is not aplete takeover of my old Specter Core. My old Specter Core did not  <ppletely consume and annex my Zephyx Synchronizer.''

 Chapter 608 – Surreal Environment

    Chapter 608 ¨C Surreal Environment


    As soon as the hole appeared in the wall, the walls surrounding Nick started to enclose him, forcing him out of the room. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Naturally, Nick quickly jumped out of the room and looked through his surroundings.


    It was like Nick was inside some kind of surrealist painting.


    Nick wasn''t in some kind of room or hallway.


    It was more like a surreal cavern.


    There were almost no paths or streets, just vertical, horizontal, and diagonal columns made of flesh and eyes.


    Nick was on top of a horizontal fleshy column that went from one wide vertical column to another.


    When he looked over the edge of his column, he saw more columns randomly ced everywhere.


    The same pattern seemed to endlessly continue downward, upward, and sideward.


    It was just chaos.


    The furthest Nick could see was 150 meters in one direction before that one was blocked by a column as well.


    Finally, the columns were not static.


    They pulsed.


    The eyes moved.


    Even the columns themselves became wider and thinner at random intervals.


    Sometimes, new columns were made while old ones vanished.


    Everything was alive.


    Nick felt like he was inside of one gigantic organism of untold power and proportions.


    How big was the Maw?


    Nobody knew.


    They only knew that it had to be absolutely gigantic.


    And sure enough, Nick could confirm that it was humongous.


    Nick''s mind was still reeling from his revtion that he now, apparently, was a Specter.


    What about his future?


    Would he be humanity''s enemy?


    Could he use a Barrier?


    What would Aegis do if they found out?


    Would anyone believe him if he told them that he was human?


    How could he prove that he was human or had been human?


    There were many Specters that looked and acted like humans.


    How was he supposed to prove that he genuinely felt and thought like a human when there were so many Specters that were amazing at acting like humans?


    Nick''s mind was filled with doubts, uncertainties, and fears.


    Finally, Nick shook his head.


    ''I can''t think about this right now!'' he thought with gritted teeth as he pushed his worries into the back of his mind. ''The Maw''s contest has already started, and the other people are already searching for their opponents, most likely.''


    ''I can think about my future after getting out of here!''


    An instantter, Nick turned into mist.


    Since the Maw''s eyes were illuminating Nick''s surroundings, he couldn''t be ethereal or fly normally.


    On top of that, the Maw''s eyes were constantly keeping watch over him.


    Sadly, Nick would most likely not be able to use his main ability during this entirepetition.


    His blinding light definitely wasn''t strong enough to blind the Maw, and his new ability from upgrading his mist-ability also wouldn''t help much.


    Naturally, this gave Nick a huge disadvantage in thispetition.


    However, not everything was bad.


    Since this was not open terrain and since no contestant had a Barrier, Assassins were naturally favored in thispetition, and Nick was exactly that.


    There was plenty of confusing terrain that worked as escape routes and ambushes.


    Additionally, everypetitor was an Initial Specialist, and Nick doubted that any of them had a depth of fighting experience that could rival him.


    Nick wasn''t the biggest fan of killing innocent humans, but he was forced to.


    He would not sacrifice his life for only one guy.


    Nick was not opposed to sacrificing his life for others, but his sacrifice needed to have a purpose.


    The mist that was Nick flowed along the pirs and carefully navigated the confusing environment.


    While he was doing so, Nick''s perception covered his surroundings in detail.


    Since his Zephyx Synchronizer had fused with his Specter Core, there were no more issues regarding his abilities.


    This meant that Nick could use his newest ability as well.


    The one he had gotten from the Maw.


    Sadly, as with most of his abilities, its true power could only be exhibited if no one was perceiving him.


    Luckily, it still had a minor effect while being perceived, making it notpletely useless in this environment.


    The sheer power of an Eternal made them useful in basically every category.


    The Nightmare could manipte, torture, scare, stun, kill, sense, and so on.


    Therefore, if somebody advanced their ability with the Nightmare''s help, there was a very high likelihood that the Nightmare''s ability had a highpatibility rating with the Extractor''s base ability.


    The Maw was the same.


    The Maw could extend towards great distances, was physically extremely powerful, had powerful sensing abilities, could suppress people, could vanish from seemingly any spot, and so on.


    Because of that, the diversity of abilities the Maw could grant people was crazy.


    Naturally, the Maw had advanced Nick''s ability in the most useful way for him.


    Sensing.


    Nick had plenty of ways to escape and stay hidden, but his sensing abilities were not that great.


    Yes, he could feel whether or not somebody was perceiving him, but that was still rather limited.


    The ability the Maw had given Nick was as simple as it was effective.


    It passively increased the sensitivity of all of his senses.


    Nick''s vision was stronger, he could hear better, his sensitivity to Zephyx was higher, and he could feel vibrations much more strongly.


    The sensitivity of his senses could bepared to the senses of a Hero.


    And that was only the passive effect.


    Naturally, there was also an active ability Nick had gained, but he could only use it while not being perceived, making it useless in the current environment.


    In his mist form, Nick continued to move forward, continually scanning his surroundings.


    ''I have no idea how big the arena is, but it can''t be too big. After all, the Maw is doing this mainly to gain Zephyx. Entertainment is only secondary.''


    Several minutes passed.


    Yet, Nick hadn''t found anyone else.


    ''That''s unusual,'' he thought. ''With my powerful senses, I should be able to find at least one of them, but I didn''t.''


    ''Additionally, I''ve already traveled several kilometers in here. I believe I should havee across someone already.''


    ''So, why didn''t I?''


    ''Either the arena is much bigger than I thought, or everyone else is extremely good at hiding.''


    ''Or I just have bad luck?''


    ''Nevertheless, I should continue searching.''


    Nick kept moving across different columns, scanning all of them for any hidden enemies.


    ''I don''t think there are more than eight contestants. If there were more, I would have found one already.''


    More minutes passed.


    Still nothing.


    Nick''s mood became more solemn.


    ''What is going on? There are supposed to be enemies, right? Even if every enemy is an Assassin or Runner, I should have seen one already. With my newly improved senses, not many Specialists should be able to hide from me.''


    Clk.


    At that moment, Nick heard a very subtle sound.


    Without his improved senses, he would not have been able to pick it up.


    Nick carefully but quickly slithered towards the origin of the sound.


    Finally, he found it.


    Anotherpetitor!


    On a horizontal pir, about 20 meters below Nick, was a woman with ck eyes, ck hair, and two ck daggers.


    Just as Nick had expected, the Maw had also destroyed all of her belongings, including Barrier and clothes.


    Just like Nick, she was armed and naked.


    ''I don''t feel any Zephyxing from her,'' Nick thought as he took a close look at her. ''That''s probably one of her abilities. She has to be an Assassin.''


    The woman slowly moved around the pirs, sticking to them like a spider.


    Nick moved after her.


    Everyone else had to die anyway for Nick to escape.


    The woman was moving with impressive subtlety, and if Nick hadn''t heard that noise earlier, he wouldn''t have found her.


    It was extremely difficult to perceive her for some reason due to the fact that she seemingly didn''t give off any Zephyx.


    It was almost like she was just an illusion or an afterimage.


    ''Very impressive ability.''


    Nick closed in on her.


    He was extremely careful.


    She stopped for a moment to look past one of the pirs.


    BANG!


    Nick transformed into his physical form, unsheathed his des, and rammed his de through her head!


    Her expression changed to terror, but there was nothing else she could do.


    ''One down,'' Nick thought.


    Nick pulled his de out.


    The corpse fell forward.


    CRKSH!


    And split apart into sheets of flesh and eyes!


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    That was not a human body!


    In an instant, Nick could tell that this sheet of flesh and eyes looked exactly like the Maw but without its unnerving and impossible power.


    This was the ability of an Extractor!


    This had to be the ability the Extractor had received from the Maw!


    A flesh clone!


    This was a trap!


    BANG!


    Yet, before Nick could react, a dagger came out of his forehead.


    The same woman from earlier had reappeared, and she had buried her dagger in Nick''s head.


    This was a huge miscalction.


    Nick''s opponent was not an Initial Specialist.


    It was an Initial Hero!


    SHING!


    And then, a second dagger cut Nick''s head off.

 Chapter 609 – There Was a Mistake

    Chapter 609 ¨C There Was a Mistake


    Nick''s head hit the pir they were standing on and tumbled down.


    While it was falling down, it turned into ck ash.


    When the Hero saw that, her eyes widened.


    BANG!


    Yet, just like Nick, she couldn''t react in time, and Nick''s de rammed into her chest.


    BANG!


    The next instant, both of them jumped away from each other.


    The woman was still shocked at what she had seen and tried to gain some distance, while Nick didn''t have ess to his sight or hearing, putting him at a severe disadvantage.


    Within a second, Nick''s head regrew, and he focused on his enemy.


    But he didn''t attack yet.


    In fact, Nick was still reeling with shock about all of the revtions.


    ''I lost my head!'' Nick thought in shock.


    ''She cut my head off!''


    When Nick''s brain had been prated, he had felt it.


    However, his ability to think had not beenpromised despite his brain essentially getting scrambled.


    That was because he was a Specter.


    His entire existence was concentrated on his Specter Core.


    Losing his head used up a lot of his Zephyx and temporarily took away his senses, but it wasn''t deadly.


    When he had lost his head, Nick had felt like he had lost contact with his eyes and ears.


    It had been an extremely weird and alien feeling.


    Luckily, his Specter Core was at the base of his neck, and the Hero had cut off Nick''s head near the middle to the top of his neck.


    Yet, this wasn''t the only thing Nick was shocked about.


    ''She''s a Hero! Why is there a Hero here?!'' Nick thought.


    Nick''s mind was going wild with theories.


    It should have been impossible for Heroes to be in this contest.


    Sadly, the fact that the other contestants were Heroes exined some of Nick''s doubts.


    For example, the fact that he hadn''t seen any other contestant until now.


    Heroes were much better at hiding themselves, and even with Nick''s advanced senses, it wouldn''t be easy to find them.


    It would also exin why his current opponent had managed to hit him with such a quick and devastating hit.


    She was several times stronger than Nick.


    Nevertheless, this changed everything.


    Nick was confident in being able to kill seven Initial Specialists, even without ess to his abilities.


    However, the same thing wasn''t true for Heroes.


    But why were Heroes here in the first ce?!


    Unfortunately, Nick didn''t have the time to think about these things right now.


    The two of them were almost 50 meters away from each other, but for a Hero, these 50 meters might as well be within arm''s reach.


    For a moment, the two of them looked at each other with narrowed eyes.


    Naturally, the Hero was just as confused and shocked as Nick.


    What was a Fanatic doing here?!


    They only looked at each other for a single second, but it felt like a full minute to them.


    Both of them were nning.


    There were very unusual circumstances.


    That was when Nick noticed something, and he had to make a split-second decision.


    Nick looked deeply into the Hero''s eyes.


    Then, he quickly nced to a ce behind her before looking back into her eyes with intensity.


    Now, the Hero had to make a split-second decision.


    BOOOOOM!


    The Hero dodged to the side as a bullet shot past her old location.


    BANG!


    The bullet hit one of the eyes on the columns and was turned into a t sheet of metal.


    Naturally, Nick noticed the Sniper and warned her about them.


    A person with a red cloak materialized.


    Compared to Nick and the woman, he wasn''t naked, but it was also clear that the red cloak wasn''t any kind of normal clothing.


    This was probably part of their ability.


    "Chase!"


    A whisper filled with Zephyx reached Nick''s ears.


    The voice was female, and it was clear that the whisper hade from the ck-haired woman. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nick narrowed his eyes and charged towards the Sniper.


    The Sniper jumped backward and pulled out a handgun.


    Nick could see the hate-filled eyes of the attacker.


    It wasn''t surprising that the attacker was angry.


    This was a free-for-all, and one less opponent represented a higher chance of survival.


    Nobody would have warned the woman of the attack under normal circumstances since nobody else could survive anyway.


    By letting the Sniper kill her, Nick would have a higher likelihood of winning.


    Warning her would make no sense.


    That was why the Sniper was so angry.


    He was angry at Nick''s idiocy.


    Of course, he didn''t know why Nick had done so.


    The woman was the only one who knew that Nick was a Specter, and she was also the only one he could talk with because of that.


    In this contest, being human is more dangerous than being a Specter.


    Humans had an incentive to kill each other in here, but what about a Specter?


    Additionally, the woman and Nick had already shed with each other, and both of them had survived.


    This made both of them extremely dangerous to the other since the other one had managed to survive one of their ambushes already, unveiling a big part of their powers.


    shing with each other was a very bad idea since there was no way that a sh would end with one side easily overwhelming the other.


    No, a battle between them would cost both sides dearly, which was why postponing the battle to the end made more sense.


    Nick charged forward while zigzagging to avoid getting hit.


    At that moment, the Sniper''s eyes turned into teeth-filled maws.


    CRK!


    A maw extended from the column below Nick and bit his ankle.


    Nick''s charge was halted immediately.


    BANG!


    The Sniper shot.


    BANG!


    Nick''s head exploded.


    Almost immediately, the Sniper jumped backward and aimed their gun to his left.


    The ck-haired woman materialized in front of the Sniper and shed forward with her dagger.


    BANG!


    The Sniper shot with his small gun, hitting one of the woman''s daggers and shooting it out of her damaged hand.


    SHING!


    The other dagger moved forward and sliced the Sniper''s hand off, together with their smaller gun.


    WHOOOM!


    At that moment, the red cloak moved forward on its own and covered the ck-haired woman.


    The Sniper was revealed to be a skinny man with red hair.


    With his free hand, the Sniper pulled up his rifle.


    He didn''t need two hands to fire it.


    "Don''t kill him!" the woman inside the red cloak transmitted to everyone around her.


    The man fired.


    CRK!


    But he missed his shot as his other arm was suddenly cut off by a de.


    The man''s eyes widened in terror as he saw the half-headed figure beside him.


    Nick''s head was still regrowing.


    SHING!


    The red cloak was torn apart by the remaining dagger.


    At the same time, Nick jumped away from the man.


    The man was too shocked by the loss of both of his hands and seeing Nick alive with half of a head to react in time.


    SHING!


    The woman''s dagger entered the man''s forehead and killed him.


    WHOOOM!


    At the same time, a ton of Zephyx exploded out of the man''s body.


    The eyes on the columns turned into maws, which then proceeded to suck the Zephyx out of the battleground.


    Yet, the Maws also extended toward the woman.


    Nick started to feel somethinging off her.


    This was Zephyx!


    But it was a weird kind of Zephyx.


    This was a kind he had never felt before.


    And this was exactly the kind of Zephyx that the Maw was absorbing from the woman.


    Nick immediately realized several things.


    ''Just as I have saved her life earlier, she has saved my life.''


    ''I nearly killed myself just now.''


    "Too conspicuous," the woman transmitted before jumping away. "Follow."


    Nick did just that.


    He turned into mist and floated after her.


    She had already seen that Nick could turn into mist.


    There was no point in trying to keep it secret.


    The two of them rapidly but silently moved away from the battleground before stopping between two pirs.


    There was no line of sight between the two of them since they were separated by a pir, but that was exactly what they wanted.


    Being the first one to poke around a pir was a disadvantage, and none of them would want to risk that against such a powerful opponent.


    "Do you realize that you nearly died just now?" the woman asked with a serious voice.


    "I do now," Nick answered.


    "Why are you here?" she asked.


    Nick couldn''t immediately answer.


    She would never believe him if he said that he used to be human just a couple of minutes ago.


    Even more, this would take minutes, if not hours, to exin properly.


    While they could have a quick conversation, they didn''t have the time for such a long one.


    "There was a mistake. I''m not supposed to be here," Nick said. "I just want to get out of here."


    "We can both get out of here," she said.


    "I realized."


    "Cooperation?" she asked.


    "Cooperation!" Nick agreed.


    The reason why Nick had nearly died earlier was because he was not human.


    Therefore, killing another human in this ce would not fulfill the Maw''s criteria for growing stronger.


    Nick would not release the special kind of Zephyx that the Maw had absorbed earlier.


    This meant ruining the Maw''s meal.


    And that would have meant Nick''s death.


    In short, Nick was not allowed to kill anyone in this contest.

 Chapter 610 – Middle

    Chapter 610 ¨C Middle


    Nick and the Hero were both very experienced people, and they could convey a lot of information with just a few words.


    Talking for a long period was dangerous since there were other Heroes present as well, and it was important that they remained as inconspicuous as possible.


    After just exchanging these couple of words, the two of them stopped talking.


    They didn''t need to talk more for now.


    Both sides had a solid reason for cooperation.


    Nick couldn''t kill any human since that would just make the Maw kill him, and the Hero couldn''t afford to kill Nick since his death would have no benefit but a lot of risk.


    Because of that, a unique team between a human and a Specter was created.


    Nick had several more questions, but gaining the answers wasn''t worth the risk of being exposed.


    Sadly, that meant that Nick couldn''t find an answer to these questions immediately.


    However, Nick didn''t need to ask all of the questions to find some of the answers.


    Sometimes, a little time to ponder was enough to solve some riddles.


    ''The Maw offered me its Zephyx, which means that this is not just a casualpetition but apetition between Extractors with the Maw''s ability. The woman and the Sniper also used abilities that showed a strong influence from the Maw.''


    ''I am an Initial Specialist¡­ or Fanatic¡­ and they are Initial Heroes.''


    ''So, logically, the Maw must think that I am just like them, a Peak Specialist who has advanced to be an Initial Hero.''


    ''But why?''


    Nick thought back to the tongues.


    Thinking about them still made Nick''s skin crawl.


    Then, he realized something.


    ''I had about three times the Zephyx of a normal Peak Expert. Additionally, my body was very athletic and powerful. My Zephyx regeneration was also unmatched.''


    ''My raw power was on the level of an Early Specialist already.''


    ''But the Maw knew that I was ready for ability advancement, which meant that I had to be at the Peak of a level.''


    ''The two closest levels are Peak Expert and Peak Specialist.''


    ''Judging by my powers, I was either the strongest Peak Expert it has ever seen or the weakest Peak Specialist.''


    ''I guess, in the end, it decided that I was the weakest Peak Specialist and sent me here.''


    ''Maybe that also exins why I had to wait for so long.''


    ''There should be several times more Peak Experts than Peak Specialists.''


    Finally, Nick could somewhat paint a picture of his current situation.


    However, there was still something that was muddy and hard to grasp.


    ''This is how I got here, but what about my actual situation right now?''


    ''I''m not sure if there ever was a Specter inside one of the Maw''spetitions.''


    ''How am I supposed to act?''


    ''What will happen to me?''


    Nick was a definite irregrity here, and he had no idea how the Maw would take his presence.


    The Maw was not very intelligent. So much was clear.


    It was more of an organism of instinct.


    It was like an insect.


    The Maw was currently digesting its prey, and it had swallowed something that it couldn''t digest.


    It was obviously trying to digest this indigestible thing by using the same methods it used to digest the other things.


    What would an organism do if it realized that it couldn''t digest something?


    That depended on what the indigestible thing did.


    ''If I do absolutely nothing and leave when the first opportunity presents itself, the Maw should ignore me. I have not done any damage. I will just be pooped out.''


    ''But if I start damaging things or interrupting its digestion, I will be seen as a poison or a parasite. It would then attack and kill me.''


    ''I might have a shot at escaping if only one human remains and they get transported out.''


    ''I just have to follow them to the outside, and things will be fine.''


    By now, the two of them could see each other, and they were slowly and stealthily traveling along some columns.


    Nick threw a quick nce at the Hero.


    ''She''s my ticket out. She knows me, and she has no reason to kill me while we are inside. She also wouldn''t want to cause any unnecessary trouble while she''s leaving the Maw.''


    ''Of course, things might change after we leave the Maw, but that''s a different issue altogether.''


    ''For now, I''m stuck with her.''


    Naturally, the Hero also tried to analyze the situation.


    She had never heard of the Maw consuming Specters.


    Was this Specter some kind of parasite?


    Was something like that even possible? Could Specters feed on other Specters?


    The Hero had no idea why Nick was here, but she knew that Nick couldn''t kill her.


    Ironically, the Hero was being protected from a Specter by a stronger Specter.


    The two of them slowly crept forward, searching for their enemy.


    Crrrrrk!


    At that point, the columns started to make noise, and they were pulling together.


    The two of them rapidly moved towards a direction that was not beingpressed by the columns.


    It was clear what was happening.


    The Maw waspressing the fighting arena.


    It didn''t want to wait forever for its food to be digested.


    The two of them kept moving away from thepressing walls until the walls no longer started to close in on each other.


    They did not know by how much the fighting arena had been shrunk, but it had to be a lot.


    Nick looked away from thepressed walls before traveling alongside it for a bit.


    The angle of thepressed walls made a circle, and Nick could quickly calcte the sphere''s dimensions with some math.


    ''It''s about 300 meters in diameter,'' Nick thought.


    The fighting arena was a sphere with a diameter of 300 meters, filled with columns and pirs.


    This made the fighting arena almost ustrophobic for such powerful fighters.


    An Initial Hero could travel several kilometers per second.


    Such a small arena was simr to putting two adult men into a small closet as a fighting arena.


    The senses of the Heroes were also fine enough that they could feel other Heroes from around 150 meters away, unless the other Hero was outstanding in staying hidden.


    There was no doubt that they would meet the remaining contestants soon.


    ''In total, there should be eight contestants.''


    ''I was one, but don''t count anymore, making it seven.''


    ''My ally is not my enemy, making it six.''


    ''We have killed one already, making it five.''


    ''Five is the maximum possible number of enemies left, but that''s assuming that nobody else has battled within thest minutes.''


    ''Anything from one to five enemies are left.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    "Take advantage of your nature," the female Hero transmitted to Nick.


    That was not the first time she had done this.


    The ability to transmit one''s voice was not easy to learn. Even for Heroes.


    ''I wonder what her background is.''


    Nick nodded.


    He knew what she meant.


    It was risky, but battles like this were always risky.


    Nick jumped forward andnded on a column. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    He was not loudly announcing himself with the jump, but he also wasn''t trying to stay hidden.


    Any Hero close to Nick must have heard him.


    Naturally, that was the n.


    Nick had to take advantage of the fact that he was a Specter and that nobody knew that he was one.


    Then, he just waited.


    Nothing.


    Silence.


    Nick had even lost track of his ally.


    His senses were extraordinary, but these were Heroes.


    There was probably not a single Hero younger than 100 years old.


    These were the most talented 0.0001% or something like that, and they had over a century of experience.


    It was not easy for Nick topete with these kinds of people without ess to his main abilities.


    Even Heroes who did not count as Runners, Assassins, or Snipers were amazing at staying hidden.


    Nick waited.


    Nothing.


    Yet, he was certain that at least one enemy must have heard him.


    Seconds passed.


    Nick still waited.


    Nick became more nervous, but the nervousness was apanied by bewilderment, confusion, and dissociation.


    ''Do I really feel nervous?''


    ''Is this real?''


    Nick knew that he was a Specter now, but he still felt emotions.


    Specters were supposed to be emotionless.


    ''Am I feeling this, or am I just deluding myself into thinking that I''m feeling this?''


    ''Are these emotions real or not?''


    Nick felt like he was looking at himself from an external perspective.


    He just saw himself standing on a column.


    Waiting.


    Except for the squelching noise of the pulsing walls, everything was silent.


    He waited.


    Then, Nick jumped to another column.


    He did notnd quietly.


    It was impossible that no one noticed him.


    He waited again.


    He jumped another time.


    Those had been three long jumps, and Nick believed that he was very close to the center of the arena now.


    Every single Hero in the arena must have noticed him by now.


    But nothing was happening.


    Nick did not find anyone.


    He didn''t even find his ally.


    It was like he was alone.


    So, he waited.


    And waited.

 Chapter 611 – Schemes Upon Schemes

    Chapter 611 ¨C Schemes Upon Schemes


    "Am I this scary?" Nick asked after waiting for over 30 seconds in the middle of the arena.


    Naturally, nobody answered him.


    There was just silence.


    Nick looked around the arena but couldn''t find anyone.


    They were definitely good at staying hidden.


    Without ess to most of his abilities, Nick really was out of his element here.


    Fighting a Hero was already hard enough with his abilities.


    "Is it so hard to believe that I would actually do something like this?" Nick asked. "Do you think this has to be some kind of trap?"


    Yet, nobody did anything.


    "I already killed one guy, and that was several minutes ago. Before the arenapressed like this," Nick spoke evenly. "Most likely, the arenapressed after half of the contestants were killed."


    "So, there are probably four left, including me."


    Naturally, nobody answered him, which was funny since there was no doubt that Nick was heard by every singlebatant in the arena.


    "Are you circling around me?" Nick asked. "Are you guys all trying to search for each other first?"


    "The first person that attacks me opens themselves up to an attack from the others, and nobody wants to go first."


    "You can kill me, but you will be next. Is that it?" Nick asked.


    No answer.


    "Alright, let''s switch things up," Nick said. "The first person I see will be my ally, and we will kill the other two. After that, we can fight each other. How does that sound?"


    Silence.


    Nick couldn''t tell what thebatants were thinking about.


    Most likely, they were all stalking around Nick.


    They all knew that everyone else had to be close to this ce as well, and they were probably circling Nick, trying to find each other first.


    "That includes the one that gets attacked first, by the way," Nick said evenly. "If I see a battle starting, I will jump to the aid of the attacked one."


    Silence.


    There was no change in Nick''s surroundings, but this sentence had to have an effect.


    Now, stalking and attacking somebody else was a bad idea.


    The female Hero was a bit perplexed by Nick as she snuck around his general area.


    This was a very strange Specter.


    Nick looked around.


    Ding.


    At that moment, Nick saw a tiny red light appearing for just a moment.


    "Found my partner," Nick said.


    WHOOOM!


    Then, Nick exploded with light and jumped towards the red light.


    Sadly, Nick''s ability didn''t activate since he couldn''t blind the Maw, but he was sure that he had blinded the Heroes.


    Nick arrived almost instantly at the ce where he had seen the red light.


    On top of the fleshy column, Nick''s eyes saw a short message written in blood.


    MAN SPEAR ALLY!


    BANG!


    Nick kicked the message, destroying it.


    "I got your message," Nick said.


    Nick didn''t see any movement, but he was sure that the other Heroes were currently scrambling.


    After getting blinded, they were most likely running around, trying to get the drop on one of the others.


    Yet, nothing seemingly changed.


    But that couldn''t be further from the truth.


    From the most dangerous position, Nick had moved to the safest.


    The other Heroes knew that Nick now had an ally.


    Additionally, Nick secretly had another Ally, the female Hero.


    If there were truly only four people left, Nick would be allied with two of them.


    Then, it was time to get back to waiting.


    Earlier, Nick had been in the most danger, but now, he was in the least danger.


    Only one enemy was not Nick''s ally, and that person knew that Nick''s ally would attack them if they attacked Nick.


    This meant that Nick could walk around without needing to hide.


    He was safe.


    For the moment.


    BANG!


    Someone had just attacked somebody else.


    This was the signal for the final battle!


    Naturally, everyone immediately went to that ce.


    Nick noticed a figure splitting into several Maws.


    Someone had just attacked the female Hero''s flesh clone.


    By the looks of things, her clone had been killed by a spear.


    Nick immediately found the attacker.


    It was a naked man holding a spear surrounded by darkness.


    In an instant, their eyes met.


    Their gazes only conveyed a single word.


    Ally.


    Nick''s hands moved.


    Two of his fingers moved over his eyes while his other hand gestured for the guy to approach.


    The man understood.


    WHOOOM!


    Nick exploded into light.


    Meanwhile, the man closed his eyes and jumped towards Nick.


    At that moment, Nick saw a ck glint a bit behind the man.


    Nick saw the female Hero from earlier.


    Nick jumped towards the man with the spear.


    "Follow," Nick ordered with a whisper just loud enough for the man to hear.


    The man clenched his right hand around his spear nervously.


    Nick was dangerously close right now, and he was jumping past him.


    From such a distance, any attack could be fatal.


    The man had to make a split-second decision.


    In the end, he decided against attacking Nick.


    And then¡­


    Nick flew past the man.


    The man''s nerves calmed down.


    He had gambled correctly!


    The man turned around and flew after Nick, who was chasing seemingly nothing.


    After several turns, the man finally saw the shadow Nick was running after.


    The man overtook Nick and closed in on the shadow.


    BANG!


    He attacked, and the shadow expanded before evading to the side.


    This was obviously some kind of ability that the female Hero could use.


    At that moment, Nick arrived in front of the shadow.


    Nick''s right arm flickered for just an instant.


    And then, he stabbed forward with his right hand.


    Two daggers came out of the shadow and blocked Nick''s de, but the power still threw the owner of the daggers to the side.


    Naturally, Nick had warned her about his uing attack.


    To every onlooker, it looked like Nick had thrown the attacker into the distance.


    Everyone believed that Nick was an Initial Hero, and they could also see his impressive body.


    Receiving an attack from somebody like that had to be brutal.


    BANG!


    A gunshot!


    A fourth person had appeared, and they had shot a gun at the man with the spear.


    However, the man with the spear had been prepared, and before the bullet could hit him, a maw appeared between him and the bullet.


    The bullet was swallowed, and some Zephyx left the man''s body.


    Naturally, since there were only four people left, thest person realized that if they didn''t intervene, the spear man and Nick would kill the dagger woman.


    Then, it would be two versus one.


    So, he had to intervene right now and help the dagger woman against her two attackers.


    "You deal with him! I deal with the daggers!" Nick shouted to the spear man.


    "Don''t drag me down!" the man with the spear shouted back.


    Nick hadn''t stopped charging after the female Hero.


    Nick and the female Hero exchanged a short nce.


    There was one more thing that the two of them knew that the others didn''t.


    The female Hero moved her fingers rapidly to convey a message to Nick.


    ''Buy time,'' Nick thought.


    The fact that they were allies was not the only secret.


    The female Hero moved her fingers rapidly to convey a message to Nick.


    ''Buy time,'' Nick thought.


    That was what the gestures meant.


    However, Nick could tell what the actual message was.


    Nick quickly reached the female Hero and attacked her with his des again, throwing her in the distance.


    His attack looked brutal, but it wasn''t that bad.


    The female Hero could deal with this.


    As the female Hero flew back, her eyes looked back at Nick.


    At that moment, Nick saw an urgent glint in the female Hero''s eyes, and he knew what was about to happen.


    BANG!


    A long sword entered the back of Nick''s head and came out of the front.


    His entire brain was scrambled yet again.


    A fifthbatant!


    CRK!


    At that moment, Nick turned around, destroying a huge part of his head, and wrapped his arms and legs around the attacker behind him.


    The eyes of the attacker opened wide in shock.


    How?!


    He should be dead!


    He destroyed his head!


    SHING!


    The next moment, a dagger entered the man''s forehead.


    Their n had worked.


    The secret that the two of them knew was that there had to be a fifth person here.


    After all, Nick was a Specter and didn''t count as abatant.


    So, there were four humans and a Specter.


    Naturally, when thest person saw four people in front of him, he realized that he was in the best position right now since nobody believed he would be there.


    Originally, he nned on staying hidden.


    But then, he had seen the subtle gestures that the female Hero performed tomunicate with Nick.


    This guy was actually a secret ally to the female Hero!


    At that moment, the man realized that he would have to fight a team, no matter who won!


    He saw that Nick was the key and realized that he had to get rid of him.


    Only then would it be a free-for-all again.


    And that was exactly what Nick and the female Hero had nned.


    After all, why would the female Hero purposefully use gestures tomunicate when she could just transmitmands to Nick via voice message?


    It was to show that she was Nick''s ally to thest person.N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 612 – End of Contest

    Chapter 612 ¨C End of Contest


    Nick quickly jumped away from the corpse while several maws appeared all over the walls to consume the Zephyx.


    Nick''s head was rapidly healing, and after it recovered, he turned into mist.


    At the same time, the female Hero vanished into thin air.


    Nick could still feel and hear the explosions of the other battle, and he knew that they were rtively far away.


    They did not have vision of Nick''s battle, which was perfect. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Since the fifth person had been killed just now, Zephyx had been released, and if any of the other two felt the Zephyx, they knew that somebody had died just now.


    After the woman vanished, Nick slithered over towards the other battle.


    A couple of secondster, Nick arrived.


    Both of them were already quite injured, but that didn''t say a lot.


    Heroes could recover very quickly.


    Only Zephyx mattered.


    The two kept fighting while Nick watched.


    "Don''t go back on your word!" the man with the spear shouted at Nick.


    Nick turned into his solid form again and just looked at their battle.


    At that moment, the battle paused, and the two of them looked at each other with urgency.


    They knew that Nick had killed the Hero with the daggers, and they could also tell that Nick wasn''t very exhausted.


    If they continued fighting, the winner would need to fight a fully recovered Nick.


    That was bad for both of them.


    Maybe it was for the better to ally for now and attack Nick.


    "Fine," Nick said at that point.


    BANG!


    Nick exploded with light, but this time, the two of them were ready for that.


    They closed their eyes for just an instant before opening them again.


    The man with the spear saw Nick charging at the man with the gun, who was readying his gun to shoot Nick down.


    BANG!


    The man shot, but Nick turned into smoke, dodged the projectile, and closed in on the man.


    The man with the gun seemed worried.


    Nick arrived in front of him.


    At that point, the eyes of the man with the spear shone.


    Darkness gathered around his spear, and he struck forward.


    He would kill Nick just when he would kill the man with the gun!


    CRK!


    Nick struck and buried his de in the man''s head.


    BOOOOM!


    The powerful spear broke through Nick''s torso, making his entire body explode.


    Then, it continued and also turned the other man''s body into powder.


    At that moment, his eyes widened.


    He did it!


    He won!


    He-


    BANG!


    A gunshot ended the man''s thoughts forever.


    The man with the gun was about 30 meters away and looked at the man with the spear with a mix of betrayal, shock, and hatred.


    This idiot!


    They were supposed to ally against Nick, but this guy just randomly attacked him with his spear after the light st!


    Luckily, the attack had seemed rather sloppy, and the man with the gun managed to dodge.


    So, what happened?


    Nick made it seem like he was charging towards the man with the gun when, in reality, Nick hid behind the pir he had just stood on.


    01:52


    After Nick used his light explosion and the two of them closed their eyes, he manipted the perception of the man with the spear.


    Nick made it seem like he was charging towards the man with the gun when, in reality, Nick hid behind the pir he had just stood on.


    The man thought he was attacking Nick, but in truth, he was attacking the man with the gun.


    Naturally, the man with the gun could see the attack and dodged.


    In his anger at being betrayed, he shot at the man with the spear, who died instantly.


    After the man killed the other man, his mind was slowly noticing that something was wrong.


    That attack was too stupid and too sudden.


    Additionally, the attack had been rather sloppy, and the spear man did not manage to avoid the man''s shot when he had managed to do so several times already.


    However, his train of thought was quickly interrupted as Nick charged at him.


    Nick had used a ton of Zephyx by manipting the other man''s perception for just these short moments, and he was basically close to empty.


    The man with the gun didn''t have it any easier.


    His prolonged duel with the spear man had taken a huge toll on him.


    WHOOOM!


    Nick turned into mist as he moved towards the man with the gun.


    The man with the gun aimed at Nick.


    SHING!


    And then, a dagger went through his head as the woman reappeared behind him.


    Nick turned back into his physical form and stood on top of a column as he looked at the woman.


    That should be it.


    Every other human had died.


    The maws appeared all over the walls again, but the woman kept focusing on Nick.


    At this moment, she realized that she had severely underestimated this Fanatic.


    This Fanatic had essentially killed a Hero!


    The Fanatic might not have dealt the killing blow, but it managed to indirectly kill one.


    Nick looked at her and saw her expression.


    "I will exin everything to you when we are outside," Nick said. "As long as you don''t attack me, we are not enemies."


    The woman looked at Nick with narrowed eyes without saying anything.


    Eventually, the maws vanished.


    Then, the two of them waited.


    This was it.


    This was the moment of truth!


    Nick looked at the ceiling.


    Crrrr!


    Suddenly, the surroundings started topress again.


    The walls were closing in, and the columns and pirs were vanishing into the walls.


    The two of them moved towards the middle of the arena.


    A couple secondster, the walls stoppedpressing, and the two of them were left in a space that was about four meters wide.


    Naturally, neither of them was happy about this.


    From this distance, killing the other one was extremely easy.


    They just looked at each other with wariness.


    The woman was at a definite advantage.


    Their alliance was already shaky.


    ''The only reason why she didn''t attack yet is that she''s afraid of my power,'' Nick thought.


    The woman was at a definite advantage.


    If Nick killed her, the Maw would most likely kill him, but if she killed Nick, nothing would happen to her.


    If it were easy to kill Nick, she would have probably already done so.


    Tense seconds passed.


    Whooom!


    And then, the ceiling opened.


    "Let me go first," Nick said before jumping from wall to wall to move upward.


    The woman looked at Nick with narrowed eyes and flew after him.


    The opening of the tunnel represented rtive safety to Nick.


    Earlier, they couldn''t have been certain if the Maw wanted them to fight or not.


    But with the opened tunnel, things became clear that the Maw was letting the human go.


    And thest thing a human would want to do in this scenario was to aggravate or anger the Maw any further.


    If sheunched an attack and missed Nick, the Maw might view that as an attack.


    The two of them continued to fly upward for several kilometers.


    Eventually, the covert light of the fleshy walls gave way to the actual light of the Sun.


    Nick jumped out of the Maw.


    The woman jumped after Nick.


    The two of them found themselves in a mountainous area, with the Sun shining brightly above them.


    Just like everywhere else on the, everything looked like a wastnd.


    The mountains were grey, brown, and beige.


    Nick quicklynded on the ground.


    For the entire time, he had been looking at the female Hero.


    Naturally, the woman hade out behind him, and she was also looking at Nick.


    A momentter, the Maw on one of the mountains vanished.


    Finally, Nick was no longer under constant supervision.


    As long as he blinded her, he could unleash his true power.


    However¡­


    "I''m ready to talk now," Nick said.


    She was not his enemy.


    The woman kept her eyes narrowed.


    "What''s there to talk about with a Specter?" she asked.


    "I''m not really a Specter. At least, not in the way you think," Nick said. "I''m not your enemy, and I''m willing to exin everything."


    The Hero looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    She didn''t answer.


    "My name is Nick Dusk," Nick said, "and I am, or used to be, human."


    The woman raised an eyebrow.


    Nick told her about his Consumption and what had happened with his Zephyx Synchronizer.


    Then, he told her about his experiments with the Technician and about what had happened to him when he advanced a level.


    "That''s why I was in there," Nick said. "The Maw thought that I was the weakest Peak Specialist when, in fact, I was the strongest Peak Expert."


    The woman just looked at Nick for a while.


    This sounded insanely convoluted.


    Additionally, Nick was saying things that she couldn''t even verify since she didn''t have a Barrier to check things.


    "Prove it," she demanded after a while.


    "How?" Nick asked.


    "If your so-called mutation only urred after you received the Maw''s ability, show me the ability you received from the Maw. All the abilities the Maw has granted have its distinct appearance."


    "Show me an ability that includes the Maw''s appearance, and I will believe you."


    Silence.


    "I have one," Nick said.


    "But I can''t show you."


    Sadly, Nick could only use his new active ability if nobody was perceiving him.


    The woman just looked at him coldly.


    "Pity."

 Chapter 613 – No Human

    Chapter 613 ¨C No Human


    How was Nick supposed to prove that he wasn''t lying?!


    He didn''t have a Barrier.


    He didn''t have human Zephyx.


    There were no other people around who knew Nick.


    "You just have to ask Aegis," Nick said with a careful voice. "Tell them that you found Nick Dusk. They saw me getting taken by the Maw."


    The woman didn''t look like she believed Nick and just kept looking at him with a serious expression.


    "Fine, I will do just that," she says. "I don''t believe that you are telling the truth, but I''m willing to try, at least."


    Nick did not calm down.


    He could hear that she was about to add a "but".


    "But I can''t let a Specter run around just like that. If youe peacefully, I will ask Aegis about you," she said.


    Nick became more nervous.


    Come peacefully?


    ''She will put me in a Containment Unit,'' Nick thought.


    In the past, Containment Units were interesting to Nick, and he also associated them with growth. After all, Nick became more powerful while working with Specters, which were inside Containment Units.


    But now, things were very different.


    If Nick was put in a Containment Unit, he would never be released again.


    If this Hero just dumped him in a random Containment Unit in a random city, nobody from Aegis would be able to find him.


    Aegis didn''t know that Nick was now a Specter, which meant that they would not ask the cities to check their Containment Units for somebody called Nick Dusk.


    Additionally, there would probably be tens of Specters that would im to be Nick Dusk anyway.


    Voluntarily entering a Containment Unit represented losing control over his own life.


    The only thing he could rely on would be the Hero''s words, and humans were generally not the most trustworthy beings.


    Especially when they were powerful. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I can''t bet my life on your word alone," Nick said. "If I''m put in a Containment Unit, there is no way that Aegis will find me."


    The Hero frowned. "I told you that I will tell them. Are you saying I''m a liar?" she asked with annoyance.


    "I don''t know if you are a liar or not," Nick answered. "I don''t know anything about you. If I were human, would you put your life in my hands just because I say that I won''t kill you?"


    She didn''t immediately answer.


    "But you''re not human," she said after a bit. "You are a Specter, and Specters are only interested in their own gain."


    "You mean like the majority of humans?" Nick asked.


    "Wrong!" the woman shouted, her voice angrier than before. "There are many powerful humans who want to improve humanity!"


    "There are some humans that act like Specters, but the most powerful humans only want what''s best for humanity!"


    "Aegis'' existence disproves your im."


    Nick felt a strange feeling.


    The way the Hero argued reminded him of himself.


    This sounded very much like what he used to say.


    Was she wrong, though?


    No.


    What she said was the truth.


    While many humans were greedy, humans also had the capacity to be good.


    As she said, Aegis'' existence was the best proof.


    "Are you a Bailiff?" Nick asked. "You sound like somebody that went through the trainee program."


    The Hero''s expression intensified. "What do you know about the trainee program?"


    "A lot," Nick said. "I used to be part of it until just a couple of years ago."


    After that, Nick told her about the Specters, the levels, the practical experience, and so on.


    The Hero looked at him with intensity, and Nick couldn''t be sure what she was thinking about.


    "How about this?" Nick said after not getting an answer from her after he finished his story. "I am going to follow you to the nearest city. I am going to wait outside of the city. You get in contact with Aegis and get a new Barrier. And then, I can tell you what you need to look up to prove my identity, okay?"


    She looked at Nick for a while longer.


    "What do you gain from that?" she asked.


    "What do you mean with what do I gain from that?" Nick asked with a bit of annoyance.


    "What do you gain from making me do all of these things? What is your n?" she asked.


    "I told you," Nick said. "I want to get into contact with the Technician so that we can find out what''s going on and find a solution."


    The woman shook her head. "Even if I were to assume that you''re telling the truth, I can''t see how it would make sense to do any of that."


    Nick remained silent as he looked with confused annoyance at the Hero, who kept talking.


    "Assuming you told the truth, you used to be human," she said. "But you''re not anymore. You''re a Specter."


    "You''re not humanity''s ally. You''re humanity''s enemy."


    "Helping humanity would equate to hurting yourself, and the only thing Specters are not willing to do is to hurt themselves."


    "What you''re saying makes no sense," she exined.


    "I''m not humanity''s enemy," Nick said with a severe tone. "I want to help humanity!"


    "Why?" she asked.


    "Why?" Nick repeated.


    "Yes, why," she repeated back.


    Silence.


    Nick''s first answer would have been that he was human, but he quickly realized that this was no longer true.


    Naturally, Nick still knew that he wanted to help humanity, but it wasn''t easy to find the right words for why.


    "Because I did horrible things in my past and want to atone for them," Nick said with less fight audible in his voice.


    "How is that rted to humanity?" she asked. "Atone to the people you''ve wronged."


    "They''re all dead," Nick answered. "I can''t ask them for forgiveness anymore, and they also wouldn''t grant it. The only thing I can do is to help others until the good I have done far outweighs the bad."


    The Hero just kept looking at Nick evenly for a couple of seconds.


    "And that''s why you want to help humanity?" she asked.


    Nick nodded. "Yes."


    The Hero shook her head and sighed.


    It was almost like she was disappointed.


    "To think that I actually believed you for a second."


    A foreboding feeling appeared inside Nick.


    "But that proves it. You''re a Specter."


    Nick wanted to object, but the woman didn''t let him and continued talking.


    "You Specters can''t see what it means to be human. You are all just thinking about yourselves. You have no experience in what it means to be selfless."


    "I asked you why you wanted to help humanity, but the only thing you coulde up with was something selfish."


    "You only want to help humanity so that you feel better about yourself."


    "The way you describe these things is like somebody that knows about something but has never experienced it."


    "Why? Because you''re a Specter, and you don''t know how it feels when you want to help others. You only think about yourself."


    At that moment, a sneer appeared on her face.


    It seemed like she was internally berating herself for being so na?ve as to believe this Specter for even just a second.


    Nick grew increasingly frustrated.


    ''What the fuck is she talking about?!'' he thought. ''If I were to use her logic, every single person in the entire world would be selfish. People inherently search for happiness, and part of that happiness is living with the least amount of guilt or remorse possible!''


    ''By her logic, apologizing to somebody you''ve hurt after losing control over your emotions is inherently selfish and inhumane!''


    ''It would also be selfish to help a beggar at the side of the road because you just want to get rid of the feelings of pity you''re feeling!''


    ''What bullshit is this?!''


    "ording to your logic, a person-"


    "There!" the Hero shouted, interrupting Nick. "Logic. You''re talking about logic again. This is about emotions!"


    Nick grew even more frustrated but also more panicked.


    This Hero was his best shot at connecting with Aegis, but she kept saying that Nick didn''t know what it meant to be human.


    SHING!


    At that moment, the Hero suddenly vanished.


    DING!


    Nick immediately exploded with light since the Hero was obviously about to unleash an attack.


    In an instant, Nick turned ethereal and rapidly moved towards his right.


    For the first time in a long while, his ability was active again.


    At the same time, Nick''s newfound sensitivity of his senses increased as well, and he saw the surrounding kilometers with extreme rity.


    That was when Nick''s eyes widened in surprise.


    He felt a very faint trace of Zephyx around five kilometers away, and it was vanishing!


    ''She fled?'' Nick thought.


    That was when Nick realized that this actually made a lot of sense.


    She knew that Nick wasn''t weak and that he had even killed a Hero.


    She wouldn''t fight Nick¡­


    At least not without a Barrier.


    Even after several seconds passed, Nick''s ability didn''t deactivate.


    Nobody was perceiving him.


    She had left.


    She had fled.


    And now, Nick was alone.


    Somewhere in the world.


    Without a Barrier.


    And with no way to prove that he was human¡­


    Or used to be.

 Chapter 614 – One Specter to Another

    Chapter 614 ¨C One Specter to Another


    So, what now?


    Nick was somece, somewhere in the world.


    He did not have any of his belongings except for his two des.


    And he was alone.


    Nick was not sure what to do now.


    ''I have to get to Aegis'' headquarters somehow,'' Nick thought. ''As long as I can talk to any Shield, we can solve this issue.''


    ''First, I need to find out where I am and get something to wear.''


    Nick looked at his naked body for a moment before focusing on the horizon.


    The Hero had already fled, and Nick didn''t want to get close to her a second time.


    In her mind, Nick was a Specter, and if she saw him again, she would most likely attack or even request help.


    In fact, it was possible that she was doing this right now.


    Nick remembered the direction she had fled towards and charged in the opposite direction.


    He rapidly jumped from mountain to mountain, doing his best to stay hidden.


    With the power of his body and his ability, Nick''s physical strength was on par with a Hero''s.


    This meant that Nick could traverse several kilometers per second.


    Naturally, if he didn''t actively use his Zephyx in a way to manipte the air around him, he would create a sonic boom every time he moved.


    Additionally, Nick needed to form a resistant field of Zephyx in front of his hands and feet and push it upward so that he didn''t identally ascend too much.


    Nick had already learned about the concept of escape velocity, and he was dangerously close to reaching it.


    If someone moved too fast, they would move faster than the curved, which meant that they would essentially "fall upward".


    This represented falling towards the Sun.


    And the Sun destroyed everything that went past a height of about 30 kilometers.


    Anything that reached an altitude of 30 kilometers or more would be turned into dust before being scattered back onto the ground.


    Nobody knew what was behind the Sun.


    People weren''t even sure if there was anything behind the Sun.


    What if the world just ended?


    What if there was just nothing?


    Although, Nick had also heard about the concept ofs, and their world was a.


    So, there had to be more, right?


    A lot of these things seemed a bit dodgy, and Nick was sure that this meant that Aegis was keeping some things secret.


    But they probably had a good reason to keep these things secret.


    Nevertheless, the important part was that Nick had to be careful that he didn''t identally go too fast without rectifying his altitude.


    For the first time, Nick felt almost contained while being outside.


    30 kilometers was not that much for somebody like Nick.


    With one proper jump, Nick could reach that altitude.


    It was scary to think that the simple act of jumping upward would kill him.


    Technically, Nick could also fly. After all, his body turned ethereal if nobody could perceive him, and Nick could just move his body with his mind under these conditions.


    However, Nick refrained from doing so.


    If anyone perceived him, he would just stop in the air and fall.


    Using the momentum of a jump was safer.


    ''Am I on a continent or on an ind?'' Nick thought as he jumped to another mountain.


    ''It should be a continent. I don''t think inds have that many mountains,'' he thought as he looked at the seemingly infinite stretch of mountains.


    ''That makes things harder.''


    Nick jumped to the next mountain.


    WHOOOM!


    That was when he suddenly turned into mist and vanished.


    Just now, his ability had deactivated.


    As soon as Nick turned into mist, he entered a crack inside the mountain, after which his ability activated again.


    ''Shouldn''t be a Hero,'' Nick thought. ''A Hero wouldn''t lose track of me this quickly.''


    The next moment, Nick made a hole in the crack and floated through.


    Even in his mist-form, he could still cause quite some destruction. He was no longer the weak John who couldn''t break some ss while infiltrating the Spartans.


    After a bit of searching around, Nick found the being that had perceived him.


    In a crag between two mountains was a very long and wide thing.


    It was about 40 meters long and about two meters wide, and it looked like it was part of the scenery.


    Yet, that couldn''t be further from the truth.


    In truth, it was a gigantic, rocky snake.


    If Nick''s perception hadn''t been enhanced by the Maw, and if he hadn''t felt that something had to be here thanks to his ability, he wouldn''t have noticed this snake.


    Its shell seemedpletely lifeless, and it felt like a genuine rock.


    However, Nick could feel the extremely subtle trembles going through its body.


    Thanks to his great experience with Specters, Nick could tell what these trembles were caused by.


    Something inside the snake was struggling.


    The snake had spotted Nick for just an instant while he had been jumping from one mountain to the next, but it hadn''t seen him again since then.


    ''It should be somewhere in the middle of the Adult level,'' Nick thought as he looked at the snake.


    For a while, Nick looked through his surroundings, making sure that there was nothing else.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick materialized and jumped towards the snake.


    Nick arrived beside the snake in an instant.


    The next moment, stone began to crack, and the huge stone head of the snake moved away from the rockface to look at Nick.


    It didn''t seem worried.


    It just looked at Nick casually.


    For a moment, Nick was shocked.


    Usually, Specters either surrendered immediately or fought back when faced with a powerful human. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    And then, he remembered.


    He was no human.


    He was a Specter.


    Why would the snake be worried about another Specter?


    A momentter, Nick felt something he had never felt before.


    It was some kind of extremelyplex feeling.


    It felt so incredibly alien.


    Yet, for some reason, Nick could tell what this feeling meant.


    It referred to the concept of a question regarding Nick''s presence, and he could also tell that it was rted to the snake.


    In essence, the snake was asking Nick why he was there.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''Interesting,'' Nick thought. ''Is this how Spectersmunicate with each other? The feeling is very abstract.''


    ''Can Imunicate in the same way?''


    Then, Nick willed his mind tomunicate with the snake.


    He wanted to ask where he was.


    Sure enough, Nick got an answer almost immediately, and he also knew what it meant.


    ''Rock.''


    ''What rock?'' Nick sent back. ''Where are we? I don''t want to know what the mountain is made of. I want to know where the mountain is.''


    ''Rock, here. Food, digest. No food around. Safe. Why here?''


    The feelings the snake sent to Nick were extremely simple, and it was clear that it didn''t even understand Nick properly.


    It was even too stupid to understand that it didn''t properly understand Nick.


    ''Why here?'' it asked again.


    ''Where is next food ce?'' Nick asked back.


    ''Here rock. Rock no food. Not rock food. Why here?''


    ''I don''t think I will get anything usable out of it,'' Nick thought with annoyance.


    To Nick, it was quite obvious that this Specter had abducted some humans, whom it held captive inside its body.


    Most likely, it gained power by constricting humans'' freedom, simr to the Prison.


    It was just far weaker.


    BANG!


    Nick unsheathed his de and cut the snake into two pieces.


    ''Surrender. Let live,'' the rock snake sent without daring to move.


    When Nick felt that message, he realized how right humanity was.


    When put into a vacuum, these three words sounded like a cry of despair.


    Yet, the feeling Nick had received waspletely cold.


    There was zero emotion behind it.


    There was no fear, anger, shock, surprise, horror, or whatever.


    In an esoteric way, one could say that the rock snake''s message felt soulless.


    It was grey.


    After Nick cut the snake in half, he saw its lower half vanishing into ck smoke as two human bodies appeared.


    BANG!


    Both of them immediately jumped up and ran to the side, but they messed up theirnding and fell.


    ''They probably haven''t been able to move their bodies for a long time,'' Nick thought as he watched them.


    SHING!


    Nick bisected the snake again.


    He wanted to find its Specter Core by seeing which half dissolved.


    After this sh, the snake tried to flee, but Nick just kept cutting it into pieces.


    Eventually, Nick found the Specter Core and destroyed it.


    The rock snake was dead.


    ''Sadly, the death of the snake will probably create over ten Initial Hatchlings somewhere,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick looked at the humans whom he had freed.


    There were four of them, and three of them were trying to relearn how to use their bodies.


    Nick went to the person who still knew how to use their body.


    As soon as that person saw Nick, her tion of being freed turned to horror.


    They went from one Specter to another!


    And she could tell that this one was far more powerful!

 Chapter 615 – Questions

    Chapter 615 ¨C Questions


    Nick looked at the person, who wasn''t chaotically iling around.


    She was a woman who seemed to be in her early 20s, but that didn''t say much.


    ording to the Zephyx, Nick could feel that she was in the earlier stages of the Veteran level.


    She could also be 50 while still looking this young.


    Yet, despite just being freed from a gigantic Snake Specter''s belly, she still had something that Nick didn''t.


    Clothes.


    "I just want to ask you a couple of questions," Nick said carefully after he noticed the woman''s horrified expression.


    Not surprising at all, Nick''s words didn''t help in calming the Extractor down.


    "I''m scared," she said after a bit.


    "I can see that, but as I''ve said, I just want some answers to a couple of questions, and you can go," Nick said with an uncertain tone.


    ''Why did she say that she was scared? Seems pointless.''


    After that, surprisingly, she seemed to calm down. "I can reason with you, right?" she asked.


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Was there any doubt about that?"


    The Extractor''s fear seemed to intensify again. It seemed like she was scared that she had somehow insulted Nick, even though insulting a Specter was basically impossible.


    "There are Specters that can talk but can''t be reasoned with," she answered.


    Nick naturally knew that.


    "Alright, so, can I ask my questions now?" he asked.


    The next moment, the woman looked at the three other people, who were slowly calming down.


    "Who are they?" she asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows in annoyance. "Victims of the rock snake. Just like you."


    "Rock snake?" she repeated. "Was that the Specter that captured us?"


    Nick was starting to get frustrated.


    "Yes, so, can-"


    "Where are we?" she asked.


    Nick took a deep breath, which felt strange since the air just entered his "lungs" before leaving again without being changed in any way. After all, Nick didn''t really have a normal metabolism anymore.


    "That would have been my first question," Nick answered.


    "How would I know? I was inside a rock snake for weeks or even months. I don''t know where we are," she answered.


    Nick got annoyed for a moment before he realized that she was actually right.


    How would she know?


    Nick looked at the other three, who had calmed down by now.


    ''They probably also wouldn''t know.''


    "Gather up," Nick shouted to the others. "We need to talk."


    The other three could immediately tell that Nick was a Specter.


    Many Specters had powers that allowed them to hide their malevolent auras from humans, but Nick was not one of them.


    Naturally, their fight or flight instincts immediately kicked in, but they also knew that there was no point in resisting.


    Nick felt far too powerful to them.


    They nervously nced at each other before approaching.


    "Alright, maybe some of you haven''t realized it yet, but I was the one that killed the Specter and freed you," Nick said.


    The four of them looked at each other with a bit of confusion.


    "Why?" the woman from earlier asked.


    "Because I need some answers," Nick answered. "I just need a couple of answers, and I will be gone."


    Nick''s answers confused the Extractors.


    This was strange.


    A Specter that just wanted answers?


    Was this some kind of weird trick to gather Zephyx?


    Did this Specter grow more powerful by asking questions?


    Would they need to answer questions until they died of old age?


    "I presume nobody of you knows where we are? Do the surroundings look familiar to you?" Nick asked.


    The people looked around.


    Grey and brown mountains.


    "I''ve seen some brown mountains before," one of them said.


    That was when Nick realized that there was actually no point in asking if they recognized their surroundings.


    Who didn''t see grey and brown mountains before?


    They were almost everywhere in the world.


    "Where do youe from? I just need the names of the cities," Nick said.


    This question made the Extractors nervous again.


    "Wash Basin City," one of them said.


    "Wash Basin City?" Nick repeated with furrowed brows. "Is that real? It doesn''t sound real."


    The person seemed to be nervous when Nick singled him out. "We have a Demon Possession Specter in the form of a huge pool. That''s why the city has the name."


    "Do you know what continent that city is on?" Nick asked.


    The man looked at the other Extractors nervously before turning back to Nick.


    "What''s a continent?" he asked.


    Nick blinked once. "Do you know what an ind is?"


    "No," the man answered.


    "What about the weather? Is it cold or hot?"


    "There''s rain about once a week, and the temperature is about the same as here. The Sun always shines onto the city."


    "Do you know where the nearest Aegis stronghold is?"


    The man looked around at the other people, who just shook their heads.


    "Aegis as in a shield?" he asked.


    "As in the organization Aegis. You know, the strongest organization of humanity," Nick repeated.


    The people just looked at each other with surprise.


    "No," one of them said.


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''I can''t be mad at them,'' he thought. ''When I was a John, I also didn''t know what Aegis or a continent was.''


    ''At least, I think I didn''t. My past feels kind of blurry.''


    "What about you?" Nick asked as he turned to another person. "Where did youe from?"


    "Stark Halt City," he answered.


    Nick didn''t ask about the weird city name. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Do you know where it is?" Nick asked.


    "It''s surrounded by a wastnd. There are a couple of crevices and a couple of smaller mountains," the man answered.


    ''That doesn''t really narrow it down,'' Nick thought.


    Nick asked the remaining two people, and just as expected, they didn''t have anything that Nick could use to find out where he was.


    The only thing of note was that all four came from different cities, which meant that the Specter was probably moving from city to city to avoid getting found out after abducting somebody.


    "How did that rock snake even capture you?" Nick asked as he looked at the three Johns. "Since when are Johns allowed to leave cities?"


    The three of them looked with confusion at each other. "Why wouldn''t we be allowed to leave cities?"


    Now, Nick was confused. "There are tons of powerful Specters outside. One would assume that most people wouldn''t be allowed to put themselves in such danger."


    "I mean, yeah, there are a lot of Specters in the wild, but my city doesn''t have such draconianws," one of them said. "Plenty of people live and work outside of the city."


    This shocked Nick quite a bit. "And that''s safe?" he asked.


    "It''s not," the guy answered. "People get kidnapped by Specters all the time, but you just have to live with it. If you want to earn a living, you have to put your life on the line."


    The man talked about it as if there were no issues, and Nick almost became horrified.


    To these people, this was probably just normal life, but Nick knew that this was definitely not normal.


    ''Why would the Governor allow something like that?''


    ''Wait, is this to lure Specters to the city so that the Manufacturers can more easily catch them?''


    ''Are they fishing for Specters?''


    "Alright," Nick said after a bit. "We can go search for the nearest city. I will apany you. As soon as we arrive, you can enter."


    Naturally, Nick''s words made them suspicious.


    This sounded impossible.


    Why would a Specter let them go just like that?


    What was in it for the Specter?


    "Let''s walk towards the south," Nick said.


    The people became nervous.


    When would the other shoe drop?


    When would the Specter turn around and cause them immense suffering?


    Would Nick suddenly kill them?


    Sadly, there was nothing they could do.


    Nick was simply too powerful.


    In the end, they followed him.


    While they were walking after him, Nick furrowed his brows in frustration.


    He could feel Zephyxing from them, which meant that they were suffering due to Nick right now.


    Nick had tried his best to calm down their fears, but nothing seemed to help.


    In a way, the Zephyx Nick felting from them was disgusting to him.


    These were innocent and helpless people, and they were suffering because of his presence.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.


    He could only hope that they would find a city soon.


    The five of them continued towards the south for quite a while.


    During that time, they did not find another Specter.


    "There''s a human," Nick suddenly said.


    The other four looked around but couldn''t find the human.


    "He''s a Late or Peak Veteran. Do you wish to be seen by him? You are free to do so, but you know the risk," Nick said.


    The people looked around in confusion.


    "Risk? What risk?" one of them asked.


    "Getting killed for profit," Nick said.


    Two of the people turned white in horror.


    "But that''s illegal!" one of them shouted.


    Nick furrowed his brows and looked at the guy.


    ''Are they truly this naive, or are these cities just very different from Crimson City?''


    "So, I assume you want to meet him," Nick said.


    The four looked at each other before nodding.


    "Fine."

 Chapter 616 – Abyss City

    Chapter 616 ¨C Abyss City


    The group of four walked forward on their own.


    Naturally, Nick kept himself hidden.


    After a bit, the Late or Peak Veteran noticed the group and looked at them.


    The four people waved at him toe over, but the man only narrowed his eyes before running away.


    The four survivors were a bit confused by that reaction.


    Obviously, they lost sight of the lone human, but Nick didn''t.


    Nick quickly saw the man running towards the east for a while.


    Nick followed after him.


    After all, this was exactly what he wanted.


    Nick wanted to know where the next city was so that he could find out where he was.


    A couple of secondster, the man jumped behind a seemingly random rock.


    Thanks to his powerful senses, Nick could essentially perceive everything behind the rock perfectly without having to look past it.


    There was a single woman behind the rock, and the man was reporting to her.


    ''Early or Mid Expert,'' Nick thought.


    After quickly reporting, the two of them ran back towards the surviving humans whom Nick had freed.


    Nick watched from a distance as the two humans interrogated the four survivors and performed several tests on them.


    When they determined that the survivors were human, they led them away.


    Nick had the urge to sigh in relief, but that was difficult since he technically didn''t really have lungs.


    They looked like lungs, but that was it.


    He had been ready to get involved and to "persuade" the people from the city to not kill the survivors.


    Nick didn''t want these people, whom he had just saved, to be killed immediately after.


    Naturally, thanks to his advanced senses, Nick was also able to overhear the conversations between them.


    ''Not surprising that they are warning them about me,'' Nick thought.


    As soon as they had met each other, the survivors had immediately told the humans that there was a powerful Specter around.


    Initially, the humans from the nearest city didn''t believe them since they thought that the survivors were Specters themselves, but as soon as it turned out that the survivors were humans, the Extractors from the closest city started to be nervous.


    ''It''s strange,'' Nick thought as he watched them run towards the northeast. ''I saved their lives. I escorted them to the closest city. I even protected them from the shadows.''


    ''And yet, they fear me and would immediately kill me if given the opportunity.''


    Nick looked at them with aplicated expression.


    ''But can I me them?''


    ''I would act the same way.''


    ''Specters can''t have feelings, and Specters would never help humans without significant personal gain.''


    Nick looked down.


    ''But it still feels unfair.''


    Nick could understand why they were acting this way, but in his case, it was not justified.


    He did nothing but help them.


    Nevertheless, Nick had expected that something like that would happen, and he quickly followed them.


    The group of humans knew that a Specter was most likely following them, but what were they supposed to do?


    They were most likely not powerful enough to resist the Specter, and the only safe ce for them was their city.


    Of course, the survivors said that the Specter was unusually interested in the closest city, but they didn''t have any power to do something about that.


    If the Specter was strong enough to deal with the city, it would have found the city anyway, and if it wasn''t strong enough to deal with the city, why should they be afraid?


    After running for a couple of minutes, more people showed up in the surroundings.


    A whileter, Nick saw the group meeting up with another group of Extractors.


    The group was talking respectfully to the new group, and Nick could hear where they wereing from.


    ''Abyss City?'' Nick repeated in his mind. ''Quite an ominous name.''


    The group the survivors had met belonged to the guards of Abyss City.


    Nick knew the names of around 200 different cities, but all of them were in the Great Triangle.


    After all, he had gone on missions to many different cities over the span of eight years.


    When it came to the Great Triangle, Nick probably knew almost every city.


    Sadly, the name Abyss City was not familiar to Nick.


    ''Most likely means that I''m not in the Great Triangle.''


    ''The number of Extractors probably also means that I''m not in the Deste Continent.''


    ''I think this is a continent, which means I can only be in the Grand Continent, the War Continent, or the Long Continent. As far as I know, the Southern Continent doesn''t have any cities.''


    Naturally, Nick had learned a lot about the continents during his time as a trainee.


    The Grand Continent was the biggest continent in the world. It was essentially a big circle with a long outcropping near the west.


    The War Continent was southwest of the Grand Continent. It was called as such because not many fortifications were found. Yet, many weapon shells and destroyed weapons could be found.


    This showed that thisnd had most likely been the victim of many, many wars.


    The Long Continent was connected to the Great Triangle and was south of it.


    The Southern Continent was pretty small and was south of the Long Continent.


    The Southern Continent barely had any ruins from past humans.


    It seemed like most of the humans didn''t much care about it, which was strange.


    All the other continents had many ruins, but this one barely had any.


    Yet, it didn''t seem any different from the others.


    Just like the others, it was made of wastnds and mountains.


    After Nick had followed them for a while, he saw the first couple of buildings in the city.


    Although, was this truly a city?


    The first buildings Nick could see many kilometers away were made of stuff that could only be called scrap.


    It was like the old Dregs.


    Rusty metal tes were stacked on top of each other to make rusty and dirty huts.


    Even more, there was no wall protecting them.


    It was like the rusty huts were built in the outside world without any protection, which was crazy to Nick.


    This essentially put these people in severe danger.


    Almost no cities that Nick had seen in the Great Triangle were built like this.


    In the Great Triangle, it was policy that no civilian building was allowed to be built outside of a fortification.


    The reason was that it was simply too dangerous.


    If the city allowed normal people to live outside, the enormous casualties would severelypromise the city''s economy.


    Sure, a city''s economy was mostly based on Specters and Manufacturers, but they needed normal people to get new Extractors, and normal people also needed a certain economy.


    But here, apparently, this policy was not in effect.


    After Nick saw the first buildings, he split off from the group.


    He didn''t need to rely on them anymore and looked around on his own.


    As Nick closed in on the city, he realized how they managed to offset the enormous loss of revenue due to the high level of casualties. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''So many!''


    The sheer number of rusty huts was abnormal!


    There were rusty huts as far as the eye could see!


    And that was not the only surprising part.


    ''So many children!''


    When Nick looked at the different households, he saw that over 50% of all the people were children!


    Every pair of adults had, on average, three to four children!


    And those were only the ones that were alive at this moment!


    Then, Nick noticed something else as well.


    ''There are also a lot of elderly,'' he thought.


    In Crimson City, people mostly died of old age when they hit their 50s or 60s, and people who were 45 years old or older were considered elderly.


    The people here looked far older on average, but Nick could also tell that they were actually not as old as they seemed.


    ''Are people aging quicker here?'' Nick thought.


    Someone that looked like they were 50 was actually 40 in this city.


    Nick could tell that due to the many conversations he was able to overhear.


    ''Even more, the elderly are no longer working.''


    This entire situation perplexed Nick.


    This seemingly made no sense.


    Children and the elderly were both burdens on the economy.


    After all, they consumed without contributing.


    The fact that the city had that many of both of them would mean that one adult needed to support around four people who couldn''t work.


    This was crazy!


    After looking at everything for a while, Nick finally found out how this was possible.


    Near the middle of the city, Nick saw a huge queue made up of children.


    All of them were queuing up in front of a building with several Containment Units.


    Obviously, this was a Manufacturer.


    ''That exins things,'' Nick thought as his eyes narrowed.


    ''The children are also contributing.''


    ''And by the looks of things, the children are the only ones that can do whatever it is they need to do in that Manufacturer.''


    ''The parents are supporting the grandparents, and the children are supporting the parents.''


    ''That''s why there are so many of them!''


    ''But there are barely any adults. There are basically more elderly than adults.''


    ''Does that mean that something happened recently?''


    ''Or is this a cyclical thing where the age distribution shifts around based on the previous generation?''


    Nick looked at the huge queue of children.


    ''Nevertheless, theck of adultspared to the high number of children means that there is a high child mortality rate.''


    ''Seems like the childbor here is quite dangerous.''

 Chapter 617 – Too Much Power

    Chapter 617 ¨C Too Much Power


    Nick looked at the city for a while.


    He just watched the children enter and exit the Containment Unit.


    Apparently, they only needed to work in there for a couple of minutes before leaving.


    They seemed barely any different after leaving.


    In fact, they didn''t even look injured or distraught.


    They just seemed¡­ normal.


    That was until Nick saw a teenage boy enter and leave.


    ''Did he grow a beard?'' Nick thought as he looked at the teenage boy.


    Earlier, the boy had seemed too young to grow a beard, but when he came out, he seemed just the right age to have the first hairs above his lips.


    After that, Nick looked a bit closer.


    ''Sure enough, they all seem to age a bit after entering and exiting,'' he thought as he looked at them.


    ''So, does this Specter make them age? Is that why the children are working with the Specter?''


    ''Is that also why the old people are that young?''


    A bitter, Nick also saw an adult queuing up.


    ''Strange. Until now, I''ve only seen children in the queue. I wonder what happens if an adult enters.''


    Nick waited to see what would happen to the adult.


    When the adult came back out¡­


    He looked like he was five years older!


    He aged by a lot more than the children!


    ''Is this based on perceived aging instead of static aging?'' Nick thought. ''When a ten-year-old ages by a year, it probably feels just as long to them as when a 25-year-old ages by five years.''


    ''So, that''s what the Specter is about, huh? It grows more powerful by stealing life from people.''


    Nick observed a couple more conversations.


    There was someone who looked 30 and was actually 18.


    A 16-year-old who was eight.


    A 40-year-old who was 20.


    However, there was also a 20-year-old that looked to be about 20.


    Not everyone was unnaturally old.


    ''The closer people live to the middle of the city, the more their appearance resembles their actual age. The buildings are also made of better materials and are taller.''


    ''Makes sense. Living near the outside of the city means being at the mercy of more Specters. Naturally, people with power would gravitate towards living in the middle of the city, while the poor are stuck on the outside.''


    ''Additionally, the poor rely on the easy money from the age Specter, which makes them appear older.''


    Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    ''This is actually worse than it looks. Young peopleck the maturity to confront Specters. Finding an Extractor who is 16 years old or younger is extremely difficult since their mindsck the experience and stability of an adult. This often makes themmit mistakes when confronted with fear and danger.''


    ''The people near the outside of the city are mismatched with their true age. When their minds reach their peak at about 20 years of age, their bodies will already start to degrade as they hit their 30s.''


    ''This makes it very difficult to be an Extractor.''


    Nick stayed in his mist form and entered the city.


    There were barely any sensors or walls anywhere.


    This was one of the worst-defended cities Nick had ever seen.


    ''They don''t need impressive defenses,'' Nick thought as he looked at the sea of people he had already passed. ''Their defenses are masses of meat and lives.''


    ''By the looks of it, this city probably has over 40,000 inhabitants.''


    ''That''s actually crazy.''


    ''In the hundred or so cities I''ve visited in the Great Triangle, I only saw about three cities with so many inhabitants.''


    As Nick continued towards the east, he finally found out why the city was called Abyss City.


    At the east side of the city was a huge body of water. Nick couldn''t be sure if it was a bigke or an ocean.


    However, at its shore, there was a huge body of swirling ck water.


    It was impossible to see the bottom.


    Not even Nick could look at the bottom.


    And that was everything Nick needed to know.


    To him, darkness was just as bright as light, and Nick''s vision was not reduced by darkness.


    The fact that he couldn''t see the bottom meant that this was not darkness. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''It''s the body of a gigantic Specter,'' Nick thought.


    The humongous whirlpool was one Specter, and it was almost three kilometers wide.


    ''This has to be a Force Specter,'' Nick thought.


    Obviously, approaching the Specter was extremely dangerous.


    ''This Specter isn''t even really contained,'' Nick thought as he looked at it.


    He saw a couple of big obelisks near the shore.


    By now, Nick was pretty good at Zephology, and he could tell what these obelisks were for.


    ''They redirect and absorb Zephyx. Most likely, when the Abyss produces Zephyx, the obelisks absorb a good amount of it.''


    ''I think I''ve seen enough of the city. I''m not here to sightsee. I''m here to find a way back to Aegis.''


    Nick quickly looked for some powerful people.


    He found a couple of Experts and even a Specialist, but they were not really talking to each other.


    Nick''s n had been to overhear their conversations to learn about where he was in the world, but they probably wouldn''t randomly start talking about geography while walking around outside.


    ''Should I ask someone?'' Nick thought.


    He shook his head. ''No, I''m not able to hide my Zephyx, and they will just start shouting as soon as they see me.''


    ''I don''t know how many Heroes this city has, and I don''t want to find out.''


    ''I have to find these things out on my own.''


    Nick looked for someone he could "question".


    After a while, he saw the Expert from earlier arriving in the city with the survivors.


    Then, he saw her meeting another Expert, who then left the city.


    Nick decided to follow that Expert.


    Nobody had noticed him yet, but that wasn''t very surprising.


    The city''s defenses were horrible, and Nick was incredible at staying hidden.


    As long as there wasn''t a Hero actively searching for him, Nick wouldn''t be found.


    As Nick followed after the Expert, he couldn''t help his thoughts wandering to some dark ces.


    ''It''s actually scary that I could effectively take down this entire city on my own.''


    ''I just have to find the Governor, assassinate them in secret, find the next Hero, assassinate them, and so on. I could even free a couple of Specters in some Containment Units by simply attacking them. After all, I have two extremely powerful des, and I have the physical power of a Hero. I could break most Containment Units designed to house Fanatics.''


    ''Then, the Fanatics would break out and deal with the remaining inhabitants.''


    At that moment, Nick took a deep breath.


    He didn''t like that he was thinking about these things.


    He felt scared of what he could potentially do.


    He had so much power now.


    ''Yet, I''ve had this power for a long while. Why is it suddenly a problem now?'' Nick thought.


    Sadly, Nick already knew the answer.


    He just didn''t like it.


    He was a Specter, and that made him scared of himself.


    He had the capability to do evil, and he had the power.


    He even was part of a group that was supposed to do nothing butmit evil.


    Nick still saw himself as a human, but he knew that he was just running away.


    In truth, he was a Specter, and he knew it.


    Would he one day forget what it meant to be a human and start bing a Specter?


    Would he start to ignore the suffering of the people and use his power to benefit no one but himself?


    Nick became scared.


    He became scared of himself.


    He became scared of what he might turn into.


    He didn''t want to turn into a true Specter, but what if he had no choice?


    What if he started seeing hurting people as just another bit of training?


    What if, like every other Specter, he was just trying to attain more and more power?


    Nick noticed that the Expert was traveling alone now, and Nick grew nervous.


    This was nothing special.


    He had done things like this many, many times in the past.


    It was a standard take-down.


    And yet¡­


    Nick hadn''t been this scared of a take-down in forever.


    In the end, he gritted his teeth.


    BANG!


    The Barrier of the man appeared and broke an instantter.


    His expression turned shocked.


    But then, he vanished.


    Nick had grabbed his leg and had pulled him into the sand below him.


    Naturally, the man was covered in darkness in an instant, and Nick used his newly upgraded ability from the Nightmare.


    The man felt like he couldn''t breathe anymore since he had run out of Zephyx, and his Zephosis had been interrupted.


    Obviously, Nick wouldn''t kill the guy.


    However, as sorry as Nick was, he still needed the man to be delirious enough so that his mind would drop its guard.


    Many seconds passed as the man struggled many meters below the sand.


    He was dying.


    And then, Nick injected feelings and visions into the man''s mind, and the man''s mind started to associate these things with other things.


    A couple secondster, Nick knew the general area of where he was, but he still didn''t know exactly where he was.


    BANG!


    Nick knocked the guy out before infusing him with some Zephyx.


    Luckily, humans could also absorb Specter Zephyx.


    The man''s Zephosis activated again, and a couple of secondster, he woke up.


    Immediately, he was assaulted by the Nightmare''s influence.


    BOOOOOOOM!


    Sand exploded, and the man jumped up into the light of day.


    People around him immediately turned to look at him.


    And they looked at him with frowns.


    Why was he naked?

 Chapter 618 – Big Target

    Chapter 618 ¨C Big Target


    While several people in Abyss City started to sound the rm, Nick was traveling towards the south in his new clothes.


    Naturally, he wouldn''t stay in this city after he had just attacked an Expert.


    ording to what the Expert knew, this was a rtively thin but long stretch ofnd between two seas.


    One was in the east, while one was in the west.


    Although, thin might not be the correct word.


    There were about 400 kilometers between the two shores, and the Expert didn''t know how far thend continued in the north and the south.


    Abyss City was at the shore of the eastern sea or ocean.


    Technically, it could also be a very bigke. Nick couldn''t be sure.


    One other thing Nick knew was that there were a lot of mountains here. There was an entire mountain range going from shore to shore.


    Nick didn''t know a lot about geography, and he still wasn''t sure on which continent he was.


    He could only be sure that he was on a continent since mountain ranges this long and massive most likely were not on inds.


    ''I should go to Cross Mark City to the south,'' Nick thought.


    Cross Mark City was the furthest city from Abyss City that the Expert knew about, and it was around 300 kilometers to the southwest of Abyss City.


    Nick left the mountain range behind and crossed rtively even terrain as he traveled to the south.


    He saw a couple ofkes, but they were not crazily big.


    Eventually, Nick reached ake that was a little bit bigger.


    Theke was over 20 kilometers wide and over 50 kilometers long.


    It was far smaller than the two seas or oceans north of this ce, but it was still quite big.


    Beside theke, Nick saw another one of these cities without any walls.


    Just like Abyss City, Cross Mark City barely had any walls and simply defended itself by throwing mountains of human bodies at the Specters.


    However,pared to Abyss City, there was a normal distribution of ages here.


    A good number of children.


    Arge number of adults.


    A small number of elderly.


    Once again, it wasn''t difficult for Nick to enter the city, and he quickly searched for somebody to question.


    After searching for several minutes, Nick grew a bit annoyed.


    ''I can only question one person before I have to flee again. That sucks. I don''t even know anyone from this ce. If I could just find out more about the people of this city, I could search for a better target.''


    ''However, that means killing someone to stop them from ringing the rm, and I don''t want to do that.''


    ''Although¡­''


    After that, Nick decided to focus on the poorer parts of the city a bit more.


    ''Maybe, if I''m lucky¡­''


    Nick focused on the different houses and inspected them one at a time.


    Half an hour passed until Nick finally found something.


    ''Finally!''


    Inside a seemingly random shack, Nick found a couple of imprisoned children.


    Just now, a John had entered the shack, and the children immediately began to panic.


    Nick was reminded of that one panda pirate from Cycle.


    ''With so many people and this strong of ack of control, there has to be rampant crime, and there had to be an Extractor that''s involved in some unsavory things,'' Nick thought as he approached the shack.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t the biggest fan of killing a human¡­


    As long as he saw them as human, that was.


    Nick entered the house through one of the cracks and approached the man, who was about to drop his pants.


    The next moment, Nick materialized behind him and grabbed his mouth and nose.


    Naturally, the man immediately became panicked and tried to tear himself free, but a John couldn''t possibly tear themselves free from the grasp of a Specialist.


    Funnily enough, Nick hadn''t even needed to destroy the man''s Barrier since he had deactivated it himself.


    Cheap Barriers didn''t have a frisky mode.


    Obviously, the children started to panic even more.


    Somehow, this new person felt even more dangerous than the man!


    "Shut up!" Nick shouted.


    Silence.


    "I''m going to break down the wall, and you can run to wherever you want. Or you can remain here. Depends on you."


    The children were confused.


    BANG!


    Nick kicked one of the walls down and ran out while keeping the man in his grasp. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Naturally, the explosion immediately rmed the neighborhood, but this was in one of the poorer parts of the city, and there were barely any Extractors around.


    The few that were present were Newbies or Johns.


    Nick quickly charged towards the east, and as soon as the streets gave way to dirt, he dug downwards.


    He essentially just needed to kick the air above him to generate enough power to rival an artillery shell.


    An explosion of dirt appeared, followed by several quakes below ground.


    If there were any powerful Extractors nearby, they could most likely follow Nick.


    But there wasn''t.


    A couple of Extractors arrived, but they realized that they couldn''t catch up with whatever was digging downward.


    One had to remember that the dirt that Nick pushed to the side constantly fell back into the hole.


    After traveling through the ground for about half a minute, Nick stopped and focused on the John in his hand.


    ''Fuck! I wasn''t careful!'' Nick thought.


    The John in his hands had several broken bones and open wounds.


    ''At least he''s still alive.''


    The John''s mind had already been influenced by the Nightmare, and Nick decided to join in.


    The visions that the John saw changed, and Nick started to go through all possible things.


    Organizations, cities, Specters,ws, and so on.


    This time, Nick decided to keep going at it for several minutes. After all, the John''s survival andfort were not of his concern.


    Eventually, Nick just squeezed the man''s head into a meat paste and focused on the city far above him again.


    While the John didn''t know a lot about things outside of the city, he knew about the things inside the city.


    Nick knew the names of the different Manufacturers and how strong they were.


    ''The Priesthood,'' Nick thought as he slightly narrowed his eyes. ''Their CZE seems like a good target.''


    The Priesthood was the second biggest Manufacturer in the city, and the strongest member was their CZE.


    Their CZE was a Peak Specialist.


    Naturally, the Priesthood did not have any Heroes.


    The strongest Specter of the Priesthood was the Water Manifestation.


    The Water Manifestation was some kind of flying pyramid that created powerful elixirs based on how much worship and prayer it received.


    Most criminals in the city were forced to be worship ves for years until they were released again.


    Nick didn''t care about that since he didn''t care about the criminals.


    Yet, there was an open secret about the Priesthood.


    While they denounced crime and preached ethics, they were actually running the majority of crime in the city.


    If one wanted to be a criminal, one needed to give them a certain amount of their profits.


    Otherwise, the Priesthood would capture them and make them a worship ve.


    In essence, the Priesthood had a monopoly on crime.


    Nick was not the biggest fan of that.


    ''I''m going to grab that CZE and question her. If there''s nothing wrong with her, I can let her go, and if I find out that she is causing suffering to the people, I will kill her.''


    ''Additionally, a Peak Specialist should know where I am. Especially if she''s the leader of such a big Manufacturer.''


    ''But for now, I should stay underground. It doesn''t matter if Ie back a couple of dayster.''


    For the next several hours, Nick decided to wait deep underground.


    While the most powerful people had not been rmed by what Nick had done since Johns constantly vanished, Nick still wanted to be careful.


    Eventually, Nick surfaced outside the city again and reentered the city.


    Once again, it didn''t prove to be a challenge.


    After just a couple of seconds, Nick saw the Priesthood''s building.


    They had built a pyramid, which was about 300 meters high.


    That would be impressive if Nick hadn''t grown up in Crimson City.


    Also, Aegis'' headquarters was also a pyramid, and that thing was way bigger as well.


    Then, Nick waited.


    ''The CZEes out every day in the morning to preach about being a good human. That should be a great opportunity.''


    Hours passed, and Nick saw people gathering in front of the pyramid before they went down on their knees.


    By the end of it, Nick saw over a thousand people kneeling in the za in front of the huge pyramid.


    And then, it was time.


    An older woman with a friendly and peaceful smile walked out of the pyramid, nked by two big men.


    "Wee, children of the pyramid!" she shouted.


    Nick looked at her.

 Chapter 619 – Servants of Gluttony

    Chapter 619 ¨C Servants of Gluttony


    Children of the Pyramid.


    That was how the CZE referred to the people kneeling in front of their "sanctuary".


    The pyramid shape of the building might have given the building a certain religious taste, but it didn''t change the fact that this was an office building.


    Corporate headquarters.


    ''But people in desperation will cling onto anything that might give them hope,'' Nick thought as he looked at the devoted followers.


    Nick couldn''t help but make aparison to Aegis and the Champion of Light.


    ''Except that the Champion of Light actually wants to help the people and doesn''t just want to line his own pockets.''


    "Sow kindness and harvest kindness!" the old woman shouted with an ted smile. "Reciprocate kindness and receive kindness!"


    Up until now, Nick could empathize with the message somewhat. After all, he also was a big fan of giving kindness to others.


    "Unless they are followers of gluttony!" she shouted.


    ''Gluttony?'' Nick thought as his eyes narrowed. ''That''s one of Famine''s servants. How is this suddenly rted to Gluttony?''


    Death, the Trio of Destruction, and the Seven Corruptors were all known to basically everyone in Aegis.


    Death was the leader of the Trio of Destruction, and it was humanity''s biggest enemy since it actively tried to destroy Aegis.


    The Trio of Destruction were Death''s servants.


    As its name suggested, Death''s goal was to turn the world into a wastnd with no life, and the way it wanted to achieve that goal was by using its three servants and their unique ways.


    Famine was one of Death''s servants. It was a Mid Adversary that gained power by starving people.


    Pestilence was also one of Death''s servants. It was an Early Adversary that gained power by spreading disease and suffering rted to one''s health.


    War was Death''sst servant. It was a Late Adversary that gained power through generating conflict between humans. Despite what one might think when hearing its name, War was not some powerful and brutal warrior but a covert and subtle maniptor.


    After all, openly attacking someone would just make them attack you instead of attacking each other.


    Luckily, while the Trio of Destruction was seen as a single unit, nothing could be further from the truth.


    All three of their desired goals led to death, which was why Death could work with them, but none of their goals aligned with each other.


    When hungry people became sick, they died very quickly, which would be a waste.


    Hungry and sick people also avoided going to war due to severe exhaustion.


    Under normal circumstances, the Trio of Destruction would be each other''s enemies and would even actively try to destroy each other since there were only so many humans in the world.


    However, Death''s overwhelming power kept them at bay.


    Although, that also wasn''t a certainty.


    Death was the only Adversary that had other Adversaries as servants.


    Every other Adversary only had Fallen or weaker as servants.


    The reason was that Adversaries were extremely resourceful with diverse powers.


    It was supremely difficult to kill or capture them, evident by the fact that Aegis had not managed to capture even a single one while having seven Shields.


    The only Adversary they had ess to was here voluntarily.


    Death had a unique power over its namesake, and that power also extended to Specters.


    When it came to killing and fighting other Specters, Death was probably the most powerful Specter out there, proportional to its power.


    So, even though it was just a little stronger in level than War, it was still much stronger.


    Yet, suppressing something was more difficult than killing it.


    War had already be a Late Adversary, and while it couldn''t fight Death on its own, it wasn''t helpless.


    If, somehow, the three of them managed to put their differences aside to deal with Death, they might be able to win.


    The chances of that happening were not low since all three of them had amon enemy.


    They wanted to kill each other the most, but they couldn''t kill each other while Death existed.


    Even more, Death was stuck near Aegis'' headquarters, and it couldn''t micromanage the Trio of Destruction.


    All in all, the alliance between the Trio of Destruction was shaky at best.


    However, that didn''t extend to their servants.


    Between their servants, there was no alliance at all.


    Quite the opposite, in fact.


    They hated each other almost more than they hated humanity.


    Each of the Trio of Destruction had several Fallen as their servants, but their most powerful servants were the Seven Corruptors.


    All seven of them were Peak Fallen and could potentially be Adversaries at any moment. Aegis wasn''t sure what the Seven Corruptors needed to do to be Adversaries.


    Envy and Gluttony were servants of Famine.


    Wrath and Pride were servants of War.


    Sloth and Lust were servants of Pestilence.


    Greed was the only free Specter.


    The reason for that was simple.


    Greed was very, very good at escaping.


    It might not be powerful enough to fight any of the Trio, but it was still very difficult for any of them to find it and sessfully kill it.


    Greed belonged to the few Specters that basically couldn''t be forced into servitude.


    Another one of these Specters was the Eternal Hunger, the Specter that created the ck blobs all over the world that tried to eradicate all life.


    That Specter was basically unkible, and trying to kill it would cost Death more than it was worth, making the Eternal Hunger a free Specter as well.


    Funnily enough, the Eternal Hunger used to be Famine''s servant, but it grew too powerful to be controlled by it anymore.


    It was just too efficient at what it was doing and grew far too quickly. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Do I have some kind of connection with Famine?'' Nick thought after he heard the CZE of the Priesthood talking about Gluttony. ''I''ve basicallye into contact with both of Famine''s main servants now.''


    The CZE kept talking about the followers of Gluttony, and that bestowing kindness upon them was equal to self-harm.


    The people kept agreeing, and soon, the positive atmosphere waspletely reced with rage and hatred.


    "Down with Gluttony! Down with Gluttony! Down with Gluttony!" the people echoed.


    Nick wasn''t sure what this was all about.


    He wouldn''t have expected that a bunch of normal humans would dare to be this openly hostile to a Peak Fallen.


    "Servant of Gluttony!"


    Suddenly, an extremely loud shout reverberated from someone in the crowd, and the people jumped to the side, isting the shouting person.


    There, in the middle of the crowd, was a man holding up the arm of a figure wearing a cowl.


    In the figure''s hand was a bundle of credits.


    The figure tried with all of its power to pull itself away, but the man''s grip was too strong.


    BANG!


    Then, the figure kicked the man in the balls and tore itself away.


    "Servant of Gluttony!"


    The crowd shouted in rage and swarmed upon the figure.


    In an instant, the figure was drowned by enraged people.


    The cowl and the clothing were torn off the figure, revealing a now naked olderdy.


    The crowd punched and kicked the woman before lifting her and throwing her onto the stage, severely injured.


    The woman looked up in despair and confusion.


    Her eyes met with the CZE''s eyes.


    The CZE''s eyes were filled with disdain.


    "Servant of Gluttony," she reprimanded with a cold voice.


    The next moment, a city guard arrived in front of the injured woman and pulled her into the pyramid.


    Undoubtedly, she would be a prayer ve.


    While all of this was happening, the crowd was shouting in rage, hatred, and bloodlust.


    "Gluttony''s servants will never win!" the CZE shouted.


    The crowd echoed with an uplifting battle cry.


    "While righteous indignation is justified when dealing with Gluttony''s servants, let us not forget that we must still give kindness to our kin," the CZE spoke with a much calmer voice.


    In less than ten seconds, the crowd calmed down before kneeling again.


    People were closing their eyes with peaceful smiles as they listened to the CZE.


    ''Servants of Gluttony?'' Nick thought with a raised eyebrow. ''That was just a normal woman that tried to pickpocket someone. Pretty sure a servant of Gluttony would be a Specter.''


    ''Is the Gluttony she is talking about actually referring to the servant of Famine, or is she referring to gluttony as a concept?''


    Nick frowned.


    ''So, is this just a misunderstanding?''


    Nick scratched his head a bit.


    ''That would be annoying.''


    Then, his gaze went to the entrance of the pyramid.


    ''But that''s a bit strange. As far as I know, the Priesthood is only the second-strongest Manufacturer in the city. Yet, the city guards seem to follow the CZE''s instructions. Something like that only happens in cities where the strongest Manufacturer is basically the unofficial leader of the city.''


    ''I''ve never seen a mere Peak Specialist ordering guards around this casually.''


    ''Something strange is going on.''

 Chapter 620 – Door

    Chapter 620 ¨C Door


    The CZE finished her sermon after a while, and she turned back to walk inside again.


    The people in front of the building jumped up with newfound energy and returned to their lives.


    In a certain way, they seemed motivated and happy.


    It was like their purpose had been reignited.


    Naturally, Nick knew a lot about psychology, and he could see what was happening.


    ''Many people just want to have their own opinion reaffirmed, and if they do not believe that, they will believe whatever is most convenient to them.''


    ''The CZE is essentially patting them on the back for being better than others while also giving them moral justifications to be horrible people.''


    ''Anyone that doesn''t follow their beliefs is a horrible person, and therefore, the believers are morally justified in attacking them. Reciprocating kindness with kindness and enmity with enmity is not a bad philosophy in that form.''


    ''However, to them, neutrality equates enmity, which justifies acting on enmity on their part.''


    ''And it''s not even possible to use her of inciting violence. After all, while she said that the followers of gluttony deserve enmity, she never defined who the followers of gluttony actually are.''


    ''If anyone directly asked her to say who these followers were, she would most likely answer that she''s referring to Specters that follow the actual Gluttony or humans that are consumed by greed andmit crimes. In both cases, she would be justified.''


    ''Yet, she intentionally keeps the definition vague, allowing the people to make their own opinion on her opinion without contradicting or correcting them.''


    ''Her followers probably argue amongst themselves all the time about her opinion on different matters.''


    Nick looked at the people.


    ''They seem happy and peaceful, but that happiness hides a tremendous potential for violence and hatred.''


    ''These people would probably tear a poor mother into pieces because she stole a little bit of food for her malnourished baby, and they would probably do so with a smile while also believing that they were doing good.''


    Nick released a short snort.


    ''Sounds a bit like me.''


    The next moment, Nick transformed into mist and moved towards the pyramid.


    ''Except that my actions bring actual, tangible, and positive results.''


    The door behind the CZE closed, and she walked down thevish entrance hall of her building.


    Waterfalls of fine sand ran down the sides of the yellow hall, falling into pools of fine sand.


    People had vanished in these pools before.


    After walking for a bit, she gestured to the side, and the two men behind her performed a quick bow before leaving.


    Their purpose was not to protect her. After all, she was a Peak Specialist.


    No, they were just here to give her an aura of majesty and power.


    Naturally, any worthwhile Extractor could feel her immense power and knew that she was more impressive than any of her guards.


    However, normal people were not like that.


    They required a show to truly believe.


    She slowly walked through the surprisingly empty halls of the pyramid.


    One would think that cleaning personnel, clerks, technicians, and administrators would frequent these halls, but that didn''t seem to be the case.


    She slowly walked to one of the staircases and walked upwards.


    For over five minutes, she walked up the stairs with a leisurely pace.


    Eventually, she arrived on one of the highest floors and entered a long hallway.


    Weirdly enough, there were no doors along the hallway. There was just one big gate at the end.


    She approached the gate and summoned a white Barrier.


    Her Barrier gave off a lot of Zephyx, and a momentter, the gate opened slowly.


    She slowly walked through the gate.


    BANG!


    Suddenly, the gate mmed shut with incredible power, barely missing her leg.


    ''Shit!'' Nick thought as he looked at the closed gate in front of him.


    Naturally, he wanted to slip in after her and deal with her, but the gate closed so fast that Nick couldn''t even react.


    ''Why did this gate open so slowly but close so quickly?!'' Nick thought with frustration.


    Nick looked through the pristine and brightly shining hallway.


    There were no gaps.


    It looked like the entire hallway was made of one piece of blindingly bright metal.


    ''I can''t hide anywhere in this hallway,'' Nick thought.


    Sure, it was difficult to see Nick when he was in his mist form, but it wouldn''t be difficult while he was in this hallway.


    Anyone would notice the cloud of mist in one of the corners or at the end of the bright hallway.


    While the CZE seemed to be the only person working on this floor, if anyone wanted to visit her, they would see Nick.


    Well, unless he waited in the corner beside the entrance.


    But in that case, the CZE would see him as soon as she exited her office.


    It would be a 50/50 guess.


    ''It''s a longshot, but maybe¡­''


    Nick slowly approached the entrance to the CZE''s office.


    While Nick could technically break down the door and charge in, he wouldn''t do so since that would defeat the entire purpose of being sneaky.


    The entire building would notice if Nick broke through the door, leaving him no time for the interrogation.


    Nick looked at the door for a long time and found a hidden console. This console was used by maintenance personnel to program the door in case there was an error.


    Sadly, the console was password-protected.


    ''Not even an override function,'' Nick thought with annoyance. ''They value privacy and security for this office so highly that they would rather rece the entire door than have any potential security w.''


    ''And just as luck would have it, I don''t have my Barrier with my override codes anymore.''


    Over the years of working as a Liaison, being a trainee, and working with the Technician, Nick had learned a lot about technology and Zephology.


    Getting into a Containment Unit that could house Adults and weaker wasn''t difficult for him, but for anything bigger, he needed his override codes.


    Sadly, even if he knew the codes, he would need his Barrier to inject them into the door.


    While there was a console, it didn''t connect to the virtual interface that epted the override codes.


    Only a Barrier from Aegis could interact with that.


    Nick fumbled around on the console for a couple of seconds before stopping.


    Some of these consoles really didn''t like it when somebody did stuff with them without showing any authorization.


    ''Well, nothing I can do,'' Nick thought before turning into mist again.


    Nick stopped in one of the upper corners above the door to the office and looked at the entrance to the stairway.


    ''As long as I keep focusing, I should be able to perceive whoever enters before they can perceive me, giving me a moment to use my illusion ability to make myself invisible for long enough that I can slither behind them.''


    ''I just have to be really fast. If they even think for a moment that they might have seen something, they will perceive me, and my illusion will break into pieces.''


    ''I really don''t want to wait in the stairwell. Attacking her in there could alert everyone else inside the stairwell at that time.''


    If Nick could sigh, he would have done so.


    ''I guess I''ll have to wait until she leaves her office. I just hope it won''t take too long.''


    Nevertheless, Nick was mentally preparing himself for a long wait.


    Shing!


    But he didn''t need to.


    The door to the office opened just a couple of secondster.


    Nick immediately prepared himself to attack the CZE.


    However, that n was immediately abandoned as Nick realized something crucial.


    His ability had deactivated!


    In an instant, Nick scanned the entire hallway but didn''t see anyone else.


    His perception also covered the CZE, and Nick could tell that she was scanning the hallway for something but based on the way she was scanning the hallway, Nick could also tell that she didn''t know where Nick was.


    This immediately told Nick two things.


    First, the CZE did not know where Nick was but knew that someone had to be here.


    Second, she was not the reason why his ability had deactivated.


    Yet, Nick couldn''t even take a guess as to who or what had deactivated his ability since he immediately saw the reason an instantter.


    "Serve or die."


    A voice came out from the CZE''s office.


    It was seemingly filled with unending hatred and disdain for everything living.


    As soon as Nick heard that voice, he also felt two ring eyes looking at him.


    It was like someone with incredible power was perceiving him.


    In the middle of the office was something Nick hadn''t seen in decades but still remembered its appearance as if he had seen it yesterday.


    Four stones surrounded by a stone circleprised of seven stones with a statue in front of the stone circle.


    A Major Ry!


    The statue in front of the circle was of a muscr man who was burning with rage and hatred. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The statue was looking directly at the ce where Nick was.


    Nick had never seen this Specter before, but just based on the absolutely enraged aura, he could tell who that was.


    Wrath.


    Servant of War.


    One of the Seven Corruptors.

 Chapter 621 – Servant

    Chapter 621 ¨C Servant


    Nick''s mind went wild as soon as he realized what was going on.


    One of the Seven Corruptors, Wrath, would kill him!


    However, Nick only believed that for an instant before his mind regained rationality.


    And the more he thought about it, the more answers he found.


    ''They did not sense me while in there since my ability didn''t activate earlier. Yet, they knew that I was out here without sensing me.''


    Nick remembered the door that had so suddenly closed behind the CZE.


    He had felt that was strange, and sure enough, it was strange.


    Which door would close with such force and violence shortly after someone''s foot just barely entered?


    ''It has some sort of automatic reaction to Specter Zephyx,'' Nick realized. ''As soon as I closed in on the door, it mmed shut since it senses my Zephyx. The CZE did not see me, but as soon as the door mmed shut, she knew that there had to be a Specter here.''


    ''If she were human, she would have immediately run out of the building and would have called the Governor for help. After all, while she wouldn''t know how strong I was, she would know that I had to be confident in taking her down since I was following her this closely.''


    ''However, she obviously isn''t a human,'' Nick thought. ''No human would dare to interact with one of the Seven Corruptors.''


    Nick slowly moved down from the ceiling, and the CZE''s eyes immediately locked onto him.


    Compared to how she had seemed during her big speech earlier, she seemed almost dead.


    There were no emotions on her face. It was almost like a corpse was looking at Nick.


    A secondter, Nick turned into his human form again and looked at the statue representing Wrath.


    His eyes were just as dead as the CZE''s.


    "A Force Specter that can turn into a human," Wrath said with gritted teeth. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    If Nick didn''t know that Wrath was a Specter, he would think that Wrath was frustrated and angry at him.


    "Why did you follow my servant?" Wrath asked, sounding like he was trying his best not to explode on Nick.


    Nick did not immediately answer.


    The more he analyzed the situation, the better it actually seemed.


    Back when Nick had seen Envy, he had been at Envy''s mercy.


    Envy would have sucked Nick''s power out of him, and there would have been nothing that Nick could have done.


    But things were different now.


    This wasn''t Wrath''s true body.


    This was just a portion of its power, manifested by the Greater Ry.


    A John would be helpless, but Nick was a Specialist or Fanatic.


    While Wrath had tremendous power, there was no way to use its power at this moment.


    The only threat was the CZE, but Nick could flee from her without any issues.


    At worst, he would just need to flee from the city and search for another one.


    Lastly, Wrath believed that Nick was a Specter.


    That meant that Nick wasn''t allied with humanity, which was the only thing that would make him dangerous.


    In short, Nick was not the enemy.


    At least in their minds.


    ''This might actually be a good opportunity.''


    "Food," Nick answered evenly, leisurely crossing his arms. "I didn''t know you were a Specter as well."


    The CZE looked at Nick evenly while Wrath narrowed its eyes in hatred.


    "Speak the truth or die! You are an Initial Fanatic. My servant is a Peak Fanatic. Attacking my servant is too risky!" Wrath boomed with a deep voice.


    "It''s the truth," Nick answered casually. "I assassinate people. Killing your servant is not difficult to me."


    "How?" Wrath asked, infuriated.


    Specters had many special abilities, but Nick was iming that he could jump almost an entire level, which was crazy.


    "I''m not telling," Nick answered evenly. "You''re not really here. You''re just a Greater Ry."


    "I am not here, but my servants span the globe," Wrath spoke in a threatening voice. "I know who you are. I know where you are. Serve me or be hunted down by my servants."


    Nick''s expression didn''t change. "I can just join one of the other six. Their powers will protect me from your powers."


    "Pointless!" Wrath shouted. "Servitude is servitude. Serving me or others makes no difference to you!"


    "But serving no one makes a difference," Nick answered. "Neutrality does not equate enmity."


    "Incorrect!" Wrath shouted. "Servitude demands decisiveness! You are either for me or against me!"


    "Serve me or die!"


    Nick looked at Wrath neutrally for a while.


    "Fine, I will serve you," he said.


    "Good!" Wrath said with a malicious grin.


    Did Wrath believe that Nick would wholeheartedly serve him now?


    Of course not!


    No Specter would believe that.


    Amongst Specters, there were no true loyalties.


    The only way one could have a Specter as a servant was by being the biggest danger to one''s life.


    As soon as a bigger danger came along, they would immediately betray you and help the bigger danger.


    If there were a stronger Specter than Wrath that was willing to take a Specter, the Specter would immediately follow them, and everyone knew that.


    If there were a way to flee outside from Wrath''s¡­ wrath, the Specter would do just that.


    There was no loyalty.


    Of course, the Seven Corruptors knew that, which was why they reached an agreement.


    Stealing servants was forbidden.


    Because if they started stealing servants, none of them would have any of them.


    After all, a servant was valuable, and if any servant encountered a stronger servant from another Corruptor, they would just jump ship immediately.


    At that point, it wouldn''t matter who would serve whom. None of the Specters would die anyway. They would just work for thetest stronger servant they had met before meeting another servant that was stronger than them.


    They also wouldn''t even need to do a lot of work. They just needed to be more valuable than their metaphorical cost of administration.


    Because of that, despite their hate for each other, the Trio of Destruction and the Seven Corruptors agreed that servitude was for life.


    They were allowed to kill the servants of others, but they were not allowed to poach them for exactly this reason.


    They all wanted to have servants.


    Nick hadn''t known about that before he had "epted" to be Wrath''s servant, but Wrath very quickly exined it to him, albeit in a much more direct and shorter manner.


    "If anyone finds out you are my servants, they will kill you. There is no way to survive. You are bound to me forever!"


    That was basically all he said.


    However, Nick wasn''t really afraid or nervous.


    In fact, he was a bit excited.


    ''This might prove to be amazing for humanity and Aegis!'' Nick thought as he looked at Wrath''s sculpture with boredom. ''There is no way for any human to enter the ranks of the Specters to gain inside knowledge. Communication between both sides is impossible since it''s not possible that anyone from either side would help the other side. Additionally, it''s extremely easy to find out which side someone belongs to.''


    ''I am the only person¡­ or being¡­ who can enter both sides. Naturally, I am still on humanity''s side, but no Specter can possibly know that. Even more, they wouldn''t even suspect me of being a servant from another Specter since, logically, the immediate danger in front of me is more dangerous than a distant danger.''


    ''And since Specters only follow logic, there''s no way that I would purposefully choose to put myself in more danger than necessary.''


    ''I have a unique opportunity to learn about the enemies of humanity from the inside!''


    "What can you do?" Wrath asked with narrowed eyes.


    "I''m good at assassination and staying hidden," Nick said.


    Naturally, Wrath wanted to know more about Nick''s abilities, but it knew that Nick wouldn''t tell him.


    The more Wrath pushed, the more likely it was that Nick would estimate his survival chances after escaping to be higher than staying here.


    Having a servant as a Specter was like holding a live eel in one''s hands. As long as the eel believed that it wouldn''t be killed, it wouldn''t go too crazy, but if one pressed too hard and put it in too much danger, it would slide out of the hands and take its chances with flopping on the ground to escape.


    There was this unbreakable calction of risk.


    The chance of an assassination attempt urring times the chance of it seeding.


    If both numbers were too high, the servant would try to escape.


    If trying to escape lowered the total chance of death, the servant would do it.


    By learning more about the servant, the chances of seeding in killing the servant increased.


    However, that meant that the leader couldn''t push the servant as much anymore with threats.


    Trying to escape would always increase the chance of an attempt urring to 100% but would lower the chance of the attempt seeding by a lot.


    If that was a worthwhile trade, the Specter would take it.


    So, in the end, Wrath didn''t ask about Nick''s specific ability.


    Asking him meant that it couldn''t make use of Nick as much.


    "Can you hide amongst humans?" Wrath asked.


    "Don''t need to," Nick answered. "I just take what I want."


    Wrath remained silent for a bit.


    "I don''t need you in this city."


    "I need you somece else."


    "But first¡­"


    "You need to know how to contact me for orders."


    "My servant will teach you how to make a Greater Ry."


    Nick immediately became interested, but he didn''t let it show.


    "Okay."

 Chapter 622 – Conjuring

    Chapter 622 ¨C Conjuring


    "Good," Wrath said as it looked with narrowed eyes at Nick. "You are mine now. Don''t even think about escaping."


    Then, the statue turned back into a round stone, and all the power vanished from the Major Ry.


    Silence.


    A momentter, the CZE from the Priesthood gestured for Nick to enter.


    Nick walked forward.


    BANG!


    And the door mmed shut in his face.


    Nick blinked a couple of times.


    Then, he waited.


    DING!


    The door opened again, and the CZE gestured for Nick to enter again.


    This time, the door didn''t immediately close.


    Nick sessfully entered the room, and the door closed behind him.


    As soon as he entered, he realized why there were no other rooms on this floor.


    This entire floor was just the CZE''s office.


    It was ostentatious beyond belief.


    The only office that wasparable to this one had been Markus Julius'' office in Crimson City.


    ''Followers of gluttony, huh?'' Nick thought as he looked around.


    "You will be one of Lord Wrath''s servants," the CZE spoke. "Your life finally has meaning."


    "Save your bullshit for your followers," Nick answered without looking at her.


    The CZE didn''t show any strong reaction.


    "I will now teach you how to create a Major Ry," she spoke evenly as she stepped forward.


    Nick turned around and looked at her.


    "First, conjure a hollow stone that feels like this."


    Then, Nick felt some invisible waves emanating from the CZE.


    This was the same thing that Nick had experienced when he had talked to the big rock snake.


    This was the Specters'' unique way ofmunicating with each other.


    Back then, Nick hadn''t been able to feel the true utility of this ability since the rock snake had had only limited intelligence.


    But now, while he was talking to an intelligent Specter, Nick could see the ability''s true potential.


    It was like the CZE was conveying the purest form of concepts to Nick.


    In almost an instant, Nick knew the dimensions of the stone, how it was supposed to feel to the touch, how it smelled, how it tasted, what it should contain, how hard it was, and all other kinds of things.


    It was like the CZE had simply spoken the word "stone", and all rted information of the stone was immediately conveyed.


    Conveying that much information via speech would need thousands of words and would require significant amounts of interpretation work to get just right.


    Nick knew exactly what this stone was supposed to be like.


    "And how am I supposed to do that?" Nick asked.


    Sure, Nick knew what the stone had to be like, but he couldn''t just create it.


    It was like asking a child to split a solid piece of metal in two. The child understood what it had to do, but how was it supposed to aplish that?


    "Just conjure it," the CZE answered.


    "How?" Nick asked again.


    The CZE narrowed her eyes as she inspected Nick.


    She seemed like she felt suspicious of Nick.


    "The same way you made your clothing and weapons," she said evenly.


    "I didn''t make either of those," Nick answered.


    The CZE furrowed her brows.


    When Nick saw that, he simply exined. "My weapons belonged to an Initial Specialist. The clothing belonged to a random Expert."


    That didn''t seem to resolve the CZE''s doubts.


    "Do you not know how to conjure materials?" she asked. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Apparently, I don''t," Nick said.


    The next moment, more of these invisible waves entered Nick''s mind, and he quickly learned how to conjure things.


    Nick had to do his best not to look shocked or surprised.


    He had never really thought about this!


    What were Specter bodies?


    What about Julian?


    What was part of his body?


    Was his blue hair part of his body?


    Was his clothing part of his body?


    Additionally, when a humanoid Specter got injured severely, how did their clothing repair itself?


    Specters were not known for having closets filled with clothing.


    Nick had seen many times how Specters had regained their damaged clothing, but he had never really thought about it.


    After all, it was of no consequence.


    No items or clothing conjured by a Specter had any impact on their powers.


    But yes, it was true.


    Specters could conjure matter out of seemingly nothing!


    Of course, something didn''t tend toe from nothing.


    What the Specters used to conjure materials and items was their Zephyx.


    Specters could use the Zephyx they created to create things that they could use.


    However, it wasn''t that easy.


    In order to create something with nothing but Zephyx and one''s mind, one needed to understand almost everything there was to understand about something.


    Otherwise, the result would be basically useless.


    At least in terms of use forbat.


    If one didn''t really know everything about something, they could still conjure a weak version of it.


    For example, if one tried to conjure steel with Zephyx but didn''t know a lot about steel, one could simply create something that had the form of the steel butcked almost all of the useful attributes.


    It would be akin to coloring a piece of paper grey.


    And that was how Specters repaired their clothing.


    They didn''t need to know how fibers and cloth worked.


    A Specter''s clothing didn''t need any fancy attributes.


    It just needed to make it easier to convince humans that they were not Specters.


    However, if a Specter actually wanted to conjure something useful, it would need to learn almost everything there was to know about the thing they wanted to conjure.


    Zephyx was kind of a material for everything and could be transformed into any form imaginable.


    Of course, humans could also do this, but not without advanced machinery and not without a good amount of stored Specter Zephyx.


    This was what the entire field of Zephology was about.


    Zephology was about using Specter Zephyx to create powerful materials.


    Naturally, Nick knew quite a bit about Zephology by now.


    The very basis of Zephology was tranting a human''s will into a form that couldbine with the Specter Zephyx, after which the two of them would fuse and the Specter Zephyx would transform into the object the human''s will imagined it to be.


    Without advanced machinery, humans couldn''t do that.


    Their wills were not inherentlypatible with Specter Zephyx.


    They could digest it, but they couldn''t manipte it.


    It was like the difference between one''s arm and a piece of meat. The human could digest both, but they could only control their arm.


    But this same restriction did not count for Specters.


    Their wills werepatible with their Zephyx.


    This made the use of advanced machinery unnecessary.


    A Specter could just imagine what it wanted, and the Zephyx would assume the imagined form.


    This was crazy!


    Nick tried his best to keep his expression as disinterested as before.


    "Never tried that," Nickmented as he held up his right hand.


    Then, Nick imagined a red piece of cloth above his hand.


    The next moment, Nick felt his Zephyx slowly leaving his body and gathering above his right hand.


    Nick almost couldn''t believe it when a tiny red dot appeared above his hand.


    The red dot grew bigger and bigger, and eventually, it grew to the size Nick had imagined.


    Finally, the red piece of cloth fell onto Nick''s hand.


    Crrrrk!


    Then, the cloth tore apart and fell to the floor.


    It was not hard enough to resist its own weight and crumbled.


    However, this had just been Nick''s first attempt.


    After a maximum of ten attempts, Nick knew that he could create cloth that could be worn without immediately falling into pieces.


    "Make the stone," the CZEmanded.


    Nick didn''t look at the CZE but thought back to the attributes of the stones the CZE had sent him earlier.


    WHOOOOM!


    A huge amount of Zephyx gathered above Nick''s right arm.


    The amount of Zephyx gathered was many, many times bigger than when he had conjured the piece of cloth.


    This was due to the stone''splexity and other attributes.


    The harder, more flexible, more tenacious, more anything the object was, the more Zephyx it required.


    Of course, the moreplex the object was, the more focus the Specter needed to invest since there were more things to keep track of.


    Making something simple was like asking a normal person to remember a four-digit code while making somethingplex, which could be a ten-digit, hundred-digit, or thousand-digit code.


    After around ten seconds, Nick stopped.


    In his hand was a small, curved stone that was barely a centimeter wide.


    Naturally, this wasn''t nearly big enough for the Major Ry.


    However, Nick was low on Zephyx and needed to recover first.


    The CZE just kept watching Nick.


    A couple of secondster, Nick continued building the stone.


    Based on his progress, he would probably need several minutes to finish one of the stones.


    The CZE didn''t show it, but she realized that Nick was bing better at conjuring materials at a terrifying rate.


    Either this Specter had some kind of inherent talent for conjuring things, or it had learned a terrifying amount of information over its lifetime, giving it a powerful ability to learn.


    However, the CZE was only minorly curious.


    The talent didn''t matter.


    In the end, this Specter was also just part of Wrath''s army of servants.


    This talent changed nothing.

 Chapter 623 – Natural and Artificial

    Chapter 623 ¨C Natural and Artificial


    Nick finished the first stone after about 30 minutes.


    "Make six more," the CZEmanded with an even tone. "I will be backter."


    Then, she walked towards the exit.


    Nick didn''t say anything and just continued looking at the tiny grain of stone he had just made.


    Naturally, Nick knew that the CZE had to keep up the illusion that she was a human.


    However, since she didn''t tell Nick exactly what she was doing, he could only guess.


    Communication between them wasn''t important.


    Both of them were servants of Wrath, and none of them wanted to be.


    If the CZE found a way to flee from Wrath without endangering her life, she would immediately do so.


    While the CZE did¡­ something, Nick continued making the stones.


    In the beginning, Nick felt a bit unsure about his ability to create the stones, but he quickly got the hang of it.


    It was surprisingly easy.


    ''This is probably a natural ability that almost all Specters have as soon as they are born,'' Nick thought. ''Maybe it''s like how babies try to walk on two legs on instinct. Specters probably try to conjure things on instinct as well.''


    ''It''s basically just memorization and abstraction. I have to remember all the attributes I want and then do some calctions to actualize them.''


    Nick raised an eyebrow as he looked at the tiny grain.


    ''This is the best opportunity to experiment. I''ve barely invested anything into this little morsel. If I break it, it''s no issue.''


    At that moment, Nick stopped calcting and just thought about the attributes the stone should have.


    The Zephyx that Nick was releasing noticeably became more chaotic, and he quickly noticed that the quality of the stone wasn''t as good as before.


    ''Sure enough, if I just use my instincts, it bes terrible,'' Nick thought as he inspected the horrible stone.


    ''This is probably how normal Specters conjure things.''


    A momentter, Nick started to calcte and theorize what his Zephyx should do before trying again, and sure enough, the stone he was conjuring became wless again.


    ''Specters probably don''t do that,'' he thought.


    The difference between what Specters were doing and what Nick was doing could be described with a human throwing a punch.


    In general, people have seen punches and knew that they could throw punches as well. If they ever needed to punch, they would just emte what they had seen and do what felt correct to them.


    And that would end with broken fingers and/or a broken wrist if they used enough power.


    Theoretically, a human could just keep throwing punches at a practice target over and over again, allowing their instincts to rectify ''what felt right'', and after enough punches, the human would be able to throw a good punch.


    This was simr to how Specters conjured things.


    Now, someone who knew a lot of things and had a lot of experience in problem-solving would not just punch someone without knowing how a punch worked.


    If one knew enough about biology and physics, they would know that their wrist needed to be straight and that their thumb should not be tucked in their fist. It just made sense to them to avoid doing that.


    Additionally, they would know that one could use much more power by using the momentum of one''s leg- and back-muscles, while an inexperienced human would just use the muscles in their arms.


    Of course, the experienced human didn''t have the ''correct feeling'' of how throwing a punch was supposed to feel yet, but they already knew what it was supposed to be like.


    By repeating the correct way several times, the correct feeling woulde very quickly.


    Nick had learned a terrifying amount of information about all kinds of topics. One could almost call him an expert in every field.


    So, as soon as Nick realized how conjuring objects worked, many other concepts he had learned in the past ovepped with this one, and he very quickly analyzed and realized how exactly this was working.


    Additionally, since Nick was so used to learning things, he automatically theorized before trying to actualize something.


    Instead of relying on his feeling, Nick was manually calcting what he was supposed to do before doing it.


    This was the reason why Nick was so incredibly good at conjuring things.


    In short, he had a lot of experience in learning new things.


    Almost no Specters had the opportunity to umte this much knowledge.


    Most Specters didn''t care about learning these abstract concepts. They were just interested in bing stronger.


    From the few Specters that were interested, most couldn''t even properly interact with humans.


    Lastly, they also needed a way to ess that knowledge. Not every human could ess advanced knowledge of a field.


    Julian had been one of the few Specters that had the means to learn about all kinds of topics, and he had used that knowledge to essentially conquer Crimson City.


    If Nick hadn''t unveiled him, Julian would still be unknown and would continue growing until he became a Governor.


    A Specter that knew a lot was extremely dangerous.


    The Big Brain Slug had a tremendous talent for conjuring things, but theplicated math behind its createdbyrinth did note naturally.


    ''Envy is probably simr,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''I don''t think that the ability to absorb and copy other abilities is that easy to use. Most likely, it supplemented its ability by learning a lot about itself and about what it could do.''


    ''Simr to the Big Brain Slug.''


    The Big Brain Slug had a tremendous talent for conjuring things, but theplicated math behind its createdbyrinth did note naturally.


    Nick continued creating the stones and kept analyzing how all of this worked. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''This makes almost the entire field of Zephology obsolete,'' Nick thought as he watched the stone in his hand grow.


    The majority of Zephology was about creating and programming the advanced machinery needed to influence the Zephyx.


    But as a Specter, Nick didn''t need this.


    This was an extremely significant change.


    Nick could theoretically do things that were practically impossible to do in the traditional field of Zephology.


    ''The possibilities are endless!''


    After around two hours, Nick finished the seven stones he needed to create and decided to use the remaining time to experiment.


    Eventually, the door opened again, and the CZE walked in again.


    She wordlessly took one of the stones and inspected it.


    Then, she transmitted the attributes of the circle of stones to Nick.


    These stones were moreplicated in their makeup, but it didn''t influence Nick''s efficiency.


    Three hourster, Nick finished that circle of stones as well.


    Nick received the attributes for the big stone that represented the Specter, and it was surprisingly simple.


    Nevertheless, due to the size of the stone, Nick needed a couple of hours again.


    In the end, Nick saw another Major Ry in front of him, and it looked identical to the Major Ry the CZE had created.


    "Next, you need to imbue the stones with abilities," the CZE said.


    Nick was extremely interested but did his best to hide his interest.


    ''Imbue them with abilities? Is that simr to what I did to my Specter Core before fusing with it?''


    "This is the hard part, and I expect you to learn it within the next decade," she spoke.


    ''Decade?!'' Nick thought.


    "You want me to waste an entire decade for this?" Nick asked.


    "Time has no value to you. You can''t waste something that has no value," the CZE answered.


    Nick very quickly realized that she was right.


    Specters did not die of old age and did not grow weaker with age.


    They had infinite time.


    Sitting around and doing nothing for five minutes had the same effect as sitting around for a thousand years.


    The next moment, the CZE sent a terrifying amount of information into Nick''s mind.


    It was an exnation about how to create ability lines and what he needed to ''write'' with them.


    Nick only received the bare minimum to do what he needed to do to create the Major Ry.


    It took Nick a bit to digest all of the information.


    ''This is so different!'' he thought.


    The method the Technician had created to manipte the maniption lines waspletely different from what the Specters had made.


    Every little bit of the maniption lines created by the Technician were clear and had a use.


    Nick and the Technician could calcte everything and could see what point every bit of the line had.


    But that was not true with the thing that Nick had just received.


    This was extremely chaotic, and there were many lines that Nick could tell had no use.


    This chaos felt very natural.


    It was something that had been created over a long period of time by looking at what works and doesn''t work.


    This was natural, while the method the Technician had created was artificial.


    This was a brain, while the Technician made a calctor.


    This method was impossibly efficient and far superior to what the Technician had created.


    Yet, there was also something bad about it.


    It was not modr.


    This was one thing, and it could only be used in this exact configuration for this exact thing.


    Meanwhile, the method the Technician had created had infinite potential and possibilities.


    If these two methods could bebined¡­


    ''Wouldn''t I be able to use every conceivable ability in existence?'' Nick thought.

 Chapter 624 – Mission from Wrath

    Chapter 624 ¨C Mission from Wrath


    From this day forth, Nick remained inside the office of the CZE of the Priesthood inside Cross Mark City.


    Naturally, if he had a choice, Nick wouldn''t choose to be here.


    He would much rather go back to Aegis.


    However, going back to Aegis wasn''t easy anymore since Nick would be hunted by Wrath and some of its servants if he decided to run away.


    Additionally, it wasn''t like Nick was wasting his time here.


    He was actually learning things that no human had ever learned before.


    Things that one could only learn from powerful Specters.


    Every day, the CZE returned to her office to stare at the wall.


    Yes, most of the time, she just stared at the wall.


    Whenever she didn''t need to go out to advance the great n, she just looked at the wall and waited.


    This was the first time that Nick had been able to watch a Specter in its natural habitat like this.


    Julian had not been a normal Specter, which was why he couldn''t really be counted.


    ''It actually makes sense,'' Nick thought while he acted like he wasn''t paying attention to the CZE. ''What''s there to do when you don''t have emotions? You only have to work on your power, and if you can''t work on that anymore, you wait until you can work on your power again.''


    ''I''m not sure why she''s not trying to advance right now. I mean, she doesn''t look like she''s even trying.''


    ''So, she just waits¡­ all day¡­ every day¡­''


    ''What a strange creature.''


    The way Nick saw it, there was almost no difference between a free Specter and one contained in a Containment Unit.


    In both cases, they would work on their power and then just look at the wall for hours on end.


    Several months passed in which Nick just kept working on his ability to create a Major Ry.


    During these months, the CZE had not started even a single conversation with him.


    She always acted like Nick didn''t exist, and Nick did the same thing to her.


    Nick felt a bit awkward since they were inside her office, but he knew that the CZE didn''t have these kinds of feelings.


    Even after a full year of staying here, Nick didn''t know her name.


    ording to the timetable, Nick was supposed to take another nine years or so to learn how to create a Major Ry.


    However, Nick had already seeded half a year ago.


    His prior experience in dealing with his fake Specter Core had trained him very well, and his vast repository of theoretical knowledge had made it much easier to internalize theplex procedure.


    But Nick wouldn''t tell her that he could already finish the Major Ry.


    The main reason was that Nick didn''t want to appear too outstanding or surprising to Wrath.


    If Nick learned these things too quickly, Wrath might suspect that Nick was some kind of spy for another member of the Seven Corruptors and that he already knew how to create the Major Ry.


    Additionally, Nick could use this time to experiment more with this newfound ability to conjure materials.


    Nick had been analyzing the uniform he had stolen from that one Expert, and he had been attempting to recreate it.


    The uniform was quite tenacious and couldn''t be easily torn, but at the same time, it was very flexible and could even be stretched quite a bit.


    The materialsprising the uniform were quite advanced.


    After an additional year of experimenting, Nick managed to copy the main material of the uniform, but that was just a part of the uniform.


    If a human grabbed a random pair of their shirt, would the material they had in their hand be the same material all of their clothing was made of?


    Did a shirt feel the same as some pants?


    Did the strings or buttons fastening the pants feel the same as the fabric of the pants?


    Obviously not.


    But it was something, at least.


    Nick looked at the growing piece of advanced fabric in his hand.


    He grabbed it and stretched it a bit.


    After stretching it enough, Nick saw the individual strings and the gaps between them.


    That had been the hardest thing to create.


    Nick had been able to create this kind of material for quite a while, but it had been a singr sheet.


    Even if one stretched it, one wouldn''t see the strings and the gaps between them.


    It was like a type of skin.


    It was like it had been molten into shape instead of stitched together.


    ''While the attributes are the same, the subtle things are what''s truly important,'' Nick thought.


    ''In order to truly recreate reality, I need to make perfect copies. That includes all of the negative aspects of the material.''


    ''I am still learning about all of this, and the harder something is to create, the more experience I gain.''


    ''While the material itself might suffer since I am getting rid of part of its potential, I will benefit in the long term.''


    ''I am still learning about all of this, and the harder something is to create, the more experience I gain.''


    Ssssss!


    The next moment, the fabric in Nick''s hand vanished into thin air.


    It just broke apart into particles of dust, which then turned into nothing.


    However, nothing ever truly became nothing.


    Nick had simply turned the fabric into Prephyx again.


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t turn the fabric into Zephyx, but that was to be expected.


    Zephyx was in a high-energy state, and it used up its stored energy whenever it did something.


    Increasing power, turning into something, exploding, whatever.


    In order to turn something like fabric into Zephyx, one needed to add energy, which was basically the same as what Nick did in the first ce as a Specter.


    There was barely any advantage to turning matter into Zephyx over turning Prephyx into Zephyx.


    The next moment, the door opened, and the CZE stepped inside.


    Nick immediately turned towards his half-finished Major Ry and continued working on it.


    Then, half an hourter, the CZE looked away from the wall and stared at one of the stones in Nick''s Major Ry.


    She could tell that this stone had beenpleted, which meant that Nick had managed to get past the hardest part.


    The fact that he managed to do that within two years was insane.


    Over the next hours, Nick finished the other stones, leaving only the big one.


    Without asking for it, Nick received all the information he needed to deal with the big stone.


    Naturally, the big stone was the mostplex of all of the stones but finishing it wouldn''t be as hard as finishing the smaller ones.


    The reason was that Nick already knew the basics, and he just needed to be a bit better at the things he already knew how to do instead of learning somethingpletely new.


    With Nick''s current experience, he could deal with the big stone in a couple of hours.


    However, he decided to wait another couple of weeks before finishing with that one.


    When he was done with the big stone, he turned towards the CZE, who looked at the Major Ry.


    "Activate it," she said in a neutral voice.


    Nick turned to his Major Ry and did just that.


    The big stone in front of him shook and morphed into the muscr and angry figure of Wrath, who red at Nick with absolute hatred.


    "What?" it asked in annoyance.


    "I made this Major Ry," Nick said. "What now?"


    Wrath narrowed his eyes before looking at the CZE.


    The CZE nodded.


    It was difficult for Wrath to believe that Nick had never done anything like this before.


    He was terrifyingly fast at learning how to conjure items and create maniption lines.


    However, Wrath had seen many Specters in its life, and there were Specters out there with terrifying talents in strange fields.


    It had even met a Specter once that could "estimate" a majority of what happened to a human in their life just by taking a look at how they moved and talked.


    That hadn''t even been its ability.


    It had just been that good at reading people.


    "Good," Wrath said, looking back at Nick. "You are good at assassinating humans, right?"


    Nick nodded. "My specialty is remaining hidden and killing humans and Specters."


    "You are good at killing Specters?" Wrath asked. "Do you gain power from killing Specters?"


    "I don''t benefit from killing Specters," Nick said. "I am just good at it because humans and Specters have the same weaknesses."


    Wrath remained silent for a bit as it seemingly seethed in hatred.


    By now, Nick could tell that Wrath wasn''t angry at him. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Wrath was just¡­ very angry.


    As a baseline.


    "I want you to deal with other Specters," it said after a while.


    "The others are closing in on Lord War''s territory."


    "There is a city that has recently be home to one of Gluttony''s servants."


    "At this moment, it is trying to take control of the city."


    "I want you to go there, find it, and kill it," Wrath said.


    "Find it?" Nick asked. "You don''t know where it is?"


    "I know that one of Gluttony''s servants is in the city. The signs are unmistakable, but I can''t find out who it is."


    "It must be amongst the powerful Extractors of the city."


    "The city must survive. We need it to wage war."


    "But Gluttony''s servant must die."


    "Go there and deal with it!"

 Chapter 625 – Black Cradle

    Chapter 625 ¨C ck Cradle


    Wrath told Nick where he had to go, and finally, Nick found out where he was.


    He was in the western part of the Grand Continent. More specifically, he was between two very big bodies of water, which were around the same size. If he walked a couple hundred kilometers to the southwest, he would be entering the northeastern parts of the War Continent.


    Nick knew the continents and what the world looked like, and with this information, he could finally go back to Aegis.


    He just needed to fly towards the west for a couple thousand kilometers.


    Even more, Nick wouldn''t even need to be afraid of Wrath.


    On his way to his mission, Nick could just fly to the west, and he would arrive at Aegis'' headquarters before Wrath even realized that Nick had betrayed him.


    His path home was open.


    However, Nick decided against returning to Aegis for now.


    The opportunity he had received by being "forced" into servitude was too good to pass up.


    If Nick could keep working under Wrath for a couple of years, he could help humanity a lot.


    His job was to get rid of the influence of other Corruptors in cities and give control over to Wrath''s servants.


    Of course, in the short term, this just meant exchanging one monster for another.


    If Nick did a good job, Wrath''s territory would expand greatly.


    And then, as soon as Nick returned to Aegis, everything would crumble in an instant, freeing all the cities Nick had given Wrath.


    ''I can do a lot of good by working under Wrath,'' Nick thought. ''I can help thousands of people. Maybe even tens of thousands.''


    Before Nick left for his first task, the CZE of the Priesthood gave Nick some basic information that he should know.


    After all, Nick was now part of Wrath''s side.


    The Seven Corruptors, except for Greed, had their own territories.


    The reason why Greed didn''t have any territories was that having a territory would mean being bound to a ce, which would make it easier for some of the Adversaries to track him down and kill him.


    When Nick heard that essentially the entire world was already divided between the Corruptors, he grew surprised.


    He knew that their influence reached far, but he hadn''t thought that the entire world was already divided among them.


    When Nick asked about the other Fallen, the CZE just said that they didn''t matter.


    After some talking, Nick found out that the Corruptors'' territories could essentially be viewed as empires and the Fallen territories as city states.


    Fallen generally didn''t mess with any of the servants of the Corruptors.


    While the Corruptors were not immediately dangerous, most of the time, their superiors, the Trio of Destruction, were.


    Messing with the Corruptors meant messing with the Trio of Destruction.


    Only very few Fallen, like Greed, could get away with doing something like that.


    While the Specters seemed to be united under Death''s banner, things were obviously not that peaceful beneath the surface.


    The Corruptors constantly fought each other as they tried to expand their territories.


    It was also impossible to note that controlling a territory did not mean that the Corruptor had absolute reign over this territory.


    This was just where they were most active.


    After all, Aegis was still officially the one in control of all of the cities.


    As for the territories¡­


    Wrath controlled the entire War Continent and was currently expanding towards the Grand Continent.


    Wrath had already taken control over the big penins between the War Continent and the Grand Continent, and it was currently trying to expand towards the north and the west of the Grand Continent.


    The long western part of the Grand Continent, which was north of the War Continent, was under the control of Gluttony.


    This was Wrath''s main target.


    The majority of the Grand Continent was controlled by Sloth and Lust, which didn''t fight each other since both of them were working under Pestilence.


    Sloth controlled the northern parts of the Grand Continent, while Lust controlled the southern parts.


    The ces where Gluttony''s, Wrath''s, Lust''s, and Sloth''s territories intersected were considered contested territory. This was where Nick would work from now on.


    The contested territory within the Grand Continent was the biggest territory of Specter-on-Specter conflict in the world.


    Pride and Envy were not involved in this war. They had their own war going on in the other two continents.


    Pride controlled the Great Triangle, and it expanded towards the Long Continent, which was where Envy ruled.


    However, these territories were not evenly divided.


    Even though Pride had to contest with the heaviest Aegis presence, due to Aegis'' headquarters being there, it managed to expand quite a bit into Envy''s territory.


    Pride had already conquered the thin strip ofnd between the two continents, and it had also already conquered the northernmost third of the Long Continent.


    The reason for this incredible sess was due to Envy''s personal situation.


    After all, it was currently suppressed by Aegis in the Deste Continent and couldn''t use its own power as a bargaining chip.


    That made it much more difficult to get new servants and to keep the servants, it already had, loyal.


    Because of its significant losses in the Long Continent, Envy moved a big part of its forces further to the west, towards the group of inds north of the Deste Continent.


    Envy managed to get a foothold there since Lust had to contest with Gluttony and Wrath in the west and since the inds were not as important as the middle of the continent.


    Because of that, Envy controlled the southeastern half of the group of inds while Lust controlled the northwestern half of the inds as well as the huge territory in the south of the Grand Continent.


    If things continued this way, Pride would eventually conquer the Long Continent, gaining the biggest territory in the world without a good ce to attack it from, while Envy would have to make do with the group of inds north of the Deste Continent.


    That would give Envy the smallest territory by far.


    This was how the Corruptors divided their territories.


    By the looks of things, Wrath and Pride were expanding.


    Gluttony and Envy were barely holding it together or shrinking.


    And Sloth and Lust were stable.


    It seemed like War wasunching an attack on Famine while Pestilence just watched. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Of course, the actual Trio of Destruction were not actively fighting each other since Death didn''t allow them to.


    It was just their servants doing the fighting, and the Trio was simply not stopping them from fighting.


    After Nick had received his target, he left Cross Mark City and traveled towards the north.


    He flew past a couple of cities and reached the mountain range between the two big seas again.


    This time, he flew past the mountain range towards the northwest.


    Nick followed along the northern border of the big sea until he arrived at a penins.


    This was where Nick''s target was.


    The southern border of the penins, which bordered the big sea, was covered with tall mountains.


    The penins itself was around 100 kilometers across, and there was one city controlling this penins.


    The middle of the ind was quite hot due to the magma vein beneath it, and humans couldn''t possibly live there.


    The name of the penins was ck Cradle due to the magma vein beneath its surface.


    However, some incredible ruins were in the south of the ck Cradle.


    One of the mountains had been practically hollowed out.


    Aegis believed that the hollowed-out mountain was made during the era of the Suffering Ones, which meant that it had been made rtively recently since the era of the Suffering Ones was the era preceding the current one.


    The Suffering Ones were known for being very isted from each other, and almost half of the underground ruins were made in their era.


    The city that controlled the ck Cradle was inside this ruin, and it was called ck Mine City.


    The entirety of ck Mine City was inside the mountain, and it distributed the sunlight via expensive materials that could transfer and distribute sunlight.


    Big parts of the outside of the mountain were covered in silver tes, which absorbed the sunlight and funneled it into the mountain.


    When Nick arrived at the ck Cradle, he could tell that the ground was very different from the usual, beige piles of dirt he could see everywhere else.


    Of course, due to his extensive knowledge of human history, Nick knew why.


    After looking at the ck Cradle for a while, he turned towards the south, towards one of the biggest mountains.


    ''This is where my target is.''


    ''ck Mine City.''


    Nick could see the silver sheets of metal all over the mountain, and he saw a couple of big gates at its base.


    ck Mine City was one of the most secure cities when it came to defending against Specters.


    After all, one needed to enter through one of the entrances to get inside.


    At least, normal Specters needed to do that.


    Nick just turned into mist and flew towards the mountain.

 Chapter 626 – Infiltration

    Chapter 626 ¨C Infiltration


    "Really? Do you have to do that during your shift?" a guy shouted with annoyance.


    "What?" a guy asked, sounding like he was chewing something. "No one''s here anyway."


    "I am here, Keanu. I am someone," the other guy answered.


    "Why would you care? You''re not my boss. What I do during my shift is not your concern, Bryan," Keanu said.


    "Keanu, you never know when an important person from the city wants to enter or exit. If they see you-"


    "Oh,e on," Keanu shouted in exasperation. "No important peoplee through here. Barely anyonees through here. Thest guy we saw appeared three days ago, and he was just a random Extractor that went to the wrong entrance. Chill out, Bryan. You''re genuinely starting to annoy me with your ruleswyering. Go deal with your own shit!"


    Bryan took a deep breath as he watched Keanu shoving another ck stick into his mouth.


    "At least share some-"


    "No," Keanu shot back before taking another bite.


    Bryan grimaced with disgust and annoyance before noticeably looking away.


    The only sound for several seconds was Keanu chewing and moaning in pleasure.


    Nick watched all of this happen in silence from the ceiling.


    The entrance was about three meters high and wide, and it was blocked by a massive gate. The two guards stood outside the gate.


    Their job was to watch out for any Specters that might want to get into the city.


    This was one of the side entrances of ck Mine City.


    The main entrance was farrger and had far stronger guards and security measures.


    ording to what Nick had found out by eavesdropping on the guards of the other entrances, this one was only for guards and led directly to the headquarters of the city guards.


    Naturally, the security of this entrance wasn''t nearly as tight as for the others. After all, anyone who managed to get through this entrance would be entering the middle of the guards'' headquarters, which was generally considered thest ce any criminal or invader would want to go to.


    The guards were more upied with making sure that none of the other guards exited the city without permission.


    Nick slowly slithered along the ceiling of the entrance and approached the door.


    A momentter, he tried to get through the slit of the gate.


    BZZT!


    "Huh?" the two guards uttered as they turned around.


    For some seconds, they looked at the door.


    Silence.


    "Must''ve been the wind," Keanu said before turning away again.


    "The wind," Bryan repeated, unamused. "You think the wind would activate the Barrier?"


    Keanu shrugged. "What else? Do you see anything?"


    "Keanu, the Barrier only activates if it encounters Zephyx! We both heard the Barrier activate for a moment just now! That means it touched Specter Zephyx!" Bryan said with urgency.


    When Bryan saw Keanu shrugging again, he nearly exploded with anger.


    "Keanu!" Bryan shouted.


    "What do you want me to do?!" Keanu shouted back. "If you want to ring the rm for something like this, go ahead! I''m not your boss. I can''t tell you what you should or shouldn''t do."


    Bryan gritted his teeth before looking at the gate for a bit.


    The Barrier had only activated for less than a second, and it had already deactivated again.


    Additionally, they had been talking for several seconds, and nothing had happened.


    Maybe it was okay not to say anything. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Fine!" Keanu shouted in frustration. "I''m going to tell them!"


    Bryan looked relieved and nodded.


    Keanu''s face turned annoyed, and he walked towards the gate.


    He summoned his Barrier, and a momentter, the gate opened.


    Keanu stamped inside with annoyance as the gate behind him closed.


    "Seriously! What''s Bryan''s problem?!" he grumbled to himself as he walked through the corridor. "He knows that we have to report every single activation of the Barrier! Why would he try to stop me?"


    At the same time, Bryan looked at the gate from outside with furrowed brows.


    He didn''t know why Keanu didn''t originally want to alert their superior.


    After all, they had to report every single activation of the Barrier.


    Both of them were annoyed that the other one didn''t want to report the issue.


    Naturally, that was thanks to Nick.


    ''That was closer than expected, but it worked out in the end,'' Nick thought as he slowly floated behind Keanu.


    Nick had not felt the Barrier until he identally triggered it.


    The noise the Barrier made immediately attracted the attention of the two Veteran guards, and Nick immediately used his illusion ability on them.


    He changed their perception so that they felt like the other person was trying to downy the situation.


    Sadly, that only worked on Bryan. Keanu was adamant about alerting the guards.


    So, Nick made the Keanu in Bryan''s perception change his decision and walk inside.


    Luckily, the Barrier was not a Liquid Barrier but a Solid Barrier.


    If this were a Liquid Barrier, Nick wouldn''t have been able to get inside this easily.


    A Solid Barrier could not be passed by anyone unless it was deactivated.


    Meanwhile, a Liquid Barrier was always active. The only way to get through it was by using a Barrier that was attuned to the Liquid Barrier.


    If one imagined the Liquid Barrier as a waterfall, one could imagine the attuned Barrier as an umbre. The waterfall still continued, but one could redirect the waterfall around one''s body by walking through it with an umbre.


    Nick knew almost nothing about the inside of the city, which made the beginning the riskiest part.


    After following Keanu for a while, the two of them entered some barracks.


    Several guards were shooting the shit while ying cards and eating some ck sticks.


    "Bro, Keanu. You wan-"


    "Not now," Keanu shouted back, not halting. "I''m on duty."


    "Oh, sure. Carry on!" the man shouted.


    Keanu continued walking down the barracks and loudly knocked on a door before entering without waiting for an answer.


    "Sir, the Barrier in entrance 2B was triggered!" Keanu reported with a salute.


    An older man looked up from the sheets of paper in front of him and looked at Keanu.


    Then, the older man swallowed something. "More details, please," he said with an even voice.


    Keanu went into detail about what had happened earlier but didn''t talk about what Bryan and he had talked about.


    While Keanu was disappointed with Bryan''s attempted breach of protocol, he could tell that it was just a genuine mistake.


    Additionally, Keanu was no snitch.


    "What''s your suspicion?" the older man asked.


    At that moment, the door opened, and the guy, who tried to talk to Keanu earlier, entered. "Oh? The Barrier got triggered?" he asked casually.


    The older man stood up and saluted respectfully. "Yes, sir!"


    The guy that wanted to talk to Keanu earlier was his boss'' boss, but the hierarchy in the guards was very strict.


    Keanu had to report to his boss, not his boss'' boss.


    "I''ll check it out," the guy said casually.


    "Thank you, sir!" the older man said. "Keanu, lead him to the entrance!"


    "Yes, sir!" Keanu answered before turning to the other guy. "Follow me, please, sir!"


    The guy nodded, and the two of them went back to the entrance.


    When they were not on duty, the two of them were best friends, but when it came to work, over two ranks and levels were between them.


    The door closed behind them, and the boss was left alone in his office.


    Some secondster, he took out a small stash of ck sticks and shoved one of them in his mouth while moaning in pleasure.


    "Oh yeah, that hits the spot!"


    Luckily, nobody was there to hear him.


    Nick had already left.


    When Nick had noticed the boss'' boss earlier, he rapidly fled.


    This guy was a Mid Specialist, at least, and Nick wasn''t confident in being able to hide from him in such a cramped building.


    Nick had quickly found a small vent near the ceiling and entered.


    While the entrance to the guards'' headquarters was secure, the inside wasn''t as much.


    There wasn''t really a reason for such paranoia. After all, only Force Specters would be able to travel through these tiny slits, and no Specter would dare to enter the most fortified ce in the entire city.


    Nick traveled through thework of vents before finding a humongous hallway.


    ''The main entrance to the city,'' Nick thought as he looked at the two gigantic gates.


    The main entrance was a kind of floodgate, and it was impossible to open both sides at the same time.


    Nick decided to wait inside the nearest vent.


    Several hours passed.


    Eventually, one of the big gates opened, and Nick could see a caravan entering from the outside.


    Nick watched as the caravan was thoroughly searched for several minutes before the main gate into the city opened.


    Nick left the vent and attached to the caravan''s gigantic cart.


    Then, the caravan moved into the city.

 Chapter 627 – Chocolate

    Chapter 627 ¨C Chocte


    The caravan entered ck Mine City.


    One of the people on the big cart looked around with his eyes opened widely in wonder.


    "Impressive, isn''t it?" a young woman sitting in a big chair asked with a smirk.


    "Oh, yes, mistress!" the young man spoke respectfully.


    The young woman swiveled a small pipe around her fingers a bit before pointing at the white "sky".


    "Light shines from every spot on the ceiling," she said before pointing below the boy. "And since humans are not big enough to block out all the light, we don''t cast any shadows here."


    The boy looked to his feet and saw with surprise that there was no shadow beneath him.


    Usually, the Sun cast a small shadow around everyone, but not here.


    The young boy looked around, and his gaze soon fell onto the ck mountain walls.


    "Mistress, why is there no lighting from the walls?" he asked.


    One of the men beside the young girl on the big chair frowned.


    It was already an honor that their mistress was willing to talk to this neer.


    The boy noticed the look of the man and looked down in shame.


    However, the mistress began tough a bit. "Light protects us from the Specters, but too much light will turn everyone insane."


    WHOOOM!


    Suddenly, the young boy was surrounded by brightly shining light.


    He stood up in a panic but quickly realized that he wasn''t being attacked.


    Instead, he just looked around.


    Everything around him was white, and it was difficult to see much.


    "Do you feel the stress?" the girl asked.


    "Yes, mistress," the young boy answered with squinted eyes. "The light makes it difficult to look around."


    The girl dispelled the light, and the boy released a sigh.


    It felt rather overwhelming and stressful when so much light wasing from every ce around him.


    The young boy also looked at all of the ck buildings and wanted to ask what materials they were made of, but a strict look from his mentor stopped him.


    The next moment, the young boy focused on all the different caves at the edge of the gigantic city, and he quickly noticed something interesting.


    The people going in and out of the luxurious gates of the caves were dressed very well, while the majority of people in the city were dressed poorly.


    It seemed like the elite of the city lived at the edge of the city, while the peasants lived near its center.


    This was the opposite of most other cities.


    Usually, the elite preferred living in the center of the city due to security reasons, while the poor lived near the edge.


    Although, security probably wasn''t a big issue here.


    The boy had been to a couple of cities by now, and he was certain that no other city he had visited was this secure.


    There were barely any entrances, and the few entrances, that were there, were extremely fortified.


    Additionally, the boy noticed that most of the people living near the center of the city were malnourished and short.


    He had seen malnourished people in every city he had visited so far, but he wasn''t sure if he had ever seen that many of them in a single city.


    Surprisingly, their clothing was not really damaged and was even quite clean, actually.


    Yet, most people were gaunt and were basically just walking around like zombies.


    The boy also noticed that many of the Extractors and rich people were eating some kind of ck food, and he wondered what that was.


    The caravan traveled to one of the mountain''s walls and continued up a ramp towards a higher level of caves.


    The boy watched with interest as more and more of the city became visible.


    Crksh.


    The boy heard the subtle sound of someone biting into something crunchy and looked to the side of the caravan.


    One of the guards apanying them had just taken out one of the ck sticks and bit into it.


    "Hey, what are you eating?" the boy asked, peering over the edge of the caravan at the guard.


    The guard looked around in confusion.


    "Up here," the boy said, and the guard looked up, finally noticing the boy.


    "This?" the guard asked, pointing at the ck stick in his hand.


    "Yep," the boy said, nodding a couple of times.


    "It''s ck chocte," the guard said. "It''s the most delicious food in existence!"


    Then, the guard tore off a small piece and held it out for the boy. "Wanna try?"


    The boy looked at the offered piece with interest and stretched his hand towards it.


    Yoink!


    But then, a hand came out from behind the boy, grabbed his cor, and pulled him back.


    The next moment, the boy''s mentor peered over the side of the cart and looked at the guard. "I must apologize for the boy''s rudeness. Our caravan prides itself on pure and honest trade, and it is against our policy to ept anything without something in return. We will consider buying a piece from an official sourceter. Thank you for your understanding." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Oh, yeah, sure," the guard said, pulling the piece back. "I hope I didn''t put the boy into trouble. I only wanted to help him a bit."


    "It''s all fine. You don''t need to worry," the mentor said.


    Then, the mentor turned towards the middle of the cart again and red at the boy, who was looking down in shame.


    "Rule number two," the mentor said strictly.


    The boy took a deep breath. "Do not allow the outside into the inside," the boy recited.


    "Exin the point behind rule two," the mentormanded.


    "Any and all outside influences, be it people, Specters, or objects, could potentially be dangerous to the caravan. Nothing is allowed to pierce the veil between the outside and the inside without explicit permission from one of the three administrators," the boy said.


    "Why did you attempt to break this rule?" the mentor asked.


    The boy wanted to argue.


    How was this trying to break the rule?


    It was just a piece of chocte.


    "I thought it wouldn''t be dangerous," the boy said. "It''s just a piece of chocte, and the entire city eats the chocte without any issues. It seemed safe."


    "Following whatever the majority does leads to an early grave," the mentor spoke. "If you follow the majority, you will end up in the majority."


    Then, the mentor pointed at the husks wandering through the city.


    "This is the majority."


    The boy silently looked at the city.


    Soon, a feeling of guilt rose in his heart.


    "Be careful of the outside," the mentor said. "And be especially careful of this so-called chocte."


    The boy looked at the mentor. "Is the chocte bad?"


    "Does it look bad?" the mentor asked.


    The boy looked around again.


    He saw several people eating it, and all the people eating it seemed quite strong and wealthy.


    "No," the boy said.


    "Not even a little bit?" the mentor asked.


    The boy looked around again.


    No, everyone seemed healthy.


    The boy shook his head.


    "Truth of the world: Number one," the mentor ordered.


    "There is no benefit without an associated cost," the boy recited.


    "Do you see a cost?" the mentor asked.


    The boy looked around.


    "No, everything looks good."


    Then, the boy sighed as he realized something.


    Without hesitation, he recited another rule. "When there is no cost, the cost is especially high."


    "Correct," the mentor said. "When there is no cost, the cost is especially high. There is always a cost, and when you don''t see the cost, it means somebody or something is trying to hide it from you."


    The boy just nodded.


    Then, he looked at the couple of Extractors he could see.


    Almost half of them were eating this ck chocte.


    "What''s the cost of this chocte?" the boy asked his mentor.


    The mentor frowned while looking in a random direction.


    "It''s better if you don''t know," the mentor said with a deep voice.


    The boy blinked a couple of times. "Why?"


    The mentor sighed. "Just¡­ don''t break the rules, okay?"


    The boy was surprised that his mentor was so nice suddenly.


    "Don''t ask about the chocte again," a sweet voice said from behind the boy.


    The boy turned around and looked at the mistress in shock.


    "Yes, mistress," the boy spoke respectfully.


    The mentor looked at the boy for a bit, but in the end, he sighed again.


    He had been with the caravan for decades, and it still wasn''t easy for him to ept this life sometimes.


    They traveled through the western parts of the Grand Continent, and there were several cities with obvious Specter activity.


    Even more, almost all of these cities followed a simr pattern.


    One part of the poption is consuming endlessly, while the other part is starving.


    Their mistress was powerful enough that they would be able to fight a city, but that was the extent of their power.


    If it were only one city, they might do something.


    But the fact that this involved several cities meant that their opponent was very powerful.


    From what the mistress had once said, she knew who her opponent was, but she never told the mentor.


    Suddenly, the girl turned to her right and chuckled a bit.


    ''Finally decided to be active?'' she thought with a smirk. ''I wonder if this city will change significantly.''


    "Mistress?" the mentor asked, looking at her in confusion.


    He wasn''t sure why she had suddenlyughed.


    "It''s nothing," she said.


    "It''s just that a guest just left us."

 Chapter 628 – Incubator

    Chapter 628 ¨C Incubator


    Nick rapidly floated away from the caravan.


    While he was floating away, he kept ncing at the girl sitting on the big chair on top of the big cart.


    For a short moment, the two of them looked at each other.


    ''This could''ve gone way worse,'' Nick thought.


    Earlier, when Nick entered the big floodgate between the city and the outside, his ability almost immediately deactivated.


    Nick stopped for just a moment and retreated back to the vent.


    Almost immediately, he could tell who had seen him.


    The girl on the cart had nced in his direction, and Nick looked back.


    ''That''s at least a Mid Hero!'' Nick thought as he readied himself for a stressful escape.


    Yet, the woman just smirked before turning away with a noticeable ir.


    She wanted to show Nick that she acted like she didn''t see anything.


    Nick decided to go with the flow and went below the cart.


    His ability did not reactivate.


    For the entire duration of the tour around the city, Nick had been within the girl''s perception.


    That was probably also why she hadmented about the city a couple of times while talking to the young boy.


    She probably wanted to tell Nick these things.


    Nick was not entirely sure why she was doing these things.


    This girl was 100% a human.


    She was definitely not a Specter.


    Why would a human help a Specter?


    For a while, Nick had been nervous that she simply wanted to lead him to a ce with more Extractors, but that didn''t seem to be the case.


    After leaving the caravan and floating away for a while, Nick''s ability finally reactivated.


    ''Why is she helping me?'' Nick thought. ''Or, maybe she''s actually not helping me but just not interfering?''


    Due to the short moment in which both of them had looked at one another, they had exchanged quite a bit of information.


    When the woman had seen Nick halting immediately after she noticed him, she learned that this Specter had terrifying perception abilities.


    She couldn''t exactly tell what the cloud of mist was looking at, but she had felt like the cloud of mist had been looking at her.


    The fact that the cloud of mist was doing that instead of immediately attacking or running away meant that it was intelligent.


    And that was more than just a little strange.


    The mistress was not sure if she had ever seen an intelligent Force Specter.


    Force Specters were essentially forces of nature, and those didn''t tend to be intelligent.


    Lastly, Specters, even intelligent ones, would flee immediately since staying put would be putting them in unnecessary danger.


    But this one did exactly that, which didn''t seem to make sense to her.


    Of course, there were also Specters that acted illogically. After all, plenty of Specters were insane and unreasonable.


    Yet, this Specter didn''t seem to act in an insane manner.


    In fact, if she had to put it into words, she would call this Specter''s behavior quite human.


    Of course, Nick knew that the mistress realized most of these things, but that didn''t exin why she decided to help him.


    In the end, he was still a Specter.


    Sadly, Nick wouldn''t get his answers.


    After making sure that Nick wasn''t secretly being followed, he decided to take a look at the city.


    Nick had been to over a hundred cities in his life, and he had seen great ones and horrible ones.


    But this one.


    This one was probably one of the worst ones out there.


    ''The Dregs only made up about 15% of Crimson City, while they make up over 80% here,'' he thought.


    Not even rats were running around in this city, which almost seemed unreal.


    After all, the worse the people felt, the higher the likelihood of rats appearing since they could consume a ton of corpses.


    Starving people didn''t have a lot of strength.


    ''But there are no rats here. In fact, the number of insects is also shockingly small,'' Nick thought.


    After a while, Nick saw why.


    ''They are eating them,'' he thought with furrowed brows.


    Nick saw a couple of people carefully removing a sheet of metal to reveal a barrel filled with old water.


    The water was filled withrvae from different insects, and the people quickly retrieved a couple of thervae before putting the sheet back.


    This was the most pathetic "farm" Nick had ever seen.


    Until he saw an even worse one a minuteter.


    When Nick saw the next thing, even he felt unwell.


    A family of three.


    A father, a mother, and a young daughter.


    The two parents were skinny, but the daughter was rtively healthy.


    The daughter was eating a small te filled with wriggling fatrvae.


    Her two parents were looking at her with love.


    Luckily, the daughter couldn''t see the dark truth of theservae.


    Beneath the father''s loose shirt, fat maggots were wiggling around in his flesh.


    The father''s back was already covered in holes, but he didn''t get rid of the maggots.


    The maggots the daughter was eating came from the father''s back.


    The father was growing these maggots for her.


    Yet, his eyes were filled with nothing but love and hope as he looked at his daughter.


    ''He won''t survive for much longer,'' Nick thought. ''Most likely, they will hide his body and harvest the maggots born from it.''


    Nick had already found a simr situation in a different house.


    It seemed like the mother of that household didn''t harbor any maggots while she was alive, but she housed a lot of them now. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Butpared to the first household, it was not the child that ate the majority but the father.


    Not everyone valued their children''s life above their own.


    ''For some people, children are a safety,'' Nick realized with narrowed eyes. ''They can invest in them while they have food to spare, but if they ever need food desperately¡­''


    It was horrendous.


    This city was absolutely vile.


    However, Nick wasn''t disgusted by the poor people but by the elites.


    The elites were the ones that caused such an insane state to ur.


    ''Meanwhile,'' Nick thought as he looked at the big caves around the city.


    He saw over a hundred people munching on their chocte sticks.


    ''They just keep eating and eating.''


    Ding.


    Nick noticed that one of the Extractors identally dropped a chocte stick while walking through the city.


    The Extractor looked at the dropped stick.


    For a moment, he seemed to hesitate.


    In the end, he sighed and continued walking.


    He really loved these chocte sticks, but he didn''t want to eat one that''s been on the ground.


    The poor people around him noticed the dropped chocte stick.


    And then, something shocking happened.


    Not a single one of them tried to take it.


    It was just lying there.


    The people were obviously starving, but they kept ignoring the chocte stick.


    After several minutes, a young boy walked out of the shadows.


    He looked around carefully before approaching the chocte stick.


    Most people ignored him.


    The boy took hold of the chocte stick and looked at it in wonder.


    Was this food?


    "Don''t eat that," an older man sitting on the side said.


    "Huh?" the boy asked, turning to the man.


    Some of the onlookers threw a dirty eye at the man.


    Why couldn''t this guy mind his own business?!


    "Why?" the boy asked.


    "It won''t help with your hunger," the man said.


    "It does not have energy."


    "It only wants to make you eat more."


    "It wants you to eat and eat and eat. It wants you to be hungrier and hungrier."


    "If you eat it, you will be put under its spell, and one day, you will be willing to trade your life for just one more piece."


    "Don''t eat it."


    The boy looked with horror and fear at the man.


    Then, he looked at the piece of chocte in his hand again.


    "No! You''re lying!" the boy shouted, holding the chocte to his chest. "You just want me to give it to you!"


    Without waiting for an answer, the boy ran away with the chocte.


    He was too weak to bother.


    Some of the onlookers watched the boy from a distance.


    One of them slowly pulled out three pieces of old chocte and readied them.


    They would never eat these pieces themselves.


    However, sometimes, these pieces could be traded for a maggot incubator.


    Nick saw the boy eating the chocte.


    After a while, the boy seemed to be more nervous.


    He ate the chocte faster and faster, and within a minute, all of it was gone.


    Next, the boy copsed and held his stomach.


    Saliva was gathering in his mouth, and he started to drool.


    He looked around in horror before running away.


    Nobody followed him.


    They didn''t need to.


    In just a couple of days, the boy would be running around in panic, asking everyone for a piece of chocte.


    The hunger would make him desperate.


    And then, they could ask for whatever they wanted.


    Because, at that point, the craving for the chocte would be worse than the pain and horror of bing a maggot incubator.


    The boy would run around in desperation, pulling out the maggots from his flesh to trade for just a tiny piece of the chocte.


    This was not the first time this happened, and it would not be thest time.

 Chapter 629 – Happiness Through Taste

    Chapter 629 ¨C Happiness Through Taste


    Nick watched the city for a couple of hours.


    He needed to learn as much about the city as he could to find Gluttony''s servant.


    During these hours, he had confirmed that the guards didn''t seem to experience any of the negative effects normal people were experiencing.


    The only surprising thing was that they ate a lot of chocte.


    They all seemed to eat between 300 and 700 grams per day.


    Yet, there were also people who only ate chocte asionally.


    And those also didn''t seem to feel any negative side effects.


    ''This chocte is definitely rted to Gluttony''s servant,'' Nick thought. ''I didn''t see anything like this in any other city.''


    Naturally, different Corruptors affected cities differently.


    The majority of cities Nick had been to were part of Pride''s territory, and after thinking about it a little bit, Nick could also see a trend there.


    Nick remembered a surprising number of arrogant and dismissive people in the cities.


    Their partially baseless arrogance was often the reason why Nick''s team was even called in the first ce.


    "We thought we could catch the Specter, but it was stronger than expected."


    "We thought we could deal with this Extractor, but they were surprisingly strong."


    "We thought we could bully them out of the economy, but they yed unfairly."


    Stuff like that.


    Their arrogance made them overconfident, which made them careless, which resulted in a lot of unnecessary conflicts with plenty of casualties.


    And since Pride was a follower of War, this made a lot of sense.


    War was conflict, and Pride caused a lot of conflict.


    Just like Wrath.


    Nick had only been in a single city controlled by Wrath, and he had seen how it operated.


    The people entered their own little groups and became extremely aggressive to anyone outside their group.


    Naturally, this resulted in more conflict and needless death.


    However, while Pride and Wrath were also Corruptors, Nick would prefer their influence over Gluttony''s influence.


    With Pride, only the elite suffered. The majority of victims of Pride were Extractors and high-level executives.


    With Wrath, the victims were groups. Yet, inside of each group, the people could still live rtively normal lives.


    Essentially, they lived normal lives until they suddenly got jumped by several people belonging to a different group.


    Yet, with Gluttony, one had an entire life of suffering ahead of oneself.


    One side kept consuming without ever stilling their hunger, while the other side was also always hungry but couldn''t consume.


    The powerful could consume without end, but just like the poor, they were still hungry.


    ''Gluttony and Famine,'' Nick thought.


    ''Famine through gluttony.''


    Nick looked at the city for a bit longer.


    ''This is the worst city I''ve ever seen, and I refuse to believe that it will be worse with Wrath''s involvement. At least, with Wrath, people don''t have to suffer like this.''


    This thought made it easier for Nick toe to terms with the fact that he was going to conquer a city for one of the Corruptors.


    ''I''m going to deal with Gluttony''s servant.''


    A momentter, Nick floated away from the building he had been perched on and moved towards the side of the gigantic cave.


    The closer he got to the side, the more guards there were.


    Then, Nick floated around a couple of big gates leading to caves.


    From now on, the actual work would start.


    For the next couple of days, Nick just kept watch over the gates and the city.


    He remembered who lived where, what they did, what their status was, what their power was, and so on.


    The more Nick knew about the city, the easier it was to change it.


    Over the days, Nick had also learned a couple of interesting things.


    For one, the poor people received a delivery of food every day.


    Every citizen received a small ball of something that was fluffy and brown.


    ''Wait, that''s Allfood!'' Nick realized with surprise. ''Why would they grow Allfood here?''


    Nick had learned about Allfood from several of the history books he had read at Aegis'' headquarters.


    Allfood was a nt created by the Ancient Ones.


    It could grow almost everywhere and barely needed any water or sunlight.


    Essentially, it could be grown in a dry cave.


    However, it required a brutal amount of fertilizer to grow.


    All the energy the nt would gain from light and water was usually reced by fertilizer.


    An additional attribute of the nt was that it was extremely calory-dense.


    100 grams of it was around 900 calories, and the fatty acids in it were also of an optimal ratio.


    The Ancient Ones grew Allfood inside many high-rise buildings, severely reducing the space farms took up.


    Then, the Ancient Ones fed the Allfood to their livestock while also using it as biomass for other nts.


    The only humans who ate Allfood directly were people in the military or on expeditions.


    ''Since Allfood doesn''t use water or light, it needs an insane amount of biomass to grow,'' Nick thought. ''They are essentially putting more food into the Allfood than they are harvesting.''


    ''It''s a loss!''


    Every citizen received exactly 65 grams of Allfood.


    600 calories was a good amount, but if it was the only thing one got to eat for an entire day, it wasn''t nearly enough.


    ''And Allfood also doesn''t have any protein whatsoever,'' Nick thought.


    So, where did the people get their protein from?


    Some of the lucky ones who had a skill they could sell had the money to buy some protein.


    Nick had also found where the city was getting the protein from.


    Bats.


    While most of the caves were the homes of powerful people, some of them housed gigantic bat farms.


    The bats inside the caves ate the insects flying around the cave.


    And where did the insectse from?


    From a mountain of corpses piled up on the bottom of the bat caves.


    Anyone that starved would be thrown into the bat caves.


    The insects would put their eggs in the corpses.


    The maggots would eat the corpses.


    The maggots turned into insects.


    The bats ate the insects.


    The humans harvested the bats.


    And the richer people of the city ate the bats.


    Meanwhile, the poorer people in the city tried to scrape enough credits together to purchase some of the bats for protein.


    But what about the Allfood?


    Where did thate from?


    Nick had also found out where that came from.


    The caravan Nick had used to sneak into the city had handed over a huge pile of food in exchange for Zephyx.


    Nick hadn''t seen what had happened to the food, but he hadn''t seen it again ever since he had arrived in the city.


    Several tons of food just vanished.


    Yet, while several tons of food vanished, several tons of chocte and Allfood appeared.


    The connection wasn''t hard to make.


    ''The caravans bring food, which then gets converted into Allfood and chocte. At least, that''s what I suspect. It''s also possible that the chocte just gets made by a Specter.''


    Nick looked at four people walking along one of the streets at the edge of the city.


    Three of them wore the uniforms of Extractors, while one of them wore an expensive suit.


    ''The CEO, the CZE, and their two assistants of Happiness Through Taste ;),'' Nick thought.


    Happiness Through Taste ;) was thepany that seemed to make all of the chocte, and they were also a Manufacturer.


    However, one thing was quite surprising. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The CZE was a Mid Expert, and the CEO was a Late Veteran.


    Obviously, the entire city was heavily influenced by this chocte.


    The chocte was at the center of all the misery.


    Yet, the people who created the chocte were this weak.


    This was very surprising since any powerful human could see the obvious influence of a Specter.


    While Wrath and Pride had a more subtle influence on their cities, Gluttony had an extremely noticeable influence.


    Connecting a Manufacturer to a powerful Specter was an amazing way of getting rid of that Manufacturer and stealing all their Specters.


    Some powerful person from another Manufacturer just needed to start an investigation and send proof to the Governor.


    Within days, the Governor would give their okay to eliminate the elite of the Manufacturer before handing over the ownerless Specters to the other Manufacturer.


    ''If I can trust in one thing, it''s the endless greed of humanity,'' Nick thought as he looked at the four people.


    ''Any Hero can see the influence, and almost any Hero would salivate at the easy profits.''


    ''The fact that Happiness Through Taste ;) still exists can only mean one of two things.''


    ''One, everyone powerful enough to do something is already part of this conspiracy and is helping the Specter.''


    ''Two, everyone that tries will fail and die.''


    ''Either way, one thing is sure.''


    ''At least one powerful Hero is on the side of Gluttony.''


    Nick looked at a certain gate near the edge of the city.


    ''It''s even likely that the Governor herself is a Specter.''


    ''Sadly, I haven''t seen her yet and couldn''t confirm.''


    ''It''s even likely that the Governor herself is a Specter.''


    ''Sadly, I haven''t seen her yet and couldn''t confirm.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''Nevertheless, I have to kill at least one Hero or Demon.''


    ''This won''t be easy.''


    ''But first, I have to find out who exactly supports Happiness Through Taste ;).''

 Chapter 630 – Corporate Culture

    Chapter 630 ¨C Corporate Culture


    Nick decided that this would be the best moment to find out more about Happiness Through Taste ;).


    For the first time in several days, Nick left the wall of the city and moved closer to the four people.


    The two assistants were walking behind the two leaders of Happiness Through Taste ;) and writing down some asional directives.


    "Have you talked to Jeanny?" the CEO asked.


    The CZE shook his head. "She hasn''t been to the office in a while. She says she''s too busy."


    The CEO frowned. "Again? Why is she missing this time?"


    "Family emergency," the CZE answered evenly.


    The CEO''s good mood seemed to vanish.


    Then, he stopped and turned fully to the CZE. "I don''t think she has the Happiness Through Taste ;) spirit."


    The CZE frowned and fell into thought.


    He seemed to struggle with something, but in the end, he only sighed. "Sadly, that might be possible. I heard some of her colleagues talking about something she said. Apparently, after thest monthly Tasty Retreat :P, she said that all of our Funny Hours xD are just there to bind the employees more to thepany so that they don''t leave due to our, alleged, low sries."


    The CEO seemed to get legitimately angry. "Why did you not tell me earlier? You know how important the Funny Hours xD are to the Happy Family :). Anyone who''s not living the Happiness Through Taste ;) Spirit is a danger to the Happy Family :)."


    The CZE seemed a bit saddened. "I wasn''t sure if it was true since I just overheard her colleagues talking. They might''ve just tried to banish her from the Happy Family :)."


    The CZE sighed. "Sadly, it seems I was na?ve."


    "I can confirm that," the CEO said. "You keep trusting your employees too much. Yes, we are the Happy Family :), but we also have to protect our Tasties from bad influences."


    The two of them continued talking as they approached a gigantic gate leading to a big cave.


    Nick was floating after them.


    ''Even if they weren''t involved in this entire thing, I would still hate them,'' Nick thought with annoyance as he kept regretting that he had ears.


    One of the two assistants quickly ran past the two leaders and opened the gate for them.


    The two leaders kept talking while they entered thepany grounds.


    Nick easily entered thepany with them. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The inside of Happiness Through Taste ;) was surprisingly colorful.


    While the majority of the city was grey and ck, the hallways in here had bright colors everywhere.


    The walls were a bright yellow with several paintings of green, red, white, and blue candies covering them.


    Every single one of the sweets had a bright smile stered on its face.


    The furniture was uneven and looked like candy that partially melted.


    Slogans and motivational posters were also covering the walls.


    Nick wanted to take a deep breath, but he was currently in his mist form.


    After looking around for a bit, Nick looked at the CZE and CEO again.


    Surprisingly, their expressions had changed.


    While they had seemed troubled and annoyed earlier, they now appeared happy.


    Bright smiles were on their faces, and Nick could tell that the smiles were actually genuine.


    It was not easy to show a genuine smile onmand.


    The two assistants behind them were also smiling, but their smiles didn''t seempletely sincere.


    "Could you pretty, pretty please finish the data sheets from the meeting?" the CEO asked his assistant with an endearing voice.


    Nick could see unease and embarrassment in the assistant''s eyes, but she did her best to hide it.


    The next moment, she held up one of her thumbs while winking with one eye. "Okey Dokey, Daddy!"


    "Thankies!" the CEO said with a bright smile.


    Then, the assistant quickly ran away like an embarrassed girl who had just handed her crush a love letter.


    Meanwhile, the CZE just nodded to his assistant, who walked away without saying anything.


    "Big Bro, let''s go to the Happy Thoughts," the CEO said.


    Nick could also see some difort in the CZE''s eyes, but he was extremely good at hiding it.


    "Count me in, Lil Bro!" the CZE said, trying to sound positive, but his voice was far quieter than the CEO''s.


    The next moment, the CEO jumped onto some kind of board on the side of the hallway.


    Nick hadn''t even noticed that board before since it seemed unimportant.


    The next moment, funny wheels came out of the board, which connected to a tiny rail on the ground.


    Then, the board exploded forward with incredible speed.


    "WHEEEEEE!" the CEO shouted.


    Nick saw a couple of employees looking at the CEO.


    A few of them seemed embarrassed, but a couple of them looked at the passing CEO with envy.


    Sadly, only Adults and Parents were allowed to ride the Funny Board.


    Teenagers, Kids, and Babies had to walk.


    The CZE silently grabbed another board, stepped onto it, and also rode down the hallway.


    "Wheee¡­"


    His shout wasn''t nearly as enthusiastic as the CEO''s shout, but Nick could tell that the CZE actually had a little bit of fun while riding the Funny Board.


    Nick floated after them, doing his best to suppress his hatred and rage.


    He absolutely hated thispany.


    Everything they did went against his personality.


    None of this idiotic happiness nonsense was genuine.


    It was especially bad due to the contrast to the outside.


    In the city, the poor people were surviving by harvesting maggots from the corpses of starving children, while here, everyone had to smile and shout idiotic phrases.


    One also had to remember that it was thispany that produced the chocte, and the chocte was the reason why everything was so dire out there.


    ''Thispany is a rotting carcass wearing a smiling mask.''


    Nick kept following the two of them.


    After a bit, they arrived in front of an uneven elevator. A goofy and wonky hand, wearing a glove, pointed at a number.


    The CEO pressed a big button, and the sound of a fart came out of the wall.


    The CEO giggled a bit, and the hand moved through the numbers of uneven size.


    This was the Endorphin Elevator.


    The two stepped inside and rode the elevator to one of the highest floors.


    As soon as the elevator opened, Nick saw the most ridiculous hallway.


    Everything was covered in objects that looked like molten candy.


    One of the assistants from earlier was sitting at a desk beside a big door, writing something on a sheet of paper.


    "Wee back, Daddies!" she shouted with a bright smile, looking at the two leaders.


    "Thank you, Honey!" the CEO shouted back.


    The CZE said the same thing, but he was much quieter than the CEO.


    A momentter, the two of them opened the big door and walked through.


    The door behind them closed, and almost immediately, the entire vibe changed.


    The smiles on their faces vanished.


    The CEO looked serious and annoyed, while the CZE seemed stressed and exhausted.


    The hallway was also the pr opposite of the previous one.


    This one waspletely grey, and everything was uniform and straight.


    "You have to work on your acting skills," the CEO said with a cold voice. "You''re not convincing anyone."


    "I know, sorry. I''m doing my best," the CZE said with another sigh.


    Then, the two of them walked in silence towards one of the meeting rooms on this floor.


    After they entered, they sat down and grabbed a sheet of paper that was already on the big table.


    The atrociously sweet atmosphere hadpletely vanished, reced by one of cold and efficient corporatism.


    Nick was also in the meeting room, and he slowly managed to calm down.


    Going through thepany''s building had been far more mentally draining than he had ever imagined.


    Over the next couple of hours, the two leaders kept discussing several numbers.


    Most of the things they were talking about were unimportant to Nick.


    After some time, a third guy showed up.


    The two of them greeted him casually, and the three of them talked about a couple more things.


    The newest guy seemed rather serious, but as soon as he joined, the topic changed to the corporate culture.


    Apparently, this guy was the designer and enforcer of thepany culture, and he was also responsible for hiring and firing personnel.


    The CEO brought up Jeanny again and told the third guy to take care of it.


    The third guy just wordlessly nodded, and after talking a bit more, he left again.


    ''This might take a while,'' Nick thought as he kept listening to pointless things.


    Well, the topics were not pointless to thepany, but they were pointless to him.


    Nick just wanted to know who their backer was.


    ''I just have to wait until something happens.''


    ''At some point, one of the Extractors or Manufacturers will try to do something, and eventually, they will talk about their backer.''


    ''Now, I just have to wait some more.

 Chapter 631 – Representative

    Chapter 631 ¨C Representative


    Nick kept watch in the room for several days.


    The CZE came and went several times since he had to run the entirepany.


    The CEO barely left, which was unusual.


    Usually, CEOs of Manufacturers were constantly in meetings.


    These meetings were important forpleting trades, keeping rtionships healthy, and establishing agreements.


    A good CEO could do wonders for apany.


    When Julian had been Dark Dream''s CEO, he had managed to establish amazing trades, essentially getting a ton of expensive stuff at 70% of the normal price or even for free.


    He even unlocked trades with elitepanies that usually wouldn''t trade with Dark Dream.


    However, all of that was a lot of work.


    One couldn''t just stay inside their office all day and expect other people to do favors for them all the time.


    Well, Julian could, but he was special.


    ''The fact that he is barely leaving his office means that hispany''s survival does not hinge on the money they produce or their trades,'' Nick thought.


    ''That is only possible in two cases.''


    ''One, thispany is an unassable monopoly that doesn''t need to cater to others.''


    ''Two, this is not an autonomouspany.''


    ''While they are the only ones producing the chocte, this still doesn''t make them a monopoly in a way. They should still be attackable.''


    ''So, it can only be the second option, which confirms my initial guess.''


    ''They are not the true rulers of the city. They are just the ruler''s fingers.''


    ''This entirepany only exists as a front.''


    ''Everyone outside believes that the chocte is made here, which makes them the target of anyone trying to usurp the chocte trade in the city.''


    ''All enemies will congregate here, and when they try to do anything to Happiness Through Taste ;), the actual leader will know who the attacker is and deal with them.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    He had kept watch over the CEO for almost an entire week, and he heard a lot of interesting secrets.


    Yet, there were two parts that still remained secret.


    One, who was their backer?


    Two, how was the chocte produced?


    One would expect that the CEO would talk about the production of thepany''s primary product at least once in a week.


    ''It''s almost like the production is not up to them,'' Nick thought. ''Yet, they want everyone to believe that it is up to them. After all, food enters the building, and choctees out.''


    At the moment, there was a big meeting happening between the four leaders.


    The CEO, the CZE, the CIO, and the CCO.


    The Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Zephyx Extractor, the Chief Information Officer, and the Chief Customer Officer.


    The Chief Information Officer was the only woman in the leadership, and she was responsible for all the equipment and the building.


    The Chief Customer Officer was the man who was responsible for the corporate culture and customer satisfaction.


    Nick looked at the four of them.


    ''If thispany is only an appendage of the true ruler, one of them has to be a representative,'' he thought.


    Nick looked at the CEO.


    Naturally, the CEO would be the prime suspect since he ran the entirepany.


    However, the CEO barely left his room. He just kept nning and crunching numbers the entire day.


    Nick had over a decade of experience in running apany, and he could tell that the CEO looked busier than he actually was.


    He was essentially doing unimportant things the entire day while appearing like he was working.


    He was barely doing anything.


    If Nick ran thepany, he would sack the CEO and just dump the workload onto the other three.


    They would still be able to deal with all their tasks easily.


    ''Additionally, the other three don''t seem to respect him. They are following his orders, but they are not really acting like they are his inferiors.''


    ''Except for the CZE,'' Nick thought as he looked at the other man. ''He actually seems to respect the CEO quite a bit.''


    Nick looked at the older man and the middle-aged woman. ''But they don''t.''


    ''Whenever the CEO says anything, they just look at him in boredom.''


    ''It almost seems like they are annoyed by him.''


    ''But when they look at the CZE, they seem neutral.''


    ''It would appear that they respect the CZE more than the CEO, and I''m pretty sure I also know why.''


    ''They know exactly that the CEO is not doing anything, while the CZE is actually doing stuff.''


    ''I don''t think the CEO is the representative of the true ruler. He''s not in contact with the ruler, and the CIO and CCO don''t respect him enough.''


    ''I also don''t think it''s the CZE. He''s a bit too subservient to the CEO. While this is technically how the rtionship between a CEO and a CZE is supposed to be, it doesn''t make sense in this case.''


    ''That leaves the CCO and the CIO. One of the two of them is most likely the representative of the ruler.''


    ''Or it could also be both.''


    After a long meeting, everyone left the room.


    The CCO and CEO went one way, while the CZE and CIO went another way.


    Nick had to decide whom he should follow.


    However, the decision wasn''t difficult.


    The fact that the CZE didn''t look at the CEO, the same way as the CIO and CCO did, meant that he was most likely the only leader that didn''t know what was truly going on.


    ''He probably doesn''t even know that this is not an autonomouspany.''


    Nick followed the CCO and CEO out of the office.


    The CZE and CIO went back to the main part of the building, while the CCO and CEO went further into the grey part of the building.


    The two of them walked down several flights of stairs until they reached a door.


    The CEO stepped forward and activated his Barrier.


    His Barrier shone in different lights a couple of times.


    Ding!


    A Barrier covering the door in front of them was deactivated.


    ''A Solid Barrier,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes.


    Solid Barriers and Liquid Barriers had different advantages and disadvantages.


    The issue was that every normal person would make a Liquid Barrier here.


    But it was a Solid Barrier.


    This gave Nick a couple of ideas as to what could be going on.


    The CCO and CEO stepped through, and Nick followed them.


    After they stepped through the door, they reached a big hall and continued walking.


    This was also quite suspicious since they didn''t reactivate the Barrier on the door.


    Reactivating such a Barrier barely took a second.


    It was even less work than closing a door.


    This meant that they kept the Barrier deactivated on purpose.


    The hall was filled with inactive Containment Units.


    By the looks of things, this was a storage room.


    ''But why would a storage room be inside an area that only the four leaders could ess?''


    Next, the two of them stopped in front of a Containment Unit.


    The CEO stepped to the control console and typed in a couple of things.


    A momentter, a loud rm rang out through the storage hall.


    Nick knew this rm.


    ''They are opening the Containment Unit.''


    It was important to note that they were not opening the employee entrance but the main gate.


    This meant that a Specter could walk in and out of the Containment Unit.


    A minuteter, sure enough, the big gate of the Containment Unit opened slowly.


    As soon as it opened, Nick could see something interesting.


    One of the walls was missing.


    The Containment Unit touched one of the walls of the wall, and the wall of the Containment Unit, touching the wall of the building, was missing.


    And, apparently, the wall of the building itself also had a big hole.


    The hole led into a dark cavern.


    The cavern split in two after just ten meters, making it impossible for anyone to see where it as leading to without entering the darkness.


    One hallway of the cavern led to the left, while one led to the right.


    However, the cavern wasn''t empty.


    There were several full carts of food stored in this part of the cavern.


    "As always," the CCO said with an even voice.


    "Of course," the CEO answered, his voice sounding a slight bit nervous.


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought. ''The CCO is the representative.''


    ''And if my suspicion is correct, he should also be¡­''


    Then, the CCO stepped forward.


    Into the darkness.


    Without any light.


    ''I knew it,'' Nick thought.


    The fact that there was a solid Barrier earlier made Nick suspect that one of the two of them was a Specter, and since the CEO had shown his Barrier meant that it couldn''t have been him.


    Nick looked at the CCO in a new light.


    ''The guy responsible for this horrendous abomination that is their corporate culture is a Specter.'' n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''Why am I not surprised?''


    ''He probably feeds on the misery he creates by forcing people to follow such ridiculous rules.''


    Next, the CCO took hold of one of the carts and pulled it down one of the hallways.

 Chapter 632 – Making Chocolate

    Chapter 632 ¨C Making Chocte


    Nick manipted the CEO''s perception and followed the CCO.


    While using this ability cost quite a lot of Zephyx, manipting the perception of an Expert wasn''t very difficult for Nick.


    The CCO kept calmly pulling the cart behind him as he kept walking down the dark hallway.


    Nick kept watching him, trying to figure out how powerful the Specter was.


    But it wasn''t possible.


    ''He feels like a human Veteran to me,'' Nick thought. ''However, he has to be a powerful Elder at least. The fact that he is able to fool my senses tells me as much.''


    ''Even though I know exactly that he is a Specter, and even though I''m trying my best to feel his true power, I can''t see through his ability.''


    ''He has to be a Fanatic at the very least.''


    Luckily, Nick''s ability was still active, which meant that the CCO didn''t know that he was there.


    ''I have to be careful with that thought,'' Nick thought. ''When I waited for the CZE of the Priesthood, I also thought that she didn''t know I was there since my ability was active, but she actually knew that something was there due to the Barrier of her office.''


    ''However, I''m quite certain that there was nothing strange that sensed my presence earlier.''


    ''I should still be careful, though.''


    The CCO kept walking down the dark cave.


    The cave led upwards and followed a subtle curve towards the right.


    ''Based on the angle of the curve, we should be walking through the stone of the mountain while circling the inside of the city.''


    After about three minutes, there was a turn in the curve.


    The couple of days in which Nick had kept watch over the city allowed him to create a reliable and detailed map of the city, and with a bit of math and a bit of estimating, Nick was quite sure that he knew where they were.


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought. ''I knew that someone powerful was backing them.''


    The city headquarters.


    The cave led to the back of the city headquarters.


    This was the ce where the city''s Specters and the rulers of the city were located. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As the two of them approached the bend, Nick started to hear something.


    ''Is that¡­ moaning?'' Nick thought.


    Quiet moaning wasing from around the bend.


    It sounded like a woman who was in pain.


    After a while, the CCO walked around the bend.


    Nick floated after him, but he decided to be even more careful.


    Instead of walking past the bend, Nick stopped and fully focused on his new passive ability from the Maw.


    While he couldn''t see what was happening beyond the bend, he could hear, smell, and feel so much that a perfect picture appeared in his head of everything past the bend.


    What he "saw" made him frown.


    The CCO was slowly moving forward with his cart.


    After a couple of seconds, he saw some subtle red lights, which were pulsating at the speed of human breathing.


    He walked a bit more and finally saw his target.


    The CCO walked through another hole and entered a big Containment Unit.


    However,pared to the earlier Containment Unit, this one wasn''t deactivated.


    It was fully running.


    But it wasn''t really "containing" anything.


    After all, there was a gigantic hole leading into the cave.


    In the middle of the Containment Unit was a Specter.


    It was around four meters tall andpletely ck.


    It was a womanying on her back, and she was unreasonably pregnant. Her belly bulged out as much as she was tall.


    Thebored breathing and the pulsating red light came from her.


    She was sweating unreasonably strongly, and she seemed like she was suffering quite a lot from the "pregnancy".


    "Quick¡­ quick¡­ quick¡­" she gasped between breaths. "I need¡­ food¡­ give me¡­ food¡­"


    The CCO walked forward without saying anything.


    He stopped in front of her and lifted the cart with one hand.


    The "woman" opened her mouth to an unreasonable degree.


    There were no teeth in her maw.


    Every part of her mouth was covered in gums.


    Then, the CCO dumped all of the food into her maw.


    Within less than ten seconds, over a full ton of food vanished.


    The Specter closed her mouth.


    UUuhhhh!


    Then, her belly started to rumble.


    Her pregnant belly vibrated.


    "AAAHHH! AAAAHH! AAAAHHH!" she suddenly screamed in absolute pain. "It''s here! It''s here! It''sing! AAAAAAAAA!"


    Her legs spread, and her vagina expanded like a balloon.


    Next, a humongous ck mass clogged up the gigantic vagina.


    "AAAAHHH! AAAAAHH!"


    She kept screaming in pain.


    The sticky and slimy ck mass changed shape as the Specter pressed it through the gaping hole.


    The CCO had already ced the empty cart in front of the bursting vagina.


    Nick could hear the slimy and sloshy sound of the ck mass as it plopped onto the cart.


    After the slimy mass left the Specter''s gaping vagina, she finally became quiet again.


    Well, notpletely quiet.


    She just returned to moaning in pain.


    Her belly did not get smaller after giving "birth".


    "Food¡­ bring more¡­ food¡­ please¡­" she said through pants.


    The CCO didn''t answer.


    Instead, he just pulled the cart into the cave again.


    After a while, the slimy ck substance hardened and became slightly shiny.


    ''Chocte,'' Nick thought as he saw the CCO and the cart passing by him.


    ''So, the Specter consumes the food and produces the chocte. Most likely, the Specter grows more powerful by people eating its chocte.''


    Nick followed the CCO to the beginning of the cave again.


    The CEO was still waiting near the entrance.


    The CCO left the chocte cart in the cave before grabbing the next cart with food and walking down the cave again.


    This time, Nick didn''t follow him.


    Instead of going towards the right, Nick went towards the left.


    He wanted to know where this led.


    He already had a suspicion, but he wanted to be sure.


    The first thing that Nick noticed was that there was light in this part of the cave.


    ''That means that humans are walking through here asionally,'' he thought.


    Nick quickly reached the end and found himself in front of a door.


    The door was thick, but there was no Barrier blocking it.


    ''A door leading to a secret tunnel without a Barrier.''


    There was a contradiction here.


    The only reason one wouldn''t put a Barrier on such an important door was because Specters couldn''t easily deactivate Barriers. In essence, not putting a Barrier there allowed Specters to pass through.


    Yet, the secret tunnel was filled with light, which meant that humans walked through this ce.


    ''Unless this is not about who can pass through the door but about subtlety.''


    ''A Barrier is quite conspicuous.''


    ''What if the other side of the door is hidden?''


    ''Well, since there is no Barrier, I can test my hypothesis.''


    Naturally, Nick couldn''t get through the door since he would need to create a hole, and any Veteran or stronger would notice the hole.


    Nick turned into his corporeal form and approached the door.


    Knock.


    Nick quietly knocked on the door as he closed his eyes.


    His knock created subtle vibrations, and thanks to Nick''s amazingly fine senses, he could feel what was happening behind the door.


    This was simr to flicking a piece of metal one was holding between one''s fingers and flicking a piece of metal lying on the ground.


    They vibrated in different ways and made different sounds.


    Nick could tell by the vibrations that the door was touching something massive on the other side.


    ''Most likely a solid cube of metal,'' Nick thought. ''I think a huge piece of metal is hiding the door.''


    All the clues Nick had gatheredbined into one big picture.


    The food entered through the main entrance of thepany and was put in a storage room.


    At some point, someone, most likely the CIO, entered the storage room, pushed the cube of metal to the side, and pulled the cart with food to the other entrance of the cave.


    Then, they would return, walk out of the cave, put the cube back, and leave the storage room again.


    Eventually, the CCO would take the food and exchange it for chocte.


    Later, the CIO would return and pull the carts back into the original storage room.


    Finally, the chocte would leave thepany building again and get sold.


    ''It has to be the CIO,'' Nick thought. ''She''s responsible for the entire building, and it''s her job to know everything about it and deal with it. Hiding something like this from her would be almost impossible.''


    ''The fact that this part of the cave is lit also means that she is a human.''


    ''How much does she know about the production of chocte?''


    ''Most likely not much. If she knew about the details, she could just directly bring the food to the Specter. That would be much easier.''


    ''She probably only knows that they are working for somebody else, but she doesn''t know whom they are working for.''


    ''The CEO might also not know.''


    ''The CCO is the only one that knows.''


    After thinking about all of this, Nick shot down the cave again and entered the other entrance.


    Luckily, the CCO was walking slowly, and Nick quickly caught up.


    As the two of them approached the bend again, Nick stopped.


    Something was different.


    The Specter was not alone.


    There was someone else in the Containment Unit!


    ''It''s her,'' Nick thought with narrowed eyes.


    ''I should''ve known that she was the one controlling Happiness Through Taste ;).

 Chapter 633 – Human Servant

    Chapter 633 ¨C Human Servant


    Nick could "see" a younger woman standing in the corner of the room. She wore a white uniform and had ck hair.


    While the remainder of the Containment Unit was filled with the pulsing red light, the corner had a smallmp with normal sunlight.


    Naturally, the young woman had to be a human. Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to stand in the sunlight.


    The CCO kept walking forward, and the woman watched him.


    The woman had an intense aura, and she looked at the CCO with a mix of disdain and distance.


    She obviously didn''t have a good opinion of the CCO, but she didn''t want to confront him.


    "Bring me¡­ food¡­ please¡­" the tall Specter said with a pained groan.


    However, the CCO put the cart to the side and approached the woman first.


    "Please¡­ food¡­ I need¡­ food¡­" the tall Specter begged.


    The woman looked at the approaching CCO with narrowed eyes.


    "Don''t you hear your mistress?" she asked. "She demands food. You shouldply before she squashes you like a bug."


    The CCO just looked at the woman emotionlessly. "She is not a lucid Specter," the CCO spoke calmly. "I could fill this entire room with food, and she wouldn''t be intelligent enough to use her hands to feed herself."


    The woman looked at the CCO with narrowed eyes.


    "Is that a good or a bad thing?" she asked with a threatening tone.


    "Please¡­ food¡­ I need¡­ food¡­ give me¡­ food¡­" the big woman moaned.


    "Humans," the CCO spoke in a cold voice. "Always testing your boundaries."


    The next moment, waves of consciousness left the CCO''s Specter Core and entered the tall Specter''s Specter Core.


    While the tall Specter wasn''t intelligent, this kind ofmunication could still be understood.


    "FOOOOOD?! MY FOOOOOOD!!!!"


    The atmosphere seemed to shake as the tall woman screamed in absolute hysterics.


    The rhythmic red pulses of light became chaotic and disjointed, looking more like static.


    Nick''s mist body shook, and he started to lose consciousness.


    Nick''s ability was still active, and he was far away, with several thick walls between him and the tall Specter.


    Yet, the aggressive shout still impacted Nick to such a degree.


    He hadn''t even been the target of the attack!


    Nick turned into his corporeal form before copsing onto his knees.


    ''Fuck!'' Nick thought as he gritted his teeth and grabbed his head.


    The pain was quite strong. Even for somebody like him.


    The screaming only stopped five secondster, and Nick turned back into his mist form.


    After regaining his faculties, Nick looked at the spot Containment Unit again.


    The woman was on her knees, and her Barrier wavered. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    There was no good way to deal with such an attack.


    If the Barrier blocked the attack, it would lose a ton of Zephyx.


    If it didn''t block the attack, the Extractor might die.


    Luckily, Nick''s ability hadn''t deactivated at any moment, which meant that nobody had noticed him.


    Although, trying to notice someone so far away while being bombarded by such an apocalyptic scream would be almost impossible anyway.


    ''The Governor lost a majority of her Zephyx, but nothing else seemed to have been damaged,'' Nick thought as he looked at the cart with food.


    The cart with food looked the same way as before.


    ''This is a purely psychic attack with no physical power,'' Nick realized. ''Anyone with a consciousness gets affected, but nothing else.''


    However, the damage was absolutely devastating.


    ''How powerful is this Specter?'' Nick thought as he looked at it.


    ''It has to be a Mid Demon, at least.''


    ''How long has this thing been fed in this city? Is Gluttony nning on letting this thing grow until it is a Fallen?''


    In his life, Nick had seen more Heroes than Demons, but that did not reflect the true state of the world.


    One should never forget that this world was ruled by Specters, not humans.


    While there were probably more Newbies and Johns than Hatchlings and Adolescents, things changed abruptly at the third level and higher.


    The number of Fallen was already over seven times higher than the number of Protectors, and there were over ten times as many Adversaries as there were Shields.


    There were probably three to five times as many Demons as there were Heroes.


    If one only went by the numbers, for every Hero inside a city, there would be three to five Demons.


    The only reason why there were not that many Demons in the city was that a big chunk of them was contained by Aegis, and the majority of the remaining Specters were somewhere outside of the cities.


    Therefore, it was not unusual to find a wild Demon inside a city.


    The Governor was on her knees as she nervously looked at the CCO, who hadn''t moved in any way.


    While the tall Specter wasn''t very intelligent, it was intelligent enough not to hurt its food source.


    "Can we now cooperate for a couple of years without any boundary tests?" the CCO asked coldly.


    The woman gritted her teeth and stood up.


    "No," she said.


    The CCO narrowed his eyes.


    "I will try again in six months," the woman said. "You know that this is an unreasonable and unstable Specter. You will never know when it will go crazy."


    "You won''t always be Lord Gluttony''s primary servant."


    "At some point, you will lose your control over the Specter, and I will rece you."


    "Just wait," the Governor said.


    Nick was a bit taken aback by what the Governor had said.


    Originally, Nick had suspected that the Governor might have developed a conscience due to her unreasonable hostility to the CCO.


    Yet, she talked about bing Gluttony''s primary servant.


    ''Can humans even be servants of Specters?'' Nick thought.


    After a couple of seconds of thinking, Nick came to a conclusion.


    ''Why not? Humans are the most morallyplex creatures in existence. There are many of them that would sacrifice 90% of humanity just for a bit of money. Many people are willing to kill everyone taller than them just so that they can be the tallest in a crowd of dwarves.''


    ''Everyone knows that allying with a Specter is the stupidest thing a human can do, but greed still blinds some people.''


    After dismissing the Governor''s threat, the CCO threw the food on the cart into the tall Specter''s maw.


    A momentter, the tall Specter birthed another mushy and slimy brick of chocte.


    The Governor didn''t leave the Containment Unit.


    Most likely, she was here to absorb the Zephyx being produced by the big Specter.


    The CCO walked back and forth a couple of times, delivering several more carts of food and chocte.


    About 40 minutester, the CCO left with thest cart of chocte.


    Nick followed the CCO as he left the cave and reunited with the CEO.


    The two of them left the Containment Unit and went back to the big meeting room.


    Naturally, Nick followed them, but he didn''t go into the meeting room.


    Instead, he waited in front of it.


    After a bit, Nick went to the door leading out of the grey part of the building.


    About 30 minutester, it opened, and the CZE stepped in.


    Nick only needed to keep track of the CCO since he was the only one powerful enough to sense him.


    Nick slipped past the CZE and exited the grey part of the building.


    As soon as he entered the colorful candy world, his mood worsened.


    This fucking mascot candy shit of Happiness Through Taste ;) was really getting on his nerves!


    Nick rapidly moved through a world of overly positive candies and left the building rtively quickly.


    There were barely any Barriers in his way.


    After leaving thepany building, Nick moved along the walls of the city until he arrived at a seemingly random cave.


    This cave did not have a Barrier, and Nick easily slipped through the cracks.


    This was the home of one of the Johns of Happiness Through Taste ;).


    Nick had seen the Extractor a couple of times.


    This guy barely came home, making this the perfect ce for Nick.


    And even if the guy showed up, Nick would just kill him.


    It would take days until anybody woulde looking for him.


    Nick went to the back of the cave and sat down.


    Then, he lifted his right arm and began to focus.


    Over the next couple of hours, he created a Greater Ry.


    Finally, Nick activated the Greater Ry.


    The big stone in front of the Greater Ry transformed into Wrath, who looked at Nick with enraged eyes.


    "Why did it take you so long to contact me?" he asked.


    "I investigated the city and already created a n," Nick said. "I know the identity and location of both of Gluttony''s servants, and I know who is involved."


    "I can strike at any moment," Nick said.


    "Then do it!" Wrath shouted.


    "I need to know how to run the city and what you want from me. Also, I need to ask you a question."


    "Ask," Wrath demanded with gnashing teeth.


    "Does the rule that you are allowed to follow only one Corruptor only count for Specters, or does that also extend to humans?" Nick asked.


    Wrath narrowed his eyes even more but didn''t answer immediately.


    "Give me details," he demanded.


    Nick nodded and told Wrath what he had found out.

 Chapter 634 – Assassination

    Chapter 634 ¨C Assassination


    Months passed.


    Nothing changed.


    Happiness Through Taste ;) kept destroying food and delivering chocte.


    On average, one caravan arrived every three days, and each of them delivered several tons of food.


    If all that food were directly given to the popce, almost nobody would need to feel any hunger anymore.


    Nick had run an entire city for five years. He knew how much food people needed, and he could tell that this city had about 15% more food per citizen than Crimson City.


    And food was not an issue for Crimson City.


    Under normal circumstances, the food should be dirt cheap here since the supply outstripped the demand.


    However, around 70% of the food was converted to chocte.


    This meant that the entire city was in a constant state of famine, and people had to take drastic measures to deal with the hunger.


    Once per week, the CCO of Happiness Through Taste ;) delivered food to the big Specter in the city headquarters.


    The next delivery would happen in about an hour.


    ''It''s about time,'' Nick thought as he moved down from the dark ceiling of the isted cavern.


    Last week, he had moved into the cavern but hadn''t left.


    Today was the day.


    It was time for Wrath to take over.


    Nick turned corporeal in the middle of the cavern and walked down the dark hallway.


    After just a couple of seconds, his ability deactivated.


    However, he just kept walking calmly.


    Eventually, he passed by the bend in the cavern and came face to face with the gigantic pregnant Specter.


    Naturally, the Specter was the one that perceived Nick, but it didn''t seem to care a lot about him.


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought.


    He had kept watch over the Specter for several weeks, and he could confirm that this Specter was one of the insane ones.


    In general, Specters could be put into five different forms of sses when talking about intelligence.


    The first ss were almost exclusively Possession Specters. They essentially did not have any awareness or intelligence. They were simply objects.


    The second ss were Specters that were acting like forces of nature. Most Force Specters belonged to this. One could say they were not more intelligent than a single cell.


    The third ss were Specters that were as intelligent as the average animal. They had instincts and could learn simple concepts, but that was it.


    The fourth ss were intelligent Specters that were insane. The Bleeding Lady, the Talker, and the pregnant Specter belonged to this ss. They were theoretically as intelligent as humans, but their minds were not lucid.


    Naturally, the fifth ss were intelligent Specters. They were about as intelligent or even more intelligent than humans.


    Nick was also a Specter, and because of that, most Specters wouldn''t react in any way to his presence. After all, he was neither food nor enemy.


    Only intelligent Specters or insane Specters would react to his presence.


    Intelligent Specters would react since they realized that Nick''s presence was suspicious, and insane Specters could react because they were¡­ well¡­ insane.


    The pregnant Specter in front of Nick was insane, but not in an unstable way.


    She was more catatonic than aggressive.


    "Food¡­ please¡­ I need¡­ food¡­" she kept moaning.


    Nick had watched her for a long time, but she only moaned like this when someone was near her.


    If she didn''t sense anyone, she didn''t even moan.


    She justy there inplete silence.


    It was almost like she realized that there was no meaning to pretending to be pathetic when no one was seeing her.


    Nick looked at her evenly.


    Then, he sent her a wave of feelings with his Specter Core.


    The wave essentially asked her if she was hungry.


    A wave of feelings came back.


    Nick''s eyes became unfocused, and his mouth started to produce a lot of saliva.


    The hunger.


    It was unbearable!


    He was soooo hungry!


    Nick quickly shook his head and gritted his teeth.


    The hunger was absolutely brutal, but he forced himself to focus.


    Next, Nick sent a couple more pictures to the Specter.


    Corpses.


    Mountains of meat.


    Hands, organs, legs, faces.


    Then, he asked a question.


    Was this food?


    The image appeared in the Specter''s head.


    "Food¡­"


    Waves of concepts were sent to Nick again, and he had to use all of his power to resist the hunger.


    ''I''m not sure how long I could stay sane with such intense hunger!'' Nick thought.


    The answer was clear.


    Yes, the Specter was hungry.


    Anything that could be digested counted as food.


    Humans could be digested and, therefore, were food.


    Next, Nick sent another picture to the Specter.


    A picture of her hand.


    A picture of a severed human hand.


    A picture of her eating the severed human hand.


    A picture of her hand.


    A picture of a human''s hand.


    The same hand.


    They looked the same.


    Was her hand food?


    The Specter didn''t answer for a while.


    But then, her arm started to move.


    It lifted towards her face.


    And then, she shoved her hand down her maw.


    She shoved it deeper and deeper.


    But then, she reached her limit.


    Her arm could only move so far.


    She used more and more power, but she wasn''t powerful enough to move more of her arm into her maw.


    Then, Nick sent another concept.


    If she allowed him to cut her arm off, she would be able to swallow it.


    After that, Nick sent an image of her arm regrowing.


    Then, getting cut off again and being eaten again.


    And regrowing again.


    And being consumed again.


    Infinite food.


    The Specter seemed to be desperate.


    Food!


    It was hungry!


    She tried to consume her arm, but she still didn''t have enough power to cut it off.


    Nick approached the arm.


    "It might hurt," Nick transmitted. "But it''s a price worth paying for eternal food."


    "The pain is not as bad as the hunger."


    Nick was only assaulted by more feelings of hunger.


    At this moment, Nick seemed calm on the surface, but deep inside, he was nervous.


    This Specter was insanely powerful.


    He had almost lost consciousness while his ability was active and while he was quite far away.


    This time, his ability was not active, and he stood right beside it.


    If it used its psychic attack again, Nick''s Specter Core might explode.


    That was also the main reason why Nick didn''t assassinate the Specter.


    He couldn''t guarantee an instant-kill, and if the Specter got a chance to react, Nick would undoubtedly die.


    Nick took out his des.


    Then, he made a small cut on the Specter''s shoulder.


    It moaned.


    However, it didn''t moan in pain.


    No, it moaned in impatience and pleasure.


    It managed to get a bit more of its arm into its maw.


    Nick put a deep cut into the Specter''s shoulder.


    CRK!


    The bone inside the arm broke, and the Specter moaned in impatience.


    It was so close!


    Nick made onest cut, and the arm left its body.


    Almost immediately, the arm was swallowed by its maw.


    "Food¡­ Food!"


    Its stump moved towards its mouth again.


    The arm regrew and was almost entirely in its mouth again.


    It demanded more.


    Nick cut through the arm, and it was swallowed again.


    The Specter wanted even more.


    Surprisingly, it didn''t give birth to chocte, but that also made sense.


    After all, this wasn''t food or flesh.


    It just looked like flesh.


    In truth, it was just its own body.


    Next, Nick sent more images to the Specter.


    Juicy severed breasts.


    Then, Nick jumped onto its belly and cut off its gigantic tits before throwing them into its maw.


    It wanted more food.


    Slowly, Nick intensified the images of food and made the portions bigger.


    Within a couple of minutes, he was cutting off huge chunks of her body before throwing them into her maw.


    It couldn''t get enough.


    It wanted more!


    It needed more food!


    Nick cut off a huge part of its chest and threw it down its maw.


    At that moment, Nick''s eyes narrowed.


    In front of him, deep within the Specter''s chest, he saw a ck crystal.


    The Specter Core.


    Nick readied his de.


    Then, he used all of his Zephyx before exploding with light.


    WHOOOOOM!


    The entire hall was bathed in the most intense light.


    Nick''s ability reactivated.


    And then, he struck the Specter Core.


    BAAAAAANG!


    The Specter Core exploded into pieces.


    The Specter stopped moving.


    A momentter, it copsed, and its body started to turn into ck dust, which quickly vanished into the atmosphere.


    It was dead. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    There would be no more chocte for the city.


    Then, Nick waited.


    A couple of secondster, Nick felt the presence of the CCO.


    He was moving the cart towards Nick.


    The CCO might realize that the Specter was dead before Nick reached him.


    That was if Nick traveled the normal way to the CCO.


    Nick''s terrifying perception created a picture in his mind, and he could see the CCO walking forward.


    One had to remember that the Maw had given Nick two abilities.


    One ability increased Nick''s perception, and the other one took advantage of that perception.


    The next moment, a maw opened behind the cart of the CCO.


    It opened without any sound, and the CCO did not notice.


    At the same time, a maw opened below Nick.


    Nick looked down and saw the ceiling through the maw.


    He moved to the side and saw the cart.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick exploded forward.


    He shot through the maw below him and charged out of the maw behind the cart.


    It was a portal!


    BOOOM!


    Nick barreled through the cart.


    The CCO barely managed to react.


    SHING!


    But then, Nick''s de had already bisected his body.


    Just to make sure, Nick cut through the body several more times.


    He wanted to be certain that he had destroyed the Specter Core.


    A momentter, the CCO fell into pieces, which all turned into ck dust.


    He was dead.


    An instantter, Nick''s senses noticed the CEO.


    He had heard themotion and became nervous.


    A new maw appeared below Nick.


    And another maw opened behind the nervous CEO.

 Chapter 635 – Surveillance

    Chapter 635 ¨C Surveince


    Nick moved the corpse of the CEO to the side of the room and walked towards the ce where the tall Specter used to be.


    Then, he waited.


    Just as expected, a couple of minutester, the door to the Containment Unit opened.


    Almost immediately, Nick''s ability deactivated, and he came face to face with the Governor.


    As soon as the Governor noticed Nick, her eyes narrowed, and a wave of Zephyx expanded throughout the cave.


    She had been startled.


    Naturally, her perception quickly swept over the cave system, and she found the destroyed cart of food and the corpse of the CEO.


    However, she did not find the CCO nor the pregnant Specter.


    She looked at Nick with narrowed eyes. "What happened? Who are you?"


    Of course, she could tell that Nick was a Specter. Due to the nature of his Zephyx, it was extremely easy for her to tell that he was one.


    Usually, when an Extractor saw a wild Specter, they would try to capture it or run, but for the Governor, it was different.


    After all, she had been working with Specters for literal years.


    "Gluttony''s presence has been eliminated from ck Mine City," Nick said evenly. "I killed the pregnant Specter, the CCO, and the CEO of Happiness Through Taste ;)."


    The Governor had difficulties believing Nick''s words.


    The Specter in front of her was, at most, a Mid Fanatic. How could this Specter kill the pregnant Specter?


    However, it was a fact that the pregnant Specter vanished.


    The Governor knew that there were three exits in the cavern.


    One led to her headquarters.


    Two led to Happiness Through Taste ;).


    The pregnant Specter could not hide from peoples'' perception, and it was big enough that anyone would notice it.


    Back then, they needed to transport it in a Specter Cage to get it into the city.


    If anyone had moved a big Specter Cage through the city, the Governor would have noticed.


    Her perception also didn''t find any new exits.


    So, the only sensible exnation for the Specter''s vanishing was that it was killed.


    The Governor didn''t let it show on her face, but she was nervous.


    If it came out that she worked with one of the Corruptors, she would be killed!


    However, she also realized that Aegis most likely didn''t know.


    After all, this was a Specter in front of her, not a human.


    Maybe there was a way out of this.


    "Quite brave of you to appear in front of me," she slowly spoke. "Or should I say, stupid?"


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "I was a hostage of the pregnant Specter," she exined with narrowed eyes. "I was forced intopliance on the threat of my life!"


    "Now, you''ve killed the pregnant Specter and have freed me. If you were a human, I would be thankful."


    "But you''re a Specter. You only want to force me into servitude again!"


    "You might have found a way to deal with the pregnant Specter, but you will find that forcing me to follow your orders won''t be easy!"


    Nick didn''t look very impressed.


    The Governor pulled out a gun, which she pointed at Nick.


    "You''re lucky I haven''t killed you yet!" she spoke.


    Nick slowly lifted his right arm.


    Then, a piece of paper manifested in his hand.


    He threw the piece of paper forward without a word.


    The Governor''s perception read through the piece of paper in an instant, and her eyes widened.


    This was a transcript of all of her talks with the CCO in thest couple of months.


    Then, Nick conjured more pieces of paper.


    Bnce sheets.


    Numbers.


    Sales.


    Zephyx production.


    The Governor became more and more shocked.


    These numbers were urate to two digits after the decimal point!


    This was not guesswork!


    Numbers with such uracy could onlye from the people who generated these numbers and oversaw the city''s processes.


    Naturally, these numbers were delivered to the Governor, and she stored them in a secure location inside her office.


    The fact that this Specter could produce all of them easily meant that it had managed to read through these documents!


    But Nick wasn''t done.


    A momentter, he started to conjure more sheets of paper, but this time, there were images on them.


    Images of the Governor inside her office.


    There were several of them, and the images depicted the Governor in different acts.


    Two of them even depicted her masturbating.


    She recognized all of them.


    She no longer felt confident.


    Instead, she felt terrified.


    This Specter must have been watching her for weeks!


    But how?!


    How was this possible?!


    The truth was that Nick had done just that, but it hadn''t been easy.


    Heroes had strong perceptions.


    The biggest reason why the Governor hadn''t noticed Nick was that she felt so safe inside her headquarters.


    In short, she was rxed and careless.


    The Governor regrly came to the pregnant Specter to absorb her Zephyx.


    One had to remember that the pregnant Specter produced Zephyx when people ate its chocte, not when it converted food into chocte.


    This meant that the Specter essentially produced Zephyx constantly without pause.


    The Governor came into the Containment Unit daily for about three hours to collect her Zephyx for the day before leaving.


    These visits were how Nick managed to go in and out of the cavern.


    As the Governor kept looking at the sheets of paper, she grew more and more afraid.


    Somebody had been watching her for several days, at least!


    They had been inside her office.


    They had been walking behind her.


    They had seen her when she had been goofing off.


    She was a Hero!


    She could perceive anything in a several-kilometer-wide radius!


    This was her city!


    This was her base!


    This was her room!


    The thought of someone constantly watching her and being in the same room as her felt viting.


    It was terrifying!


    "Can you be honest now?" Nick asked coldly.


    The Governor''s emotions ran wild, and her Zephyx became chaotic.


    She looked at Nick with an unstable expression.


    It looked like she was about to attack.


    And that was also what she actually wanted to do.


    Yet, as soon as she wanted to pull the trigger of her gun, her terror intensified.


    Her instincts were telling her that she wasmitting a grave mistake!


    She knew she was more powerful than this Specter, but she felt like any attack sheunched would be stopped.


    It felt hopeless.


    This Specter in front of her felt unassable.


    Nick just kept looking at her.


    Her arm shook.


    Then, she slowly lowered her gun.


    "Why are you here?" she asked, trying to sound confident.


    "Depends on what you will decide," Nick said. "I am an agent from Lord Wrath."


    The Governor took a deep breath.


    She had expected something like that. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Lord Wrath wants this city. Lord Wrath is not interested in starving People. Lord Wrath wants healthy people so that they may go to war and kill each other for the things they believe in."


    "Lord Wrath will take this city one way or the other. Your decision will simply determine in which way Lord Wrath will conquer the city."


    "You have two choices in front of you."


    "One, you try to kill me, and you will die. Your sess, in that matter, isn''t relevant. My Lord has all of the information I have just handed to you, and if he doesn''t hear from me soon, this information will be sent to Aegis."


    "Aegis will execute you as a traitor, and it will send a group to investigate the city and to uproot Gluttony''s hold."


    "When that happens, Lord Wrath will simply wait a couple of years and return. Aegis does not have enough resources to supervise this city for several years."


    "Your other choice is toply. While us Specters are not allowed to serve more than one Corruptor in our lives, humans are not part of that rule."


    "You are livestock to us," Nick spoke coldly. "You are like a chicken. You produce eggs every day, and so long as you keep making eggs, we will not get rid of you. Even if, for some reason, Lord Wrath''s influence were to be eradicated from this city, the next Corruptor will also not kill you."


    "As long as youply."


    "As long as you stay a good little chicken, you will profit from our cooperation while not getting killed by any of the Corruptors."


    "You will support Lord Wrath in ruling this city. You will turn this into a city that Lord Wrath desires."


    "Theoretically, you have a choice."


    "Practically, you only have one choice."


    "Choose."


    Silence.


    The Governor looked at Nick.


    She was trying her best to keep her expression neutral, but she failed at that.


    Nick could see the fear in her eyes.


    The Governor had not been very afraid of the CCO.


    The reason was that the CCO''s power had not been his own.


    His entire power had been reliant on the pregnant Specter.


    But this time, it was different.


    Even though Nick felt weak to her, he had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had the power to sneak up on her and assassinate her.


    "How do I do that?" she asked after a while.


    Nick kept looking at her.


    "I will teach you."


    "I will show you how to create a city in Wrath''s image, and I will also show you how to increase the city''s production of Zephyx to keep Aegis at bay and happy."


    "With my teachings, you can eventually be an Agent."

 Chapter 636 – Alone

    Chapter 636 ¨C Alone


    "Go buy some yourself!" a guard shouted at another.


    "I can''t," the other guard said, trying not to sound desperate. "They have problems with the delivery. Come on, just give me some of your stash. I''ll pay you double."


    "Chocte isn''t expensive," the first guard said. "I don''t really care about the couple of credits. I''m more interested in eating this chocte right now."


    The other guard groaned in frustration before walking away without saying anything else.


    The first guard just looked at him with annoyance.


    Fucking freeloaders.


    As the day continued, more and more guards and Extractors started to ask others about their chocte.


    Some of the more powerful Extractors with higher levels of willpower noticed the business opportunity and sold chocte sticks for over ten times the price.


    The unofficial price of chocte sticks soared, while the number of people gathering in front of Happiness Through Taste''s ;) gates increased.


    "How long is this going to take?" a John in the group shouted.


    "Calm down!" one of the Extractors from Happiness Through Taste ;) shouted back. "We are working on delivering more chocte!"


    Usually, the Manufacturer didn''t have any guards.


    After all, why would they need any guards?


    They were a Manufacturer.


    Nobody would dare to break in unless they belonged to the absolute elite of the city.


    But then, a couple of guards also wouldn''t make a difference.


    However, three days ago, thepany started to put a couple of their Veterans in front of their gates to protect the building.


    Initially, the Veterans didn''t know why they suddenly had to guard the entrance, but their questions were quickly answered when the chocte stoppeding out of the production halls.


    Meanwhile, the Extractors inside the building were bing concerned.


    A couple of days ago, they received a message from their CZE.


    The message basically said that everything was going fantastic and that there was nothing to worry about.


    ording to him, they had record profits, and a happiness survey said that everyone had broken the record for happiness.


    Everyone was happy, and everything was great.


    And then¡­


    The CZE just didn''t show up anymore.


    He just¡­ vanished.


    The team leaders were confused about the absence of their boss.


    What were they supposed to do now?


    In the end, they just continued doing the same thing they did every day.


    They continued producing Zephyx, and everything went as always.


    And then, the chocte stoppeding.


    The team leads went to the executive floor and asked for the CZE.


    Yet, the receptionist just said that the CZE wasn''t epting any visitors currently.


    The team leads left again, but a dayter, when things got even worse, they came back.


    They demanded to speak to the CZE.


    But the receptionist just kept declining their meeting.


    Then, they started to demand to speak to the CEO.


    Shockingly, the receptionist also denied that meeting!


    What about the CCO?


    No.


    The CIO?


    No.


    The team leads became worried.


    Their biggest and most important product stopped shipping, and none of their executives were willing to talk to them?


    Some of the more paranoid team leads said that everything was going to be destroyed and that the executives jumped ship.


    But that was ridiculous.


    Why would they do that?


    One dayter, the first team lead left the building.


    She just said that she would grab something from a warehouse.


    Yet, she didn''t return.


    She jumped ship!


    Some hourster, the second team lead left.


    Then, two of them left at once.


    Only three team leads were left.


    Those three team leads were the highest figures of authority inside thepany, and they felt very nervous.


    The three of them talked amongst each other, and they decided that it was enough!


    They entered the executives'' floor and broke down the door.


    The receptionist didn''t dare to stop them.


    She was not an Extractor.


    As soon as the door was broken down, the three of them saw the grey hallway.


    Grey hallways?


    In Happiness Through Taste ;)? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    This was against the Happy Family :) Code of Conduct!


    What the hell was going on?!


    Confused, the three team leads searched through the floor.


    Nothing.


    Empty.


    Where did everyone go?!


    "I found something!" one of them shouted from the entrance of a Containment Unit.


    The other two ran to the guy and looked into the Containment Unit.


    Rubble!


    While three of the walls, the ceiling, and the floor were normal, one of the walls had copsed into rubble, and most importantly, it was rubble made of stone!


    This meant that there hadn''t been a proper wall back there!


    "A tunnel!" one of them shouted. "There had to be a tunnel there! That''s how our Parents escaped!"


    "Stop with this Parent bullshit," another one of them said. "There''s no reason to keep this stupid policy."


    "Oh, right, sorry," the first guy said with an embarrassed cough.


    "But he''s right," the third guy said. "The Pa- executives must have fled through a secret tunnel. But why?"


    "Something must''ve happened," the first guy said. "We all know that the chocte is highly addicting. There''s a reason why we are forbidden from eating it."


    "Isn''t that because we are supposed to spread happiness instead of consuming it?" the third guy asked.


    The other two groaned.


    "What now?" one of them asked after a couple of seconds of silence.


    The three looked at each other.


    The three tried toe up with a n, but they failed.


    There was nothing they could do.


    Eventually, they left the executive floor and returned to the colorful part of the building.


    Their employees kept asking for orders, but they couldn''t give any.


    In the end, they didn''te up with a n but with a list of priorities.


    The highest priority was to deal with the imminent crisis.


    Theck of chocte.


    Could they restart the production?


    They didn''t even know how the chocte was produced!


    How were they supposed to restart it?


    "Then, we just have to find it," one of them said.


    So, the three of them split up and searched through the entire building.


    They looked through every Containment Unit, hallway, and room.


    There were rooms they hadn''t been allowed to enter in the past, but that didn''t matter now.


    And they found something!


    Inside the central storage hall was a Containment Unit that was the wrong way around!


    The main entrance faced the wall instead of the inside!


    All of them had seen the Containment Unit before, but they had never paid any attention to its alignment. After all, it wasn''t active anyway. It didn''t matter in which orientation it was stored.


    Even now, they wouldn''t have cared¡­


    If it weren''t for the fact that there was an override on its console.


    The override deactivated the big rm of the Containment Unit.


    Now, why would somebody put that in a deactivated Containment Unit?


    The team lead, who found that, opened the door, revealing a lit cavern.


    The three of them quickly entered the cavern, but after just 100 meters, they had to stop again.


    Rubble.


    "We should be near that other Containment Unit with the rubble," one of them said.


    The other two nodded.


    For some reason, the central storage and the Containment Unit of the executive floor were connected.


    "The CIO always delivers the food to the central storage, and the chocte also alwayses from there," one of them said.


    "You think she delivered the food to the executive floor?" another one asked.


    "Yes," the first one said.


    "And then?" the third one asked.


    "No idea," the first one answered.


    Silence.


    "I think," the second one said after a while, "the cavern had more than one hallway."


    The other two looked at the second one.


    "If they wanted to keep the pathway between the storage and the executive floor hidden, they would have copsed the entire hallway, or at least, both entrances."


    "However, they only copsed one entrance. Additionally, the executives vanished, and they couldn''t have done that if they had just exited from the main storage."


    The other two furrowed their brows.


    "And that''s also where the choctees from?" one of them asked.


    "I think so," the second one said.


    "That means we don''t have a way to produce chocte?"


    "I''m afraid so," the second one answered.


    "What about our backer?" the third one asked.


    The other two looked at him with raised brows.


    "Oh,e on," the third one said. "I can''t be the only one that noticed that life has been surprisingly calm. Despite the crazy revenue we produce, we barely get any pushback from the other Manufacturers. We''re the fourth strongest Manufacturer. Yet, none of the three stronger Manufacturers dare to do anything to us."


    "You think we have a backer?" the first one asked.


    "It makes sense," the second one said, "and I think that''s also thest piece of the puzzle."


    The other two looked at him.


    "There''s only one thing that could make all of our executives flee like rats."


    The other two slowly realized what it was.


    "Our backer abandoned us."


    "We''re on our own."


    In the distance, the sounds of the angry crowd became louder and louder.

 Chapter 637 – Refusal

    Chapter 637 ¨C Refusal


    BANG!


    Somebody was thrown backward.


    At the same time, a Barrier appeared around them before shattering into pieces.


    Everyone looked at the person, and the person themselves looked at their abdomen afternding.


    Blood.


    He had been shot!


    "You shot me!" he shouted with anger as he quickly stood up.


    All the adrenaline in his body made him blind to the searing pain of his new wound.


    "We warned you!" one of the guards shouted.


    Earlier, this guy had charged forward, loudly shouting that he was going to enter the building and that there was nothing the guards could do to stop him.


    But then, he got shot.


    Luckily, he was only a John, which meant that his body wasn''t relying on Zephosis to survive.


    However, the shot still injured him quite a bit.


    At least it didn''t hit him in a vital area. Additionally, the shot was not loaded with any ability.


    While it emptied his Zephyx and made a hole in his abdomen, no other effects were added.


    Naturally, if the Veteran wanted to kill the John, he would be dead already.


    "You shot him!" someone else in the crowd shouted.


    "I''m going to sue you!" the guy shouted as he pointed at them. "I will get all of the chocte you have in store!"


    "Yes, we won''t sue you! Just give him the chocte!" another guy shouted.


    The Extractors from the Manufacturer just red at the rowdy group.


    This was getting more and more chaotic.


    By now, over a hundred Extractors stood in front of the gates.


    If all of those actually tried to get in with force, there wouldn''t be a lot the guards would be able to do.


    Luckily, the Veterans seemed to have themselves under control.


    Over the past couple of hours, a couple of Johns and Newbies had attempted to forcefully enter the building.


    While the guards had simply thrown the first ones out, they had actually shot thetest one.


    They wanted to make an example out of this John.


    However, that seemed to only enrage the crowd further.


    While the guards looked stalwart, they were actually nervous inside.


    This was extremely dangerous.


    But, for now, they could still hold the line.


    At some point, one of the team leads came out of the building, and the guards immediately looked at him for guidance.


    The team lead took a couple of guards to the side and told them that he was going to talk to other Manufacturers to get some help.


    Until he returns, they would need to hold the line.


    The Extractors were worried, but they believed in their team lead.


    The crowd noticed that there was someone with some real authority present now and immediately started to swarm him, demanding exnations.


    BANG!


    However, the team lead just jumped over the crowd and entered the street.


    Naturally, the people were quite angry, but none of them could catch up with a Peak Veteran.


    While the guards kept the people at bay, the team lead visited a more powerful Manufacturer.


    Of course, there were also Extractors from the more powerful Manufacturers in the crowd, but those were off-duty and didn''t belong to the truly powerful ones.


    The team lead and the guards had noticed that the more powerful Extractors were not influenced as much by theck of chocte.


    Meanwhile, the Newbies and Johns seemed to go crazy.


    Maybe it was because of Zephosis?


    The team lead quickly arrived at the third most powerful Manufacturer in the city.


    After going inside and asking for a meeting, he met with the CZE.


    He told them about what was going on and asked for help.


    "I''m sorry, but we can''t risk helping you in this case. You''re on your own," the CZE said.


    The team lead started to beg.


    He even offered them the entirepany.


    As long as the employees were allowed to continue working for this Manufacturer, the Manufacturer could have everything!


    "I''m sorry, but we have to say no," the CZE said.


    "Why?" the team lead asked in shock and horror.


    "We do not want to anger certain people," the CZE said. "Now, please leave. We can talk next week."


    The team lead wanted to protest, but two Peak Veterans quickly escorted him out.


    ''Why?'' the team lead asked himself. ''Why are they refusing us?''


    In the end, he had to ept and go to the next Manufacturer.


    This time, the team lead immediately started the conversation with an offer of simply handing over the entirepany.


    They no longer cared about any kind of profit from this trade.


    They just wanted to get out of this mess without dying. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, the second-strongest Manufacturer immediately threw the team lead out.


    They didn''t even entertain the conversation.


    The team lead started to be terrified.


    Lastly, he could only go to the strongest Manufacturer.


    Sadly, he couldn''t even enter the building.


    The two Experts told him that he wasn''t allowed to go in and that they wouldn''t forward his message.


    He was on his own.


    That was it.


    The team lead was at his end.


    He looked back to the distant gate of his ce of work.


    There were even more people present, and they seemed to be even more aggressive.


    The team lead almost couldn''t believe what they had done.


    He knew that the chocte made people addicted, but he hadn''t expected such an insane level of addiction.


    These people were no longer acting like people.


    They were acting like rabid animals!


    In the end, the team lead took a deep breath and looked towards the city''s headquarters.


    If there were any other way, he wouldn''t go there.


    Naturally, going to the city''s headquarters would most likely solve the issue, but at a hefty price.


    An investigation.


    It was more than obvious that the team lead''s Manufacturer did some shady things, and if the team lead told the city to intervene, the city would start a full investigation.


    A full investigation would lead to the capture and death of many of their employees.


    He would probably be among them as well.


    Other Manufacturers would keep the shady things hidden, but the city wouldn''t.


    Finally, the team lead sighed and went to the city''s headquarters.


    As soon as he arrived, he told the guards about the incident.


    And they had not received such orders yet.


    Naturally, the guards could see the incident with their own eyes from where they were, but they were not supposed to intervene without orders.


    And they had not received such orders yet.


    One of the guards led the team lead inside and directly brought him to the highest floor.


    "You can enter," the guard said, lightly gesturing to the door.


    The team lead took another deep breath and pushed the door open.


    As soon as the door opened, the team lead fell under a ton of pressure.


    The Governor was looking at him with a cold expression.


    "Why are you here?" the Governor asked evenly.


    "Governor," the team lead said with a heavy voice, "Happiness Through Taste ;) is falling apart. Our four executives vanished without a word, and we have found a destroyed tunnel."


    "The city is besieging us, and we can''t produce the chocte anymore. If you don''t intervene, many people will die."


    The Governor just looked at him in disinterest. "What''s the most pressing issue?" she asked.


    "The crowd in front of the building," the team lead answered immediately.


    "Produce more chocte and give it to them. That should deal with the issue," the Governor said.


    "We can''t," the team lead said.


    "Why would you not be able to produce chocte?" the Governor asked. "You are the producers."


    "Because we don''t know how," the team lead answered.


    "Exin," the Governor demanded. "How can you not know how to make something that you make daily?"


    "Because only the four executives know how the chocte is made," the team lead said.


    Then, he took a deep breath. "And I believe that it is a possibility that it might not even have been made inside our¡­ building¡­ you know¡­"


    The Governor raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "So, you''re not the ones creating the chocte?"


    "Probably not," the team lead said.


    The Governor paused for a couple of seconds, looking at the team lead with furrowed brows.


    "You do know that something with such an intense power of addiction can only be made by a powerful Specter, right?" she asked.


    The team lead nodded.


    "And you are saying that you don''t know from which Specter it ising," she added.


    The team lead gulped and nodded.


    This was exactly why he didn''t want toe here.


    "So, you can''t even guarantee that the Specter is contained."


    The team lead avoided the Governor''s eyes.


    "Tell me," the Governor continued, "is there a possibility that yourpany has been infiltrated by a wild Specter?"


    "M-maybe. I don''t know. The executives are the only ones that know, and they all vanished," the team lead quickly answered.


    The Governor narrowed her eyes.


    "Since you came of your own volition, you are allowed to gather your people and appear in front of the city''s headquarters for a full investigation by tomorrow."


    Then, the Governor''s Barrier activated, and a big part of the wall moved to the side, revealing a window to the city.


    "I''m going to deal with this issue."


    Then, the Governor jumped out of the window.


    After some seconds, the team lead copsed onto his behind.


    Well, that was it.


    He was no longer in control of his destiny.


    What will happen, will happen.

 Chapter 638 – Safe?

    Chapter 638 ¨C Safe?


    "Stay back! I will shoot!" one of the guards in front of Happiness Through Taste ;) shouted as he pointed his guns at the people.


    Several of the people in the crowd had already been injured, but that didn''t seem to deter the others.


    In fact, they only grew more aggressive.


    For now, nobody had been killed.


    While the Extractors from Happiness Through Taste ;) fought against Specters from time to time, they had never fought against other Extractors.


    After all, the other Manufacturers never touched them.


    There was no reason to fight.


    Because of that, none of them had ever killed a human before, and they didn''t like the thought of being forced to.


    They would do it if it was necessary, but they wanted to use up every other option before pulling the trigger.


    The shouts became louder.


    The pressure increased.


    BANG!


    A Barrier appeared around one of the Extractors guarding the building shortly before the sound of a gun being fired reverberated throughout the surroundings.


    The guards immediately focused on a John with a rifle.


    The guard that had been fired on was shocked.


    Then, he became terrified.


    Then, all of his terror turned into rage.


    He grabbed his spear and threw it.


    BANG!


    The spear shot through the John''s Barrier, punched through the John''s head, and nailed him to a wall.


    Silence.


    The first person had been killed.


    Everyone looked at the corpse.


    Meanwhile, the Veteran who had just been attacked gritted his teeth.


    "Everyone back!" he shouted aggressively, waving another spear around. "I will do it again if you don''t back off!"


    His colleagues took deep breaths, but they quickly backed him up.


    "Back off!" they shouted.


    The crowd retreated a couple of steps.


    But they didn''t disperse.


    Instead, they became silent and started to whisper amongst each other.


    This seemed to be a good thing, but the guards could tell that it wasn''t.


    The whispering felt¡­ malicious.


    It was like the crowd was nning how to get into the building.


    The guards watched as some of the people in the crowd sneakily pulled their weapons.


    The atmosphere became heavy and strained.


    And then¡­


    "Governor!" someone shouted.


    Everyone turned to the side and saw a younger woman with ck hairnding beside the crowd.


    For some seconds, she looked at the crowd.


    Nobody dared to talk to her.


    An instantter, several city guards appeared behind her.


    They were Specialists and Experts.


    "Everyone gathered here is under arrest," the Governor dered.


    The eyes of the people in the crowd widened in horror.


    Everyone?


    She was capturing everyone?


    But most of them didn''t even do anything!


    They just stood there!


    Sure, there were a couple of them that attacked the guards, but the majority were just watching.


    But the people could see that the Governor was determined to go down that path.


    Yet, that didn''t reflect the Governor''s true feelings.


    She also believed that capturing everyone was a bad move.


    A momentter, the image of the terrifying Specter shot through her mind.


    She was only doing this under his orders.


    The Specter told her what would happen.


    He told her that somebody from Happiness Through Taste ;) would arrive to speak to her to ask for her help.


    He had also predicted the mob of people.


    And finally, he had also told her how to deal with them.


    "You will capture every single member of the crowd, and you will divide them into different cells based on their power," the Specter had said.


    When she heard that, she became nervous.


    Yes, she was the ruler of the city, but doing something like this felt like she was making the entire city her enemy.


    Making thousands of people one''s enemy felt terrifying, even if they were far weaker than her.


    "Arrest them," she ordered the city guards behind her.


    Naturally, her city guards were also not happy with that development, but they didn''t let it show.


    With professionalism, they went forward to arrest the people.


    The peopleined.


    "This is unfair!"


    "I didn''t do anything!"


    "Help! I''m being assaulted!"


    "This is tyranny!"


    "You can''t do this! I''m innocent!"


    "I didn''t do nuthin wrong!"


    The first captives were brought away by the powerful guards while the Governor kept overlooking the crowd.


    The Governor kept ring at them with icy dominance. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Yet, that didn''t reflect her thoughts.


    Deep inside, she was scared.


    Yes, she was powerful, but there was still something that she dreaded.


    She hoped that the Specter''s next words would note true.


    Sadly, that hope died as soon as she saw a Veteran charging out of the crowd.


    The Specter''s words rang through her head.


    "Some people will try to flee," it said.


    "And you will kill them."


    The Governor had only killed three people in her life, and all of them had been of simr power to herself.


    This was just a Veteran.


    This was not someone who could pose a danger to her.


    But now, she was supposed to kill them?


    She didn''t want to kill them.


    BANG!


    The Veteran exploded into a cloud of gore.


    But she had to¡­


    If she didn''tply, she would be next.


    That Specter felt far too dangerous and powerful.


    She didn''t even think about refusing its orders.


    ''Why did you have to run, you idiot?'' she thought with gritted teeth.


    ''I didn''t want to be a killer, you know?''


    "Nobody moves," she spoke coldly.


    ''I just wanted to be stronger.''


    ''I felt stifled in this small city. I just wanted to be an Agent and get out of here.''


    The crowd froze.


    ''So what if I worked with a Specter for a bit? How else was I supposed to be stronger?''


    Suddenly, several people ran away in terror.


    The pressure of a Hero''s rage was too much for some of them to handle.


    The Governor saw the scattering people, and a mask of unending rage appeared on her face.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG


    ''You would''ve done the same!''


    Several clouds of gore appeared.


    All the people who had tried to run away were killed.


    ''You all would''ve done the same!''


    Nobody dared to move.


    The Governor had just killed seven people!


    ''You also would''ve chosen your own power over the happiness of others!''


    ''That''s normal!''


    ''That''s human!''


    ''You are the ones forcing me to kill you!''


    ''You are the ones hurting me with this guilt, regret, and doubt!''


    ''You''re not better than me!''


    ''You''re just as horrible as me!''


    The Governor silently red at the crowd in unending hatred.


    Nobody knew what she was thinking about.


    They only knew that they should not move.


    Sometimeter, the guards returned.


    They quickly grabbed the next batch of prisoners and left.


    After a couple of round trips, the crowd was gone.


    "Governor, we made 137 arrests," a Specialist told her.


    The Governor took a deep breath.


    "Keep watch over them," she said.


    Then, the next words of the Specter shot through her mind.


    "Chances are," she continued, "they will start to attack each other."


    The guards seemed worried.


    "Governor, what are your orders? How are we supposed to deal if they truly start fighting?" the Specialist asked.


    "Anyone that initiates physical violence will immediately be executed with prejudice," she spoke.


    With these words, she had caused the death of tens of people.


    Yet, this didn''t feel nearly as bad as killing some humans with her own hands.


    Making a choice that would end in the death of a hundred people was easier on the mind than choking one person to death.


    The guards were not the biggest fans.


    "Governor, are you sure? There has to be another way. We could restrain them and wait for them to- "


    "I gave an order," the Governor answered, not letting the Specialist finish. "Anyone who initiates violence will be executed."


    The guards were surprised.


    They had known the Governor for a long time, and they would have never thought that she would make such a decision.


    Sure, she wasn''t the friendliest, but she always seemed rather diplomatic with her orders.


    In fact, detractors might even say that she was ying it safe and that she was trying not to anger anyone living in the city.


    But this was definitely not ying it safe.


    A momentter, the Governor looked at the building of Happiness Through Taste ;).


    "I want a full investigation of Happiness Through Taste ;)," she ordered. "All of their Specters will be confiscated and contained by the city. Any Manufacturer that wants ess to the Specters needs to negotiate with me personally."


    "If any Specter goes missing, I will seek repayment from the people involved by collecting their heads."


    "I want every single Extractor from thispany in Containment Units, and I want all of them interrogated."


    "I want to know what''s been going on in thispany and where this choctees from."


    "I want all of these walls torn down!"


    Then, she turned around and red at her guards.


    "I want this to be done by the book," she spoke in a threatening tone.


    "And if I find anything¡­ ANYTHING¡­ that seems suspicious¡­"


    In the Governor''s mind, the image of the terrifying Specter seemed to smirk.


    "I will not hesitate to collect heads!"

 Chapter 639 – Investigation Complete

    Chapter 639 ¨C Investigation Complete


    The investigation of Happiness Through Taste ;) took ce.


    The Extractors were all put to the side, and they watched the guards entering their building.


    When the guards saw the insides of the building, they looked ufortable.


    What the fuck was this design?


    Was this a Manufacturer or a nursery?


    "Alright, boys!" one of the Experts shouted. "We''re going to take everything apart! Leave no stone unturned! Look into every single Containment Unit! Question every single Specter! Break down locked doors! Tear open the floor! Tear open the walls! The Governor wants everything investigated!"


    The guards shouted their confirmation before starting to look around.


    Doors were pulled off their hinges.


    Some of them were excited since they got to destroy an entire building, basically.


    Others were nervous since they didn''t look forward toing into contact with unknown Specters.


    Floorboards were pulled up.


    Within an hour, over 50 Extractors were searching through the building.


    Paper was scattered across the floor.


    Walls were torn down.


    A couple of guards just sat at one spot with a mountain of paper in front of them.


    It was their job to read through every piece of paper that seemed even the slightest bit important.


    BANG!


    100 kilo of paper were dumped in front of one of the readers by a female guard. "This is from the office of the secretary working for the CZE," she said.


    Paper was scattered across the floor.


    A couple of guards just sat at one spot with a mountain of paper in front of them.


    The reader frowned when she saw the mountain of paper, but when she heard about the owner of the paper, she grew interested.


    She pushed the papers she was reading to the side and started reading the papers from the secretary.


    Meanwhile, someone broke through a wall beside her but didn''t walk through.


    Instead, the person looked at the inside of the wall with interest.


    They were really looking at everything.


    The guards needed almost an entire day to look through the building, but they were not done investigating yet.


    While the building had been searched, huge piles of papers were still in the process of being read.


    Additionally, there was a part that they couldn''t investigate.


    Naturally, the guards found the secret tunnel that had copsed, and they could immediately tell that there used to be a tunnel there.


    Getting rid of the stones wasn''t difficult for Extractors, but they couldn''t find where the tunnel led to.


    The walls of the tunnel and the mountain were made of stone.


    There was nothing that told them where the tunnel went.


    Well, for one of the tunnels, at least.


    The tunnel leading to the central storage wasn''t hard to find.


    Sadly, that didn''t tell them much.


    In the end, there was nothing they could do about the copsed tunnel.


    Whoever was backing the Manufacturer had done a good job hiding their tracks.


    Most of the investigators left the building. The remaining ones were busy reading through mountains of paper.


    However, even though they finally left the building, their job wasn''t done yet.


    Today was the day all of the Extractors had to be interrogated.


    One by one, the Extractors were interrogated by the most advanced interrogators.


    Most of the Extractors seemed to be victims as well.


    They had to live in this awful environment and had to act like little kids.


    As adults, they had not been the biggest fans of that.


    However, there were also a couple who seemed quite suspicious.


    When the interrogators found someone suspicious, they sent them to their superior.


    The superior brought the suspicious people to a special Containment Unit and left them there.


    He didn''t know why he had to bring them there.


    He only knew that it had been the Governor''s orders.


    Interestingly enough, he was only bringing them there.


    He was not bringing them back.


    Whenever the superior brought in a new person, the old person had vanished.


    The superior had no idea where they went.


    That was until three dayster.


    Three dayster, the superior brought in a new person just to open the door and find the old person still there.


    "What are you still doing here?" the superior asked in surprise.


    "Sir, I was told that you would escort me out," the Extractor said carefully. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The superior furrowed his brows.


    He hadn''t needed to do that before.


    "Alright," the superior said. "Get out."


    The person inside the Containment Unit walked out, and the superior shoved the person he hade with into the Containment Unit.


    "Follow me," the superior said after closing the door.


    The two walked towards the exit.


    "Sir, if I may ask," the person said, "what was that in there?"


    "What was what?" the superior asked.


    "The¡­ dream¡­ is that the right word?" the person asked.


    "Exin," the superior ordered.


    "Well, shortly after you left, all the lights turned off¡­"


    When the superior heard that, he grew shocked.


    They turned off the lights?!


    Was that how they tortured them?!


    That was beyond cruel!


    "But instead of feeling pain," the man continued, "I just entered some form of trance. I saw visions of my past happening, and I felt like all the people in the city began to talk to me."


    "I didn''t know what I was doing, but almost automatically, I just answered all of their questions."


    "What was that?" the guy asked.


    The superior frowned.


    ''This sounds dangerous and confidential,'' the superior thought. ''I shouldn''t have asked.''


    "That''s confidential," the superior answered, acting like he knew what was going on.


    "Oh, okay," the guy said.


    The two of them continued in silence, and eventually, they reached the exit.


    "I''m going now," the guy said before turning to walk to the city.


    The superior just nodded.


    The guy began to walk.


    "Why are you the only one?" the superior suddenly asked.


    "Excuse me?" the guy asked, turning around.


    "Why are you the only one I had to escort back?" the superior asked. "I didn''t see any of the other ones."


    The guy seemed a bit nervous, but the superior could tell that this was a kind of nervousnessing from being put on the spot, not from hiding some kind of secret.


    "I don''t know," the guy said. "I don''t even know what happened."


    The superior looked at him for a bit.


    This guy seemed to be a good guy.


    Was that the reason?


    No, things couldn''t be that easy.


    In this world, people didn''t get rewarded for being good.


    In fact, they got punished for being good by other people taking advantage of them.


    There was no way that this person survived just because he was a good person, right?


    After a while, the superior walked back inside.


    A couple of hourster, new orders arrived.


    The guards received a list of names.


    The people on this list would be arrested and contained separately.


    The guards followed the orders and contained all of these people.


    There were over 50 Extractors and over 150 normal but quite wealthy people.


    The families of these people became worried, but they knew that they would see their loved ones again.


    After all, the guards said that these people would only be captured for interrogation purposes.


    All of these people were sent into one big Containment Unit, and they looked at each other nervously.


    Almost all of them knew each other since they had had secret dealings with each other for quite a while.


    While they were ying innocent, they knew why they were there.


    The Governor found out about their shady dealings.


    They reassured each other. The city couldn''t possibly imprison all of them!


    All of them, put together, owned almost 10% of all the businesses inside ck Mine City!


    After a while, a guard opened the door.


    "Dimitri Aerol," the guard said.


    An older man stood up and approached the guard.


    The guard motioned for Dimitri to follow him, and the two of them left the Containment Unit.


    Two minutester, the same guard opened the door again. "Stasia Aferio," he said.


    An older woman stood up and left the room.


    Over the next 30 minutes, one person after the other was called.


    "Jenkins Garvulnir," the guard spoke.


    Jenkins, a younger man, stood up and approached.


    The two of them left the Containment Unit, and Jenkins followed the guard.


    The guard led Jenkins down a flight of stairs and into a thin hallway.


    The guard stopped in front of a seemingly random door, opened it, and stepped to the side.


    "Enter," the guard spoke.


    Jenkins approached and walked through the door.


    BANG!


    The door behind him closed, but Jenkins didn''t even notice that.


    All of his focus was on the pile of bodies in front of him.


    "Jenkins Garvulnir?" a voice asked coldly.


    Jenkins looked to the side.


    The Governor was there, looking at him.


    "Y-yes?" Jenkins asked in shock, not registering what was going on.


    The Governor nodded.


    Then, she pulled out her gun and shot him in the head.


    Jenkins'' body flew back,nding on the edge of the locker room.


    His body was on the side of the pile, but it would soon be beneath it.


    The Governor took a deep breath as she nervously nced into the corner.


    There, she saw a discreet ck shadow of smoke.


    She decided against talking to the shadow and just focused on the pile of corpses in front of her.


    Naturally, she had been the one who made that pile.


    She tried to stay calm for a while.


    Then, the door opened again, and another person walked in.


    The Governor looked at the list of names as the person looked with shock at the pile of corpses.

 Chapter 640 – Go Eat

    Chapter 640 ¨C Go Eat


    The pile of corpses was fed to the Specters.


    The following day, letters were sent to the families of the executed people, telling them about their loved ones'' fates.


    This day, a wail of despair echoed throughout the edges of the city.


    The wealthy citizens of ck Mine City wouldn''t forget this day for decades.


    And yet, this event was only barelyparable to what was happening in the middle of ck Mine City almost every single day.


    The anguish of 150 families losing a member was barelyparable to the anguish of the starving people in the middle of the city.


    But the powerful people of the city didn''t care.


    The pain of the poor people didn''t help with their pain!


    Within the day, the rich people banded together and started to revolt.


    When the other rich people saw what had happened, they realized that the same thing could also happen to them.


    Because of that, they joined the effort and worked together with the families of the victims.


    The rich people banded together as one unit. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    For once in their lives, they were united against amon enemy.


    The Governor!


    The Governor was the one who had executed their loved ones!


    However, before the rich people could properly start their revolt, someone else started to join them.


    Swirling Abyss, the most powerful Manufacturer of the city, and Vertigo Box, the second most powerful Manufacturer of the city.


    Originally, the two of them didn''t intend to join the revolt, but they had also received outrageous messages.


    Some of their members had been part of the crowd that wanted to enter Happiness Through Taste ;) that day.


    Naturally, these members had been arrested.


    The two big Manufacturers had been fine with it since it was only a temporary arrest.


    But today, they had received the message that almost all of their Extractors from the mob had been executed!


    Apparently, they had started brawls in prison!


    Almost 100 Extractors were killed.


    54 Johns, 37 Newbies, and 6 Veterans.


    Every single John and Newbie that had been captured had been executed, while only half of the Veterans returned!


    The surviving Veterans were deeply traumatized and were extremely unstable.


    All of their focus was on trying to hold themselves back from bing too aggressive.


    The Manufacturers had to iste their Veterans after they were let out due to security concerns.


    Additionally, several of their own Veterans also had to be isted, and even their Experts became nervous and easily infuriated.


    Naturally, they knew where all of this came from.


    The chocte.


    Everyone had been eating this chocte without a second thought.


    They knew it made the consumers addicted, but they didn''t really care about it.


    After all, it wouldn''t just vanish, and the people consuming the chocte were Extractors.


    Extractors should be able to handle a bit of withdrawal.


    Yet, the effects were far stronger than expected.


    While only about 10% to 20% of the Johns and Newbies were arrested, the remaining 80% to 90% shared their fate.


    Some of them had started to attack each other and had to be put down.


    Some of them had been contained, but when there was nothing else to attack, they started to attack the walls until their bodies became too injured to survive.


    Extractors who were forcefully restrained just started to scream and writhe so hard that their muscles broke their own bones.


    There had been only six Newbies and two Johns who hadn''t partaken in the chocte, and they were essentially the only survivors.


    Naturally, this enraged the Manufacturers.


    They were angry at the city for legalizing the trade of such a dangerousmodity, and they wanted to use this as a weapon in future negotiations with the city.


    But then, they heard that the city even executed some of their Veterans!


    The Veterans didn''t need to die!


    They just needed to be restrained for a couple of days!


    The city didn''t have the permission to just kill their Veterans!


    The value of a Veteran was many times higher than the value of a John.


    After all, Veterans were much rarer than Johns since only a few people had the guts to undergo Zephosis.


    Even more, the execution of many of the rich people also made it much more difficult for the powerful Manufacturers to do shady dealings.


    All of this and the uing revolt put together made Swirling Abyss and Vertigo Box decide to join.


    This was the best time to put pressure on the government.


    Within less than a day, over 1,000 people gathered in front of the city headquarters.


    Put together, these people owned over 80% of the city''s most valuablepanies.


    On top of that, the CEOs and CZEs of Swirling Abyss and Vertigo Box were part of the group.


    However, it was important to note that there was a certain distance between the twopanies.


    The twopanies knew that Happiness Through Taste ;) had been backed by a powerful backer, but they hadn''t been sure who it was.


    Yet, the prime suspects had always been each other.


    Vertigo Box believed that Swirling Abyss was secretly the creator of the chocte, while Swirling Abyss believed that it was Vertigo Box.


    Both of them were ready to be ambushed by the other side.


    But, for now, it seemed like the other side acted like they were also enraged.


    Swirling Abyss and Vertigo Box could bepared to Kugelblitz and Anatomy from Crimson City.


    Their power was almost even.


    Both of them owned a Demon, and both of them had more than one Hero.


    Vertigo Box had three Initial Heroes, while Swirling Abyss had two Initial Heroes and one Early Hero.


    The only thing that made Swirling Abyss just a bit stronger was the fact that they had an Early Demon, while Vertigo Box only had an Initial Demon.


    Nevertheless, a fight between the two of them could go either way.


    "Tyranny! Tyranny! Tyranny!" the group of rich people shouted in unison in front of the city headquarters.


    The guards watched nervously.


    They really didn''t want to offend any of these people.


    Even more problematic were the four men from Swirling Abyss and Vertigo Box.


    Luckily, they only waited silently.


    Minutes passed while the entire city seemed to stay still.


    None of the businesses were open.


    Eventually, the gate to the city headquarters opened.


    The four men from the two big Manufacturers narrowed their eyes as they saw the Governoring out.


    The mob of angry people paused for a moment before resuming with new fervor.


    "Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!" they shouted.


    However, the Governor just ignored the people.


    Instead, she focused on the four men from the two Manufacturers.


    "Enter," shemanded, turning around and walking inside.


    Some of the mob became silent since they believed that the Governor was willing to negotiate with them, but others realized that she was not negotiating with them but with the powerful Manufacturers.


    The Manufacturers were also extremely rich, but their interests were very different from the interests of the families.


    Even more, the people were here for justice, not for benefits!


    They wanted to avenge the rich people who had been unjustly killed.


    Some of the people grew more aggressive, but the guards just kept shoving them back.


    Yes, their economic and political powers were incredible, but their physical powers were nonexistent.


    They couldin all they wanted, but the doors wouldn''t open for them.


    Meanwhile, the four leaders of the two big Manufacturers walked into a meeting room with the Governor.


    The four of them were ready to negotiate.


    Compared to the people who were still outside, the four people in here were not interested in retribution.


    They didn''t exactly care that some of their Veterans were killed.


    They wanted to use this as an opportunity to pressure the government into granting them more power.


    All of them sat down, and the Governor looked at them for a moment.


    As they looked at the Governor, they noticed that she was a bit different from usual.


    All of them were on a first-name basis, and the Governor was usually quite friendly to them.


    But today, she seemed distant and strong, but she also seemed somehow nervous.


    It was a strange mix and unlike herself.


    "What do you want?" the Governor asked with an annoyed tone.


    Some eyebrows rose in surprise.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    That was not the tone they had expected.


    "Several of our Extractors have been killed," the CEO of Swirling Abyss spoke. "The reasons listed in your letter are not enough, and we demand justice for- "


    "Drop the fancy talk," the Governor said coldly. "I want to know what you want. What are you after?"


    Once more, the present people were surprised.


    Was this still the Governor they knew?


    While the Governor did her best to keep a poker face, she was actually nervous deep inside.


    She could fight one of them, but if two of them banded together, she would already be at risk of dying.


    These two Manufacturers had six Heroes!


    If they wanted to kill her, they could do just that!


    If it were up to her, she would not speak to them like this.


    Yet, the dark cloud inside one of the boxes in the room kept whispering to her.


    It kept telling her what she should say and what she should do.


    The two Manufacturers kept trying to get through with the political game, but the Governor kept shutting down the discussion.


    "You know what?" the Governor said with annoyance after a while. "I don''t know which one of you two made the chocte, and frankly, I also don''t care."


    "I don''t want to deal with this anymore. So, how about you deal with these things?"


    "I will nullify the anti-war use. You two can go at each other''s throats all you want. That''s what you want, right? More power, right?"


    "So, why don''t you go eat each other?"


    "I''ll just say that I don''t want any of the citizens to be involved in your battle. If one side causes too many casualties, I will help the other side."


    "Now, if you will, I have a revolt to deal with."


    "You two go eat each other or whatever."


    And then, the Governor walked out of the room while the other four people looked at her in shock.

 Chapter 641 – Sinking Level

    Chapter 641 ¨C Sinking Level


    "Wait a second!"


    The door opened, and the CZE of Swirling Abyss ran out of the door.


    "Is there something else you want?" the Governor asked with annoyance.


    The middle-aged man with ck hair looked with surprise and shock at the Governor.


    Seriously, what the hell was going on with her?!


    Why was she suddenly like this?!


    Usually, someone like the CZE of Swirling Abyss would already feel insulted and would be more forceful, but his surprise far outweighed his anger.


    He just didn''t know how to interact with the Governor right now.


    "You, you can''t just say something like that and believe that the matter is done!" the CZE shouted.


    The door opened again, and the other three people also walked out.


    "We are here for justice! We are not here-"


    Suddenly, the CZE stopped talking in surprise.


    The Governor just turned around and started to continue walking down the hallway without saying anything.


    What?!


    Why?!


    Why was she suddenly like this?!


    The Governor was extremely nervous deep inside, but she did a tremendous job of keeping her nervousness secret.


    She felt like she was ying with fire.


    This felt like a really, really bad idea!


    Why was the Specter forcing her to disrespect these people so much?!


    The Governor wanted to ease the tension, but the Specter kept whispering to her to stay stalwart and dismissive.


    "Wait!" the CZE shouted.


    "Listen!" The Governor exploded as she explosively turned around with a frustrated voice. "Stop bullshitting!"


    The CZE became silent again as his head leaned back with a shocked expression.


    "You''re representing a Manufacturer," the Governor spoke with annoyance. "You want money. You want advantages. You want special treatment. You want growth."


    "The only things that care about justice are humans, andpanies are not humans."


    "Trying to act like you give a shit about any of the people that died in thest couple of days is the equivalent of insulting my intelligence."


    "All of us are veterans in the industry. All of us have killed people before. All of us broke thew before."


    "Listen, I don''t have the time nor the energy to entertain your little political game. I gave you a chance to be the monopoly of Zephyx production in the city."


    "M O N O P O L Y!" the Governor spoke slowly.


    "Is there something else that you want?" she asked before turning to look at the CEO of Swirling Abyss. "Does Swirling Abyss want even more than that? Is that not enough? Is being the monopoly not enough? Tell me!"


    The CZE became more and more shocked.


    Who was this person?!


    Who the fuck was this?!


    "Wait a second," the CEO of Swirling Abyss said, looking at his CZE.


    The CZE looked with confusion at the CEO.


    Then, he looked at the Governor again.


    And back to the CEO.


    Finally, he shook his head in confusion and walked over to the CEO.


    The CEO took a deep breath and looked at the Governor with a serious expression.


    "Can you, once again, confirm what you have said earlier?" he asked. "You said that we would have the legal opportunity to fight ourpetition without any restrictions from thew. Is that correct?"


    "Not entirely," the Governor said. "You have to keep the civilian damages to a minimum. That naturally includes framing the other side for civilian casualties."


    "We would nev-"


    "Ssshh!" the CEO quickly hushed his CZE before looking back at the Governor. "Can you be a bit more specific?" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Too much needless work," the Governor said. "I am being honest with you right now. I''m not using some kind of fancy politicalnguage that can be interpreted in strange ways that allow me to y around with you. I''m being sincere here."


    "Don''t be an asshole," she said slowly. "That is everything I ask of you. Just do not be an asshole, and we won''t be having any issues."


    A momentter, the CEO smirked.


    However, his smirk was not a victorious or arrogant one.


    It was more like the smirk of someone who was looking forward to a goodpetition or a good fight.


    "Fine by me," the CEO said.


    "But¡­"


    "If you are being honest, I will also be honest."


    The Governor casually nodded.


    The next moment, the CEO narrowed his eyes, and his aura turned extremely dominant and threatening.


    "If you decide to break your neutrality¡­"


    "There are wild Demons around here¡­"


    He didn''t directly say it, but everyone understood him.


    He had said that they would kill the Governor.


    Naturally, this had never happened before in this city, and none of them would have ever believed that this would happen.


    After all, they were all ying this fancy political game, and doing something like that was taboo.


    The Governor had broken the rules of the political game with her frank statements earlier, and the CEO of Swirling Abyss had done the same thing.


    In a way, breaking the rules was like descending a level or lowering oneself, and the CEO had followed her to a lower level.


    Now, he just wanted to ask for confirmation.


    And the Governor answered.


    "Naturally," she spoke casually with a nod.


    The CEO''s eyes shone a bit before he nced at the two people from Vertigo Box.


    The two people from Vertigo Box looked back.


    The only one who seemed a bit confused at this point was the CZE from Swirling Abyss.


    Everyone else seemed to have epted the new political state.


    "Finally," the CZE from Vertigo Box said. "I''ve been rearing to prove myself for a while."


    The next moment, the CEO from Vertigo Box walked forward and offered his hand to the CEO from Swirling Abyss with a smile.


    "Let''s have a good, clean fight," he said.


    The CEO from Swirling Abyss shook his hand and smiled back.


    "Don''t die too quickly," he said casually, like he wasmenting on the weather.


    The two looked at each other for almost five seconds as they kept shaking their hands.


    It was so long that it already started being awkward.


    "Well then," the CEO from Swirling Abyss said with charisma as he pulled his hand back and looked at the Governor. "We will be going now. We have¡­ things to prepare."


    The Governor just nodded.


    The CEO from Swirling Abyss walked by his CZE and gestured for him to follow.


    The CZE scratched the back of his head a bit, shrugged, and followed after his CEO.


    "Governor," the CEO from Vertigo Box said.


    The Governor looked at the CEO.


    "That was an¡­ interesting conversation," the CEO spoke, "but not unpleasant. I''m looking forward to working with you more closely in the future."


    The Governor nodded, and the two people from Vertigo Box also left the building.


    After they left, the Governor''s body swayed a bit, and she started to breathe rapidly as her cold gaze turned into a shocked one.


    It worked!


    It worked?


    How did that work?!


    Any of these twopanies could kill her, but simply acting like a dismissive asshole, she managed to not only not anger them but even make them happy?


    They had been here to demandpensation!


    They had been furious at her!


    But now, they left happily without even asking her to sacrifice something!


    This¡­ how was this possible?!


    "Surprised?" a voice spoke in her mind.


    Naturally, that voice came from Nick.


    Over the past couple of months, while Nick had been surveilling the city, he had also practiced a bit more with creating maniption lines.


    Since it was much easier for Specters to create maniption lines in their Specter Cores, Nick also didn''t need a lot of practice to find a way to send his voice to someone.


    Nick had found many ways to send his voice to someone, and the way he hade up with was quite unique.


    The words Nick wanted to speak would be interpreted into Zephyx, which was then sent to a person''s cochlea. The cochlea then directly interpreted the Zephyx into nerve signals that mimicked a human voice.


    Compared to normal speech, the speed was almost instantaneous, and the signal didn''t stretch to other people, making it almost impossible to overhear.


    One would think that this technique could be used as a mental attack on someone, but sadly, that wasn''t the case.


    Anything dangerous would get blocked by the Barrier.


    The only reason why Nick could even make this technique usable on strong people was because he had learned quite a bit about Zephology by now, and he knew enough to ess the transmission channels of the Barriers.


    These transmission channels were freely essible, but one needed to learn how to ess them first.


    Otherwise, every voice transmission would be blocked by the Barriers.


    The Governor took a deep breath and nodded.


    Yes, she was surprised.


    "They are used to fancy tes, shiny forks, and beautiful knives when eating their food," Nick transmitted. "However, they only use them because everyone else is using them."


    "But if you use the right words and the right attitude, you can ask them to use their hands."


    "Most people just want to eat their food and be done with it, and as long as they are not insecure, they will be fine with using their hands to eat if it makes things faster."


    "They want more power."


    "All of the power is held by the other side."


    "And you let them attack that side."


    "It doesn''t matter how you present it. The fact is that you gave them exactly what they wanted."


    "Additionally, since you were so vague with the rules, they will err on the side of caution in the battle, causing fewer issues for the normal people."


    "Now, we only need to deal with the riot outside the gate."


    "And that will be even easier."


    The Governor looked at the exit of the building.


    Then, she took a deep breath and walked out.

 Chapter 642 – Justice

    Chapter 642 ¨C Justice


    The Governor walked out of the building and looked at the shouting people.


    "Murderer!"


    "Tyrant!"


    "Injustice!"


    "We want justice!"


    "We want justice!"


    "We want justice!"


    The Governor looked at all of them with an even expression.


    However, deep inside, she was extremely nervous.


    This was essentially the city''s entire economy standing in front of her.


    If these people decided to rebel by refusing to pay taxes, there would be nothing she could do.


    The economy of the city would copse, and the government would not have enough credits to purchase Zephyx from the Manufacturers to pay its tribute to Aegis.


    That would make Aegise to the city and investigate, which would uncover all of her dirty dealings.


    Finally, she would get executed.


    The pressure on her was immense.


    She had to handle this with extreme care.


    "We are going to give them justice," Nick whispered into her ear.


    The Governor covertly gulped.


    The way the Specter''s voice sounded didn''t seem very reassuring.


    And sure enough, when she heard what Nick was telling her to do, she became even more nervous.


    However, she had no other choice but to follow Nick''smand.


    He had her in his grasp.


    "Silence!" the Governor shouted, using her Zephyx to augment her voice so that it was loud enough to shock the crowd into silence.


    "I will give you justice," the Governor said, quieter this time.


    "A Newbie Extractor by the name of Minalgi Herman had a promising career in front of him," the Governor said. "Sadly, Minalgi identally overheard a secret conversation between a spokesperson of Rock Solid and an Extractor from Lesbando."


    "He was seen at the scene and was confronted and threatened. He was intimidated into staying quiet, but Dimitri Aerol, the CEO of Rock Solid, wanted to make sure that nothing threatened Rock Solid''s profits. Because of that, Mr. Aerol paid eight million credits to have Minalgi assassinated."


    "Just like he had assassinated Marvin Gnarl, Steven Melvin, and Monita Koblenz. These are just the most high-profile cases of Mr. Aerol''s victims."


    The people listened with shock.


    Naturally, the Governor didn''t know any of the people she was talking about. She was just regurgitating what Nick told her.


    "Dimitri Aerol was executed for his heinous crimes, and justice for his victims has been served."


    "If anyone has any issues regarding this execution, you are allowed to request a review of the evidence. The city assures you that you will be able to review the evidence within a workday after applying for the review."


    The Governor made a short pause.


    "Stasia Afero was not the biggest fan of her rivalingpanies. Because of that, she introduced narcotics into a business dinner and¡­"


    The Governor told a couple of stories of different people who got executed over the next three minutes.


    Of course, the crowd wouldn''t remain silent forever, and they started to be rowdy again after a while, deliberately drowning out the Governor.


    "Quiet!" the Governor shouted again, forcing the people in the crowd to hold their eyes.


    "We are going to hold an open hearing now!"


    The next moment, a piece of paper appeared in the Governor''s hand.


    BANG!


    She kicked the stony floor, and a big stone, about one meter high, came out of the ground.


    She pushed the stone down the flight of stairs leading to the city headquarters, and the stone was partly buried into the ground below the stairs.


    It looked like a makeshift podium or table. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The next moment, she threw the piece of paper onto the stone.


    "Write down your identity on the paper, and you can ask me anything about any of the executions performed within thest week in front of the entire city. I will answer all of your questions," the Governor said.


    No one stepped forward.


    Stepping forward represented stepping out of the group.


    It was like a fish swimming out of its swarm.


    The fish would feel vulnerable and afraid in that situation, and it wouldn''t be any different for the people.


    Additionally, even though all the guards knew all the identities of the people present, writing one''s identity down on a piece of paper somehow still felt extremely dangerous and risky.


    However, there were also some reasons that reassured some people.


    After all, the Governor couldn''t do anything heinous in front of the entire city.


    Some seconds after the Governor put the piece of paper down, one of the people stepped forward.


    He silently wrote down his identity on the piece of paper and looked defiantly at the Governor.


    "My niece was unjustly murdered by you one day ago," he proimed without fear. "You have executed her without due process and without giving her a chance to defend herself."


    "What''s the name of your niece?" the Governor asked evenly.


    "Ga Terkis," he answered.


    "Ga Terkis," the Governor repeated.


    Ding!


    At that moment, a piece of paper materialized in her hands.


    Naturally, this wasn''t her doing.


    Nick was conjuring these pieces of paper in her hand.


    "Ga Terkis," the Governor repeated again. "Age: 47. upation: Assistance to the CEO of Sternhull Industries. Secondary upation: Overseer of Snake Star Distribution."


    At that moment, several pairs of eyes widened, and the people looked at the guy in front.


    The guy''s eyes also widened. "What? That''s a lie!" he shouted with rage. "Ga would never get involved with something like that!"


    Surprisingly, the man seemed rather convincing.


    He sounded like he was genuinely enraged and shocked.


    The Governor didn''t answer the guy immediately and continued reading from the document.


    She named all the crimes Ga was involved in.


    This entire thing took around three minutes.


    And when she was done reading from the piece of paper, she turned to one of the guards.


    "Retrieve file GT-1055 from the evidence storage. It shouldprise of many folders of evidence and a sizable box," shemanded.


    The guard saluted and ran into the building.


    Some secondster, he ran out again, carrying a big folder and a big box.


    He put everything down in front of the Governor, and the Governor unceremoniously kicked the box over.


    The lid of the box opened, and several blue crystals that looked like stars rolled out of the box.


    When the people saw these crystals, they had very mixed reactions.


    Some of them were terrified and took a couple of steps back, while others had intense desire in their eyes.


    Snake Stars were illegal products created by a Specter.


    They were insanely addicting, but they eroded brains as well.


    When the guy saw the mountain of evidence, his face turned white in horror.


    "This can''t be! I refuse to believe this!" he shouted.


    "Step to the side and read through the evidence. I can''t hold up the public hearing to let you read. You may step forward again within the next couple of hours," the Governor said.


    The man protested some more, but in the end, he was pushed to the side by one of the guards.


    After waiting for a bit, the man started to read through the files.


    His mental state seemed to be worse and worse the more he read.


    It was clear that he truly hadn''t known about what his niece had done.


    Not every rich person was a monster.


    It seemed like Ga had yed him for her entire life.


    While she had been working as his assistant, she had actually secretly used thepany''s logistics and identity to mask her drug business.


    By the time the man was reading the file, another person had already stepped forward to address the Governor.


    Once more, a sheet of paper appeared in the Governor''s hands, and she read through it publicly.


    In truth, the sheet of paper only had general information and could be skipped.


    However, the purpose of the piece of paper was just to stall for time.


    Nick had read through a ton of memories over thest couple of days, and he knew exactly what had happened.


    He essentially had been present during all of the illegal meetings and knew exactly where sensitive evidence was hidden.


    So, while the Governor took a couple of minutes to read through the general details on the piece of paper, Nick left and went to gather evidence on the victims.


    With Nick''s speed and power, it wasn''t difficult to do all of that in three minutes.


    After all, he knew where everything was located. He just needed to get there and grab it.


    It wasn''t different from just going into a house to grab a random object and leaving again.


    Because of Nick, the Governor had a mountain of evidence every time someone wanted to question her.


    After about 45 minutes of this, the crowd started to lose their momentum.


    This was bing very problematic.


    That was until someone specific stepped forward.


    When Nick was gathering the evidence for this case, he realized something.


    All the evidence had been destroyed.


    There was no evidence.


    But that wasn''t an issue.


    The Governor did get a mountain of evidence, but this evidence didn''t pertain to the person who had been executed.


    No, it pertained to the person asking for the evidence.


    When the person saw the mountain of evidence incriminating him, his face became terrified.


    Then, he heard the sound of a gun being prepared, and he looked with fear at the Governor.


    "I told you, justice will be served today," she spoke coldly.


    BANG!

 Chapter 643 – Useless Crowd

    Chapter 643 ¨C Useless Crowd


    Almost immediately, several of the people in the audience started screaming.


    "Quiet!" the Governor shouted again, terrifying the crowd even more.


    "I told you that I will serve justice!" she shouted with her powerful voice. "The evidence was there! The evidence was overwhelming! You all saw the evidence with your own eyes!"


    Then, she aggressively pointed at the several people at the side, who were still reading through their collective mountains of evidence.


    "They have not yetined, even though they have been looking at the evidence for over 30 minutes now!"


    "If the evidence were fake, they would have already found an inconsistency."


    "But they didn''t."


    "That is because the evidence is genuine, and the punishments have been just!"


    Then, the Governor paused for a couple of seconds, and her voice became quieter but retained its firmness.


    "You are allowed to inquire about the punishment, and you may also view the evidence. Everything is above board and-"


    BANG!


    The Governor shot her gun at someone at the side, and a hand exploded off someone''s arm.


    The person looked with shock at their flying hand.


    St!


    The handnded on the ground and opened.


    There was a crumpled piece of paper inside.


    The next moment, a small gust of wind appeared, which uncrumpled the piece of paper and pushed it back onto the piles of paper.


    Then, the Governor spun her gun once.


    BANG!


    And turned the guy''s hand into bloody mist.


    "Try destroying evidence again, and your head will be next," the Governor spoke coldly.


    Some secondster, the guy started to scream in pain.


    WHOOM!


    A gust of wind appeared, and the guy was pushed into the city.


    The wind wasn''t strong enough to injure him heavily, but hisnding was not nice.


    "Next!" the Governor shouted.


    By now, the crowd had lost a lot of its power, and people stepped forward less frequently.


    Of course, some people still tried to instigate a public uproar, but as soon as anybody tried that, the Governor made one of the guards pull the person out before forcing them to publicly speak in front of everyone about their problems.


    This method started to pay off because two hours after the start of the public hearing, almost nobody dared to step out of line.


    As long as even a single person stepped out of line, they would be singled out and put in front of everyone.


    Then, they would be forced to publicly air their grievances, and almost always, they didn''t have any way to fight against the mountain of evidence presented to them.


    If 100 people were running at someone, even if that person had a gun, they would get overwhelmed.


    However, if the 100 stood still and still needed to start running, things would be different.


    The strength a group gave someone was that the members were only individuals.


    Sure, some of them would die, but the chance that it was the specific member was low.


    But if the 100 people stood still, someone needed to start running first.


    For that person, the group didn''t matter anymore.


    At the moment when they started running, they would be alone.


    Instead of having a 5% change of being killed, they had a 100% chance of being killed at that moment.


    The group needed to sacrifice a couple of people to get their momentum.


    However, due to the nature of the situation, these sacrifices needed to be voluntary.


    Someone needed to jump into the hole to create a bridge with their corpse.


    Naturally, nobody would do that for some other rich people they barely knew.


    Within a couple of hours, there was silence.


    Nobody dared to stand out.


    Nobody dared to start a revolt.


    They were in a powerful group, but they couldn''t use the group as a weapon.


    Such a group needed unity and trust.


    Soldiers charged into the frontline because they were fighting for something greater than their lives.


    Additionally, if they didn''t follow orders, they would be deserters and would be executed anyway.


    On top of that, even if someone was willing to be the sacrificialmb, they would also need a couple other sacrifices, and they most likely wouldn''t believe that others would follow them.


    This made their sacrifice meaningless since it wouldn''t achieve anything anyway, in which case, they would prefer to stay alive.


    If they sacrificed themselves, it shouldn''t be for nothing.


    "Nobody else?" the Governor asked.


    Nobody stepped forward.


    They all nced at each other in annoyance.


    They wished that somebody would step forward.


    They were angry that nobody sacrificed themselves for the good of the group.


    Oh, how selfish all the other people were!


    Naturally, asking theining people to be the sacrifice themselves wasn''t the same.


    After all, they had a family.


    Or their business was really doing well.


    Or they had this amazing thing that would help others.


    Or they were nning on leaving the city soon anyway.


    No, they had a good reason not to sacrifice themselves, but there were plenty of others who didn''t have such good reasons!


    They should sacrifice themselves for the good of the group!


    Oh, how selfish they were!


    "Then, the public hearing is over," the Governor announced. "Please disperse and return to your homes. Anyone that remains standing in front of the headquarters without an explicit reason will be put into custody for a month."


    The people were angry.


    They were frustrated.


    But then, one person left.


    That person garnered the hateful nces of all the other members.


    But then, another person left.


    Then, two more.


    And finally, the people started to leave as a unit.


    As the Governor saw everyone leaving, she finally calmed down.


    This had been a crazy day.


    It was difficult for her to believe that the revolt had been stopped.


    Even more, nothing horrible had happened!


    "This is power," Nick whispered in her mind.


    "Humans desire happiness for themselves and their loved ones. You have the power to take their happiness away. Humans are willing to swallow a lot of shit, frustration, and anger to keep their happiness alive."


    "As long as you keep threatening their happiness, they will do whatever you tell them to do."


    "However," Nick said in a louder voice, "they must have happiness first! If they do not have happiness, you can''t take their happiness away, and they will have nothing to lose."


    "They must have food, money, friends, belongings, and a family. The less they have of that, the harder they are to control."


    "Threatening a homeless person with taking their home away won''t have any effect."


    The Governor listened to Nick.


    She had never viewed ruling a city in this manner.


    As long as she could keep the powerful people happy, she could do whatever she wanted.


    That was how she had ruled the city up until now.


    At first nce, Nick''s words and actions seemed contradictory.


    He spoke about giving the people happiness, but at the same time, he ordered the Governor to kill and threaten them.


    And yet, it somehow made sense and worked.


    The Governor took a deep, covert breath and walked back into the city headquarters.


    It seemed like the entire incident was over.


    "Find an isted ce and tell your people that you won''t be reachable for a couple of hours," Nick whispered to her.


    The Governor felt nervous.


    Most of the time, she could tell where Nick was, but sometimes, like right now, she didn''t know where he was.


    She still heard his voice inside her mind, but she didn''t know where he was.


    The fact that she could hear him but not see him made her nervous.


    She felt powerless.


    Nevertheless, she did exactly what Nick told her to do.


    A couple of minutester, she entered her office.


    It wasn''t very big, but it also wasn''t small.


    Nick appeared in the corner of the room and looked at her. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The next moment, she noticed that there were several stones beside Nick.


    She had never seen such a stone circle before.


    Without saying anything, Nick turned to the stone circle and started to use a lot of Zephyx.


    The Governor saw the biggest of the stones transforming into a muscr person.


    The muscr person looked at Nick before ring at her.


    At that moment, she could tell who this was.


    Despite the fact that she had essentially worked for Gluttony before, she had actually never seen Gluttony or a Major Ry.


    This was the first time she actually saw one of the Corruptors, even if it was only via Major Ry.


    "You will be my servant," Wrath spoke with unending rage.


    The Governor took a deep breath as she started to sweat out of fear.


    This was one of the Corruptors!


    A Peak Fallen!


    "Y-yes, Lord Wrath," she spoke carefully as she lowered herself to one knee.


    She didn''t know how to talk to a Corruptor.


    "My Assassin will tell you how to run the city," Wrath spoke in a threatening tone. "When the city is ripe, I will send one of my Demons to harvest the conflict."


    "As a reward, you may absorb part of the Zephyx they produce."


    "T-thank you, my Lord!" the Governor spoke fearfully.


    Wrath red at the Governor in silence.


    "Do not disappoint me, or it will be thest thing you will do!"


    Then, the Major Ry deactivated.

 Chapter 644 – Food Companies

    Chapter 644 ¨C Food Companies


    The city began to change.


    A couple of days after the public hearing, Happiness Through Taste ;) was dissolved.


    All the Extractors who were not involved in illegal activities were integrated into the city''s forces.


    As for the Specters, they were also all confiscated by the city.


    When the Manufacturers heard that, they became shocked and outraged.


    They were the ones that took care of the Specters!


    As it stood, the city barely owned any Specters.


    Over 90% of the Specters were in the hands of private Manufacturers.


    This was even worse than Crimson City had been before Nick took over.


    Even more, the city only had one Hero, the Governor, and two Specialists.


    The central power of the city was extremely weak.


    But with the addition of the new Specters and Extractors, the city had enough power to rival the third strongest Manufacturer.


    The third strongest Manufacturer had around three Specialists and around 15 Experts.


    The city now had two Specialists, one Hero, and about ten Experts.


    Sadly, this still couldn''tpare to Vertigo Box or Swirling Abyss, both of which had over ten Specialists.


    As soon as the city proimed that it would confiscate all the Specters, the Manufacturers grew angry and protested.


    However, the most important Manufacturers were missing from this protest.


    Vertigo Box and Swirling Abyss.


    The two of them were not interested in fighting for these couple of Specters.


    No, they had much bigger targets.


    Each other.


    As long as they could absorb each other, they would be the rulers and anything within the city would belong to them anyway.


    Sadly, without these two Manufacturers, the other Manufacturers essentially hit a wall while negotiating with the Governor.


    Some heated exchanges happened, but nothing came of them.


    Nick had gone through exchanges like this plenty enough in Crimson City, and he could easily navigate through them.


    In the end, the Manufacturers gave up.


    Theyined, cried, and resisted, but eventually, they gave up and epted their new reality.


    Within a month, the entire situation with the chocte had been dealt with.


    The people who had eaten the chocte either died or managed to recover from the addicting effects.


    The city kept buying food from the caravans, but since nothing of it was used to create chocte anymore, the city now had a surplus of food to sell.


    Yet, the prices of food didn''t drop.


    People still starved.


    But how?


    Where was all the surplus food?


    It was dposing.


    The foodpanies found out that they would earn more money via artificial scarcity.


    For every piece of food they sold, they left five other pieces to rot.


    But Nick noticed that very quickly and told the Governor what to do.


    Within a week, a neww was passed.


    "Due to ack of strong and healthy people, production in the city has been crippled. In order to stimte the economy, a maximum price on food is put in ce. This will increase the overall health of the city, create more able-bodied people, and will increase production while loweringbor costs."


    The rich people saw that and found that to be a good change.


    They had to employ three starving people to do the work of one able-bodied person right now.


    If they increased the wage of an able-bodied person by 50%, they would have a happy worker while having half of the costs.


    Of course, the owners of the foodpanies were enraged beyond belief, but they couldn''t do anything.


    This time, the powerful people were not united.


    The foodpanies were on their own.


    They couldn''t get the Governor to change thew.


    However, this didn''t mean that they were powerless.


    So, they did the very thing that the Governor had been so afraid of during thest riots.


    They protested.


    The foodpanies refused to buy food from the caravans and refused to do business.


    They closed their doors.


    The citizens became terrified.


    They were losing the little bit of food they had ess to!


    Starvation became even more of an issue.


    However, the city didn''t seem to do anything for the first couple of days.


    After five days, the city opened its storages of emergency food and handed food to the people closest to starvation, but these storages weren''t bottomless.


    An entire month passed.


    Caravans arrived every couple of days but left without selling any of their food.


    The storages were running low.


    The foodpanies felt victorious.


    And then, after one month, something changed.


    A caravan arrived, and all of its food was purchased.


    By the city!


    The foodpanies weren''t surprised.


    They had expected something like this to happen.


    It was more surprising that it had taken the city so long to do that.


    The foodpanies had no problem with that since this only made the city''s issue worse.


    The only thing the city had bought in the past decades was Zephyx for Aegis.


    They had never sold anything before.


    The people working for the city were Extractors and administrators.


    None of these were businessmen.


    By trying to take care of an entire sector of business, they would be losing money instead of making it.


    It wasn''t easy to lead a bigpany.


    Now, the true terror of the city awaited the government.


    The free market.


    The foodpaniesughed when the city started to sell food for a tenth of the price.


    ording to their calctions, the city was losing money.


    They were spending 20% more on buying the food than they were making.


    This was unsustainable.


    The foodpanies kept watching as the city kept ruining itself financially.


    For an additional month, they just kept watching the city spending money wantonly.


    Then, they decided to ramp up the pressure.


    The foodpanies would buy a big chunk of the food from the next caravan.


    They were going to show the government what it meant to mess with the leaders of an entire sector of business!


    The next caravan arrived, and the foodpanies said that they wanted 70% of the food.


    And were promptly shut down.


    "Sorry, but we made an exclusive contract with the city. When we wanted to sell to you thest time, you left us hanging, and we lost three million credits since the food we bought dposed and became unusable. The city has guaranteed a minimum number of bought goods for the next five years."


    This was the answer of the caravan.


    The foodpanies were shocked and tried to change the agreement.


    They were even willing to buy the goods for 20% more than before.


    "Apologies, but the security of the contract is more valuable in the long term."


    They failed.


    The foodpanies failed to procure any food.


    Well, they might have failed this time, but they wouldn''t fail the next time.


    Except, they did.


    And the next time.


    Every caravan visited at least once a month, which meant that the caravans were arriving for the third time since the war started.


    Nick had deliberately not bought from the caravans the first time. Like this, the caravans would lose a couple million credits.


    Then, during the second month, while the caravans still had the painful loss of revenues in mind, Nick was willing to buy from them.


    Of course, at the same time, he also changed the deal a bit.


    The city would pay a slight bit less but guaranteed that the caravan would always earn at least a couple million credits every time they came.


    The city would buy the food, even if they didn''t need it.


    Within a week, the foodpanies realized that there was no way to procure food anymore.


    But before they coulde up with an idea to deal with that, the next tragedy struck them.


    Their bat caves were dying!


    The bats in the bat caves ate from the insects inside the human corpses.


    However, the number of deaths reduced drastically, and about half of the bats were starving due to ack of insects!


    Then, they realized something even worse.


    The city was actually making money by selling food!


    They were not running at a deficit!


    But how?!


    Even they would be running at a deficit like this!


    Well, the reason was actually quite simple.


    There were no dividends being paid out.


    There were no executives that ate a huge chunk of the profit.


    Without dividends, the food business''s revenue was a bit higher than its cost, and the little profit it made was stored for bad times.


    This business had not been built to make money and expand.


    No, it was built to keep running indefinitely.


    However, that didn''t mean that nobody made any profit here.


    Nick knew a lot about economics, and he knew that he had to make money move hands quicker.


    The food prices were very low, and everyone could afford the food.


    Yet, there was one thing the city didn''t do.


    Prepare the food.


    Everything they gave out was raw and unprepared. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, the city gave out some basic cookbooks free of charge.


    This was Nick''s idea.


    And sure enough, it didn''t take long for Nick to see results.


    Privatized food distributors.


    Food halls.


    Restaurants.


    Chefs.


    Cooks.


    By elevating the food, people could sell cheap and unprofitable food for insane prices!


    For the first time in their lives, the city''s people came into contact with true vor.


    And they became hooked!

 Chapter 645 – Economic Rise

    Chapter 645 ¨C Economic Rise


    The age of cooking had arrived!


    It started with somebody putting a bit of salt on a baked potato.


    When the neighbors of the person tasted the potato, they realized that this potato was much better than theirs!


    They wanted to know the secret, but the person wouldn''t tell them.


    However, the person was willing to exchange two tasty potatoes for three boring potatoes.


    Alternatively, they were also willing to ept one credit for five tasty potatoes.


    Cooking had been a dead art in ck Mine City.


    Some of the richer peoples had finer cuisine, but that cuisine was just food bought from the caravans, which had been smoked and dried to preserve it for longer.


    Cooks barely existed, and the couple of cooks that existed had almost no way toe up with better cooking methods.


    But now, since everyone had ess to food, many more people found ways to innovate.


    The city had been starved of vor for decades.


    Just a little improvement in vor felt like a fundamental breakthrough.


    Cooks stole and bought recipes from each other beforebining them with their own and selling their creations.


    Some people decided to make a lot of money by selling simple food on arge scale.


    These people made mess halls.


    Some people decided to craft fine dishes that were sold at a smaller scale.


    These people created restaurants.


    Some people cooked for only a small group of elite individuals.


    Private chefs.


    The restaurants and mess halls needed people to keep track of the sales.


    ountants.


    Some people decided to streamline the process of selling to restaurants and mess halls, buying the best ingredients and selling them in packages, making it far more efficient for them to buy what they needed.


    Wholesalers.


    But now, the food needed to travel further distances since it had more stops, which made things more confusing and harder to manage. Naturally, someone also took that job.


    Logistics.


    As the food industry became more advanced, the cooks needed better and better equipment.


    The tool-manufacturing businesses that already existed in the city branched out and created a whole new line of tools.


    Cookware.


    Naturally, that needed more people to create, which was why they hired many more people.


    Very quickly, some of the most popr restaurants and mess halls got attacked by spies and thieves, which were after their secret recipes.


    Luckily, there were people willing to put their lives on the line for good payment.


    Security guards.


    At some point, the restaurants and mess halls started to mess with each other by putting pressure on officials.


    That was when a new group of people, adept at arguing and investigating, came into y.


    Lawyers.


    But now, with so many people busy doing their job, it was difficult to raise a child.


    Fortunately, there were people willing to deal with that.


    Nannies and teachers.


    Some restaurants realized that they could ask for more money if they seemed richer and more prosperous.


    The demand for designers and architects shot through the roof.


    But now, the city needed even more people to build the houses and furniture.


    Builders and carpenters.


    This was how society worked.


    As long as the money increased and the people kept being willing to spend their money, more and more space for jobs appeared.


    Over several months, Nick saw the city transform drastically.


    From a mass of starving people, many groups of different people appeared.


    Food was no longer an issue.


    This allowed people to focus on other things.


    Colors were appearing in the city, and the people began to be louder and happier.


    However, almost nothing waspletely positive or negative.


    Good things came with bad things, and bad things came with good things.


    Due to extreme starvation for decades, most people couldn''t resist the urge to keep eating without end.


    Many people couldn''t handle the sudden ess to almost unlimited food. They ate too much, which put pressure on their bodies and made their hearts stop.


    The people that survived continued eating, and rtively quickly, they became quite fat.


    Within a year, it had be normal to be overweight.


    Being overweight now counted as having normal weight.


    This was not healthy.


    However, being quite overweight was still healthier than being severely underweight.


    Being overweight caused troubles in the future, but being severely underweight caused troubles in the present and the future.


    At least the people weren''t working themselves to death.


    Since basically everyone was fat now, everyone felt more lethargic and less motivated to move.


    This kind of led to a more rxed attitude at the workce.


    It was normal to sit down and pant in exhaustion for five minutes every hour. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Almost everyone was doing it.


    After an entire year, the original foodpanies had shrunk drastically.


    Since they couldn''t get ess to the caravans anymore, they were forced to buy from the city.


    However, who would possibly buy food from them when they could get it for cheaper and at the same quality from the city directly?


    A few foodpanies ran out of business, but a couple of them managed to switch from selling raw food to bing restaurants and mess halls.


    While the center of the city underwent a drastic change, the edge of the city also changed.


    Some businessmen decided to invest in local food.


    They dug huge caves into the mountain and experimented with growing food that didn''t need a lot of light.


    Since the city was inside a mountain, growing food wasn''t easy since it took up a lot of space.


    Back then, it hadn''t been worth it to invest in something like that.


    But now, being able to create food locally had insane potential.


    One had to remember that almost all the food came from caravans, and since the caravans were traveling towards many cities, they only delivered foods that stayed edible for a long time.


    If someone were able to grow food locally, they would have ess to far better ingredients.


    Of course, turning something like that into reality would take a while, but it wasn''t impossible.


    They just needed a way to convert food gotten from a caravan into local food.


    They just needed some animals that ate food from the caravan.


    All in all, the city''s economy was exploding, and the city had far more ess to credits to purchase Zephyx.


    At the same time, the price of Zephyx was falling.


    At first nce, this seemed strange.


    If the economy was better, people were ready to pay more money for things, which should increase the price for Zephyx, right?


    So, why was it falling?


    The reason was that the Zephyx engineers produced far fewer materials made of Zephyx.


    After all, the number of Veterans and Experts had dropped by over ten percent.


    While the city was experiencing a sharp rise, Vertigo Box and Swirling Abyss were at each other''s throats.


    They were secretly in a bitter war, which was mostly fought outside the city.


    Whenever they did something inside the city, some powerful guards would arrive and take both sides into custody before they could determine a winner.


    It was almost like the guards knew exactly where the battles would take ce beforehand.


    After the fifth time, both Manufacturers were sure that this was not a mere coincidence.


    Somehow, the Governor knew exactly where the fights took ce.


    In the end, they decided to fight outside the city.


    Many Extractors died, and since it wasn''t illegal for the two Manufacturers to kill someone from the other big Manufacturer, they didn''t need to keep their loot secret.


    After killing another Extractor, the victor could openly wear and use the equipment of the dead Extractor.


    Something like that had been impossible in Crimson City since it was illegal to kill Extractors.


    With fewer Extractors, the need for equipment was not as high anymore.


    This meant that the Zephyx engineers didn''t purchase as much Zephyx, which meant that the city could get more Zephyx for less money.


    It had been 24 months since Nick first arrived in ck Mine City.


    Right now, the city was undergoing a huge glow-up while the Manufacturers were constantly fighting each other.


    Normal citizens were finallying into contact with the concept of happiness.


    They had a lot more to lose now.


    "The seed has germinated," Nick said. "It is ready to be harvested."


    "Finally!" Wrath spoke with gritted teeth as it looked with hatred at the city.


    "I will send my servant to the city. You will get her into the city and utilize her power to create more conflict! I want eternal war in this city!" Wrath demanded.


    "Yes, my Lord," the Governor said.


    Nick just nodded while looking at the city.


    "Expect my servant by tomorrow."


    Then, the Greater Ry deactivated.


    The Governor took a deep breath while Nick looked at the city.


    Nick remembered what the city looked like when he had arrived for the first time.


    Everything had been filled with immeasurable suffering.


    Now, people were leading normal lives, although with more body weight.


    ''This is already much better than when I arrived,'' Nick thought. ''I saved the lives of thousands of people. I am another step closer to redeeming myself.''


    Nick nced at the Governor.


    ''Although, I have to increase their suffering a little bit again to secure my opportunity to help even more people.''


    ''Wrath needs to be somewhat satisfied so that he sends me to the next city. Otherwise, he will just kill me.''


    ''I just need to integrate Wrath''s servant into the city''s ecosystem.''


    ''It won''t be easy, but I have seen how it worked in Mark Wild City. It''s still much better than the previous state of constant starvation.''


    Nick looked at the city''s exit.


    ''This is a good opportunity to send a message to Aegis about my current status.''

 Chapter 646 – Food for the Lord

    Chapter 646 ¨C Food for the Lord


    "Wait what?" a guy wearing the uniform of Vertigo Box said as he looked at another guy in the office.


    "How am I so hard to understand?!" the other guy shouted in rage. "I said that we should have an all-out battle with Swirling Abyss right now! Let''s just ignore all of this stupid scheming!"


    The first guy and a third guy looked with absolute shock at the second guy.


    "Are you mental, Alvin?!" the first guy shouted. "We can''t just fight them! What is wrong with you?"


    Alvin was taken aback, and the other two could see that thement had deeply hurt him, which confused them even more.


    "I''m not mental, Martin," Alvin said. "You don''t have to say something like that. You could''ve also just said that you disagreed with my idea. You''re the CEO. You get to decide what we do anyway. No reason to be so aggressive."


    Martin and the third guy, Sten, looked at each other.


    "Are you okay?" Sten asked. "You''ve been acting strangely in thest couple of days. Did something happen during that strange meeting?"


    Alvin furrowed his brows. "I don''t see how I''m acting strangely, and no, we just talked normally. We tried to get onto the same page on some conflict, but naturally, we failed to do so."


    The other two looked at Alvin with concerned expressions.


    These three were the leaders of Vertigo Box.


    All three of them were Initial Heroes.


    Martin was the CEO.


    Sten was the CZE.


    And Alvin was the CFO. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Are you sure?" Sten asked.


    "Of course, I''m sure!" Alvin shouted back with annoyance.


    "Can you stop shouting for once, Alvin?" Martin asked.


    "What? This is my fault now?" Alvin asked, feeling insulted. "You are the ones that keep criticizing me without end. Am I not allowed to defend myself now?"


    "We''re not attacking you!" Sten said with annoyance. "We are just talking normally."


    "Just like me!" Alvin shouted. "I''m also just talking normally!"


    "Stop!" Martin shouted before taking a deep breath.


    "Alvin," Martin said slowly, eliciting an ufortable shake from Alvin. "I think you are a bit stressed about the conflict. I believe it would be in all of our interest if you took a couple of days off. We''re going to deal with everything."


    Alvin seemed like he was about to explode again, but he just took a deep breath.


    "Maybe you''re right. Maybe I was a bit loud," he said. "I will deal with some of the finances for the next couple of days before I focus on the conflict again."


    The other two nodded.


    After a bit, Alvin walked out of the meeting room, and the other two looked at each other.


    What was wrong with him?


    Meanwhile, a couple of kilometers away.


    "Nergel, what do you think about that?" a guy wearing the Swirling Abyss uniform asked.


    "Hm," Nergel grunted in boredom. "Seems too risky."


    Silence.


    "Yeeees?" the first guy said. "And why is that?"


    "Our Extractors could die," Nergel answered casually.


    "Yeah, I know," a third guy said with annoyance. "That is always a possibility during an ambush. However, just as exined earlier, the chances of the ambush failing are, at most, 30%. I don''t see how that is risky."


    "Then go do it, Thor," Nergel said with an annoyed sigh.


    The other two furrowed their brows.


    "Nergel, can you please take this seriously?" the CEO of Swirling Abyss, Karl, asked. "You''ve been giving nonmittal and short answers for the entire meeting."


    "I am taking this seriously," Nergel answered with an eyeroll. "Just, why go through with such a risk? I wouldn''t bet my life on 70%. It''s just unnecessary."


    "We are not betting with our lives," Thor, the CZE of Swirling Abyss, answered. "If it is about thepany''s survival, yes, 70% would be too low, but the worst thing that can happen is that two Veterans die."


    "Okay," Nergel answered.


    Silence.


    Thor and Karl looked at each other before looking back at Nergel.


    "Is that all?" Karl asked.


    "Yeah," Nergel answered.


    Karl sighed.


    "Nergel, did we offend you in some way?" he asked.


    "No," Nergel answered.


    Silence.


    "Buuuut?" Thor asked.


    "What but?" Nergel asked.


    "Weren''t you about to say but?" Thor asked.


    "No, I wasn''t," Nergel answered.


    Silence.


    "Okay, what is going on, Nergel?" Karl asked. "You''re acting unusual. What''s on your mind? What''s the issue?"


    "Nothing," Nergel answered with a shrug.


    "Is this about the meeting from a week ago?" Karl asked. "You''ve been acting weirdly for a couple of days."


    Nergel shrugged. "No, everything''s fine. We just talked about some conflict but couldn''t get on the same page. Nothing strange happened."


    "Then, what''s up with you?" Thor asked.


    "What do you mean?" Nergel asked.


    "This!" Thor shouted. "You barely say anything. You constantly shrug your shoulders like nothing matters. You don''t show even a bit of emotion. You act like you don''t give a shit about anything anymore."


    Nergel shrugged. "No idea what you mean. Everything seems just like always."


    "Is this some kind of game?" Karl asked with annoyance. "You are obviously acting differently."


    "How?" Nergel asked in a bored tone.


    Karl took a deep breath.


    "Nergel, please leave the room," Karl said. "I don''t know what''s going on with you, but we can''t make proper progress when one of our strongest people is acting like this."


    "Please, leave the room and think about your conduct today. I''m open for a man-to-man talkter."


    Nergel rolled his eyes. "Sure," he said with minor annoyance.


    Then, he walked to the door of the meeting room. "See you," he said with a wave before leaving.


    After he left, the other two looked at each other with furrowed brows.


    It seemed like both Manufacturers had issues with one of their leaders.


    Luckily, due to the conflict between them, they didn''t know about the issues on the other side.


    About a weekter, the two Manufacturers received an important message.


    The Governor wanted to talk to the CEOs about defining morews about the conflict.


    They would still be allowed to kill each other, but she wanted to minimize the harm that woulde to the general poption.


    Only the CEOs were allowed to attend to keep the chances of a sudden fight to a minimum.


    After all, if there were only the two CEOs, the Governor would have significant leverage in that situation since she was stronger than either of the two.


    One dayter, the two CEOs gathered in front of the city''s headquarters.


    "Ah, nice to see you again, Martin," Karl said with a smile as he offered his hand to his enemy.


    "Oh, it''s been too long, Karl!" Martin answered with augh as he shook Karl''s hand.


    Even though they were trying to kill each other, they appeared like old friends right now.


    "Why don''t we go in?" Martin asked, gesturing to the building.


    "Of course," Karl answered with a smile.


    Then, the two of them walked into the building while having a bit of small talk.


    The Governor was already in the main hall and looked at the two of them.


    "Karl, Martin," she greeted.


    "Serna," they answered with a nod.


    Serna, the Governor, gestured to the stairs, and the three of them went to the seventh floor of the building.


    Serna stopped in front of a huge gate, and her Barrier activated.


    The next moment, the huge gate slowly opened, and the two CEOs saw the insides of the room.


    "That''s quite some expensive material," Karl said as he looked at the abyss-ck material the room was made of.


    "This is our new meeting room for sensitive meetings," Serna exined. "The room ispletely isted, like a Containment Unit, and it is made of material that can even contain a Demon. I only use this room for the most important meetings."


    The two CEOs inspected the room closely.


    Sure enough, it waspletely isted.


    Eventually, the three of them entered, and the gate began to close slowly.


    BANG!


    The gate closed, and the three of them were in the room alone.


    "Well then," Serna said. "Shall we get to it?"


    And then¡­


    Ding!


    All the lights turned off!


    Karl and Martin immediately began to panic and pulled out their weapons.


    BANG!


    A gun fired, and the room was illuminated for just a moment.


    Karl saw Serna and Martin moving towards him.


    Martin saw Serna and Karl moving towards him.


    Serna saw Martin and Karl aiming at each other.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The two immediately began to fight each other as Serna stood back.


    At the same time, a ck mist appeared behind Karl.


    The ck mist turned into a human with a de.


    CRK!


    The de broke Karl''s Barrier.


    At the same time, a three-headed figure appeared behind Martin.


    The three heads had long ck hair, and they all had different expressions.


    The one on the left was crying.


    The one on the right wasughing.


    The one in the middle was disinterested.


    Next, six arms came out of the figure, and they scratched the Barrier in front of them with terrifying speed.


    BANG!


    Martin''s Barrier was also broken.


    Both of them fell into a panic, but without any Zephyx left, the Nightmare''s influencepletely overtook them.


    Nick controlled the Nightmare''s influence and caused them to lose consciousness.


    At the same time, Nick was also protecting Serna from the Nightmare''s influence.


    "Do it," Nick said to the three-headed figure.


    The three-headed figure stepped between the two unconscious people and began to move its arms in a mystical manner.


    A momentter, colorful gas came out of Karl before entering Martin''s body.


    The figure began to cry andugh.


    "More food for the Lord!" it shouted.

 Chapter 647 – New Specter

    Chapter 647 ¨C New Specter


    Nick watched as the two men slowly regained consciousness.


    The three-headed silhouette was stillughing and crying loudly as the two of them stood up.


    Naturally, since their Barriers had been broken, their Zephosis had stopped.


    Luckily, more than enough Zephyx was being generated in this room, allowing their bodies to quickly restart their Zephosis.


    A momentter, the lights turned back on, and Serna could finally see again.


    Even though this was the second time this had happened, she still felt scared whenever the lights turned off.


    But who could me her? After all, darkness represented unending suffering for all humans.


    There was never a point in someone''s life in which darkness was not associated with horrendous suffering.


    Logic didn''t help against such a primordial fear.


    The two men seemed confused and looked around. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "So?" Serna asked the CEO of Vertigo Box.


    "Huh?" the CEO asked.


    "What''s your answer?" she asked.


    The CEO grabbed his head. "Sorry, what was the question again?"


    "Are you willing to hold off on any fights within the city limits for the next three months?" Serna asked with a bit of annoyance. "We want to have some time toe up with a working ruleset that amodates everyone. Karl has already agreed."


    At the side, Karl also shook his head in confusion.


    He did not remember agreeing to that.


    But then, the more he thought about it, the more familiar this seemed.


    "Yeah, right," Karl said. "We need clearer rules for the battle. We might be at each other''s throats, but this is all just about business. What''s the point of winning this war if the winner only gets a destroyed city? I already said that earlier!"


    Martin also started to "remember" the conversation and how adamant Karl had been about the pause.


    In Martin''s memory, Karl seemed very desperate for a temporary ceasefire.


    Martin also remembered pushing back against Karl.


    "This feels like favoritism," Martin said. "We are currently in an advantageous position, and at exactly this moment, you are asking for a ceasefire?"


    Serna furrowed her brows in annoyance as she looked at the gigantic, three-headed figure standing between the two of them.


    Theughing headughed loudly while the crying head cried with more despair.


    Meanwhile, the neutral head just sighed in annoyance. "I told you that can happen. After the transferal, their memories automatically generate based on the most obvious and straightforward pattern."


    "He sees the other guy as his enemy and automatically thinks that anything the other guy wants is something that he doesn''t want, making him believe that he was against this option."


    "There''s nothing I can do."


    Serna kept her annoyance hidden and looked at Martin.


    "How are you in an advantageous position?" she asked.


    "We''ve just won a battle," he answered.


    Serna took a deep breath and readied herself for a long discussion.


    She just wanted this to be over with.


    Nick remained inside a hiddenpartment inside the wall.


    While the Extractors couldn''t see the Specter, they could see him.


    Nick kept looking at the Specter with his perception while Serna and Martin kept arguing.


    This Specter was quite terrifying.


    It looked like three tall women had been fused together into a single body.


    It was a Mid Demon, and it grew stronger by transferring emotional sensitivity and from the suffering caused by said emotional imbnce.


    It could siphon emotional sensitivity out of one person and inject it into another one.


    Within a couple of days, both of the affected people would change drastically.


    This would turn one person into an unstable crazy person, who felt emotions at an insane intensity.


    A slightly funny joke would make themugh intensely.


    A slight bit of criticism would see them frothing with rage.


    A sad story would throw them into a full-on grief cycle.


    At least, that was how extreme it was with weaker people.


    Somebody as powerful as a Hero would still feel intense emotions, but they would have much better control over what they were doing.


    Meanwhile, the other person would turn into a disinterested machine without any reactions whatsoever.


    They felt nothing when someone told a joke.


    They felt nothing when someone criticized them.


    They felt nothing when someone tried to attack them.


    One would think that this sounded very simr to how a Specter was, but that wasn''t true.


    A Specter wanted to survive but also wanted to cause suffering to humanity.


    Meanwhile, someone afflicted by this Specter didn''t even have any desire for that.


    What was the point of growing stronger anyway?


    What was the point of doing anything?


    Nothing mattered.


    The only reason why these people even continued talking and doing things was habit and the absence of urges like hunger, sex, and sleep.


    They kind of just¡­ continued¡­ because that was what they had always done.


    Naturally, this Specter was one of Wrath''s servants and the future ruler of this city.


    By tomorrow, Serna would ask the two CZEs of the two Manufacturers toe to ast meeting, and the Specter would do the same thing to them.


    After that, the Specter would be able to walk through the city without any of the Heroes seeing it.


    For a Mid Demon, abducting some Specialists wasn''t difficult, and the Specter would be done manipting all the Specialists within a couple of weeks, at most.


    And that would be it.


    The strongest people would be under the Specter''s control.


    Over a long period of time, Vertigo Box and Swirling Abyss would change drastically.


    Vertigo Box wouldunch sudden and stupid assaults on the people of Swirling Abyss.


    The people of Swirling Abyss would win more often than not, but they would never get a decisive strike since they just didn''t care enough about anything.


    In the long run, the two Manufacturers would also split the city into two.


    The two camps had different names, with which they called each other.


    One camp called itself the humans and called the other one the machines.


    The other camp also called itself the humans but called the other one the animals.


    One of them believed the other camp tock basic emotion and humanity.


    The other one believed the other campcked control over their emotions, which made them act like wild animals.


    This was the Specter''s n on how to create conflict in the city.


    Eventually, Serna managed to convince Martin to ept the armistice.


    The two CEOs left after a while, and Nick came out of his secretpartment.


    The Specter seemed to vanish from the room, only leaving behind an echo ofughter and crying.


    When the Specter left, Serna released a sigh of relief.


    She was nervous whenever this Specter was around.


    Compared to the chocte Specter, this one was actually lucid and could make conscious decisions.


    Even more, it seemed quite a bit different from Nick, the Specter she had been working with for the past two years or so.


    For some reason, working with Nick was simr to working with a human superior.


    He actually exined things to her and told her exactly what to do.


    Meanwhile, this new Specter just said what it wanted and left, leaving Serna to decide how to aplish what it wanted from her.


    At least, she would get a good amount of Zephyx by working with it.


    Additionally, the Zephyx production had increased a lot, and the city''s control was also much stronger.


    The people also were much happier, but she didn''t really care about that.


    "When are you going to leave?" she asked Nick.


    "I will contact Wrath in a week and get new orders," Nick said without turning to her.


    Serna thought about the new Specter and felt a bit nervous.


    "Can''t you stay?" she asked.


    "No," Nick answered. "The other servant will run this city."


    Serna wanted to speak more, but Nick just left the room, not giving her the opportunity.


    He knew how Serna felt, but the only thing Nick felt for her was disregard and disgust.


    She was an opportunist who didn''t care about the suffering she inflicted upon the powerless.


    There were not many things Nick hated more than that.


    ''You will have about ten to twenty more years,'' Nick thought as Serna''s image appeared in his mind.


    ''Then, your entire world wille crashing down.''


    A momentter, Nick looked at the city.


    It had changed significantly since he had arrived.


    He actually heard the sounds ofughter asionally.


    These sounds would not vanish.


    In the future, the city would be split into two camps and would be in a constant civil war, but within those two xenophobic groups, the people would still help each other.


    In fact, they would be even closer than before since both groups would have an enemy on which to focus their hatred.


    ''I''m not sure how many cities I can improve before I should return to Aegis,'' Nick thought. ''The important part is that Aegis now knows that I am still alive and what happened to me.''


    Yes, Nick had alreadye into contact with Aegis, and it actually hadn''t even been difficult.


    As to how he aplished it.


    Well¡­

 Chapter 648 – Blackmail

    Chapter 648 ¨C ckmail


    "Ah fuck me! Why are you so tight today, girl? Did that old bastard annoy you again?"


    A naked man was going to town on a rather tall and muscr woman.


    The man was barely 160 cm tall, while the woman was around 185 cm tall.


    The man was pretty thin and meek, while the woman looked like she waspressing metallic structures into small cubes as a hobby.


    The man had long flowing hair, while the woman had a short buzzcut.


    As the two of them kept fucking, the air around them vibrated with every thrust, and the furniture in the room shook.


    While the guy kept putting his all into the thrusts, the woman justy on the bed like a corpse.


    "Went too hard on the abs," the woman spoke in a cold and raspy voice. "They''re cramping. I like the pain. Makes me feel alive."


    "Ah, fuck, this feels really fucken good, but I feel like I''m going to feel that tomorrow as well. Don''t do that too often, but please keep doing that. Wait, what did I just say? I dunno. Sorry, not coherent right now. Busy as well. Fucken hell. You enjoyin'' yourself at least?"


    The woman''s body moved back and forth a bit as she stared at the ceiling with a distracted expression.


    "Yeah, feels good," she said after a while.


    The two of them kept going for several minutes, in which the guy kept going harder and harder.


    The entire building began to shake, and the beautiful trees around the beautiful house began to sway back and forth.


    A couple of people tending to the serene bit of nature around the house looked at the shaking surroundings with annoyance.


    A gardener was having difficulties appropriately cutting down a tree as the leaves kept swinging back and forth.


    "You ready?" the guy grunted. "Imma do it! I''m going to do the cummies!"


    The woman just rolled her eyes at the idiotic phrasing.


    "Come on! It was funny! Ha? Ha ha?" the guy grunted.


    "No."


    Except for the rhythmic stting, there was silence.


    "Sorry," the guy grunted. "I''m not doing it again, okay?"


    "Okay."


    The rhythmic stting continued.


    "Prepare yourself," the woman spoke.


    The man grew excited.


    Then, the woman strained her abs with all her power as she struck a pose while lying down.


    The man''s mouth fell open as he felt an apocalyptic force trying to turn his dick two-dimensional.


    "AAAAHHHHH!"


    Ding.


    The small sound of a bit of paper moving outside the established rhythm of meat pping¡­


    BANG!


    The two of them immediately split up and pulled out their weapons, aiming them at the door.


    It took less than a single second between them having sex and having their weapons pointed at the door while standing in abat-ready pose.


    Thest pulse of sex vibrations hadn''t even passed yet.


    The man focused on the hallway as he pointed both of his guns at the door.


    While he was doing so, his dick was bobbing up and down, shooting powerful bullets of white liquid at the walls, shaking the house some more.


    This was a Hero, and the force with which his sperm was shot out was incredible!


    Naturally, his orgasm was ruined, but he was much busier with assessing the danger.


    He was sure that he had just heard some papers moving!


    A momentter, he nced at the muscr woman.


    She had also jumped up, which meant that he didn''t just imagine things.


    Someone must have been here just now.


    "Can you sense anyone?" the guy asked with a serious voice.


    "No," she answered.


    Their perceptions had already epassed the surrounding kilometers, but they didn''t see anything out of the ordinary.


    The man scanned through the entire house again.


    "Wait," he said. "Did you put that paper on my desk?"


    The woman''s perception stretched into the man''s office.


    She couldn''t read the contents of the paper since she couldn''t directly see it, but she could feel that a stack of papers was on the desk.


    Their memories were impable, and she didn''t remember seeing a stack of papers on the desk.


    "No," she answered.


    The man narrowed his eyes and vanished.


    The next moment, he reappeared in his office in front of a stack of paper.


    The woman arrived in the office an instant after him.


    The man''s eyes narrowed as his mind instantly absorbed all the information on the first sheet.


    "ckmail," he said.


    "ckmail?" the woman asked with furrowed brows. "That''s idiotic."


    The man lifted the piece of paper and read through one of the stacks of papers.


    Naturally, the woman also read all of that.


    "They''re trying to ckmail you with our rtionship?" she asked with an annoyed tone. "That''s dumb. We''re the two strongest Extractors in the city."


    The first stack of papers detailed their rtionship and a couple of dark dealings the two of them had.


    "What''s the point?" the woman asked as the man kept leaving through the papers. "While we''re not officially announcing all of that, this stuff isn''t secret. So what if the Governor and the biggest Manufacturer are allies? We''re producing plenty of Zephyx."


    The Governor kept looking at the information on the piece of paper with furrowed brows. "Yes, but Aegis doesn''t know."


    The woman just rolled her eyes. "And they wouldn''t care anyway. We deliver more Zephyx than necessary."


    Eventually, the guy reached thest page of the first stack of papers.


    As soon as thest page was unveiled, the atmosphere changed, and the two of them charged into the bedroom.


    When they arrived, they looked at their bed in shock.


    There was a head!


    There was a head in their bed!


    "Jim," the woman spoke in shock. "He''s one of my team leads!"


    "I know," the Governor answered with furrowed brows.


    He looked back at thest page of the first stack.


    It said that they would find some "incentive" for cooperating with the ckmailer in their bed.


    None of them said anything, but deep inside, they were shaking.


    Not only had the ckmailer managed to smuggle a stack of papers into a house with two Heroes inside, but they also managed to put a head into their bed while they were highly alert.


    The fact that they hadn''t noticed the head appearing shook them the most.


    The skill required to pull something like that off in front of them was beyond ridiculous.


    Both of them were confident that there was absolutely nobody inside the city that could pull off something like that.


    After some seconds, the woman took a shaky breath.


    She was no longer calm.


    "What do they want?" she asked.


    The Governor furrowed his brows and walked back into his office.


    "Not much," he said. "They just want me to deliver a short message to Aegis."


    "A message?" the woman asked.


    The man held up the first piece of paper again. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    It simply stated that the Governor had to transmit a letter to the local stronghold of Aegis.


    The Governor grabbed the sealed ck envelope.


    "I can''t see through it," the Governor said.


    "Me neither," the woman answered.


    Silence.


    "How am I supposed to bring this to the local stronghold?" the Governor asked. "I can''t just leave the city, and I can''t just ask someone toe here to receive a letter. The next tribute payment is eight months away, and I don''t know if they want this message to be delivered quickly or if it can wait. This is frustrating."


    "Are you going to do it?" the woman asked with a bit of surprise.


    Usually, when somebody tried to pull anything on the Governor, he only grew more resistant.


    His defiant stance against all his opposition was what had drawn the woman to him.


    He was quite silly in private, but when it mattered, he waspetent and reliable.


    Crksh!


    The next moment, the guy tore open the letter.


    "Well, I have to know what it says to find out what I''m supposed to do," the Governor said.


    The two of them quickly read through the contents of the message.


    The message was quite short:


    "Two years.


    Complete fusion happened.


    Am undercover.


    Come back in decades.


    Will deliver.


    See codes as proof."


    At the bottom of the message were two long codes.


    "What are these codes?" the woman asked.


    "They are codes for entries in Aegis'' database," the Governor said. "This person most likely belongs to Aegis if they know these specific codes."


    The Governor left the room and walked towards the house''s basement.


    "What are these entries?" the woman asked as she followed the Governor.


    The Governor activated his Barrier to open a fortified door.


    "Sorry, but I can''t tell you without checking them myself first," the Governor said. "Please, wait outside."


    BANG!


    Then, the door closed.


    Inside the room, the Governor approached a console.


    This was the city''s central console and the only way to contact Aegis or to ess Aegis''work.


    The Governor logged in with his ount and typed in the first code.


    When he essed the entry, his brows furrowed.


    "You do not have permission to view this entry."


    The Governor rubbed his chin in thought.


    Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, in a dim room¡­


    DING!


    A ck Barrier turned on.


    The Left Arm opened her eyes.


    ''Someone tried to ess the hidden entry about the Nightmare''s location,'' she thought.


    Then, her perception extended towards the underground of Aegis'' headquarters.


    "Send someone to Craven Dog City," the Left Arm said to the Technician. "The local Governor tried to ess the Nightmare''s hidden entry with his ount. I want to know what''s happening there."


    "Oh!" the Technician answered. "That''s not good."


    "I''ll send an Enforcer immediately."

 Chapter 649 – Immediate Goals

    Chapter 649 ¨C Immediate Goals


    Nick had contacted Aegis a couple of weeks before the new Specter had started to influence the leaders of Vertigo Box and Swirling Abyss.


    Naturally, due to the way Nick used to contact Aegis, he didn''t exactly know how they react to the news that he now was a Specter.


    After all, he just left them a message.


    As soon as the Governor from that city got Nick''s request, the message was basically already delivered to Aegis.


    If he just handed over the letter to the tax collectors, Aegis would get it, and nothing would happen to the Governor.


    However, if the Governor decided to be a bit less cooperative and opened the letter, Aegis would still get the message, but the Governor would have some exining to do.


    Nick knew that the database entry regarding the Nightmare''s location was of the highest level of security.


    ess to the entry could only be given manually by a Shield, and there was no way to find it in the database.


    One could only ess it by writing out the address directly.


    Naturally, as an entry with the highest level of clearance and security, any kind of ess would be logged, and a Shield would be informed immediately if anyone tried to ess it.


    Back when Aria had looked at the entry after Nick had be the Liaison, the Left Arm had also received a notification, but she dismissed it since it came from Crimson City''s console.


    She knew that Nick was in Crimson City and saw no issue with that since the ess was denied anyway.


    However, a random attempt to ess this hidden entry in the middle of the Grand Continent in a random city after years of no one trying to ess the entry was extremely strange and unusual.


    Nick knew that this would happen.


    Even if the Governor destroyed all the evidence for some reason, Aegis would still want an exnation as to how he found out about the entry.


    Nick just hoped that Aegis wouldn''t treat him like any other Specter.


    Sadly, that was still a risk.


    The best thing Nick could do was to keep improving the cities and gathering intel.


    Then, after ten to twenty years, he would go to Aegis and unveil all the information he had gathered.


    At that point, several cities controlled by Wrath would be unveiled, dealing a devastating strike to it.


    Of course, Wrath would see Nick as an enemy after that. It wouldn''t be difficult to find out that he was themon denominator.


    But all of this was in the future.


    For now, Nick needed to focus on his immediate goals.


    First, he wanted to use the time to be stronger.


    Nick produced Zephyx and became more powerful by causing suffering to people.


    Luckily for him, doing good didn''t counteract the suffering he inflicted.


    While Nick had helped thousands of people in ck Mine City, he was also causing suffering to the elite.


    All the people he had judged to be executed had families who suffered immensely under the deaths of their loved ones.


    Additionally, while the new Specter harvested the vast majority of Zephyx of the conflict between the two big Manufacturers, Nick was still partially responsible, which meant he got a bit of the suffering as well.


    That increased the Zephyx he produced by about 40%.


    Wait, only 40%?


    Yes, only 40%.


    One had to remember that Nick was still harvesting an immense amount of suffering from things he had done before he had be a Specter.


    The survivors of Anatomy were still being punished by Aegis, and he was one of the biggest factors in their current suffering.


    However, the biggest source of suffering that Nick harvested was Markus Julius, the old Governor of Crimson City.


    Nick was almost solely responsible that he had to guard some Aegis stronghold somewhere in humiliation. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nick was essentially working with a Mid Hero constantly.


    The suffering Nick felting from Markus Julius improved his mood whenever he focused on it.


    The most important factor in all of this was that Nick didn''t seem to be gated by time but by volume when it came to producing Zephyx.


    This meant that the more people suffered, the faster he improved.


    In fact, in just two years, Nick had advanced to be an Early Specialist or Early Fanatic, depending on the viewpoint.


    That was insanely fast.


    Another thing Nick focused on was his ability to conjure objects and create maniption lines.


    With a Specter Core, both of these skills were incredibly useful.


    Their potential was unmeasurable.


    After just two years of training, Nick had managed to create two useful abilities.


    Sadly, while useful, the two abilities were not nearly strong enough to be useful during a battle.


    One of the abilities was his method of transmitting his voice.


    The other one was telekinesis.


    Nick could move stuff with his mind.


    He could lift up to two objects at once with a collective weight of one ton.


    Unfortunately, the ability was not very efficient yet.


    However, this was just what Nick had been able to create after only two years.


    Nick''sst goal was to improve more cities and to learn more about the Corruptors.


    Maybe he would even be able to find out where Wrath was.


    The Corruptors kept their locations extremely secret.


    The only one that wasn''t hidden was Envy.


    These were Nick''s goals, and he would focus on them for the next couple of decades.


    ''It''s about time to leave this city,'' Nick thought as he looked at ck Mine City.


    The city had changed incredibly within thest two years, and it would continue to change.


    Even if it changed for the worse, it wouldn''t get as bad as it had been when Nick arrived.


    Yesterday, the two CZEs of Swirling Abyss and Vertigo Box had been changed by the Specter as well.


    Everything from now on would be easy to do.


    The Governor had also learned from Nick over thest two years, and while she definitely wasn''t as good as Aria, she should have the skill to run the city halfway decently on her own.


    ''That was about another 4,000 people,'' Nick thought. ''Together with Crimson City, that makes about 15,000 people whose lives I have improved significantly.''


    Nick''s body imitated sighing.


    ''About 1.5% of my goal.''


    Nick thought back to the melting people in the Dregs of Crimson City.


    He had forgotten many things in his fight against the Dark Mist, but he still remembered that day with rity.


    ''It''s far from enough, but it''s a step forward.''


    ''I thought I would never be able to redeem myself, but I''m making progress.''


    ''It doesn''t seem impossible anymore.''


    Nick looked at the city''s exit.


    ''And I will continue making progress over theing decades.''


    For a couple of minutes, Nick just looked at the city.


    Then, he silently turned around and entered his cave.


    Naturally, after staying here for two years, Nick had gotten himself a temporary residence.


    As far as anyone was concerned, this cave was empty and owned by the government.


    Nick walked deep into his cave, turned into mist, and flowed through a tiny hole.


    Behind ten meters of stone, Nick had created an isted space, which he used for his Greater Ry.


    A momentter, he activated the Greater Ry, and Wrath manifested again.


    "What do you want?" Wrath asked in, unsurprisingly, anger.


    "I''m done with the city. Where do I go next?" Nick asked.


    Specters didn''t really feel surprised when something surprising happened, but they took note of a moment in which something didn''t go ording to predictions.


    This was one of these moments.


    Almost all of Wrath''s servants were zy".


    The word did not perfectly fit, though.


    It was just that Specters were only interested in themselves, and they constantly tried to skirt the border between being useful and not being useful.


    As long as their usefulness slightly outweighed the cost associated with killing them, they would survive.


    Because of that, after a sessful mission, servants often didn''t contact their Lord for months or years.


    There was no point in going above and beyond for their Lord.


    They wouldn''t be rewarded anyway.


    Yet, Nick contacted Wrath for his next task almost immediately.


    Was Nick not interested in growing more powerful without having to risk his life?


    He was in a city that he controlled.


    He could feed as much as he wanted without having to hide from Aegis or the local Manufacturers.


    Every Specter would take advantage of that.


    Even though all of this went against Wrath''s predictions, he didn''tin.


    Sometimes, Specters also acted without rhyme or reason.


    Over the next minutes, Wrath told Nick about his next target.


    Once more, Nick''s target was a city controlled by Gluttony.


    After Nick got all the details, he destroyed the Greater Ry.


    Transporting this stone circle was more hassle than just making a new one.


    Then, Nick left ck Mine City.


    He did not say goodbye to anyone.


    Just as abruptly as he appeared, he disappeared.

 Chapter 650 – The End Justifies the Means

    Chapter 650 ¨C The End Justifies the Means


    Nick traveled to the next city, which was about 300 kilometers northeast of ck Mine City.


    Entering the city wasn''t very difficult since it just used tall walls and Extractors, simr to Crimson City.


    When Nick arrived for the first time, he didn''t immediately see the influence of Gluttony on the city.


    Sure, the city was pretty poor, by the looks of things, but it didn''t look like it was in a constant state of starvation.


    In the beginning, Nick hadn''t even been sure if this city was truly influenced by Gluttony.


    What if Wrath just sent him to a neutral city that no Corruptor had taken control of yet?


    But then, he noticed a couple of peculiarities.


    There was no plumbing system in the city.


    People had to shit in boxes.


    Additionally, people were urinating very rarely.


    Nick didn''t immediately notice these things since he wasn''t paying attention to people''s bathroom habits, but he noticed it by looking at a strange piece of equipment in almost everybody''s home.


    ''Distition?'' Nick thought.


    There was a huge pot above a reflective indent on the metallic ground. There was a ss lid on top of the pot, which narrowed into a tube. The tube went over to the side and pointed into another pot.


    It wasn''t difficult to see how this device worked.


    Contaminated water entered one pot, and the reflective indent below the pot gathered and reflected the light onto the pot, heating it up.


    Due to the rarity of mmable materials, making a fire was not feasible for the average person.


    The contaminated water would evaporate and get funneled into the other pot.


    The contents Nick saw in the first pot were disgusting. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Yellow sludge and yellow dust, depending on the state of distition.


    A lot of people also had brown sludge, which pointed to kidney failure.


    That made things quite clear to Nick.


    These people were being dehydrated.


    Meanwhile, Nick saw the rich swimming in pools.


    However, despite all of this, the people did not seem as desperate as the people in ck Mine City had been.


    Sure, they were still suffering, but it wasn''t as bad.


    For the next couple of days, Nick gathered information on the city.


    This time, finding the location of Gluttony''s servant was actually the easiest part.


    Gluttony''s servant was the city''s main Specter.


    Compared to ck Mine City, the Specter here was not hidden at all.


    Everybody knew about it.


    It was just that nobody knew that it was rted to Gluttony.


    This made this city very different from thest one.


    After all, killing the Specter meant destroying the city''s identity and a big chunk of the Zephyx it produced.


    Naturally, a list of all of the Specters was sent to Aegis every year, and the fact that this Specter was still there meant that Aegis permitted the existence of this Specter in the city.


    However, Nick was certain that Aegis didn''t know that the main Specter was Gluttony''s servant.


    Solving this issue required different tactics.


    First, Nick focused on learning more about the owner of the Specter, the biggest Manufacturer in the city.


    Over the next several weeks, Nick kept shadowing the city''s elite.


    He wanted to get rid of the corrupt people first.


    Yet, despite shadowing them for over three months, Nick didn''t find even a single sign that any of them knew about the Specter''s true identity.


    But they had to!


    It was impossible for a city to be conquered by one of the Corruptors without anyone finding out.


    After three months, Nick decided to change his approach.


    He found a very corrupt Peak Specialist and kidnapped her.


    Then, he put her into darkness and used his ability to manipte the Nightmare''s influence to siphon information out of her.


    Yet, even after several minutes, Nick didn''t find anything concrete!


    This Specialist didn''t even know who or what Gluttony was!


    Nick killed her and left the city.


    Leaving and entering the city was not difficult.


    He retreated into a deep cave and built a Greater Ry.


    After building it, he contacted Wrath and told it about what he found.


    "The city serves Gluttony," Wrath said. "It might not know, but it does."


    "What do you mean?" Nick asked.


    "The Water Pir might or might not be one of Gluttony''s servants. In the end, it doesn''t matter."


    "The city is a hub of gluttony and famine. You do not need a servant to create such a city. Sometimes, it just happens," Wrath said.


    "Gluttony''s influence does not require someone to guide it, just as mine doesn''t. If there is war in a city, it is under my influence, even if there is no servant of mine present."


    "Your job is to get rid of the influence. Your job is not to get rid of foreign servants, but if that is required to do your job, you still have to."


    "Do your job or die!"


    Then, Wrath cut the connection.


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''So, this city might not be ruled by one of Gluttony''s servants,'' Nick thought.


    ''Maybe nobody knows about Gluttony''s involvement since Gluttony actually isn''t actively involved.''


    ''It just so happens that the city has a primary Specter that aligns with Gluttony''s values.''


    Nick looked at the city from a distance.


    The city had a gigantic pir of water in its middle.


    The pir absorbed the water in the atmosphere and converted it into small droplets of water, which were infused with rich Zephyx.


    In essence, it was converting water into Zephyx.


    On a baseline, this was actually not even bad. It was just a tool.


    However, in the hands of a greedy few people, it caused tremendous suffering.


    Nick scratched his chin as he looked at the gigantic pir in the distance.


    ''It would be easier to solve this as a Liaison. If I were here as a Liaison, I would just need to break the elite apart, force the strongest Manufacturers into submission, limit the Water Pir''s production, tax the rich, jumpstart the economy, and things would be solved.''


    ''But right now, I can''t appear in public. I don''t have a way to hide my true identity as a Specter.''


    ''This is not easy.''


    ''How am I supposed to deal with a political issue without having any political power?''


    Nick was not a fan of the current situation.


    Technically, the city was not breaking Aegis''ws.


    But on the other hand, Crimson City also hadn''t been breaking Aegis''ws.


    Nick hadn''t been sent there because Crimson City had broken Aegis''ws.


    No, he had been sent there to increase the Zephyx output by using the method of improving the overall happiness he had developed.


    Nick focused on the poorer people in the city again.


    Their skin was rather dry, and the water they distilled themselves was probably not very delicious.


    There was definitely quite some suffering going on.


    ''What am I even thinking about?'' Nick thought as his eyes regained their determination.


    ''There are people suffering, and Aegis needs Zephyx to resist the Specters. That''s all that matters. That is the very core of what it means to be good. We need to protect humanity as a whole, and we need to be fair to the weak people.''


    ''Humanity must survive, but humans must be able to live their lives as well.''


    ''It does not matter what I do. As long as I can achieve that goal, I will have done the correct thing!''


    Then, Nick turned into mist and entered the city again.


    He would do what he was supposed to do as a Liaison.


    He just couldn''t do it legally.


    The city had not yet noticed that a Peak Specialist had been killed, and Nick took advantage of that.


    He went to the Peak Specialist''s home and conjured a message.


    Then, he left.


    A dayter, someone went into the Peak Specialist''s home to investigate where she had gone to.


    Naturally, they found the message and delivered it to their leaders.


    Almost immediately, the elite of the city went into an uproar.


    "Increase the avability of the poorest 10% of people by ten times, of the next poorest 10% by eight times¡­ otherwise, more people being involved in the current water industry will be assassinated."


    The actual message was several pages long, but this was what it essentially boiled down to.


    The message did not mention the top 10%, but it was obvious that the water for the poor people had toe from somewhere.


    Of course, the death of a Peak Specialist was big news, and the atmosphere turned oppressive.


    The most powerful Extractors were suspicious of each other.


    After all, they were the only ones powerful enough to pull something like this off.


    Somebody among them had to be the one who did all of that.


    Lots of meetings and usations flew around, but nothing was changed.


    They were just investigating.


    They would find out who had killed the Peak Specialist!


    Five dayster, the owner of a water reseller was killed, and the same message was left behind.


    More outrage.


    Five dayster, the new owner of thepany was killed.


    Horror.


    The third owner bunkered up and was protected by the strongest Manufacturer inside their building.


    Five dayster, they were found dead in the Manufacturer''s building.


    The fourth owner was extremely nervous when they took over the business, but they decided to take a risk.


    The first thing they did was to drop the water price by half.


    Five dayster, another person was killed, but this time, it was the owner of a different water reseller.


    Their prices had now been higher since the otherpany had lowered theirs.

 Chapter 651 – Terrorism Is the Only Way

    Chapter 651 ¨C Terrorism Is the Only Way


    The normal people barely noticed what was going on.


    The only thing they knew was that water had be quite a bit cheaper.


    Sadly, that didn''t change anything for the truly poor. 50 credits and 25 credits were equally unobtainable for them.


    Meanwhile, the elite were under immense stress and rm.


    No matter what they did, somebody important was getting killed every five days!


    They even kept the probable targets guarded inside their headquarters.


    And yet, they were still being killed!


    More and more usations were being flung around, and people nearly started to attack each other out of suspicion and panic.


    That was until the Governor decided on an extreme measure.


    Every single Hero had to be present on the fifth day of thest victim''s death.


    Additionally, every potential future victim was ced in a Containment Unit, which was guarded by one Specialist from every major Manufacturer.


    The four Specialists would keep track of each other, while the Heroes kept track of each other.


    Every other Specialist was also supposed to stay in a single room.


    Anyone who was not ounted for would be executed!


    Naturally, if it were only the Governor demanding something like this, this would never happen.


    However, due to the desperation, all the Manufacturers agreed.


    When it was time for the next victim to appear, everyone did exactly as nned.


    Four Specialists were guarding the entrance to one of the strongest Containment Units, which held all the major leaders of the water trade.


    Meanwhile, all Heroes and Specialists gathered in the same big room.


    Then, they waited.


    For an entire day, the biggest Manufacturers basically didn''t do anything.


    That was how big the threat was.


    After 24 hours, all of the Heroes of the city left the room together and traveled to the Containment Unit with the elite of the water trade.


    Dead!


    All four Specialists were dead!


    When they looked into the Containment Unit, they saw the people staying near the walls.


    They were avoiding the corpse lying in the middle of the Containment Unit.


    On top of the corpse was a sheet of paper with a message.


    "Make water affordable. Anyone resisting will be executed. If you are not for humanity, you are against humanity. Resistance will be equivalent to rejecting humanity and embracing Specterdom!"


    Naturally, the actual message was longer, but that was what it essentially boiled down to.


    In the message were also detailed policies that the terrorist demanded to be put into practice.


    A huge shouting match broke out between the Heroes.


    Every Extractor had been ounted for!


    It was impossible for any of them to be the culprit!


    So, who was it?


    In the end, it could only be a Specter.


    There was no way that this was a human.


    Someone with such incredible power had to be a Peak Specialist, at least. Most likely, they were a Hero.


    Yet, someone like that was searching for a way to reach the next level of power, which was only possible by joining Aegis and bing an Agent.


    Doing such terroristic acts would not help them in that regard.


    Therefore, it had to be a Specter.


    But then, what was the Specter''s goal?


    What was the point of making water more affordable?


    What did the Specter gain from it?


    "It''s not about the water!" one of the Heroes shouted. "The water is only a front! It probably grows stronger by instilling fear in us!"


    This became the consensus among the elite.


    In the end, the Heroes worked together.


    They would protect their people!


    As soon as the elite of the water trade left the Containment Unit, they lowered the water prices significantly.


    They were even selling water at a loss just to survive.


    The biggest Manufacturer of the city controlled the Water Pir, which was almost the only source of water in the city.


    Buying water from that Manufacturer was not cheap.


    Themon people felt like they were living in a dream.


    Why was water suddenly so cheap?


    Sure, they still had to spend quite a bit of their ie, but they could actually buy enough to survive without any adverse health effects!


    Naturally, as soon as the prices dropped, some semi-rich people bought up all the water to resell it for more.


    The people realized that everything had been too good to be true.


    Of course, something like this couldn''t keep happening.


    But then, they were thrown back into a dream when all of the resellers were killed and pinned against the tallest buildings with huge messages stered across said buildings.


    "NO RESELLING!"


    The big waterpanies immediately put in a maximum purchase limit for water to make sure that nothing like this happened.


    Sure, they were not at fault for someone buying all of their stock and reselling it, but they did not want to take any chances.


    Water returned to the poor people.


    But that didn''t mean that the killings ended.


    An Expert from the biggest Manufacturer was killed, and a message was left behind.


    This message had the biggest impact so far.


    The terrorist demanded that the water had to be affordable for the water sellers as well. They had to make some profit to survive and sell more water. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    If they refused¡­


    The CFO of thepany would be killed.


    The CFO was an Initial Hero.


    The Manufacturer refused, and they decided to never leave each other''s side.


    The biggest Manufacturer had four Heroes, and at least one of them was always beside the CFO from this day forth.


    The fifth day arrived, and¡­


    Nobody died.


    However, another message arrived.


    "I am still here."


    The Heroes narrowed their eyes.


    As long as they worked together, the assassin couldn''t kill them.


    The assassin was powerful enough to kill a Peak Specialist or a group of Specialists, but they were probably not powerful enough to instantly kill two or more Heroes.


    Weeks passed.


    Nobody was killed, but every five days, a message arrived that said that the terrorist was still there.


    After three months, the first water seller took the risk and sold all of their assets.


    They didn''t want to make such a huge loss anymore and closed thepany.


    This was different from refusing to do business.


    And sure enough, the risk had paid off.


    The previous owner was not killed.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t demand that the person keep living at a loss.


    It was important to remember that Nick didn''t make rich people poor. He simply capped their ie. The wealth of the rich people in Crimson City was still increasing, just slower.


    Nick did not demand the rich people to jump into poverty and join the beggars.


    They were allowed to live theirvish lifestyles, but since they had more power, they were also required to support the weak and poor much more.


    If the water seller had retained their assets and refused to do business, Nick would have killed them.


    But since theypletely sold everything and jumped out of the market, Nick didn''t do anything to them.


    As soon as the other water sellers realized what was going on, many of them did the same thing.


    The water being sold was reduced dramatically again.


    The poor people suffered again.


    The rich people became more fearful.


    The government and the Manufacturers received numerous requests from the city''s elite to lower the price of water.


    They just wanted this to be over with.


    They didn''t want to live in fear anymore.


    While the rich were putting pressure on the Manufacturers, the Manufacturers put pressure on the Governor.


    "Call Aegis!"


    They demanded the Governor to call Aegis.


    For months, they had been guarding that one CFO.


    How long were they supposed to continue guarding him?!


    Naturally, the CFO was also under immense stress on a daily basis.


    He felt like someone was constantly watching him.


    The city had not managed to find the terrorist, and the Heroes demanded Aegis'' help.


    What were they paying taxes for if Aegis didn''t do anything?!


    However, the Governor refused again and again.


    He didn''t say why, but it was quite obvious.


    If he called Aegis for something like this, he would never be an Agent!


    He was supposed to be able to handle things like this!


    Also, what was he supposed to tell Aegis?


    Was he supposed to tell them that some Specter was trying to lower the prices of water?


    The first thing Aegis would say would be to lower the prices of water and see what would happen next.


    If the assassinations stopped, the Governor would be in a lot of trouble.


    Calling Aegis was not a small act, and Aegis was more interested in solving the problem than in finding justice.


    The just thing to do was to find the terrorist and kill them, but the resources and manpower required to do that were more than the city was worth.


    Aegis didn''t have resources to spare.


    Lowering the water prices was something that the Governor had the power to do, which meant he could solve the problem.


    If he didn''t even manage to do that, there was no point in keeping him in Aegis.


    Most likely, he would be turned into some kind of stronghold guard or thrown out of Aegis.


    In that case, he would never advance another level in his life.


    "How about you just lower the cost of water?" the Governor asked the CEO of the Manufacturer controlling the Water Pir.


    The CEO gave a long answer but in short¡­


    "No."

 Chapter 652 – Influences

    Chapter 652 ¨C Influences


    Eventually, the biggest Manufacturerpromised.


    They bought all the remainingpanies that sold water and directly sold water to the market.


    This got rid of the original 100% profit margin of the water sellers, essentially halving the original price of water.


    This made water more essible than it was originally, but 30% of people still couldn''t afford it.


    But the next message from the terrorist just said that this didn''t fulfill their demands.


    That message pushed the stressed CFO over the edge, and hemanded that they would be selling no more water to anyone!


    The Heroes around him tried to tell him that this was a really bad idea, but the CFO didn''t care.


    He had been living in fear for months!


    He had enough of this terrorist!


    Within five hours, Nick retaliated.


    "They did what?!"


    Bad news upon bad news.


    So many pieces of bad news!


    First, the consoles of all the Containment Units housing Demons were utterly destroyed.


    These Containment Units were indestructible by anything weaker than a Fallen or Protector, but the same thing wasn''t true for the consoles.


    With the consoles destroyed, it became impossible to interact with the Containment Units.


    This meant that the Manufacturers couldn''t ess their Demons!


    The only essible Demon was the Water Pir since it resided in the middle of the city due to its size and non-aggressive nature.


    Even worse, this hit every Manufacturer!


    But that wasn''t the end.


    Next, rms broke out everywhere.


    The doors of several Containment Units were opening!


    Fanatics and Elders were being released!


    Of course, due to security reasons, all Containment Units needed over three minutes before opening their main doors, which gave the Manufacturers enough time to stop the process.


    Not a single Specter was released.


    Yet, the rms didn''t stop!


    Every couple of minutes, another Specter was about to be released!


    This continued for hours!


    Working with Specters was deemed too risky under these circumstances, and all the Extractors were put on watch duty.


    Yet, the Containment Units still kept receiving themand to open!


    Someone could keep the console in their eyes the entire time, and somehow, it would still activate the releasemand!


    Stress.


    The Extractors were under immense stress.


    It was a horrifying thought that some unknown power entered the room in which they were staying, did something horrible, and just left again.


    The only thing stopping that malevolent force from killing them was its own disinterest in their deaths!


    The other Manufacturers immediately became aggressive towards the biggest Manufacturer, specifically its CFO.


    They were being pulled into this conflict!


    They didn''t even sell water!


    In the end, the CFO was forced to relent, and he reinstated the selling of the water.


    With that, the chaos ended, and no more Specters were being released.


    After a short moment of relief, the other Manufacturers put more pressure on the CFO.


    They had had enough!


    They were done with this shit!


    "Fulfill the demands, or so help me the Champion, I will do something!"


    The CFO was still resistant, but after the shock of what happened, he was ready to negotiate.


    In the end, he agreed to fulfill the demands, but the other Manufacturers had to pay to make up for the loss in profits.


    Due to the desperation, the other Manufacturers immediately agreed.


    They didn''t even think about it.


    They were talking about a couple million credits per month.


    For a normal person, that was a lot of money, but for Manufacturers with Heroes, this was barely a couple of hours of profit.


    They were more than happy to spend the credits if that finally meant the end of this absolute chaos!


    However, it was important to point out that they knew that they were getting the raw end of the deal.


    The CFO was taking advantage of them, and they knew that.


    And they would remember that.


    As soon as the deal was signed, the second-biggest Manufacturer pulled out from the alliance against the terrorist.


    If the biggest Manufacturer decided to be such an ass about things, they would not help them.


    The third biggest Manufacturer followed. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    In the end, only the Governor and the biggest Manufacturer were left.


    Some hourster, cheap water "flooded" the city.


    Finally, the people could buy cheap water again!


    Over the next few days, nothing happened.


    No message arrived.


    No one was killed.


    A month passed.


    Nothing.


    Then, the biggest Manufacturer slowly increased the water price again.


    Nothing happened.


    The water price increased some more.


    Nothing happened.


    Was it gone?


    Was the terrorist gone?


    Another two weeks passed.


    Yes, it was gone!


    The price returned to the original one.


    The people had no ess to water again.


    Yet, nothing happened.


    Another month passed.


    Yes, the assassin was gone!


    Finally!


    They were free!


    And then, reality hit them.


    They had gotten careless!


    The CFO had been assassinated!


    The thing the terrorist had threatened had happened!


    The first time the CFO had been left alone, he had been killed!


    The assassin had never left!


    Naturally, there was a message on the CFO''s corpse.


    "If you had kept the price down, you would still be alive."


    An Initial Hero had been killed.


    Terror broke out among the Manufacturers again.


    The terrorist was strong enough to kill a Hero almost immediately without being noticed!


    Naturally, the water price was immediately lowered to the demanded price again.


    Sadly, the Governor still refused to call Aegis.


    And then¡­


    Nothing again.


    Weeks passed.


    A month passed.


    No new message.


    After six months, one of the remaining Heroes of the biggest Manufacturer suggested increasing the price a little to keep up with the changing economy, but the other two immediately shut that down very aggressively.


    DO. NOT. TOUCH. THE. WATER. PRICE!


    Obviously, the water price wasn''t changed.


    And like this, Gluttony''s influence had been banished from the city.


    Nick had looked at the Water Pir a couple of times, and he found out that it was actually a Possession Specter.


    Possession Specters rarely had any kind of intelligence, and Nick doubted that it was one of Gluttony''s servants.


    Its values just so happened to align with Gluttony and Famine.


    As long as things stayed like this, Nick''s job was done.


    Most of the time, Nick was focusing on training his Zephyx Maniption and conjuring.


    He was only checking up on the city every couple of days.


    While the matter with the water had now finally been dealt with, the city was not yet done changing.


    Over the next months, the other Manufacturers got progressively more annoyed at the money they had to pay the biggest Manufacturer for the loss of revenue in the water trade.


    They were not involved in the water trade at all, but they still paid for that.


    Eventually, the other Manufacturers pulled their funding back.


    The biggest Manufacturer was livid since the other Manufacturers broke an agreement.


    The biggest Manufacturerined to the Governor, but the Governor just deflected everything.


    The Governor did not want to get involved in any of that.


    If this were the past, the Governor would have backed up the biggest Manufacturer.


    However, something crucial had changed.


    One of the biggest Manufacturer''s Heroes, the former CFO, had been killed.


    On top of that, they had lost a couple of Specialists, including a Peak Specialist.


    The biggest Manufacturer had been hit the hardest.


    The second-biggest and third-biggest Manufacturers were working together very closely now.


    Their shared enmity for the biggest Manufacturer had made them allies.


    This created a formidable force, and a battle between the two sides would no longer have an obvious conclusion.


    The Governor was the key factor in this conflict.


    The side he chose would win.


    Because of that, he received many new privileges.


    As long as he kept being neutral, he would be in control.


    A full year had passed since the CFO had been killed, and the terrorist hadn''t shown themselves again.


    The city was quite sure that the terrorist was gone, but they still didn''t dare to touch the water price.


    The terrorist was no longer the focus.


    Now, the focus was on the weakness of the biggest Manufacturer.


    The other two Manufacturers wanted to use this chance to push them from their throne.


    The conflicts between the Manufacturers ramped up, and the mood between them soured.


    Nick watched as the Manufacturers fell into a state of conflict.


    The second part of Nick''s job was somewhat done.


    Nick had gotten rid of Gluttony''s and Famine''s influence and had introduced Wrath''s and War''s influence.


    However, this city didn''t need one of Wrath''s servants to influence it.


    Naturally, the city was not as heavily under Wrath''s influence as a city with one of its servants, but it still leaned towards Wrath.


    This was a positive.


    The influence profit for this city was almost identical to the influence revenue since there was no influence cost.


    Just to be on the safe side, Nick decided to watch over the city for another year.


    He wanted to make sure that nothing strange happened before he went to the next city.


    WHOOOOM!


    But then, something very strange happened.


    While Nick was focusing on his training outside the city, his ability deactivated.


    At the same time, the Sun became brighter.

 Chapter 653 – The Sun Shines

    Chapter 653 ¨C The Sun Shines


    The sky became brighter, and Nick''s ability deactivated.


    As soon as his ability deactivated, Nick charged away.


    The fact that the sky was getting brighter did not necessarily mean that something was going on with the Sun.


    It might be that Nick was being attacked by something or somebody who used light as a weapon.


    In almost an instant, Nick turned into mist and dove into a cave.


    As soon as he entered, he charged towards the ground, his mist eroding the ground and creating a hole.


    When there was no more light illuminating his body, Nick felt his ability reactivate, which multiplied his speed.


    After charging for another kilometer below the ground, he stopped.


    Since his ability had activated again, it meant that Nick was no longer being perceived.


    If some kind of being wanted to follow Nick, he would be able to see iting as it tried to enter the little tunnel Nick had just dug.


    Yet, nothing wasing after him.


    Nick also couldn''t find anything with his powerful perception.


    A bitter, Nick moved out of the tunnel and looked around.


    ''What is going on?'' Nick thought as he saw the world outside.


    Everything was much¡­ brighter.


    The light of the Sun had always been so gentle and orange, but now, it felt searing and white.


    This had never happened before.


    None of the history books that Nick had read had mentioned such an event.


    As far as he knew, the Sun had never gotten brighter before.


    For some reason, when Nick saw the world, he felt¡­ strange.


    It was like he didn''t belong in this world.


    It was like the bright and searing light was something that refused him.


    Nick felt like the light did not like him.


    At the same time, Nick felt like it was getting harder to breathe, which made no sense since he didn''t breathe to begin with.


    Yet, that was exactly how he felt.


    Nick narrowed his eyes, walked forward, and held one of his hands into the light.


    As soon as he did that, his ability deactivated again.


    When Nick pulled his arm back, his ability activated again.


    That confirmed it.


    ''The Sun is perceiving the world,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''That also confirms that the Sun never perceived the world while I have been alive.''


    ''There was a genuine possibility that the Sun perceived me, but for some reason, its perception did not deactivate my ability.''


    ''There was also the thought that the Sun is a Possession Specter and can''t perceive anything to begin with.''


    ''But now, both of these possibilities have been proven to be untrue.''


    ''The Sun is conscious, and it generally ignores the world.''


    ''Until it doesn''t¡­''


    Nick''s mind was going wild.


    ''I''m a Specter. I should be its ally.''


    Then, Nick readied himself.


    And walked outside.


    Nick''s entire body was bathed by the searing light.


    The temperature was actually not that high. A human would sweat after standing in the light for a while, but it wasn''t truly deadly or dangerous.


    Nick looked up at the blue sky, which was colored a much brighter blue than normal.


    It looked so¡­ beautiful.


    And yet, Nick felt his nervousness increase.


    He felt like he was drowning.


    ''What is going on?!''


    Nick analyzed his body, and he finally noticed what was making him so nervous.


    ''I stopped producing Zephyx!''


    ''Why?!''


    Nick rapidly tried to generate more Zephyx.


    The process didn''t seem impossible, but still, nothing happened.


    Then, Nick realized what was going on.


    ''There''s no Prephyx around me!''


    Just like any other Specter, Nick needed Prephyx to generate Zephyx.


    Without Prephyx, he couldn''t make Zephyx.


    Nick quickly went back into the cave, and as soon as he got out of the light, all the pressure and panic vanished.


    Nick''s Zephyx production resumed.


    ''What does the bright light do with the Prephyx?'' Nick thought. ''Does it destroy it, iste it, block it, consume it, or stabilize it?''


    Nick was analyzing the situation, but before he could make much headway, something shocking happened.


    "People of Earth!"


    Nick''s eyes widened as he heard a voiceing from the Sun.


    The Sun was¡­ speaking to them?!


    All over the world, people left their houses and looked up at the sky.


    Specters with enough intelligence to understand human speech also looked at the sky.


    "I am the new Champion of Light! I am the most powerful human in the world!"


    When Nick heard that, his mind almost stopped working.


    A new Champion of Light?


    Nick thought back to the kind old man on the throne.


    What about the old one?


    Nick had a bad feeling.


    "The old Champion of Light has passed on!"


    Nick''s mind stopped.


    The old Champion of Light was¡­ gone?


    Nick still remembered how the old Champion of Light had granted Nick his newst name and how he had given him a chance to prove his hypothesis on how to run cities better.


    Nick had met the Champion of Light only once in his life, but that one meeting had left asting impact on him.


    The Champion of Light had been undoubtedly good. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    He had the selfless goal of helping and protecting humanity.


    And now, the most powerful human, the Champion of Light, was dead.


    ''I hoped that I would be able to see him again,'' Nick thought.


    "The old Champion of Light has given me his power so that I may protect you in his stead!" the voice spoke.


    ''Power transfer?'' Nick thought. ''That shouldn''t be possible.''


    "Yet, I do not need all of his power," the new Champion of Light proimed. "The bright light you see right now is my gift to you!"


    "Hope!"


    "Look at the Sun!"


    "See how bright it is?"


    "Its bright light threatens the Specters!"


    "But for us, it is warm."


    "The Sun has always protected us from the Nightmare and many other terrifying Specters."


    "The Sun is not our enemy but our protector!"


    "With the power of the Sun, we can defend against the Specters!"


    "With the power of the Sun, we can reim our world!"


    "And as the Champion of Light, it is my duty to use the Sun''s power to destroy the Specters!"


    "As the new Champion of Light, I promise you that I will get rid of all of the Specters!"


    "It might not happen in your lifetime or in the lifetime of your children, but at some point, one of our descendants will live in a world without Specters!"


    "I, the new Champion of Light, SWEAR IT!"


    WHOOOM!


    At that point, the Sun became even brighter, and Nick felt like his consciousness was being attacked.


    It was like some form of deep and loud droning sound was reverberating throughout his entire being, making it impossible for him to focus on anything or make any coherent thought.


    "SPECTERS!"


    "REPENT!"


    WHOOOM!


    The light exploded, and Nick was thrown against the wall of the cave, destroying it.


    The light quickly dimmed again to a level that was only a bit brighter than usual.


    "Remember my words, people of Earth."


    "I will save you!"


    "Believe in me!"


    And then, the light returned to its usual brightness.


    Compared to before, the world seemed dim and dark.


    The Sun''s light was a constant dark orange.


    Yet, Nick didn''t notice any of that.


    Thatst attack had knocked Nick unconscious, and all of his Zephyx had been thrown into disorder.


    The Zephyx inside Nick''s body basically didn''t make sense anymore and was distorted.


    It took Nick''s body almost a full minute to recover.


    Nick''s eyes slowly opened, and his memories of the event returned.


    He immediately jumped back to his feet and looked outside.


    ''Everything''s back to normal?'' Nick thought.


    For a while, Nick looked at the world outside.


    Then, he stepped out of his cave.


    ''Everything''s back to normal,'' Nick thought as he felt the Zephyx his body was generating.


    ''The way the new Champion of Light talked probably means that the light only had an effect on Specters.''


    ''This means that normal humans do not suffer from this kind of light.''


    For a long time, Nick remained silent.


    He was just trying to make sense of this entire situation.


    New Champion of Light?


    The old Champion of Light was dead¡­


    Meanwhile, far away¡­


    A man shining in golden light bowed in front of a golden throne.


    On the golden throne was an ancient man.


    The ancient man''s eyes were closed, and he looked like he was sleeping.


    Sadly, that was not the case.


    The Left Arm looked at the old man.


    She saw hisst expression¡­


    Regret.


    His expression was filled with regret.


    This was not the expression of somebody who had peacefully died of old age.


    The shining man slowly straightened his body and moved his arm to the side.


    The next moment, the old man on the throne turned into white dust before vanishing.


    Finally, the shining man turned around and pulled out a long and bright sword.


    "For humanity!" he shouted.


    The six Shields in the hall lifted their arms.


    "For humanity!" they echoed.


    And yet¡­


    Their shouts did not seem very heartfelt.

 Chapter 654 – So Many Inconsistencie

    Chapter 654 ¨C So Many Inconsistencies


    Nick wasn''t sure what this change meant for the world.


    He only knew that this was a monumental change.


    ''First, I should check the city and take a look at how the people react.''


    Nick quickly moved towards Water Pir City and looked at everything.


    The people were all standing on the streets with excitement in their eyes.


    Nick''s perception epassed a huge part of the city, and many different conversations entered his ears.


    A normal person would very quickly get overwhelmed by the chaotic mass of talking, but as a Specialist, Nick''s mind was fast enough to listen to more than ten conversations at the same time while also being able to filter ten conversations out of a sea of a thousand.


    ''They are excited,'' Nick thought. ''Many of them believe they are dreaming, while many others have gained newfound belief in the old tale of the Champion of Light.''


    Nick''s eyes shone as he heard something interesting.


    The city had captured over five Specters within thest minutes.


    When the new Champion of Light shouted that the Specters should repent, all Specters were hit by the power of the Sun, not just Nick.


    Just like Nick, all the Specters were thrown back and lost consciousness.


    Of course, not really all Specters. Nick doubted that the new Champion of Light had enough power to injure Fallen while distributing his attack over such arge area.


    Most likely, Demons only got pushed back a bit and didn''t actually receive any damage.


    Nevertheless, all the Specters weaker than Demons staying inside different cities had been thrown back and injured, exposing them as Specters.


    This was actually crazy.


    Having five hidden Specters in a city was definitely on the low end. Most cities probably had over 15 hidden Specters.


    Water Pir City had a good grasp over its Specter situation since it was stronger than the average city.


    The city had seven Heroes and over 50 Specialists, even after Nick had weakened the city quite a bit.


    ''The new Champion dealt with five Specters here and probably more than five in every other city.''


    ''Just the Great Triangle has around 300 cities, totaling a bit more than three million people. Only the Grand Continent has more, but it shouldn''t be that much more.''


    ''The entire world probably has barely 1,000 cities, whiche to something around ten million people.''


    ''With this one move, the new Champion probably exposed over 5,000 Specters.''


    ''The number of lives he has saved is staggering. In just one moment, he has helped many more people than I have in decades.''


    Nick looked at a group of Extractors in the distance as he narrowed his eyes.


    ''And that''s not even everything,'' he thought as he listened to their exhrated conversation. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''The light that stopped me from producing Zephyx had an incredibly beneficial effect on Extractors.''


    From what Nick could hear, the short moments in the special sunlight filled every human with Zephyx.


    This meant that no one needed to work with any Specters for today to advance.


    They had already gotten their Zephyx.


    Additionally, the light had also allowed people to push through their bottlenecks.


    Nick had always forced his way through the bottlenecks between levels by exhausting himself to the absolute limit when he had gained around 80% of the necessary Zephyx to reach the next level.


    He had first learned about this when he had trained with Man when he had still been a Newbie.


    Yet, the Champion''s light apparently allowed people to reach the next level even earlier.


    People barely needed 50% of what they usually needed to advance.


    This led to around 30% of people advancing a level today. Sadly, the light didn''t help with achieving Zephosis, creating a Shell, or getting through the Consumption.


    However, this was still a terrifying effect.


    After all, this even worked on Heroes!


    Water Pir City now had three Early Heroes.


    That was crazy.


    The Champion of Light had done so much good today.


    Humanity should be happy to have someone like him.


    Yet, Nick didn''t like it.


    ''While all of his actions are good and beneficial for humanity, I can''t be sure about his actual goals.''


    ''Some things are very worrisome.''


    ''First, why did the old Champion already die? I''m sure he had a couple of decades left.''


    ''Second, how was the Champion able to transmit his power? I don''t think that''s easily achievable. There are too many hoops to jump through. I''ve spent years with the Technician, and I''m certain the technology or Zephology are nowhere close to achieving something this miraculous.''


    ''Third, the amount of Zephyx required to push back thousands of Specters and to advance tens of thousands of Extractors is crazy. Only an Eternal could hope to exhibit anything close to that level of power. Even if the old Championpletely converted his life into Zephyx to be used with an ability, it wouldn''t be enough. Additionally, doing something like that needs an ability that not even the Champion should have ess to.''


    ''The Champion was ''just'' a Mid Shield. Not even Death can epass the entire world in his mind. I''ve gone in and out of Aegis'' headquarters many times, and I can tell that Death''s perception ''only'' epasses a circle with a radius of about 500 kilometers.''


    ''Death should be a Peak Adversary. I don''t think the old nor new Champions of Light can epass the entire world like this.''


    ''Lastly, the new Champion said that the Sun is our ally.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''And if I take that into ount while looking at the other unexinable things, it actually makes sense.''


    ''If the Sun actually helped, all of this would be possible.''


    ''The Sun is most likely the strongest Specter that exists, and the fact that it is always perfectly centered around everybody''s head all over the world means that its perception also stretches across the entire.''


    ''Either the Champion used the Sun as a tool, or the Sun helped him voluntarily.''


    At that moment, Nick had a thought.


    ''When my ability deactivated, was it the Champion looking at me or the Sun?''


    Nick thought about that for a while.


    ''I can''t tell. The answer would determine the Champion''s rtionship with the Sun, but there''s no way for me to find out.''


    ''Yet, one thing is for certain.''


    ''Somehow, the Sun and the Champion of Light managed to work together for a moment.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''But isn''t killing the Sun the very thing that would free humanity?''


    ''Isn''t Aegis'' goal to kill the Sun?''


    ''Why is it suddenly an ally?''


    ''There are too many strange things going on.''


    ''Too many things don''t make any sense.''


    ''Speaking of. Where did this guy evene from?''


    ''Sure, I''m not very high in the hierarchy in Aegis, but there wasn''t even the slightest sign of his existence.''


    ''The Sun should be the strongest Specter, and Specters grow stronger by causing suffering to humanity in a certain way.''


    ''So, as the strongest Specter, shouldn''t the Sun have caused the most suffering to humanity?''


    ''Doesn''t that make it the very representation of humanity''s suppression and suffering?''


    ''This should be thest thing that humanity should be allied with.''


    ''Then, why is the Champion suddenly talking about it like it''s our ally?''


    ''If it were our ally, it could just kill all of the other Eternals, and even if it weren''t powerful enough to do that, it could just kill the Adversaries.''


    ''The Sun has the power to save humanity, but it isn''t doing so.''


    ''Something doesn''t make sense here.''


    Nick furrowed his brows as he gazed towards the Sun.


    ''Nobody except the Champion of Light has ever received the Sun''s ability. If the new Champion of Light also has the Sun''s ability, only two people ever received its ability, and both of them have been the most powerful humans in the world.''


    ''But aren''t abilities given to new Extractors? What''s the chance of both of them receiving the ability and managing to be the strongest humans.''


    ''Speaking of. How did the Champion of Light even get so powerful?''


    ''History just states that he suddenly made himself known to the world before creating Aegis. Back then, he had already been the strongest human.''


    ''But there are no eyewitness ounts of his rise, and nobody knows from which city he is from.''


    ''Had there even been cities as we know them over 2,000 years ago?''


    ''It''s almost like the Sun chooses its Champion.''


    Nick rubbed the side of his head.


    ''But that also doesn''t make sense. The old Champion of Light was a genuinely good person. I could feel it clearly. He looked at me with such care and hope, and I could tell that he genuinely wanted to help humanity.''


    ''Why would the Sun choose someone like that?''


    ''Why did the Sun choose him?''


    ''All of this-''


    Suddenly, Nick felt his ability deactivate, and he shot into the ground.


    "Nick!"


    Nick suddenly stopped moving.


    He knew that voice!


    How was he here?!


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 655 – Changing Fronts

    Chapter 655 ¨C Changing Fronts


    Nick came out of the ground and looked around in shock.


    "Technician?!" Nick spoke in surprise.


    ''But how?!'' Nick thought. ''He can''t leave Aegis'' headquarters! If he leaves, Death will attack the headquarters!''


    "Wow, so, you really became a Specter. That''s fascinating!" a voice in Nick''s mind spoke.


    "Yes, did you get my message?" Nick asked.


    "Sure did," the voice answered withughter.


    But then, Nick felt the atmosphere shift.


    "Has your goal changed?" the Technician asked.


    "I-"


    "Never mind, stupid question," the Technician added. "Even if it did, you wouldn''t tell me since you know how that would go. Just forget it."


    "Listen, I don''t have much time. I''m just flying through here ''coincidentally''. I mean, not really coincidentally since I knew that you had to be around here somewhere, but I''m actually doing somethingpletely different. Anyway, you have to stay away from Aegis for a couple of years. Many things are happening, and I can''t go into details."


    "Just stay away for a while until things calm down. Go be undercover or whatever. Time''s up! Gotta go!"


    A short momentter, Nick''s ability activated again.


    Nick hadn''t even seen a glimpse of the Technician this entire time.


    Most likely, the Technician had just been flying in a straight line without acting like he was talking with Nick.


    Nick became more nervous.


    ''This means he thinks that he is being watched,'' Nick thought. ''On top of that, he believes that the one watching him would not be happy with my existence.''


    ''Speaking of. Which Shields actually know about me? The Left Arm, the Technician, and the old Champion of Light. Those three definitely know about me.''


    ''What about the other four?''


    ''What about the new Champion of Light?''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''The Technician said that I should stay away for a while, and he specifically traveled through this ce to find and tell me.'' N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''Things at Aegis seem to be chaotic.''


    ''I shouldn''t consider everyone in Aegis to be my ally at this moment.''


    ''My original message should have directly gone to the Left Arm, and since the Technician knows about it, it probably means that the two of them are on the same side, which means that the Left Arm should be on my side.''


    ''But I can''t be sure about the other ones.''


    ''My identity as a former human might be more dangerous than just being a normal Specter.''


    ''I have to be careful about my true identity.''


    Nick imitated taking a deep breath.


    ''In the end, everything is just as before. All of these things that have been happening are too big. I don''t have the power to change any of these.''


    ''I just have to continue as I have. Maybe I should push back my nned return to Aegis by a couple of years, and I should also be more careful about how I return.''


    Nick turned to look at Water Pir City.


    ''I should watch Water Pir City for a couple more months. Then, I''ll call Wrath and go to the next city.''


    The situation with the Sun had passed, and Nick returned to his "job" as Wrath''s agent.


    Nick was not powerful enough to get involved in such major happenings yet.


    Within the next couple of months, many things changed on a global scale, but the normal people didn''t hear anything about these things.


    For them, nothing had changed.


    The biggest effects were subtle.


    However, Nick heard about one of the changes.


    "Your next goal is Lust," Wrath spoke through gritted teeth to Nick.


    "Lust?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought we were going after Gluttony."


    "Things have changed," Wrath said with a dark tone.


    "What has changed?" Nick asked.


    Wrath red at Nick for a bit.


    "The humans are putting pressure on Pestilence in the north of the Grand Continent," Wrath exined.


    Nick didn''t let it show on his face, but he was quite surprised.


    The humans were putting pressure on one of the Trio of Destruction?


    ''That also exins where the Technician was actually going to. I am near that western part of the Grand Continent, and if someone came from Aegis'' headquarters while taking the longer route through the east, they could travel past me.''


    ''The Technician is probably fighting near the frontlines against Pestilence.''


    "Sloth and Lust retreated north to help Pestilence. That leaves Lust''s position open. We are using this opportunity to expand my territory towards the east," Wrath exined.


    Nick nodded.


    Technically, none of the Corruptors directly got involved in their territories. After all, if a powerful Fallen showed itself, humanity might deliver a devastating counterattack.


    The Corruptors only got involved in their territories via Major Rys.


    However, using a Major Ry was risky.


    There were ways to intercept and track the messages from Major Rys, but it wasn''t easy.


    Only Protectors could hope to master such an ability, and they also needed to be rtively close to one of the recipients.


    Major Rys worked by establishing connections with the Corruptors.


    The maniption lines in the Major Rys were only there to ess the Corruptors'' powers.


    They did not have the power to create the connections on their own.


    The actual connection was upheld by the Corruptors while the Major Rys only acted as¡­ well¡­ rys or receivers, depending on the viewpoint.


    The Major Rys sent a request to build a connection to the Corruptor. The Corruptor then needed to connect to the Major Rys, and the two sides would be able to talk to each other.


    Yet, if there was a powerful Protector nearby, they could tap into the connection and calcte the position of both sides.


    The most important parts of such great battles were intel and location.


    Both sides only knew the rough location of the other side.


    If one of the two sides showed their precise location, the other side could strike that location with all of their power.


    Aegis knew that Pestilence was somewhere in the northeast of the Grand Continent, but they could only narrow the location down to about a square with dimensions of about 2,000 kilometers for its edges.


    If Aegis just attacked a random spot there, Pestilence would see the attacker and could deliver a devastating attack.


    As soon as one of the two sides showed itself, the "final battle" would take ce, and one of the two sides would be killed.


    Because of that, the Shields stationed in the north of the Grand Continent remainedpletely silent, just as Pestilence, Lust, and Sloth remained silent.


    Because of that, Lust couldn''t establish a connection with their cities.


    Otherwise, they would be found quickly, and Aegis would strike.


    Not being able to contact any of the cities was extremely detrimental to the Corruptors.


    The only one that could do that without even thinking about the consequences was Envy since Aegis already knew where it was.


    However, it was important to note that Envy was special.


    Not only was it hiding in an extremely dark area, but it also had the widest range of abilities in existence.


    Envy had hundreds of different abilities, making it extremely versatile and unpredictable in a fight.


    It had varied ways of getting rid of light and causing Extractors to be surrounded by darkness.


    Sadly, even all of Aegisbined couldn''t resist the Nightmare''s power.


    In Envy''s case, neither side would benefit from an esction in the conflict.


    Attacking Envy was too risky for Aegis, and leaving the dark crater was too risky for Envy since it would lose the advantageous battleground.


    Because of that, both sides were at a permanent stalemate in the Deste Continent.


    The only way to get rid of Envy for good was if the Champion of Light could go there personally since he was essentially the personification of sunlight, making him immune to the Nightmare''s influence.


    Sadly, if he moved, Aegis'' headquarters would be obliterated by Death.


    Of course, many more things were happening all over the world.


    The fact that Shields were moving to different ces gave neutral Adversaries and Fallen new opportunities, while Pride and Wrath could go on an even crazier offensive.


    Many incidents were happening all over the world, but Nick didn''t hear about any of them.


    Only the siege of Pestilence was relevant to his life.


    For now.


    Wrath told Nick about his new target.


    This time, the target was over 2,000 kilometers to the southeast, which was quite far away from where he was stationed currently.


    Nick remembered that this part of the Grand Continent was also called the Ant Region.


    The Ant Region was called such due to the crazy number of residential ruins scattered all across the region.


    This made it appear like the region had been filled with a crazy number of humans.


    Historians estimated that there had been over two billion people in the triangr region at the southern edge of the Grand Continent.


    The entire world barely had ten million people.


    The thought that over two billion people could live in that rtively small part was as crazy as it was disturbing.


    The poption density had to be simr to an ant hill, which was how the region got its name.


    The Ant Region and the big area to the northeast of it were where Lust had its strongest hold, which wasn''t surprising.


    There had been an insane number of people there, which meant that there had to have been an insane number of procreations.


    This was where Lust reigned.

 Chapter 656 – Meat Cube City

    Chapter 656 ¨C Meat Cube City


    The first city Nick went to was called Meat Cube City, which was named after its most powerful Specter, the Meat Cube.


    The Meat Cube grew more powerful by absorbing meat, no matter where it came from.


    Naturally, there were different ways of working with that Specter and different ways one could get the meat.


    For example, the Meat Cube could be handled the same way as the Corpse Mountain in Crimson City. If the city just threw all of the dead people into it, things wouldn''t be horrible.


    However, this was a city controlled by Lust.


    It did not require a lot of creativity to find how Lust and meat production were connected.


    While, on the surface, Meat Cube City acted like a normal city, its darkness reached deep.


    Aegis could deal with starving and dehydrating people. As long as the cities delivered their tribute, Aegis wouldn''t get involved.


    However, if Aegis found out what was actually happening in this city, Aegis would very quickly rece the local government.


    Meat Cube City had around 9,000 people in total of which about 4,500 were women, of which around 2,500 were adults, of which 1,500 were currently pregnant.


    Yes, 60% of all adult women in the city were currently pregnant.


    If one looked at the city from the outside, one would think that the city was about to undergo a poption boom.


    The future looked bright.


    Didn''t it?


    Sadly, this wasn''t the case.


    Living in the city was quite expensive, but almost all the women had quite good lives.


    That was due to their high social status in this city.


    That was because women could grow meat that didn''t cause irreparable damage to their bodies when removed securely.


    Men couldn''t produce meat.


    Technically, it was illegal to "donate meat" to the biggest Manufacturer due to the ethical concerns.


    However, the guards tantly ignored thew.


    They didn''t care, and they were not supposed to care.


    About seven months after conception, a "meat donor" would visit the biggest Manufacturer.


    There, she woulde into contact with a Specter that grew more powerful by ending pregnancies.


    The reason why it generally happened after seven months was because the "meat" would be quite big while not being big enough to endanger the donor''s life when removed.


    After the life of the growing meat had been ended, the donor would go to the meat remover, who wouldpress the donation into a long flesh stick, which ensured easy and safe removal.


    Finally, the donation would be thrown into the Meat Cube, while the meat donor would be handsomely rewarded.


    Women living in the city had quite a lot of amenities.


    They had regr baths, didn''t need to hunger, had a good house, didn''t need a job, and so on.


    Of course, only the women who secretly donated meat from time to time could afford such luxuries.


    Most men had a lower standing than the meat donors in Meat Cube City.


    They had to work a brutal number of hours while still living worse than the meat donors. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    These 3,000 adult men essentially did almost all the work for all 9,000 people in the city.


    However, they were not on the lowest level.


    On the lowest level were the women who refused to donate meat.


    Just like the men, they needed to work hard, but due to biology, only the strongest of them could keep up with the physical stress put on their bodies.


    Even more, most of them were treated like shit by the men.


    Far too many men were envious of the women''s ability to just "print money".


    In their minds, the women were idiots for their self-destructive behavior.


    They clearly didn''t suffer as much as them since they always had a way out, while the men didn''t.


    Of course, all of these statements were very generalized, and there were plenty of men who viewed these women as noble while viewing the meat donors as absolute monsters.


    Sadly, despite all of this, the chances of being able to have a kid for these kinds of people were extremely small.


    There were plenty of men who were willing to "steal some meat" from the mothers and fathers.


    The vast majority of poorer people refused to procreate because of that.


    The danger was just too high.


    However, it was important to note that these were just a couple of smallints in a city with a poption that was rtively happy whenpared to other cities.


    Almost 50% of all inhabitants lived in rtive luxury, while another 30% lived okay.


    This was nowhere near as bad as ck Mine City or Water Pir City.


    Of course, that was also only true if one looked at the living people''s happiness.


    As for the suffering of the sacrificed "meat"¡­


    Well, there was a reason why the city did its absolute best to keep all of this secret.


    They were producing a crazy amount of Zephyx this way, and the Governor''s reputation was ster.


    It was only a matter of time until he was called into Aegis to be an Agent.


    After all, he was giving Aegis 40% more Zephyx than the minimum it asked for.


    Of course, the reason why the Governor was giving Aegis so much Zephyx was so that it didn''t go to his city to "look at and optimize things".


    When Nick saw what was going on, he grew quite angry.


    Although, he always grew angry when he entered a new city.


    This time, it was just that his anger epassed a bigger number of people.


    Usually, Nick''s anger only epassed a couple hundred elite people at most.


    But this time, he was angry at over 3,000 people.


    ''I don''t care if society strongly incentivizes you to act this way,'' Nick thought coldly. ''You have your own mind, your own hands, and your own will.''


    Nick remembered a couple of times he had done some quite bad things under Wyntor''s and Julian''s orders and grew angrier.


    He didn''t need to do these things!


    Yet, he had still done them!


    ''Yes, I am a monster, but that doesn''t NOT make you monsters as well!''


    Nick looked at the biggest Manufacturers of the city and the Governor.


    Then, he started his infiltration.


    Nick had be quite good at these things, and he already knew how to deal with this.


    For the first couple of days, Nick inspected the city and gathered intel.


    He quickly realized that the city was above average in Zephyx production but below average in Extractor power.


    It seemed like the biggest Manufacturer essentially had a monopoly, with the second-biggest Manufacturer only having three Experts.


    They didn''t even have any Specialists.


    The biggest Manufacturer only had two Heroes, but both of them were Early Heroes.


    Surprisingly, they didn''t even have ten Specialists.


    It seemed like the number of Fanatics they controlled was very low.


    This was a city that fully relied on the Meat Cube as its support, which was rare.


    For example, if the Crimson Fungus in Crimson City suddenly got destroyed, the city would still have the gue Eagle as a Demon while also having almost 20 Fanatics.


    The Zephyx output would drop, but the city would still be able to pay the tribute, albeit with a bit less luxury.


    However, if the Meat Cube died here, the city''s entire economy would copse.


    Over 60% of the produced Zephyx came from the Meat Cube, which was shocking.


    The Governor was also only an Early Hero.


    From what Nick had found out, the Governor used to be the CZE of the biggest Manufacturer in the city.


    The old Governor "died to a Specter".


    Aegis did not find out what exactly happened to the old Governor and quickly appointed a new Governor.


    Back then, there had still been two major Manufacturers.


    Well, after the new Governor took over, that quickly changed.


    The city dramatically changed over the decades until it became what it was today.


    After learning all of this about the city, Nick searched for Lust''s agent.


    It was important to find out who worked for Lust.


    Otherwise, if Nick dealt with Lust''s influence but Lust''s emissary survived, the city would just revert to its old state.


    After spying on every important person for about two months, Nick could finally confirm who the emissary was.


    It was the Specter that grew more powerful by killing unborn babies.


    Just like in ck Mine City, that Specter had the power to control the Meat Cube.


    Surprisingly, the Meat Cube was not a Possession Specter but a Physical Specter with the intelligence level of a rtively dumb mammal.


    Lust domesticated it and told it to listen to the other Specter.


    This was simr to ck Mine City, except that both Specters were publicly known as Specters.


    They were essentially hiding in in sight.


    However, that wasn''t everything.


    The Governor was also in on it, andpared to ck Mine City, he wasn''t antagonistic to the current emissary of Lust.


    They worked together.


    After learning all of this, Nick came up with a very simple n.


    It was actually pretty easy to deal with all of this.

 Chapter 657 – Meat Cube

    Chapter 657 ¨C Meat Cube


    Over an entire year passed.


    During this year, Meat Cube City did not change.


    Everything was as it always was.


    Today, Nick looked at the city with a determined expression.


    ''Finally. Took long enough,'' he thought.


    Nick looked at his right hand and clenched it for a moment.


    He felt powerful.


    ''I think I should be something like 59 or 60 years old by now,'' Nick thought. ''Bing a Mid Specialist at such an age should be considered very young.''


    Nick wanted to release a breath.


    ''Or a Mid Fanatic, I guess. The fact that I''m a Specter is also the very reason why I am advancing so fast.''


    ''If I still were a human, even with consuming a Late Elder, I would need around five to ten years to advance a level.''


    ''Meanwhile, I advanced two levels in five years.''


    ''My speed of advancement is even faster than the speed I had when I became an Expert.''


    ''Usually, advancement slows down with power growth, but that wasn''t the case for me.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''Although, it is slowing down. The first level took me two years, and the second level took me three.''


    Naturally, the way Nick advanced seemed amazing. After all, he only needed to cause some suffering somewhere, and he would keep advancing without doing anything else.


    However, this didn''t work forever.


    While Nick was still receiving suffering from Markus Julius, the rich people and leaders of Crimson City were no longer suffering.


    They had all gotten used to their new lives, and the grieving families had mostly ovee their grief by now.


    Nick was barely gaining any suffering from Crimson City anymore. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The suffering he was collecting from ck Mine City was also starting to shrink.


    Water Pir City was still in the middle of a transformation, and it gave the most suffering to Nick.


    Nick knew that the suffering from ck Mine City would almostpletely vanish within the next ten years, and Water Pir City would also significantly reduce.


    Nick was advancing quickly right now, but he also caused a lot of suffering.


    ''The Zephyx I require will only grow as I be more powerful, and I need to keep at it.''


    ''However, I still have to keep in mind that I live to help humanity, not benefit from its suffering.''


    ''If I prioritize my own power, I won''t be better than all the rich people I hate.''


    ''I have to be careful.''


    Eventually, Nick focused on the city again.


    ''As a Mid Fanatic, I should be powerful enough.''


    The next moment, Nick seemingly vanished.


    In truth, Nick had partially transformed into mist.


    All the years of focusing on manipting Zephyx weren''t for nothing.


    Nick had enough control over his power to change the color of his mist and to partially transform his body.


    This gave him a method to travel through the air without needing to be a Demon or having his primary ability active.


    By partially transforming the tip of his extremities into mist, he could expand the "area of his palms and feet".


    His misty hands could take up a much bigger area in the air, and Nick could use the power of his physical body to push himself off the air.


    In short, Nick was traveling across the air, simr to how a lizard or a spider ran across the water.


    Theparison was not perfectly urate, but it was urate enough.


    Nick could now technically use any part of the atmosphere, like a road.


    Nick partially transformed into mist and entered Meat Cube City.


    He rapidly moved through the streets until he arrived in front of a huge skyscraper.


    This was the most powerful Manufacturer in the city.


    Geometry.


    Nick easily passed the guards and entered the building without any issues.


    Barely anyone paid attention while walking through the building.


    After all, why would they?


    They were the undisputed most powerful Manufacturer in the entire city.


    No human would dare to attack them, and Specters tended to avoid big congregations of powerful Extractors.


    Nick entered the Extractor shaft and left at one of the higher floors.


    Nobody was on this floor, and the only thing of note was a big door at the end of a long hallway.


    This was the floor with the Meat Cube.


    Over the past couple of weeks, Nick had kept watch over this floor.


    The meat deliveries happened once per day, during the evening hours.


    Right now, it was afternoon.


    Nick waited in the hallway for a couple of hours, and eventually, someone came out of the Extractor shaft.


    It was one of the two Heroes of Geometry.


    Every day, a different Hero would transport the meat to the Meat Cube. Naturally, they were splitting the Zephyx from the Meat Cube rtively equally.


    Per week, the two Heroes from Geometry got two days of meat delivery each, while the Governor got three.


    Nick watched the Hero opening the Containment Unit.


    Nick''s perception entered the Containment Unit, and he saw the Meat Cube.


    The Meat Cube was about two-by-two-by-two meters in dimension, and it looked surprisingly solid.


    One would think that a literal cube of meat would be bloody, but that wasn''t the case.


    The meat was not bloody at all, and it almost seemed like it had a crust.


    When the door opened, the Meat Cube didn''t move at all.


    In fact, none of the two Heroes of Geometry even knew that it was a Physical Specter.


    They were under the impression that the Meat Cube was an Early Demon Possession Specter.


    The Governor was the only one who knew about the Meat Cube''s true identity.


    The Meat Cube was actually a Mid Physical Demon.


    Luckily for the Governor, the two Heroes would never find out the truth.


    At some point, they would be Mid Heroes, after which they woulde into contact with Aegis. Aegis would then assign them to be Governors of a different city.


    Nick quietly entered the Containment Unit after the Hero.


    The Containment Unit was quite dirty. Blood and individual pieces of meat were everywhere.


    If the Hero paid attention, he might have noticed Nick.


    Sadly, he didn''t.


    After all, he went to this ce twice a week and had been doing so for decades.


    Being vignt here was akin to being highly vignt while going toward the toilet.


    As for the Meat Cube, it got the orders to act like a Possession Specter.


    So, it did just that.


    Specters didn''t grow bored or infuriated, usually. The only times these emotions appeared were when the Specter was insane.


    Because of that, the Meat Cube essentially existed in a dormant state, barely thinking.


    Doing that was the smartest choice. After all, it had been doing that for decades, and it was receiving plenty of meat while doing exactly that.


    So, it was just there, waiting for further orders.


    The Hero took out his next delivery of meat and dumped it into the Meat Cube.


    A momentter, the meat started to get absorbed by the Meat Cube, and a ton of Zephyx was released.


    For the next hour, the Hero focused on absorbing the Zephyx produced by the Meat Cube.


    Then, he left.


    Meanwhile, Nick just waited.


    He was waiting for something specific.


    Nick waited in this Containment Unit for over two weeks.


    Every day, someone would arrive to deliver the meat.


    And then, two weeks after arriving here, the thing Nick was waiting for happened.


    This time, two people entered.


    One was a middle-aged man with a casual expression, while the other was a young woman, who was barely wearing anything.


    The middle-aged man looked well-groomed and wore the spotless uniform of a Governor.


    Naturally, he was the Governor.


    The young woman had impressive breasts, which were covered by a thin strip of fabric, and she wore red heels that seemed almost impossible to walk in.


    This was a very unusual outfit for a woman in these parts.


    However, she wasn''t really a woman.


    She was a Specter.


    In fact, she was Lust''s emissary.


    She was the one who could order the Meat Cube around.


    When Nick saw them, he knew that the time hade.


    This was what he had been waiting for.


    About once a month, the Governor secretly took Lust''s emissary with him to the Meat Cube.


    This was the order of Lust''s emissary.


    She was only an Early Fanatic, and she knew that she wouldn''t be able to win in a fight against the Governor.


    The Governor was human, and the emissary knew that humans tended to act illogically sometimes.


    Because of that, she had given a failsafe order to the Meat Cube.


    If the Meat Cube didn''t get to meet the emissary once every two months at least, it was supposed to kill the Governor and the city.


    Therefore, the Governor brought the Specter to the Meat Cube once every month.


    This meeting was supposed to remind the Governor about who was truly in charge.


    As the Specter entered, the Meat Cube''s consciousness stirred, and itmunicated with the Specter.


    "Show me your Specter Core," the emissary ordered.


    Naturally, this order was Nick''s doing.


    The Meat Cube was trained to follow orders without questioning them.


    So, itplied.


    Its Specter Core was slowly pushed out of its shell.


    The emissary and the Governor looked at the Specter Core with confusion.


    Why was it showing its Specter Core?


    BANG!


    Suddenly, a spear hit the Specter Core, and an instantter, the Specter Core broke into pieces.


    The Meat Cube was dead.

 Chapter 658 – You Are Alone

    Chapter 658 ¨C You Are Alone


    The Specter Core of the Meat Cube exploded, and the Meat Cube started to turn into ck dust.


    Almost immediately, the Governor pulled out two huge shields and looked around.


    The emissary didn''t even perceive that the Meat Cube had died, as the Governor was already springing into action.


    BANG!


    One of the shields appeared beside the emissary just in time to block another powerful spear.


    When Nick saw that, his brows furrowed. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    After throwing a spear at the Meat Cube, he immediately threw another one at the emissary.


    With Nick''s ability, he was incredibly fast.


    The emissary wouldn''t be able to react in time to his attack, and the Governor would be too shocked to react.


    At least, that had been the n.


    However, the Governor had reacted extremely well.


    This meant that the Governor had been in a couple of battles before, and his instincts were not rusty.


    While the dominance of Geometry meant that it barely had any conflicts anymore, that wasn''t necessary true for its past.


    Everyone started out small, and Geometry also needed to fight to the top.


    The Governor had been the one who pushed Geometry to the dominant position it inhabited today.


    As soon as the two shields appeared, Nick knew that the Governor was a Bruiser.


    Nick hadn''t been able to see how the Governor fought since he never saw him with any weapons.


    The reason was that the Governor had a Space Bag.


    Quite a luxury.


    Nick had expected that he would be able to kill the emissary rather quickly, but the Governor intercepted the attack.


    After the Governor blocked the attack, the emissary finally realized what was going on and looked to her left.


    A metallic de extended out of the ck smoke that was the Meat Cube''s body.


    BANG!


    However, the de was blocked by another powerful shield.


    Then, the Governor narrowed his eyes and punched forward with his shield.


    WHOOOOOM!


    The Meat Cube was turned into ck mist, which scattered across the entire Containment Unit.


    The next moment, the Governor stretched out his arms, and thousands of threads of silk shot out of his shields.


    The threads of silk stuck to the walls, ceiling, and floor.


    An instantter, the Governor threw his arms to the side again, and all the threads began to clump and stick together, creating a terrifyingly dense of silk.


    Nick could tell that the Governor was also a Maniptor who could control the battlefield.


    There was barely any room left for a human to move around.


    "You are not my target."


    The Governor heard a distorted voice in his ear.


    He only narrowed his eyes.


    At that moment, the emissary managed to properly react, and a red glow appeared around her.


    One had to remember that the Governor was an entire level above her, which meant that his speed and reaction speed were ten times faster.


    That was why the Governor managed to do this much before the emissary could do anything.


    That also showed why the emissary had constantly used the Meat Cube as a threat.


    If nothing else, this showed the humongous gap in power between the two.


    "The Meat Cube is dead," the Specter said with a neutral expression. "I must ask for a new Demon from Mistress Lust. Protect me, and there may be a future for you in this city."


    The Governor furrowed his brows while keeping watch over his surroundings.


    "This city belongs to Lord Wrath now," they heard inside their heads.


    The Governor''s eyes further narrowed when he heard that, and he grew nervous.


    Right now, he didn''t have the time to think about the implications of the Meat Cube''s death since his entire body was focused on fighting the enemy.


    He had just thought about surviving and dealing with the immediate threat.


    However, when the Governor heard about Wrath, he grew nervous.


    He hadn''t even thought about the assassin''s identity since that wasn''t important during a battle.


    Only surviving was important during a battle.


    The Governor had simply been acting like this since he knew that he couldn''t resist someone as powerful as Mistress Lust.


    That was a Peak Fallen!


    But when he heard about Lord Wrath, he realized that things had be troublesome.


    Lord Wrath was also one of the seven Corruptors, and therefore, he was also a Peak Fallen.


    This was a war between two Peak Fallen.


    Someone like him didn''t have enough power to impact such a conflict.


    "Wrath has no power over this city," the emissary spoke coldly. "The sin of lust has been deeply interwoven. Trying to convert this city is a wasted effort."


    The ck mist inside the Containment Unit began to spin rapidly, and a de came out of the mist.


    BANG!


    However, the de was blocked by one of the Governor''s shields.


    The Governor looked around and noticed that his hadn''t been triggered yet.


    Whatever was attacking them was extremely good at avoiding his.


    "You are alone," the voice spoke in their heads. "Why do you think I am here instead of in the west?"


    "You can''t reach Lust."


    "You are on your own."


    While Nick and the emissary were talking, the Governor kept trying to find the attacker.


    The more he tried to find Nick, the more shocked he grew.


    How could anything hide in this room?


    This room was tiny for people of their level, and he had filled it with silk!


    And then, he had a terrifying thought.


    The ck mist!


    What if the Specter was the ck mist?!


    But how?!


    The Governor hadn''t even heard of a sapient Force Specter!


    Force Specters rarely even had the intelligence of a dumb mammal.


    Most of the time, they acted like single-celled organisms or forces of nature.


    They just had the most basic of instincts.


    So, how could it even be possible for a Force Specter tomunicate like a human?!


    As that possibility reared its ugly head, the Governor realized that he was in trouble.


    He was a Bruiser and a Maniptor.


    But he was no Suppressor.


    In order to deal with a Force Specter, an Extractor needed specific abilities that dealt with Force Specters.


    Without those, it would be like fighting air.


    Even if the assassin couldn''t hurt him, he also couldn''t hurt the assassin.


    Naturally, the Governor quickly tried to think of a n.


    One of the other Heroes was a powerful Suppressor. He would be able to deal with this Specter.


    But how could he get that Hero to help him?


    The crux of the issue was the emissary.


    Why was the Governor protecting this random Fanatic?


    Why was the Governor being attacked by a random, intelligent Force Specter in the middle of Geometry''s headquarters?


    Why did the Specter kill the Meat Cube? There was no reason for Specters to fight each other.


    Answering any of these questions would mean exposing the random Specter as an emissary of Lust, after which the other person would ask about why the Governor was protecting an emissary of Lust in the first ce and how he knew about that.


    If he could somehow get the emissary back into her dedicated Containment Unit, he could act like he had never been in contact with her.


    But the issue was that the emissary of Wrath would keep attacking the emissary of Lust.


    Additionally, as soon as they left the Containment Unit, the first attack the Governor would block would shake the entire building, rming half the city.


    The only reason why nobody had noticed anything was because they were in an extremely powerful Containment Unit that could even contain a Peak Demon.


    "You are dependent on Lord Wrath," the Governor suddenly heard inside his mind. "Choosing to side with Lust is choosing death."


    The Governor had been distracted with thinking about how to deal with the situation, and the words the two sides had been exchanging only now properly registered in his mind.


    "Lust can''t help you," Nick added. "Lust is upied."


    The Governor grew unsure.


    "Exin."


    That was the first thing the Governor had said after Nick had started his assault.


    "He is lying," the emissary answered calmly.


    "It doesn''t matter whether or not I''m lying. The truth wille out anyway," the ck mist answered.


    "Lust is upied," the mist repeated. "Aegis'' Shields are assaulting Pestilence in the north of the Grand Continent. Lust and Sloth are there to help Pestilence. Communicating with their servants means exposing their location to Aegis."


    "Their survival is more important than all of the cities they control."


    "Lust''s emissary can try contacting Lust, but she won''t answer."


    "Meanwhile, Lord Wrath is not in danger."


    The Governor grew more nervous.


    Usually, choosing Lust would still be a better bet since he had been working together with her for a long time.


    But if Lust was truly unreachable right now¡­


    When the Governor thought about the Meat Cube''s demise, he grew even more nervous.


    "Mistress Lust is with us," the emissary spoke. "He is lying."


    "You are free to verify my words," Nick spoke to the Governor. "I have killed the Meat Cube. If you want the city to survive, you need a new Demon. Lust has to give you a new Demon anyway."


    "Go outside and contact her. I won''t attack you or unveil your secret."


    "When you realize that you are alone, you will beg Lord Wrath to save you."


    Then, the ck mist fell silent and stopped storming around the room.


    Now, the room was filled with calm, regr mist.


    The Governor furrowed his brows.


    Some secondster, he looked at the emissary.


    The emissary calmly looked back.


    "Call Mistress Lust," the Governor said.

 Chapter 659 – Bluff

    Chapter 659 ¨C Bluff


    "You do know this is a trap, right?" the emissary asked coldly. "As soon as we leave, he is going to attack us, and I can''t call Mistress Lust from in here."


    The Governor looked at the emissary with furrowed brows. "What are we supposed to do? I''m not a Suppressor, and you''re not powerful enough. Give me an alternative."


    The emissary remained silent for a while.


    "There are no intelligent Force Specters," the emissary said. "He ran out of power and is hiding somewhere in here. He wants us to leave so that we don''t find him."


    "He doesn''t have a physical body," the Governor answered. "I covered the entire room with web, and he can still attack you."


    "Then, why did he stop?" the emissary asked. "If he just keeps attacking, he will be more convincing. There''s no reason to stop attacking to let us escape."


    The Governor turned to look at the mist in the room again.


    He thoroughly scanned the entire room.


    No, there was nothing.


    "He is a Force Specter," the Governor said. "I inspected the room closely, and I can''t find him. This is a Containment Unit, and there''s nowhere for him to hide."


    "Leaving is our only option," he added.


    The emissary didn''t react.


    In fact, she was actually right.


    If Nick could attack, he would.


    It was important to highlight the difference between seeing something and perceiving something.


    When the Governor had been looking through the Containment Unit after Nick''s first attack, he had seen Nick but hadn''t perceived him.


    He had believed that the ck mist was simply the remnant of the Meat Cube''s vanishing body.


    Technically, he had been seeing Nick all the time, but he had not been actively perceiving him.


    This meant that Nick''s ability had still been active.


    Yet, as soon as the Governor actually started to consider that Nick might be a Force Specter, Nick''s ability deactivated.


    After all, the Governor was now perceiving the mist as Nick, which was exactly what Nick was at the moment.


    If Nickunched an attack now, he would be many times slower and weaker.


    The Governor would be able to counterattack and destroy the physical parts of Nick''s body.


    On top of that, both of them would realize that Nick had be much weaker.


    Right now, even if the Governor weren''t here, killing the emissary had be very difficult for Nick.


    Because of that, Nick didn''t attack anymore.


    He was bluffing.


    "We have to leave," the Governor said.


    And the Governor was falling for the bluff.


    Although, it was also important to remember that the Meat Cube had been killed and that the city needed a new Demon.


    Just because the Governor was falling for Nick''s bluff didn''t mean that he was doing the wrong thing.


    Nick hadn''t lied about Lust.


    By falling for Nick''s bluff, the Governor was actually increasing his chances of survival.


    "Fine," the emissary answered.


    The two of them carefully walked to the door, and the Governor opened it.


    The mist inside the Containment Unit was slowly moving past them while the Governor kept vigntly watching his surroundings.


    All three of them left the Containment Unit, and the door closed.


    "Where is your Major Ry?" the mist asked the two of them.


    "Outside the city," the emissary spoke calmly.


    The Governor furrowed his brows.


    "I never escort you out of the city."


    "I don''t need you to leave the city," the emissary spoke. "I need you to enter the Meat Cube''s Containment Unit."


    The Governor looked with suspicion at the emissary.


    Yet, he just followed after her as she started to sneak out of the building.


    Surprisingly, she was rapidly moving between different doors and hallways.


    Nick could immediately tell that the emissary was not used to leaving the building.


    He had snuck into many ces, and he could tell when someone was used to sneaking around or not.


    This Specter definitely wasn''t.


    The Governor furrowed his brows as he followed her.


    He had already lost track of the mist.


    Naturally, as soon as Nick left the Containment Unit, it wasn''t difficult for him to get out of sight and reactivate his ability.


    Yet, he didn''t attack the emissary.


    He didn''t need to.


    He was in the right.


    The emissary managed to sneak out of the building, but there were a couple of close calls.


    After a bit, the emissary also managed to sneak past the city walls.


    Just when the Governor wanted to sneak out of the city after her¡­


    BOOOOM!


    Something exploded between the Governor and the emissary!


    In an instant, everyone around them looked toward this ce, and several pairs of eyes saw the Governor.


    The Governor could only narrow his eyes.


    That confirmed it.


    If the Governor immediately charged after the Specter, he would act like he knew about her.


    The powerful Extractors knew what kind of Specter this was, and they would immediately want to know how that Specter escaped and why the Governor hadn''t stopped her until now.


    Interacting with the emissary now meant bing suspicious.


    Because of that, the Governor had to act like he arrived here because of the explosion and that he didn''t know that the emissary was just outside the city.


    Well, maybe there was a way, but the Governor needed toe up with a waterproof lie in a split-second, and he felt the risk of being exposed to be too high.


    ''I should''ve prepared a lie beforehand in case something like this happened,'' the Governor thought in frustration.


    The Governor was shocked and frustrated that he actually hadn''t done that.


    Usually, he was so meticulous.


    Sadly, the reason why he hadn''t was because he was human.


    Humans had emotions, and sometimes, when something unforeseen and horrendous happened, a human subconsciously entered denial.


    He knew that the emissary might try to escape, but he hadn''t been prepared for her to actually do it.


    epting that this could happen meant epting that the Meat Cube was dead and that their connection to Mistress Lust was cut.


    That was a terrifying thought since the Governor''s life was connected to Mistress Lust.


    "What happened here?" the Governor asked the people around him.


    "Sir, we don''t know!" one of the guards shouted, looking at the destroyed building in front of them.


    "Search for the cause!" the Governor shouted.


    The Extractors nodded and scattered across all directions.


    "I dealt with her," the Governor heard inside his ear. "Come to me and meet your new Lord."


    The Governor furrowed his brows as he looked towards the southeast.


    Something was calling him there.


    Naturally, that was Nick.


    The Governor took to the sky and flew out of the city.


    It wasn''t suspicious for the Governor to leave like this since everyone was searching for the cause of the explosion as well.


    Without anyone noticing, the Governor entered one of the lonely caves.


    Then, his eyes widened in shock.


    There was someone standing in front of him!


    Naturally, this was Nick, and he carried the vanishing head of the emissary in his right hand.


    When the Governor saw Nick, he could feel his power.


    He was so weak!


    At the absolute most, this was a Peak Fanatic. Most likely, it was a Late Fanatic.


    Sure, that was strong, but the Governor was a Hero!


    Even more, he thought that this Specter had been a Force Specter!


    The next moment, Nick dropped the head and exploded into mist.


    The Governor readied himself for a battle, but Nick turned back into his normal body just momentster.


    The Governor had never seen anything like this.


    This was a Specter that could switch between being a Physical Specter and being a Force Specter!


    This shouldn''t be possible!


    At this moment, the Governor had the power to kill Nick.


    Without his ability, Nick wouldn''t even have been able to react properly before the Governor hit him.


    But that didn''t matter.


    The Governor wanted nothing more than to survive, and he could only rely on Nick for survival.


    Without the help of someone more powerful than the Governor, Meat Cube City would fall apart, and Aegis would send an investigator.


    At that point, they would find out about the Governor''s involvement with Lust, and the Governor would be executed.


    He needed a backer.


    The Governor took a deep breath.


    "I will follow Lord Wrath," he spoke respectfully.


    "Smart," Nick said.


    Then, he gestured to the Major Ry in the back of the cave, and the Governor stepped forward.


    The Major Ry activated by itself, and the furious silhouette of Wrath materialized in front of the Governor.


    The Governor bowed in front of the figure.


    "Lord Wrath."


    Wrath red at the Governor with hatred.


    "You are mine," he said coldly.


    "I am yours," the Governor repeated.


    The next moment, Wrath looked at Nick.


    "What do you need?" he asked.


    Wrath had noticed how amazing Nick was at his job.


    Within fewer than ten years, Nick had already conquered several cities.


    Such efficiency could only be matched by the very few Fallen servants Wrath had.


    Wrath was no longer deciding what to do with the city but left the decision to Nick.


    "I need a Demon that wants blood," Nick said. "Do we have something like that?"


    Wrath narrowed his eyes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I have a fitting one."


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 660 – Ten Years

    Chapter 660 ¨C Ten Years


    The next day, the Governor made a big announcement.


    The Meat Cube had been exchanged.


    Almost immediately, the entire city was thrown into an uproar.


    Exchanged?!


    How?!


    Why?!


    Naturally, the other two Heroes were also livid.


    However, when the Governor exined some things to them, they calmed down¡­ somewhat.


    Working with the Meat Cube was risky. If Aegis sent even one person to investigate the city, they would all be punished.


    While it had been going well with the Meat Cube so far, at some point, they would be found out.


    It was far too risky to rely on the Meat Cube like this.


    What if Aegis suddenly changed its policy?


    What if they started to investigate cities that produced too much Zephyx to make sure that no atrocities weremitted?


    The Heroes didn''tpletely believe the Governor, but when the Governor showed them the database entry about the Liaison position, they believed him.


    There seemed to be a big shift in Aegis.


    Especially since a new Champion of Light had appeared.


    Nevertheless, they were still angry that the Governor didn''t ask them before taking their Specter and just exchanging it.


    It was their Specter!


    This Specter didn''t belong to him!


    In the end, the Governor just spun a tale about there not being enough time to ask them and that they wouldn''t have agreed anyway.


    For their own good, he needed to do this.


    Obviously, the Heroes were furious and felt quite insulted, but it wasn''t bad enough to fight to the death with the Governor.


    They just hoped that the new Specter wasn''t horrendous.


    The Governor introduced the new Specter and showed them how it worked.


    The new Specter was special.


    Due to its size, it couldn''t be properly contained inside a Containment Unit.


    Outside of the city, below the wastnd sand, there was a huge hole, almost 50 meters wide and extremely deep.


    The edge of the hole and its walls were made of old brick.


    It looked like an old well.


    If one looked into the well, one would realize that the walls of the well were oozing with blood.


    The Governor made a big cut in his wrist and let his blood flow into the gigantic well.


    A momentter, a big burst of Zephyx came out of the well''s opening, and the two Heroes looked on in shock.


    That was a lot of Zephyx!


    But how would they capture the Zephyx?


    Yet, that problem had already been taken care of.


    The Heroes noticed that most of the Zephyx moved towards the metallic te everyone stood on and was absorbed.


    The Governor jumped to the side and showed them how to open the side of the te and how to retrieve the Zephyx.


    "A Mid Demon Possession Specter," the Governor said. "It''s very simr to the Meat Cube, but since it doesn''t eat meat but blood, we don''t have to be careful about how to hide our true Zephyx production from Aegis."


    The two Heroes were ecstatic and immediately started to create ns on how to work with the Specter.


    While the two Heroes were nning, the Governor threw a nce beside the metallic te.


    Shockingly, in his eyes, there was no well.


    While the other two Heroes saw a well, the Governor only saw a small red leech lying in front of the te.


    This was the Illusion Leech, and it had the power to create powerful illusions.


    This was not a Possession Specter but a Physical Specter.


    In truth, this thing waspletely free and wasn''t even suppressed.


    It stood here voluntarily.


    Naturally, this was Wrath''s servant.


    Nick had alreadye up with a n on how to redesign the city, and this leech would be doing most of the work.


    First, ess to the leech would be made public, and people coulde here to donate blood.


    While the people wereing here to donate blood, the leech would influence them to split into two or more camps.


    There were many ways one could create a permanent conflict.


    For example, one group could have the belief that everyone needed to donate a certain amount of blood, which would then get gathered and centrally assigned to people in need.


    Other groups might believe that everyone''s donation was up to themselves and that they didn''t need to share.


    There could also be people who would make and raise lots of children to donate more blood, while others wouldn''t want that.


    In the end, it was up to the leech to decide on the groups.


    Nick barely needed to get involved.


    In the past couple of cities, Nick needed to create the conflict on his own, but this time, he didn''t need to.


    The leech would deal with everything.


    Nick just remained for a couple more weeks before leaving.


    He wasn''t needed here anymore.


    The next city Nick went to was a rtively normal one.


    It was very simr to Crimson City since the biggest Specter barely affected the normal people.


    It just grew more powerful by absorbing corpses.


    Sure, that made the corpses worth a lot, but it didn''t only eat human corpses.


    The city was surrounded by huge fields of allfood, which was constantly being consumed by a specific type of domesticated animal.


    It was some kind of big and armored slug that kept eating the allfood and growing rapidly.


    Surprisingly, the slug was not a Specter or even the minion of a Specter.


    It was an actual animal.


    Yet, its origin was a Specter.


    It was important to note that a minion of a Specter represented an extension of a Specter that it could control remotely.


    These animals were created by a Specter, but they did not have any Specter characteristics.


    By all intents and purposes, they were real animals.


    The only two things that were different were that they couldn''t procreate and that less than 5% of their body was edible.


    The Specter grew more powerful by creating these animals, which would just consume food.


    At least, that''s what everyone believed.


    In truth, the Specter grew powerful in a different way, and that was exactly how Lust controlled the city.


    The slime of the slugs acted as a subtle aphrodisiac.


    While it didn''t have an immediate effect on people, after being exposed to it for a long time, it significantly enhanced one''s libido.


    The city was mostly normal, but the number of sex workers and sexual favors was significant.


    Due to the big size of the city and the great libido, this was also one of the biggest cities Nick had ever seen.


    This city had over 25,000 people.


    It took Nick only 18 months to deal with this city.


    He got rid of the Specter and imported cows from a different city. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    This time, the Governor was not involved with Lust at all, and Nick also didn''t interact with them.


    Instead, Nick had simply dropped hints to the Governor by delivering interesting pieces of news.


    Nick introduced conflict into this city via a Specter that demanded territory.


    The city "just so happened" to find this Specter "by luck".


    The next city Nick went to was just an absolute fest of depraved debauchery.


    Lust''s influence in that city was not even a little bit hidden.


    The most powerful Specter became more powerful by non-consensual sex.


    The less pleasurable, depraved, and horrible the sex was, the more Zephyx it produced.


    People in the city were basically traumatized regrly.


    This was probably one of Nurse Alice''s busiest cities.


    By now, Nick had gotten amazing at changing these cities.


    He simply killed the strongest Specter, ckmailed the Governor, and introduced Wrath''s servant.


    Sadly, Nick had to micromanage this city for a while since Wrath''s servant wasn''t super smart this time.


    It took Nick three years.


    Near the end of those three years, Nick managed to be a Late Fanatic.


    The next city also wasn''t very difficult and barely took Nick a couple of months.


    The next one was a bit more difficult, but it only took Nick a year.


    The next one took Nick two years.


    And then, Wrath asked Nick if he wanted to take on a really valuable city.


    Wrath explicitly stated that Nick was allowed to refuse.


    That was because this city was one of the biggest and most powerful ones in the western part of the Grand Continent.


    This city did not belong to Wrath, Gluttony, or Lust.


    This one belonged to Sloth and was its southwestern bulwark.


    This city was the very thing that separated the contested area, where four of the Corruptors fought, from Sloth''s actual territory.


    Wrath''s territory had expanded by a lot over the past decade, but the threat of this bulwark was gigantic.


    Taking over this bulwark was incredibly difficult.


    The reason was that it was ruled by a Specter that consumed ambition.


    Everyone in the city just kept living on and on.


    They just kept doing what they were doing.


    The Extractors kept capturing Specters and working with them.


    They were not interested in changing to another Manufacturer, going to another city, or joining Aegis.


    They just kept remaining in their positions, being happy with what they already had.


    They werecent.


    Over many decades, this led to a terrifying turtle of a city.


    Over ten Heroes.


    Over 80 Specialists.


    Five Demons.


    It just kept growing.


    And growing.


    And nobody was leaving.


    It did not have a crazy number of people, but it had a crazy number of Extractors.


    It could almost be considered an Extractor City.


    Which was also where it had gotten its name from.


    Grand Extractor City.

 Chapter 661 – Grand Extractor City

    Chapter 661 ¨C Grand Extractor City


    Grand Extractor City.


    Nick wasn''t sure what he should expect after arriving.


    When he arrived for the first time and saw Grand Extractor City, he was quite surprised.


    It was¡­ big.


    Not in terms of width but in terms of height.


    The city only took up a fourth of Crimson City''s area, which was crazy since a huge part of Crimson City''s poption was in the megastructure.


    In terms of area, Crimson City belonged to the smaller cities, while its poption was a bit above average.


    But here¡­


    In terms of area, this city was tiny!


    However, to Nick, it looked like a big mountain of metallic cubes.


    It was like the citizens just built cube-like buildings on top of other cube-like buildings.


    The cubes all had different sizes, and because of that, they were stacked very unevenly, giving the city a very unsafe and asynchronous feeling.


    The bottom-most cubes all had uniform sizes and were neatly and seamlessly stacked on top of each other, but starting at the fourth, fifth, or sixth cube, the sizes started to vary rapidly.


    Smaller cubes barely took up half of the width or length of the cube below them, and a cube above them was built that was twice as big.


    It was insanely chaotic.


    The walls of the city were barely five meters high at the bottom.


    Yet, something surprising was happening.


    Around 50 meters above the top end of the walls¡­ was another wall?


    There was another wall that was about ten meters high, and it uniformly surrounded the city.


    Then, another 50 meters higher was another wall, but this one was only five meters high.


    All in all, the city was around 120 meters high, and there was an average of eleven cubes taking up these 120 meters.


    Nick also saw scaffolding.


    A LOT of scaffolding.


    There was SO MUCH scaffolding!


    Naturally, the citizens needed to get around the city somehow, and since all the buildings were stacked on top of each other, there were no stairwells or elevators going through them.


    Because of that, there was scaffolding everywhere that acted as makeshift connections between buildings.


    Even more, the different pieces of scaffolding looked very different from each other.


    Some of them had humongous fences surrounding them, while others didn''t even have railings.


    Some of them were in immacte shape and incredibly stable, while others were filled with holes that an adult human could fit through.


    After looking at the city for a while, Nick found out why that was.


    ''Everyone is responsible for their own scaffolding.''


    Apparently, people had to keep their ess to the city usable.


    If they didn''t¡­ well¡­


    Sucks to be them.


    If they didn''t have a lot of money, they would be stuck there.


    If they had some money, they needed to shout at some passersby or neighbors with a very good offer.


    The first impression Nick got of the city was that nobody gave a shit.


    They didn''t care about basic safety.


    They didn''t care about looks.


    They didn''t care about efficiency.


    Everything just grew to look like this, and nobody could be arsed to change it.


    However, there was one thing that was unique to this city.


    It was something that Nick hadn''t seen before.


    Nick saw powerful Extractors and rich peopleing out of house cubes that were just as horrible as all the other ones.


    There were barely any luxurious or huge cubes that could be considered mansions.


    It was like everyone was living in just enough space.


    It was almost like there was no difference between rich and poor in this city.


    The rich and poor also seemed to eat roughly the same things.


    Bird.


    They ate a lot of birds.


    Due to the scaffolding everywhere, many people lived their entire lives in the spaces between the individual cubes and never even touched the ground once.


    Since everybody was living, working, and eating up there, many things fell through the cracks.


    The bottom of the city was filled with garbage, shit, rot, food, sludge, and so on.


    This was a paradise for insects and rodents.


    The lowest level of the city was overrun by them.


    Naturally, this allowed arge poption of birds to thrive, and they all fed on these critters.


    Another interesting aspect was that there were barely any visible people "on the streets".


    With such a density of buildings, one would expect that there would be many people moring back and forth.


    Yet, there was barely anyone.


    The only people Nick saw were a couple of people working.


    Everyone else was inside their houses.


    Nick could see through a couple of opened windows and saw the people just sitting there.


    Sleeping, casually eating, looking at the wall, rxing¡­


    Most of the houses were not very tidy and filled with filth.


    However, there was a surprising absence of pests in the houses themselves.


    There was almost barely any mold.


    All the trash and filth were just clutter.


    ''It seems like the people are living a sedentary andzy lifestyle but still retain enough initiative and drive to keep their lives rtively safe,'' Nick thought.


    ''While everyone eats the same nd shit, the meal is actually nutritious enough to keep someone alive.''


    ''The city is in a horrendous state, but it is good enough to survive.''


    Nick looked at the city for a while.


    ''I guess this is the representation of sloth.''


    ''Good enough.''


    ''Barely eptable.''


    ''Okay.''


    At first nce, this image looked contradictory.


    Trash and filth everywhere, but no pests.


    nd and same-y food, but everyone is mostly healthy.


    The city was like an old machine.


    Yet, if one looked at the city for a while, one would notice the logic behind everything.


    Being sick was bothersome.


    Buying expensive things was wasteful and unnecessary.


    Dealing with rodents was work.


    Because of that, people took care of their basic health and kept their surroundings at barely eptable levels of cleanliness.


    Like this, they couldze around as much as possible.


    Nick watched the city for a long time to gather intel. Due to the power of this city, Nick didn''t dare to enter without knowing exactly how the city works.


    The more Nick watched the city, the more surprised he became.


    ''They are only working for five days a week?'' Nick thought in shock. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Working for only five days a week was crazy!


    And that wasn''t even everything!


    They also only worked for around six hours per day!


    These people barely worked for 30 hours per week!


    Even more, most of them werezing around during these couple of hours of work!


    ''Sloth truly controls this city,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    Over the next couple of weeks, Nick only saw a single caravan arriving in the city, and they very quickly left with plenty ofints.


    They didn''t even sell a million credits worth of goods.


    The only things they sold were some basic things that the city needed to keep the rat and insect poption alive at the bottom of the city.


    Something else that was interesting was that Nick didn''t even see a single Extractor leaving the city.


    The Extractors just walked from their homes to their work and then back to their homes again.


    They also only worked for six hours per day.


    This was crazy!


    How did they get all of these Specters and all of these powerful Extractors?


    Even more, how did they actually manage to get through Zephosis and the Consumption?


    One needed a lot of willpower to get through these things!


    Sadly, Nick didn''t find an answer while watching the city from the outside.


    On top of that, gathering intel had never been this difficult before.


    Usually, Nick gathered intel by listening in on conversations.


    Yet, these people barely talked!


    Friends just sat together, doing nothing.


    Couples justy in each other''s embrace.


    Employees didn''t say more than the bare minimum.


    There was almost no conversation in this city.


    Nick only knew where the biggest Manufacturer was, but he had no idea about any of the Specters the Manufacturer had.


    Nobody was talking about anything!


    In the end, Nick took a deep breath and closed in on the city.


    Nick arrived rather quickly at the small wall surrounding the city.


    Next, Nick inspected the wall.


    ''The wall is using Zephyx, but I can''t be sure what it does with the Zephyx.''


    Nick looked around the wall for a while.


    There were no guards.


    This gave Nick time to analyze the wall''s function.


    And he found that¡­


    ''This makes no sense!'' Nick thought in frustration. ''None of these logic patterns follow any kind of established standard!''


    ''All of this ispletely wild and chaotic!''


    The wall was just as chaotic as the city itself.


    In the end, Nick had to sigh.


    ''I have no idea what the wall can do.''


    Next, Nick turned into mist and floated to the other walls.


    They were even more chaotic than the wall at the bottom.


    For several hours, Nick just looked at the city from outside.


    Everything was chaotic, but¡­


    It worked.


    It worked really, really well.


    For the first time, Nick didn''t know how he should enter the city.


    He was amazing at getting into ces, but that was because he always gathered intelligence before attempting to do something.


    He couldn''t gather any important information from this city.


    After hours of nning, Nick came up with a n.


    But it was risky.


    Finally, Nick readied himself and snuck into the city.


    And a secondter, his ability deactivated.

 Chapter 662 – Too Much Work

    Chapter 662 ¨C Too Much Work


    An rm went off, and the Barriers of over 50 Extractors activated at the same time.


    All of them looked at their Barriers to see what was up.


    Then, they all collectively sighed in annoyance.


    They had to work¡­


    They hated work.


    Nevertheless, they all knew that this was something necessary that they had to do.


    If they didn''t do this now, there would be even more work waiting for them in the future.


    As long as they got this out of the way quickly, they could get back to chilling.


    They all saw that a dense mass of Specter Zephyx had just passed through the maic field of Zephyx around the city.


    Naturally, the walls were not walls but huge machines that generated maic fields that reacted to Zephyxing from any Specters.


    The entire city was surrounded by this machine.


    This had been a great investment since they could now just stay in the city and wait for the Specters toe to them.


    They didn''t need to run around the outside anymore.


    They also didn''t need to investigate every little nook and cranny of the city.


    No Specter could get into the city without going through the maic field or destroying part of the machine.


    Like this, the Extractors could chill all day, except for the times they had to work with Specters.


    The researchers that came up with this advanced technology were rewarded with a great sry for the remainder of their lives without needing to work a second more.


    Working hard for a couple of months would pay off with less work in the future, which was how the engineers had managed to bring themselves to invest so much effort into this.


    Depending on the density of Zephyx of the Specter, only fitting Extractors were alerted.


    The machine said that the Specter was a Fanatic, at least.


    Because of that, every single Specialist and Hero received the alert.


    While the Extractorsmented that they had to move their asses now, they still reacted very quickly.


    The quicker they were done, the quicker they could get to chill again.


    Within an instant, several Extractors found the Specter.


    It was a taller man with ck hair.


    He looked just like a very athletic human, but he definitely emanated Specter Zephyx.


    This was undoubtedly a Specter.


    The Specter looked up at the first person who appeared.


    It was an Early Specialist who had been pretty close already.


    Then, the Specter narrowed his eyes.


    WHOOOOM!


    An explosion of light urred, blinding the Specialist.


    When the Specialist''s eyesight recovered, he already saw tens of Extractors rushing past him.


    The Specter moved with extreme speed that shocked the Specialists.


    This Specter was insanely fast!


    This had to be a Peak Fanatic, at least!


    When the Specialists saw that, the majority of them smiled in relief.


    This meant that they were too weak to be a help!


    Nice!


    That was enough excitement for today. Time to rx.


    Almost all the Specialists turned around and entered the city again while the Peak Specialists and Heroes continued charging forward.


    The Specter paid attention to its surroundings and noticed that twelve Heroes were charging after it with their weapons drawn.


    The fact that there were twelve Heroes chasing it was already crazy, but it was even crazier that there were at least four Mid Heroes chasing after it!


    The Heroes were quite a lot faster than the Specter and gained ground rapidly.


    WHOOOM!


    The Specter was forced to unleash an intensely bright burst of light again and quickly punched the ground to dig into the wastnd.


    However, the bright light only worked on eight of them.


    The other four had changed the settings of their Barriers to defend against blinding light.


    Defending against a big arc of light consumed arge amount of Zephyx, but it was worth it to retain vision of the target.


    BANG!


    One of the Heroes shot their gun, and the ground beneath the Specter exploded.


    The Specter''s attack hit nothing but air.


    A momentter, the eyesight of the other Heroes recovered, and they changed the settings of their Barriers in an instant.


    The teamwork of these Heroes was crazy!


    Although, how couldn''t it be?


    All of them didn''t want to work and put in any effort.


    Conflict was effort.


    What''s the point of trying to one-up each other?


    Everyone got the same amount of work, and everyone worked together to achieve the goal of working as little as necessary to keep the status quo.


    All of them were experienced, and all of them genuinely worked together to achieve the same goal.


    The Specter tried to escape into the ground again.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    More Heroes took out their weapons and unleashed attacks at the grounds beneath the Specter.


    The Specter didn''t manage to escape since the ground "kept moving away" from it.


    BANG!


    The first Hero arrived beside the Specter and mmed his huge shield at it.


    The Specter tried to block, but the Hero''s power was immense, and the Specter was thrown back.


    BANG! BANG!


    The other Heroes unleashed a couple of weaker attacks on the Specter.


    The Specter''s legs and arms broke open, revealing their bony and bloody insides.


    When the Heroes saw that the Specter Core was not in the extremities, they used stronger attacks.


    BOOM!


    All the extremities were destroyed, leaving behind a torso and head.


    The Specter couldn''t properly move anymore, and the Heroes rapidly surrounded it.


    They lowered its Zephyx storage with controlled attacks and put Zephyx Suppressors around its body.


    It was suppressed.


    The Specter had seemed quite experienced at running away, and its light ability had also been very useful for running away.


    However, one Peak Fanatic couldn''t possibly escape twelve Heroes.


    "Not sure if I should feel sorry for you or envy you," one of the Heroesmented while looking at another one.


    The other one frowned. "I also don''t know."


    "It seems easy to manage," a third one said. "Security won''t be an issue. I think that means you''re lucky." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Eh, that''s not the point," a fourth one said. "Yeah, it seems easy to manage, but it''s a Peak Fanatic or Initial Demon. If it''s a Demon, one of them might actually have to work even more now. I think they have bad luck."


    The second one sighed. "I hope it''s a Peak Fanatic."


    "It''s your turn," the first one said.


    "I know," the second one said.


    Then, the other Heroes slowly started to fly back to the city, leaving behind two of the Heroes.


    These two wore the same uniform, showing that they belonged to the same Manufacturer.


    The one of the two, who hadn''t said anything yet, looked at the other one neutrally. "You''re still an Initial Hero."


    "Yes, yes, I know," the other guy answered.


    Then, he sighed again.


    "Yes, I''ll deal with it."


    The first guy showed a small smile and wordlessly flew back to the city.


    In this city, Manufacturers didn''t fight for Specters.


    Having more Specters meant having more work.


    Since nobody wanted to deal with the Specters, everyone came to the consensus that they would take turns when it came to epting new Specters.


    This time, it was the turn of this Manufacturer.


    If they were lucky, they would receive a Hatchling Possession Specter that was impossible to work with, which would allow them to throw it into the back of a random warehouse for eternity.


    If they had bad luck, they would get a Force Specter that produced a ridiculous amount of Zephyx but required a lot of hours of work to produce the Zephyx.


    This particr one was not a Force Specter, but it was pretty strong.


    The Extractor sighed once again, grabbed the Specter, and flew back into the city.


    The Hero walked towards a big congregation of different cube buildings and entered.


    The inside of the buildings was dirty and wasn''t really taken care of.


    The doors looked old, and there were a couple of holes in the ground and walls.


    However, the walls of the Containment Units were solid and undamaged.


    The Extractor dragged the Specter to a device before typing a bit on the console.


    "Late Fanatic?" the man muttered in surprise. "You''re quite fast for a Late Fanatic."


    The Specter didn''t answer.


    "Not very talkative, huh?" the man asked.


    The Specter didn''t answer.


    The man shrugged and pulled the Specter to a Containment Unit.


    Since the Extractor didn''t want to rehome the Specter in a couple of decades when it advanced to be a Demon, he immediately threw it into a Containment Unit meant for holding Demons.


    Also, it was safer.


    After throwing in the Specter, the Hero destroyed the Specter''s limbs again before removing the Zephyx Suppressor.


    "I''ll deal with you tomorrow," the Hero said before walking out of the room.


    The Specter stood up and remained standing in the middle of the room.


    Then, Nick looked around.


    His ability had already activated again.


    After analyzing the Containment Unit around him, he couldn''t help smirking just a little bit.


    ''My n worked!''


    Nick was now in the city.

 Chapter 663 – Regular Work

    Chapter 663 ¨C Regr Work


    The door opened, and Nick slowly turned his head to look at the person who was entering.


    It was the stronger of the two Heroes of this Manufacturer.


    The stronger one had told the other one that Nick would be his problem to deal with, and yet, he was now the one that came in here.


    However, that actually made sense.


    "Hey, I''m the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Eternal Rest. Can you understand me?" the guy asked.


    Nick looked at the man for a couple of seconds.


    "Yes," Nick answered.


    The man sighed in relief. "That makes things easier. Do you know how Manufacturers work?"


    "I do," Nick answered.


    "Great!" the CZE said with positive surprise. "That means I don''t have to exin everything to you."


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Just so we are clear. Are you working for any of the Corruptors?" the man asked.


    "No," Nick answered.


    The man looked at Nick for a while. "Are you sure? It wouldn''t be bad if you did."


    "I have heard of the Corruptors," Nick said. "But I have nevere into contact with them, and I n to keep it that way."


    "Oh? Howe?" the man asked.


    Nick looked at the CZE.


    "Because I don''t want to lose my freedom," Nick answered.


    The CZE had a funny expression on his face as he very noticeably looked around the walls of the Containment Unit.


    "Well, so much about that," the CZEmented.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    "Alrighty then, how can we work with you?" the CZE asked.


    Finding out how to work with an intelligent Specter was far easier than finding out how to work with a dumb Specter.


    After all, he could just ask the Specter.


    "Give me 20%," Nick said.


    The CZE was taken aback a bit. "20%? That''s a lot!"


    "I want 20%," Nick said.


    The CZE shook his head. "I can''t do that. The most we do is 15%, and that''s for a Specter that has been with us for decades and is very cooperative."


    "20%," Nick answered.


    The CZE sighed.


    BANG!


    Then, he pulled out a longnce and destroyed Nick''s lower body.


    Nick fell over but didn''t react.


    "Remember that you are no longer free to refuse our requests," the CZE said. "I am trying to make things easy for both of us."


    "20%," Nick answered.


    The CZE''s expression became cold.


    Then, he took out a big bucket and dumped parts of Nick''s body into it.


    The bucket shredded Nick''s body and released a cloud of Zephyx.


    "We can also just do this," the CZE said.


    This entire thing only caused Nick a little bit of pain.


    He already had a very high tolerance for pain, and after he turned into a Specter, over 90% of all the pain he could feel had vanished.


    This allowed Nick to easily remain stoic and neutral while literal body parts of his were blown off.


    "The garbage bin method," Nick answered.


    The CZE raised an eyebrow. "You know about it?"


    "I do," Nick said. "It produces not even 20% of what I could produce normally. I could ask for 70% of all Zephyx I produce, and you would still earn more money by epting my deal."


    "I know what I am worth."


    The CZE furrowed his brows.


    Then, he remained silent for a while.


    "How do you produce Zephyx?" he asked. "I have to know if it''s worthwhile."


    By now, Nick''s body had regrown, and he stood up.


    "Torture," Nick says. "As long as I can torture people, I can produce Zephyx. The more powerful the person, the more Zephyx I produce."


    The CZE looked with a bit of interest at Nick.


    Then, he sighed.


    "Alright," he said as he fidgeted with his Barrier a bit. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The next moment, his Barrier activated and shrunk.


    The CZE held out his left arm, holding it out of the Barrier.


    "Go ahead," he said.


    Nick walked towards the arm and summoned his des.


    Then, Nick started to skin the arm of the CZE.


    The CZE was quite a bit more powerful than Nick, but with a sharp knife, a normal human could also skin a cow.


    The CZE gritted his teeth, and Nick started to produce Zephyx.


    It felt a bit weird when the majority of the Zephyx was "pulled" out of Nick''s body.


    It felt a bit like 90% of the air one breathed would vanish in one''s throat.


    The only difference was that there was no panic associated with it.


    After about a minute, the CZE pulled his mutted arm back.


    "That should be enough," he said, trying to suppress his anger.


    Then, he wordlessly walked out of the Containment Unit.


    Half a minuteter, he came back in.


    "You get your 20%," the CZE said. "I already changed the settings."


    Nick wordlessly nodded.


    "You know what happens if you kill any of my Extractors."


    "Yes," Nick said.


    "Good," the man said.


    Then, he walked out of the Containment Unit again, leaving Nick alone.


    Silence.


    Nick just kept looking towards the door without any reaction.


    He remained like this.


    He was a Specter now, and he had to act like a Specter.


    Luckily, he could still practice his Zephyx Maniption in his mind.


    He just had to reduce the number of physical tests to a minimum.


    Nick essentially spaced out while aimlessly looking at the door.


    A couple of hourster, the door opened again.


    This time, it was the weaker Hero who entered.


    "From now on, you are going to work with the Extractors by torturing their body parts," the man said. "You are not allowed to attack their Barriers. If even one of my Extractors gets attacked, we will not work with you anymore for a long time."


    "I know," Nick answered.


    The Extractor nodded and held out his right arm.


    Nick wordlessly approached, took out his de, and started to slowly cut the arm.


    Nick had learned a bit about biology, and he knew a couple of good spots that would create a lot of pain.


    This Extractor managed to keep his arm held out for over five minutes before pulling back.


    Then, the Extractor just left the Containment Unit without saying anything.


    Extractors didn''t need to talk to Specters since there was no point.


    Politeness and friendliness didn''t influence a Specter in any way.


    For about 15 hours, Nick spaced out.


    Then, a new person entered his Containment Unit.


    It was a Peak Specialist.


    The Specialist seemed a bit nervous but not fearful.


    He was probably just a bit worried about the pain.


    Wordlessly, the Peak Specialist held out one of his arms.


    ''Seems like working with an arm is now the standard procedure,'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick started to do his thing with the arm.


    After just ten minutes, the Extractor pulled his arm out and left the Containment Unit.


    Five minutester, another Peak Specialist appeared.


    Ten minutester, they left again.


    For about three hours, Nick worked with Specialists of different levels.


    Then, nothing happened for six days until Nick had to work with the same Specialists again for another three hours or so.


    Nick decided to watch how things went for three weeks.


    The pattern was always the same.


    ''Seems like they have all been assigned to work with me.''


    ''This is truly a city ruled by Sloth.''


    ''If I ever had such a Specter in Dark Dream, I would have worked that thing constantly.''


    ''It is so easy to work with me, and there''s basically no limit.''


    ''I''m essentially free money.''


    ''Based on the time, they probably all have a quota that they have to produce with me per week. I would assume that they get through their quota on the first day so that they can rx for the remainder of the week.''


    ''My ability also hasn''t deactivated outside of these hours of work.''


    ''Seems like there are no Extractors that check if I am still in the Containment Unit or not.''


    Nick looked around the Containment Unit.


    ''Although, this is a Containment Unit for a Demon. It would be very strange if a Late Fanatic broke out of this.''


    ''Well then, I worked with everyone I had to work with for today.''


    ''Time to gather a bit of intelligence.''


    The next moment, Nick turned into mist and flew to the ceiling.


    There were tiny holes, barely two millimeters wide, that allowed air and light to pass through the walls.


    The holes were extremely fortified and even harder to destroy than the majority of the wall.


    And yet¡­


    Nick just passed through the holes easily.


    The power of the Containment Unit didn''t matter.


    There was a very good reason why Nick hadn''t turned into mist while being chased by the Heroes.


    If he had turned into mist and had still been caught, they would know that he was a Force Specter, and they would have put him into a Containment Unit for Force Specters.


    Generally, no Manufacturer put Physical or Possession Specters into Containment Units for Force Specters.


    These Containment Units cost tens of times more than normal ones due to all of their extra functions.


    Nick had been 99% sure that he would be thrown into one for Physical Specters, and he had been right.


    And even if he had been thrown into one for Force Specters, Nick had a n B to get out of that one as well.


    Nick floated out of the tiny holes of the Containment Unit and entered the hallway.

 Chapter 664 – Zephology

    Chapter 664 ¨C Zephology


    Nick left the inside of the Containment Unit but didn''t leave itpletely.


    Right now, Nick was between the inner walls of the Containment Unit and the outer walls.


    There was a millimeter of free space between the two walls for air to flow through, and Nick used this to move towards a specific spot.


    In the past, Nick wouldn''t have been able to fit through such tiny openings, but ever since he had be a Specter, his mist ability had improved a lot.


    Nick could easily fit through an opening that was only a millimeter wide without using any Zephyx, and he could also cause quite some damage in his mist form.


    He had been able to improve his ability by changing the maniption lines on his Specter Core, and he was nowhere near done.


    His abilities would only get better with time.


    A bitter, Nick reached the ce where the employee entrance of the Containment Unit should be.


    The mist wrapped around the cables and analyzed the Zephyx moving through them.


    ''This is the main line. This is the stabilizing line. This is the evacuation line¡­''


    While the general functions of a Containment Unit were identical across all cities, the cities still made individual changes to their Containment Units.


    Nick couldn''t find out exactly what every function of the Containment Unit was, but he could see the general tendency.


    ''As expected,'' Nick thought as he looked at one wire. ''There''s a presence sensor.''


    A presence sensor was something that checked if something was present. In this case, Nick.


    Nick hadn''tpletely left the Containment Unit yet, which meant that he was still present.


    Presence sensors were not difficult to make.


    Tricking a presence center was extremely difficult as long as one was inside or outside a Containment Unit.


    However, Nick was between those two ces.


    He was essentially "inside the lock".


    Nick cut two wires and connected them in an instant.


    ''Easy,'' Nick thought. ''Now, the presence sensor constantly receives a signal from the evacuation line. It''s going to be very weak, but that''s fine.''


    The evacuation line was a cable that was extremely difficult to reach.


    This was probably the only cable that no one could reach from the inside or the outside.


    The reason for that was that the evacuation line was extremely important.


    Its function was simple.


    It checked if the main doors of the Containment Unit had received an order to open, and if they did, the evacuation line would send an rm through the entire building.


    One could only get to it by reaching into the tiny opening between the walls, which was basically impossible since the two walls were so incredibly hard.


    A human wouldn''t be able to do that.


    But, well¡­


    ''I could now just open the main door,'' Nick thought as he looked at the line that sends the signal to open the main door. ''I just need to put a bit of Zephyx in there, and the door will open in a couple of minutes.''


    Sadly, opening the main door of any Containment Unit instantly was impossible without breaking the thing apart.


    While the signal was electric, the dy of the opening was strictly mechanical, and the opening mechanism waspletely encased in extremely tough metal.


    After dealing with the two cables, Nick moved on and floated out of a couple of tiny holes near the bottom of the Containment Unit.


    Nick turned back into his human form and looked at the Containment Unit.


    Nothing happened.


    Then, he tapped away on the console of the Containment Unit.


    The only thing he could do was to open the employee entrance and to see if a Specter was present or not.


    Every other function was behind a password.


    Part of Nick''s body transformed into mist again and entered the Containment Unit, while the remainder tapped away on the password field.


    Nick sent the password, and the console said that it was the incorrect password.


    ''I see,'' Nick thought.


    Nick tapped on the password field again, while his mist body encased a couple of cables.


    When Nick sent the password for verification, the signal of a cable was intercepted, and chaotic bits of Zephyx were infused into the cable.


    The disy said, "Waiting for verification," for quite a while.


    Nick kept dumping waves of Zephyx in.


    DING!


    "Incorrect password."


    "Incorrect password."


    "Incorrect password."


    "Incorrect password."


    By now, an additional wire had be active, which was the one that would send a warning signal in case somebody typed in the incorrect password too many times.


    Naturally, Nick had intercepted that signal as well.


    "Incorrect password."


    "Incorrect password."


    DING!


    "Wee!"


    And done.


    The console sent the password to the verificatory at the back, and the verificatory sent a signal back based on if it was correct or not.


    Nick had infused Zephyx into the wire, sending the result of the query back to the console.


    This was a simple yes or no answer, and the signals of both shouldn''t be veryplex.


    By just dumping in random Zephyx, Nick was bound to get to the correct signal at some point.


    Nick typed away on the console.


    ''This thing doesn''t have many functions,'' Nick thought. ''Although, that''s to be expected. These functions are used to market and sell your Containment Units for more money. I don''t think the people of this city are very interested in that.''


    Nevertheless, the basic functions were present.


    ''Register user.''


    ''Add Barrier code.''


    Nick sent Zephyx into the sensor of the console, mimicking an extremely simple Barrier.


    Proper Barrier codes were thousands of signals long, making it impossible to crack them.


    However, Nick used a very simple code with just five signals.


    If anyone wanted to hack this Containment Unit, it wouldn''t be difficult.


    But Nick didn''t care about that.


    It wasn''t his Containment Unit.


    Well, it kind of was his, but that was semantics.


    ''New user registered.''


    ''Employee entrance preference.''


    ''Istion.''


    After that, Nick changed a couple more settings.


    ''Alright. Let''s test it.''


    Next, Nick walked up to the employee entrance and sent the signal of his new user to the sensor.


    DING!


    A Barrier appeared behind Nick.


    Nick sent a different signal.


    DING!


    The employee entrance opened.


    Nick walked through and stopped in front of a Barrier on the other side.


    DING!


    The door behind him closed, and the Barrier in front of him opened.


    Nick was back inside.


    The employee entrances of Containment Units were like other big Barriers.


    They could be solid or liquid.


    By standard, they were always liquid, which meant that the physical door and the Barrier ovepped with each other and only allowed someone with a fitting Barrier to pass through.


    It was like walking past a waterfall with a very strong umbre.


    However, the Barriers could also be changed to solid since a couple of Extractors had abilities that made them emanate Zephyx, which was very simr to Specter Zephyx.


    Most Barriers would recognize this Zephyx as Specter Zephyx and would refuse toply with orders.


    In these cases, one just had to create a new user in the Containment Unit and change the Barrier type to solid.


    In that case, opening and closing the employee entrance worked in three steps instead of one continuous one.


    Additionally, the sensor wouldn''t scan for Specter Zephyx inside the isted space anymore and left everything up to the Barrier of the Extractor.


    Nick just needed to send the user data to the employee entrance, and it would continue with the opening sequence.


    These functions were in every Containment Unit that cost five million credits or more, which was already very cheap for a Containment Unit.


    The one Nick was contained in probably approached a price of a billion credits.


    ''Well then,'' Nick thought as he looked back at the employee entrance.


    Then, he walked to the employee entrance.


    DING!


    DING!


    DING!


    And Nick was outside again.


    ''Really d I actually decided to learn about Zephology,'' Nick thought.


    He was now a registered user and could simply waltz through the employee entrance despite being a Specter without a Barrier.


    The next moment, Nick turned into mist and floated out of the door.


    He found a hallway that was quite oily and dirty.


    Sure enough, nobody cared enough to keep the hallways clean.


    It was considered unnecessary work with no benefit.


    Nick floated through the quiet hallway and looked into a couple of rooms.


    Most of the rooms were empty, but there were also a couple of rooms with people inside them.


    Eventually, Nick found the office of an Early Specialist.


    It was a woman with unkempt brown hair, who looked at the papers in front of her with boredom and annoyance.


    Nick entered the walls of the room and located the focal point of all light leading to the room.


    Next, Nick exploded out of the hole.


    BANG!


    The woman''s Barrier was broken in an instant, and she copsed.


    Finally, Nick blocked the focal point of the light, and the room became pitch ck.


    The Nightmare''s influence took hold of her, and Nick used his ability to control what she was seeing. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Within minutes, Nick learned a ton about the city and the woman.


    Yet, when he looked at her, he furrowed his brows.


    ''She''s actually a good person.''


    Nick remained silent as he looked at her.

 Chapter 665 – A Fallen?!

    Chapter 665 ¨C A Fallen?!


    Nick looked at the unconscious woman in front of him with furrowed brows.


    ''To think that there''s actually a powerful Extractor in a big Manufacturer that is actually this nice,'' he thought.


    The woman in front of Nick had literally nevermitted any crime whatsoever, which was crazy.


    She had a bad past and entered a smaller Manufacturer.


    When the smaller Manufacturer wanted her to do something unsavory, she left and joined a different Manufacturer.


    Then, she just continued working, and whenever there were any kind of signs of illegal activity, she actively walked away.


    She was doing that because she felt that it was stupid to do illegal things.


    What''s the point of earning a bunch of money when there was a realistic chance that one might lose all of it within a couple of years along with one''s freedom or even life?


    Additionally, the feeling of constantly being nervous that one got found out also seemed way too debilitating for her.


    So, she just kept working normally.


    And eventually, she became a Specialist.


    The only person she had injured before was when one of her colleagues grabbed her ass, and she just pped him into a wall.


    That was the extent of the pain she had caused.


    Nick felt a bit guilty about hitting her unconscious and forcing her to go through the Nightmare''s torture.


    ''Well, it would be easier to kill her, but I can''t justify that.''


    The next moment, Nick conjured a message and put it on the table.


    Then, he vanished from the room and unblocked the light.


    Naturally, the Specialist would survive, and she would wake up within seconds.


    She would be very confused for a bit before she realized that someone had attacked her.


    Nick had left a message on the table that told her that he hadn''t killed her because she was not part of the rotten core of the city.


    He worded it deliberately like that to make him seem like a zealous human chasing a goal instead of a cold Specter.


    The next moment, Nick arrived in front of his Containment Unit again and entered.


    Then, he waited as he organized all the things he had learned.


    He now knew where Sloth''s servant was. He didn''t exactly know its location, but he knew which building it should be in.


    The servant was called the Rot, and it belonged to the biggest Manufacturer in the city, ss Ceiling.


    DING!


    At that moment, the employee entrance opened, and the Initial Hero from Eternal Rest looked at Nick for a bit.


    Nick didn''t react.


    DING!


    The door closed again, and the Initial Hero left.


    Naturally, Eternal Rest was in chaos since one of their Specialists had just been attacked, and they were searching for the attacker.


    Nick was one of their newer Specters, and they wanted to make sure that he didn''t have some kind of weird power that could attack someone from his Containment Unit.


    When they saw Nick in the functioning Containment Unit, they threw that possibility out of the window.


    Everything was fine here.


    While Nick''s Containment Unit was silent, the entire city was thrown into chaos.


    All the Heroes and Specialists were searching the city.


    Something like this hadn''t happened before.


    Nick waited until the next work session had passed and left his Containment Unit again.


    After going through a big chunk of memories of the Specialist, Nick knew the entireyout of the city now.


    He easily passed through a couple of small holes and left the building.


    Finally, Nick was in the open inside the city.


    It was surprisingly calm.


    While there had been panic a couple of days ago, thezy people of the city couldn''t keep such an intense operation going for long.


    They were very good at losing motivation.


    Nick looked around and found the huge building that was ss Ceiling''s headquarters.


    Just like all the other Manufacturers in the city, there was barely any security.


    The city was very peaceful, and almost no Manufacturer even slightly annoyed another Manufacturer.


    Conflict was too stressful.


    So, there was no point in putting effort into guarding from other Manufacturers.


    As for Specters, they wouldn''t be able to enter the city in the first ce.


    Not even Nick had been able to do that without rming the entire city.


    If not even Nick could do that, what Specter could?


    The maic field around the city was all they needed when it came to defending against Specters.


    Nick floated through the building.


    After a while, he found another Specialist inside an office.


    Just like before, Nick quickly took care of the Specialist and used the Nightmare''s influence to read through his memories.


    When Nick was done, he raised his eyebrows again.


    ''What''s up with this city?'' Nick thought. ''Why is everyone so good?''


    While this Extractor wasn''t as pure as the previous one, the worst thing he had done was to sell some things from the Manufacturer''s inventory that he wasn''t allowed to sell.


    Yes, he broke thew, but not even Nick could justify killing him for that.


    Maybe the guy had also physically intimidated some people and beat up a couple of them, but that was really it.


    This wasn''t like the majority of Extractors who forced the poor to pay them tribute, sold tons of drugs to the desperate, killed people, stole blood from the innocent, and so on.


    This guy was just a bit rough around the edges.


    In the end, Nick shook his head and left another message.


    Then, he quickly went back to his Containment Unit.


    This time, nobody came to visit him.


    Since the incident had happened in a different building, Eternal Rest probably didn''t even suspect Nick anymore.


    Nick waited another week to continue.


    After reading the mind of the newest Specialist, Nick knew exactly where the Rot was located.


    However, Nick didn''t want to deal with the Rot yet.


    Instead, Nick went to one of the ss Ceiling''s offices and waited in the empty room.


    A couple hourster, a blue-haired woman entered with a sigh and sat down in her chair.


    Nick readied himself.


    BANG!


    Then, he exploded forward.


    First, he used his ability to make her believe someone was knocking on the door.


    Her perception was on the door.


    BANG!


    Nick''s de hit her Barrier with all of its power.


    Her face turned white, but her Barrier held.


    This fact alone demonstrated how powerful she was.


    She was the CZE of ss Ceiling, and she was a Mid Hero.


    A brutal shockwave extended from the impact, bending and ruining the walls and ceiling.


    The ear-grating sound of metal bending under stress vibrated throughout the entire building.


    Despite being surprised, the woman quickly reacted.


    But then, the light in the room vanished, and her perception was scrambled.


    BOOOOOM!


    She summoned a sword and sliced through the ce where Nick was supposed to be.


    Half the building was cut in two, and rays of light shone through the huge cut.


    BANG! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nick hit her from behind again, and this time, her Barrier broke.


    Nick was a Late Fanatic, and even with his ability, he needed two hits to break through the Barrier of a Mid Hero.


    If it were a Late Hero, he would probably even need four.


    As the CZE lost all of her Zephyx, ck smoke surrounded her, blocking all of the light from reaching her body.


    Within an instant, she was under the Nightmare''s influence again.


    A momentter, a maw opened up below her, and the ck cloud surrounding her pulled her into it.


    The maw closed and vanished.


    BOOOOM!


    The door was blown away, and two Heroes entered the room.


    They looked at the destruction with shock.


    What happened?!


    Where was she?!


    Several more Heroes stopped outside the building and looked into the office through the gigantic cut.


    "Search the city!" one of them shouted.


    Meanwhile, the ck cloud came out of a maw inside one of the walls in Eternal Rest.


    The ck cloud moved rapidly and entered through the employee entrance of a Containment Unit.


    The ck cloud moved into a corner.


    The CZE of ss Ceiling was still suppressed inside the ck cloud.


    Nick used this time to learn more about the city.


    He used the Nightmare''s influence to read through the CZE''s memories.


    A couple of minutester¡­


    CRKSH!


    The CZE''s head imploded as the pressure around it intensified.


    ''I can justify killing her,'' Nick thought.


    She was the one who kept the doors to the Rot open so that it infected the entire city.


    However, she didn''t do that out of a nefarious reason.


    In fact, she didn''t even know that the Rot was rted to Sloth.


    When she had worked with the Rot, she had already be apathetic to ambition, and she didn''t see a big deal with that mindset.


    She also believed that the city would be more peaceful if people were a bit less greedy.


    With less conflict, she wouldn''t need to work as hard anymore.


    Because of that, she kept the door of the Rot open, and it eventually infected the entire city.


    While her intentions were not necessarily bad, she was responsible for the city''s current state, and she had been the one who made the decision.


    A momentter, Nick turned her body into pure Zephyx, just like her belongings.


    The only things he couldn''t turn into Zephyx were her weapons and her Barrier.


    For those, he opened a maw portal and just dumped them inside.


    The maw portal would spit the belongings out in a random part of the city.


    And then, Nick went back to waiting.


    While he was doing so, the city was going wild.


    The CZE of ss Ceiling had been killed without anyone noticing!


    Had a Fallen entered the city?!

 Chapter 666 : Shall We ?

    While Nick remained inside his Containment Unit, the city was going crazy.


    What the fuck was going on?!


    One of their most powerful Heroes had been killed, and no one even saw a trace of her killer!


    It was clear that it hadn''t been a human who had killed her since there was no one inside the city who could kill her this quickly.


    However, it also couldn''t be a Specter since no Specter would be able to get through the maic field surrounding the city.


    Sure, they could get through, but every powerful human inside the city would know that they had entered.


    As far as they knew, only a single Specter had entered the city over thest two months, and that one was safely suppressed.


    They had checked the Containment Unit, and everything was fine.


    Additionally, that was a Late Fanatic. It couldn''t possibly kill a Mid Hero this quickly!There were two impossibilities that covered all of the use cases.


    It was impossible.


    And yet, it happened!


    No obvious solution was left, which meant that an unlikely possibility had to be the truth.


    Was it truly a Fallen?


    Had a Fallen actually entered the city?


    While the maic field was technically imprable without alerting someone, none of them actually reached the seventh level.


    Nurse Alice managed to enter the city without alerting anyone.


    So, maybe a Fallen could do something like that as well?


    However, if there was truly a Fallen inside the city¡­


    What could they possibly do?!


    They couldn''t fight something like that!


    While the city was going crazy, Nick just waited.


    A couple of Extractors visited him to check up on him on the off-chance that he had suddenly vanished.


    Naturally, they had never expected Nick to vanish, but they were grasping at straws.


    Hours passed.


    Nick wasn''t sure what was going on outside.


    But at some point, his Containment Unit opened again.


    Then, an old man with a serious expression stepped into the Containment Unit together with the city''s Governor.


    "This is our newest Specter," the Governor said.


    The old man looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    Suddenly, a voice appeared in the Extractor''s ears.


    "Hello."


    When the old man heard that voice, his eyes narrowed even further.


    This was not just any old man.


    Nick could tell by the uniform that this was a Judge from Aegis.


    A Protector.


    It seemed like the city had called for help from Aegis.


    "How can your voice appear in my ears?" the Protector transmitted back to Nick.


    Of course, transmitting one''s voice wasn''t unusual among powerful beings, but the specific way Nick used was more than shocking.


    This Protector was old and knew a lot about abilities and, more importantly, Barriers.


    The old man knew that Nick had to know about the essible ports in Barriers manufactured by Aegis if he managed to project his voice like this.


    How could a Specter possibly attain such intimate knowledge of Aegis'' equipment?


    "I have all the answers you seek," Nick answered. "I can tell you who killed the CZE, and I can also tell you much more about this city. I would prefer talking in private."


    The Protector closely inspected Nick while the Governor looked at the Protector with confusion.


    Why was the Protector so silent?


    "Leave the Containment Unit," the Protector said to the Governor.


    The Governor was surprised, but when the Protector looked at him with a steely gaze, he turned around and left.


    "There," the Protector transmitted to Nick after the Governor left.


    "Thank you," Nick transmitted back. "Now, I am willing to tell you all about this, but I need you to know about the context first. Since you won''t believe my words, I will give you the context via a trustful source."


    The next moment, Nick named a long string of digits and letters.


    "A database entry," the Protector answered with a dark voice.


    Nick nodded.


    The Protector grew more and more concerned.


    Not only did this Specter know about Aegis'' Barriers, but it also knew about database entries!


    It even had a specific code!


    "Check the code and read through the entry. I will wait," Nick transmitted.


    The Protector was confused by this Specter.


    This mere Late Fanatic knew so many things about Aegis, and even more, it told him all about these things.


    Usually, Specters wouldn''t unveil that they knew these things since that would make them appear more dangerous, increasing the likelihood that they would be killed.


    Not only did this Specter know things that it shouldn''t know, but it also acted very differently.


    It acted almost like a human.


    Under normal circumstances, the Protector was the one giving the orders, but this time, he was doing what a Specter told him to do.


    How strange.


    The Protector wordlessly walked out of the Containment Unit.


    The Containment Unit isted everything, which meant that the Protector''s Barrier couldn''t contact Aegis while inside.


    He had to leave first.


    The Governor looked with concern at the Protector. "Is everything alright?" he asked.


    The Protector didn''t answer and just typed away on his Barrier.


    DING!


    ''ess denied?'' the Protector thought in shock as he read the message.


    He was a Judge!


    There were not many things that he wasn''t allowed to know!


    How did this Specter get its hands on such a high-level database entry?


    While the Protector looked at the message, he suddenly received a call.


    When the Protector saw the details of the call, his eyes widened in shock.


    This was a high-priority call!


    Only a person superior in rank to one could send such a call request!


    Anyone who received a high-priority call was mandated to ept the call immediately, or they would be punished severely.


    The fact that this was a high-priority call meant that a Justiciar was calling him.


    A Peak Protector!


    The Protector vanished from the room since he didn''t want to ept the call in front of an outsider.


    The Protector reappeared outside the city,took a deep breath, and epted the call.


    "Judge Heiner," a dark female voice spoke.


    The Protector''s face turned white in horror.


    "Greetings, Left Arm!" Heiner answered respectfully.


    "How did you get your hands on this database entry?" the Left Arm asked immediately.


    Heiner grew even more shocked.


    This was because of the database entry?!


    How high was the level of this database entry that the Left Arm called him immediately!


    "A-a Specter told me to look it up," Judge Heiner answered.


    "Describe the Specter''s appearance," the Left Arm demanded.


    "It was a Late Fanatic. It looks like an adult male with ck hair. Its height is about 187 centimeters, and it looks very muscr. Its aura seems dark but controlled. It told me that it would help me in this investigation and told me to look up the entry," Judge Heiner said.


    "I see," the Left Arm answered with an even tone.


    Then, there were some seconds of silence, which felt like years to the Protector.


    "What has the Specter told you about its existence?" the Left Arm asked.


    The Protector thought back to the conversation.


    "The Governor of Grand Extractor City told me about it, but it hasn''t told me anything about itself. It just told me that it would help me. That was everything," Heiner answered.


    "Has it mentioned a name?" the Left Arm asked.


    "No."


    "Has it mentioned anything about Aegis?" the Left Arm asked.


    "No, but I noticed that it knows a lot about Aegis and our equipment. It has an ability that esses the free ports of Aegis Barriers to transmit its voice."


    Silence.


    Seconds passed.


    Nick kept looking at the wall.


    Finally, the door opened, and the Protector stepped in.


    His entire aura had changed.


    He seemed almost uncertain.


    "What did she say?" Nick asked.


    The Protector felt like he was in a dream.


    What the hell was even going on?


    "The Left Arm told me to ask you if you want to return," the Protector said with a bit of confusion.


    Nick nodded. "Yes. I''ve been here for long enough."


    The Protector released a sigh.


    "Then, I am to escort you," he said.


    Nick nodded.


    "However, I have to finish my mission first," the Protector said.


    "The dead Chief Zephyx Extractor, right?" Nick asked.


    "Correct. You told me you know what happened," the Protector answered.


    "I do," Nick said.


    "I killed her."


    The Protector was taken aback.


    It what?


    Killed her?


    Sure, there were very strange things going on, but that was just straight-up impossible.


    "You are in a Containment Unit," the Protector spoke carefully.


    Nick looked at the Protector.


    Then, he wordlessly walked over to the employee entrance.


    DING!


    DING!


    The Protector''s eyes widened as the employee entrance opened, and Nick stepped outside.


    Outside, the Governor was also looking at Nick with horror.


    What?!


    How?!


    Specters couldn''t walk through employee entrances!


    Also, even if this thing weren''t a Specter, it needed permission to pass through!


    Nick turned to look at the Governor and nodded.


    "I am going to leave with the Judge," he spoke.


    The next moment, the employee entrance opened again, and the Judge walked out.


    "Okay¡­" the Governor said, perplexed. "Goodbye."


    Nick turned to the Judge.


    "Shall we?"


    The Protector took a deep breath.


    What the fuck was this Specter?!

 Chapter 667: Research and Development

    Judge Heiner flew through the sky, carrying a big ck cube.


    After a while, hended in front of a humongous building.


    Aegis'' headquarters.


    The biggest building in the world.


    Although, it was important to mention that it was the biggest intact building in the world.


    Based on the many ruins scattered around the building, there had been hundreds of buildings even bigger than this one.


    Compared to the glory days of the Ancient Ones, Aegis'' headquarters barely counted as a normal house.


    The Ancient Ones had achieved iprehensible things.


    For example, in the big space of water between the Long Continent and the Great Triangle was a ruin of unimaginable proportions.A mountain range of metal.


    Steel bars that were hundreds of meters wide and many kilometers long.


    All of them had copsed onto each other, creating a huge mountain range of metal in the middle of the ocean.


    Based on theposition and manufacture of these gigantic bars of steel, this must have once been a long construct that had been over 150 kilometers long.


    A building that was about one kilometer wide and 150 kilometers long.


    Why would anyone build something this tall?


    Some people believed that it had to be some kind of fancy tunnel or elevator, but the same people couldn''t answer where this tunnel or elevator was supposed to lead.


    Yet, no matter what this was for, it was clear that today''s technology couldn''t possiblypare to the technological achievements of the Ancient Ones.


    As Judge Heinernded on the big terrace halfway up Aegis'' headquarters, he nced at the two Heroes standing in front of him.


    "Wee back, Judge Heiner," they spoke with respect.


    Judge Heiner nodded at them halfheartedly before walking past them.


    The door of the headquarters opened, and orange light came out of the hallway.


    The walls and ceiling were still white, but the light was very different from how it had been 20 years ago.


    In the past, the light in here had been bright and filled with life.


    Now, the light felt just like the lighting from the Sun.


    Orange.


    Dull.


    Neutral.


    Things had changed.


    Judge Heiner kept carrying the huge metal cube down the hallway.


    Eventually, he reached the Extractor shafts and walked to the side.


    There were two Extractor shafts that were much wider than the other ones.


    Naturally, these were for transporting cargo through the building.


    Judge Heiner went down to the lowest level of the Extractor shaft and left.


    After walking through a wide and long hallway, he stopped in front of a big gate.


    His Barrier activated for a moment, and a couple of secondster, four people stepped out of a door at the side.


    "Greetings, Judge," they said politely. "As per standard protocol, we need to know what you are transporting."


    "A Late Fanatic. ID: 005117986," Judge Heiner answered.


    One of the three Bailiffs typed on a console for a bit before nodding. "Thank you. Please, sign with your Barrier code."


    Heiner''s Barrier activated for a moment.


    "Thank you, Judge," the Bailiff said.


    The four Bailiffs typed away on their own consoles before looking at each other and nodding.


    DING!


    Finally, the big door opened, and Judge Heiner stepped through.


    Security was very tight in this location since the research and development area was behind the gate.


    Anything extraordinary that wanted to enter the area had to be checked thoroughly.


    After walking through a short hallway, Judge Heiner stopped moving.


    BANG!


    The floor and ceiling began to shake after a loud m and started to move.


    It was an elevator, but it wasn''t just any elevator.


    This was probably the heaviest and most secure elevator in the entire world.


    Usually, elevators were a small solid chamber that was moved through a long and almost empty shaft.


    This was the opposite.


    This was an open space in one spot of a gigantic, solid wheel.


    The wheel was made of the hardest materials and had a diameter of almost two kilometers.


    It was millions of tons heavy.


    Whenever the elevator was used, this gigantic wheel was spinning slowly.


    Using this elevator cost over a hundred grams of Zephyx every time.


    The elevator moved slowly, and about five minutester, it stopped.


    A door appeared at the back of the elevator, and Judge Heiner stepped through.


    The hallway was still illuminated by the Sun''s light, but the hallway seemed to be quite a bit darker.


    Judge Heiner reached the end of the hallway after half a minute of walking and stopped in front of a big and dirty door.


    Then, he pressed a small button at the side of the door and waited.


    Silence.


    Finally, almost a full minuteter, the big gates opened, revealing an older man with white hair who was wearing the uniform of an Agent.


    "Good evening, Judge," the man spoke with a polite smile.


    However,pared to the Bailiffs, he didn''t appear overly respectful.


    He was just polite and friendly.


    "Good evening," Judge Heiner answered as he put the cube down beside him.


    Despite talking to someone of an inferior rank, Judge Heiner was also quite polite.


    While the person in front of Judge Heiner only had the rank of Agent, this was not a normal Agent.


    This was a researcher.


    This was someone who directly worked beneath the Technician to further humanity''s technology.


    This was not someone who was sent on different missions.


    No, these researchers basically lived in the undergroundbs and spent their entire existence researching things.


    They were essentially the brains enabling humanity''s brawns.


    Researchers had many special privileges, and messing with a researcher was one of the stupidest things a human could do.


    "I brought Specter 005117986," Judge Heiner said.


    The Barrier of the researcher activated for a moment, and Judge Heiner could see vast quantities of windows popping up on the Barrier.


    He could tell that this Barrier was at least ten times as expensive as his.


    "Everything looks to be alright," the researcher said with a smile.


    Then, Heiner''s Barrier activated and showed a message that he received a coupon to take a mobile Specter Cage from the equipment storage.


    Obviously, the researchers were going to keep the big cube.


    They wouldn''t just let a Specter walk freely in the research and development area.


    "Thank you," the researcher said as he lifted the cube.


    Judge Heiner nodded and walked over to another small door that led to the normal hallway outside the research and development area.


    They wouldn''t move the gigantic wheel again just for him.


    Meanwhile, the researcher brought the big ck cube into the research and development area as the gate closed.


    The area was filled withplex and gigantic machinery, and there were over 20 people experimenting with different things.


    This was only the storage and entrance of the research area, and this was where big but mobile machinery was tested.


    This hall was about 100 meters wide but only represented about 10% of the research department.


    The researcher walked through the big hall and went into a hallway.


    After walking for a couple more seconds, he stopped in front of a huge gate.


    His Barrier activated, and countless windows appeared and disappeared.


    DING!


    The Barrier on the door deactivated, and it slowly opened.


    Behind the door was a disorderly office.


    Papers, machines, and different objects were just randomly strewn around the room without any rhyme or reason.


    "Ah, George," a man said as his head popped up from behind a big machine. "Is that number 005117986?"


    "Yes," George answered, cing the big cube down.


    "Perfect," the man said with an excited smile. "I''ve been waiting for this!"


    Naturally, this man was the Technician.


    George nodded and walked to the door again to leave.


    "Wait a second," the Technician said.


    "Yes?" George asked, stopping to turn around.


    "Your specialty is Spectology, right?" the Technician asked.


    "Yes," George answered.


    "You want to see what''s inside?" the Technician asked with a grin.


    George was quite interested.


    After all, this was something that even the Technician was interested in.


    "If I am allowed to," George answered.


    The Technician nodded. "Your thesis on the Overarching Theorem of Specter Zephyx Generation is basically already epted as true in the department, and even though you are pretty new, I think you might be able to bring in new perspectives."


    "Do you want to be my assistant in this project?" the Technician asked.


    George''s eyes widened in surprise.


    An assistant in one of the Technician''s projects?!


    That was crazy!


    Then, a genuine smile appeared on George''s face. "dly!"


    The Technician smiled again.


    The next moment, a long contract appeared on George''s Barrier.


    George read through the contract and took a deep breath.


    This was very restrictive.


    However, that was to be expected.


    The things they were researching were top secret.


    If anything managed to get out, people would die to the Envious Researcher.


    George signed it.


    "005117986 is a Specter that feeds on purely suffering. It does not matter how it is inflicted," the Technician said.


    Already, George was interested.


    "It feeds on pure suffering?" he asked.


    The Technician nodded. "Yep. As long as someone suffers, it grows stronger."


    At that point, George frowned.


    Then, he remained silent for a while.


    "It seems like my thesis was notpletely correct," he said.


    "Oh? Howe?" the Technician asked, knowing fully well what George was talking about.


    "My theory was that every Specter causes suffering in an individual way. Based on my math and the way Zephyx works, it doesn''t feel like it should be possible for a naturally urring Specter to directly generate Zephyx via the base model. It''s like the number zero. It technically exists, but it also doesn''t," George said.


    The Technician''s smile widened.


    "And you''re right," he said. "You said naturally urring."


    "This is not a natural Specter."


    Now, George was taken aback again.


    "This is not a natural Specter?" he asked.


    "I''ll show you," the Technician said.


    Then, the Technician opened the cube.


    The door of the cube opened, and Nick stepped out.


    However, as Nick stepped out, he immediately looked at George.


    Naturally, George also looked at Nick, and both of them had surprised expressions on their faces.


    The Technician looked at the two of them and noticed their expressions.


    "What? You two know each other?" he asked.


    "Nick?" George asked.


    "Ghosty?" Nick asked back.

 Chapter 668 : Reporting

    Nick and Ghosty looked at each other for a bit.


    Naturally, both of them were quite surprised.


    Ghosty thought that he was about to look at a Specter, while Nick didn''t expect that someone else would know about his new status as a Specter.


    When the Technician saw their reactions, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.


    Then, several windows popped up on his Barrier, and a secondter, he sighed.


    "I really should read up more," hemented.


    Nick looked at the Technician. "You should."


    Ghosty was a bit surprised that Nick talked this casually to the Technician.


    Sure, the researchers talked very casually with the Technician since he didn''t care about performative politeness, but people generally didn''t tend to use a casual tone with a Shield.The Technician kept scratching the back of his head as he looked at Ghosty.


    Originally, the Technician didn''t n on unveiling Nick''s full identity to his assistant.


    He would just say that Nick was an artificial Specter.


    He didn''t n on telling Ghosty that Nick used to be a human or that he had already worked for Aegis in the past.


    But since the two of them already knew each other, this didn''t work anymore.


    In the end, the Technician made a decision.


    He shrugged.


    "Well, whatever," he said. "You signed the research contract anyway. Maybe that''s even a good thing."


    Naturally, the Technician wouldn''t want Ghosty to know all of this, but the cat was already out of the bag.


    Might as well live with it.


    When Ghosty took note of the Technician''s decision, he felt some relief.


    It hadn''t been visible to the outside, but Ghosty knew that getting rid of him could have been presented as a valid option.


    If him revealing this secret was a bigger danger than his future contributions, getting rid of him would make economic sense.


    After Ghosty came to terms with his new lease on life, he focused on Nick.


    "So, you''re a Specter, right?" Ghosty asked.


    Nick nced at Ghosty with furrowed brows.


    At that moment, Ghosty could feel his mind sending a fear response to his body, which fascinated him.


    Thest time Ghosty had seen Nick, he had been an Initial Expert, while Ghosty had still been a Peak Specialist.


    By now, Ghosty had be an Initial Hero and was well on his way to bing an Early Hero.


    And yet, Ghosty could tell that Nick was a genuine danger to him.


    In fact, Nick felt so dangerous that Ghosty felt almost helpless.


    Of course, while Ghosty still felt these things, his powerful mind keptplete control of everything, and he looked at his feelings with pure fascination.


    This was so interesting!


    Meanwhile, when Nick nced at the Technician, the Technician just shrugged.


    The damage was already done.


    "Yes, I am a Specter," Nick answered.


    "Interesting," Ghosty said, stepping closer to Nick while looking over his body with furrowed brows.


    It was like Ghosty was trying to find any scratches on the new research object he had just received.


    "Have you always been a Specter?" he asked.


    "No," Nick said. "Thest time we met, I was still human."


    A light appeared in Ghosty''s eyes.


    It had been forever that something had fascinated him that much.


    "So, you turned into a Specter?" he asked.


    Nick nced at the Technician again.


    "It''s fine," the Technician said. "Just tell him everything. Just don''t immediately drop huge secrets without any buildup. If you are talking about things that should remain secret, I still want a chance to interrupt you. Also, keep descriptions of the Maw to a minimum."


    Nick nodded.


    He had never gotten the instructions to be dramatic for safety reasons before.


    "After you left Crimson City, I became the Liaison."


    Nick told Ghosty about his five years as a Liaison.


    Ghosty didn''t have any contact with Crimson City anymore since it was simply not possible to have any contact with a city on the other side of the.


    When Ghosty heard about what Crimson City turned into, he almost couldn''t believe it.


    Yes, all of this made logical sense.


    Yes, all of this was theoretically possible.


    However, this was not how things usually turned out.


    Countless things could have gone wrong.


    If any single person hoarded that much power, everything nearly always turned for the worse.


    Unchecked power was extremely dangerous and there was a good reason why the Governors weren''t powerful enough to kill their cities on their own in case of a battle.


    If Aegis wanted that, they would have made the Agents the Governors and the Governors the Agents.


    Sure, theoretically, a benevolent dictator could aplish much more than a benevolent group of people, but that was theory.


    That just didn''t happen.


    What? A guy who desperately fought for power until he was the most powerful person was selfish and didn''t think a lot about other people? No one could have predicted that!


    And yet, Nick actually made this hypothetical scenario real.


    He actually tried to improve the lives of the poor people and put his life on the line in a fight against the elite.


    Even more, he actually won.


    Ghosty felt like he was listening to a fairy tale.


    How was this something that actually happened?


    After talking about Crimson City, Nick talked a little bit about his time in the trainee camp, but that wasn''t relevant to the topic.


    Finally, Nick talked about his Consumption, and when Ghosty heard that Nick tried to consume a Peak Elder, he refused to believe it.


    That was impossible.


    It was literally physically impossible to win against a Peak Elder during the Consumption process.


    That was like trying topete with a theoretical machine in a vacuum by using an actual machine with real parts that exist in the real world.


    One had 100% efficiency, while the other one had to contend with innumerable small interferences.


    But when Nick talked about the end of his Consumption, Ghosty realized that it was actually possible.


    Yes, if the Specter conceded, it was possible.


    It was just that nobody had ever managed to make a Specter concede.


    When Nick talked about the time his Zephyx Synchronizer was encased by a Specter Core, Ghosty kept asking question after question.


    Eventually, Nick told him that all these thought experiments were unimportant since that was no longer the current state.


    Finally, Nick talked about the Maw, but he left out almost 90% of everything surrounding that event.


    At this point, the Technician also became interested.


    After all, he hadn''t been able to experiment on Nick since the fusion.


    Nick could barely say a sentence before another question hit him.


    After around 30 minutes of just answering questions, Nick realized that this might not be the first priority.


    "Technician," Nick said. "I think we can talk about all of thister. There are things that require more immediate attention."


    For a split-second, the Technician was bbergasted.


    Something more important than his research?!


    But he very quickly realized that Nick was actually right.


    "Right," the Technician said before sighing. "Politics."


    Nick nodded.


    The Technician nced at Ghosty, who immediately understood.


    Ghosty nodded and stepped out of the room.


    Now, only Nick and the Technician were left.


    "Alright," the Technician said. "You''ve been undercover, right?"


    Nick nodded.


    Then, he told the Technician about the time he identally came into contact with Wrath.


    Nick told the Technician everything he knew about Wrath and what his job as Wrath''s assassin was.


    "That''s quite smart," the Technician said. "You got rid of other influences, nted your own influence, and now, you can get rid of that influence in one strike. We can deal with almost ten Demons at once, and they don''t even have an opportunity to prepare or react to our attacks."


    Nick nodded. "I know exactly who is working for Wrath and if any human is knowingly allied with it."


    Naturally, whenever Aegis found out that a city was secretly controlled by one of the Corruptors, it was always a big deal to find out if the Governor knew about this or not.


    Governors were all, at least, Early Heroes, and killing an innocent Early Hero was very bad.


    However, if they spared a guilty Early Hero, the city might very well fall under the control of a Corruptor again, but this time, they would do a much better job hiding their influence.


    "What about Grand Extractor City?" the Technician asked.


    "What about it?" Nick asked back.


    "It seems a bit different from the other cities. You said one of your main reasons for doing Wrath''s work was that you could also improve the lives of people. Introducing Wrath to Grand Extractor City doesn''t sound like it would improve the lives of people," the Technician said. "I can imagine a couple of reasons, but I want to know which one actually is the real one."


    "Several reasons," Nick said.


    "First of all, I wanted to get rid of one of the biggest bastions of one of the Corruptors. That makes them open to more attacks from other Corruptors. The more conflict there is, the higher the chance that Aegis witnesses the ensuing chaos and finds out about the city''s corruption."


    "Second, I was nning oning back to Aegis anyway. If I dealt with the city, I would''ve contacted Aegis. The city would have already been cleaned up by that point. However, I could also just contact Aegis during my mission. The result would be the same. It would just require more investigation from Aegis'' side."


    "Third," Nick said as his eyes narrowed.


    "They''re selfish."

 Chapter 669: Contribution

    "Selfish?" the Technician asked with interest. He could already guess what Nick meant by that, but he wanted to hear if Nick thought the same thing.


    "While the normal people don''t live in conditions that most people would find great, these are the conditions they want to live in," Nick said. "This is not a case of not being able to improve one''s life due to powerlessness but a voluntary choice."


    "In that case, the people do not suffer a lot. In terms of happiness, the city is probably even one of the best ones."


    "But they are not contributing to humanity," Nick added.


    The Technician gestured for Nick to continue.


    Naturally, the Technician was extremely interested in Nick''s ideology and his feelings as a Specter.


    Could Nick still feel things?


    Was he lying?


    Why was he deciding to do things?Was he still thinking like a human?


    "There are two things that humans want. They want to stay alive, and they want to be happy," Nick said. "Some people prefer survival over happiness. They would much rather live for 80 years in poor conditions than die early, but there were also people that would much rather die young and happy instead of old and miserable."


    "Both groups can live their life however they want."


    "However, humanity as a whole still needs to survive."


    "It is your decision if you do not want children and die young after using up all of your money, but there is undeniable proof that if everyone were to act like you, happiness would die out with your generation."


    "Does that mean that you have to have children now? Of course not."


    "However, while you have power over your own lineage and your own life, humanity, as a whole, must still ensure that it continues existing."


    "Grand Extractor City was happy, but they also have several Mid and even Late Heroes that have the power to help many more humans."


    "Yet, they just remain there, doing nothing."


    "Of course, that''s the fancy moral exnation," Nick added. "More urately,I just hate when people take but don''t give."


    "If anyone wants to argue that they are a city and that they do not need to help anyone outside the city, I have a simple proposition as an answer."


    "Fine, if you don''t want to help Aegis, you can keep your Zephyx, and Aegis will let you be on your own."


    "Watch as your city gets enved by a random Fallen within a year."


    "Let''s see how happy and independent you are then," Nick said with cold annoyance.


    The Technician nodded a couple of times in interest as he analyzed Nick.


    While Nick made logical arguments, there were definite signs of emotions and biases in his words.


    In short, he sounded like a human.


    "Alright," the Technician said, "would you mind giving me a written record of all the cities and any people of note?"


    Nick nodded, but before he could start conjuring papers, the Technician did something else.


    At that point, the Technician smiled smugly and ced a small device on a nearby table. "Try this," he said.


    Nick looked at the device with a raised brow and touched it.


    It looked a bit like a Barrier, but there were a couple of things that were different.


    Nick interacted with the device, and a momentter, a screen was projected into the air in front of him.


    This was the same kind of screen that a Barrier from Aegis used.


    Learning to write with these screens wasn''t easy since the screens worked via reading Zephyx waves one gave off, but if one mastered it, writing became many times easier and faster.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t have human Zephyx, which meant that his Zephyx wouldn''t be able to interact with these devices.


    But since the Technician told him to try, he did.


    Initially, the screen only distorted a bit, but then, letters began to appear.


    Nick nced at the Technician, who had a smug smile on his face.


    Then, Nick grabbed the device, turned it around, and pulled open the outer casing without damaging it.Nick looked at the insides and could see how a couple ofponents worked, but the majority was still a bit beyond his level.


    He knew quite a bit about Zephology, but that didn''t mean that he could immediately tell what a machine could do just by looking at it.


    Nick was no engineer.


    However, when broken down, every machine was just doing physics stuff, and some parts were easier to understand than others.


    "You removed the input security," Nick said with a slightly surprised voice.


    The Technician was d that Nick could tell something like that.


    If he didn''t need to exin the basics, talking was less work and more enjoyment.


    "Yeah, I thought it would be the easiest way to get it to work for a Specter," the Technician said.


    Nick looked at the other parts.


    He didn''t know what most of them did, but he knew that it wasn''t as easy as just removing the input security.


    All the parts expected specific readings and values, and introducing a different kind of Zephyx was like trying to make an electrical circuit work by using water instead of electricity as a power source.


    In short, almost everything would need to be changed for such a change to work.


    Nick just looked at the new device for a while before putting it together again.


    Asking the Technician how it worked would probably eat up hours of time.


    In the end, Nick activated the device again and tried to write on it.


    He had already been able to write on such a device before he had be a Specter, and while he needed to change his new Zephyx output to do the same, his great experience in manipting Zephyx made it rtively easy.


    Within two minutes, Nick could write on the device effectively.


    While Nick was relearning to write, the Technician was writing down things of his own on his Barrier.


    After Nick learned to write on the device, he quickly wrote several pages of records about all the different cities he had interacted with.


    When he was done, the device blinked,and all the words Nick had written were transmitted to the Technician''s Barrier.


    The Technician read through everything in a second and nodded with interest.


    "This will be a big hit to Wrath," he said. "I''ll send this to Helia. She''ll deal with it."


    The Technician did just that and focused on Nick again. "Now then, with this out of-"


    DING! DING! DING!


    At that moment, the Technician''s Barrier started to ring, and he furrowed his brows.


    "Of course," he muttered with annoyance.


    Naturally, the Left Arm was calling him.


    ''That''s strange,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''Thest time I saw the two of them talk, they were talking via voice transmissions. Why are they suddenlymunicating via Barriers?''


    "Yes, all of this is urate. Yes, he is here. Yes, he''s in front of me. Say hi, Nick," the Technician said.


    A small light appeared in Nick''s eyes. "Greetings, Left Arm," Nick said.


    "Yes¡­ yes¡­ yes¡­ yes¡­ no¡­ yes¡­ great¡­ sure¡­ yes¡­"


    The Technician rolled his eyes in annoyance.


    "I don''t know! Why are you asking me about that? No¡­ No¡­ Yes¡­ What? Oh, no! Yeah¡­ okay. Sure!"


    Ding!


    And the Technician hung up before releasing another annoyed sigh.


    "Anyway, that part is over. She''ll deal with all of the cities," he said.


    Nick nodded. "What did she say? Did she mention anything about how we will proceed from now on?"


    The Technician scratched the back of his head. "Well, things are a bit different nowadays. We can''t really make big ns right now. Adaptability is more important than a n right now."


    The Technician seemed rather casual, but Nick could see that the current Aegis wasn''t an easy ce to navigate.


    "Howe youmunicated via Barriers?" Nick asked.


    "This room is isted," the Technician answered, not surprised that Nick noticed this detail.


    "Isted?" Nick asked, looking around.


    That was when he noticed that the light was a bit unusual.


    It did not have the same feeling as sunlight,but it also didn''t feel like the Champion of Light''s light.


    ''Artificial light,'' Nick thought.


    He also couldn''t sense anything outside of this room.


    There were only two things that were connected to the outside world.


    The door and a Zephyx receiver embedded in the wall.


    "Yes, I know what question is going toe next," the Technician said with an annoyed sigh.


    Nick just looked at the Technician evenly, waiting for an answer to his unspoken question.


    "Things are¡­ not easy right now," the Technician said. "I presume you''ve heard of the new Champion of Light?"


    Nick had expected that all of this would be connected to the new Champion of Light.


    The things the new Champion of Light had said seemed to be different from what the old Champion of Light had said.


    Nick just nodded.


    "Let''s just say that the fundamentals of the world are not as clear-cut as you might believe," the Technician said.

 Chapter 670: Protection

    Nick couldn''t bepletely sure about what the Technician meant.


    That could basically mean anything.


    The Technician seemed to wrestle with himself about what he should tell Nick and what he should keep secret.


    "I can''t tell you a lot," the Technician said. "These are secrets that are even more important than the Nightmare''s location. It''s not that I don''t trust you. I just don''t trust your power. There are ways to read your mind or your reactions that you can''t resist. You''re like a lockbox made of wood. I trust that you won''t throw your contents up, but I can''t trust you to withstand the force of a big guy with a big hammer, you know?"


    Nick just nodded.


    The Technician kept thinking about what to tell Nick and what to keep secret.


    It wasn''t easy.


    "How would you define Aegis?" the Technician suddenly asked.


    Nick furrowed his brows."An alliance of the strongest people on the that want to help humanity as a whole," Nick said.


    The Technician nodded. "Good definition. That''s basically correct. Remember that."


    Nick waited for an boration.


    Yet, the Technician seemed to be done talking.


    "That''s it?" Nick asked.


    "Yeah, well, I decided to not tell you anything," the Technician said. "Telling you anything is already too risky. The only thing I can do is reassure you that Aegis has the good of humanity in mind. Aegis wants humanity to survive, and Aegis wants to get rid of all external threats to humanity. Keep that in mind."


    Nick just looked at the Technician.


    He hadn''t doubted Aegis'' mission before.


    As far as he had seen, Aegis was genuinely interested in protecting and helping humanity.


    ''He should know my thoughts on this matter,'' Nick thought. ''Yet, he keeps repeating that I should remember that Aegis wants to protect humanity.''


    ''It''s almost like he fears that I am going to see things that make me doubt Aegis'' goals.''


    At that moment, Nick''s eyes narrowed in suspicion.That was when Nick noticed that the Technician''s smile seemed nervous and forced.


    It was almost like he was afraid that someone would find out that he had lied about something.


    But was the Technician really such a bad liar that he couldn''t keep his facial expression under control?


    Sadly, that was an actual possibility.


    The Technician was a researcher, not a politician or leader.


    But he was also extremely old and experienced.


    So, was this a deliberate expression, or was it truly just idental?


    Was he afraid of something?


    If so, what would he be afraid of?


    "Aegis genuinely wants to help humanity," the Technician said again. "Please, never doubt that. Okay?"


    Nick just looked at the Technician.


    "Can we drop the topic now?" the Technician asked nervously.


    "Sure," Nick answered.


    The Technician sighed in relief.


    "Anyway," he said as his rxed demeanor and good mood returned, "Helia wille up with a n and contact us again. She''s going to find a way to make it seem like all the information you have gathered is the result of a top-secret mission of a group of underground Agents. You won''t get any credit for that."


    Nick nodded. "That''s fine."


    Most people wouldin.


    This was unfair!


    He did all of this!


    He deserved recognition!


    However, Nick was not interested in that.


    Nick wanted to help humanity, and he had done just that.


    He wouldn''t say no to a reward, but he also wouldn''t actively ask for one.


    "Until that matter is settled, you will be staying in here. As in, this room, specifically."


    "Then, we''lle up with a n on how to move forward, but for now, we''re just waiting," the Technician exined.


    "Fine," Nick answered.


    At that point, the Technician''s interested smile returned. "Good! With the boring stuff out of the way, how did your abilities change?"


    After that, Nick and the Technician started talking about his abilities in depth.


    "Oh,right!" the Technician said before activating his Barrier for a second. "I totally forgot."


    Nick wasn''t sure what the Technician meant until the door knocked and Ghosty entered.


    Right, Ghosty was supposed to be the Technician''s assistant in this project, and since all the sensitive stuff had been discussed, he could now be part of the conversation again.


    They kept asking about Nick''s abilities and how they changed.


    And then, Ghosty asked a question.


    "We keep talking about your secondary abilities, but how has this-"


    "Stop!" Nick shouted with authority, interrupting Ghosty.


    Ghosty was taken aback.


    What was this about?


    The Technician looked between the two, and he immediately realized what happened.


    "Oh!" he said before turning to Ghosty. "You know about his primary ability?"


    Ghosty just nodded.


    Naturally, he also quickly realized why Nick had stopped him and looked at the Technician with a raised brow. "You don''t?"


    The Technician furrowed his brows. "Right, I remember now," he said, scratching his chin. "That was the reason why I asked you toe here in the first ce. Well, that and the fact that you''re a really good researcher."


    Silence.


    The mood became a bit awkward.


    However, all of the present people were quite intelligent and knew how to navigate such a conversation.


    "You don''t need to tell me," the Technician said, "but I still have a question about all of this. Consider it as a way for me to make peace with the fact that I won''t be able to know about this thing ever."


    Nick and Ghosty nodded.


    "The old Champion of Light told us that we should not ask about his ability. Why would he tell us to do that?" the Technician asked Ghosty.


    Ghosty was surprised.


    The Champion of Light said that?


    Within a second, many things connected in Ghosty''s mind, and his mood turned somber.


    He hoped that he was wrong.


    "If I may ask," Ghosty said, "what was the old Champion of Light''s opinion of Nick?"


    Nick furrowed his brows.He realized that his original answer about this topic hadn''t epassed the entire truth.


    Nick had believed that the Champion of Light forbade them from asking about his ability to protect Nick.


    After all, the more people knew about his ability, the higher the chance was that he would die.


    But now¡­


    "He gave him thest name Dusk," the Technician answered.


    Ghosty took a deep breath.


    Sadly, his suspicion had been proven to be true.


    "I think I know why," Ghosty said.


    The Technician looked at Ghosty.


    Ghosty seemed solemn.


    "It is to protect you," he said.


    Nick nodded.


    That was also what he had realized just now.


    "To protect me?" the Technician asked.


    "My ability is extremely powerful," Nick said. "However, there is a devastating counter to it. Knowing about it can essentially weaken me to a tenth of my power."


    "If the Champion''s hope trulyes to pass¡­" Nick said as he trailed off.


    The Technician sighed. "Having people around that know about your ability would be a big danger since the enemy might learn about it."


    "If you ever reach such a level of power, your survival and power will be so important that it vastly outweighs my worth as a researcher and Shield."


    Nick nodded.


    "Just like Aegis, I want to protect humanity," Nick said. "No one''s individual desires are equal to humanity''s collective desires."


    Ghosty didn''t know Nick very well, but the Technician had spent a couple of years with him.


    And as far as the Technician knew Nick¡­


    Nobody spoke.


    All of them knew.


    If Nick became a Shield, and if he truly wanted to help humanity, the most intelligent thing to do was to kill everyone who knew about his weakness.


    For Ghosty, that didn''t matter.


    He only managed to be a Hero with Aegis'' help, and he knew that he would never be a Protector.


    If Nick ever managed to be a Shield, Ghosty would have already died of old age.


    But the Technician was a Shield, and he was not one of the old ones.He belonged to the younger half of Shields.


    "Well, if that''s the reason, then I''m relieved," the Technician suddenly spoke in a casual tone.


    The other two looked at him with raised brows.


    "This just proves that the Champion of Light believes in Nick," he said. "He believed in him so much that he proactively protected the other Shields from his future power."


    "It also proves that he believes that Nick will still want to help humanity after he bes powerful."


    The Technician seemed relieved.


    "Alright, so, what''s your main ability?" he asked.


    Ghosty''s eyebrows shot up, and Nick furrowed his brows.


    The Technician knew fully well what it meant to ask Nick about his main ability.


    "I have gained my ability by interacting with the Null," Nick spoke without hesitation.


    An ufortable expression appeared on Ghosty''s face.


    Now, it was toote.


    But why did Nick directly tell the Technician without hesitation?


    The Technician just smiled with interest.


    An Eternal''s ability!


    Fascinating!


    Nick didn''t hesitate to tell the Technician because he admired him.


    The Technician was willing to sacrifice part of his own life to better help humanity, just like Nick.


    Not epting the Technician''s sacrifice would be disrespectful in Nick''s mind.

 Chapter 671 : Liberation

    t.me/Kill_the_Sun_fastes


    Ghosty, the Technician, and Nick kept experimenting on him for several days.


    While they were doing that, thousands of people had their lives turned upside down.


    BANG!


    Five peoplended in front of a thick gate inside a huge mountain.


    The guards in front of the gate wanted to sound an rm, but when they saw the uniforms of these people, they froze in shock.


    Aegis!


    Agents!


    "Wee, Age-""Shut up," a woman with short red hair spoke with authority as she red at the guard.


    Both guards froze and didn''t dare to utter a sound.


    "Move!" shemanded.


    The two guards immediately jumped to the side.


    Without saying anything, a younger man in the group stepped forward.


    His Barrier activated, and many different windows popped up before closing.


    Then, the Barrier in front of the gate deactivated, and the gate opened.


    Naturally, while all the cities had their own inventions, the basics of how Barriers worked came from Aegis, and Aegis could crack every kind of Barrier.


    After the door opened, the five people entered.


    The guards controlling the gates and Barriers inside the mountain were shocked when the machinery stopped listening to them.


    However, they didn''t dare to protest or interfere as soon as they saw the uniforms.


    This group was from Aegis!


    The inner door also opened, and the group of Agents could finally see the city.


    ck Mine City.


    It looked pretty¡­ normal.


    People were living normal lives.


    There were businesses.


    There were families.


    There was work.


    Everything looked pretty normal.


    The only thing of note was that there were fewer poor people than expected, but that was it.


    This did not seem like a city under the control of a Corruptor.


    This group of Agents was one that was responsible for investigating cities for corruption.


    There were a couple of ways to get such a group to investigate a city.


    A Governor could request an investigation.


    A caravan could request an investigation.


    Another group of Agents could request an investigation.


    A superior who had heard from some random source something about the city could ask for an investigation.


    Most of the time, there was nothing.


    Such investigations were time-consuming and reserved resources for a while, which was why there were consequences for sending these teams to ces that weren''t corrupted.


    Sadly, that didn''t change that the majority of investigations went nowhere.


    When four of the five people saw the city, they grew annoyed again.


    This looked like another waste of time.


    This city obviously wasn''t corrupted.


    Yet, their red-haired leader seemed very confident.


    She saw the expressions of her teammates before taking out a huge folder filled with documents.


    When the others saw the size of the folder, their eyes widened.


    That was A LOT of information!


    They were usually much smaller!


    "Matt, iste the city. Nobody leaves. Shouldn''t be difficult here," she ordered.


    "Yes!" a tall and thin man said before shooting into the air inside the big cave.


    "Chelsey and Miranda, take control of Vertigo Box and Swirling Abyss. They are the two biggest Manufacturers. They are there and there. They have three Heroes each," the leader ordered.


    "Yes!" the two of them shouted before vanishing.


    "Urian, you-"


    "As always?" the blonde guy asked with a casual smirk.


    "No," the leader answered neutrally. "We immediatelymence the execution."


    Urian let out an impressed whistle. "Alrighty then."


    Urian vanished, and the leader immediately turned her gaze to a seemingly random cave.


    SHING!


    In an instant, she appeared in front of the cave.


    BANG!


    The gate in front of the cave caved in as if some invisible giant had pushed it in.


    BOOOOOM!


    The entire mountain shook, and the cave almost copsed.


    The next moment, an almost invisible, gigantic hand pulled a figure out of the cave.


    It was a tall woman with three heads and six arms, who was struggling in the grip of the gigantic hand.


    At the same time, blinding lightning came out of a building on the other side of the city.


    The red-haireddy was writing down everything that happened.


    After some seconds, the gigantic hand moved the Specter closer to her, and she looked at it.


    "Are you willing to tell us anything about Wrath in exchange for your life?" she asked.


    The three heads seemed to argue with each other for a while.


    "Yes," the middle-head said after a while.


    The red-haireddy nodded as she pulled out a Space Bag.


    A momentter, several Zephyx Suppressors floated out of the bag and bound themselves around the Specter.


    "Job''s done," Urian said as he reappeared behind his leader. "Nothing unusual. Went down like a sack."


    The leader nodded.


    That meant that the Governor was dead.


    At that moment, the leader''s Barrier changed, and Urian''s Barrier activated on its own.


    During the most-critical parts of a mission, these kinds of groups hadmunication between their Barriers disabled.


    There were Specters that could feel the connections between Barriers.


    They might not be able to decipher the connections, but they could feel their presence.


    This could warn the Specters.


    There was also a chance that the Cities could feel the connections, and if the city was sufficiently corrupted, that could also mean trouble for the Agents.


    Sure, the Cities wouldn''t be able to damage the Agents, but they could potentially hide evidence.


    Since Wrath''s servant and the Governor had been dealt with, the group had dismantled the two biggest dangers, and they didn''t need to fear being unmasked anymore.


    "Gather all the Heroes and Specialists of the city in one ce," the leader ordered.


    She got a confirmation from every other member of her team.


    Within a couple of minutes, every Specialist and Hero was gathered in the middle of the city, and the leader ordered the Specter to fix the mental maniption it had caused.


    A couple of hourster, a new Hero entered the city.


    This was an Early Hero who was ready to prove themselves as a Governor.


    The new Governor had already been trained on how to rule a city.


    The group of Agents simply forwarded all the relevant information about the city to the new Governor and ordered the Manufacturers to hand over all the information they had of the city.


    Within two days, the group of Agents left again.


    Despite giving the group of Agents a lot of info about Wrath, the Specter was thrown into the Crimson Sea anyway.


    Left Arm''s orders.


    While all of this had been going on, several other cities underwent simr changes.


    Every city Nick had conquered for Wrath was turned upside down by a team of Agents.


    Even Grand Extractor City was hit.


    There were also a couple of cities part of this raid that Nick hadn''t been in contact with.


    Naturally, Nick knew about a couple more cities due to all of his contact with Wrath.


    Wrath''s error had been that he had believed that Nick was a Specter.


    Well, Nick was a Specter, but he didn''t think and act like a Specter.


    16 cities had been hit.


    Nick had only been involved in about half of them.


    About a quarter of the remaining ones had already belonged to Wrath without Nick''s help, and the remaining ones belonged to other Corruptors.


    Those had been options for Nick to go to instead of Grand Extractor City.


    Around 200,000 people.


    That was how many people had been impacted by this raid.


    200,000 people had been freed of Specter influence.


    Nick had given Wrath a proper foothold in the Grand Continent, but he had taken away even more.


    Almost every single city Wrath had controlled in the Grand Continent had been liberated, pushing it all the way back into the War Continent.


    Decades of progress were gone.


    Naturally, Wrath knew exactly who had been responsible for this.


    Nick!


    Wrath was angry, but that was just because that was its base emotion.


    It wasn''t actually angry due to Nick.


    After all, this meant that Aegis had captured Nick, and like any other Specter, he had talked.


    This danger was exactly why Wrath only told its servants about the cities they were involved with.


    Nick had been special since he had helped with so many cities.


    Wrath had hoped that Nick would just be killed or still feared it enough to not tell everything to Aegis.


    Nick should have known that, the more damage he did to humanity, the higher the likelihood was that Aegis would kill him.


    Telling Aegis everything was stupid.


    Wrath had thought that Nick would be smart enough to see that.


    But he obviously didn''t.


    Sadly, things didn''t turn out the way Wrath wanted them to.


    Yet, all of that didn''t matter in the end.


    Wrath had been alive for over a thousand years.


    Setbacks were normal.


    At some point, it would have caused enough suffering to be an Adversary.


    It just had to continue.


    A week after all the cities had been liberated, the Left Arm contacted the Technician again.


    She hade up with a n about the future.

 Chapter 672: The Great Conference

    A group of seven people looked at each other as they stood in a circle.


    Three of them were physically present, while the other four were represented by projections on big panels of ss.


    "Helia Janus. Codename: The Left Arm. Present. Line secured via presence of the Champion," the Left Arm spoke from one side of the room.


    Her ck hair and older face gave her an intense aura of leadership as she nced at the person to her left.


    After she finished speaking, the person to her left scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his white hair unkempt.


    "James Cloudless. Codename: The Technician. Present. Line secured via presence of the Champion," the Technician added.


    Then, the Technician looked at the hologram to his left.


    To his left was the hologram of a man who was almost two meters tall. The man was quite voluminous, and it wasn''t apparent whether or not that was muscle.


    The man smiled with a mix of mirth and confidence as he put his hands on his hips."Bieronymus Hosch. Codename: The Wall. Present. Line secured via grade S Istion Barrier," the Wall said.


    "borate on the Istion Barrier," the Left Arm ordered with a serious tone.


    The Wall shook his head and sighed helplessly butplied. For around 30 seconds, he kept talking about different settings and standards his Barrier followed.


    "Acknowledged," the Left Arm said after the Wall finished talking about his Istion Barrier.


    Then, everyone looked to the person''s left, at the next hologram.


    The hologram was of a little girl who could barely be older than ten. She looked dirty and malnourished, but her white hair and her bright smile made her appear radiant.


    "Henrietta Opfer. Codename: The Knife. Present. Line secured via a direct link through grade A Stronghold Conference Barrier," the little girl spoke casually.


    Without waiting for the Left Arm to ask, the Knife borated on how the Barrier here worked.


    Naturally, everyone knew how these Barriers worked.The reason why it was necessary for everyone to talk about how they secured their connection was to prove that they were truly themselves.


    Depending on from where they connected, it was expected of them to speak different key phrases as secret authentication.


    These were the Shields of Aegis, and they were speaking about top-secret matters.


    Aegis'' enemies were extremely powerful Specters, and some of these Specters had the ability to use human equipment and disguise themselves as humans.


    It was imperative that no Specter managed to infiltrate one of these meetings.


    "Acknowledged," the Left Arm said before looking at the next hologram.


    The next person was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had ck hair, and he looked just as serious as the Left Arm.


    In a certain way, he seemed like a younger male version of the Left Arm.


    "Mendez Silpheon. Codename: The Politician. Present. Line secured via grade S Istion Barrier," he spoke with an emotionless voice.


    Then, he talked about his Barrier for half a minute before falling quiet.


    "Acknowledged," the Left Arm spoke before turning to the next person.


    The next hologram was of a taller man with blonde hair. He was about 185 centimeters tall, stalwart, rtively muscr, and wore a suit of shining armor.


    He was one of the only two people who did not wear Aegis'' uniforms.


    His aura was reliable, powerful, shining, and heroic.


    "Byron Inferno. Codename: The Right Arm. Present. Line secured via grade A Stronghold Conference Barrier," he spoke with an authoritative but encouraging voice.


    Just like the others, he talked about the way he secured his connection for a while.


    Naturally, it wasn''t enough to just repeat what someone else said.


    There were many key phrases that one could say, and one only needed to speak four fitting ones while not being allowed to copy ones that had been used already.


    "Acknowledged," the Left Arm said.


    Finally,she turned towards the person to her right.


    This person was also to the Right Arm''s left.


    Naturally, there was only one person who would have the Right Arm to his right and the Left Arm to his left.


    "Everyone is present, Champion," the Left Arm spoke respectfully.


    "Good," a booming voice spoke.


    The voice came from a person who was shining with dark-orange light.


    The man had white hair and looked to be in his early thirties. His face was angr, and his eyebrows were like swords.


    His dark voice epassed the entire room with authority and power.


    His aura spoke of only one thing.


    The top.


    The leader.


    The peak.


    The king.


    He was the leader of all of humanity, the Champion of Light.


    He was the other person who didn''t wear Aegis'' uniforms.


    Instead of wearing the uniform, he wore a white shirt and a form-fitting pair of ck trousers.


    In a way, he looked like an executive who was dressing rtively casually to their standards.


    "The monthly conference hereby begins," the Champion spoke before turning to his right. "Byron, what news do you have from your side?"


    Every month, all the Shields had a big conference to exchange information.


    These meetings hadn''t existed before the new Champion of Light took over.


    The new Champion had created these meetings so that everyone could be up-to-date on the matters the other Shields were dealing with.


    Back when he had arrived in Aegis to im his rightful throne, he had been infuriated by the chaotic mess of information.


    Some Shields had been telling him one thing, while the others had been telling him other things.


    It was almost like the right hand didn''t know what the left was doing.


    Ever since then, every Shield had toe to the monthly conference to exchange information.


    "I have pinpointed the Eternal Hunger''s location to an area spanning 10,000 square kilometers," the Right Arm said. "I will continue pinpointing the location without being found."


    The Champion of Light nodded with seriousness. "Have you decided on the Eternal Hunger''s fate?"


    "Not yet, Champion," the Right Arm answered. "Killing the Eternal Hunger will make it possible for life to exist again in the outside world, but without its deterring effect, the False Hope will be almost unstoppable."


    The Eternal Hunger and the False Hope were probably the two most widely known Adversaries.


    The Eternal Hunger created countless ck slimes all across the world that attacked anything that lived.


    The False Hope created false forests that killed any living thing that stepped inside.


    These two were in constant war since both of them preyed on the same thing.


    "Is there no hope for containment?" the Champion asked.


    "I would need the assistance of Helia and Bieronymus to have a chance, and I would need them for a while," the Right Arm answered.


    The Champion narrowed his eyes as he looked to the ground.


    This was risky.


    "It is not worth it," the Champion said after a while. "I will leave it up to you."


    The Right Arm nodded.


    This only left the options of killing it or trying to force the two Adversaries into a final conflict.


    If the Right Arm could pinpoint the locations of the False Hope and the Eternal Hunger, he could find a way for them to find each other.


    It wouldn''t be certain that either of them would die in the conflict, but they would definitely be weakened, and the ensuing chaos might create opportunities for Aegis to deal with one or both of them.


    This was all the Right Arm had to report about thest month.


    After the Right Arm, the Politician spoke about the things he had done.


    The Politician had been one of the Left Arm''s students, and his job was to produce Zephyx for Aegis as a whole.


    The Politician gathered data from all over the world to see how the Zephyx production was going and which areas were producing the least Zephyx.


    It was also his job to determine new settlements for new cities.After the Politician, it was time for the Knife to speak.


    The Knife did not have any leadership role.


    She was simply a powerful assassin whose job it was to find and hunt humanity''s enemies.


    She had also been the one who had found Pestilence''s whereabouts a couple of years ago.


    Sadly, that mission went nowhere.


    After the Knife, it was the Wall''s turn.


    The Wall was essentially the opposite of the Knife.


    The Wall had an immense array of defensive abilities, and it was his job to protect humanity from the Adversaries.


    While he wasn''t powerful enough to deal with the Adversaries, his set of abilities made it possible to stall for time until the Knife arrived to help.


    When the Knife and the Wall worked together, they were stronger than if the Left Arm and Right Arm worked together.


    After the Wall, the Technician reported his findings.


    His job was HR and research.


    Finally, it was time for the Left Arm to report.


    "We have freed 16 cities in the Grand Continent of Specter influences," she said.


    After she said that, the others looked at her with surprise.


    That was a lot!


    "How did you aplish that?" the Champion asked.


    The Left Arm didn''t immediately answer.


    "James and I have been working on a secret project for a couple of decades," she said. "The liberation of these cities is due to that project."


    The Technician smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.


    The others looked at the Left Arm.


    Secret projects were¡­ frowned upon.


    There was no reason to keep things secret between them.


    "You know our policy about secrets," the Champion spoke in a reprimanding tone.


    "I do," the Left Arm answered. "However, if I had told everyone before there were positive results, you would have told me to stop."


    Silence.


    "Exin," the Champion ordered.


    The Left Arm took a breath.


    "We have a Specter as an ally."

 Chapter 673: Good Business

    The room fell silent as soon as the Left Arm told everyone about her secret project.


    The Right Arm narrowed his eyes.


    The Politician looked at the Left Arm with suspicion.


    The Wall and the Knife did not look happy.


    "I have not been informed of this," the Champion spoke with his deep voice.


    "Thetest project has been underway for 20 years. We just needed to wait for the results. We had more important things to worry about," the Left Arm spoke without apology.


    "Why?" the Right Arm asked. "This doesn''t make any sense. You were always the most adamant about not trusting Specters, no matter what."


    "That is correct," the Left Arm answered, "and I am still not trusting any Specters. This Specter could be considered an ally, but it does not have any of our trust. The Specter is a weapon."


    The mood in the room became even worse.In the beginning, people had still been shocked, but now, the actual rage and betrayal manifested.


    Joining forces with a Specter was idiotic!


    It was an irond rule!


    Specters were humanity''s natural enemy!


    The most shocking thing of all was that it had been the Left Arm who had fallen victim to this idiotic mindset.


    The Left Arm was the shrewdest of everyone.


    She was thorough, and she rarely made mistakes.


    The only reason why they didn''t consider her to be an idiot was because she was so outstanding in everything else.


    "The only reason why I am giving you a chance to exin yourself is that I do not believe that you would make such a stupid mistake," the Champion said. "You''ve struck me as quite thorough and careful."


    The Left Arm nodded. "Thank you, Champion."


    "Now, tell me what this is all about. We need more details," the Champion said.


    The others looked at the Left Arm with skepticism.


    "29 years ago, I received a report from one of the cities north of the Deste Continent," the Left Arm said. "It came from Simon Francium, one of the Judges responsible for keeping Envy contained."


    "He found a Specter in one of the cities he had gone to due to an emergency."


    "Surprisingly, the Specter willingly shared its true identity. In short, the Specter actively sought contact with Aegis'' higher level."


    The other people were suspicious.


    This didn''t seem usible.


    "This is Simon Francium''s report," the Left Arm said, transmitting a report to everyone.


    The Shields quickly read through the report.


    Naturally, the Left Arm had forged that report.


    "I told James to investigate the Specter and make sense of its actions. He did just that and wrote me this report," the Left Arm said, sending another report to everyone.


    This report was also faked, but it was the Technician who forged it.


    He forged his own report.


    The report was insanely long and detailed.


    Luckily, the Shields could read through the gigantic report in a matter of seconds.


    "Abnormal psyche," the Politicianmented, looking at one specific page of the report.


    "Yes," the Left Arm added. "This Specter is one with an abnormal psyche. However, its abnormal psyche is in regard to emotions it believes to feel. The emotions are-"


    "Surprisingly human," the Right Arm finished the sentence.


    "For a Specter, it can be considered insane," the Left Arm said. "But for a human, it could be considered just slightly insane."


    "I''ll have to add," the Technician interjected, "that powerful Extractors could all be considered to be slightly insane. That is a base requirement to be so powerful."


    Some of the Shields frowned, but they couldn''t argue with that.


    They all had their quirks.


    "If this were just a random Specter, I could assure everyone that humanity would suffer from a cooperation with the Specter."


    "But that''s not the case."


    "This Specter actually has goals."


    "Goals?" the Knife asked with a snort. "You mean besides causing as much suffering as possible?"


    The Left Arm nodded. "Yes. It wants to be the strongest Specter."


    The people furrowed their brows.They could tell that this was different from other Specters.


    Other Specters wanted to cause more and more suffering, which involuntarily led to them bing the strongest.


    Meanwhile, this Specter''s goal was directly to be the strongest.


    Now, the question was¡­


    "Why?" the Champion asked.


    "The same reason why any random human would want to be the strongest," the Left Arm said. "Greed and ambition."


    "Like a businessman," the Politicianmented.


    The Left Arm nodded wordlessly.


    "And why would that make this Specter different from others when ites to our dynamic with it?" the Right Arm asked.


    "Because it does not view humans as prey," the Left Arm exined. "It views us as a business that offers something that it wants to buy."


    "The reason why it let itself get captured was toe to an agreement with Aegis."


    "It is willing to support us and work for us," the Left Arm said.


    Silence.


    "In exchange for¡­?" the Wall asked.


    "In exchange for working for us," the Left Arm said.


    The Wall became a bit surprised, while the Knife raised an eyebrow.


    Meanwhile, a light appeared in the Politician''s eyes. "I see," he muttered.


    "By working for us," the Left Arm continued, "it helps us, but it also gains power."


    "It has been established that Specters grow more powerful by causing suffering to humanity in different ways. That is how Specters be more powerful."


    "Yet, a Specter inside a Containment Unit produces Zephyx and increases the power of Extractors. While it does cause some suffering, the benefits far outweigh the cost. Otherwise, we wouldn''t be working with them."


    "However, the Specters don''t get weaker when they help humanity. This Specter knows about this fact very well and is willing to exploit this in order to work together with Aegis."


    "About 20 years ago, I sent the Specter to infiltrate the most chaotic area of the Grand Continent. Its job was to infiltrate the ranks of one of the Corruptors,work for them for several years, and use that knowledge to give Aegis an opportunity to deal a devastating blow to the Corruptors."


    "16 cities."


    "Over 200,000 citizens."


    "20 dead Demon servants."


    "That is what it delivered."


    "It joined Wrath, conquered several cities that belonged to Gluttony, Sloth, and Lust, and unveiled all the inner workings of said cities."


    "We managed to push Wrath all the way back into the War Continent thanks to this Specter alone."


    "During that mission, it advanced from being a Peak Elder to being a Late Fanatic."


    At that moment, several of the people frowned.


    That was fast.


    It had to have caused a lot of suffering.


    Yet, when the Left Arm went into more detail, everyone realized that the Specter actually had a positive impact on almost all of the cities.


    The suffering had reduced immensely, but the little bit of suffering that remained was all assigned to the Specter.


    It essentially stole 100% of the suffering from Wrath, got rid of 80% or 90% of it, and pocketed thest 10% to 20%.


    It massively reduced all of the suffering while also weakening Wrath significantly.


    It made economic sense.


    It was just good business for both sides.


    As the Shields looked at the numbers, they couldn''t dispute that fact.


    Aegis had benefited from working with the Specter.


    "What about the future?" the Champion asked. "In the end, every Specter benefits from humanity''s suffering. Specters are humanity''s enemies. I might have said that the Sun is our ally, but we all know that is not true."


    "It says it does not want to be our enemy," the Left Arm said. "It says quality is far more important than quantity."


    "The suffering from one Shield is worth more than the suffering of millions of normal people."


    "It wants to be more powerful, and it needs powerful humans for that. Humans want to be more powerful, and they need Specters for that."


    "If it ever manages to be an Adversary, it is willing to work with us."


    "We will grow more powerful and don''t need to work with the False Prophet anymore. At the same time, it will also be stronger."


    "If we manage to make it powerful enough, we can increase the levels of all Shields."


    "It might even be the key to rivaling the Eternals."


    "It said that it isn''t a parasite but a symbiote."


    Silence.


    The Shields weren''t sure what to think about this.


    Sure, all of it made sense, but this felt like a sales pitch.


    Would things really turn out like this?


    This sounded too good to be true.


    "James, what''s your opinion? You''ve been working with the Specter, right?" the Right Arm asked as he looked at the Technician.


    The Technician shrugged. "I don''t see anything wrong with it. Sounds good to me."


    The Right Arm frowned. "You''re not worried about an eventual betrayal when it bes too powerful?"


    "Nah," the Technician answered. "Your fear is predicated on inactivity. It''s not like this thing bes unstoppable overnight. Additionally, we are not trusting it. We will keep supervising it, and when we feel like it''s bing too unstable or too powerful, we can still stop it. By the time it bes a Fallen, all of us would already be looking at it all the time with worry."


    "We can still stop it by then. In my opinion, killing it now would be wasting a big opportunity."


    Silence.


    "I want to meet it," the Champion spoke.


    The others furrowed their brows before nodding in confirmation.


    The Left Arm nodded and turned to the Technician.


    "Bring it in."


    "Sure thing," the Technician said before walking out of the room.

 Chapter 674: Alias

    After about a minute, the door opened again.


    Nick entered the Champion of Light''s big hall for the second time in his life.


    Just like back then, everything was bright and majestic, and Nick could also see the impressive throne at the back.


    The only real difference was that no one was sitting on the throne.


    Instead, Nick could see the shining figure of the new Champion of Light standing in a circle with all the other Shields, his back turned to his throne.


    Nick looked around the holograms.


    Naturally, the Technician had already told him everything important about the other Shields.


    ording to the Technician, the Wall was a jolly and rxed fellow who enjoyed helping people.


    The Knife was apparently a shrewd and clever woman who acted like a child so that others might lower their guard.The Politician was the typical serious person who was thorough and detailed with everything.


    The Technician said that the Right Arm was a natural-born leader and that he was Aegis'' public face since the Champion of Light couldn''t leave the headquarters. He was charismatic, strong, reliable, and had an impressive talent for encouraging people.


    As for the new Champion of Light¡­


    The Technician just said that he was the most powerful person in the world and the leader of Aegis.


    That was it.


    In short, the Technician barely said anything about the new Champion of Light.


    It wasn''t apparent, but Nick had been in the political and societal game long enough to see the hidden message.


    An absence of information was information.


    Sadly, the absence of information was not very urate information.


    Nick could only tell one thing.


    Something was up with the new Champion of Light.


    However, Nick couldn''t tell what it was.


    It could basically be anything.


    He could be a Specter, a greedy human, a genuine ally, an animal, whatever.


    Nick could only be sure that something was up with him.


    Nick stopped outside the circle.


    Since he wasn''t a Shield,he couldn''t join the circle.


    Everyone else looked at him.


    Naturally, all of them could feel Nick''s true nature.


    A Specter.


    He was actually a Specter.


    "Greetings," Nick said respectfully with a short bow. "My name is Julian Winter."


    The Left Arm and the Technician didn''t react to Nick''s name.


    Naturally, Nick couldn''t use his old name anymore.


    The Technician had told Nick that his meeting with the original Champion of Light was secret.


    The only people who knew about this meeting were the dead Champion of Light, the Left Arm, and the Technician.


    The original Champion of Light went back into stasis until the new Champion of Light appeared, while the other two kept everything to themselves.


    The only other person who knew about the meeting was Simon Francium, but he only knew about the meeting and Nick''s first job as Liaison.


    In the database, Nick Dusk was still listed as Liaison.


    Thest entry was that he had been taken by the Maw and had been missing ever since then.


    Naturally, Nick Dusk was very likely dead.


    He died to the Maw.


    If Nick used his real name, the other Shields would most likely search for the name in the database and would find someone with the same name.


    That would unveil his true identity as a former human.


    So, Nick took on apletely new name.


    In the end, he decided tobine the two biggest influences in his life into a new identity.


    In someone''s life, their parents had the biggest impact on them.


    Nick didn''t have any parents as far as he was concerned. After all, he didn''t even remember them.


    The two people in his life who had left the biggest impression and impact were Julian Nergiar and Wyntor Melfion.


    It was also quite fitting that one of them was a human and the other a Specter.


    It was also impossible to trace the name to his old identity.


    There were hundreds of Julians all over the world, and Winter also wasn''t an umonst name since it was amon concept.While Nick''s true identity would remain Nick Dusk, he would only go by Julian Winter from now on.


    Yet, he would never forget the name he had received from the original Champion of Light.


    Dusk.


    The lowering of the Sun.


    Nick was someone from the humblest of origins. He hadn''t even had a name and eventually received his name because every poor person in the Dregs kept referring to him as Nickname.


    In Nick''s mind, his names all had meaning to him.


    The name Nick represented his beginning.


    The word Dusk represented his goal and, hopefully, his future.


    The word Winter represented his first friend, who had given him a shot at changing his destiny.


    The word Julian represented Nick''s teacher, mentor, and enemy.


    Julian Winter was born, but Nick Dusk wasn''t dead.


    He was just hibernating.


    One day, Nick Dusk would return, and Julian Winter would die.


    "How did you get that name?" the Politician asked.


    "I gave it to myself," Nick answered.


    "How did youe up with that name?" he asked.


    Naturally, the entire conversation about the name seemed pointless.


    However, the Shields could tell that the Politician was testing Nick.


    Lying in front of a Shield was extremely difficult for someone several levels below one.


    The Politician wanted to catch Nick off-guard by asking unnecessary questions to see how he would react.


    Any kind of uncertainty could create holes in a disguise.


    "The first partes from someone who taught me that Specters don''t need to oppose humanity, and the second partes from the first person whose life I infiltrated. When I came into contact with either of them, I was still young."


    "I am responsible for both of their deaths," Nick said.


    The Right Arm nced at Nick. "Do you regret that they died?"


    "No," Nick answered.


    The Right Arm''s brows furrowed. "Why not? They sound important to you."


    "They were my enemies," Nick answered.


    "Who else is your enemy?" the Right Arm asked."It-"


    "I think we are getting sidetracked here," the Wall said with a calmingugh. "It was the Champion who asked for Julian''s presence."


    The Right Arm and the Politician nced at the Wall before turning to the Champion.


    They indicated that they were done with their questions.


    The Champion of Light hadn''t said anything during that time.


    He just kept looking at Nick.


    "Your aura is familiar," the Champion spoke slowly in his deep voice.


    Nick didn''t answer.


    The other Shields looked with surprise and interest at the Champion.


    Nick looked calm, but deep inside, he was nervous.


    ''I''ve never seen this guy before,'' he thought.


    "You were one of the Specters I pushed when I ascended the throne," the Champion of Light spoke.


    Nick remembered the Champion''s speech and the following attack.


    He wanted to sigh in relief but kept his actions under control.


    "I remember," Nick said respectfully.


    "Where were you on that day?" the Champion asked.


    "I was in a cave outside Water Pir City," Nick answered.


    The Barriers of the Shields appeared and disappeared in an instant.


    They all checked where Water Pir City was.


    "That is one of the cities he liberated," the Technician said.


    "He?" the Politician asked suspiciously.


    "Yes, him. Who else?" the Technician asked in confusion.


    The Politician was slightly annoyed, but nothing showed on his face.


    "Since when do we assign genders to Specters?" the Politician asked.


    The Technician groaned. "Who cares how I refer to him? I''ve been working with him for a while. He sounds like a guy, looks like a guy, and kinda acts like a guy. I just instinctively went for he."


    The Politician looked at the Technician for a while longer but didn''t pursue the inquiry any further.


    "Tell us about Water Pir City," the Champion ordered.


    "It''s a rtively big city that used to be controlled by Gluttony. 90% of people were almost dying of thirst, while the remaining 10% swam in pools.The strongest Specter in the city is the Water Pir, and it consumes water to be more powerful," Nick said.


    "How did you gain control of the city?" the Champion asked.


    "I systematically assassinated every owner of thepanies trading with water with a repeating demand that their water prices had to drop significantly if they wanted to continue living. After that, I kept causing damage to the biggest Manufacturer to such an extent that they didn''t have any other choice but to acquiesce. Lastly, I weakened the biggest Manufacturer and incited a conflict between them and the remainder of the city," Nick exined.


    "I have a detailed report," the Left Arm added, sending a report to everyone else.


    The others read through the report in an instant, which was much longer than Nick''s short summary.


    When Nick summarized everything, it sounded so simple and logical.


    It was almost like a random child coulde up with that.


    Yet, after reading through the actual report, they could tell that the n was actually extremely precise and thorough.


    "You''ve assassinated a Hero as a Mid Fanatic?" the Knife asked with a surprised expression.


    "How did you get this powerful?"

 Chapter 675 : Partnership

    "I have the unique advantage of being a Specter with human education and training," Nick answered calmly. "All the other Specters have to learn everything on their own and don''t undergo formal


    "In my first couple of years of existence, I have focused on learning. I learned how to fight with a weapon, how to stay hidden, how to assassinate people, and how different technologies work."


    "My status as a Specter gives me unique advantages in this regard," Nick exined.


    "Enough advantages to assassinate someone several levels above you?" the Knife asked with suspicion.


    Nick nodded. "As long as my attack is strong enough to use up nearly all of a human''s Zephyx, their power doesn''t matter anymore. Without Zephyx, a human can''t even move anymore."


    "A Barrier is an ingenious invention that gives an advantage in 99 out of 100 fights. Sadly, Barriers are also prone to exploitation as long as the enemy knows how they work. Others don''t know


    how Barriers work. I do."


    "If I may be so free as to demonstrate," Nick said as he looked at the Champion of Light, covertly asking for permission via gesture.The Champion just nodded.


    The Shields looked at him with furrowed brows.


    The next moment, a light appeared in the Champion''s eyes.


    "Its voice bypassed my Barrier and was directly transmitted into my ear," the Champion spoke.


    When the other Shields heard that, they were quite surprised.


    This specific way of transmitting one''s voice required intricate knowledge of how the Barriers of Aegis worked.


    After a bit, some of the Shields looked with annoyance at the Technician.


    It was more than clear who would be so careless as to teach a Specter how to bypass Aegis'' Barriers.


    The Technician just pulled his hands to the side in a gesture that symbolized that he didn''t do anything. "What? I''ve been watching him, and it''s just the open ports. Everyone who knows a bit about the Barriers can ess those. They have open in their name for a reason."


    "Okay," the Knife said after a bit, her brows still furrowed, "but how do you get enough power to destroy someone''s Barrier in an instant?"


    "I''m sorry," Nick said politely, "but I am notfortable in sharing my abilities."


    "Abilities?" the Politician repeated, putting special emphasis on the end of the word.


    Nick nodded. "Yes, I have a primary ability, but since I own a Spector Core instead of a Zephyx Synchronizer, I also have a unique advantage in Zephyx Maniption. I have created a couple of secondary abilities that might not be very powerful but give me the perfect skillset for assassinations."


    "My skill set is very specific. If any enemy can sense me before I strike them, my power is barely higher than an average Specter''s," Nick spoke. "I''m good at fighting, but I''m amazing at assassinations."


    The Knife didn''t answer, and she just kept looking at Nick with suspicion and interest.


    "Can you confirm its power?" the Champion asked the Left Arm.


    "Yes, I can confirm its power," the Left Arm answered.


    The Champion nodded before looking at Nick for a while without saying anything.


    "Why should we ept your help?" he asked.


    "I believe," Nick answered, "that my powers can be of great service to Aegis. As a Specter, I have several unique attributes that can''t be emted by humans. With my help, Aegis will receive several new options for how to deal with the other Specters."


    "While I can see how you could view me as a threat, the epting of which would be the tradeoff in this deal, I have to add that the threat is only truly real if humans of simr power to mine oversee my work."


    "I might be able to fool and secretly damage Aegis if only a Specialist or a Hero kept watch over me, but I am now known by all seven of the Shields. I believe that with seven Shields knowing about me and being suspicious of me, I wouldn''t be able to deal any significant damage to Aegis before I would promptly vanish from this world."


    The Shields looked at Nick for a while.


    One thing was clear.


    He was good at selling himself.


    "That might be true for now," the Wall spoke with a friendly tone, "but what about the future?"


    "Could you specify?" Nick asked.


    "What if you be powerful enough to fool us," the Wall asked. "Hypothetically, of course."


    "That is a possibility," Nick answered. "However, if you allow me to attain such power, our partnership would have already be interlinked so thoroughly that severing said partnership would be a far bigger loss than gain."


    "I am here because I believe that I can achieve more by working together with humanity than fighting it."


    "If I wanted to rule everything, I would need to kill off every powerful human, which would mean getting rid of the very thing that would allow me to grow even more."


    "I once read the phrase, killing a chicken thatys golden eggs for its meat. I am not quite certain whether or not that was the exact phrasing, but it conveys the message well enough."


    "Getting rid of humanity or enving it would be a short-sighted goal. I am a Specter. If I want to be powerful, I need a powerful human. Weakening humanity represents destabilizing my path to power," Nick said.


    "Why would you care?" the Politician asked. "You''re a Specter."


    "You mean the path to power thing?" Nick asked.


    The Politician didn''t answer, but it was clear that he referred to that.


    "That''s because I don''t want my existence to be meaningless," Nick said. "As a Specter, I am not bound by things like longevity. The only way I will die is if something violently ends my existence."


    "After death, everyone is the same. There are no more feelings, which means you can''t even feel anything regarding the life you have lived up until then."


    "You can''t enjoy the happiness of looking at an immortal empire you created, and you can''t regret dying alone and nobody knowing your name. As soon as you''re dead,none of that matters since you will feel no consequences."


    "What is a finite time of light in front of an infinity of darkness?"


    "One and one billion are equally far away from the concept of infinity."


    "So, it doesn''t matter how I live my life. It will be meaningless anyway."


    "That is unless I can achieve eternity, and that is what I am trying to achieve."


    The Shields looked at Nick with interest.


    Despite being a Specter, it sounded surprisingly human.


    Naturally, they talked so much with Nick, mainly to investigate his personality.


    If he were a normal Specter, he wouldn''t have a personality, or he would just be crazy.


    However, the way Nick argued was very human and showed different values and opinions.


    There was significantplexity in him.


    "You want to be an Eternal," the Champion stated.


    "No," Nick answered. "That''s not enough. The chances of dying are never truly gone until there is nothing left that can kill me. Bing an Eternal means still having an equal."


    The Champion narrowed his eyes as he looked at Nick. "You want to be stronger than the Sun?"


    Nick nodded. "That''s my goal."


    "If you had the power, what would you do to the Sun?" the Champion asked.


    This was the trickiest question up until now.


    Nick knew that the Champion of Light was different, but he didn''t know in which case.


    Was it smarter to say that he wanted to kill the Sun or let it be?


    "That is not my decision to make," Nick answered. "I will be working together with humanity. My goal is to achieve eternity. The Sun''s existence has no relevance to that goal. I can go either way."


    "However, I need humanity as an ally toe anywhere close to that goal, and humanity might have an opinion on the Sun''s fate. In order to uphold our partnership, I would leave the judgment up to humanity."


    The Champion looked at Nick for a while.


    "Very well," he said after a while. "You made your case, and I can see your value. For now, I am willing to permit your cooperation with Aegis."


    Nick bowed politely. "Thank you, Champion."


    The Champion turned to the Left Arm. "You may continue with the experiment. Make use of the Specter in the best way you can think of."


    The Left Arm nodded without answering.


    "But," the Champion added with an inflection, "it is not human. Not even humans can be trusted to be allies of humanity. A Specter can be trusted even less."


    "Of course," the Left Arm answered. "I will never let my guard down."


    The Champion nodded solemnly. "Keep me up to date with this project."


    The Left Arm nodded.


    Then, the Champion looked at Nick for a couple of seconds without saying anything.


    "For now, we are willing to help you. Make sure that we don''t change our mind," he spoke heavily.


    Nick bowed. "I will do my best."


    "Leave."


    Nick turned around and slowly walked out of the room.

 Chapter 676 : Think about what you’ve done

    t.me/Kill_the_Sun_fastes


    A mannded on anding tform on top of a gigantic building.


    The building was an entire kilometer long and 300 meters high.


    While these dimensions were beyond impressive for a normal building, they just barely reached the ss of a megastructure.


    ording to Aegis'' ssification, one of the dimensions of a megastructure needed to be one kilometer long or longer with one other dimension being longer than one hundred meters. The third dimension just needed to be longer than ten meters.


    The structure the mannded on was one of Aegis'' strongholds.


    Excluding the headquarters, Aegis had twelve strongholds all over the world, which acted as the individual headquarters of different zones.


    Their locations were:


    Northwestern edge of the Great Triangle.Middle of the Long Continent.


    Middle of the western part of the Grand Continent.


    Middle of the contended zone in which Nick had operated for thest couple of years.


    Middle of the long triangle at the southern edge of the Grand Continent.


    Near the eastern edge of the Grand Continent, very close to the big and long ind to its east.


    Middle of the north of the Grand Continent.


    Middle of the north of the War Continent.


    Middle of the south of the War Continent.


    Middle of the Southern Continent.


    One of the inds amongst the group of inds that contained Crimson City. The group of inds was southeast of the Grand Continent and north of the Deste Continent.


    Andstly, there was one near the northeastern edge of the Deste Continent. This one solely existed to contain Envy.


    The stronghold on which this personnded was the one near the eastern edge of the Grand Continent.


    The person whonded wore long ck robes,pletely hiding their body.


    They were rather tall, and their ck hair blew in the wind.


    On their face was a white mask without features,pletely hiding their face.


    All in all, this person looked rather strange.


    As soon as the personnded, the two guards on top of the building narrowed their eyes.


    They could see and sense that person, but something was¡­ off.


    It was like the feeling this person gave them was artificial.


    It felt wrong.


    "Identify yourself immediately!" one of them shouted.


    The person who had shouted was a Mid Hero with ck hair, donning a serious expression.


    The other person was a middle-ageddy with bloodred hair.


    The man who hadnded just slowly turned his head to look at the man who had just shouted.


    In the next moment, a ck Barrier appeared around the visitor for a second.


    The Barriers of the two guards reacted and disyed the information about this person.


    However, when they saw the information, they furrowed their brows.


    Name: Guest.


    First Name: Guest.


    Power: Guest.


    Position: Guest.


    The only attribute that wasn''t filled with the word "Guest" was the entry permission.


    The entry permission was on the level of an Agent.


    The two guards verified the attributes several times and found that everything seemed to be correct.


    The attributes themselves were very strange, but ording to the data, they were deliberately filled out like this.


    "Apologies," the ck-haired man said. "We didn''t mean any disrespect."


    The red-haireddy also performed a slight bow in apology.


    The masked man activated his ck Barrier, and momentster, the ck Barriers of the two guards appeared as well.


    Then, a message popped up on their Barriers, and they had to try their absolute best not to explode in anger.


    "Aint by an Agent-level figure has been lodged against you. Your sentence will be extended by five years."


    Five years.


    Five more years of standing guard on top of this building and having to lick the boots of any random person who showed up here!


    They hadn''t even done anything wrong!


    It was their job to investigate suspicious individuals!


    If this guy wasn''t suspicious, nobody was suspicious!


    Yet, despite doing everything correctly, their sentence was extended by five years!


    This was not fair!


    "Not fun to be on the receiving end, is it?" a distorted voice came out of their Barriers.


    The two of them looked at the masked figure, trying their absolute hardest not to explode in anger.


    "No, sir," the ck-haired man spoke with a forced smile.


    Naturally, only Governors who had misused their authority were sentenced to stay guard in these ces.


    "Jasmin Reddawn," the distorted voice of the Barrier spoke as the white mask focused on the red-haireddy.


    "Markus Julius," it said as the figure turned to focus on the ck-haired man.


    The two of them waited for the person to say something.


    But then, the person just turned around.


    "Think about what you have done," the distorted voice said.


    The next moment, mist came out of the person''s feet and hands as the person took to the sky.


    Finally, the person flew off.


    When the two of them saw that, they became shocked before bing enraged.


    Why had this guy left?!


    Wasn''t he here to visit the stronghold?!


    Was this guy''s entire purpose just toe here to dump another five years on their sentence?!


    Why?!


    What had they done to him?!


    They were enraged and confused.


    However, within the next couple of days, most of the confusion vanished.


    They had heard from different visitors that the same figure had also appeared in the other strongholds.


    Apparently, from what they had heard, this mysterious figure had visited all of the individual strongholds just to extend the sentences of the guards.


    That was literally all this figure had done!


    A couple of words from this visitor caused over 20 Heroes to suffer for another five years!


    Something that was as easy as turning over one''s hand for the mysterious person was causing them immense pain and anger!


    Naturally, some of the guards couldn''t help realizing that this was basically the same thing they had done to some of their former citizens.


    In the past, with just a couple of careless words, these former Governors had caused hundreds of unnecessary deaths in their cities.


    ''Any day now,'' Markus Julius thought in frustration, anger, and hope. ''Any day now, they will relieve me of this idiotic and humiliating guard duty and send me back to Crimson City!''


    ''I was a good Governor! I did the right thing! Running the city better is almost impossible!''


    His eyes narrowed. ''And especially a lowborn nobody from the Dregs doesn''t know how to run a city!''


    ''Nick will soon fail, and they will call me back!''


    ''My innocence will be proven!''


    Any day now.


    Soon.


    These were the thoughts of Markus Julius, the former Governor of Crimson City.


    He has had these thoughts for over 20 years now.


    But soon.


    Very soon, they would bring him back.


    He was sure of it.


    This couldn''t be the remainder of his life.


    Meanwhile, the masked figurended on top of Aegis'' headquarters.


    The two guards stood perfectly straight and didn''t interact with the figure as it passed by them.


    Naturally, the figure had also extended their sentences.


    The figure entered the building and traveled to the research department.


    DING!


    The fortified door leading to the research department opened after the ck Barrier activated, and the figure entered.


    "Everything good, Mystery Man?" one of the researchers shouted with aughing smile at the figure.


    The figure just waved its hand as it passed by.


    The masked man had been going in and out of this ce for over a year now, and while the researchers knew absolutely nothing about this guy, they had grown to like him.


    He had never said a word, but they had grown used to him and decided to just call him Mystery Man.


    None of them even suspected that they were talking to a Specter.


    The Mystery Man entered the research area specifically reserved for the Technician.


    "They all went through," the Technician said as he looked at a couple of windows on his Barrier.


    The Mystery Man moved his hand over his mask, and the mask vanished.


    Naturally, the Mystery Man was Nick.


    "The Zephyx generation is strong," Nickmented.


    "I would assume so," the Technician answered. "They are probably cursing your existence with all their heart."


    The Technician looked at a small disy in one of the upper corners of the room.


    "3,247 grams per hour of total generation. That''s crazy for a Late Fanatic," the Technician said.


    Over thest year, the Technician, Ghosty, and Nick had focused on experimenting on him.


    With a fully cooperative Specter that had an excellent human education, their progress was elerated significantly.


    They were making amazing headway with Nick''s help.


    For example, they found out that they could reroute the Prephyx absorbed by Nick during his Zephyx generation through different media.


    Containment Units needed a certain amount of contact with the outside atmosphere to allow Prephyx to enter, but with this new technology, they could also reroute the Prephyx through solid matter that was more conducive for Prephyx than air.


    This essentially made Containment Units for Force Specters quite a bit cheaper.


    Additionally, they could now measure the output of Zephyx with more detail.


    A couple of Specters could hide Zephyx and act like they were producing less Zephyx than they actually were.


    With this new technology, that would no longer be possible.


    "And with that," the Technician said with a smile. "The Diet Specter Barrier is fully functional!"

 Chapter 677: Diet Zephyx Barrier

    The Diet Specter Barrier.


    Naturally, it was the Technician who gave this Barrier its name.


    One of the biggest projects the three of them had been working on was creating a Barrier with functionalities simr to the standard Aegis Barriers but usable by Specters.


    A Barrier from Aegis had a surprising number of functions, which was why it took so long to produce a working prototype.


    Well, one year wasn''t long for normal people, but one year of work by the best researcher in the world was a lot.


    Originally, the Barrier was supposed to be identical to a normal Barrier, but the Left Arm put in a veto.


    While the Left Arm secretly supported Nick and saw him as a human, she couldn''t make it public.


    She had to appear as if she believed Nick was a full Specter and that she distrusted him.


    So, she "forced" the Technician to make any Specter Barrier distinct.This meant that the Barrier had to be a different color.


    In this case, ck.


    It was also imperative that it was impossible to change the color of the Barrier withoutpletely destroying and rebuilding it.


    It was also important that all attributes except for the ones governing permissions of the owner had to be "abnormal" as further indication.


    So, the Technician just put guest everywhere.


    These two things made Nick''s Barrier impossible to overlook and not find strange, and that was the point.


    No Specter should ever be able to travel through human society without raising several eyebrows.


    The Left Arm even ordered that all Specter Barriers sent a log of their activity to the Technician and the Left Arm, but the Technician managed to refuse that order byining about too much work. He would do that in the future, but since they only had a single one, he wouldn''t implement it.


    Naturally, in secret, they had already talked about this change.


    This was only a smokescreen to make it seem like the Left Arm was being draconian on the restrictions,while the Technician just wanted to rx.


    This little conflict would make it seem like the two of them were working together but still had disagreements.


    The researchers had also seen the ck Barrier a couple of times, but they weren''t really surprised about that.


    They didn''t know what the color of the Barrier signified, but it was normal for prototypes to look different from standard models.


    Thanks to the Specter Barrier, Nick could now traverse human society again.


    However, there were two functions that Nick didn''t have ess to.


    One of them was the database.


    Due to security reasons, no Specter Barrier was allowed to ess the database. If a Specter needed to know something, a member of Aegis would tell them.


    Naturally, this was also just a security measure to put on a show.


    Nick had free ess to a terminal in the Technician''s office, where Ghosty was logged in.


    He could read whatever he wanted in the database via that.


    The other function that wasn''t included was also the biggest and most important function of normal Barriers.


    Protection.


    It was very difficult to create a connection fast enough that it could absorb Zephyx from a Specter at a speed that would allow it to block a significant blow.


    As it stood now, if Nick got hit by any attack that would absorb more than 10% of his Zephyx, his Barrier would just copse and turn off.


    Working on fixing that would take a long time.


    However, that function also wasn''t very important for Specters.


    If a human received a significant injury to their head, their neck, or their upper chest, they would die almost immediately.


    Meanwhile, a Specter would only die when their Specter Core received significant damage.


    Even more,pared to humans, Specters could move their Specter Core.


    If Nick expected a gigantic attack to hit his upper body, he could move his Specter Core to one of his feet.


    Then, even if everything above Nick''s waist exploded into pieces,he would still be able to regenerate and survive.


    Lastly, regrowing parts of a body was, most of the time, more Zephyx efficient than blocking an attack with a Barrier.


    However, except for these two things, the Diet Specter Barrier could do everything that a normal Barrier could.


    By the way, the reason for the Diet in the name was theck of defensive capabilities.


    It essentiallycked the one thing that made Barriers so important to humans.


    "If you can sendints, you can basically do everything else as well," the Technician said with a smirk, scrolling through different numbers on his Barrier.


    Strangely enough, causing a former Governor''s sentence to increase was the action with the most safety checks.


    The only reason why it needed that many safety checks was because all the different departments needed to be contacted when that happened, and they all automatically asked for their individual identity checks.


    Nick just wordlessly nodded.


    "How''s your camouging going?" the Technician asked.


    "We are on it," Nick answered.


    With we, Nick was referring to himself and Ghosty.


    The Technician was dealing with all of the technical things while Ghosty was focusing on Zephyx Maniption.


    While Ghosty knew more about Zephyx Maniption than the average Governor, he still wasn''t a big authority on the subject.


    Any random Protector knew more about this topic than him.


    However, the Technician was fully focused on the technology aspect and didn''t have time to deal with Zephyx Maniption at the time.


    The Technician simply called for Nick whenever he needed him to test something before sending him away again to continue theorizing on his own.


    Of course, he also focused on technologies other than just Barriers.


    In fact, as long as Nick could interact with human society via his Barrier, the Technician saw the topic as finished.


    The main thing the Technician focused on was Zephology.


    In order to create powerful materials,humanity needed gigantic and advanced machines.


    The more powerful the material, the more advanced the machine had to be to manufacture it.


    In general, the durability of materials was ssified by rank.


    Rank one materials didn''t have any Zephyx inside them, while rank nine materials could theoretically suppress any Eternal.


    Of course, the most powerful materials in actual existence were rank eight materials, and they could only be created in Aegis'' headquarters and only by the Technician personally.


    The machine that created these materials was over 20 meters wide, and the Technician needed to use a ridiculous amount of Zephyx to create just a small bit.


    The process is also extremely lengthy.


    When people heard that, they felt awe at the marvel of such advanced technology.


    However, if people could actually see the machine and knew a bit about Zephology, they would be terrified.


    This thing was a chaotic mess!


    The wiring was about as chaotic as the veins of an organism, and no single function was localized on only one spot!


    It was like everything was happening everywhere on the device.


    The issue with that was that humanity technically wasn''t advanced enough to create something like that yet.


    The workings of the machine were soplicated that the Technician forgot what the first half of the machine did before finishing the calction.


    It was like a person that went on so many tangents that they forgot what they had been talking about originally.


    A huge chunk of the Technician''s time was spent on increasing the power of the machine, while about 20 researchers were working on isting parts of the machine to create smaller machines, which could be shipped to individual cities and strongholds to increase output.


    However, this machine would be obsolete if Nick managed to master conjuring materials.


    Nick''s ability to conjure materials was what the Technician was most interested in.


    Because of that,he kept working on a way to quantify different materials into terms that Nick could use to conjure said materials.


    If he managed to achieve that, he could make Nick create extremely advanced materials that were useful to humanity.


    Alternatively, he could also teach other Specters how to generate these materials and create some form of Specter Material Factory!


    While this new technology wouldn''t be able to deliver supremely advanced materials for decades, it had vastly more potential and scbility.


    In the long term, this would make the old way of creating materials obsolete.


    If more materials could be produced with less Zephyx, the prices of all the devices would drop significantly, allowing Extractors and Manufacturers to buy more gadgets.


    Right now, cities could only mass produce rank three materials, which was also the reason why most cities had walls that could defend against Adults.


    Nevertheless, building and maintaining these walls was a big drain on the economies.


    Rank four materials could also be produced by the cities, but they couldn''t be produced in big quantities. 90% of rank four materials were used on Containment Units capable of suppressing Elders.


    Only very few cities could produce their own rank five materials.


    Crimson City had been one of them due to Ghosty.


    If a city couldn''t produce a material, they needed to buy it from Aegis.


    And that was expensive.

 Chapter 678: Decent Human Being

    Another year passed.


    For the past year, Nick had been researching with Ghosty and the Technician.


    The Technician was focusing on researching the conjuring of materials and Zephology, while Ghosty was focusing on Zephyx Maniption.


    Nick had recently be 70 years old, which gave him a short feeling of disconnect from reality.


    He felt like he had been a Liaison just one or two years ago.


    Even more, his time in Crimson City felt even shorter since he had lost so many memories of his time there.


    Nick remembered seeing the other Extractors in Kugelblitz''s meeting room.


    70 had seemed so old back then.


    But now, he was 70, and he was even considered extremely young for his level.Nick had just recently be a Peak Fanatic, which was equivalent to a Peak Specialist.


    Specialists, if they managed to survive until old age, didn''t die before the age of 300.


    The average age at which people became Initial Specialists was 130, and most of them never managed to be Peak Specialists in their lives.


    The ones that had the potential to eventually be Heroes generally became Peak Specialists at around 200 years of age, and only if they managed to consume an Early Elder in their Consumption.


    People who managed to consume a Mid Elder had the talent to be Protectors and became Peak Specialists at the age of 170, on average.


    Nothing much was known about the very few people who managed to consume a Late Elder, but they were considered to have the talent to be Shields.


    However, people weren''t sure if all of the Shields had managed to absorb a Late Elder or if there were also a couple of them that "only" absorbed Mid Elders.


    Based on math, they probably became Peak Specialists at the age of 140 or something like that, on average.


    Meanwhile, Nick was just half that age.


    And yet, he was also already very old for a normal person.


    The older Nick became, the more distant normal humans seemed.


    Most humans never reached their 50s.Wealthy people asionally reached their 60s, but most of them died in their 50s.


    However, wealthy people were naturally the vast minority.


    Normal people almost never reached their 50s.


    Most of them died in their early 40s due to their unhealthy environment.


    For example, people in the Outer City in Crimson City often died from being too close to unsafe materials their entire lives, which created many small scars all over their organs.


    They often breathed rust and toxic chemicals from industries. Additionally, there was Zephyx waste that some Manufacturers produced with some of their Specters, which also wasn''t great for normal people.


    Poor people often died in theirte 20s or early 30s.


    A lifetime ofcking water, nutrition, clean air, rest, and so on were the culprits.


    Meanwhile, Nick was 70.


    He had reached an almost impossible age for even quite wealthy people.


    This made the many deaths of young people almost meaningless in Nick''s eyes.


    However, Nick could see when these thoughts crept into his mind, and he always vehemently fought against them.


    ''If I stop caring about the normal people, I will have be the very thing I hated all my life.''


    This was what Nick kept telling himself.


    ''Their lives might be short, but their lives are bright! They deserve a good life just as much as Extractors that live for much longer!''


    Nick had already noticed that it was much harder to feel empathy for normal people.


    While his mind kept highlighting and simting feelings of empathy, his heart wasn''t automatically conjuring these feelings as often anymore.


    The Technician and Nick assumed that this was the effect of constantly having Specter Zephyx dictating Nick''s thoughts.


    Nick''s mind and soul were no longer inside his brain but in his Specter Core.


    This find had confirmed a new theory Ghosty hade up with.


    Ghosty was the one who managed to prove that Specters grew more powerful by causing suffering for humanity.


    But why?Why did they grow more powerful by torturing humans, and why was it only humanity?


    Yes, there were Specters that only targeted animals and nts, but a couple of experiments had shown some interesting things.


    There were many Specters that consumed nts which were inedible by humans.


    However, these nts were always only one level of abstraction away from being consumable by humans.


    This meant that, as long as something else could eat these nts that was, in turn, consumable by humans, the Specter still produced Zephyx.


    Yet, when there was an additionalyer of abstraction, that stopped being the case.


    Naturally, such nts barely existed in nature, which was why they had to have been artificially created for these experiments.


    And the more time passed, the more conclusive the evidence became.


    A nt that had to be overtaken by another nt, which had to be consumed by a poisonous insect, which could finally be consumed by a specific mammal, did not lead to any Zephyx production when fed to any Specter.


    Not even the Eternal Hunger seemed to produce any Zephyx with it.


    Yet, this nt was just as alive as all the other ones.


    The only difference was that it was very difficult for humans to benefit from this nt.


    The results were chilling.


    Specters seemed to only exist to cause suffering specifically to humanity.


    But why?


    Why suffering?


    And why, specifically humanity?


    Answering these questions was what Ghosty aimed to aplish with his newest theory.


    This theory involved Prephyx.


    Humans didn''t know how exactly it happened, but they knew that Specters basically just randomly started existing when Prephyx fused together.


    They knew that it happened, but they didn''t know anything about the how or why.


    Ghosty''s newest theory tried to exin that by assigning the Specters'' reason for existence to Prephyx itself.


    If Specters were just Prephyx, and Specters existed to cause humanity suffering,wasn''t it possible that Prephyx also only existed to cause humanity suffering?


    Sadly, while the thought seemed to be logical, there were still too many points of contention.


    Why was Prephyx everywhere?


    Where did ite from?


    Why did Prephyx never run out?


    And, most importantly, if Prephyx only existed to make humanity suffer, why could humans be much more powerful by using it?


    Sadly, Ghosty didn''t have an answer to that yet.


    However, assuming his theory was true, it would help to exin why Nick''s feeling of empathy had weakened so much.


    Specters didn''t feel empathy, and if Prephyx itself was humanity''s enemy, it would exin why being in contact with Specter Zephyx all the time would cultivate a feeling of apathy towards humanity.


    The Technician, Ghosty, and Nick were very careful about Nick''s mental development.


    They very often took notes on his mental state and reminded him of his original goals and what he felt in the past.


    Nick was born a human, but he was now a Specter.


    It was important that he didn''t truly be a Specter in mind and soul as well.


    If that ever happened, he would just be another Specter.


    At some point in the future, Night might forget what it felt like to be human.


    Thest feeling of empathy might have vanished decades or centuries ago.


    Yet, as long as his ideology, logic, and his self stayed on track, his personality would still be human.


    He might turn into a human who couldn''t feel empathy for others, but he would still be a human.


    There were humans that didn''t have the capacity to feel empathy ever since they were born but still were nice to others.


    They didn''t feel the need to be a decent human being, but they still wanted to be one.


    Nick agreed with that philosophy.


    Even if he was a Specter, he still wanted to remain a human in mind.


    His entire talk about eternity in front of the Champion of Light was bullshit.


    Nick didn''t want to die, but he also didn''t care about eternity.He just wanted to be a decent human being.


    Sure, he also still tried to redeem himself, but by the looks of things, he would be able to achieve that goal rtively soon.


    But what about after he had helped a million people?


    He remembered how helpless and angry he had felt when he had lived in the Dregs and had seen a rich person casually buying something more valuable than Nick''s entire life.


    He remembered looking around the Dregs and feeling helpless.


    The powerful people could change things but refused to change things!


    Back then, he had sworn that he would not be like them.


    And Nick still remembered his oath.


    He might forget how to feel empathy.


    He might forget how to feel happiness.


    He might forget howpanionship feels like.


    But he would never forget his oath and what it meant to be a decent human being!


    Yet, he was still scared of the future.


    He was scared that his mind would change.


    He was scared that, despite his best efforts, he would turn into a true Specter.


    Sadly, the only thing he could do was to keep remembering his past and his true self.


    Everything else had to wait.


    The most important thing Nick was currently focusing on was his ability to camouge himself.


    And just a couple of months after bing a Peak Fanatic, Nick finally managed to create an ability that could fool almost all Extractors into believing that he was human.


    Sure, he could already move around, but people still got a Specter vibe from him.


    The only reason why they didn''t immediately apprehend him was because there were a couple of humans that gave off Specter vibes due to special abilities.


    However, that was only true for Aegis'' headquarters and strongholds.


    Any average city would immediately try to contain him.


    ''I can camouge myself, and I have a Barrier now,'' Nick thought.


    ''Finally, I can be useful to Aegis again!''

 Chapter 679: Pride

    Nick was inside a dark cave and looked at what was happening in front of him.


    A shadowy figure with four long arms was activating a stone circle in front of it.


    Naturally, that stone circle was a Major Ry.


    However, this wasn''t a Major Ry that was contacting Wrath.


    The biggest stone in front of the circle changed shape and turned into the figure of a woman.


    She seemed to be in the prime of her life and wore the most luxurious and over-the-top clothing Nick had ever seen.


    Her prideful and arrogant gaze went around the cave.


    "Mistress Pride," the shadowy figure spoke in a respectful tone before falling to its knees.


    However, Pride was barely paying any attention to the shadowy figure.After a while of silence, she just scoffed.


    "You''ve been followed," she spoke with disgust.


    Nick''s ability had already deactivated as soon as Pride had appeared.


    However, Nick still didn''t move, and he also didn''t say anything.


    The shadowy figure rapidly looked around.


    Yet, it couldn''t find anything.


    It was all alone in this dark cavern!


    Pride watched in disgust as her useless servant tried to find the Specter.


    The next moment, a message appeared in Nick''s mind.


    It was just a simple concept.


    Dominance.


    Pride was sending a powerful feeling of dominance to Nick.


    Nick was quite impressed by how powerful the feeling of dominance was.


    He genuinely felt like he was standing in front of a Peak Fallen without any way of resisting.


    Of course, that wasn''t the truth.


    While Pride''s perception was still incredibly advanced, she could barely exhibit any power while being summoned by a Major Ry.


    At most, she could threaten a Veteran in this state.


    Naturally, Nick knew all of this.


    And yet¡­


    A cloud of fog seemingly gathered out of nowhere and turned into a floating ball of mist.


    The shadowy figure looked at the ball with interest.


    A Force Specter?


    After gathering into a ball of mist, Nick sent a feeling of submission.Pride looked at the misty cloud with disgust.


    This thing gave up this quickly.


    Yes, she knew that she was amazing, but she was annoyed that this thing didn''t even try to resist her.


    "I will not punish you for your mistake," she said. "Your mistake brought me another servant."


    The shadowy figure bowed deeper, but deep inside, it was just annoyed.


    One had to remember that everyone here was a Specter.


    Punishment?


    What was the point of any kind of punishment when Specters barely had any emotions and couldn''t feel pain?


    The only thing Pride could do to punish the shadowy figure was to kill it, and both of them knew that she wouldn''t kill it for just being followed.


    That would be such an insane waste of resources.


    Too much pride was considered a bad thing.


    The Seven Corruptors obviously all counted as intelligent Specters with altered mental states.


    In short, they were insane.


    Wrath was constantly angry, and its anger very often clouded its judgment.


    It happened more than once that it threw caution to the wind and ordered something drastic.


    Nick hadn''t met Envy more than once, but it seemed to be too focused on gaining everything for itself. It was just so greedy that it kept overextending.


    This also led to it getting caught and stuck in its current predicament.


    Naturally, Pride was extremely prideful and wanted to exhibit said pride in a dominant fashion.


    She just constantly tried to gain control over everything and threw her weight around in shows of power.


    She was like a teenager who constantly kept talking about how they could beat everyone else up.


    Sure, she actually had the power to beat almost everyone up, but that didn''t change the fact that constantly saying it barely mattered.


    There was no point in threatening to punish the shadowy figure.


    A momentter, Pride sent another feeling to Nick.


    What are you?


    That was the feeling.Nick sent back a question about whether or not he was allowed to demonstrate what he could do.


    Pride snorted but sent an affirmative feeling.


    Naturally, Nick wasn''t nning on ever showing Pride that he was intelligent or that he could transform into a Physical Specter.


    While the Seven Corruptors were rivals, they were also forced into an alliance by Death.


    Additionally, they had several agreements for their conflict.


    One of them was that servants weren''t allowed to change allegiances.


    Whenever a Corruptor received a new servant, they would show their identities to the other Corruptors.


    Of course, when Nick had be Wrath''s servant, it sent Nick''s identity to the other Corruptors.


    So, if Nick appeared in his human form, Pride would just try to kill him.


    Nick wouldn''t be in any danger since the Specter in front of him was just an Early Fanatic, but that also meant that he wouldn''t gain a good opportunity to help humanity.


    After receiving an affirmative answer, Nick focused on the shadowy figure.


    She wanted to see a demonstration.


    WHOOOM!


    Nick charged at the shadowy figure and encased its body.


    Naturally, the shadowy figure immediately realized what was going on and tried to defend itself.


    BANG!


    A bright explosion of light urred, blinding everyone inside the cave.


    Pride couldn''t sense Nick anymore and couldn''t send a signal to stop because of that.


    At the same time, Nick''s arms materialized with their des and sliced the shadowy figure apart.


    Nick was so incredibly fast that it looked like the mist had over ten arms.


    STOP!


    Pride could sense Nick again and ordered him to stop with all of her power.


    Nick flew back obediently and stopped.


    When Pride looked at the ground, she sneered in hatred and disgust.


    This weakling!


    The shadowy figure was already turning into ck dust, and Pride could see its Specter Core split into different parts.


    It was fucking dead!


    Then, Pride looked at Nick."Are you betraying me?!" she shouted as she sent a feeling of pure anger at Nick.


    The mist ball shivered and shrunk in submission.


    Nick just sent back a general feeling of confusion and a request not to kill him.


    "I did not allow you to kill my servant!" Pride shouted.


    Nick just answered with more confusion and requests not to kill him.


    I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry, but why, but why, I''m sorry, but why, I''m sorry, but why?


    Nick basically sent a barrage of that.


    Pride looked with absolute disgust at the pathetic ball of mist.


    "No matter," she said with a sneer. "You''re too stupid to understand the consequences of your actions. This is why I hate Force Specters."


    There was not even one intelligent Force Specter in the world.


    Therefore, Pride didn''t even suspect that Nick was just putting on an act.


    Even more, her own arrogance also made her blind to that possibility.


    Who could possibly fool her?


    "I have a job for you," Pride spoke.


    Nick just sent several feelings that he would follow all orders. He just didn''t want her to kill him.


    "Wait here," Pride said.


    Nick mentally nodded at her several times.


    Pride scoffed, and the Major Ry deactivated.


    Silence.


    The cloud of mist just hovered in the middle of the cave.


    ''Guess I''m in,'' Nick thought. ''Pride is bing too powerful. If she manages to take control over the entire Long Continent, she might be able to be an Adversary.''


    ''The conflict between the Corruptors uses up a lot of their attention and resources. The more they are fighting each other, the more they are ignoring humans.''


    ''Sure, they are still using humans as resources, but they are not doing the very thing that Death wants to do, which is killing all of humanity.''


    ''We can''t let them be united.''


    Weakening Pride had been a job Nick had received from the Left Arm.


    The Shields were putting more pressure on her.


    They wanted to see that epting Nick as an ally would pay off.No one had the luxury to just stand around and grow more powerful in peace.


    Humanity was extremely low on manpower and resources whenpared to Specters, and everyone with some power needed to help.


    There were so many talented Extractors that could be so much more powerful if they just got time to focus on their training, but Aegis didn''t have the luxury to give them the time.


    Humanity was on a constant state of emergency, and the Shields had to decide which cities to save many times since there just weren''t enough people to help all of the cities.


    Wrath and Envy were putting pressure on Lust, and Sloth couldn''t really expand since 90% of its borders were shared with Lust, its ally.


    The little space left for attacks was upied with fighting Gluttony.


    This meant that they were all in a state of constant battle.


    However, Pride was essentially consuming the Long Continent since Envy couldn''t put up a great defense.


    So, dealing with Pride was of the utmost importance.


    After waiting for a couple of minutes, Nick noticed someone approaching.


    It was a dark-haired man with serious eyes.


    Nick could feel a bit of Specter Zephyxing from him.


    Most likely, this was Pride''s servant who was supposed to be Nick''s handler due to his stupidity.


    Yet, when Nick saw the very human appearance of the servant, he wanted to smirk.


    ''He sure looks like a human.''


    ''Would be a shame if I identally confused him for one and killed him.''


    The misty cloud vanished from the cave.


    The ck-haired man entered the cave and looked around.


    Meanwhile, mist appeared behind him, and several des materialized.


    The Specter''s eyes widened, but it was toote.


    Within less than a second, it died.


    ''Whoops,'' Nick thought.

 Chapter 680: Dumb But Strong

    Nick waited.


    Minutes passed.


    Hours passed.


    Nick didn''t do anything.


    He just remained hovering in the middle of the cave.


    Days passed.


    Nick was quite bored, but this was part of the job.


    He could deal with it.


    Eventually, Nick''s ability deactivated.Naturally, Nick immediately became nervous since he knew that somebody was looking at him while he couldn''t find the source.


    Yet, he still didn''t move.


    After a couple of seconds, a loose violet robe floated into the cave.


    It was just floating in the air as it slowly approached Nick.


    Naturally, Nick noticed the Robe as soon as it appeared at the entrance of the cave.


    ''I can''t tell how powerful this Specter is,'' Nick thought. ''It''s like it doesn''t exhibit any Zephyx whatsoever.''


    There was only one thing Nick could be sure of.


    This Specter was powerful.


    The fact that it hid while watching Nick for a while before autonomously and calmly floating in meant that this Specter had intelligence, which meant that it was neither a Force Specter nor a Possession Specter.


    This was a Physical Specter.


    A Physical Specter that could hide from Nick''s perception had to be extremely powerful since his perception had been strengthened by his contact with the Maw.


    ''Went about as expected,'' Nick thought.


    The reason why Nick hadn''t left was because of an incredibly powerful shield.


    Ipetence.


    Stupidity.


    As soon as Nick saw the coat, he sent a vague feeling of inquisitiveness.


    Are you the servant of that powerful Specter?


    Nick quickly got an answer.


    "What happened to the other servant?" the Robe transmitted to Nick.


    "What other servant?"


    Nick wasn''t directly sending words. A dumb Force Specter that could transmit generic feelings was already quite smart.


    The Robe described the "human" who had appeared a couple of days ago.


    Nick just answered.


    "Human. Food."


    "No, that was a Specter," the Robe answered.


    "But it human."


    "It was a Specter that looked like a human."


    "But it human."


    "It exhibited Specter Zephyx!"


    "Some humans do that."


    Silence.


    "Did you get any Zephyx by killing it?" the Robe asked.


    "No. Weird human."


    "How can you not get any Zephyx if it was a human?" the Robe asked.


    Silence.


    Nick didn''t answer for several seconds.


    "No Zephyx¡­ no human?" Nick answered with chaotic feelings.


    It was like he was trying his absolute best to understand what was going on.


    "No human¡­" Nick repeated.


    "Object! Moving object! Look like human!"


    "No, it''s a Specter," the Robe answered calmly. It was like it had infinite patience.


    "Specter¡­" Nick transmitted. "No human. Specter. But Specter why human?"


    "To hide in human society," the Robe answered. "Not everyone is as good in hiding as you."


    "Human¡­ Specter¡­ Specter look like human¡­ human look like Specter?"


    "What Specter?"


    "What human?"


    "What attack?"


    "What not attack?"


    "What food?"


    "What food?"


    "What food?"


    Silence.


    The Robe let Nick figure this out on his own.


    "Everything food," Nick answered.


    "Everything is food?" the Robe asked.


    "Human eat, food. Specter eat, no food."


    "Human not eat, no food. Specter not eat, no food."


    "Eat food. Not eat not food."


    "Everything food."


    The Robe looked at Nick for a while.


    After some seconds, it floated over to the Major Ry that the shadowy Specter had left behind and activated it.


    A bitter, Pride manifested again, and her gaze immediately fell on Nick with disgust before turning to the Robe.


    "Report," she demanded.


    "It thought the Specter was a human and ate it," the Robe answered.


    "Why?" Pride asked.


    "Because it looked like a human," the Robe answered.


    It was so simple.


    But it was so dumb.


    Pride immediately understood how a dumb Force Specter coulde to that conclusion.


    Despite being filled with top-tier arrogance, Pride knew that ipetence was a more likely exnation than malice in most cases.


    However, there was still something that concerned her."I sent an Early Demon," Pride said.


    The Robe analyzed Nick more closely.


    A Peak Fanatic.


    That was a big jump.


    Even more, after just the first attack, the old servant should have been able to contact Nick with a transmission, after which he should have noticed that the human he was attacking was actually a Specter.


    The only reason how Nick could have killed the Specter was if he was so powerful that the Specter didn''t even have a chance to react.


    Something didn''t make sense.


    Was this Force Specter truly so powerful?


    "Test it," Pride ordered.


    "As you wish," the Robe answered.


    Then, the Robe turned to Nick and told him to attack it.


    "I don''t want to die" was essentially what Nick''s answer boiled down to.


    "Attack me with your full power, or I will kill you," the Robe transmitted calmly.


    WHOOM!


    After the order, Nick immediately shot forward.


    He reached the Robe.


    BANG!


    Nick unloaded 90% of his Zephyx in a blinding st.


    Then, Nick used about half of his physical power to attack the Robe.


    Naturally, he didn''t want to show his full power since his full power was ridiculous.


    However, half of his power also wasn''t anything to scoff at.


    The Robe received a couple of mundane and superficial cuts, but it didn''t break anywhere.


    Nick could tell that the Robe wasn''t resisting the attacks.


    It was literally letting itself get hit.


    Yet, it barely got damaged.


    Sure enough, this Robe was extremely powerful.


    It was at least a Late Demon.


    There was even a chance that it was a Peak Demon or a Fallen.


    After unleashing his attacks, Nick deliberately pushed all of his remaining Zephyx into his light.


    BANG!


    The mist exploded, revealing a ck crystal.


    The crystal fell to the ground and shook a bit.


    This was Nick''s Specter Core.


    In his mist state, he acted like a true Force Specter.


    When he had still been human, his mist state had been one of his biggest weaknesses.If anyone had hit him with an attack while he was in his mist state, he would have most likely died.


    But as soon as he became a Specter, things were very different.


    A human couldn''t survive if only their brain or only their heart remained.


    A human needed a whole interconnected system to operate.


    Meanwhile, a Specter only needed a Specter Core.


    When Nick had received attacks in his mist state, it was like someone was blowing up parts of his body.


    As a human, he would quickly die.


    As a Specter, he wouldn''t.


    Because of that, Nick''s Specter Core was not attackable while he was in his mist form unless he ran out of Zephyx or a Suppressor somehow forced the Specter Core out.


    When the Robe saw the vibrating Specter Core on the ground, it knew what happened.


    "It used all of its Zephyx in an instant," the Robe told Pride.


    "I can see that," Pride answered, disgusted that someone would dare to suggest that she wasn''t intelligent enough to realize such things herself. "How strong was its attack?"


    "Strong," the Robe answered.


    "Strong enough to kill an Early Demon in an instant?" she asked.


    "If it went all-out against it, just like how it did against me, yes, it''s possible," the Robe answered. "I couldn''t sense how it attacked exactly, but its attacks were scattered all over my body. If the attack was simr, it had most likely hit the Specter Core of the other Specter."


    Pride looked with interest at the Specter Core on the ground.


    This Specter was surprisingly powerful.


    Even more, as a Force Specter, it could traverse difficult areas much more easily.


    The skillset of this Specter was quite useful.


    "You will wait here," Pride transmitted to Nick, who just answered with an affirmative feeling.


    Then, she focused on the Robe. "I will send another servant. Make sure that it doesn''t kill this one as well."


    "Affirmative," the Robe answered.


    Then, the Major Ry deactivated again.


    Nick was left alone with the Robe inside the cave.After a couple of seconds, he had regained enough Zephyx to return to his misty state.


    A couple of minutes of silence passed.


    Eventually, another "human" appeared inside the cave.


    Nick wanted to attack the human, but the Robe forbade him.


    "This is an ally," the Robe told Nick. "You will follow its orders. Its orders are akin to the orders of Pride."


    Nick looked at the human. "You Pride," it transmitted.


    The human furrowed his brows, but the Robe stopped it.


    It was easier to let Nick believe that this Specter was the powerful Specter from just now.


    There was a high likelihood that exining to Nick what a representative was would end up confusing him, which might lead to Nick trying to kill this one as well.


    As long as Nick believed that this was Pride, he wouldn''t dare to attack it.


    There weren''t many Specters in this world that were more intimidating than Pride.


    "Will you attack it?" the Robe asked Nick.


    "No," Nick answered. "I don''t want to die."


    "Good," the Robe answered.


    Then, the Robe floated out of the cave and vanished, leaving the human and Nick alone.


    "Follow me," the human said.


    Nick mentally nodded and floated after the "human".

 Chapter 681: Uniquely Stupid

    "Food."


    "That is not food," the person standing in front of the cloud said.


    "Look food," the misty cloud transmitted, seemingly pointing at the dissolving crab beside it.


    "That is not food. That is not a human," the man answered with narrowed eyes. "How does this look like a human to you? It''s three meters tall, just as wide, orange, and has six huge shears. It doesn''t even have any human Zephyx."


    "Human big. Human small. Human Zephyx. Human food. Everything food," the cloud answered.


    If the human were an actual human, he would be dying of frustration and rage.


    This was the fourth time in which this idiotic cloud had killed a Specter that it shouldn''t kill.


    The only reason why things even got so far was because it also killed two Specters that it should kill.


    So, it wasn''tpletely useless.It was a weapon that had proven to be effective against enemies, but it had an insanely high possibility of misfiring.


    This cloud was dumb in the dumbest way.


    It was so dumb that understanding its logic was almost impossible due to its convoluted nature.


    A very smart person might believe that a disguised Specter was a Specter due to a litany of suspicious things.


    A smart person might believe that the same disguised Specter was a human due to falling for a couple of very good and subtle deceptions.


    A normal person might believe that the same disguised Specter was a Specter because they didn''t notice the subtle nature of the threats and just went by what they saw without questioning it.


    A dumb person might believe that the same disguised Specter was a human since they didn''t even question them.


    An even dumber person might believe that the same disguised Specter was a Specter since they just looked too weird for being a human.


    An EVEN DUMBER person might believe that the same disguised Specter was a human because Specters didn''t exist, and they had never seen one before.


    Sometimes,things just kept switching between one and zero based on intelligence.


    In this cloud''s case, it seemed to always misunderstand something in the very way that was damaging to Pride''s efforts.


    There was always some idiotic but understandable reason why the cloud kept doing something that every halfway-intelligent Specter would believe to be absolutely stupid.


    That strong human over there? That was obviously a Specter since they seemed cold and annoyed.


    That Specter? Yeah, it looked like a human. So, it was a human.


    The cloud had to kill a big, tall, and strong human? That crab was big, tall, and strong, and it could totally be a human in disguise.


    Even more, the more the human Specter tried to interrogate the cloud about its decisions, the more the cloud seemed like it was annoyed by constantly having to exin itself to the human Specter.


    These things were obvious!


    Naturally, since this human Specter kept asking dumb questions with obvious answers, the cloud stopped putting effort into exining itself.


    It was clear that the human Specter wouldn''t be able to understand the cloud''s amazing mind with its farsighted ns.


    The cloud was already thinking about the food it was going to consume within the next couple of minutes, while the human Specter obviously only thought about the present.


    The cloud kept exining to the human Specter that the crab was a human, but the human Specter just couldn''t understand this simple fact.


    What an idiot.


    "Staying in this city is too risky now," the human Specter transmitted evenly to the cloud. "The death of the strongest suppressed Specter in the city will cause chaos. The revenue will drop significantly, and Aegis'' tribute will lower, which will trigger an investigation. Even if we stay here, we can''t keep our cover under an investigation."


    The human Specter felt like the cloud was shaking its head in annoyance.


    This dumb fucking human Specter.Of course the death of a strong human would call out even stronger humans.


    Didn''t this dumbfuck realize that this would happen before it gave the cloud the idiotic order to kill the many-handed human?


    The human Specter could essentially read the cloud''s thoughts just by looking at it since it had adopted human bodynguage rather quickly after staying inside cities for a while.


    However, the only thing the Specter "felt" was a slight tinge of annoyance that it couldn''t harvest Zephyx from this ce now and that it needed to request another mission.


    Naturally, it was also weighing its options about the future.


    There was a chance that Pride would fault the human Specter for the cloud''s actions since the cloud was so ridiculously stupid.


    Would Pride believe that the human Specter was rebelling, or would she deal with the cloud?


    The oue was not certain, and the human Specter weighed its options.


    Flee and risk being hunted and killed by one of Pride''s servants or hope that Pride would believe that the cloud was more damaging than helping?


    In the end, the human Specter came to the conclusion that "trusting" Pride one more time would be worth it.


    However, if it had to continue to take care of this dumb fucking cloud, it would just tell the cloud to go to a random city and fuck off in secret.


    The best-case scenario would be that the cloud would be sent to a different Specter, while the human Specter could enter a different city.


    "Follow me," the human Specter spoke as its body became translucent before walking through the rusted walls of the room.


    The cloud just followed after the human Specter.


    The two of them silently left the city where they had stayed for thest couple of days and flew towards an isted cave in the wilderness.


    They floated through isted darkness and thin walls to reach a secret room with a Major Ry.


    The human Specter activated the Major Ry, and the arrogant figure of Pride appeared in front of it."Report," Pride ordered coldly.


    "It killed the strongest Specter of the city when I told it to kill a strong and tall human, who was Envy''s servant. The Specter was tall and strong, which led to a wrong identification. It had the form of a big crab," the human Specter exined.


    Pride remained silent for a while.


    Then, she turned to look at the cloud.


    "What did you kill?" she asked.


    "Big, tall, strong human."


    "How many arms did the human have?" she asked.


    "More than four."


    "Why did you think it was a human?" Pride asked.


    At that moment, Pride felt like she just saw the cloud sigh in exasperation.


    "Human big. Human small. Human Zephyx. Human food. Everything food," the cloud exined.


    But this time, the cloud wasn''t done talking.


    It seemingly gestured over to the human Specter. "It boss. It tell to kill big human. Big human dead. Itin. It stupid. It-"


    But then, the cloud seemingly froze.


    The cloud stopped "talking" and looked back and forth between Pride and the human Specter.


    The cloud''s bodynguage was so clear that Pride could essentially read its mind.


    Pride strong.


    Human Specter weak.


    Pride human Specter.


    Human Specter Pride.


    Pride strong.


    Human Specter weak.


    ¡­


    Human Specter not Pride?


    Human Specter lie?


    Human Specter weak!


    Human Specter Specter?


    Human Specter look like human!


    Human Specter not Specter!


    Human Specter human!


    Human traitor!


    Human food!


    BANG!


    An explosion of light.


    "STOP!" Pride shouted with all of her authority.


    "What?" the cloud asked in confusion with a transmission as the human Specter copsed and turned into ck dust.


    The cloud had already killed the human Specter.


    Pride red at the confused cloud.


    Naturally, Pride had been suspicious of the human Specter.


    Maybe one of the other Corruptors was ying dirty.


    Or maybe it actually wasn''t a regr intelligent Specter but an intelligent Specter with an altered state of mind.There were a couple of possibilities.


    After all, what were the chances that a dumb Specter constantly misunderstood everything?


    Usually, dumb Specters did exactly what they were told to do.


    But this particr one seemed to be different.


    It was very strange.


    Really dumb Specters acted on instincts like wild animals, but this one acted like it had a partially formed consciousness.


    Something like this wasn''t unheard of.


    However, that put the cloud into a unique category of being useless.


    It was smart enough to think, but it was so dumb that thinking almost always led to overthinking, which led to making the wrong choice.


    For example, how could there be water in this isted cave? Rain couldn''t fall here. Therefore, the liquid in front of it couldn''t possibly be water.


    Meanwhile, if it just tasted it, it would realize that it was water.


    Sadly, there wasn''t much Pride could do about it.


    She couldn''t let the cloud operate on its own, and she couldn''t send other Specters to supervise it since it would do more bad than good.


    "Wait here," Pride ordered.


    "Ok," the cloud answered.


    Then, the connection was cut.


    After the connection was cut, Nick immediately left the cave.


    He knew what was about to happen.


    ''Pride is going to send one of its servants to kill me.''


    ''This is what I have been working towards!''


    Nick readied himself for battle.

 Chapter 682: Assassination

    Nick waited near the entrance of the cave with the Major Ry.


    Everything around him was just wastnd, dust, and dry rocks.


    As always, the Sun bore down on him with its orange light.


    Except for a bit of wind, nothing else moved.


    Nick had been waiting here for a couple of minutes.


    He knew that he would enter a conflict very soon, but he wasn''tpletely sure how to y it.


    In the end, he decided to gamble on something.


    After waiting for over three hours, something arrived.


    Nick''s ability deactivated before he saw the other party, but he didn''t move.A full five minutester, the other party appeared in front of him.


    It was the Robe.


    This was what Nick had expected and bet on.


    Nick sent a feeling of familiarity to the Robe, telling it that Nick remembered it.


    "I need to test your power," the Robe transmitted calmly. "Attack me with all of your power."


    At that moment, Nick became nervous.


    However, he wasn''t nervous because he felt that the situation was going out of control, but because he knew that the riskiest part had arrived.


    This Robe was extremely powerful.


    In a way, the forces of the Corruptors could be viewed simrly to the forces of Aegis.


    The weaker Demons were essentially Governors who were sent to control different cities.


    Keeping an extremely powerful Demon constrained to a single city would be akin to wasting its power.


    So, these extremely powerful Demons were used like Agents who were being sent from city to city to deal with issues.


    Most likely, the Robe was some kind of local supervisor.


    This thing was probably the insurance for the 40 closest cities or so, in case something went wrong with administration.


    In general, there were more Demons than Heroes in the world, but getting one of these Demons to be one''s servant was really difficult.


    Most of the Demons were isted most of the time and only struck humanity when it waspletely safe.Such powerful Specters were not under any time pressure.


    Because of that,ing into contact with them wasn''t easy.


    For example, there were probably around 15 different Demons living in a radius of 50 kilometers around Crimson City.


    Maybe the Silent Area north of Crimson City was the habitat of a Fallen that would only strike if an Initial or Early Protector flew across its area.


    So, while there were many powerful Demons essentially everywhere, Corruptors had far fewer of them as servants than there were human Agents.


    The reason was that humans were united, while the Specters were not.


    One had to remember that the Trio of Destruction and Death were only four Adversaries.


    Yet, there were over ten or even over twenty more Adversaries in the world.


    The Envious Researcher, the False Prophet, the Eternal Hunger, the False Hope. Those were already four more.


    There was also the Salt Trident.


    The Salt Trident was a humongous pir of salt in the form of a trident. It was deep within the deepest ocean and constantly gave off a terrifying amount of salt.


    It had made the water of the oceans so salty that almost no possible life could thrive there.


    Even more, this special salt really didn''t want to let go of any water, which made distilling water much harder since it even partially stuck to steam.


    Nick had also heard of the Shark Mother.


    Nick had heard of the many sharks attacking the coast around Crimson City''s ind, but he hadn''t known that these sharks were actually all across the world.


    There were tens of thousands of sharks all across the world, and over a thousand of them were as powerful as Demons.


    Naturally, all of them were minions of one Adversary, which was called the Shark Mother.


    The Shark Mother was one of the most dangerous Specters when it came to traveling.


    Those were the ten most well-known Adversaries, but there were more lesser-known ones out there.Knowing all of this was important to realizing the true worth of the Robe hovering in front of Nick.


    Killing this thing was equivalent to killing a team of Agents from Aegis when it came to Death''s forces.


    If this Robe died, it would probably destabilize Pride''s entire territory in the north of the Long Continent.


    Nick prepared himself.


    The Robe told him to attack it with everything he got.


    The reason for that was clear.


    The Robe wanted Nick to exhaust all of his power so that he would turn into a defenseless Specter Core again.


    This would make it easy for the Robe to deal with him.


    "Okay," Nick transmitted back.


    Then, he exploded into light.


    WHOOOOM!


    Shortly after, he attacked with all of his power.


    This time, Nick didn''t hold back, and he used his full power on the Robe.


    CRKSH!


    Nick''s first two attacks tore two humongous holes in the Robe.


    SHING!


    Nick quicklybined the two huge holes and expanded them, cutting the Robe into two equal pieces.


    A momentter, Nick could see one of the pieces vibrating in a weird way, which told him that this had to be the piece that contained the Specter Core!


    BANG!


    Nick managed tond another hit and cut that piece into two pieces as well, turning the Robe into a quarter of its original size.


    If Nick couldnd another two attacks on that part, he was confident that he would hit the Specter Core.


    Specter Cores needed to have a certain size, and two random strikes in the remaining area would have a high likelihood of hitting the Specter Core.


    Nick shed forward.


    CRK!


    But his des only lightly scratched the surface of the Robe.


    His ability had deactivated.


    The light had vanished.


    The next moment, the remaining part of the Robe extended and wrapped around Nick''s outstretched arm in an instant.


    Nick wanted to turn his arm incorporeal again, but for some reason,he couldn''t!


    It was like the Robe was deactivating his abilities!


    Countless tentacles of cloth extended out of the Robe and crept up Nick''s arm.


    Shockingly, whenever they extended to grab mist, part of Nick''s body solidified!


    It was like the tentacles were turning Nick corporeal!


    That was when Nick noticed that he didn''t even have control over his arm anymore.


    It wasn''t that his arm was bound and constrained but that it wasn''t listening to him.


    He told it to move, but it refused to move!


    The Robe was taking control of his body!


    CRK!


    Nick''s misty body tore in half, leaving his arm and a big chunk of mist behind.


    The mist was immediately surrounded by the tentacles, and it turned into Nick''s entire right arm and part of his torso.


    An instantter, the Robe threw the arm away, which quickly turned into ck mist.


    Nick had lost 20% of his Zephyx when he had exploded with light, and he had just lost another 20% when he tore himself in two.


    The only positive thing was that the Robe had most likely lost even more Zephyx.


    However, that was the result of a surprise attack, and the moment of surprise had passed.


    Nick had failed the assassination.


    Without saying anything, the Robe expanded and tried to surround Nick''s remaining body.


    With Nick''s ability deactivated, he could barely react to the Robe''s speed.


    WHOOOM!


    Nick reflexively expanded his body, bing ten times as big.


    The Robe couldn''t enclose Nick''s entire body.


    CRACK!


    Suddenly, the huge Robe snapped shut around a big part of Nick like a pair of jaws.


    Part of Nick''s body waspletely surrounded by the Robe again, and Nick felt his connection to his body vanish.


    Usually, if Nick was cut in two in his mist form, he could still pull his body back together again.


    It was like he could remotely control the other part of his body for quite a while.


    Controlling a part of his body remotely cost Nick a lot of Zephyx, but it allowed him to fuse together again.This was one of the things that made it so difficult to capture or kill Force Specters.


    Yet, when the Robepletely surrounded part of Nick''s body, it was like Nick lost all connection to that part.


    It was essentially no longer his part.


    Luckily, Nick had be so big that he only lost another 10% of his Zephyx to that move.


    Unfortunately, that was all Nick had been able to do before the Robe attacked Nick again.


    It was so much faster than him!


    WHOOOOM!


    Nick exploded into light again and voluntarily cut off a huge part of his body.


    CRACK!


    The Robe encased that part.


    At the same time, Nick summoned a Maw portal below him and flew through it.


    All of this cost Nick another 20% of his Zephyx.


    An instantter, he materialized five kilometers away.


    The light vanished, and the Robe searched for him.


    Nick rapidly flew into one of the caves.


    Before he entered, he felt his ability deactivate again for a moment.


    The Robe had seen him and would quickly rush after him.


    Nick''s mind went wild, trying to find a solution to his predicament.

 Chapter 683: Green

    Nick entered the cave and rapidly flew towards the ground, moving through it.


    Yet, as soon as he touched the ground, he felt his ability deactivate.


    Already?!


    Yes, five kilometers wasn''t far for Specters with their power, but this was really fast!


    Out of reflex, Nick jumped out from the ground again, and his ability reactivated.


    ''It can sense me through the ground!'' Nick realized.


    This also exined how the Robe had been able to sense him without him being able to sense it.


    This ability had probably allowed it to sense Nick from far further away.


    In an instant, Nick''s mind went through countless scenarios.The only thing that gave Nick any chance of getting out of this situation was his primary ability.


    If that one deactivated, he would die.


    Therefore, going through the walls, the ground, or the ceiling would immediately spell doom for him.


    Going outside was also bad for him since there was nowhere he could hide.


    It seemed like the Robe primarily relied on its sense of sight and its weird ground-sense.


    Therefore, if he flew out of the cave and flew through the sky, the Robe would notice him, and he wouldn''t be able to escape anymore.


    That only left one possibility.


    He had to enter the cave and lose the Robe without touching the cave.


    Nick''s perception stretched into the cave, and he saw countless branches.


    This was a huge cave system.


    Immediately, Nick charged down the cave.


    However, while he was doing that, he tore off a piece of his body and threw it against the wall.


    The piece of his body touched the wall and went through it like a ghost.


    Nick''s primary ability wavered, and his strength wavered between being three and five times as powerful as normal.


    That was due to the strange nature in which the Robe could perceive Nick right now.


    The Robe could see part of Nick''s body, but that part was cut off.


    And yet, it could still be remotely controlled.


    Therefore, it was kind of part of him but also kind of not.Less than two secondster, Nick lost contact with the part of his body that he had sent away.


    During these two seconds, he managed to recover 30% of his Zephyx.


    But on the other hand, the Robe probably recovered just as much Zephyx.


    ''The Robe is more powerful, but it isn''t a Force Specter. Additionally, it also doesn''t have a high-regeneration ability. That makes it more difficult for it to heal from injuries,'' Nick thought.


    A Force Specter''s Zephyx was its health. Within ten seconds, Nick could recover to his peak condition.


    Meanwhile, a powerful Demon Physical Specter needed minutes to heal from such a significant injury, even though its Zephyx would recover in just a couple of seconds.


    Nick had already traveled deep into the cavework.


    From time to time, he shot different parts of his body into different branches of the cavework.


    All of the parts, including Nick''s primary body, touched the walls of the cave asionally.


    Naturally, the Robe couldn''t tell which cloud was the real one and had to attack them one at a time.


    By now, Nick could tell that the Robe could travel through the ground like it didn''t exist, just like him.


    Usually, only Force Specters could travel through the tiny caps of sand and earth without moving them, but this Robe could do the same thing.


    From what Nick could see, the Robe had a very ethereal quality that gave it simr properties to a ghost or a Force Specter.


    Nick could tell that his primary body would be attacked next since one of his clouds in the neighboring branch had just been killed.


    At that moment, he opened a maw portal below him and shot a part of him down the cave while his primary body went into a different branch.


    Momentster, that part was destroyed, but not before it split up again.


    By now, Nick was present in ten different caves.


    Sadly, that would only help temporarily.


    While there was essentially only a 10% chance that the Robe would choose the right one,and while there was only a 10% chance that the Robe would be able to kill him, that still left a 1% chance that Nick would die.


    After enough rolls, that 1% chance would happen.


    Even more, splitting into so many parts almost cost as much Zephyx as Nick was regenerating.


    In essence, he was just iling around in an effort to escape the Robe''s clutches.


    Of course, stopping this entire thing also wasn''t possible.


    If Nick stopped sending out parts of him, the Robe would reach him within a second and kill him.


    Nick was trying to find a way out of this predicament.


    Sadly, he couldn''t think of one.


    But then, he noticed something.


    Most of the caves seemed to end at a certain spot or continue while avoiding said spot.


    The spot seemed to be about a kilometer wide and about two kilometers high.


    This couldn''t be the outside since they were almost three kilometers deep in the ground.


    Additionally, Nick couldn''t sense what the spot was.


    He could only sense its border.


    At the end of three of the caves were walls made of¡­ something.


    It was a kind of green material that was made of many individual scales.


    It was almost like this was a huge snake or some kind of insect.


    Yet, the uniformity andck of biological randomness meant that this was most likely not a living organism.


    Additionally, Nick couldn''t feel any signs of lifeing from these walls.


    Nevertheless, the walls seemed to be very bizarre.


    ''There''s no other way to escape this Robe,'' Nick thought as he approached one of the walls.


    Several of his other parts were being destroyed while he was approaching the wall.


    Nick couldn''t see any point of entry on the green wall, but he was out of options.


    So, he rammed into the wall with his mist body.


    BANG!


    The wall stopped Nick, but when he tried to continue pushing, he realized something.


    There were actually small holes all over the wall!


    ''How did I not see those?!'' Nick thought in shock as he looked at the holes.


    Earlier,the wall had seemed smooth, but now, it seemed almost impossible for anyone to think that it was smooth.


    The wall was covered in holes that were around one centimeter wide.


    While the walls inside the holes were still smooth, the wall itself couldn''t be called that anymore due to all of the holes.


    It was almost like this was some kind of filtration system or something.


    Nick wanted to find out how it was possible to hide so many holes from his senses, but he didn''t have the luxury of time right now.


    He rapidly entered through the holes and flew through the wall.


    While inside the holes, he couldn''t perceive anything just a couple of centimeters away from him.


    Everything just looked like it was made of green walls.


    Nick could touch the walls at the sides of the holes, but when he approached the "bottom" of the holes, the bottom just¡­ never came closer.


    It was like Nick was falling down a two-meter hole for tens of meters.


    Nick felt like the concept of physics and perception stopped making sense.


    ''What is this?'' Nick thought in confusion as he kept traveling along the short hole that seemed infinitely deep.


    Nick kept traveling for a couple of seconds.


    During this time, he felt more and more nervous.


    He couldn''t sense anything anymore, and he was sure that the Robe had already found these holes as well.


    He had to continue.


    But where could he continue?


    It seemed like his surroundings had stopped making sense.


    Everything around him felt identical.


    There were walls all around him, perfectly encasing his misty body.


    He could feel all of the walls, and whenever he tried to move in any direction, he felt like he wasn''t moving at all.


    Was he even moving?


    ''I don''t know,'' Nick thought as he looked at the encasing green world around him.


    He felt like he was stuck in ce.


    He felt like he couldn''t move.


    No matter how he moved, he felt like he was pushing against an indestructible wall.


    He tried to move.


    He couldn''t.He was encased.


    Nick''s mind began to panic.


    ''What is this ce?!'' he thought. ''I''ve never seen anything like this!''


    ''This is not a living organism, but it''s also not some kind of machine. It most definitely is not something natural.''


    ''But then, what''s left?''


    ''What could it be?''


    ''What is this material?'' he thought as he tried to analyze the green walls around him.


    The material was incredibly smooth.


    ''It''s basically frictionless. It''s like the smoothest ss in existence.''


    ''If anything entered this hole and if there were no air resistance or gravity, the object would continue going along this hole forever.''


    ''But-''


    That was when Nick noticed something.


    ''Wait, there''s no air in here.''


    Since Nick didn''t need to breathe, he generally didn''t notice the presence or absence of air.


    ''Wait, can I actually feel up and down with my senses?''


    Nick manifested a tiny part of his body and tried to feel if it was being pulled somewhere.


    Nothing.


    ''There''s no gravity as well!'' Nick realized.


    ''But how?!''


    ''Where am I?!''

 Chapter 684 : Glass

    Nick tried toe to terms with this new space.


    No friction.


    No air.


    No gravity.


    This didn''t make any sense!


    There was no material that could iste gravity!


    Gravity could only be equalized by other forces of gravity!


    And there was no shot that anything around him was generating enough gravity to counteract Earth''s gravity.


    If there were something like that, the sands from the surrounding hundreds of kilometers would flow to this ce and build a huge pile.''I should find a way out. I''m running low on Zephyx.''


    That was when Nick realized something.


    ''How can I be running low on Zephyx? I''ve not been using much of it ever since entering this hole.''


    Nick focused on his Zephyx and realized something.


    It wasn''t regenerating!


    He was using it at a steady rate, but he was not regenerating anything!


    Even more, his connection to the suffering guards around the Aegis strongholds had also been cut.


    He was not generating new Zephyx, and he was not recovering any of it.


    However, his body was working normally.


    ''This can only mean one thing.''


    ''There''s no Prephyx here!''


    Nick tried to sense the Prephyx, but it just wasn''t there.


    ''If I don''t get out of here, I will die!''


    ''What the fuck is this ce?!''


    He couldn''t move, and there was no way to escape from this ce.


    ''No friction, no gravity, no air, no Prephyx, no way to move, encasement by indestructible and unknown materials,'' Nick summarized.


    He was starting to realize what was going on.


    ''Is this a Specter trap?'' Nick thought.


    ''The holes are so small that only small insects and Force Specters could enter, and after entering, there''s no way to get out again.''


    Nick saw the image of a spider inside a smooth ss in front of his mental eye.


    His Zephyx would continue to lower until he turned into nothing but bits of Zephyx.


    ''I have to find a way out of this!'' Nick thought.


    The first thing he tried was to expand his body as much as possible.


    But¡­ it didn''t.


    At least, that was what Nick sensed.


    In Nick''s senses, he did not expand, and he was still surrounded by the green walls.


    Yet, in truth, he must have expanded since he had lost a good chunk of Zephyx.


    He just wasn''t able to sense the outer rims of his body.


    ''This means that I am not truly surrounded by the green walls and that there is just a force that fools my perception,'' Nick realized.


    ''At least I can tell that nobody is looking at me right now since my ability is still active.''


    ''There must be a front and back to this ce.''


    Next, Nick deliberately gave off some of his Zephyx and quickly tried to reabsorb it after it left his perception.


    Sadly, he didn''t get any of it back.


    It was like, as soon as it left his range of perception, the Zephyx stopped existing.


    ''Based on my body expanding, I can tell that I am not really stuck in ce. Yet, I can''t retrieve my Zephyx from any side, which makes it seem like I am actually stuck in ce.''


    ''Naturally, both of these statements can''t be true at the same time.''


    ''I think any Zephyx not owned by a Specter is being absorbed by the walls.''


    ''I already made the association of a filtration system earlier, and it wouldn''t be too far-fetched that the walls can filter neutral Zephyx out.''


    Nick''s Zephology mind became more and more active as he came up with a logical way to create such a Specter trap for Force Specters.


    How would he design one?


    ''Well, due to the small holes, it means that I am only targeting Force Specters or very small Specters.''


    ''However, the Physical Specters would need to be ridiculously small since they can''t change the sizes of their Specter Cores. Force Specters can do that, but they can''t.''


    Nick wasn''t sure if this included the Robe, though.


    The Robe looked like a two-dimensional object moving through a three-dimensional space with how thin it was.


    There might be a way that the Robe turned into a long string before entering.


    ''But that would mean that it''s in the same predicament as me right now,'' Nick thought.


    ''The only difference is that it has much more Zephyx and that it can survive for much longer.''


    ''Anyway, this trap is mainly targeting Force Specters.''


    ''Force Specters are all made of Zephyx.''


    ''There has to be a point to a trap, which means that something has to be gained from killing the Force Specter.''


    ''Most likely, this trap is harvesting Zephyx, which means that it can absorb Zephyx.''


    ''So, how would I design it?''


    ''First, I would design an entrance for the Specter, and after stepping onto the entrance, I would build a mechanism to catch it.''


    ''The entrance are the holes of the wall, and to get a Force Specter to enter these holes¡­''


    That was when Nick realized something else.


    ''There is no incentive, actually.''


    ''It looked like a smooth surface, and it was difficult to sense it. If I hadn''t tried to run into the smooth surface, I would have never even found the holes, and after that, I even had to focus quite a


    bit to actually enter one of them.''


    ''It was like the maker of this trap didn''t want any Specter to enter. Yet, there is still a trap here that''s unmistakably designed to kill Specters.''


    ''The point of this trap is not to harvest Specters but to stop them from entering a different ce!''


    ''This really is like a filter! It is filtering Specters out!''


    But that created even more questions.


    ''Why kill them, then?''


    ''Whoever built this is obviously advanced enough to capture the Specters alive as well. No human with such power would kill a Specter if they could easily capture it alive unless there were a political reason.''


    ''It seems like a huge waste to kill a captured Specter for no reason.''


    ''This material is also one I have never seen before, and I know quite a lot about all of the five big civilizations.''


    ''So, who made this?''


    As Nick kept thinking, the logistics of this filter became more and more logical.


    ''My perception is useless in this space, and I can''t refill my Zephyx. I am supposed to move in circles until I am exhausted.''


    In Nick''s mind, a darkbyrinth made of ss appeared.


    If he put a blind rat without a sense of smell into such abyrinth, where would he put the exit?


    ''I would create one big room and a couple of hallways.''


    ''Finally, I would put the exit on the ceiling of one of these hallways at an angle that would make it difficult for the rat to sense with its sense of touch.''


    ''In order to find it, the rat would need to randomly turn around when there is no point in turning around.''


    ''I might even use some kind of door that would close if the rat approached from one of the directions.''


    ''Now, I just have to trante this concept into a form that could capture something that can float around without issues.''


    Nick imagined a small opening in the middle of a big room, leading into a small pipe leading outside.


    The floating thing would continue to float around the big room and around the edges of the room, when, in truth, the exit was in the middle of the room.


    ''Now, how would I be able to escape from such a space without being able to sense anything?''


    Nick thought for a while.


    Then, Nick got an idea.


    ''I would just use water or colored gas to search for the exit. I would find the exit by looking at where things are not instead of where they are.''


    ''However, Force Specters are actually already water or gas, and I can''t sense my body anymore when I expand it. I can also not turn back into my physical body since this space is so small.''


    That was when Nick realized something.


    ''This trap is made for Specters, which are made of Zephyx! Force Specters might be like gas and water, but they are not truly gas and water!''


    The next moment, Nick conjured a piece of paper and pushed it away.


    The piece of paper entered the walls around him.


    Then, Nick pulled the piece of paper back.


    It was crumpled in a couple of ces, but all of it came back.


    When Nick saw that, he grew excited.


    ''Yes! It can absorb Zephyx, but it can''t absorb normal matter!''


    WHOOOOOM!


    Suddenly, Nick summoned a huge chunk of paper around him.


    Paper was the easiest object to conjure for Nick since itcked power in basically everything.


    Finally, Nick could see where he could actually move to!


    Nick pushed and pulled on the paper as he kept moving forward, testing how difficult it was to move it.


    Sometimes, when he pushed the paper in front of him, he felt something push onto his back, which meant that this direction would just lead to the same ce where he was.


    After around 30 seconds, Nick found a direction in which he could shove infinite paper.


    Nick followed that direction, and a couple of secondster, he could feel his Zephyx recovering!


    The Prephyx had returned!


    But then, Nick noticed something.


    His paper had crinkled in a strange ce.


    There was a ce that was not as smooth as the other ces.


    Nick inspected it and noticed something.


    This was an even tinier hole, but this one wasn''t even a millimeter wide!


    He would have never noticed this one without the paper!


    And even more shocking was the fact that the density of Prephyx was even higher there!


    Nick wanted to know where he was.

 Chapter 685: Prephyx

    By now, Nick could visualize where he was with quite a lot of confidence.


    In his mind, he saw a big wall with many holes, like a filter.


    At some point, the holes would essentially split in two, but those splits were not equal.


    One of the ways was much smaller than the other and was near the side, not directly in front.


    It was like a big street with a small offshoot.


    Anything that couldn''t move without the help of gravity, air resistance, or friction would helplessly move down the big hallway into a dead end designed to catch these intruders.


    Anything that could move like this would also travel to this dead end since the real path forward was so small and almost imperceivable.


    ''It''s very clear that this is not an entrance but an exit. Nothing is supposed to get in here,'' Nick thought.


    If this were supposed to be some kind of Containment Unit or storage, there would be no reason to create so many holes.There would just be an imprable wall.


    This meant that there had to be a connection between the two sides of the wall, and since the wall did its very best to stop anything from traveling in this direction, it could only mean that things were supposed toe from the other side and arrive here.


    But what would that something be?


    What could possiblye out of here?


    This ce was deep underground, within a random cavern.


    Water?


    Air?


    Earth?


    Of course not.


    The surroundings also didn''t look any different from usual.


    The air quality was normal.


    There were no strange living beings around that thrived in some kind of strange atmosphere or something.


    Everything was normal.


    Usually, Nick would have no idea what was supposed toe out of there.


    However, when he felt the difference in the density of Prephyx, he knew what was most likelying out of there.


    Why would the density of Prephyx in the small hole be greater than outside?


    A small hole had less Prephyx, but it was also much smaller. The density would be unaffected.The density of Prephyx only increased when it waspressed, which wasn''t easy.


    Prephyx was notorious for being extremely difficult topress.


    It was much more cost-efficient to turn Prephyx into Zephyx instead ofpressing Prephyx to have the same density as Zephyx.


    On top of that, Zephyx had a ton of stored energy, making it extremely valuable, while Prephyx had almost no energy.


    In a way, Zephyx was fuel, while Prephyx was water.


    One first had to split water into hydrogen and oxygen to get it to produce energy. The problem was just that splitting the water cost as much, if not more, energy than the following reaction would give off.


    Why would anyone want to turn water into hydrogen when they could simply rece a barrel of water with oil by putting it beside a Specter for a bit, metaphorically speaking?


    So, the fact that there was a higher density of Prephyx in that little hole told Nick that this was most likely the thing that traveled through the hole.


    After all, there was no point inpressing Prephyx otherwise.


    The only point was to move more of it through the hole with more pressure and speed.


    ''Prephyx,'' Nick thought as hepressed his body more and more.


    People, even Extractors, rarely talked about Prephyx.


    Prephyx was useless to normal people since they didn''t need it to survive and since they couldn''t utilize it in any way.


    It was just there.


    The only purpose of Prephyx was for Veterans and stronger to stay alive and to rebuild their own Zephyx storages.


    However, even Extractors rarely talked about it since it was just everywhere all of the time.


    It was in the water, in the air, in the stone, anywhere that had even a tiny gap.


    One needed materials like steel and ss to iste Prephyx.


    And yet, it was something that was around every person all of the time.


    It was absolutely everywhere.


    It was even more omnipresent than air or light.


    But there was one thing that nobody knew.


    Where did ite from?Nick had learned about Prephyx and Zephyx when he had met Wyntor in the Dregs. The rtionship between Prephyx and Zephyx wasmon knowledge.


    But even after learning far more about the world than even Aria Light or Markus Julius, Nick still had no idea where the Prephyx in the world actually came from.


    One thing was clear, though. Prephyx had toe from somewhere, and its presence was increasing with time.


    The reason for that was the Specters.


    When a Specter was killed, a certain number of Hatchlings would appear all over the world, roughly equalizing things.


    But then, these Hatchlings would grow more powerful.


    One Specter''s death never only resulted in the creation of zero Specters, and always created at least one Specter, in case the dead Specter used to be a weak Hatchling.


    In the majority of cases, two or more Specters were created per Specter that died.


    This meant that the number of Specters increased with time, and their total power did not decrease since 99% of the Zephyx of the world was stored in the Eternals and the Adversaries.


    And yet, new Fallen and Adversaries appeared asionally.


    This meant that more and more Zephyx was stored in the form of Specters.


    But the crazy thing was that the density of Prephyx never decreased!


    This was not like the rain cycle, where the water fell down, rose up, and fell down again, never reducing or increasing in mass.


    The Prephyx was actually increasing.


    So, where did ite from?


    Nobody knew, but all researchers wanted to know.


    If they could stop the creation of Prephyx, killing Specters would not end in the creation of even more Specters.


    Stopping the production of Prephyx could lead to the eradication of all Specters!


    Nick looked at the tiny hole.


    It was difficult to believe that this might be the ce or one of the ces where Prephyx came from.


    Eventually, Nick managed topress himself enough to fit in the tiny hole.It wasn''t easy for him topress himself to such a small size.


    If he were still a human, this wouldn''t have been possible, even with his ability to turn into mist.


    Only something like a powerful Force Specter could get in here.


    Nick pushed himself into the hole, and he quickly felt a force trying to push him out.


    This was the pressure of the Prephyx in front of him.


    Luckily, there were many other holes across the wall, which meant that the pressure was not nearly strong enough to push Nick out.


    Nick kept moving forward.


    ''While the Robe might be able to fit in the bigger hole, I don''t think it will fit in this one,'' Nick thought.


    The Robe had still been on his mind until now.


    ''I don''t know if it is going to die in one of the traps or if it has already escaped again.''


    ''If it has escaped, I have to be careful. It will either wait for me or will immediately tell Pride about this weird wall.''


    ''Either way, my cover is essentially blown.''


    ''Exiting the wall will also be extremely risky, in case the Robe waits for me.''


    ''It might be smarter to exit through a different hole on the other side of this weird green space.''


    Nick kept moving forward, and after a couple of meters, he noticed something.


    His perception was returning.


    When he looked back, he still felt like there was a green wall just behind him, but when he looked forward, there was still a green wall, but it was much further away.


    ''The perception-warping effect is bing weaker,'' Nick realized.


    He continued going down the hole, and after a while, his perception expanded far enough that it could get out of the hole.


    When Nick perceived what was outside the hole, he took a while toe to terms with it.


    ''What is this? This can''t be made by humans! I refuse to believe that any civilization woulde up with something like this!''


    The space outside the hole was constantly moving.


    Green and red tes of something akin to chitin were moving around rhythmically.The tes were being pushed and pulled by thin strands of things that looked a bit like transparent muscles.


    Nick could see thin veins going through the transparent strands, supplying every part of them with¡­ something.


    In a way, it looked¡­ alive.


    And yet, there was absolutely zero randomness in the construction of any of the parts.


    It was like perfect and uniform gics.


    Judging by the way everything moved, Nick could tell that this was a gigantic machine, but the machine worked with purely biologicalponents without biological randomness.


    ''A gigantic, perfectly engineered lifeform that acts like a machine,'' Nick thought.


    ''This thing is alive, but it does not have a brain, a soul, or anything like that.''


    ''It is not even as intelligent as a cell.''


    ''It''s a biological machine!''

 Chapter 686 : Liquid

    Nick looked at the machine for a long time.


    The Prephyx inside the room was much denser than outside, which was crazy.


    ''Is this truly where Prephyx ising from?'' Nick thought.


    Nick slowly approached the exit of the small hole and looked around.


    He could only see a couple of meters of his surroundings despite having terrifyingly fine and urate senses.


    The reason was all the disturbance happening around him.


    The biological machine was verypact, and there was almost no open space between all the moving parts, not allowing Nick to see very far.


    The machine was also very loud, and its grating sound made echolocation difficult for Nick.


    One had to remember that Nick''s perception abilities were still based on his main senses.He could see an ant from a hundred kilometers away, but he needed to have it in his line of sight.


    Nick could build urate three-dimensional models of a room based on soundwaves that bounced off the walls, but with everything being so loud, everything was just too chaotic.


    He could also sense almost everything based on touching a surface, but everything in there was basically constantly vibrating.


    Nick could also sense people and Specters that had moved through this ce weeks or even months ago based on smell, but everything here smelled the same.


    In short, this machine was loud in every sense.


    It probably even tasted loud, but Nick wouldn''t put that to the test.


    Nick carefully left the tiny hole and saw many other tiny holes all around the hole he had just left.


    As soon as Nick left the hole, he felt the density of the Prephyx increasing even more.


    The Prephyx was probably over five times as dense in here than outside.


    Compressing Prephyx to such a density probably required over 1,000 times its weight in Zephyx.


    Just like everything else, Prephyx was subject to the concept of entropy, and messing with entropy always cost energy.


    ''The high pressure of Prephyx in here is pushing the Prephyx out through these tiny holes.''


    ''Most likely, the Prephyx is being produced here.''


    ''But how?''


    ''What is being used to make the Prephyx?''


    ''Energy can''t be created or destroyed. Everything has toe from somewhere. Even if I conjure stuff, I am simply transforming Zephyx, which is energy, into matter, which is also just energy.''


    ''Prephyx is also a kind of energy, which means that it has toe from somewhere. Prephyx can''t just appear without anything else being used to produce it.''


    Nick knew that he hade into contact with something terrifying.


    This involved one of the deepest secrets of Earth.


    ''I''m about 95% sure by now that this machine is the very thing producing the Prephyx in the area. Most likely, this isn''t the only one. I don''t think that one single machine produces all the Prephyx all


    over the world.''


    ''There are most likely several more of these all over the world, and they all produce Prephyx and dump it in the atmosphere.''


    ''But why?''


    ''What''s the point?''


    ''Well, if I just follow logic and use a bit of association, I can get to an answer easily, but that doesn''t make any sense.''


    ''Specters want to cause suffering to humanity.''


    ''Prephyx creates Specters.''


    ''Therefore, Prephyx causes suffering to humanity.''


    ''But it can''t be that easy, right? Usually, suffering is a side-product, not the main-product. When one city causes suffering to another city, it''s because that city robs the other city of resources or tries to conquer them for some kind of gain. The suffering is not the main goal.''


    ''Generally, suffering is only the main goal in either sadism or revenge.''


    ''None of these things seem to fit here since this involves all of humanity across the world for thousands of years.''


    ''And the arguments from the skeptics are also still very relevant. If Prephyx is there to make humanity suffer, why can we use it to be so much stronger?''


    Nick shook his misty head.


    ''I should look around first.''


    Nick looked at the many moving parts of the machine and analyzed them more closely.


    ''Finally, learning about biology is going to pay off,'' Nick thought as he looked at the transparent membranes that looked a bit like muscles.


    ''Biology is not my specialty, but I should know enough to make some rough guesses.''


    Nick saw a couple of clear lines inside the membrane.


    ''These should be like blood vessels, but they are not delivering blood. Instead, they are delivering some kind of clear liquid or gas that gives the muscle the power to move.''


    Due to the size of the machine, Nick only had a couple of meters of free space, but that was enough to transform.


    For the first time in a while, Nick turned into his human form.


    Nick tried to breathe.


    ''No air,'' Nick realized before looking at the ground. ''But gravity returned. Seems like gravity was only deactivated in the holes.''


    Nick furrowed his brows. ''That means that the holes most likely are not some kind of portal that leads away from Earth. Instead, something in the wall can iste gravity or equalize it.''


    Nick sighed. ''I can''t even begin to imagine how that is supposed to work. Like, isn''t gravity all permeating? Based on physics, gravity is just the bending of spacetime. In order to be isted from gravity, you would need to be unaffected by the bending of spacetime, which kind of means not being part of spacetime.''


    ''And that doesn''t make any sense. After all, I can move. You kind of need space to move.''


    A momentter, Nick approached one of the clear membranes.


    ''This one makes the tes below it spin, which is crazy. Biology isn''t known for having a lot of spinning things.''


    Nick lightly touched the membrane.


    ''Just as expected. This one isn''t under a lot of stress, making it perfect for experimenting.''


    Naturally, Nick didn''t want to alert whoever built this machine by destroying part of it.


    Because of that, he wouldn''t interfere with the machine''s production.


    Nick conjured a small syringe with some basic materials and touched the membrane with his left hand.


    He squeezed a bit.


    ''Hmmmm.''


    He squeezed a bit more.


    ''It''s quite tough. This muscle can probably lift several tons of materials without tearing.''


    ''Yet, it''s still quite squishy.''


    Nick slowly moved the syringe to the muscle.


    He used quite a bit of power but only managed to make a little cut before the tip of his syringe broke off under the stress.


    ''Alright,'' Nick said as he got more of his Zephyx.


    For the next few minutes, Nick focused on creating another syringe, but this one was made of the same materials as his weapon.


    In order to create something this hard, Nick needed to empty and refill his Zephyx storage many times.


    Luckily, the high density of Prephyx made it easier for him to recover his Zephyx.


    ''Round two,'' Nick thought as he shoved his new syringe into the membrane.


    This time, the syringe entered without issues.


    Nick carefully pushed the syringe to one of the "blood" vessels and retrieved some of the stuff inside.


    Then, he pulled the syringe out and looked at it.


    There was a clear liquid inside.


    It looked a bit like water, but it also looked a bit oily.


    ''Is it shining?'' Nick thought as he narrowed his eyes.


    After focusing his eyes, Nick could tell that the liquid gave off a bit of light.


    A minute passed, in which Nick looked at the liquid through the syringe.


    ''Well, let''s test a bit more.''


    Nick conjured a small ss scale and dumped a bit of the liquid on it.


    It looked very much like pure water or oil, except that it gave off a bit of light.


    ''It''s about three times as dense as water,'' Nick thought.


    Nick kept looking at the liquid.


    ''It doesn''t seem to evaporate in any way. Not sure if that''s because of theck of air- wait! Wouldn''t that make it evaporate even more?''


    ''Interesting. Except for Prephyx, this is a vacuum, and Prephyx generally doesn''t act like normal matter, which means that this is actually a vacuum.''


    ''The pressure inside the membrane and in the syringe is much higher than outside, but despite the brutal change in pressure, it''s not acting differently.''


    After a couple more tests, Nick decided to go to the next stage.


    He moved his finger to the liquid.


    And as soon as his finger touched the liquid¡­


    CRRRR!


    Nick''s eyes widened as his body started to rapidly turn into white dust, starting from his finger!


    BANG!


    Nick immediately turned into mist and separated his body.


    An instantter, the cut-off part of Nick''s bodypletely turned into white dust before vanishing.


    Nick''s mind was gripped by panic.


    ''I nearly died!''


    This bit of liquid had turned half of Nick''s body into white dust within less than 0.1 seconds!


    ''White dust, not ck dust.''


    ''Specters turn into ck dust, not white dust.''


    ''Why is it white dust, and why did just this tiny bit of liquid almost kill me?!''


    Nick looked at the machine and the liquid inside its muscles.


    This ce was much more dangerous than he had expected.

 Chapter 687: Machine

    Nick''s Zephyx recovered, and he returned to his human form as he kept looking at the water-like substance.


    After Nick had almost died, he had naturally dropped the scale with the substance on it.


    Right now, the substance justy on the ground, doing nothing.


    It was just like water.


    Nick furrowed his brows as he looked at it from a distance.


    He would not touch that thing barehanded again.


    ''This is obviously the energy source of the membranes and the machine. This is the very thing that makes all of this work and move.''


    Nick looked for a while at the membranes.


    ''It isn''t being used up very quickly, but it also isn''t being used up very slowly. Moving these tes with a certain amount of power naturally requires a certain amount of energy.''''Based on the power and how much liquid is being used up, this liquid is not very energy-dense.''


    ''The little drop I had on the scale probably only equates to about a gram of Zephyx. My body has over ten kilos of Zephyx, making it over 10,000 times more energy-rich than the liquid.''


    ''Even if the liquid had some kind of extremely destructive potential, there just wouldn''t be enough to damage my body to this extent.''


    ''And yet, I can''t deny that is exactly what happened.''


    ''Even more, as far as I can tell, the liquid didn''t even lose any of its energy. It has just as much energy as before it came into contact with me.''


    ''This means there is not some kind of equalization effect going on.''


    Nick silently looked at the liquid.


    ''It''s like the liquid has infected me.''


    ''It''s like it''s a little me, and I am a long rope.''


    ''A little burning match obviously doesn''t have as much stored energy as one kilometer of rope, but if the match manages to ignite the rope, that doesn''t matter. The little match will be the reason why the rope burns to ashes.''


    ''Then, there''s also the matter with the white dust. Whenever a Specter dies, they turn into ck dust,which represents their Zephyx being converted back into Prephyx.''


    ''Yet, when this liquid touched me, my body turned into white dust.''


    ''Does that mean it didn''t convert back to Prephyx but into something else?''


    ''But in that case, what did it turn into?''


    ''I only know of Prephyx and Zephyx. Sure, Zephyx can be categorized into a couple of different categories, but none of them seem to be applicable in this case.''


    ''So, did it turn into something that is neither of those?''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''I don''t know. It''s difficult to ept something like that.''


    ''One thing is certain. I should not touch the liquid barehanded again.''


    Nick approached the liquid and retrieved his syringe again.


    Then, he pulled the liquid into the syringe and looked at it.


    It acted just like water.


    Nick extended his arm and slowly turned into mist again.


    As long as Nick wore things and had them under control, he could transform them into mist, too, which was an important aspect of this ability since he would otherwise be naked every time he turned into mist.


    Nick wanted to see if he could turn the syringe with the liquid into mist together with his body or if that would destroy him again.


    Eventually, the syringe turned into mist as well.


    CRRR!


    Nick immediately cut his body off as it started to turn into white mist again.


    This time, he had been prepared, which meant that he only needed to cut off a tiny part.


    The syringe fell to the ground.


    CRACK!


    And broke into pieces.


    When Nick saw that, his eyes widened.


    ''This was made of the same material as my weapon!'' Nick thought. ''It shouldn''t break just by falling from 1.5 meters of height!''


    Nick looked at the spilled liquid and noticed that nothing about it had changed.


    ''Wait! Not nothing!''


    ''Actually, I think it is not as luminescent as earlier.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''It actually makes sense. Luminescence is also a form of energy dispersal. If something shines for long enough,it will eventually stop shining.''


    ''Most likely, the liquid is giving off its energy, which means that it''s notpletely stable.''


    ''Its behavior doesn''t change in different environments, making it rtively stable. However, it is consistently giving off quite a bit of its energy, judging by how much it has dimmed over thest couple of minutes, which means that it is also quite unstable.''


    ''Its level of stability is stable, but its level is just not very high.''


    Then, Nick looked at the broken syringe and inspected it.


    Luckily, he knew everything about this kind of material. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to conjure it.


    After experimenting with it a bit, Nick found the answer.


    ''All the Zephyx is gone.''


    Naturally, powerful materials needed to be treated with Zephyx, which meant infusing the materials with Zephyx.


    Infusing a material with Zephyx to create a Zephyx Material was like infusing iron with carbon to create steel.


    Basic steel was just carbon and iron mixed together in a certain ratio. If something could tear the carbon out of the steel, it would just turn back into iron again, weakening it by quite a bit.


    ''In essence, the liquid turned the material into its base form again, which is not a very impressive material to begin with.''


    Materials used as bases for Zephyx Materials were not very powerful. Carbon on its own also wasn''t very hard unless it was arranged in very specific shapes.


    ''This means that I''m not even sure if I can take one of these out with me.''


    ''The material is only stable for a couple of minutes, and there are not many materials that are strong enough to contain a liquid while also fitting through a one-millimeter-wide hole.''


    Nick shook his head.


    ''Sadly, I won''t be able to bring Aegis a sample.''


    Nick turned to look at the wall behind him.


    ''And I don''t think any human can enter this ce. Even if there were an entrance, the constructor of this machine probably has several safeguards in ce.''


    ''Just the Force Specter trap in the filter is powerful enough to deal with Demons and maybe even Fallen.''


    Nick looked back at the machine.


    Everything was moving, and there was barely any space.


    If this were a normal machine, one would only need to imagine a wall of moving gears, cables, and wires to get an urate picture of the machine.


    Yet, instead of gears, cables, and wires, this machine was made of chitin, clear membranes, clear vessels, and clear tubes.


    Nick knew a lot about Physics and Zephology, but he still couldn''t even begin to guess what any individualponent of this machine did.


    This did not follow any kind of standard principle of engineering and construction.


    A momentter, Nick turned into mist again and approached the machine.


    ''I want to look through this area some more. I just have to be careful not to touch anything.''


    While a human wouldn''t be able to fit through any of the tiny holes here, a bit of mist had no issues passing through the gaps.


    Nick entered a world of chaotic movement.


    Everything around him was loud and in constant motion.


    Luckily, the constructor of this machine was very efficient, which meant that none of the liquid spilled out of the machine.


    So, even if parts of the machine touched Nick, he wasn''t turned into white dust.


    Nick flew through the machine for several minutes.


    A normal human would have long since lost all orientation, but Nick''s mind was powerful enough that he could create an urate map in his head.


    ''It''s quite big,'' Nick thought as he looked at the map in his head.


    By now, he had reached the other side of the machine, which was around 1.5 kilometers away.


    Naturally, the other side also only had walls and tiny holes.


    Eventually, Nick decided to travel along the walls of the machine.


    ''It''s egg-shaped,'' Nick realized.


    ''Based on the dimensions, I am at the thick bottom of the egg, which has a diameter of 1.5 kilometers.The height of the egg should be about three kilometers.''


    ''I''ve never seen such a gigantic machine. How difficult is it to conceptualize and construct such a dense machine with such insane dimensions? The Technician''s machine is a toypared to this thing.''


    After a while, Nick decided to check the top of the machine.


    He flew up for a bit but slowed down.


    Something worrisome was urring.


    ''The density of Prephyx is drastically going down. In fact, the density here is even lower than outside.''


    At the same time, Nick also started to be nervous.


    Yet, there was no real reason to be nervous.


    He wouldn''t immediately die without Prephyx, and he could go back to any area with Prephyx without any issues.


    This was way less dangerous than the Force Specter trap.


    And yet, for some reason, Nick felt more nervous here than when he had been trapped.


    However, Nick had a lot of willpower and just forced himself to continue flying forward.


    All the Prephyx vanished, and Nick could see a big gap in the machine.


    Nick felt like he had to breathe deeply and quickly, even though he wasn''t even breathing.


    Nick felt that this feeling was familiar, but he only realized what this feeling was a couple of secondster.


    ''It feels like I''m drowning,'' Nick thought.


    ''It feels like I''m breathing in water.''


    ''It feels like I''m ingesting something that I can''t use.''


    Nick decided to nce past the big gap and return immediately.


    He quickly approached the gap and looked through.


    And then, his eyes widened in shock and horror.


    ''What?!''

 Chapter 688: The White Sun

    Nick took a while toe to terms with what he was seeing.


    There was quite a sizable free space in front of him with the chaotic machine at the bottom.


    It was like the floor of the wide space was made of moving insect parts.


    Meanwhile, in the middle of the open space was a ten-meter-wide, white te. It was difficult for Nick to see what kind of material the te was made out of.


    The most surprising part was that the big te was illuminated by a brightly-shining white beam of light, which came from the middle of the ceiling.


    And on the ceiling¡­


    ''The Sun?!'' Nick thought in shock as he looked at the ceiling.


    Nick could see the Sun!


    But how?!Even though Nick was near the ceiling, there should still be hundreds of meters of earth and stone above this spot.


    Additionally, why was the light white and not dark orange?


    Even more, the Sun itself also looked different from usual.


    This Sun looked smaller.


    Additionally, it wasn''t directly above Nick but above the hole. Usually, the Sun was always above the person perceiving it, which would mean that Nick would not be able to see it since he was not directly below the opening in the ceiling.


    Lastly, the Sun was white instead of dark orange!


    And it was so bright!


    As Nick looked at the Sun, he felt like he was looking at the Blinding Light again.


    This light seemed to be bright enough to damage a normal person''s vision if they looked at it for long enough!


    At that moment, Nick felt like something inside his mind had cracked, and parts of his body started to turn into ck dust.


    Nick immediately turned around and charged back into the dark depths of the machine.


    After a while, the ck dust vanished, and Nick''s body started to recover.


    ''What was that?'' Nick thought. ''I have so many questions!''


    ''Why was the Sun so different?''


    ''Why was my body turning into Prephyx?''


    ''What was that light?''


    ''Why was the Sun not above me?''


    ''What is going on?!''


    The only time Nick had seen any change in the Sun had been when the new Champion of Light had appeared.


    Every other time, the Sun had always been consistently the same.


    But now, the Sun had seemed very different.


    It felt so different.


    In Nick''s mind, the feeling of the normal Sun was calm, somber, and constant.


    Yet, the feeling of this bright Sun had been aggressive, dominating, and chaotic.


    It felt almost like the Sun hated Nick and wanted to kill him.


    However, that couldn''t be true.


    If the Sun actually wanted to kill Nick, he would already be dead.


    He couldn''t possibly resist something as powerful as the Sun.


    ''Is it the light?'' Nick thought. ''Is the light the thing that attacked my body?''


    ''I don''t think so,'' Nick thought. ''I''ve already felt ufortable and weak before I saw the light. The degenerative effect did not ur when I saw the light. It was only augmented.''


    ''However, the light is most likely rted to my condition.''


    ''There has to be a secondary force that causes damage to my body around the light.''


    ''This is not a ce for Specters.''


    The filters had Force Specter traps.


    The machine used a liquid that turned Specters into white dust as soon as it came into contact with them.


    The top of the machine was covered in some kind of force that turned Specters into Prephyx.


    Yet, except for the Specter Trap, all these other things didn''t seem to be specifically designed to destroy Specters. Otherwise, Nick would already be dead.


    These things just existed, and that was the truly terrifying part.


    Just by existing, these things were endangering Nick''s life.


    It was like Nick was a paper bird in a burning house.


    ''Is this force the fuel for the Prephyx?'' Nick thought. ''I don''t think there''s another ce in the machine through which fuel for the conversion to Prephyx could be supplied. The white light seems to be the thing that will eventually be turned into Prephyx by the machine.''


    ''Maybe the white light is just a visible indicator of the force. After all, I felt weak even before seeing the light, which means that the force had already been present.''


    ''It has to be the Sun,'' Nick thought.


    ''The Sun is the one delivering this mysterious force to the machine, which produces the Prephyx.''


    Nick''s mind was going wild.


    ''The Sun is not just the strongest Specter.''


    ''The Sun might be the actual reason why Specters exist to begin with!''


    ''The Sun supplies the machine with the fuel to produce Prephyx.''


    ''If the Sun gets destroyed, the machine will no longer receive fuel, which means the endless production of Specters will stop!''


    ''Is this how the Sun causes suffering to humanity?''


    ''The Sun is a Specter, and Specters grow more powerful by causing suffering to humanity.''


    ''So, if the Sun creates Specters that grow more powerful by causing suffering to humanity, the Sun would be the one that causes suffering to humanity.''


    ''Every Specter covers an aspect of humanity''s suffering, but none of them, except for me, grow more powerful by just causing suffering.''


    ''What if the Sun is like me?''


    ''What if the Sun grows more powerful by causing suffering in general, and it is using the Specters to cause suffering.''


    Nick got an idea.


    ''Doesn''t that mean that every Specter is technically the Sun''s minion?''


    ''But then, is the Sun really a Specter?''


    ''What if the Sun is something else?''


    Nick thought about it for a while.


    ''I don''t have enough information,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows. ''It''s possible, but it''s also possible that I''m wrong. This could also just be some kind of Meta-Specter or just a very powerful Specter.''


    Nick remained silent for a while as he thought about everything he had seen in this machine.


    The liquid acted normal but turned Nick into white dust.


    The strange architecture.


    The fact that the Prephyx was made here.


    The Sun looked different.


    The force that damaged Nick just by touching him.


    There were many clues, but Nick couldn''tbine them.


    At that moment, an image from the distant past reached Nick''s mind.


    About 50 years ago, Nick saw something that he didn''t understand back then.


    In Crimson City, Nick had found a ruin from the Ancient Ones, and in there, he had seen diagrams on different monitors in some kind of control room.


    He had almost forgotten that image.


    A sphere which was surrounded by a circle.


    A second, smaller ball beside the round circle.


    Some text that kept shing on the screen.


    Nick knew thenguage of the Ancient Ones now, but he didn''t remember what the text looked like.


    In fact, that was everything Nick remembered about the disys.


    It seemed like the majority of Nick''s memories regarding that ruin had fallen victim to the memory purge during his Consumption.


    Nick grabbed his head with his right arm while grimacing in frustration.


    ''Why did I have to lose that part of my memory?!''


    If there were anyone who could tell where the Specters came from, it would be the Ancient Ones.


    ''Fuck!'' Nick thought in frustration as he shook his head. ''No use! I feel like there''s something important there, but everything''s too blurry!''


    By now, Nick had arrived at the filter through which he had entered, and he looked back at the machine for a while.


    It just continued working.


    Nothing had changed.


    Nick looked at the membrane from which he had taken the liquid.


    It had healed.


    ''That sure is a benefit of organic machines,'' Nick thought. ''They can repair themselves.''


    Then, he looked at the liquid on the ground.


    It was dull.


    ''It seems like it has used up all of its power.''


    Nick slowly approached the liquid and bent down.


    Then, he very carefully touched it.


    ¡­


    Nothing¡­


    Nick looked at the liquid as he moved it around between two of his fingers.


    It was quite viscous, but that was the only thing of note.


    It just looked and felt like more viscous water.


    ''I can touch it now without any issues.That proves that it wasn''t the liquid itself that damaged my body but the energy stored in the liquid.''


    ''The energy vanishes within a couple of minutes, and I can''t tell where it is going. I saw the illumination, but I didn''t feel any energy entering the air around it.''


    ''It''s like the energy is just vanishing.''


    Nick looked back at the machine.


    This machine threw up so many questions while giving almost no answers.


    However, Nick was sure of one thing.


    This machine was an important clue to the most important secret of this world.


    The existence of Specters.


    The origin of Prephyx.


    The purpose of all of this.


    Why did the Sun create Prephyx?


    Who made the machine?


    Why did Prephyx turn into Specters?


    What was this weird force?


    ''I can''t learn anything more in here,'' Nick thought.


    Then, he looked at the filter.


    ''I have to get back to Aegis and report to the Technician.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''I just hope that the Robe died to one of the Force Specter Traps.''

 Chapter 689: Black Outside

    Finally, Nick decided to leave the big hall with the machine.


    So many additional questions appeared, but there were almost no answers.


    Nick transformed back into his mist form and went through one of the tiny holes.


    This time, he traveled very carefully. He already knew what was waiting for him, and he also had to exhibit special care.


    After about 30 seconds, he reached the bigger hole and traveled towards the left.


    On this asion, it was much easier to find his way since he paid special attention to the Prephyx in his surroundings.


    As long as he carefully followed the trail of Prephyx, he would find his way out.


    Just 20 secondster, Nick''s perception expanded, and he knew that he approached the exit of the filter.


    Sure enough, he very quickly spotted the exit.When he saw the exit, he became faster and shot out of the hole.


    His ability didn''t deactivate, which meant that the Robe wasn''t here.


    However, Nick still couldn''t be sure about the Robe''s current state.


    What if it was waiting for him deeper down the cave.


    In total, Nick had spent between 10 and 20 minutes in the holes and the machine, which wasn''t a very long time.


    It was possible that the Robe was still stuck in the trap, but it was also possible that it had either already escaped or never entered.


    ''Conjuring a Major Ry takes a lot of time and Zephyx. I''m certain that the Robe didn''t have the time to conjure one toe into contact with Pride in just a couple of minutes,'' Nick thought.


    ''There is a Major Ry in the cave, but the cave is several kilometers away, and the Robe can''t operate the Major Ry there while paying attention to the surroundings here.''


    ''Most likely, in case it is not stuck in the trap, it''s waiting somece here to keep watch over the area.''


    ''If that is the case, it will find me eventually.''


    ''If that''s not the case, it doesn''t matter what I do since it won''t find me regardless.''


    ''There''s no point in dying the inevitable.''


    Nick looked at one of the walls and put one of his mist tentacles in.''


    His ability deactivated!


    ''It''s here!'' Nick thought as he immediately turned around to charge back into one of the holes.


    When Nick''s mist tendril stopped touching the wall, his ability reactivated, but it almost immediately deactivated again.


    The Robe very quickly reached the cave, and it saw Nick entering one of the holes.


    Naturally, the Robe transformed into a long tendril and shot into the same hole, never losing sight of Nick.


    While the Robe obviously couldn''t enter or manipte the special walls of the hole, that also didn''t matter since the hole was straight, and there was nowhere for Nick to hide.


    Within less than a second, the Robe reached Nick.


    Due to the immense difference in speed, Nick barely managed to move a couple of meters into the hole.


    As the Robe approached Nick, its long tentacle split and slithered towards him while touching the walls of the hole.


    The Robe would consume him in an instant!


    And then, something thin and shiny appeared in the mist before being flung at the Robe.


    It looked like an impossibly thin needle.


    The needle was so thin and unstable that it immediately broke into pieces after one of its ends lightly touched the walls of the hole.


    BANG!


    The Robe ignored the object, plowing through it in an instant.


    WHOOOOOM!


    Immediately, the Robe''s body turned into white dust.


    There was a tiny bit of liquid in that thin needle, and when it exploded, it covered almost all of the Robe''s body.


    This was not actually a needle but an extremely thin vial of ss.


    Naturally, the Robe noticed what was going on, but this situation was very different from when Nick hade into contact with this liquid.


    First, Nick''s ability had been active back then, which made him about as fast as the Robe.


    Second, Nick could easily sever parts of his body since he could turn into a Force Specter.


    Third,Nick had been prepared for any kind of ident since he knew that he was about to touch an unknown liquid with unknown powers.


    Fourth, Nick had only touched the liquid with the tip of one of his fingers.


    And despite all of that, Nick had still barely managed to split his body in time.


    Naturally, the Robe didn''t have all of these luxuries.


    If Nick were in the Robe''s ce, he would also not be able to save himself.


    Just as expected, the Robe was very quickly reced by white dust, which kept flying towards Nick for a bit.


    In reaction, Nick dumped thest 10% of his body, which also turned into white dust.


    However, this part of his body had done exactly what it was supposed to and lowered the speed of the white dust.


    Finally, since Nick''s ability reactivated again, he could outrun the burst of white dust until it eventually slowed down and vanished.


    Before Nick reached the tiny hole leading into the machine, he stopped moving and looked back.


    It was over.


    The Robe was dead.


    ''Finally,'' Nick thought as he slowly calmed down. ''This was either a fast Peak Demon or a slow Initial Fallen. Based on its ability to morph into a small and agile shape, I would say it was probably a Peak Demon.''


    ''I might be powerful, but I''m not powerful enough to kill something an entire level above me.''


    Nick wanted to sigh.


    ''Luckily, I had ess to that liquid.''


    While the liquid was too short-lived to survive for more than five minutes, it still lived for long enough that Nick could make use of it.


    Before Nick had left, he had conjured an extremely thin vial and got a bit more of the liquid.


    Putting the liquid into this tiny vial was quite difficult and dangerous.


    One had to remember that the walls of this vial had to be less than half a millimeter in width to fit through the tiny filter.


    Additionally, it also needed to be hard enough to survive a good amount of inertia while traveling through the tiny hole.


    While Nick couldn''t turn the vial into mist, he could still carry it with his body.


    As long as his Zephyx didn''t interact with the contents of the vial, he wouldn''t get damaged by the liquid.


    Nevertheless, traveling through the tiny hole still caused Nick quite a bit of anxiety.


    If he identally tapped the walls, the entire thing would explode, and Nick would undoubtedly die.


    In order to get a bit of wiggle room, Nick had made the entire vial barely 0.7 millimeters wide.


    While the vial was wider than a hair, its walls were just a slight bit wider than an average human hair.


    Such a thin vial could break so easily.


    However, all the risk and effort had been worth it!


    Nick had killed a Peak Demon!


    He had caused tremendous damage to Pride!


    ''But I''m not done yet,'' Nick thought. ''I should tell the Technician about the machine, but I should also finish this mission first.''


    ''I have to follow the n.''


    Nick waited until the white dustpletely dispersed before traveling out of the filter.


    Aftering out, Nick touched the walls again, and this time, his ability didn''t deactivate.


    ''I assume that the Robe was probably stuck in the trap for a bit, but not as long as I was,'' Nick thought as he touched the wall.


    ''It probably reached the end of the hole and had to find a way out. Luckily for it, it''s not a Force Specter but a Physical Specter.''


    ''While my body was cut off from my mind after expanding, the same thing shouldn''t be true for a Physical Specter.''


    ''The Robe probably just expanded its body to fill out the entire trap until it found the exit.''


    ''But that''s to be expected. This is a trap for Force Specters, not for Physical Specters.''


    ''While some very small Physical Specters can enter the filter, I''m not sure if there are Physical Specters that can be so small that they can actually fit into the true entrance to the machine.''


    ''There''s a big difference between a centimeter and a millimeter. Additionally,they would also need to find that tiny hole first.''


    ''Most likely, the Robe was stuck for a maximum of five minutes before exiting the filter.''


    ''Then, it waited for me.''


    After checking his surroundings, Nick turned into his physical form.


    A momentter, he activated his ck Barrier to send a message, which barely took two seconds to send.


    Finally, Nick turned into mist again and flew towards the exit of the long cave system.


    Some secondster, Nick was outside again, but he didn''t really pay any attention to the outside before flying towards the Major Ry.


    When he arrived, Nick immediately activated the Major Ry.


    He just hoped that Pride would ept the call and connect.

 Chapter 690 : Showing the Green Wall

    The Major Ry tried to connect to Pride for quite some time, which was a bit unusual.


    That was most likely since Nick hadn''t called Pride before.


    All the other times he had talked to her, some other Specter had used the Major Ry to establish a connection.


    epting a connection was very risky since it was possible to somewhat trace the direction of the Specter upholding the connection.


    The tracing only gave a rough direction, but that already eliminated 80% to 90% of all the other directions.


    While one single instance of tracing wouldn''t lead to a capture of a Corruptor, two or three could be used to pinpoint the Corruptor''s location in a small area.


    epting the call of an unknown Specter was very risky.


    Nick waited for Pride to ept the call.


    At least, he hoped that she would ept it.When Nick saw the big stone at the front of the Major Ry changing shape, he knew that Pride had epted the call.


    ''She epted!'' Nick thought.


    A momentter, the stone changed shape into Pride, who looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    "Attack!" Nick transmitted to Pride. "Cloth attack!"


    Pride just looked at Nick with narrowed eyes.


    Naturally, she understood what Nick was talking about, and she couldn''t keep her disgust for Nick hidden.


    The Robe had obviously attacked Nick, and somehow, Nick managed to get rid of the Robe.


    Then, he called Pride because he wanted to tattle on the traitorous Robe, not knowing that the Robe had attacked him ording to Pride''s orders.


    However, Pride was also confused about Nick.


    How did he manage to deal with Robe?


    Where was the Robe?


    She was sure that Nick was not some kind of undercover agent from another Corruptor.


    The exchange of information regarding different servants was sacred, and none of them would dare to lie about any of their servants.


    If they did, others would get the justification to do the same thing, and to make the justification as solid as possible, they would most likely do it to that specific Corruptor.


    Additionally, despite their rivalry, their bosses still worked together, and they were technically allies, although not practically.


    Lastly, the cloud of mist was a Force Specter, and the fact that it couldmunicate at all already made it one of the most intelligent Force Specters that had ever existed.


    There was no way that a Force Specter could be a spy since it wouldn''t be intelligent enough to put up even a remotely believable act.


    This meant that the cloud of mist couldn''t be working for someone else.


    That was also the main reason why Pride had epted the connection in the first ce.


    "What happened?" she asked.


    "Me greet. Cloth told me attack. I attack. Cloth attack. I run. Cloth follow. I find green ce. I enter green ce. Cloth enter green ce. I confused. I fly around. I find exit. Cloth no exit. Cloth still there. Me here," Nick exined via transmission.


    This meant that the Robe was stuck somewhere.


    "What is this green ce?" Pride asked.


    "Green wall. Weird wall. No hole. Suddenly, hole. I go in. I no see. Wall everywhere. I stuck. I fly. I no stuck," Nick exined.


    Pride looked at Nick for a while.


    She hadn''t heard of this thing before.


    She understood what Nick was talking about, but she couldn''t really imagine it since his statements seemed contradictory at some point.


    But that didn''t mean that he was lying.


    He was most likely just too dumb to make sense of his surroundings.


    "Is the Robe still in this green space?" Pride asked.


    "I don''t know. Dangerous. No energy," Nick transmitted.


    "No energy? borate," Pride ordered.


    "I fly around. I confuse. No energy. Lose energy. I lose energy. I can''t more energy. Energy gone. I nearly die!" Nick exined.


    Pride narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying you can''t produce Zephyx in the green space?"


    "Yes. Zephyx. Forgot," Nick answered.


    This concerned Pride.


    "Where is this green space?" she asked.


    "There," Nick transmitted, transforming part of his body into a pointing finger.


    "How far is it away?" she asked.


    "Not far. Seconds," Nick answered.


    Pride remained silent for a while.


    "The Robe is in a hole?" she asked.


    "Yes, hole. Hole in green wall. Weird hole. Dangerous hole," Nick transmitted.


    "How big is the hole?" Pride asked.


    "This big," Nick answered, mimicking the size of the hole with his misty body.


    When Pride saw that, she realized that this was an issue.


    That was an insanely small hole, barely a centimeter wide.


    Only Force Specters and a select few Physical Specters could fit through there.


    Pride thought about this for a while.


    The chances that the Robe was still alive were mediocre.


    Maybe it was; Maybe it wasn''t.


    Sending someone to rescue the Robe seemed too risky since that Specter could also fall victim to the weird green wall if it acted carelessly due to time pressure.


    However, Pride also wanted to know what this weird green wall was about.


    "Wait," Pridemanded. "Someone wille to you."


    "Ok," Nick answered.


    Then, Pride cut the connection.


    Nick waited.


    But this time, he didn''t need to wait long.


    After just 40 seconds, the ground shook.


    The next instant, several human hands broke through the ground and expanded.


    Nick saw a fountain of human handsing out of the ground as they changed shape.


    A secondter, the hands formed a worm-like body with two massive ws.


    The hands turned to look at the Major Ry before looking at Nick.


    Nick could tell that this Specter was extremely powerful.


    ''This has to be a Fallen!'' Nick thought.


    The number of Fallen working for one Corruptor almost never reached the double digits.


    Pride and War were currently expanding quite a bit, which meant that the number of Fallen under each of them was probably in the high single-digits.


    Meanwhile, Envy and Gluttony probably only had three or four each.


    In fact, Envy might not even have a single one since it couldn''t use its own power to threaten them.


    Lust and Sloth were probably in the middle.


    Every Fallen was extremely valuable since they were used to fight directly against Aegis.


    The weak Servants were used to scout out cities and to establish a small foothold.


    Nick met some of them in Crimson City when he came into contact with Envy.


    When those servants said that a city was ripe for the taking, they told the Corruptor and the Corruptor would send someone who specialized in secretly infiltrating cities.


    Most of the time, those were Fanatics or weak Demons.


    When the city was basically in a Corruptor''s grasp, they sent one of the Demons to harvest the Zephyx.


    Late and Peak Demons acted like Agents who supervised a big area with several cities.


    If any of the cities needed help, they would help.


    Additionally, they sometimes dealt with troublesome caravans or traveling Heroes.


    Lastly, the Fallen were special forces.


    Their job was to put pressure on Aegis by killing Agents and disrupting information gathering.


    In general, Fallen did not interact with any of the cities.


    Most of the time, they waited for orders while also following a team of Agents.


    Sometimes, they also followed a Protector.


    The Fallen were probably the ones that caused the most damage to Aegis.


    Sure, Adversaries were more powerful and more threatening, but battles between Adversaries and Shields or Protectors were very rare.


    One Adversary or Shield was worth more than 20 Protectors or Fallen. Losing even one of them would be a devastating blow, which was why they became active rtively rarely.


    So, in total, Fallen caused more damage to Aegis than Adversaries.


    And now, one of these Fallen was in front of Nick.


    "Lead me to the green wall," the abomination of hands transmitted.


    Nick flew out of the cave and moved towards the green wall.


    The two of them entered another cave, and very soon, the Fallen could see the green wall Nick was talking about.


    The two of them stopped in front of the wall, and the Fallen looked at it.


    "There is no hole," the Specter transmitted.


    "No touch, no hole. Touch, hole," Nick transmitted back as he approached the wall.


    Then, the Fallen saw Nick suddenly bing smaller before he vanished.


    Naturally, the Fallen could tell that Nick wasn''t strong enough to just vanish from its perception.


    It slowly crawled closer and extended one of its long ws to the wall.


    The wall felt rough but looked smooth.


    One of the child hands making up the w stretched out a tiny finger and stuck it into what seemed to be an invisible hole.


    "See?" Nick transmitted as he came out of the wall again.


    The Specter touched the wall some more before wordlessly pulling out several stones from its body.


    It seemed like the Specter was traveling with its own Major Ry.


    A momentter, it built a connection with Pride, who just looked at the green wall.


    She had never seen anything like it.

 Chapter 691: The Disrespect!

    Pride looked at the wall for quite a while.


    At first nce, it looked like it was made of metal or some kind of chitin, but if one looked closer, one would realize that the material seemed strange.


    "There are no holes," Pride transmitted to the Fallen.


    "The holes only appear when I touch the wall," the Fallen answered.


    "Can you fit inside?" she asked.


    "I can reach about five meters inside, but that''s my limit," the Fallen answered.


    "Is there anything different at that depth?" Pride asked.


    "The atmosphere grows thinner, and gravity seems to lower."


    "Gravity is lowering?" Pride asked."I believe so," the Fallen answered.


    Pride looked at the wall with furrowed brows.


    Naturally, Nick didn''t hear any of their conversation.


    "How hard is it?" Pride asked.


    "I can''t damage it," the Fallen answered.


    Pride''s eyes narrowed.


    Not even one of her most powerful servants could damage this wall?


    This meant that this wall was about as hard as Aegis'' headquarters, which was insane.


    This wall had to be made of material that could only be damaged by Shields or Adversaries.


    "Is it alive?" Pride asked.


    "No, there''s no sign of life," the Fallen answered.


    "Then, it has to be made by the humans," Pride answered. "Humans are the only beings that build such big things that are this resilient."


    The Fallen didn''t answer.


    It was just a servant, and it would only talk when its master ordered it to.


    It had learned over the centuries that it was best to only talk to Pride when she wanted to hear something.


    Talking to her unprompted was often taken as trying to climb up to her level.


    This could very quickly lead to getting more dangerous jobs.


    Pride wanted constant disys of respect.


    "I want you to search for an actual entrance," Pride said. "If you find one, call me again."


    "Yes," the Fallen said.


    Then, the connection was cut.


    A momentter, the Fallen nced at Nick.


    Pride hadn''t said what it should do with Nick.


    "Wait here," the Fallenmanded.


    Since Nick couldn''t be sure about what they said, he didn''t know what the Fallen was about to do.


    "Ok," Nick answered.


    Waiting seemed to be the best option for now.


    The Fallen almost immediately buried into the ground.


    And then, Nick waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    Finally, after over ten minutes, the Fallen reappeared in front of Nick.


    "What''s in the hole?" it asked.


    Nick just told it the same thing he told Pride earlier.


    While Nick told the Fallen what he saw inside the hole, the Fallen moved some of its tiny arms into the holes.


    Sadly, he couldn''t reach very far.


    However, the things that Nick said seemed to make sense.


    The Fallen didn''t have any eyes, but it could sense its surroundings via an extremely sensitive sense of touch.


    When the Fallen stretched part of its body into the hole, it could sense the end of the hole just a couple of meters away.


    Usually, it wouldn''t think that to be strange and wouldn''t think about double checking whether or not there was actually a wall, but with Nick''s input, it could sense that the cement of the wall actually didn''t make any spatial sense. ?a?¨¯??¨¨?


    It was like the end of the hole was slightly moving backward as the arm reached deeper.


    Together with the weird illusion on the outside of the wall that hid all the holes, the Fallen could tell that something strange was going on in there.


    "Go into the hole," the Fallen ordered.


    "Hole dangerous," Nick answered.


    The Fallen increased its pressure on Nick.


    BANG!


    One of the Fallen''s ws swiped through Nick''s misty body, scattering it across the cave.


    "Go into the hole, or I will kill you," the Fallen transmitted.


    The mist gathered again.


    "Ok," Nick answered as he slowly moved into one of the holes.


    ''So, it doesn''t have an ability that suppresses Force Specters,'' Nick thought as he moved into the hole.


    This realization calmed Nick down quite a bit.


    Naturally,being in the presence of a Fallen was an immense danger to Nick, but he had bet on the fact that finding out any information about this hole was just way too difficult.


    When Nick had inspected the hall with the machine, he had not seen any kind of entrance.


    Not even the top seemed to make sense since there still had to be hundreds of meters of rock and dirt above it.


    This meant that this ce most likely didn''t have a traditional entrance.


    If the builders of this thing wanted to look at the machine, they would probably enter the same way as the sunlight entered.


    It was probably a portal or something like that.


    Additionally, the destructive force of the weird energy near the top of the machine would have already leaked into the surroundings if it weren''t isted, and somebody would have noticed that.


    The fact that the Fallen had returned to interrogate Nick meant that it hadn''t gained any meaningful information.


    This meant that Nick was the only one who could gain information from that hole.


    Well, maybe he wasn''t the only one, but he was the closest one.


    There might be a couple of very small Physical Specters, but they needed to get to this ce first.


    So, Nick was their best option to investigate this hole.


    This was why Nick hadn''t immediately fled after the Fallen went to search for an entrance.


    The fact that the Fallen didn''t have an attack that could properly target a Force Specter made it even less dangerous for Nick.


    This Fallen couldn''tpare to the Robe in terms of danger.


    The only thing this Fallen could do was to disperse Nick''s body.


    Sure, having his body dispersed cost Zephyx, and if the Fallen stopped Nick from gathering by constantly attacking every bit of mist, it could genuinely kill him.


    However, that would take a while, and it would only work if Nick tried to gather into a cloud like a typical Force Specter.


    Of course, he wouldn''t do that.


    He would just disperse into different directions,forcing the Fallen to choose, andpared to the Robe, the Fallen couldn''t destroy Nick''s will on his different clouds.


    That meant it wouldn''t know which one the real one was until the real one was kilometers away and had time to vanish or recover Zephyx.


    Nick was rtively safe.


    About five meters into the hole, Nick looked back at the Fallen, who was blocking the entrance.


    "Am inside," Nick transmitted.


    "Go further and report what you see," the Fallenmanded.


    Nick did just that, and the Fallen saw Nick going past the "end of the hole".


    Some secondster, Nick came back.


    "Wall everywhere," Nick reported.


    The Fallen interrogated Nick further, and Nick just kept telling him that the hole was confusing.


    Nick was sent into the hole again and again.


    After almost 30 minutes, he came out again.


    The hole was just as confusing as before.


    This time, the Fallen contacted Pride and told her about its findings.


    "This sounds like an old trap for Force Specters," Pride said. "It was most likely constructed by one of the destroyed civilizations."


    Pride looked at Nick. "The only reason why it didn''t work on the cloud is because it is stupid but not as stupid as a normal Force Specter."


    "Is there no way for you to find out more about this green building?" Pride asked.


    "I have tried everything in my power," the Fallen answered.


    Pride sneered in disgust.


    Useless!


    Then, Pride nced at the cloud.


    "Kill it," she transmitted.


    "I''m sorry, but I don''t think I can," the Fallen answered. "It knows that it is safe from me by entering the hole, and I can''t kill it fast enough. It also seems to be more careful around me. I don''t think it will expose its Core."


    Pride looked with disgust at the Fallen.


    "You are telling me that you can''t kill a Specter two levels weaker than you?" she asked.


    "Yes," the Fallen answered.


    Pride remained silent for a while as she looked at the cloud.


    She didn''t have a servant powerful enough to kill the cloud of mist.


    As she looked at the cloud, she weighed her options.


    So what if she couldn''t kill that cloud?


    What damage would that cause her?


    She had already registered the cloud as one of her servants, which meant that no Corruptor would ept it.


    The cloud also couldn''tmunicate with humans, and even if it could, it barely knew anything about Pride.


    Just letting it go wouldn''t cause any real harm.


    This thing would just continue flying around, killing people.


    Yet, Pride was not happy with that idea at all.


    This idiotic and weak cloud had caused her more damage than any other servant ever had.


    It was not even a Demon!


    And now, she was powerless to put it in its ce?!


    The disrespect of this thing!


    She refused to acknowledge that this thing could make her, one of the Seven Corruptors, powerless!


    "I''ll deal with the cloud myself," Pride transmitted to the Fallen before cutting the connection.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 692: Trust or Suspicion

    After Pride cut the connection, Nick looked at the Fallen.


    Nick hadn''t heard anything that they said, and he couldn''t be sure what Pride was nning.


    Nick waited in silence for a couple of seconds as he analyzed the Fallen standing beside him.


    ''It isn''t interacting with me in any way, and it isn''t doing anything. If Pride had given it a job, it would be moving around or talking to me. Pride also can''t tell it to kill me since all of us know that it wouldn''t be able to kill me while I''m standing beside the green wall.''


    ''The only way to kill me would be to lure me away from the wall, but it isn''t doing that.''


    ''If they wanted to let this entire matter rest, the Fallen would just leave. If they wanted to make use of me, the Fallen would be talking to me right now or trying to get me to move away from the green wall.''


    ''Yet, the Fallen is just waiting in silence, doing nothing.''


    ''Pride also didn''t seem distracted.''


    ''In fact, the only thing she really paid attention to during the conversation seemed to be me. She seemed really annoyed that she couldn''t deal with me.''''Is she actually doing it?''


    ''I mean, I thought about such a possibility in theory, but I didn''t think that it would actually happen.''


    ''Is she actuallying here to kill me herself?''


    ''I think so.''


    ''If she sent somebody else to kill me, the Fallen wouldn''t need to wait here. She believes I fully follow her orders, and she would only need to tell me to wait.''


    ''It might actually be the case that she''sing here to kill me herself.''


    Nick remained silent and waited.


    Naturally, if Pride actually showed up, he would almost certainly be helpless in front of her.


    Every Corruptor was a Peak Fallen, and they were all more powerful than normal Peak Fallen.


    The Corruptors were also ancient.


    Most likely, they had all been alive during the era of the Suffering Ones. They might have even been alive during the era of the Enlightened Ones.


    This meant that they were, at least,a couple thousand years old.


    Not even Shields could live for that long.


    Only Specters could.


    Although, the chances that they were actually alive during the era of the Enlightened Ones were low.


    The reason was that the Enlightened Ones were crazily powerful and advanced.


    Most likely, they had been the closest ones to getting rid of all Specters.


    The evidence was not rock-solid, but it suggested that the Enlightened Ones had managed to capture at least a couple of Adversaries.


    Additionally, the evidence also suggested that the Maw only came to power during the era of the Suffering Ones, which meant that the Enlightened Ones had not been constrained to just seven Shields. ??


    Humanity had over ten Peak Protectors who were ready to be Shields but couldn''t due to the Maw.


    If humanity gained another ten Shields, the power dynamic between the Specters and humans would not be as oppressive, where humans had to fight tooth and nail just to keep a city of humans alive.


    If Nick hadn''t seen the inhuman engineering and architecture of the machine, he might have believed that the green wall behind him had been created by the Enlightened Ones.


    In terms of skill and technological achievement, the Enlightened Ones might have been able to create such a Force Specter trap.


    It seemed like the chances were the highest that all of the Seven Corruptors, the Trio of Destruction, Death, and the Maw came to power during the era of the Suffering Ones.


    The Suffering Ones truly had a fitting name.


    There were also some theories that the Nightmare had appeared during that era, but the evidence wasn''t conclusive.


    It must have been horrible to live during the era of the Suffering Ones.


    The Seven Corruptors, who had all possibly be powerful during the era of the Suffering Ones, had had an insane amount of time to be stronger.


    This was why they were much stronger than normal Peak Fallen.


    Every Corruptor was bound to have some kind of attack or ability that could kill Force Specters.


    If Nick went into the hole right now, he could escape from Pride.


    No matter how powerful Pride was, she wasn''t small enough to fit into the tiny hole that led to the actual machine.


    Nick nced at the Major Ry lying in front of the Fallen.


    ''If I escape now, it might warn Pride and stop her froming,'' Nick thought.


    ''I could destroy it and escape after that, but the fact that none of the Corruptors have been captured or killed means that they are amazing at staying hidden. It''s very likely that she will see that something isn''t right and retreat without showing herself.''


    Nick became nervous.


    He was betting his life here.


    ''If Pride attacks me before showing herself, I will die.''


    ''Even if she shows herself, I might still die.''


    Nick wrestled with his thoughts.


    Fight or flight?


    Risk or safety?


    High reward or low reward?


    Trust or suspicion?


    Nick didn''t want to take the risk.


    If he stayed here in the open, he would lose control of his life.


    He would have to put his life in the hands of others.


    He had contacted Aegis earlier, and he knew that someone from Aegis was here.


    However, Nick couldn''t be sure who was here.


    They were definitely at least as powerful as a Mid Protector since they could stay hidden from the Fallen.


    But were they powerful enough to do anything against Pride?


    Killing Pride might require at least three Peak Protectors.


    Nick was not sure if somebody like that was here.


    ''Then, there''s also that other thing¡­''


    Nick noticed that another second had passed.


    ''Pride can be here any second now.''


    ''If I want to escape to safety, this would be my opportunity.''


    ''I have already killed a Peak Demon, and when Aegis notices that I''m running away, they will close the around the Fallen as well. I have already contributed a lot. I don''t need to contribute even more.''


    ''I don''t need to put my life on the line any-''


    And then, Nick''s thoughts stopped as he remembered some things he had said in the past.


    When he had been a Liaison, he had been willing to risk his life against many more powerful people who could kill him.


    Had he needed to do that?


    No.


    What about when he decided to go back to Aegis and reveal his true status as a Specter?


    That was also extremely dangerous.


    Had he needed to do that?


    No.


    Yet, in both cases, he had done so.


    ''I have not yet redeemed myself,'' Nick thought. ''I have only helped about 200,000 people so far.''


    ''There are still 800,000 people left to go.''


    Nick remembered hisst name.


    ''But the old Champion of Light entrusted me with saving all of humanity.''


    ''Wouldn''t dying now be like selling a Specter? If I just invest more, I would gain much more out of this.''


    If Nick were in his physical form, he would be gritting his teeth.


    ''What is this shit?!'' he thought in anger. ''I am turning into the very people I swore to kill.''


    ''I have the power to change things, and I am trying to find justifications for not risking my life.''


    ''I am fighting for humanity!''


    ''Aegis is humanity!''


    ''I can fight for humanity, but I won''t be able to truly save humanity without humanity''s help.''


    ''I have to trust humanity!''


    ''I have to trust Aegis.''


    ''And if my life ends here, then my trust was misced.''


    ''But, at least, I will have done my best to redeem myself and will die without having been corrupted.''


    ''I will stay!''


    Nick''s doubts vanished, and he steeled himself.


    About two minutester, Nick felt a terrifying pressure.


    Something was appearing in the dark of the cave.


    It was a tall and slender woman with ck hair. Her long dress clung to her body, and she seemed to partially fuse with the shadows.


    Her eyes were filled with pride, disregard, and disgust.


    She was probably over three meters tall.


    It was Pride.


    Right now, Pride was focusing on Nick.


    Then,she slowly moved closer without a word.


    Nick could feel the pressure on his body increasing.


    He couldn''t move anymore!


    It was like his Specter Core was being constrained by a clenching fist.


    "You''re worthless," Pride spoke coldly.


    Nick''s Specter Core shook.


    The pressure increased.


    Time seemed to stop.


    A little girl appeared in front of Pride.


    She held a sacrificial dagger in her hand.


    Pride didn''t move and just looked at her.


    A ck streak seemed to cut across Pride''s body.


    "I''m willing toply," Pride transmitted.


    The Knife didn''t answer.


    Instead, she rammed the sacrificial dagger into her own abdomen before violently moving it upward, splitting her torso into two pieces.


    A fountain of blood shot out of her.


    But at the same time, Pride''s body fell into pieces.


    Her ck Specter Core became visible before turning into ck dust.


    Pride had died.


    The Knife was here.


    As soon as Pride died, War noticed.


    The Knife was now on the gameboard.


    For the next couple of seconds, it didn''t need to fear the Knife''s sudden arrival on the battlefield.


    The carefully bnced scales of conflict were tipped.


    One second after Pride died, war broke out all across the world.

 Chapter 693: Ten Seconds

    Pride was dead.


    The Knife had killed Pride.


    The Seven Corruptors had existed for the entire era.


    Thousands of years.


    Never had any of them died.


    But now, that had changed.


    When a Specter died, their body turned into ck mist.


    This represented their Zephyx breaking down into Prephyx again.


    The amount of Prephyx added to the atmosphere as Pride, a Peak Fallen, died was immense.In an instant, the most powerful beings in the world realized what had happened.


    Around 3,000 kilometers south of where Pride died, there was one of Aegis'' strongholds.


    This one was in the middle of the Long Continent and represented Aegis'' influence on that continent.


    Just a single second after Pride died, something appeared on top of the base.


    It was over 50 meters wide and 70 meters long.


    It was made of red metal and had treads on two of its edges.


    A gigantic cannon came out of the top of its body.


    This was one of the most ancient weapons of the Ancient Ones.


    They called them tanks.


    But this specimen was far, far bigger than even the biggest tanks from back then, and it also seemed much more noticeable due to its shining red color.


    The top of the tank had two lights that seemed to emit ck lights.


    They looked like two eyes.


    In an instant, the cannon pointed at the stronghold.


    Then, it fired.


    BOOOOOOOOOM!


    A gigantic explosion!


    The entire world seemed to be engulfed in mes as a second sun seemed to appear where the stronghold had just been.


    Even the tank was engulfed in the explosion.


    The fireball was 20 kilometers wide!


    20 kilometers of nothing but fire!


    There were not many things that could unleash so much power, but the gigantic red tank was one of them.


    War.


    The huge tank was War.


    War was probably the Adversary with the strongest and most devastating attack.


    Its attack was even stronger than Death''s attack.


    As the fire engulfed the stronghold, something else was happening somewhere else.


    A ck tsunami of smoke covered the horizon west of Aegis'' headquarters and rapidly moved towards it.


    WHOOOM!


    But then, Aegis'' headquarters exploded in sunlight, and the ck smoke was split like it was a river hitting a humongous boulder in its middle.


    A momentter, the Champion of Light shot out of the headquarters, stopping above it as he looked towards the west.


    A crying face filled with suffering appeared in the smoke before more smoke shot forward.


    The light was pushed back, but the Champion of Light just red towards the west.


    "I will not let humanity die!" the Champion of Light shouted.


    The Sun in the sky seemed to shimmer.


    "I will not let humanity die!"


    "I will not let humanity die!"


    And the Champion of Light''s words were heard in every single spot in the world!


    Every single human heard the voice and collectively looked up at the Sun.


    The Champion wouldn''t let them down!


    The Champion was their hope!


    Imperceivably small rays of light came out of the humans.


    The rays all moved towards the sun.


    Meanwhile, on top of Aegis'' headquarters¡­


    BOOOOOM!


    Iprehensibly bright light!


    All of Aegis was covered in a kilometer-wide pir of pure white light!


    The Champion of Light summoned a golden sword and held it up to the sky.


    The light gathered on the de, creating a shining edge.


    "Humanity will not die today!" the Champion shouted.


    Then, he shed forward.


    WHOOOOOOOM!


    A white crescent shot forward, cutting through the ck smoke like it was nothing.


    In an instant, the white crescent cut through the ck face in the ck smoke.


    The face distorted before turning into ck mist, making a sound akin to thousands of screeching souls.


    The ck smoke in the surroundings weakened before dispersing.


    Yet, even more things were happening in other ces across the world.


    Near the northern edge of the western part of the Grand Continent was a huge ruin of shining metal.


    It looked like there used to be a humongous building here.


    But now, there were only outlines left.


    In the middle of the ruin was a crying girl with red skin.


    She covered her eyes with her hands as she cried uncontrobly.


    "I''m still hungry," she cried. "Why am I still hungry?"


    Just a couple of seconds ago, this ruin had been one of Aegis'' strongholds.


    And the girl crying in the middle of the ruin was Gluttony, one of the Seven Corruptors.


    She had consumed the entire stronghold.


    BANG!


    The sky shook as two unstoppable forces crashed against each other above the northern stronghold of the War Continent.


    A heavily armored and muscr man burning with rage and hatred was pushed back by the exchange.


    Meanwhile, an old man with a bandana covering his eyes exploded opposite of Wrath.


    Yet, at the same time, a green light appeared on the old man''s head, linking it to a younger man at the side.


    The young man seemed to age a bit while the blind old man''s body regrew.


    BANG!


    Wrath had to block an attacking from the side, which was quickly followed by the explosive sound of a sniper rifle being shot.


    Wrath wanted to destroy this stronghold, but a team of five Protectors, one of them being a Peak Protector, had been nearby and intercepted him.


    Wrath knew that he had failed.


    Spending more time on the attack would give the Shields time to hunt him down.


    Meanwhile, near a stronghold in the north of the Grand Continent, a bored and annoyed-looking teenage girl looked at a young man hovering above the stronghold. ?


    There were ck rings under the girl''s eyes, making her look like she hadn''t slept in forever.


    The girl just looked at the hovering man with exasperation before sighing and vanishing.


    With the Technician defending this base, Sloth wouldn''t get far.


    Meanwhile, near the middle of the Grand Continent, impossible powers seemed to sh.


    A dying zombie was pulling a hearse filled with rotting corpses through the sky.


    Beside the zombie was an unbelievably big swarm of aggressive locusts.


    There were probably over a trillion locusts in that swarm!


    Opposing them were the Politician, the Left Arm, and the Right Arm.


    They had exchanged a couple of blows just now, but none of them had trulymitted to the fight.


    Pestilence and Famine knew that they could win, but they also knew that they wouldn''t be fast enough.


    Prolonged fighting was bad for them since humans were amazing at pulling all their soldiers together in a single point.


    The Specters were qualitatively and quantitatively superior to humanity, but humans always attacked one Specter with at least three humans, while the other Specters couldn''t find anyone to attack.


    The Knife could have already left the north of the Long Continent.


    The Knife was like War in the sense that she could unleash a devastating attack in an instant.


    If the Knife managed to hit one of them, they might not be the favorites to win the fight anymore.


    That was why the Knife''s location had been secret all this time.


    With her position unknown, the Specters couldn''tmit to an attack.


    For thest couple of seconds, they had been free to attack, but that window was closing now.


    There would be no more fighting in this location.


    Meanwhile, near the east of the Grand Continent, a fat and crusty man with e red at the five people in front of him.


    He looked like he was about to throw a temper tantrum.


    "You win this time, Chads, but you will see! In the future, we are going to rise again!" he shouted as he pointed at the five people.


    Then, the fat man''s face turned red, and he seemed to vanish into the ground.


    Another group of five Protectors had been protecting this stronghold.


    Fortunately, Lust couldn''t get through.


    In the northeast of the Deste Continent, Simon and several other Protectors were looking into the huge hole.


    The starving child at the bottom looked up.


    It didn''t dare to exit.


    Its time woulde in the future.


    All of this had happened in the span of ten seconds.


    Near the end of the ten seconds, the humongous fireball covering the stronghold on the Southern Continent was vanishing, revealing a humongous Barrier.


    War looked down and saw a tall man copsing in the middle of the stronghold, which was still in one piece.


    The Wall.


    The Wall had been here, and he had managed to block War''s attack.


    Sadly, that had cost him all of his Zephyx.


    War looked down.


    It could fire another shot soon.


    However, ten seconds had already passed, and that was a lot of time.


    It was possible that the Knife was almost here.


    If the Wall and the Knife joined forces, War would be in a lot of trouble.


    In the end, War decided that it had caused enough damage for now.


    Safety was more important.


    The Specters had infinite time.


    A new opportunity woulde.


    The next moment, War vanished.


    Ten seconds.


    In these ten seconds, thousands of Extractors died.


    Sadly, except for Pride, not a single Specter died.

 Chapter 694: The Left Arm’s Power

    The world was in an uproar.


    While all of this was happening, the Knife''s body was pulling back together and regrowing.


    When Pride died, her servant didn''t move at all.


    The Fallen knew that it couldn''t possibly flee from someone this powerful.


    The only thing it could do was to hope that this human didn''t kill it.


    Three seconds after Pride''s death, the Knife''s body had fully recovered, and she looked at the Fallen with a cold expression.


    "I won''t resist," the Fallen transmitted to the Knife.


    In less than a second, the Knife threw a metallic rope at the Fallen, which slung itself around it.


    This was one of the strongest Zephyx Suppressors that Aegis owned.Naturally, if the Fallen had resisted, it would''ve been able to easily get rid of the Zephyx Suppressor, but since it didn''t, it waspletely suppressed.


    And now, it wouldn''t matter whether or not it resisted.


    As soon as the Zephyx Suppressor was ced on its body, it was over.


    Meanwhile, Nick just looked at the Knife while being in his mist form.


    The Knife turned to Nick and summoned a big Specter Cage.


    Immediately, Nick felt an irresistible force pushing him into the Specter Cage, and he entered.


    BANG!


    The door of the Specter Cage closed, and Nick was trapped inside.


    He was captured just like any other Specter.


    That was because the Knife thought Nick was just a normal Specter.


    Well, kind of.


    The Knife did not know that the mist cloud was Nick, but she did know that the mist cloud was rted to their unique Specter ally.


    The only people who knew about Nick''s abilities were Ghosty and the Technician. Not even the Left Arm knew about all of Nick''s abilities.


    The Left Arm knew that Nick could turn into a cloud of mist, but she didn''t know about Nick''s primary ability.


    The Knife, the Wall, the Right Arm, the Politician, and the Champion of Light didn''t know about any of Nick''s abilities.


    The Left Arm had sent Nick on his mission to infiltrate Pride''s forces,but she hadn''t really made any ns for the mission.


    She knew that Nick waspetent and left the nning up to him.


    From time to time, Nick sent her updates to keep her informed.


    When Nick had killed the Robe, he had sent ast message to the Left Arm.


    "I killed a very important servant. I am confident a Fallen will appear very soon. There is a small chance that Pride will appear. Be prepared to strike." ??


    The Left Arm did not send any answer since it was always risky to send a message to an undercover agent.


    So, Nick couldn''t be sure whom Aegis had sent.


    Based on Nick''s message, it made sense to send a Peak Protector or a team of Protectors.


    After all, the chances of Pride appearing had only been low.


    And yet, the Left Arm had sent the Knife.


    As Nick thought about these events in his new Specter Cage, he realized something.


    ''The Left Arm has given me the same trust I have given Aegis,'' Nick thought. ''I said that there was a chance that Pride might appear, and the Left Arm had enough trust in my judgment to dedicate a Shield to my mission for several minutes.''


    Usually, when somebody said that there was a chance that a Corruptor might appear, one would be doubtful.


    The Corruptors were extremely careful, and they had never managed to kill or capture one.


    And now, this guy said that one of them might appear, and they might have a chance at killing one?


    What? Did this guy think Corruptors were idiots that just walked around carelessly?


    Yet, the fact that the Left Arm sent the Knife showed that she trusted in Nick''s judgment and that she believed that Nick wasn''t assessing the situation inurately.


    When Nick said that there was a chance that Pride might appear, the Left Arm believed that there was a chance that Pride might appear.


    She had gambled on Nick.


    She had even redistributed the Shields.


    If Pride actually appeared and died,chances were high that the Corruptors and the Trio of Destruction would attack humanity all across the.


    So, she sent the Wall to their stronghold in the Long Continent, believing that War might strike there.


    The Long Continent was one of the most vulnerable positions of Aegis since it only had a single stronghold in its middle.


    Additionally, with Pride dead, the Great Triangle would be humanity''s territory. The Specters needed a foothold there, but with two strongholds, one of them being the headquarters, it wouldn''t be possible to get one.


    That left the Long Continent as the best ce.


    Envy''s forces were still there, and if the stronghold in the Long Continent vanished, they could infiltrate the Great Triangle from the Long Continent.


    The Left Arm believed that War would think like that and sent the Wall to the Long Continent.


    He only needed to block a single attack from War, which was easier said than done.


    The Wall had once said that he believed that he would be able to block an attack from War, and the Left Arm believed him.


    Even the Champion of Light might die if War unleashed an attack on him.


    However, the Wall was the Extractor with the most powerful defense in the world, and if he couldn''t block one of War''s attacks, nobody could.


    The Left Arm believed that the northwestern stronghold in the Great Triangle wouldn''t be attacked since Pride was dead, and normal Fallen couldn''t be mobilized fast enough to take advantage of the unique opening.


    It was obvious to the Left Arm that Death would use this opportunity to strike the headquarters to test the strength of the new Champion of Light.


    If the Champion couldn''t block that, humanity was doomed anyway since there would be nothing left to oppose Death.


    The Left Arm also believed that Gluttony and Wrath would attack the two strongholds in the War Continent, which was why she sent almost all powerful Protectors there.


    Sadly, while the Left Arm was an amazing strategist,she couldn''t always be right, and Gluttony actually attacked the western stronghold of the Grand Continent.


    Because of that mistake, one of Aegis'' strongholds had been destroyed by Gluttony.


    There had been two Protectors, eleven Heroes, 51 Specialists, over 300 weaker Extractors, and over 1,800 normal people in that stronghold.


    The stronghold had contained over 100 Specters, including seven Demons.


    The silver lining was that Gluttony consumed everything, including the Specters.


    The Left Arm positioned the Technician in the north of the Grand Continent, believing that Sloth might strike there.


    She also positioned another powerful team of Protectors in the east of the Grand Continent tobat Lust.


    The stronghold on the inds in the southeast of the Grand Continent was defenseless.


    The Left Arm could have sent three more Protectors there, but that might not have been enough to resist Lust in case it attacked there.


    In that case, sending three Protectors there would be akin to sacrificing them on top of the stronghold.


    So, the stronghold was essentially left naked.


    Thest two strongholds in the Grand Continent were where the biggest confrontation would take ce.


    Controlling the middle of the Grand Continent would give the Specters a solid foothold to control the entire Grand Continent, which was why they would probably gather there.


    However, that was actually not the true reason.


    This entire nning and scheming around territories was only relevant as long as no side could strike the true key pieces in the conflict.


    The Shields and Adversaries.


    Death had lost one of its most important servants, Pride.


    Pride could be seen as a small key piece.


    And Death wanted to take that opportunity to get rid of a key piece of humanity.


    It assumed that humanity would defend those two Strongholds with one or two Shields each.


    Because of that, Death decided to send two Adversaries to go to the space between the two strongholds,look at both of them, and attack the weaker one together.


    This would get rid of one or two Shields.


    Yet, the Left Arm had nned something simr, and she nned to counter Death''s counter.


    She knew that Death would try to kill one of humanity''s Shields there, which was why she and two other Shields went to the same ce.


    In case the enemy split up, they would do the very thing that Death had nned and gang up on one Adversary.


    They would lose one or two strongholds, but they might take out one of the Trio of Destruction.


    In case the enemy didn''t split up, they would be strong enough to survive for long enough to regroup.


    If the Left Arm hadn''t been able to predict her enemies'' thoughts to such a degree, Aegis would have lost much more than just a single stronghold.


    Without the Left Arm, humanity would have lost half or more of its strongholds.


    And while she had been nning all of that, she had also kept Nick''s identity secret.


    When she had sent the Knife, she had only said one thing.


    "Julian Winter has taken a Force Specter as a servant and is using it to lure out Pride. It''s a cloud of mist. Capture it and bring it back to headquarters. Do not kill it."


    Right now, the Knife did not know that she had just captured Nick.

 Chapter 695 : Minimal Losses

    Nick just waited inside his dark cage.


    After being put into it, nothing happened.


    Most likely, the Knife had just put Nick into the Specter Cage before dropping him and quickly flying to one of the strongholds that needed help.


    Specters could not be ced in Space Bags, even if they were contained in a Specter Cage.


    There were Specter Cages that couldpress and shrink to a small size, but they tended to have more instabilities and needed quite a bit of time to shrink.


    The Knife wasn''t a big fan of those and just used regr Specter Cages.


    A couple of minutes passed.


    The Fallen didn''t move from its position since it knew that it couldn''t escape.


    Even if it got a couple of hours to run away, the Zephyx Suppressor wouldn''t run out of energy during that time, and the Fallen would not have ess to any of its abilities.If it actually came across some humans, they might actually capture it.


    Although, there was a chance that it would be captured by them and put in a normal Containment Unit from which it could escape.


    It assumed that its chances of being able to escape were about 20%.


    But if these 20% didn''t ur, it would be killed.


    This wasn''t even a possibility worth considering to the Fallen.


    If it didn''t move, it had a 99% chance of surviving.


    Its growth might slow down considerably for a couple of centuries, but maybe this civilization would also fall from grace, and in a couple thousand years, the Containment Unit in which it lived would have deteriorated enough so that it could escape.


    Getting captured by humans was just a temporary setback as long as it wasn''t killed.


    About 30 minutes after leaving, the Knife returned.


    Despite aplishing the historic feat of killing the first Corruptor, she didn''t seem to be in a good mood.


    She extended her hand, and the Fallen was pulled to her.


    The Fallen didn''t touch her body anywhere but kept hovering in front of her.


    Levitation and basic telekinesis were not very hard for Shields to learn, but it was hard to make them powerful enough to make them useful in a fight.


    After grabbing the two Specters, she threw a nce at the green wall.


    Her eyes narrowed.


    Then, she took a deep breath and released it before leaving the area.


    It took the Knife less than a minute to travel back to Aegis'' headquarters.


    People of her power level could move at speeds of over 200 kilometers per second.


    As soon as the Knife appeared on top of Aegis'' headquarters, she vanished again.


    The only thing she did was to throw the two Specters on the roof of Aegis'' headquarters.


    The fewer times the Knife showed her face in public, the safer humanity was.


    The guards on top of Aegis'' headquarters quickly called their superior and made sure that the Specters wouldn''t escape.


    Sometimeter, someone came out of the main entrance on top of Aegis'' headquarters.


    "Greetings, Technician!" the two guards spoke with utmost respect.


    "Yeah, yeah," the Technician said dismissively as he waved them off.


    Then, the Technician approached the Fallen and looked at it with interest.


    The Fallen didn''t move.


    "Aren''t you a strong one?" the Technicianmented with an interested smile.


    The Fallen didn''t answer.


    "Mid Fallen, yes?" the Technician asked.


    The amalgamation of arms nodded.


    "You''ll feel right at home here!" the Technician said before looking at the Specter Cage.


    He approached the Specter Cage and pressed a couple of buttons on its disy.


    The disy showed a couple of things, and the Technician nodded.


    The Technician lifted the Specter Cube with telekinesis and waved for the handsy Specter to follow him.


    The two of them entered the headquarters, and the Technician brought the Specter to its new Containment Unit.


    He released its Zephyx Suppressor and told it that somebody would be with it shortly to discuss their future working rtionship.


    Then, the Technician brought the Specter Cage down to the research and development area.


    Inside his office, the Technician opened the Specter Cage.


    The cloud of mist came out of the Specter Cage and looked around.


    The Technician waited for Nick to say something, but he didn''t do that.


    He blinked a couple of times in confusion before his eyes widened, and he realized something.


    "Oh yeah! Wait a sec!"


    Then, the Technician summoned his Barrier, which then turned a solid white.


    For a moment, it was impossible to look through the Barrier in any way.


    A secondter, the Barrier turned transparent again.


    Shing!


    Nick turned into his human form again.


    Since the Technician knew about Nick''s ability, he decided to take advantage of it.


    Nick''s unique sense of perceiving his surroundings made parts of his senses superior to even the Technician''s senses.


    Not even the Technician would know if Death or the Champion of Light were looking at him.


    Yet, Nick could feel that.


    After all, he had also felt his ability deactivate when the Champion of Light had risen to power.


    Therefore, Nick was the best tool to finding out whether or not the Champion of Light or another Shield was secretly watching them.


    The Technician modified his Barrier to iste his senses for a short moment.


    Anyone who watched would think that the Technician was doing something strange again, but that wouldn''t be suspicious since researchers tended to do very confusing and weird experiments from time to time.


    And if someone was actually watching and the cloud didn''t react, the Technician would just go, "Whoops, that wasn''t the recording button."


    "So, I assume things went well," the Technician said with a smile.


    Nick nodded. "I did not expect the Left Arm to send the Knife."


    The Technician shrugged. "I guess she trusts you. Well, as far as someone like her can trust people."


    "How much did we lose?" Nick asked.


    The Technician wasn''t supposed to share these kinds of details, but he and Nick were close enough.


    "We lost the western stronghold of the Grand Continent," the Technician said.


    "And?" Nick asked.


    "And that''s it," the Technician said with a smirk.


    Nick''s brows furrowed in surprise.


    "That''s¡­ bearable."


    "I would call that more than bearable," the Technician said with a chuckle. "It''s a miracle."


    Nick could just nod.


    Pride''s death must have provoked a gigantic counterattack from the Specters.


    Most likely, this had been the biggest attack from Death''s forces within thest thousand years.


    The fact that they only lost a single stronghold was crazy.


    With Pride dead, almost all organized Specter forces within the Great Triangle would fall into chaos.


    Demons and Fanatics that used to serve Pride would regain their freedom again, which meant that almost all of them would be working alone from now on.


    Some of them would be far more aggressive, but they would equally lose the blurring veil of belonging to an organization.


    Others would be far less aggressive and only attack individuals that were safe to consume.


    Trying to infiltrate any city was extremely risky, and most Specters were not the biggest fans of risks.


    Humanity had taken a huge step forward today.


    There were only four things War could do now with the Great Triangle.


    Send a less capable general than Pride since it didn''t have ess to a stronger one.


    Leave the Great Triangle alone for now and focus on Wrath.


    Leave the Great Triangle to Envy, essentially lowering its own power but increasing the power of their collective alliance.


    Or manage the Great Triangle itself.


    None of these things were great.


    Managing the Great Triangle itself would give Aegis more opportunities to track its whereabouts.


    One of the biggest reasons why the Trio of Destruction used the Corruptors as generals was so that the Corruptors would get found out instead of them.


    When one of the Trio of Destructionmunicated with one of the Corruptors, there was almost no way to track themunication since both sides weremunicating on a very high level and from isted ces.


    However, the Corruptors needed tomunicate with tens and hundreds of Specters across the world.


    The chances of a signal being intercepted and traced were much, much higher.


    There was also the unfortunate coincidence of Aegis'' headquarters being on that continent, makingmunication even riskier.


    The obscuring haze hiding War had lessened with Pride''s demise.


    Over the next few minutes, Nick reported all the damage he had caused to Pride''s forces, and the Technician took note.


    The majority of Pride''s forces would turn into metaphorical local warlords chasing their own goals.


    It was still important to stop Pride''s former servants despite her death.


    The Technician had tough a couple of times when Nick exined how he had killed a Specter with the dumbest reasoning possible and still got away with it.


    "You were chased by a Peak Demon?" the Technician asked with surprise. "And you''re still alive?"


    Nick nodded.


    "I found something," Nick said.


    The Technician looked at Nick with interest.


    "Yes?"

 Chapter 696 : Sixth Era

    "While fleeing from the Robe, I found a green wall," Nick exined.


    "A green wall? What, like from a ruin or something?" the Technician asked.


    "I don''t think so," Nick said. "The wall had some very strange properties. For example, it looks smooth when you look at it from a distance, but if you touch it, you can feel that it is actually covered in holes."


    By this point, the Technician narrowed his eyes, but Nick continued talking.


    "It was also made of some kind of material that I have never seen before. I have learned a lot about all the past civilizations, but this material did not seem familiar at all."


    "Additionally, the material was so hard that not even a Fallen could break it."


    The Technician seemed quite serious.


    Nick took note of the Technician''s mood and thought it was unusual.


    Usually, the Technician was chipper and curious. Nick would have expected that the Technician would be intrigued by the appearance of such a strange object.And yet, he didn''t seem intrigued at all.


    In fact, he seemed like he didn''t want to know anything about this.


    ''He knows about this,'' Nick thought.


    Nick looked at the Technician for a while without saying anything.


    He made it clear that he knew that the Technician already knew about this thing.


    "It''s a special ruin from the Ancient Ones," the Technician exined. "The Ancient Ones were not as united as you might believe, and over the years, they developed different cultures and technologies."


    "The thing you have seen was one of their bunkers. The holes facilitate exchange between the outside and the inside worlds. It basically acts as a filter," the Technician exined.


    Usually, when the Technician exined things, he talked in a casual tone, but this time, he seemed quite distant.


    Naturally, since Nick had seen what was inside the building, he could tell that the Technician was lying.


    Additionally, despite being quite old and experienced, the Technician was not amazing at lying seamlessly.


    When the Technician lied, he mostly prepared a story beforehand or just waved a matter off with a quickment. After all, the more one lied, the higher the chance of the lie being found out.


    But in this case, the Technician couldn''t follow his script.


    Although, was lying necessarily a bad thing?


    ''Why is he lying?'' Nick thought. ''Is he protecting someone? Is he protecting himself? Is he protecting me?''


    Nick looked at the Technician.


    "You know that I can turn into mist," Nick stated.


    At that moment, a tiny bit of emotion broke through the Technician''s wall before quickly being suppressed again.


    For just a tiny moment, Nick had seen the emotions of shock and curiosity.


    "What a good ability to have," the Technicianmented.


    Silence.


    He did not ask about what Nick saw.


    "You do know that I can sense if someone is spying on us," Nick said. "You don''t have to be so secretive right now. No one''s looking."


    The Technician''s chin tightened.


    "Can you be certain that the Sun can''t see you?" the Technician asked with a rebuking tone.


    "Even if I can''t, we can just go to a dark ce if that worries you," Nick said.


    The Technician seemed to grow more annoyed.


    "Do not look into these things, Nick," the Technician said. "I don''t know what you saw in there, and I don''t want to know."


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    The Technician was acting very strangely.


    "Nobody can sense-"


    "Can you guarantee that?" the Technician asked, interrupting Nick.


    Then, without waiting for Nick''s answer, the Technician clicked a button.


    "Nobody can sense-"


    Nick heard his own voice yed back via a recording.


    "Did you sense that?" the Technician asked with annoyance.


    Then, he pressed another button, and a video feed showed up on one of the many consoles in the room, reying their conversation.


    "Can you guarantee that nobody has started looking at us ever since we started talking?" the Technician asked. "Your ability is binary. As long as I keep perceiving you, your ability loses all its perceptive capabilities." ??


    The Technician gritted his teeth.


    Then, he isted his senses for a short moment again with his Barrier and looked at Nick.


    Nick just nodded, indicating that nobody was watching.


    "This involves secrets that are infinitely more important than your survival or your abilities," the Technician rapidly transmitted. "If the wrong party finds out that you managed to enter one of these things, we will have a sixth civilization on our hands!"


    "Do not talk with anyone about this! Not Ghosty! Not the Left Arm! Not me! Not anyone!"


    The Technician''s re bore into Nick''s eyes.


    Nick barely managed to hide a reaction from showing on his face.


    "How do we proceed now that Pride is dead?" Nick asked casually.


    The Technician took a deep breath before his smile returned.


    "We are still looking into what we can do," he answered with an excited smile. "The death of a Corruptor is unprecedented, and we''re trying our best to make use of this unique opportunity."


    While Nick and the Technician kept talking, Nick secretly thought about what the Technician had told him.


    ''A sixth era,'' Nick thought.


    It was clear what the Technician meant with that.


    If the wrong party found out that Nick hade into contact with some of their secrets, the current era of humanity woulde to an end.


    All the powerful people of the world would die.


    Aegis would cease to exist.


    All, or almost all, cities would cease to exist.


    Just because Nick was talking about something that he found out.


    ''This almost sounds like the Null,'' Nick thought. ''Except that the Null only kills people that know about it, while, in this case, all of humanity will be killed.''


    ''The Technician knows that I can sense if the Champion of Light is looking at us. I''m also quite confident that I can sense when an Eternal is looking at me. After all, my ability was constantly deactivated while I was inside the Maw.''


    ''But he specifically mentioned the Sun.''


    As Nick continued the conversation, he kept thinking more and more about this.


    ''The Sun is unmistakably the strongest Specter. Based on what I''ve seen, there might even be a possibility that it is some kind of super Specter that has all the other Specters as minions.''


    ''It''s possible that it is at a theoretical tenth level, above the Eternals.''


    ''The only time my ability was deactivated by the Sun was when the Champion of Light came to power.''


    ''However, did my ability sense the Sun''s perception or the Champion''s perception?''


    ''It might actually be possible that the Sun has been perceiving me all this time and that my ability is simply not reacting to it.''


    ''After all, if the Sun is some kind of super Specter that is superior to all other Specters, it''s also superior to the Null. It would make sense that it has some kind of resistance or immunity to my ability.''


    ''I have always believed that the Sun was unconscious since my ability never deactivated, but that might actually be false.''


    ''There''s a chance that the Sun is conscious and is perceiving me but just doesn''t interact with me in any way.''


    ''However, if these secrets were that important, and if the Sun were perceiving me all the time, I would have already been killed when I entered that green building.''


    ''But I am still alive.''


    ''That leaves a couple of possibilities.''


    ''One, the Sun is conscious but isn''t paying constant attention to me.''


    ''Two, the Sun is conscious but doesn''t actually care about this secret.''


    ''Three, the Sun is not conscious.''


    ''Right now, I don''t have enough information toe to a definite conclusion.''


    At that moment, Nick noticed something.


    ''If the Sun were the issue, why did the Technician ask me to recheck whether or not somebody is watching?''


    ''If I can''t sense the Sun anyway, it wouldn''t make a difference.''


    Nick nced at the Technician as his mouth spewed random tactical nonsense.


    ''He is being very vague.''


    ''I also remember that he once said that I should trust Aegis in a very strange way. Just the fact that he said that is already suspicious.''


    ''Does that mean that the Technician believes that someone in Aegis is rted to this?''


    ''Based on the evidence, it''s possible.''


    ''But what would even be the point of that?''


    ''The Specters want humanity dead. No matter what anyone believes, they are still human.''


    ''It''s different when it''s just a random Governor working with a Specter since that wouldn''t end with them getting killed. Even if the city gets destroyed, there are more cities out there.''


    ''But when it involves the leaders of humanity, there is no other ce to go to.''


    ''When every single human is dead, even the traitor will die, and I don''t believe that the Shields aren''t intelligent enough to realize that.''


    ''So, why all of this?''


    Nick thought about it for a while.


    ''I can''t be sure yet. I can only ept that there is a possibility that someone in Aegis is not on humanity''s side.''

 Chapter 697: Suspicious

    "Report," the deep voice of the Champion of Lightmanded.


    Nick nodded.


    Once more, everyone had gathered in the Champion of Light''s hall for an emergency conference.


    Naturally, this was all due to the recent changes involving Pride.


    As the main reason for Pride''s death, Nick was called to report his findings.


    In the past, Nick avoided lying in front of any powerful person since he was afraid of being exposed.


    But now, he had no other choice but to lie.


    If the Shields found out that Nick was a Physical Specter that could transform into an intelligent Force Specter at will, they would immediately realize how unusual he was.


    This was a set of abilities that couldn''t even be found among Adversaries.The closest thing to an intelligent Force Specter was Famine.


    Famine was a cloud of trillions of locusts, and by moving around so many individual bodies, it essentially acted like a Force Specter.


    However, in the end, it was still made of individual locusts, which created a hivemind.


    If one simply killed every locust, Famine would die.


    Meanwhile, Nick was essentially nothing.


    He could create and destroy parts of his body as long as he had Zephyx.


    Not even any of the known Eternals were intelligent Force Specters.


    In the past, people might have believed that the Nightmare was an intelligent Force Specter, but that had proven to be false.


    The only possibility was the Null, but that also wasn''t certain.


    When there were 100 rooms with possible mouse infestations, and one didn''t find any mice in 99 of the rooms, that didn''t mean that there had to be a mouse in thest room. ?


    In simpler terms, there had never been any evidence of intelligent Force Specters, and there was no reason to believe that the one Specter people didn''t know about would be the one intelligent Force Specter.


    So, Nick had to be unique in some way.


    And that would create questions, which would eventually lead to Nick''s true identity being exposed.


    All in all,Nick needed to lie, even though lying was extremely risky in front of so many powerful people.


    He just hoped that it was believable.


    "I have a servant that I have raised and educated for many years," Nick said. "That servant is a Force Specter with intelligence that reaches the level of amon pet."


    Nick saw a couple of suspicious pairs of eyes looking at him.


    He wasn''t sure if they were surprised by the fact that he had a semi-intelligent Force Specter as a servant or if they felt that Nick was dishonest.


    "Since my identity is already linked to Wrath, I couldn''t infiltrate Pride''s forces myself. That''s why I used my Force Specter."


    At that point, the Politician looked at Nick with furrowed brows. "And how did you manage to retain control over your servant in front of a Corruptor?"


    "By taking advantage of faulty logic that overrides instinct," Nick answered.


    The Politician''s gaze silently told Nick to borate.


    "I have proven time and time again that I can kill it. Over the years, I threatened its Specter Core again and again. I created some seemingly dangerous situations that it was always meant to survive, after which I proved again that I was the actual danger."


    "No matter what was happening to it, it always had a chance to survive. Only when it was in front of me it didn''t have any power over its life."


    "Instinctually, someone like Pride would far outss me in terms of presence and danger, but the Force Specter has learned that there is always a certain bit of uncertainty with anything, except for me."


    "Therefore, defying me leads to certain death, while defying others leads to death in less than 100% of cases."


    "While it was meeting Pride, I stayed away since I knew that it would be able to sense me. I only came into contact with my servant when it was inside cities or on its way to different cities."


    The Shields listened, and Nick could see suspicion in their eyes.


    ''As expected,I''m not powerful enough yet to get through with my lies. Most likely, they know that I am notpletely honest.''


    For a while, the Shields just looked at Nick with furrowed brows.


    It was more than clear that they were talking to each other via voice transmissions.


    "Is there anything you are keeping from us?" the Champion of Light asked after a while.


    "Yes," Nick answered.


    The Knife and the Politician furrowed their brows more while the Wall and the Right Arm lifted their brows.


    "Why?" the Champion of Light asked.


    "The reason why I''m not shaking your hands is because mine are dirty," Nick said.


    The Shields immediately knew what Nick was referring to.


    "Before you ask," Nick said before anyone could say anything, "keep in mind what I have achieved with my methods. People say that the ends don''t justify the means, but when humanity''s survival is at stake, do these people have the luxury to consider ethics?"


    The Shields didn''t immediately answer.


    "Refrain from breaking Aegis'' code of conduct in the future. This is your only warning," the Champion of Light said with authority.


    "Of course," Nick answered. "It won''t happen again."


    The Champion of Light nodded with authority. "Continue."


    Naturally, this was all just an empty show.


    The fact that none of them asked for details meant that they silently condoned what Nick had done.


    The warning was just for show.


    As long as Nick delivered great results, they wouldn''t ask many questions about how he managed to achieve them.


    Nick continued lying a bit more about his missions under Pride, but the Shields were much less suspicious now.


    This was the entire reason why Nick had said these things.


    Nick knew that he couldn''t talk about his mission with Pride by only speaking half-truths this time. The way his identity was interwoven with his "servant''s" identity made this almost impossible.


    So, Nick had to lie, and the Shields would inevitably notice that he lied.


    But by giving them a convincing reason about what he was lying about, they would realize that he was lying but assume they knew what he was lying about.


    Whenever Nick lied from now on, they were far more likely to believe that Nick was keeping some innocent deaths secret.


    In their minds, Nick most likely killed several powerful and loyal Extractors to prove his loyalty to Pride.


    Naturally, they knew that Nick wouldn''t admit to that in front of them, which was why he lied.


    Of course, while Nick had more leeway with lying now, he still had to ce his lies in the correct ces.


    If they sensed a lie when Nick was talking about moving to a city, they would be suspicious since there didn''t seem a reason to lie about that.


    But if Nick talked about staying in a city and not causing any deaths, a lie would be expected.


    Nick had to ce his lies in just the right ces.


    He had to get critical information out while naming ces and actions that might be involved in human deaths.


    It was not easy to navigate such a conversation.


    "How did you manage to lure Pride into the mountains?"


    Everyone nced over at the Knife, who had just interrupted Nick while he was talking about his servant running from the Robe.


    If everyone hadn''t been distracted by the Knife just now, they would have noticed Nick''s instantaneous twitch of one of his brows.


    ''She wants me to lie about Pride''s ce of death,'' Nick thought.


    The Knife looked into Nick''s eyes with a casual expression.


    Nick knew that the Knife had just said something extremely risky.


    If Nick were dumb and corrected her, the others would get suspicious.


    Did the Knife forget where she assassinated Pride?


    And if Nick were untrustworthy, he could also correct her.


    "Please let me finish," Nick said. "I was getting to that."


    The Knife just nodded.


    The Technician and the Left Arm didn''t show any suspicious reactions, but Nick knew that they realized what had just happened.


    After all,the Left Arm knew that Nick had been in some kind of cave, while the Technician knew about the green wall.


    While the Left Arm most likely hadn''t been told about the green wall, the Knife and the Technician knew.


    The Left Arm knew that the Knife asked Nick to lie, but Nick didn''t know if the Left Arm knew WHY he was supposed to lie.


    Nevertheless, the result was that neither the Left Arm nor the Technician exposed the lie.


    ''Most likely, the Knife just secretly stepped forward and exposed herself to whoever is on my side,'' Nick thought.


    ''She obviously knows about the significance of the green wall, or she wouldn''t ask me to lie about that.''


    ''I was already nning on not mentioning the green wall, but she seems to be just as interested that nobody knows that I saw the green wall.''


    ''She wants the green wall to remain secret, and by asking me to lie, she exposed herself to my allies.''


    ''If she also acts like this, my suspicions are basically confirmed.''


    ''There is a traitor among us.''

 Chapter 698 : The Knife

    Nick continued to lie, but it had be more difficult after the Knife''s interjection.


    Originally, Nick had prepared a story where he managed to lure Pride into a cave in a basin, but now, he had to change his story so that she ended up in the mountains.


    "That''s how I managed to assassinate the Robe," Nick exined.


    ording to his story, he snuck up from behind, watched as the Robe attacked his servant, found the ce where the Specter Core was located, and destroyed it with a devastating attack.


    The Shields didn''t question a lot.


    They knew that Nick was being vague with his powers.


    "Do you truly have the power to kill a Mid Demon like that?" the Right Arm asked.


    Naturally, Nick had said that the Robe had been a Mid Demon.


    "Yes," Nick answered. "In a direct battle, I might lose, but in an assassination, I will most likely win."This was not a lie.


    The Shields were used to amazing feats of power.


    After all, which Shield hadn''t killed people or Specters a couple of Stages higher than them in the past?


    However, Nick''s stories could only be rivaled by the Knife''s stories involving her assassinations.


    Naturally, the Knife was the best assassin in the world, and her entire power revolved around stealth, speed, and destruction.


    While the Knife probably couldn''t fight any other Shield openly, if she had the opportunity to strike secretly, she would be able to kill every other Shield, and she might even be able to threaten the Champion of Light.


    She was like War. She could strike only once, but if she managed to strike, she was highly likely to win.


    In a way, Nick was not exactly like her.


    Nick technically did not have a devastating attack.


    Nick simply unleashed a barrage of normal attacks with increased power.


    He did not have any kind of fancy poison, bleeding effect, pration effect, or simr things.


    All the other Extractors had powers like adding explosions to their bullets, absorbing Zephyx, shooting fireballs, and so on.


    That was also the reason why Nick was basically useless against a Force Specter.


    Meanwhile, the Knife''s devastatingbat power came from her main ability, which she had advanced many times by gainingpatible abilities.


    If she managed to cause injury to her opponent, she could use her own body as a proxy for the enemy''s body.


    For example, the Knife had cut through Pride''s torso. Then, she stabbed her own torso and expanded the wound.


    The degree to which the wound had been exacerbated was mirrored onto Pride with a modified value as starting injury.


    The Knife''s injury had be over ten times worse, which meant that Pride''s injury had be over ten times worse, but due to the different severities of their base injuries, it had been much worse for Pride.


    Naturally, there were a couple of rules that had to be followed, and the power of the enemy in rtion to the Knife also made a big difference.


    Of course, the Knife also had some abilities that increased the power of her initial attack. Otherwise, she would only be able to cause a slight scratch to an opposing Specter, making her primary ability essentially useless.


    The fact that Nick''s power in terms of assassination could bepared to the Knife''s achievements was quite shocking to the Shields.


    They wanted to know how Nick managed to be so powerful, but they knew that they wouldn''t get a straight answer.


    Additionally, they had already asked that question the first time they had talked to Nick, and he had just answered that he was using human weapons and went through an extensive human education.


    In a way, it was understandable that Nick was very powerful since he had the advantage of both kinds.


    He was essentially a bear with a human brain.


    But the degree of this difference in power was still shocking.


    Somehow, Nick managed to lie his way through the story, and he came to the crucial part.


    "The reason why I believed that Pride might appear was because of my previous interaction with Wrath," Nick said.


    This interested the Shields.


    One had to remember that while the Shields had been fighting the Corruptors for centuries, they never really came into contact with them.


    There was no diplomacy.


    Additionally, if they managed toe into contact with them, they would be able to track their location and kill them.


    If a Shield managed to find a Corruptor, that Corruptor would very likely die, which made face-to-face interactions also impossible.


    Nick had seen and heard the Corruptors several times more than all the Shieldsbined.


    "When I worked with Wrath, I noticed that he was constantly angry without a good reason," Nick said. "It was essentially impossible to talk to him without him being angry about something."


    "I believe that the Corruptors are just like me, Specters with abnormal mental states. Most likely, they are feeling emotions rted to their names."


    "While personally killing my servant would have been a risk with no real reward, I believed that the way with which my servant sabotaged Pride would cause it to feel humiliated. I also bet on the possibility that Pride didn''t have any other servants that could kill my servant," Nick exined.


    "Despite all of this, I only said that there was a small chance."


    At that moment, the Right Arm turned to the Left Arm. "And you believed it?" he asked.


    "Not entirely," the Left Arm said. "However, I believe that we need a drastic change in the status quo. We have been fighting the Seven Corruptors for centuries without any meaningful progress."


    "Losing and conquering cities makes a difference on paper, but the game won''t truly progress. I was willing to take the chance."


    The other Shields looked at the Left Arm in silence for a while.


    Almost all of them were in agreement that they would have not sent something or someone as vital as the Knife for such a small chance.


    And yet, they couldn''t deny the fact that this had paid off in a big way.


    Nick''s report essentially ended here since everything else could be covered by the Knife.


    "You have contributed greatly to humanity," the Champion of Light said to Nick after a while. "For now, it doesn''t seem to be a mistake to invest in you. I will grant you further freedom in how you act and in the ways you contribute to humanity."


    Nick bowed politely. "Thank you, Champion."


    The Champion turned to the Technician. "Nevertheless, I want you to continue to supervise it and to further your research into Specters."


    "Sure thing," the Technician answered.


    Then, the Champion turned to the Left Arm. "You may use the Specter in missions without my explicit consent from now on."


    "Thank you, Champion," the Left Arm spoke politely.


    Finally, the Champion turned to Nick. "You may leave."


    Nick performed onest bow before walking out of the room.


    Then, Nick went down to the research and development area and waited for the Technician.


    The Technician arrived almost an hourter, looking exhausted.


    "Any news?" Nick asked.


    The Technician looked at Nick before pressing the button that covered his perception for a moment.


    "Okay," Nick said after the Technician became visible again. "And why did you do that?"


    The Technician''s expression didn''t change. "That wasn''t on purpose," he grumbled.


    Nick''s question had been the codeword that told the Technician that they were being watched right now.


    Nick''s ability had not activated when the Technician''s senses had been covered.


    That meant that somebody was looking at them right now.


    Naturally, neither Nick nor the Technician could tell who it was, which left only two people.


    The Champion of Light or the Knife.


    "Let me try again," the Technician said.


    Then, his body vanished again for a moment.


    This time, Nick''s ability activated.


    "Safe," Nick answered.


    "Not safe enough," a voice spoke from the shadows.


    Nick''s brows furrowed, but the Technician didn''t seem surprised.


    The next moment, a young girl became visible in the office.


    It was the Knife.


    Nick looked at the Knife with slight interest. "I assume you are willing to join in?" he asked.


    "Ew, no. I''m a child," the Knife said in disgust.


    The Technician snickered.


    "You know how I meant that," Nick answered inly.


    The Knife just rolled her eyes. "It was a joke. Loosen up, will you? Also, aren''t you talking a bit too casually with me? I''m a Shield, you know. A bit more respect would be appreciated," she said with a huff like she was a little girl.


    Nick blinked once. "You tell me to loosen up and to be more respectful at the same time?"


    "Yeah, that''s the joke, dumbass," the Knife said.


    Then, she turned to the Technician and pointed with her thumb at Nick. "You work with this guy?"


    "Oh, he''s not so bad," the Technician said as he went over to sit down in one of the chairs in his office.


    "How much do you know?" Nick asked, trying to steer the conversation back to a relevant topic.


    "I dunno," the Knife answered as she plopped down on one of the chairs while putting her feet on the table. "How much do you know?"


    Nick just slowly blinked once.

 Chapter 699 : Everything Makes Sense !

    "She knows that you worked with us for a long time and that you''re on our side," the Technician said with some amusement. "She also knows that you have a powerful ability that allows you to sense someone based on their presence."


    ''So, in short, she knows nothing,'' Nick thought.


    "Who would have thought that there was a Specter with such a strange ability," the Knife said casually as she swayed back and forth on the back legs of her chair. "Sensing someone''s presence is like the purest form of perception there is. You sensed me as soon as I was in your presence, but as soon as I snuck out of the room, you didn''t sense me anymore."


    "Crazy," she added.


    "It''s not perfect," Nick answered.


    "It sure isn''t," the Knife added.


    Silence.


    "So, I assume we are now allies," Nick said.


    "Depends on which side you are," the Knife said. "Sorry if I''m notpletely convinced that a Specter is interested in humanity''s sess.""Why would I not be?" Nick asked.


    "The same reason why it seems pointless that any human would want to help the Specters," the Knife said. "And yet, here we are."


    The Technician narrowed his eyes as he red at the Knife.


    ''Well, that confirms it,'' Nick thought.


    Neither the Technician nor the Left Arm had directly said that there was a human who was on the Specters'' side, but the Knife had done just that.


    "Whoops," the Knife said with a disingenuous voice. "Seems like I wasn''t supposed to say that."


    "It''s not difficult to guess," Nick answered. "I came to that conclusion already."


    The Technician sighed with a frown.


    He was ming himself.


    He had been the one that kept dropping hints to Nick, even though he shouldn''t have.


    Nick wasn''t powerful enough to lie in front of the Shields.


    If Nick knew about the traitor, there was a possibility that the traitor would realize that they had been exposed.


    Everyone knew how that would end.


    There were several levels regarding one''s understanding of the world.


    Unknowing people would believe that humanity was helpless against the Specters.


    Experienced people knew that humanity had Aegis, which could resist the Specters.


    Yet, the most powerful people in the world knew the real truth.


    Humanity was only alive because the Specters allowed them to survive.


    Right now, 80% to 90% of Specters were solo actors who didn''t systematically oppose humanity.


    Why? Because they didn''t need to.


    Other Specters were keeping humanity from bing powerful enough to properly resist the Specters.


    As long as humanity had a proverbial gun to its head, there was no reason to go against them.


    And the identity of that gun couldn''t be more obvious.


    It wasn''t hard to guess that it was the Champion of Light.


    His sudden rise to power.


    His alliance with the Sun.


    Hisck of a background.


    He was an Early Shield that came out of nowhere, and as soon as he appeared, he was already the most powerful human.


    There was no possible way that humanity could create somebody like that.


    He had to have had the help of someone much more powerful than humanity.


    And that someone also couldn''t be more obvious.


    After all, the Champion of Light had their ability.


    The Sun.


    The Sun was humanity''s enemy.


    Based on Nick''s theory, the Sun was the creator and controller of all Specters.


    ''The Sun doesn''t want to destroy humanity,'' Nick thought. ''It has the power to destroy every single human in the world. The piles of ash and dust in the ruins showed as much.''


    ''Yet, it does not do so.''


    ''The Sun wants humanity to survive, but it also doesn''t want humanity to go out of control.''


    ''It wants us to keep fighting for our survival.''


    ''It wants us to fight the Specters.''


    ''If Ghosty''s theory is true, the Sun should grow more powerful by causing suffering, and all the other Specters are its minions.''


    ''The stronger humanity bes, the more the suffering produced is worth.''


    ''That exnation gets rid of the biggest weakness in Ghosty''s theory, the existence of Prephyx and our ability to absorb it.''


    ''We absorb Prephyx to create human Zephyx. Then, by causing suffering to humans with a great amount of human Zephyx, more Specter Zephyx gets produced. Most likely, the Sun is getting a big cut of that produced Zephyx.''


    ''The Sun''s power is growing. So much is evident based on the density of Prephyx.''


    ''Specters keep dying, and their Zephyx gets turned back into Prephyx, creating more Specters.''


    ''And then, these Specters be more powerful again.''


    ''The amount of Prephyx stored as Specter Zephyx grows over time without reducing the amount of pure Prephyx.''


    ''This means the amount of Prephyx in all different forms increases.''


    ''That means the world is not a closed ecosystem.''


    ''Somehow, the Sun is converting something from outside into Prephyx, which it then adds into the atmosphere of Earth, and it does so via the machines.''


    ''Based on what I have seen, the bright white light that gets added into the machine is the source of the Prephyx, but I don''t know how the Sun is creating that bright light.''


    ''I don''t think you can make less energy into more energy. If energy gets added to the system, it has to be taken away from somewhere else.''


    ''One possibility would be that the Sun is using the generated Zephyx to acquire materials from outside of this world to add to the Prephyx.''


    ''It is essentially converting something worthless into something valuable, which it then uses to buy more worthless things to convert into valuable things.''


    ''The Sun is essentially buying iron ore and making steel out of it, which it then uses to acquire more iron ore.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''And every couple thousand years, when the density of Zephyx reaches a sufficient level, it harvests all the strong humans.''


    ''The speed at which the density of Prephyx is increasing is way too fast.''


    ''It''s impossible that the Specters kept growing more and more powerful over tens of thousands of years. Otherwise, they would be so powerful that we wouldn''t even be able to resist them anymore.''


    ''Most likely, a big part of the Specters also gets harvested.''


    ''Then, it leaves the most useful Specters alive that produce the most Zephyx.''


    Nick had investigated the world for decades, and now, all the individual clues started to fit together.


    At that moment, Nick remembered something.


    ''The Zephyx beneath the Nightmare,'' Nick thought.


    ''There was an endless expanse of Zephyx below the Nightmare.''


    ''Naturally, since the Nightmare seems to be neither alive nor sentient, it doesn''t use the Zephyx. Yet, it keeps producing it.''


    ''Most likely, the Nightmare is some kind of machine or something simr that uses a bit of Zephyx to cause suffering to create even more Zephyx.''


    ''Then, all the Zephyx gathers around it, like a storage.''


    ''Every couple thousand years, this Zephyx gets harvested.''


    ''Additionally, if we believe that the Nightmare has been ced by the Sun, its power also makes more sense.''


    ''By making the dark dangerous, the Sun can guarantee that everyone stays in its light.''


    ''Like this, nothing can go out of control.''


    That was when Nick thought a bit about the different eras.


    ''The Sun is supremely powerful, but it still wants to use the Nightmare to assure that everyone stays in its light?''


    ''Staying in its light should not cause any suffering. The only thing I could think of is that it wants to keep watch over all the humans.''


    ''And that would only be relevant if humans be dangerous.''


    ''So, does that mean that something has happened in the past?''


    If Nick just imagined Earth as a big bottle with a chemical reaction going on inside of it, he could imagine a way something could go wrong.


    There were three forces in the bottle, which all reacted with each other.


    Prephyx, human Zephyx, and Specter Zephyx.


    If something went wrong and only Prephyx remained, the reaction would end.


    If something went wrong and only Specter Zephyx remained, the reaction would also end.


    But if something went wrong and only human Zephyx remained, the bottle would explode.


    The human Zephyx was the only force that would actively destroy its container.


    At that moment, Nick remembered the image he had seen in the ruins of the Ancient Ones.


    A ball surrounded by a circle.


    ''The ball is Earth!''


    ''And the circle surrounding Earth is the bottle!''


    ''It is the thing containing everything!''


    Then, Nick thought about the fact that the Sun was also always above everyone''s head.


    Naturally, the Sun couldn''t possibly be at multiple locations at the same time.


    ''But what if I treat it like my mirror image?''


    ''If humans were to look at a mirror when looking up, it would always look like their mirror image is directly above them.''


    The circle surrounding the Earth.


    The fact that the Sun was always above someone.


    The bottle.


    An experiment.


    The fact that humans were killed if they reached a height of 30 kilometers.


    ''The Sun is not some kind of shining ball of fire above our heads!''


    ''The Sun is some kind of shield or forcefield surrounding Earth!''

 Chapter 700: Information

    Everything finally made sense!


    All the things Nick had learned over his lifetime finally made sense!


    The only thing he needed to hear was that there was definitely a traitor amongst the Shields.


    By knowing who the traitor was, Nick just needed tobine a couple of clues, and everything finally fit together.


    Although, maybe not everything¡­


    ''Where did the Sune from?''


    ''It should have been created back during the era of the Ancient Ones.''


    ''Sadly, I don''t know enough about the Ancient Ones toe to an answer. While we can see their power all across the world by looking at the gigantic ruins of steel, there''s barely any writing or information left.''


    ''The Ancient Ones seemed to have changed the the most, but they are also the ones we know the least about.''''We only know that the Ancient Ones were also the most powerful in a way. They had the power to destroy entire worlds.''


    ''Based on the records, they even had enough power to destroy chunks of Earth that have a radius of over a thousand kilometers. The Earth would look like someone took a huge bite out of a fruit.''


    ''This kind of power is so unreasonable that not even Eternals can achieve something like that. If War became an Eternal andunched an attack, it might be able to create a pure ball of fire with a radius of up to a hundred kilometers, but that''s still far less than what the Ancient Ones were able to aplish with their technology.''


    ''In order to rival that, War would need to reach a theoretical tenth level.''


    ''How did the Sun even manage to kill such a civilization?''


    ''The Ancient Ones would just need to fire one of these weapons at the forcefield surrounding Earth, and it would crumple, most likely killing the Sun in the process.''


    ''It''s obvious that the Sun killed the Ancient Ones by targeting their bodies directly. Most likely, it unleashed an intense burst of radiation that turned all of the humans into ash.''


    ''However,the Ancient Ones should have seen the Suning already. A civilization with such advanced weaponry should have equally impressive perceptive machinery.''


    ''Such a huge forcefield couldn''t just appear out of nowhere.''


    ''The Ancient Ones should have had the means to destroy the forcefield before it epassed Earth.''


    ''I can''t find an answer to that.''


    ''Even though I know what the Sun is now, I still don''t have all the answers.''


    ''There has to be more behind this.''


    Nick looked at the Knife, who was looking at him with raised brows.


    The Knife had just talked about a traitor, and Nick had fallen silent for several seconds.


    "Is that so surprising?" the Knife asked.


    Meanwhile, the Technician, who had known Nick for much longer, could see what was happening.


    He could see that Nick wasbining a lot of clues in his head.


    ''How much do they know?'' Nick thought as he looked at the two Shields. ''They have to know more things, but they don''t want to tell me.''


    ''The chances are high that they already know everything about the Sun, including the things I don''t know.''


    Nick focused on the Technician.


    Then, he lifted his right index finger.


    "I''ve once been in a ruin of the Ancient Ones, and in there, I have seen this," Nick said as he drew a circle, which was surrounded by another circle. "I think I know what that means now." ?


    The Technician didn''t answer.


    "The inner circle is Earth, and-"


    "Yes, yes," the Technician interjected. "It''s the upper limit that humans are not allowed to cross without getting killed by the Sun."


    The Technician seemed normal, but Nick could see an urgent warning in the Technician''s eyes.


    Nick should not continue to talk about that.


    It was clear that the Technician received the message.


    Nick had essentially told the Technician that he knew what the Sun was, but the Technician stopped him from saying it out loud.


    Meanwhile, the Knife leaned back too much on her chair and almost fell over as she heard Nick''s words.


    She could only look at Nick with a surprised expression.


    "Damn, I knew that you had to know some things, but the fact that you even know THAT is crazy," she said with an impressed voice.


    "Seems like I was a bit careless," she added with an embarrassedugh before looking at the Technician.


    Then, she shrugged. "Oopsie."


    The Technician just sighed.


    "Did you know that there is a speed of information?" the Technician asked.


    "Speed of information? No," Nick answered.


    "Imagine there are two particles that are intrinsically connected. When one of them gets created, the other one gets created. When one of them gets destroyed, the other one gets destroyed."


    "Now, if you put them one lightsecond away from each other and destroyed one, when would the other one get destroyed?" the Technician asked.


    Nick raised an eyebrow. "Based on the rules of your hypothetical, they would get destroyed at the same time."


    "This is not a hypothetical without basis on real-life physics and logic," the Technician said. "That is a real experiment that can be repeated as many times as you want."


    The Technician lifted one finger.


    "One second," the Technician said. "It takes exactly one second for the other particle to get destroyed."


    Nick looked at the Technician with skepticism. "And how does that make sense? You said that they get destroyed at the same time."


    "Yes, but the information of destruction can''t move faster than the speed of light," the Technician said. "Do you realize what I''m getting at here?"


    Nick wasn''t sure and shook his head.


    "If there is a speed of information, there is information. Information is not just some illusory concept that we made up. Information is an actual physical thing."


    "So, if information is a real thing, it can also be measured. It is not too crazy to consider that a specific type of information might trigger a specific type of rm, right?"


    "Just think of Nurse Alice."


    Nick did just that.


    Nick was almostpletely certain that Nurse Alice wasn''t immune to his ability, which meant that Nick would feel her if she focused on him.


    But since Nick''s ability was basically always active, it meant that Nurse Alice wasn''t sensing him.


    And yet, if Nick or a human near him spoke the Sentence, he was sure that Nurse Alice would notice it.


    ''It''s like a spider web,'' Nick realized. ''The is everywhere, but the spider only consciously senses it when some prey is struggling in it.''


    ''Nurse Alice has some kind of ability that allows her to scan the world for a specific trigger phrase, which is the Sentence.''


    At that moment, Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''So, why couldn''t the Sun do that?''


    ''If something specific is said about the Sun, it might get triggered, in which case it would kill everyone involved.''


    At that moment, Nick thought about the Null.


    ''Same with the Null.''


    ''The Null can probably sense anyone that knows something about it.''


    Nick was reminded that the Null had let him live back then.


    ''That means that the Null is most likely not intelligent.''


    ''Is the Null actually a Force Specter that works on instinct?''


    "Do you realize what I''m trying to say?" the Technician asked, pulling Nick out of his thoughts.


    Nick looked back at the Technician and nodded. "That''s the reason why you are all so secretive about this."


    The Technician nodded. "I decided it''s worth the risk to tell you about the information thing now since the risk of you uttering certain pieces of information can cause much more damage."


    The Technician sighed. "I just hope that this is not enough to trigger the Envious Researcher yet."


    Nick''s eyes widened.


    That also exined why they didn''t want to tell him why they didn''t want to tell him!


    ''It seems like this speed of information thing is not public knowledge yet. Any additional person that knows about this might trigger the Envious Researcher.''


    ''However, I believe the Technician forgot something.''


    "Wait," the Knife said with a raised brow. "You''re concerned about the Envious Researcher? Why?"


    The Technician raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, why? I don''t want him to die to the Envious Researcher."


    The Knife became even more confused. "What the fuck are you even talking about?" she asked in exasperation.


    Then, she pointed at Nick with annoyance.


    "He''s a fucking Specter, dumbfuck! How''s he gonna make the Envious Researcher appear?!" she asked in annoyance.


    "He¡­" the Technician said before stopping himself.


    Then, the Technician blinked a couple of times.


    "Huh," he added. "Would you look at that. I''vepletely forgotten about that."


    Sometimes, it was difficult to see the most obvious things when one was essentially just going through the motions and doing the same thing again and again.


    The Knife just rolled her eyes.


    Nick looked at the Technician with a raised brow.


    "Yeah, sorry. My bad," the Technician said as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 701: The Old Champion’s Words

    Sometimes, people couldn''t see the most obvious thing, and this was one of those times.


    Yet, while Nick now knew why nobody wanted to talk to him about the truly critical things, it didn''t really help him a lot.


    He still wouldn''t be able to talk about the truly important things with anyone.


    If information could be measured,municating or transforming information might be an actual risk.


    It was possible that some kind of system would get triggered if anyone tried to share any information about the truly secret things.


    Things like the purpose of the strange machine behind the green wall, or the true nature of the Sun, or how the Sun came to power.


    ''But then, how did all the of the Shields find out?'' Nick thought.


    ''It seems like everyone knows about this, and if nobody is allowed to talk about it, how do they share information with each other?''


    ''Either they have some kind of method to secretly exchange information, or they are not able to talk about these things at all and just hope that everyone elsees to the same conclusions.''''Although, if exchanging information in secret was possible, the Technician probably would have already told me.''


    ''The information itself should not be an issue. In that sense, it''s most likely not like the Null.''


    ''As far as I know, the Null kills anyone that knows anything about it. It is not required to publicize the known information to be a target.''


    ''In this case, just knowing about it seems to be enough.''


    ''There''s also evidence to that hypothesis since it spared me after I forgot the information. This means there is some kind of surefire way to check if somebody knows something.''


    "Anyway," the Technician said after some seconds. "Julian, the Knife is now our ally. Knife, Julian is our ally."


    The fact that the Technician referred to Nick with his fake name told him that the Knife wasn''t truly their ally.


    Or, at least, she wasn''tpletely trustworthy yet.


    The Knife just looked at Nick for a bit with a raised brow.


    "How did that even happen?" she asked. "You guys are a bit far apart in power. How did he get into this so-called team?"


    "Well¡­" the Technician said before trailing off. "It sort of¡­ just happened."


    That was the best way to phrase it.


    Nick had barelye into contact with the Left Arm and the Technician when he was a Liaison.


    At most, he had been just an employee.


    Everything had started when Nick consumed a Peak Elder.


    After that event, the Technician and Nick essentially worked together for a couple of years.


    During that time, Nick found out a couple of secrets and kept asking the Technician about them.


    And when Nick turned into a full Specter and returned, the Left Arm and the Technician covered for him and tried to help him.


    At no point did Nick join their team.


    They never really agreed that they were on the same side or anything like that.


    It just sort of¡­ happened.


    "It happened?" the Knife asked with a raised brow.


    The Technician shrugged again. "We never really said that we are a team. We just started to think of us as a team after some things happened."


    Naturally, the Knife wanted to know what these things were, but she knew that she wouldn''t get a straight answer.


    "But you are a team, right?" the Knife asked.


    The Technician looked at Nick, who just nodded.


    Then, the Technician looked back at the Knife with a nod of his own.


    "And the Left Arm is part of this team?" the Knife asked.


    "I can''t ask for her confirmation at this moment. I think she would say no, but I think the truth is yes."


    The Knife kept swinging back and forth on her chair as she looked at the Technician.


    "Well, okay then," she said, jumping up from her chair. "Nice to meet the team. If anyone needs something, I''m going to be somewhere at some point."


    Nick wasn''t sure if that was some kind of passive-aggressive dig about their secrecy or if the Knife''s whereabouts were supposed to be kept secret even from other Shields. ??


    Nevertheless, Nick nodded.


    "We''ll be in contact," the Technician said.


    "WE won''t," the Knife answered with a clear emphasis on the we. Naturally, she was referring to only being in direct contact with the Left Arm, who was effectively the leader of this group.


    "But we will," the Technician said casually. "At thetest during the next meeting."


    The Knife just rolled her eyes in exasperation before vanishing into thin air.


    Silence.


    "Are you sure about this?" Nick asked after a couple of seconds of silence.


    "Why are you even asking me?" the Technician answered with a bit of annoyance.


    "Habit," Nick answered.


    Naturally, the Technician was annoyed at Nick for asking that question since both of them knew that it wasn''t safe right now to talk about anything sensitive.


    "I have a question," Nick said.


    "If you keep going like this, I will start to have psychosomatic reactions every time you tell me that you have a question," the Technician said with a sigh. "Every time you say you have a question, I hear something that makes me fear for my life."


    "It shouldn''t be that bad," Nick said. "I think."


    The Technician just waved his hand to indicate that Nick should get on with it.


    "How do you guys know that you all know the same things?" Nick asked.


    The Technician knew what Nick referred to and felt relieved that Nick worded it in such a roundabout way.


    "We used to have certainty in that aspect," the Technician said. "Sadly, not anymore. The old method no longer works."


    Nick could tell what the Technician referred to and just nodded.


    ''He''s talking about the old Champion of Light.''


    ''If there is anyone who might have the power to keep information from the Sun, it should be the Sun''s own servant, the Champion of Light.''


    Nick furrowed his brows.


    ''If I consider the current Champion of Light as the Sun''s servant, the old Champion of Light was probably also the Sun''s servant.''


    ''Both of them received their powers from the Sun, most likely.''


    ''The Champion of Light is probably some kind of underground agent employed by the Sun.''


    ''The Champion of Light fights the Specters since they are in the advantage right now.''


    ''I theorized earlier that there had to be some kind of incentive for the Nightmare''s creation. While the Nightmare is a big Zephyx generator, it also serves the double-purpose of keeping every human in the light, where the Sun can see them.''


    ''The Nightmare first appeared in thest era, the era of the Suffering Ones. This meant something must have happened then to necessitate the Nightmare''s creation.''


    ''And it just so happened that the era before the Suffering Ones was the era of the Enlightened Ones.''


    ''As far as we can see, their Zephology and technology were vastly more advanced than ours, and since the Maw is also a rtively new addition to the Eternals, they probably had tens of Shields.''


    ''Maybe, they even had Saviors, level nine Extractors.''


    ''If the Sun created the Nightmare, it means that the Enlightened Ones must have given it quite a big scare.''


    ''Most likely, the Enlightened Ones only showed part of their power while keeping the majority of their power secret, deep underground. Then, they struck with all of their power.''


    ''But in the end, they didn''t have enough to kill the Sun, and the Enlightened Ones were killed.''


    ''To make sure that nothing like this ever happens again, the Sun created the Nightmare, forcing humans to keep their powers in the open.''


    ''And in case humanity still managed to keep their power secret, it also ced an undercover agent in the middle of the elite, the Champion of Light.''


    ''Lastly, it probably also had a hand in the creation of the Maw, which made it impossible for more than seven Shields to exist at the same time.''


    ''So many safeguards.''


    ''It seems like the Enlightened Ones got really close to winning.''


    ''The old Champion of Light must have been the Sun''s servant at some point. However¡­''


    Nick thought about the old Champion of Light.


    Nick felt like the old Champion of Light was the personification of good.


    He felt like there was a deep connection between him and the old Champion.


    There was something familiar.


    It was as if they had the same goal for the same reasons.


    ''Guilt,'' Nick realized.


    ''I think the old Champion might have been filled with guilt.''


    ''When he was young, he betrayed humanity to be the Sun''s servant, but as he got older, he got a change of heart and tried his best to help humanity.''


    ''He was probably the one who told the other Shields the truth about everything.''


    Nick remembered how the Technician and the Left Arm had looked at the Champion of Light.


    On the surface, their conduct wasn''t any different from that of the new Champion of Light, but the feelings behind their conduct were very different.


    Nick could tell that they had treated the old Champion with true veneration and respect.


    Meanwhile, with the new one, they only went through the motions.


    ''They must have all known that the old Champion used to be an agent for their most hated enemy.''


    ''And yet, he still managed to instill such respect in them.''


    At that point, Nick remembered what the old Champion had said.


    ''The Sun cannot be stopped by the light. The Sun is the light already. The only thing that can defeat the Sun is the darkness, the night,'' Nick repeated in his mind. These were the words that the Champion of Light had said to the Left Arm after she asked him why he had given Nick his newst name.


    ''The Champion of Light can never stop the Sun.''


    ''All of humanity is under the Sun''s constant surveince.''


    ''Reaching the level of power necessary to resist the Sun might not even be the difficult part. The difficult part is doing it in secret,without the Sun noticing.''


    ''And what fits that role better than the Null, or in this case, a human attuned to the Null.''


    ''I have to be powerful enough to kill the Sun, and I have to do it without the Champion or the Sun finding out.''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    The true scale of the task ahead of him had finally been unveiled.


    Back then, the old Champion had told Nick to look at the distant past for answers, and he had gotten them.


    It was clear now that the Champion hadn''t chosen Nick because he was outstanding but because he was simply the best fit.


    Maybe, even the only fit.


    The Champion didn''t have any other choice.

 Chapter 702: Archeology

    After realizing these things, Nick truly epted his role.


    Ever since the old Champion had put his trust in him, Nick hadn''t been convinced that he was the right person for the job.


    But now, he epted it.


    He wasn''t the perfect candidate for the position, but he was the least unsuitable, to put it mildly.


    ''I''m not sure if I will ever manage to live up to the old Champion''s expectations, but I have to try,'' Nick thought.


    Ever since Nick had fully transformed into a Specter, the intense pain caused by his overwhelming guilt had almost vanished.


    When Nick had thought about the melting people in the Dregs, his heart had beaten faster, and he felt like something inside of him was tearing apart, but ever since he had be a Specter, these symptoms all vanished.


    Nick still felt guilty, but it was more on the magnitude of sneakily leaving work 30 minutes early without permission.


    And yet, whenever he thought that things weren''t so bad, he reminded himself of everything he had sworn to himself and the people he had killed.He had despised and hated the very people who refused to do anything while having the power, and he swore that he would never be someone like that.


    He would never forget what it was like to be in the Dregs, desperately searching for credits for some food, while the rich people in Crimson City had entire forests to themselves!


    He had be a monster when he had freed the Crimson Sea, and he was still a monster.


    However, he was well on his way to rectifying that.


    And he couldn''t have any doubts before he sessfully managed to redeem himself!


    These were the things that Nick always told himself when hecked the drive to better himself or the world around him.


    ''And if I ever manage to redeem myself, I won''t just stop there,'' Nick thought. ''At that point, I have the power to change the lives of over a million people! That is almost 10% of all humans!''


    ''When I have that power, I have the power to truly change things.I can actually make a difference!''


    ''I can actually change the world into something people enjoy living in!''


    ''However, no matter what happens, I can never lose sight of this goal or my ideology! Otherwise, I will just join the endless horde of faceless Protectors and Heroes who just stand around,ining about not getting another promotion.''


    Nick remembered when Wyntor had told him that he couldn''t make a significant change in the city.


    He remembered when Albert argued with Nick, telling him that he didn''t think Nick would be able to make a difference.


    Nick remembered when Julian justughed at his ambitions.


    He remembered when Crimson City''s old Governorughed at him, telling him that he wouldn''t be able to change things.


    Whenever he talked to anyone about this, theyughed.


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''Just because it''s impossible for you doesn''t mean it''s impossible for me.''


    ''I''ve improved the lives of over 200,000 people, and I''m not even 10% done with what I aim to achieve one day!''


    Sadly, sess couldn''te immediately, and things very quickly became mundane again.


    After the Knife left, Nick, the Technician, and Ghosty returned to experimenting on him again.


    For now, Nick didn''t have any big jobs.


    While the normal people in the Great Triangle didn''t notice any differences, the elite felt a big shift after Pride''s death.


    For normal people, nothing changed for now.


    Same prices, same work, same people.


    But the Extractors noted a big increase in Specter activity, more aggression by known powerful Specters, and more nervousness among the Heroes of most cities.


    Some of the Heroes had worked for Pride in secret, and without Pride''s backing, things became very chaotic.


    Pride''s actual servant, who created the suffering in the cities, was no longer under Pride''s protection, and they no longer received orders.


    Unstable Specters started to be more reckless, while more intelligent Specters started to be greedier.


    Heroes who were not directly rted to Pride''s forces became more nervous due to the increase of Demons and Fanatics in the area.


    Many times, cities knew about the presence of Demons in the area but couldn''t directly capture them due to the risk associated with it.


    Two good examples were the gue Vulture, which had lived west of Crimson City for quite a while, and the Corrosive Dust, which had been south of Crimson City for decades.


    The normal people only really felt a difference when a couple of caravans didn''te to the cities, which increased the prices of some goods.


    The Great Triangle had be quite a bit more dangerous.


    In just the first year, Aegis liberated 14 cities in the Great Triangle that had been secretly controlled by Pride.


    That was almost 10% of all the cities in the Great Triangle.


    Luckily for Nick, while the liberation of the cities was a good thing, big changes always caused some suffering, and Nick was rted to Pride''s death.


    So, he got the me for some of the suffering, and he felt his Zephyx production increasing by quite a bit.


    Sadly, advancing from being a Peak Fanatic to bing an Initial Demon was a significant jump due to the different ssification.


    Jumps between levels were always apanied by a qualitative change as well.


    Usually, it needed more time and quite a bit more Zephyx to advance.


    However, even if given enough Zephyx, many Specters wouldn''t be able to advance.


    The reason for that had been rtively unknown for the longest time, but Ghosty''s theory about human suffering allowed scientists toe up with some hypotheses about Specter advancement as well.


    What if advancement between levels for Specters needed some kind of requirement rted to their reason for existence, aka human suffering?


    Almost all of these hypotheses were still in their trial phase.Researchers were still sending different Extractors and volunteering normal people to Specters to see how things would develop, but some of them seemed quite promising.


    Sadly, the experiments would still take a couple of years to produce anything conclusive.


    Nevertheless, the running theory right now was that some advancements require quantity, while others required quality in terms of human suffering.


    Some Specters needed to make a certain number of people suffer, while other Specters needed to cause suffering to very powerful people.


    The fact that none of the Seven Corruptors had advanced to bing Adversaries gave this hypothesis more credibility.


    All Corruptors were working on causing suffering all across the world, in many cities.


    None of them seemed to focus on the Protectors.


    Most likely, Peak Fallen needed their suffering to impact humans on a global scale.


    Luckily for Nick, he wouldn''t need to consider these requirements for his advancement.


    The quantity and quality of his caused suffering was definitely great enough to fulfill whatever requirement was necessary.


    Nick had made tens of powerful Heroes suffer quite a bit, and he had impacted hundreds of thousands of humans.


    He just needed to gather more Zephyx than usual to be an Initial Demon.


    Based on Ghosty''s estimates, Nick would probably be an Initial Demon within the next two to five years.


    Nick essentially just needed to wait.


    For the next couple of months, Nick continued working with Ghosty and the Technician.


    He was learning a good deal about Zephyx Maniption and different materials.


    Nick could now conjure over 300 different materials.


    He had learned enough to build a house with just his Zephyx.


    Although, conjuring an entire house would still take him a couple of hours. Also, while Nick knew a lot, he didn''t know a lot about architecture.


    Aegis still needed to stabilize the Great Triangle,and they didn''t have the manpower to focus on another assault on the Corruptors for now, which was why Nick had the time to focus on the research.


    However, about six months after Nick returned to his research, he actually got a mission, which quickly transformed into an actual job.


    Originally, the Left Arm just told Nick to check up on the Nightmare.


    Ever since Nick had attuned his Zephyx Synchronizer to the Nightmare, no one had seen the Nightmare again.


    It wasn''t that Aegis couldn''t enter the Fiend of Darkness. It was because the chances were high that recklesslying into contact with the Nightmare might cause things to escte.


    What if the Nightmare reacted to anyone stronger than a Specialist?


    Messing with the Nightmare was probably a good way to end the current era.


    So, Aegis didn''t touch it.


    However, Nick was already attuned to it, and he was also a Specter now.


    Even if there were some kind of safeguard in ce, it most likely didn''t involve Specters.


    Because of that, the Left Arm wanted Nick to revisit the Nightmare and test a couple of things.


    When the Technician heard about that mission, he asked Nick to check something else as well.


    Ghosty had told the Technician about an area north of Crimson City that was always empty of Specters, and the Technician was interested in that area.


    Since the Fiend of Darkness was still in Crimson City, Nick needed to go there, and while he was there, he could also take a look at that area.


    The Left Arm needed to be informed about any mission Nick was sent on, and the Technician talked with her for a while.


    The Technician somehow managed to ry information to the Left Arm about how much Nick actually knew about the Sun and humanity''s true situation.


    This gave Nick a certain quality that was extremely rare and valuable.


    Nick knew what he could and couldn''t talk about.


    In general, Aegis didn''t want to send just any Hero or Protector into some kind of valuable ruin.


    What if they found something out about the Sun and muttered to themselves?


    But since Nick knew all of this already, he could look at the valuable ruins without endangering Aegis.


    In the end, the Left Arm gave Nick the job of archeologist, and he immediately got his first mission.


    His mission was to investigate Crimson City and its surroundings.

 Chapter 703: Travel

    Nick left the research and development area, wearing his mask again.


    One had to remember that Nick only showed himself without his mask to Ghosty and the Shields.


    Everyone else only saw him with the mask and sometimes with the ck Barrier.


    Although, it wasn''t always easy to notice that this was actually a ck Barrier.


    The issue wasn''t the color but the shape.


    Only cheap Barriers had the shape of spheres. Expensive Barriers had adjustable shapes.


    In Nick''s case, it looked like a ck film appeared over his skin and clothing whenever his Barrier activated, and while he could see disys hovering in the air in front of him, nobody else saw anything.


    Usually, while Aegis'' Barriers were considered white in color, they only gave off white outlines. Everything else was transparent.


    When Nick''s Barrier activated, it wasn''t transparent.Of course, it was supposed to be this way to indicate that he was not a human, but this new change had not yet been made public.


    The ck color coding of the Barriers would only be public if more Specters decided to work for Aegis.


    Nick walked through the hallways and left through Aegis'' main entrance halfway up the building.


    "We wish you a good journey!" the two guards spoke politely and with respect.


    Nick paused and looked at them for a moment through his mask.


    The next moment, the two guards received a notification that their sentence had been increased by a year.


    It was so difficult not to explode in anger.


    Nick felt his Zephyx production increase by a bit, but that was actually not really the reason why he increased their sentences.


    He just really, really, really hated corrupt people.


    All of these guards had once been corrupt Governors, and Nick would never allow them to recover from that.


    How many lives had these "poor guards" ended without giving the slightest shit?


    Then, Nick turned away and walked to the end of the terrace.


    A momentter, Nick jumped and flew into the sky.


    Although technically speaking, Nick wasn''t flying.


    Sadly, despite his power, Nick couldn''t use the same method Heroes used to fly.


    The natural ability to fly as a Hero was rted to the density of Zephyx of one''s being in rtion to their conversion of Zephyx into physical force, and despite being that powerful, the density of Nick''s Zephyx was not different from any other Peak Fanatic.


    But there were ways around this.


    Nick was fast and strong enough to kick off the air to keep jumping through the sky.


    It was not technically flying, but it was practically flying.


    As Nick flew through the sky, his ability still hadn''t reactivated.


    The cause of that was obvious.


    Death still looked at Aegis'' headquarters and its surroundings.


    Luckily, after a couple hundred kilometers, Nick''s ability reactivated.


    Death wouldn''t just continue following some random guy.


    If Death had known that Nick was a secret Specter who was working for Aegis and responsible for Pride''s death, it might have done things differently, but it didn''t.


    That was also an important reason why Nick had to keep his identity secret at all times.


    As soon as Nick''s ability reactivated, he activated his Barrier and changed a couple of settings.


    The Technician had added a couple of new things just for his new job as an archaeologist.


    A momentter, Nick''s Barrier activated and changed shape.


    The ck was dense enough that it was impossible to look through the Barrier, and the Barrier expanded by quite a bit.


    A momentter, the Barrier had assumed the outline of a two-meter-tall person who looked a bit like a stick figure.


    Then, the Barrier changed a bit more to smooth out the outline, essentially mimicking a real human body and clothing.


    Now, Nick looked like someone made a photo of a tall person andpletely cked it out, just leaving the outline.


    Nick could look through the Barrier without issues, but nobody could look in.


    Then, Nick pressed another button,and two yellow lights appeared above each of his outline''s shoulders.


    Naturally, these yellow lines represented the yellow stripes on Aegis'' uniforms, which signified rank.


    In Nick''s case, his Barrier indicated the rank of Agent.


    Since he was no longer a Liaison, there was no more point in giving him a special rank. Additionally, giving someone a special rank would elicit too many questions.


    Despite Nick''s very strange appearance with his new Barrier, it still wouldn''t be as suspicious as having a special rank.


    There were many Agents, and many of them had strange identifiers due to their powers.


    Some of them traveled around with marites hanging from their bodies.


    Some of them were constantly on fire.


    The main reason was that most Agents just wanted to be constantly ready for battle since they traveled through the world on the daily.


    Summoning marites or setting oneself on fire took up valuable time in case a battle started.


    People would still look at Nick strangely, but as long as Nick could prove that he was an Agent, they wouldn''t ask Aegis about his specifics or send out an rm.


    A moment after the stripes appeared, Aegis'' symbol appeared on the outline''s chest and its face.


    Aegis'' symbol was the outline of a shield with seven stars in it.


    Finally, Nick''s Barrier was done changing shape.


    This would be the appearance Nick would have whenever he needed to follow his duties as an archeologist.


    Luckily, his Barrier also had a stealth mode, which made the Barrier cling to his body and deactivate any signifiers, but Nick would only activate that setting when he needed to be stealthy.


    For now, Nick was openly flying through the world as an Agent on his way to his next mission.


    When Nick reached the middle of the ocean between the Great Triangle and the Grand Continent, he changed directions and flew towards the south.


    He didn''t want his masked persona to be linked to his ck-outline persona.


    Yes,the two personae were simr, but as long as there was no direct link, it would just be like two simrly looking people.


    Just because one person looked simr to another person didn''t mean that they were the same person.


    When Nick reached thend bridge between the Great Triangle and the Long Continent, he passed through it and flew towards the west.


    Just as Nick reached thend bridge, his ability deactivated.


    Then, a disy popped up in front of him that told him that an Agent was nearby.


    Whenever two Agents were close, their Barriers told each other that there was another Agent nearby unless that function was deliberately deactivated.


    The point of this function was to prevent fighting due to misunderstandings.


    Nick''s Barrier told him the rough location of the other Agent and vice versa.


    "Hey," a voice transmission arrived and spoke through the Barrier.


    "Hey," Nick returned.


    And then, he just continued flying, and the disy indicating the presence of another Agent vanished again.


    They just exchanged some greetings.


    After all, they were working for the same organization and had simr jobs.


    Nick soon entered the gigantic ocean west of the Great Triangle and flew towards the southwest.


    By now, Nick had traveled so much through the world that he essentially knew exactly where he was at all times unless he randomly got teleported somewhere.


    Just a bitter, Nick sawnd.


    However, before he saw thend, he noticed that his ability deactivated, but he had expected that already.


    The ind Crimson City was on belonged to the Shark Mother''s territory.


    The Shark Mother was one of the Adversaries, and it created thousands of powerful sharks that ate humans.


    While there was a certain danger that Nick might get attacked by the sharks, that danger was not very high.


    The Shark Mother''s most powerful attribute was its patience.


    It didn''t want to sacrifice any of its sharks,and randomly attacking an Agent might result in the death of many sharks.


    Additionally, there might be a Shield nearby that just used that Agent as bait to track the Shark Mother.


    Because of that, the Shark Mother struck supremely rarely.


    It struck so rarely that sacrificing the random Agent or Protector cost less than always assuring that there were powerful escorts around.


    On average, the Shark Mother killed one Agent every 30 years, while it killed a Protector every 300 years.


    Of course, that number only counted for humans who didn''t enter the ocean.


    Humans who, for some stupid reason, entered the ocean generally didn''t survive for long.


    Although, the Shark Mother needed to fight the Salt Trident for the prey.


    Nick left the airspace of the ocean and flew over Crimson City''s ind.


    Quickly, Nick''s ability activated again, and just a few secondster, he could see it.


    The megastructure in the middle of the city.


    The Outer City, which had be even bigger by now.


    And the messy and dpidated buildings filled with starving and dirty humans around the city¡­


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    Thatst one was new.


    ''Seems like some things have changed.''

 Chapter 704: Burnout

    Nick looked at the city for a bit.


    Sure enough, things had changed.


    The megastructure and the Outer City seemed to be almost the same as they had been a couple of decades ago, except that some buildings had been reced.


    The people in the Outer City also didn''t seem to be any different from before.


    They were not super happy, but they were also not in constant despair.


    They were just living life.


    ''At least that means that things have not be as bad as before I became Liaison,'' Nick thought.


    ''However,'' Nick thought as he focused on the new buildings.


    The old Crimson City was around five kilometers across.The Crimson City Nick saw was around seven kilometers across, adding an outer ring that was around a kilometer wide.


    Surprisingly, the old walls were still there, splitting the old Crimson City from the new Crimson City.


    And that was also exactly where things started to change.


    The newest ring around the city looked simr to the Dregs.


    The only difference was that the people didn''t seem to be as starved as the people of the old Dregs.


    However, they still seemed stressed and miserable.


    Nick had seen countless humans, and he had learned a lot about psychology when he had been a trainee of Aegis.


    ''Symptoms of chronic overworking,'' Nick thought.


    Based on their bodies, these new people were not malnourished or anemic. Surprisingly, their bodies were quite resilient and fit.


    Yet, their eyes were drooping, they were constantly nervous, and their bodies either rested or moved in a jittery way.


    Nick could also see that nearly every person living in the outskirts was working currently.


    A good chunk of them was working on some new fields north of the city.


    These fields stretched from Crimson City to about one kilometer from the coast.


    The fields were gigantic!


    They were basically ten kilometers long and wide!


    The food that was being grown there seemed quite interesting.


    The fields were filled with adult trees,which had a ton of big fruits hanging from the top of their trunk.


    Nick had seen these fruits before.


    ''What were they called? Papayas?'' Nick thought.


    Nick saw hundreds of people traveling from the outer ring to the papayas with water and fertilizer.


    It only rained once every week or so, and that wasn''t enough to raise nts like these.


    The sheer amount of papayas being produced here was crazy.


    That was more than the city could consume.


    However, that obviously wasn''t the point of the trees.


    ''They are meant to be a local specialty for caravans.''


    Nick noticed that a lot of the workers were randomly grabbing papayas while working and eating them without trying to hide their act.


    ''Probably a perk of their job,'' Nick thought. ''Allowing them to eat papayas during work gives the employers the opportunity to pay them lower wages while also getting a customer for the overproduction.''


    ''No surprise that they are not malnourished. The constant carrying and walking around also keeps them rtively fit.''


    ''And yet, they look more like ves than normal people.''


    Nick watched for a while.


    He saw some workers whose shifts were ending, and he watched them walk home.


    On their way home, they carried a bunch of papayas with them and exchanged them with other people for some different food and water.


    Then, they walked home, greeted their families, and¡­


    Went to sleep.


    Almost all of these workers fell asleep almost immediately when they hit the bed.


    ''Their bodies and minds are exhausted,'' Nick thought. ''There are people who can fall asleep within seconds, but the chances that all of these workers just so happened to have this attribute are low.''


    ''That means that the body needs to gain this attribute to survive.''


    Nick looked at the number of employees working and cross-referenced it with how many people were leaving anding every hour for about three hours.


    The results were crazy.


    ''They are working for 16 hours a day,not including the path to and from their work.''


    ''Since they also need to buy things and eat, they barely have seven hours of sleep per day, and only if they have zero private life.''


    ''By the looks of their bodies, there are also no rest days.''


    ''These people are literally working 112 hours every single week.''


    ''That is crazy!''


    ''Why are they working that much? It should be obvious that working that much would kill you pretty quickly.''


    ''No one would do that for their entire life without being forced to.''


    ''Food doesn''t seem to be the issue. In fact, everyone gets home with far more food than they actually need.''


    ''Water also isn''t an issue.''


    ''The credits they receive are also pretty good.''


    ''I also don''t see guards forcing them out of bed or beating them to work faster. It''s like they are all doing it voluntarily.''


    It took Nick a couple of minutes to find the reason.


    ''There are no homeless people.''


    ''Not even a single one.''


    ''Every single person has a home, without exception.''


    ''Even the elderly and the sick have homes.''


    Nick''s brows furrowed.


    ''However, there are very few elderly and sick people.''


    Nick slowly approached one of the houses while staying hidden.


    That''s when he felt something very interesting.


    ''There''s a sophisticated Barrier around this house.''


    ''Specters wouldn''t be able to see the Barrier, but they can feel the danger.''


    ''Approaching this house feels dangerous.''


    The next moment, Nick''s Barrier activated, and he used its analyzing capabilities to inspect this mysterious Barrier.


    When his Barrier gave him the results, he grew annoyed.


    ''It''s an empty threat!'' Nick thought. ''This entire machine is useless against Specters! It just gives off waves that Specters perceive as dangerous!''


    Nick hadn''t made the connection before, but after realizing what was going on, he noticed that the feeling of danger was simr to another feeling he had once felt.


    ''The space above the green machine,'' Nick thought.''The dangerous and threatening feeling of this house is very simr to the space above the green machine!''


    ''But it doesn''t actually have the same power!''


    ''The mysterious force on top of the green machine had the same effect as drowning had on a normal human, while this one just reminds me how drowning feels like.''


    Nick quickly found the generator inside the house, transformed into mist, and inspected it.


    He inspected the machine and quickly found out how this feeling was generated.


    ''Vibrations,'' Nick thought as he looked at extremely subtle vibrations going through the walls.


    Nick put some of his mist around a crucial part of the machine and stopped it from moving.


    The house stopped vibrating, and the dangerous feeling Nick had been feeling all this time vanished.


    A momentter, he let go, and the house resumed vibrating.


    A normal human wouldn''t notice the vibrations since they were exceedingly subtle.


    After analyzing the machine for a while longer, Nick also finally found out why everybody seemed to work that much.


    ''This thing consumes two grams of Zephyx per month!'' Nick realized.


    Then, he looked at the houses.


    Every single one of them had such a generator.


    The next moment, he looked at the gigantic wall separating the outer ring from the Outer City.


    Naturally, the people behind the walls didn''t need these machines.


    ''That''s why there are no homeless people.''


    ''Anyone that doesn''t have a house is free food for any Specter, and since there are no walls, almost any Specter cane here.''


    As soon as Nick realized what was going on, he grew angry.


    ''Building a new wall is costly, but the construction will break even within just barely 16 months!''


    ''It''s an obvious fix to a horrendous amount of suffering.''


    ''Any half-decent Governor woulde up with that fix. It''s also not difficult to implement it.''


    Nick looked at the city with furrowed brows.


    ''Aria is probably no longer Crimson City''s Governor.She would''ve never let anything like this happen.''


    ''Yet, even an idiot wouldn''t be stupid enough to note up with building a wall.''


    ''That can only mean that the Governor is corrupt and purposefully not solving the issue.''


    ''And the incentive for that couldn''t be clearer.''


    Crimson City had around 2,000 new people, who all lived in the new outer ring.


    With around four people on average per house, there were 500 houses, and each needed at least two grams of Zephyx per month to operate.


    That was over a kilo of Zephyx every month.


    However, the important part wasn''t that but the insane production of Crimson City.


    The amount of goods produced by Crimson City was crazy, and Crimson City probably made an insane amount of credits by selling to the caravans.


    ''The earnings from this machine are actually not the most important part. The important part is the high production of goods due to the abundance of man hours put into work.''


    ''The fact that even the poorest household has over 2,500 credits avable every month is crazy. In other cities, having 500 credits makes your life stable, and having 1,000 allows you to live quite luxuriously for normal people''s standards.''


    ''Yet, 2,500 credits seem to be the low end here, and many even have over 3,500 credits avable per month.''


    ''One thing is clear. The economy is really good in Crimson City.''


    ''Crimson City is producing far above its size.''


    ''And, as always, it''s probably the elite who don''t want to take a step back and allow the people to live a normal life.''


    ''Every damn time!''


    Nick took a deep breath.


    ''Sadly, I''m not here to fix Crimson City.''


    ''It''s no longer my job.''


    ''The only thing I can do is to report it to the Technicianter.''


    ''I want to help, but I have to keep my identity secret for now, and I can''t get involved.''


    ''I hate this.''

 Chapter 705: The Corrosive Dust

    Sadly, Nick was no longer responsible for the cities.


    He really wanted to change this city, but as a member of Aegis, he sometimes had missions that were more important than the fate of a singr city.


    Repairing the city would take over a year, and Nick would need to expose his identity if he wanted to make the change stick.


    Sure, the terrorism in Water Pir City changed it, but it definitely wasn''t certain that the change would stick.


    Nick could metaphorically clean a house, but in order for the house to stay clean, the tenant needed to upkeep the level of cleanliness Nick had established.


    It might not be as hard as cleaning an atrocious house, but it still wasn''t easy.


    People chasing after power were not known to be the most selfless people, and selfless people often didn''t have enough power since they were generally not chasing after power.


    Theoretically, just doing whatever Nick told them to do before leaving would produce more than enough Zephyx while establishing trust with Aegis for future promotion into an Agent.


    And yet, for some reason, people just couldn''t help but grab just a little bit too much.''It''s like I''m cleaning the windows of a skyscraper,'' Nick thought. ''As soon as I''m done cleaning thest window, the first one is already grimy again.''


    ''In the majority of times, changing a city is only a temporary aid for a chronic problem.''


    ''If I want to change things, I need to change the fundamentals of the world.''


    Nick looked at the Sun.


    As always, it was directly above him.


    ''I always knew that Aegis prioritized humanity as a whole over just one city, and I always agreed with it.''


    ''It''s only now that I truly realize this fact.''


    At that moment, Nick noticed something peculiar in his perception, and he looked over.


    ''However,'' Nick thought as his eyes followed the moving object. ''Ten years of significantly improved life quality is not insignificant for a normal person.''


    Nick activated the stealth mode of his Barrier and turned into mist as he followed after the object.


    ''Alleviating the symptoms of a disease is still appreciated by the sufferer.''


    Nick''s body morphed, and he entered a tiny hole in the ground.


    He couldn''t see it, but Nick could perceive its location thanks to the vibrations in the walls around him.


    A rat.


    A rat with a fat gut was running through the tiny tunnel.


    Naturally, the tiny tunnel was leading out of the city.


    ''This thing has been bothering Crimson City for too long!'' Nick thought as he followed the rat.


    The Parasite.


    The Parasite had been one of the most damaging Specters in Crimson City.


    When the Crimson Sea had escaped, the Parasite lost ess to the city, but when the Crimson Sea was taken away by Aegis, it returned.


    Back then, Nick had been Crimson City''s Liaison, and he had had a confrontation with the Parasite.


    The Parasite threatened Nick to unveil the secret of his ability, while Nick threatened it with sneaking after one of its rats to kill it.


    In the end, the Parasite fled from Crimson City.


    However, it was clear that it wouldn''t stay away.


    After some years, it would look at Crimson City again.


    While Aria was still the Governor, going to Crimson City would be problematic.


    Most likely, she knew how to contact Nick, and while the Parasite hated him, it knew that Nick was crazy enough to follow through with his threat.


    ''It probably only started returning after Aria left,'' Nick thought.


    ''Aria was already an Early Hero when I was a Newbie, and she became a Mid Hero shortly after I became a Liaison.''


    ''She''s probably already a Late Hero, and I praised her a lot in front of Aegis. The chances that she''s still a Governor are minuscule.''


    Nick narrowed his eyes.


    ''And as far as I can tell, the new Governor doesn''t really care about keeping the Parasite away from Crimson City.''


    For several minutes,Nick kept following the rat as it ran towards the south in its tiny tunnel.


    Compared to normal rats, these rats were not running out of stamina, and it kept steadily running at around 20 kph.


    As Nick kept advancing, he sensed several tiny lifeforms ced along the tunnel.


    These lifeforms were barely a millimeter wide and were filled with tiny hairs and eyes.


    Based on their appearance, they only existed to keep watch over the area.


    These lifeforms were not ced on the surface.


    The reason was the gigantic storm of corrosive dust on the surface.


    Yes, Nick had already entered the domain of the Corrosive Dust, one of the local Demons.


    The Corrosive Dust had already been here before Nick had be an Extractor, and it was still here.


    Apparently, it had also grown stronger.


    The domain of the Corrosive Dust had expanded by a couple of kilometers, and the storm was even visible from the city''s edge by now.


    Within the next 30 years, the Corrosive Dust''s domain would have expanded enough to touch Crimson City.


    Naturally, Crimson City would need to solve the problem before that time.


    After a couple more minutes of following the rat, the small lifeforms even vanished from the tunnel.


    Instead, the Corrosive Dust also appeared in the tunnels.


    Nick could tell that the power of the Corrosive Dust in the tunnels was enough to damage a Specialist''s Barrier faster than it could recover.


    Yet, the rat wasn''t affected by the Corrosive Dust.


    In fact, Nick also wasn''t affected.


    ''It seems like the Corrosive Dust is specifically targeting biological life and human Zephyx. I have neither of those attributes since I''m purely made of Specter Zephyx,'' Nick thought. ?


    ''Although, that doesn''t mean that the Corrosive Dust can''t change the things it targets. It''s possible that it can also use its power to affect Specters if it so chooses to.''


    ''The Corrosive Dust is at least, a Mid Demon. Most likely, it is a Late Demon,and there''s even a chance it is already a Peak Demon. It is definitely not weak.''


    ''Luckily, it can''t move.''


    The Heroes of Crimson City had once united with the Heroes of another city to investigate the Corrosive Dust.


    Back then, they had seen it, but they believed that attacking it was too risky.


    None of the cities were willing to risk their lives so that the other city had a chance of getting the Specter for themselves.


    ''The Corrosive Dust is a gigantic pir made of sand rock, which is covered in screaming human faces. The cities don''t know, but I believe that the Specter is probably about as intelligent as an animal.''


    ''Most likely, it has some sort of alliance with the Parasite.''


    ''The Parasite is pretty smart and a very good diplomat. It wouldn''t be difficult for it to convince the Corrosive Dust that working together with it would be immensely beneficial.''


    Nick continued moving forward, passing through a denseyer of dust powerful enough to threaten even Heroes.


    And then, all the dust vanished, and the tunnels became bigger.


    The tiny lifeforms also hadn''t returned.


    ''No wonder nobody ever found the Parasite. It is not only extremely vignt but also very hard to follow.''


    ''Heroes would most likely disce enough dust to alert the Corrosive Dust, which would then alert the Parasite.''


    ''After that, the Parasite most likely gives orders to the Corrosive Dust.''


    ''It''s an intelligent but weak party thatmands a stupid but powerful party.''


    Nick felt this dynamic to be familiar.


    It reminded him of his early days in Dark Dream while working under Wyntor.


    ''I was really stupid and na?ve back then,'' Nick thought. ''I should''ve realized that Wyntor was also just another 16-year-old.''


    Nick shook his head to clear his mind and continued following the rat.


    After a while, Nick saw more and more rats moving around.


    The tunnel also expanded and split into several more tunnels.


    Within a couple of minutes,Nick found himself in a giganticwork of tunnels, which seemingly covered the entire underground of the Corrosive Dust''s domain.


    At some point, Nick''s perception also picked up the Corrosive Dust''s body.


    The body was shaped like a pir, and it was stretching deep underground.


    Several roots made of yellow stone extended even deeper into the ground, passing by the countless tunnels.


    The roots were kilometers long, and based on the shape of the body, it was around a kilometer high. About 400 meters were above the ground, while the remainder was inside the ground.


    Sure enough, its entire body was covered in the screaming visages of countless people as they breathed out clouds of dust.


    ''Late Demon,'' Nick estimated while analyzing the density of Zephyx of the Corrosive Dust''s body.


    After a couple more seconds, Nick also found a big "hall" below the Corrosive Dust''s body.


    The bottom of the Corrosive Dust''s body was hanging from the ceiling like some kind of bizarre ornament, while there was something in the middle of the hall.


    ''The Parasite,'' Nick thought.

 Chapter 706: How Truly Fortunate

    In the middle of the hall was a tall figure.


    It was about three meters tall and just as wide. It waspletely red in color and looked like it was covered in flesh. There were many bulbs all over its body.


    All over its round body were gaping vaginas and dripping penises.


    Nick saw a couple of the penises burrowing into the vaginas and pumping liquid into them.


    The next moment, the pumped vagina began to bloat, and just a couple of secondster, a wet slush of meat dropped out of the vagina.


    As the slush of meat hit the ground, ck fur poked out, and just a bitter, six rats burst out of the sack of flesh liquid.


    The rats immediately ran towards different tunnels.


    Naturally, they were on their way to one of the cities.


    However, these were not the only rats.Nick could also see quite arge number of fat rats, which were obviously filled with meat from human corpses.


    At the top of the big figure was a gaping maw of flesh.


    The maw was constantly open, and there were no teeth there.


    The fat rats climbed the figure and crawled into the maw.


    ''So, that''s the Parasite,'' Nick thought. ''It''s about as disgusting as its name.''


    Nick was reminded of the times he had talked with the Parasite.


    The rats had always seemed so educated and charismatic.


    The Parasite''s actual body was quite different from how it portrayed himself.


    People generally thought rats to be disgusting, but the Parasite''s actual body was on apletely different level of disgusting.


    Nick looked at the Parasite for a while.


    Naturally, he would kill the Parasite.


    This Specter had caused immense damage to several cities.


    However, it also knew a lot.


    Its knowledge was extremely valuable.


    Nick wanted to make use of the Parasite''s umted knowledge.


    ''Luckily, there is a way,'' Nick thought.


    The next moment, Nick moved into an isted space, turned back into a human, and deactivated his Barrier.


    After that,he grabbed a long ck coat and put his mask over his face.


    Lastly, Nick transformed his lower body into mist, making him seem like some kind of shadow demon.


    He really looked like a Specter right now.


    Then, Nick burrowed into the ground.


    Inside the hall, the rats kept climbing in and out of the Parasite as usual.


    "How lucky you are."


    Suddenly, all the rats stopped moving as the Parasite received a voice transmission.


    "Somebody''s here!" the Parasite transmitted to the Corrosive Dust.


    The color of the dust changed, and Nick could feel some danger radiating off it.


    Sure enough, the Corrosive Dust could also attack Specters.


    "Do you truly believe that I wouldmunicate with you if I feared this pir?" Nick transmitted to the Parasite.


    The next moment, a ck mask appeared on the ground of the hall.


    An instantter, the ck mask stretched out of the ground, creating an elongated ck pir.


    The mask looked at the Parasite.


    Naturally, the Parasite looked back and tried to analyze the ck Specter.


    However, it couldn''t feel any of its Zephyx!


    Nick had had a couple of years of practice, and he had managed to create an ability that hid his Zephyx.


    He didn''t exhibit human Zephyx, which didn''t give him a positive human aura, but he also didn''t feel like a Specter.


    He was kind of just nk.


    While this disguise would fool every weak Extractor, Veterans and stronger might feel that something was off since they could sense Zephyx pretty well. ?


    To them, Nick would feel strange.


    An instantter, the corrosive dust appeared inside the hall.


    "Stop!" the Parasitemanded the Corrosive Dust. "Don''t attack it!"


    The Parasite quickly looked back, but the Specter was gone!


    "How truly fortunate."


    The Parasite turned around and saw the mask just centimeters away from its body, looking at it closely.


    The Parasite knew that it was over.


    It seemed like its carefree days hade to an end.


    It could tell that this Specter was very intelligent and powerful.


    The Parasite wouldn''t be able to talk its way out of things with its glib tongue, and it wouldn''t be able to win in a fight or get away.


    Compared to the Corrosive Dust, the Parasite could actually move, but it was not fast at all.


    It also wasn''t useful inbat.


    "What do you want?" the Parasite asked without emotion.


    Its fancy and charismatic manner of speech was nowhere to be seen.


    After all, there was no point in trying to negotiate with this Specter.


    This was not a negotiation.


    "Tell me, do you serve one of the Corruptors?" Nick asked.


    The Parasite thought about how to answer that question.


    It knew a lot, but it didn''t know a lot about the Corruptors.


    The Parasite knew almost everything about all the surrounding cities, but it barely knew anything about the actual leaders of the Specters or Aegis.


    It wasn''tpletely sure how the Corruptors operated.


    Should it say that it was a servant?


    Should it say it wasn''t?


    As the Parasite''s perception looked at the mask, it felt that there was no point in lying.


    The Parasite was a Peak Fanatic, but in front of a Corruptor, it was an insect.


    In fact, even in front of a Corruptor''s servant, it counted as barely anything.


    "No," the Parasite answered. "You are the first one that found me."


    "How truly fortunate," the mysterious Specter repeated again. "A pure soul on this deste ind. A Peak Fanatic smart enough to subjugate a Late Demon. What true fortune."


    The ck figure slithered around the Parasite like a snake.


    By now, the Parasite realized that this was an intelligent Specter with an unstable mind.


    Oftentimes, these Specters could be manipted, but they could also be even more dangerous than stable Specters.


    "Do you wish to join us?" the ck Specter asked.


    "I don''t believe I have a choice," the Parasite answered.


    "How truly fortunate. A smart Specter," the ck Specter said.


    Then,the ck Specter stopped in front of the Parasite.


    "I obey Greed," the Specter said.


    "Greed?" the Parasite asked for confirmation.


    "Indeed," the ck Specter repeated. "How truly fortunate you are to serve the strongest Corruptor."


    Greed was special.


    It was the only Corruptor that wasn''t serving any of the Trio of Destruction.


    The reason was that Greed was too difficult to find and kill.


    Because of that, Greed counted as a neutral Specter.


    "How fortunate. You are going to meet Greed soon," the ck Specter said as a couple of stones started to form on the ground.


    The Parasite could see what was going on.


    This ck Specter was conjuring a Greater Ry.


    After a couple of minutes, the Greater Ry was conjured.


    The ck Specter moved in front of the Greater Ry, and the stone changed shape.


    It transformed into a young man with brown hair.


    "Lord Greed," the ck Specter shouted as it deeply bowed its head.


    The Parasite also bowed its head. "Lord Greed."


    The Corrosive Dust didn''t move.


    The younger man looked at the ck Specter with interest as he blinked a couple of times in surprise.


    When he saw the mask on the ck Specter, he understood what was going on.


    The next moment, a wide smile appeared on the younger man''s face, and he lightly lifted his arms like he was some kind of greedy goblin.


    "What is this?" the young man asked with a high voice as he looked around. "More servants for my hoard? Not enough! I need more!"


    Meanwhile, in the research and development area of Aegis'' headquarters, the Technician was standing in front of a stone circle like a gremlin.


    He and Nick had managed to adapt Greater Rys to ry-to-rymunication.


    With the Greater Ry, they could talk to each other from the other side of the world, which was extremely useful.


    Of course, it was easy to track both sides, but why would anyone care?


    The Technician was in Aegis'' headquarters.


    Everyone already knew where he was.


    As for Nick''s location, the two of them were so far apart that the party would only be able to estimate his rough location.


    He could be anywhere on the Deste Continent or the southeastern part of the Grand Continent.


    "Lord Greed," the ck Specter spoke. "This new servant is very intelligent and knows many things about the surrounding cities. It will expand your well of knowledge. How truly fortunate!"


    The Technician knew what Nick wanted.


    He knew that Nick could just kill this Specter if he managed to get this close.


    So, Nick obviously didn''t need the Technician''s help to kill it.


    "Knowledge! More knowledge! Knowledge is power!" the Technician said with his high voice as he rubbed his hands.


    "You!" he shouted as he pointed at the Parasite. "Tell me everything about this ind!"


    "This is your first order as my, Greed''s, servant!"


    The Parasite knew that it couldn''t possibly resist.


    This was Greed, one of the Corruptors!


    Even more, the power the Parasite felt through the Greater Ry was unmistakable.


    Greed was unimaginably powerful!


    "I will do so, Lord Greed," the Parasite said.


    And then, the Parasite started to talk about the ind and its cities.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 707: Valuable Information

    The Parasite began to tell Nick and the Technician everything it knew about the ind.


    The first thing it talked about were the cities it had infiltrated.


    The Parasite had infiltrated the surrounding six cities, but two of the cities were quite far away, making them less useful.


    Sending minions that far away consumed quite a bit of energy and was risky.


    After all, the rats needed to use something to move, and the further the rats were away from the main body, the more energy the Parasite needed to spend to control them.


    It was simr to when Nick split his mist body apart. The more parts he split into and the further away they were, the more Zephyx Nick needed to use.


    The city to the south and Crimson City to the north were the closest cities and the Parasite''s main source of power.


    After that, the Parasite talked about something quite interesting.


    Two of the cities were controlled by Envy.Operating in these cities was very risky for the Parasite. After all, if one of Envy''s servants managed to trace the rats, they could force it toply.


    Envy''s servants had already noticed the rats, and they had already forced an ultimatum on the Parasite.


    Naturally, the ultimatum was the same as always.


    Serve or die.


    However, the Parasite had bet on the fact that Envy''s servants wouldn''t be able to follow it and that the Corrosive Dust would keep them at bay.


    Additionally, the Corrosive Dust acted as a nice distraction.


    Envy''s servants had alreadye into contact with the Corrosive Dust.


    But what was the point of making the Corrosive Dust a servant?


    It couldn''t move anyway.


    Nothing would change.


    There was no real point in asking the Corrosive Dust to do something.


    Yet, after finding the Corrosive Dust, the Specters generally didn''t continue digging around the area.


    They already found a Late Demon.


    Why would there be other Specters in its vicinity?


    So, the Parasite kept operating in these cities,but it was especially careful not to get tracked.


    Finding two cities that were controlled by Envy was quite valuable.


    Additionally, due to the Parasite''s power of gathering intelligence, they could also be quite confident that the other cities were not under any Corruptor''s influence. ??


    However, the next thing the Parasite dropped seemed to be especially interesting.


    "Crimson City is not under the control of Envy," the Parasite reported, "but Envy is in the process of upying the city."


    Nick became quite interested.


    ''It actually makes sense,'' Nick thought. ''The gap between the outer ring and the Outer City is quiterge. It would make sense that the people of the outer ring would feel envy for the people inside the city''s walls.''


    "Envy does not have full control over the city yet," the Parasite continued. "Crimson City has seven Heroes, and four of them are Early Heroes, while the Governor is a Mid Hero. Additionally, the Heroes have battled several Demons in the past, and they are very confident in their strength."


    "Crimson City is able to unite against an enemy seamlessly."


    "Due to the number of Heroes, controlling one of them won''t give Envy a lot of leverage over the city. It also doesn''t help that many of the Heroes are very interested in bing Agents for Aegis."


    "If the Heroes suspect that Envy has influenced the city, they might actively search for the influence and eradicate it."


    "Because of that, Envy has to be methodical, slow, and careful. It can''t just send a powerful Specter into the city."


    "Killing the Heroes also doesn''t help since the death of several Heroes would draw Aegis'' attention to the city, making the entire process meaningless."


    Nick and the Technician listened to the Parasite''s exnation.


    ''Jornis, Vanessa, Libran, and William are probably still in Crimson City,'' Nick thought. ''They fought together before, and before I left, all four of them joined the city.I''m not sure if one of them decided to be the new Governor, but all of them should still be part of the city''s forces.''


    ''Even if the Governor were to betray humanity, they wouldn''t dare to show any signs of Envy''s influence.''


    ''The four of them represent the majority of Crimson City''s power. Essentially, whatever the four of them say, goes.''


    ''If Envy had control over them, it would control Crimson City, but since it doesn''t, it means that the four of them should still be clean.''


    ''Most likely, Envy has sent an undercover agent into Crimson City. I don''t think Envy is willing to permanently assign a powerful Demon to Crimson City, which means that it can only be a mediocre Demon or a Fanatic.''


    Nick didn''t ask about any details since he wasn''t supposed to be the one in charge, and the Technician just kept greedily grinning at the Parasite as he waited for more information.


    Next, the Parasite talked about different Specters in different cities. These Specters had not been captured yet and were operating underground.


    The Technician was taking note of all of these Specters.


    This Specter knew a lot!


    Next, the Parasite talked about the people it regrly traded with, but Nick didn''t really care about that.


    When it came to working with a Specter, the Parasite was one of the less offensive ones.


    It was just corpses.


    Surprisingly, the Heroes of Crimson City were clean.


    They were not actively hunting the Parasite since it was so difficult to keep it outside the city, but they were not trading with it at all.


    After about an hour, the Parasite was done talking.


    "Not enough!" the Technician shouted angrily. "I want to know about the future! I want to know about the past! Knowledge is power! Old humans were powerful! What about the old humans?!"


    The Parasite knew a lot, but it didn''t know much about the past civilizations.


    It was a Specter.


    What point was there to learn about human history?


    The Parasite also believed that Greed was wasting its time by trying to learn about the past civilizations, but it knew better than to oppose a powerful Specter with an unstable mind.


    "There are some ruins I know about," the Parasite said.


    Then, it talked about a couple of ruins.


    It sometimes used some of these ruins as tunnels for its rats.


    It had scouted them a bit, but it mostly didn''t care about them.


    Most of them had been found by the humans and deemed trivial, but some of them were still unknown.


    Nick and the Technician took note of the ruins.


    But then, the Parasite talked about a very interesting ruin.


    "There is one set of ruins that has proven to be very useful to the humans," the Parasite said.


    "Some years ago, Crimson City had some issues with a big Specter. The Heroes fought the Specter below the city, and a lot of the ruins were broken."


    "One of the walls broke down, and a tunnel leading to the north was found."


    ''Tunnel to the north?'' Nick thought. ''This should lead to the mysterious ce north of Crimson City. The one without any Specters.''


    Nick''s mind quicklybined the clues.


    ''And I think I know what''s there now.''


    "They found some kind of machine that once produced a form of energy with unknown effects," the Parasite said. "They didn''t manage to recreate the energy even once, but they managed to recreate some of its effects."


    ''Yeah,'' Nick thought, ''and one of these effects is causing terror in Specters.''


    It was not hard tobine the clues.


    There were no Specters in the houses of Crimson City''s outer ring.


    There were no Specters in the area north of Crimson City.


    It was clear that the technology protecting the houses was found in the ruins north of Crimson City.


    Nick was reminded of the biological machine and the energy near its ceiling.


    ''Is it the same energy?'' Nick thought.


    Then, Nick thought about the luminescent liquid flowing through the muscles of the organic machine.


    ''Did the facility in the ruins produce this kind of energy?'' Nick thought. ''If so, humanity might have found a devastating weapon against the Specters.''


    Sadly, Nick knew very well that things couldn''t be that easy.


    ''If the past humans could just create this energy, there wouldn''t be any Specters left. The Enlightened Ones and the Ancient Ones were much more powerful than us. If they had free ess to this kind of energy, they could have easily annihted all Specters.''


    ''Additionally, the Sun has destroyed almost everything useful from the past, and it has introduced several fail safes. I don''t think it would just let such a facility exist.''


    Nevertheless, there were still three additional ruins the Parasite talked about that humanity hadn''t found yet.


    Nick remembered the locations of these ruins forter.


    After some more minutes of talking, the Parasite became quiet again.


    Nick and the Technician had gotten everything valuable out of the Parasite.


    "Servant!" the Technician shouted, looking at Nick.


    Nick bowed. "Yes, Lord Greed," he answered.


    "Do the usual!"


    "Yes," Nick answered.


    Then, Nick turned to look at the Corrosive Dust.


    "Present your Specter Core," he transmitted.


    And the Corrosive Dust did just that.

 Chapter 708 : Special Agent

    The Corrosive Dust hesitated.


    Naturally, its Specter Core was its biggest weakness.


    Some seconds passed in which nothing happened.


    "How truly¡­ unfortunate," Nick said as his voice darkened.


    "Listen to it," the Parasite transmitted to the Corrosive Dust.


    The Corrosive Dust was still skeptical.


    "But danger," it transmitted back to the Parasite. "Core defenseless. Danger. Death."


    "Shut up!" the Parasite transmitted back with urgency. It didn''t want the Corrosive Dust''s refusal to cooperate to implicate it. "Do you see that other Specter? Can you feel its power? Do you truly believe that they can''t just kill you?! You are stationary! You can''t move! This Specter can just send any random servant to kill you whenever it wants!"


    "There is a chance you might die if you reveal your Core, but if you don''t, you will definitely die!""Okay," the Corrosive Dust answered.


    A momentter, the bottom of the gigantic column opened, and a ck sphere floated out of the pir.


    "How fortunate," Nickmented as he slowly floated over to the Specter Core.


    Nick threw a nce back at the Technician.


    The Technician understood what Nick wanted.


    Ding!


    The Technician cut the connection.


    The Parasite was a bit surprised that Greed just cut the connection like that.


    WHOOOOM!


    At that moment, Nick exploded into light, and the Parasite lost its vision of him.


    CRACK!


    The explosive sound of something hard cracking into pieces reverberated throughout the hall, and the Parasite immediately knew what had happened.


    The Corrosive Dust was dead!


    CRACK!


    The Parasite felt a de burying into its body.


    It noticed a figure in front of him, but the figure didn''t look like that ck Specter from earlier.


    Instead, it was the figure of a man.


    As soon as the Parasite saw the appearance of this man, a name shot through its mind.


    Nick Dusk!


    "Surprised?" Nick transmitted in an instant. "I told you I will kill you one day."


    Yet, before the Parasite could say anything, Nick began to cut the Parasite into pieces.


    Nick didn''t want to risk the Parasite using its rats to tell everyone about his secret.


    Because of that, he would kill the Parasite before it could physically speak his name.


    Of course, it was a bit risky to show the Parasite his identity near the end, but Nick just couldn''t help himself.


    While Nick''s body was a Specter, his heart and mind were still human.


    The Parasite was a Peak Fanatic, but Nick was also a Peak Fanatic.


    Even without his ability, Nick would be able to kill the Parasite.


    The Parasite was a horrendous fighter, while Nick was an excellent fighter.


    Within less than a second, the Parasite''s body was cut into pieces, along with its Specter Core.


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t see the Parasite''s dying expression since it couldn''t really have an expression due to its exotic body.


    As Nick stood in the middle of the room, he looked around.


    His ability had already reactivated.


    All the rats stopped moving as soon as the Parasite died.


    The rats were made of actual biological matter, but they didn''t have their own systems to produce energy.


    The rats simply burned Zephyx to move and live, which was generated by the Parasite.


    Air, food, or water weren''t used in that process.


    So, without any Zephyx, they just stopped living.


    Momentster, the Corrosive Dust also started to vanish.


    For the first time in an eternity, this part of the ind became quiet again.


    ''A dead Late Demon and a dead Peak Fanatic,'' Nick thought. ''That''s a lot of Zephyx that just got released. Most likely, a couple hundred Hatchlings will appear in the world.'' ??


    ''Sadly, there''s not much we can do. The Corrosive Dust can''t be moved or contained without spending tons upon tons of Zephyx, and the Parasite knew my secret.''


    ''With that, one more entity that knows about my ability died,'' Nick thought.


    ''The only ones that are left are the Technician, Ghosty, Simon, and Envy.''


    ''The Technician and Ghosty are not risky. They both know me and are my closest allies. Simon is a bit riskier since he isn''t aware of Aegis'' inside issues. I can only hope that he hasn''t told anyone else. However, he probably believes that I have already died. ording to the database, I never returned from the Maw.''


    ''Naturally, Envy is the biggest problem. If my true identity gets revealed and the Corruptors realize that I am a Specter working for humanity, Envy could tell the entire world about my ability. He could essentially cripple me without directly attacking me.''


    ''It''s important that the Specters do not realize that there is a Specter working for humanity, and even if they do, it''s even more important that they don''t connect Nick Dusk to Julian Winter.''


    Nick shook his head to pull himself out of his thoughts before turning to the Greater Ry.


    ''I should quickly deal with these things before peoplee to investigate.''


    Nick activated his Barrier and assumed his disguise again.


    He wouldn''t need to remain hidden anymore.


    From now on, he would openly travel to Crimson City as a special Agent from Aegis tasked with investigating the ruins.


    Then, Nick activated the Greater Ry again, and the Technician''s image reappeared.


    "Everything worked out," Nick said.


    "Sounds good," the Technician said with a smile. "If you ever need Greed again, just call me!"


    Nick nodded before cutting the connection.


    Then, he destroyed the Greater Ry.


    Sadly, as a Specter, Nick couldn''t use Space Bags, which meant that transporting big objects was cumbersome and annoying.


    However, Nick could just conjure any objects he needed.


    Then, Nick pointed his hand at the ceiling, and the dirt parted, creating a tunnel to the surface.


    Telekinesis was not difficult to use for someone as experienced in manipting Zephyx as Nick.


    Lastly, Nick took to the sky and slowly flew towards the north.


    As Nick started flying, he noticed that the corrosive dust started to vanish.


    Within a couple more seconds, nothing of the dust remained, and the area became clear.


    After decades of constant bombardment with the dust, the area had be perfectly smooth.


    It was almost like it was handcrafted.


    Of course, something like that couldn''t remain hidden for long.


    A couple of Veterans and Experts outside the city noticed that the Corrosive Dust had vanished and became nervous.


    What was going on?


    Naturally, they all knew that the Corrosive Dust was powerful.


    Something as strong as that wouldn''t just die, which meant that the Corrosive Dust was doing something.


    Did it move somewhere else?!


    Was it preparing for an attack?


    Eventually, they took notice of a distant figure slowly flying toward Crimson City.


    As soon as they saw the gigantic ck figure, they ran to Crimson City.


    Within seconds, half of the Extractors of Crimson City knew that something had happened to the Corrosive Dust.


    Just ten secondster, one of the Heroes had already taken to the sky and gazed towards Nick.


    Nick recognized the figure immediately.


    It was a huge man with ck hair who was wearing Aegis'' uniform.


    Jornis Zealow, one of Kugelblitz''s former Heroes and owners.


    Naturally, Jornis couldn''t recognize Nick since he looked like a gigantic ck figure with Aegis'' symbol right now.


    Nick stopped flying forward, staying around five kilometers south of Crimson City.


    "I am a special Agent sent from Aegis," Nick transmitted. "This is my code. Please verify my identity."


    Jornis narrowed his eyes as another Hero flew up to stand beside him.


    This one was Vanessa Korint, former CEO of Kugelblitz, who now was also part of the city.


    The two of themmunicated with each other silently as they nced at the distant Nick from time to time.


    A momentter, their Barriers flickered a bit, and they waited.


    "Greetings, special Agent," Vanessa transmitted to Nick. It seemed like Vanessa was able to transmit her voice, while Jornis hadn''t mastered that ability yet. "Please stay where you are for now while we verify your identity."


    "No worries," Nick transmitted back.


    Then, everyone waited for a while.


    About a minuteter, a third person appeared in the sky.


    It was a taller man with long green hair and sharp eyebrows who wore a holster with a single gun.


    Nick also remembered this person.


    William Drawhand.


    William Drawhand was the only Hero who had been captured by the Prison. Back then, Nick had freed William Drawhand, turning the tide in the battle against the Prison.


    William had once been a Governor of a different city but was captured by the Prison when his city had been destroyed.


    Based on the uniform he now wore, he had be a Governor yet again.


    "Wee to Crimson City, special Agent," William transmitted respectfully. "You may approach."


    Nick wordlessly flew towards the city as the other two Heroes looked at him with suspicion.


    Naturally, Nick''s appearance drew many more gazes from the people.


    They had never seen anyone like this.


    "I am here to investigate some things," Nick told the Heroes in front of him. "On my way here, I havee across a hidden Specter. After a bit of talking, I believed that the Specter was too dangerous to leave alive, and while I was there, I also dealt with another one."


    "I dealt with the Specter that controls rats and the one creating the clouds of dust."


    "I hope that is okay," Nick said.


    When the Heroes heard that, they were stunned.

 Chapter 709: Herman

    The other Heroes did not say anything.


    Two Specters?


    Naturally, all of them knew the two Specters Nick was talking about.


    The Parasite had been a constant eyesore for decades, and the Corrosive Dust had be a bigger and bigger problem.


    William looked further towards the south.


    He couldn''t see any dust. At least, no unusual dust.


    Then, William focused on the outer ring of the city.


    People wouldn''t notice since they could only overlook a limited part of the city, but a Hero could tell that there was a surprising number of rat corpses scattered across the alleys of the outer ring.


    The Corrosive Dust was gone.The Parasite was gone.


    "You killed the Parasite?" Vanessa asked in shock.


    "I assume that is the rat Specter," Nick answered. "Parasite doesn''t really fit the big pir of dust."


    Vanessa just wordlessly nodded.


    "Although," Nick added, "rification does not really matter in this case. I killed both."


    "How did you find it?" Vanessa asked. "We couldn''t find it, no matter how much we looked for it."


    "It was just below the other Specter," Nick answered.


    The eyes of the Heroes widened in realization.


    No wonder they couldn''t find it!


    It wasn''t that the Parasite had been absolutely amazing at hiding itself.


    It was because the Parasite hid beneath a Specter that was unkible to the Heroes of Crimson City.


    "I hope I did not ruin any future ns," Nick spoke. "I have read that you have quite a good number of Heroes in this city, but I assumed the pir was a bit out of your league. It was quite troublesome."


    Naturally, cities sometimes nned for decades how to capture and suppress a Specter, and that might have been the case with the Corrosive Dust.


    "No, no!" William answered quickly. "We were nning on asking Aegis for help anyway. In fact, you have done us quite a service, special Agent."


    Nick nodded. "Then, thank you, and you''re wee," he answered politely.


    "Not at all!" William answered politely.


    Vanessa and Jornis also performed some quick and polite bows.


    The more powerful party in a meeting dictated the tone.


    If the more powerful party didn''t use any niceties, it meant that the party probably wasn''t interested in wasting time with pointless disys of respect and politeness. R


    But in this case, Nick had been very polite and friendly, which meant that the other Heroes had to return Nick''s politeness.


    Usually, Nick didn''t act like this.


    He was more of a person whomunicated efficiently.


    However, he wanted to keep his identity secret, and talking to these people, whom he had worked with for years, was a bit risky, despite his disguise.


    Some subconscious mannerisms might remind them of the former Liaison of Crimson City.


    "I don''t want to keep you all from your work," Nick said. "I''m fine with an escort that knows about the city, some history, and the surrounding areas. I will explore in silence. Please do not be concerned. I am not here for an internal investigation. I am an archeologist by trade, and it is my job to learn about the past and present of humanity so I might develop its future."


    "Of course," William answered. "We never suspected you of being an internal investigator. Crimson City pays its tribute in greater amounts than necessary, punctually."


    Naturally, despite hearing that Nick was not some sort of internal investigator, William couldn''t help praising Crimson City.


    "I have just the person in mind," William added. "His name is Herman Reichert, and he has been part of the city''s leadership for longer than most of us."


    Then, William used his Barrier to contact Herman.


    Of course, Nick knew Herman Reichert.


    ''Makes sense that he is going to be my escort,'' Nick thought.


    Herman Reichert used to be the CEO of Ghosty''s Lab.


    Ghosty''s Lab had been absorbed by the city itself as soon as Nick had be a Liaison, and Ghosty himself had been sent to Aegis.


    Herman had be the leader of the city''s elite forces.


    Nowadays, Herman was probably still in a very high position, but with the additional Heroes in the city''s leadership, he was most likely no longer an actual leader.


    About a minuteter, Herman appeared on top of a tall building, waving towards Nick to approach.


    Herman looked middle-aged but healthy.


    ''Mid Specialist,'' Nick thought. ''He''s too old to ever be a Hero. He probably consumed an Initial Elder back then.''


    Nick said his goodbyes to the other Heroes and approached Herman.


    "Wee to Crimson City," Herman spoke politely. "My name is Herman Reichert. I lead the fourth special division of the city guards."


    Nick nodded. "Excuse me for myck of introduction, but my identity is deliberately kept secret due to the sensitivity of my tasks. You may just call me special Agent."


    "Of course, special Agent," Herman spoke with a polite smile.


    "Please, give me a rough overview of the city," Nick said.


    "Certainly!"


    After that, Herman led Nick through the city while introducing everything to him.


    Nick knew 95% of all the things Herman said, but he acted like he didn''t know about those.


    Apparently, Kugelblitz still existed and still upied the most powerful position amongst private Manufacturers.


    However, Kugelblitz couldn''tpare to the city.


    The city had over 800 Extractors, five of which were Heroes.


    Kugelblitz only had a single Hero, and it was quite obvious that the Hero would join the city sometime in the future.


    The Hero was not interested in leading Kugelblitz, and they barely owned any shares in thepany.


    They were content with just working with the few Demons the city had until they became an Early Hero.


    At that point, they would probably join the city.


    "Then, who is the actual leader of Kugelblitz?" Nick asked.


    "It''s a very capable young woman called Samar Melfion," Herman exined. "Her father used to be a senior director of Kugelblitz, and she has taken over his business empire."


    Nick just nodded.


    He had seen Samar asionally, but the words they had exchanged didn''t reach triple digits, and over 50% of them were just random greetings.


    Samar Melfion was Vernon Melfion''s firstborn. If Nick remembered correctly, she should be around 110 years old now, and she was most likely already a Specialist.


    "You might work together with her in the future," Herman said.


    "How so?" Nick asked.


    "She managed to consume a Mid Elder," Herman spoke with praise.


    "Oh," Nick spoke with surprise. "That is very impressive. In that case, she is bound to join Aegis as an Agent in the future."


    Extractors who consumed an Initial Elder couldn''t be Heroes without some serious investment.


    Extractors who consumed an Early Elder could be Heroes, but they would probably run out of time when they became Mid or Late Heroes.


    Consuming a Mid Elder was already very impressive and would allow someone to be a Protector in the future.


    Every Extractor who managed to consume a Mid Elder could enter Aegis for a special training course.


    Extractors who consumed Late Elders were incredibly rare. They were the only ones who ever had a chance of bing Shields.


    The only people alive who had managed to consume a Late Elder were the Shields and a select few Peak Protectors who couldn''t be Shields due to the Maw.


    There was only about one person per century who managed to aplish that.


    As for consuming a Peak Elder, that was impossible.


    After learning more about the past and the truth of the world, Nick was also certain that none of the Champions of Light had aplished that.


    They had most likely been created artificially.


    The fact that Samar managed to consume a Mid Elder was extremely impressive and put her in the top 0.1% of all Specialists.


    A momentter, Herman sighed regretfully. "If it just weren''t so tragic."


    "What''s tragic?" Nick asked.


    "Samar is verypetent but also very driven by emotion.She only attempted to consume a Mid Elder because of her father," Herman said.


    Nick turned to Herman, indicating that he was interested.


    "Her father died mysteriously, and his death had hit her pretty hard. There was a big battle happening while Vernon died, Vernon being her father, but she is certain that her father didn''t die in the battle."


    "She believes her father was assassinated during the battle."


    "She wants to find out who killed her father, and she wants to take revenge for him."


    "Sadly, nobody knows who the killer is. We don''t even know if there actually is a killer."


    "But there is one person that has to know the truth of what happened," Herman said.


    "And who might that be?" Nick asked.


    "Aria Light, the old Governor of Crimson City," Herman said. "From what I have heard, Samar has asked many times about her father''s fate, but Aria always refused to tell her the truth."


    "Aria is also an extremely rare talent. She also managed to consume a Mid Elder back then."


    "Samar knows that Aria is her only lead, which is why she is desperately trying to catch up to her."


    "But that will be difficult," Herman said. "Aria is advancing rapidly, and she is already a Late Hero."


    "Samar has her work cut out for her."


    Nick nodded. "What an interesting story," he mused.

 Chapter 710: Playing With Fire

    ''Samar, huh?'' Nick thought. ''I''m not surprised that she''s searching for Vernon''s killer.''


    ''Although, I don''t think it''s because she is emotional and loved him so much as a father figure.''


    ''Vernon might have been nice on the surface, but there was barely any true feeling behind his eyes. When Wyntor died, he just said a couple of words before immediately talking about his money.''


    ''I believe someone like Samar would realize that.''


    ''It''s probably more of a respect thing. The head of the Melfions was killed, and she believes it is her task to find the killer.''


    ''Aria knows that it was me, but she never told Samar. Even after my perceived death. Samar probably suspects me, but she was smart enough not to ask me directly.''


    ''If I found out that somebody was trying to dig up dirt on me, I would have seen that as an attack on me and as resistance to the necessary change of Crimson City.''


    ''Samar knew that, which was why she never investigated Vernon''s death while I was still Liaison.''


    ''Sure enough, Samar is intelligent.''''But going after Aria will be difficult. Aria is advancing rapidly. She advanced two stages in the Hero level within just 50 years. Heroes can live for about 500 years or so. With her mindset, she will also be valued by Aegis. Just like me, she actually wants to make a difference in the world.''


    ''There is no doubt that she will be a Protector, which means Samar also needs to be a Protector.''


    ''Maybe, if Samar manages to prove herself enough, she can ask for arbitration in this issue, and Aegis will moderate the conflict between the two of them. At that point, Aria probably won''t keep my involvement secret. After all, she believes that I am already dead.''


    ''Most likely, Samar won''t even care. She just needs to find the killer and make sure that they are dead. It''s just something pointless that allows her to keep her pride.''


    Nick covertly shook his head as Herman continued to describe Crimson City to him.


    Kugelblitz was still the strongest Manufacturer.


    Surprisingly, Sky Dream was the second strongest Manufacturer.


    Sky Dream was led by the two former leaders of Sce.


    Hera, the current CZE of Sky Dream had already managed to be an Early Specialist, and she managed to consume an Early Elder, which meant that she would be a Hero in the future.


    Sky Dream couldn''t oppose Kugelblitz yet, but the gap was slowly closing.


    After introducing the Manufacturers, Herman talked about the different parts of the city.


    The Outer City, Lower Layer, Middle Layer, and Upper Layer were basically identical to a couple of decades ago.


    William hadn''t modified Nick''sws by a lot.


    However, while the old city hadn''t changed a lot, the addition of the outer ring had essentially created a new version of the Dregs.


    Naturally, Nick did not like that a single bit, but he couldn''t change these things right now for multiple reasons.


    "Who developed the houses in the outer ring?" Nick asked while Herman talked about the outer ring.


    "Oh," Herman said as an embarrassed smile appeared on his face. "That was, eh, me and a couple of friends."


    Nick''s eyebrows rose in surprise, but his disguise hid his surprise. "You?"


    Herman nodded. "We entered a new set of ruins to the north and analyzed them. The area to the north alwayscked Specters, and we were interested in finding out why that was. We found the ruins, and we found the answer." ??


    "Our research team then analyzed the ruins, and we created machines that emted the ruins'' properties."


    Nick nodded. "When did you enter the ruins?"


    "Something like seven years ago, I believe. We just created the prototypes three years ago," Herman answered.


    "When did you tell Aegis about the ruins?" Nick asked.


    "About six months ago," Herman said.


    "A bitte, isn''t it?" Nick asked, turning to look at Herman.


    "You''ll have to ask the Governor about that. I can''t make ament on that," Herman answered in difort.


    Nick wasn''t actually surprised.


    Of course the local government would milk a ruin for everything it was worth before handing it over to Aegis.


    "You are not scared?" Nick asked.


    "Of what?" Herman asked.


    "The Envious Researcher."


    "Oh, no, that''s not an issue," Herman said. "I don''t know how the entire machine works. I only know what half of the parts are supposed to look like. Other people know how to create the other half. Some other people don''t know exactly what the parts do but know how to put them together."


    "The production has also been split between differentpanies, and they are not allowed to share their knowledge with anyone else."


    ''That''s smart,'' Nick thought. ''The creation of just a couple of parts couldn''t be counted as some amazing new technology that would attract the Envious Researcher. Sadly, if it were that easy to avoid the Envious Researcher, Aegis wouldn''t have so much trouble with it.''


    While the people of Crimson City were actually safe from the Envious Researcher, there were several things that they couldn''t do.


    For example, they could not write down how the machine worked.


    Written records could be read by people, and some people might identally understand how the machine worked.


    As soon as theplete function of the machine was understood by a couple of people, the Envious Researcher would also attack the people who only knew part of the knowledge.


    Additionally, people couldn''t help themselves sometimes, and a curious engineer from onepany might just casually look at thepleted product and would just muse about its function, which could lead to an idental understanding of the entire thing.


    Lastly, the more products that were produced and used, the higher the likelihood that a curious person would analyze the product and understand it.


    The powerful people knew of the Envious Researcher, but the normal people didn''t.


    Even more,the people who knew about the Envious Researcher would not think that this widely used product hadn''t gone past the Envious Researcher stage.


    They were ying with fire.


    They were essentially betting on the fact that nobody in the big chain of production would get curious.


    Nick decided to drop the topic for now, and Herman finally started to talk about the ruins.


    "The biggest ruins are directly below Crimson City," he said. "Crimson City has the unique privilege of having ruins from every single era of humanity in one ce, allowing us topare the achievements of different eras without having to travel across the world."


    "The ruins to the north seemed to have been of a research or production facility, which had been created by the Enlightened Ones. We have another set of ruins a bit to the southwest, but those were of a city of the Ancient Ones. It sounds impressive, but we didn''t find anything interesting in there. Just a lot of destroyed houses."


    Nick nodded. "I will be taking a look at the underground of the city first. Is there anyone currently investigating the ruins?"


    "I''m not sure," Herman said. "We have already looked through these ruins many times, and there''s nothing left that we haven''t found yet. The only people down there are probably people who walk to and from the ruins to the north."


    "Alright," Nick said, "Herman, I would like you to iste the ruins directly beneath the city. I am using secret technologies and abilities during my work, and Aegis demands that these technologies remain secret."


    "Nobody is allowed to watch me while I operate beneath the city," Nick added.


    "Eh, sure, I think that can be arranged," Herman said. "I''ll go contact-"


    At that point, Nick put his hand on Herman''s shoulder, and Herman froze.


    Herman felt like a Demon was standing beside him.


    "I want you," Nick spoke slowly in a dark but polite tone, "to truly understand the weight of my words."


    Nick''s faceless figure looked into Herman''s eyes.


    "These technologies have not all gone through the trial of the Envious Researcher, and the few people who know about them include very powerful figures, each one stronger and more valuable than a city."


    Nick made a small pause.


    "Aegis would rather get rid of an entire city instead of risking the Envious Researcher bing active."


    "If I sense anyone looking at me, I will kill them."


    "I mean everything I say, and I want you to realize the full gravity of my words."


    "Do you understand?" Nick asked.


    Herman had be terrified by now.


    The pressure Nick was putting on him was brutal.


    "O-of course! I understand!" he quickly said with several nods.


    "If anyone sees me during my investigation, they will die. Repeat," Nick said.


    "If anyone sees you during your investigation, they will die," Herman repeated.


    Nick slowly nodded. "Make sure that the people know about the gravity of the situation. You may take your time to iste the underground of the city. You do not have to iste the ruins to the north, but if the underground of the city is the only way to get to these ruins, you might want to get the people out of there too. I don''t know how long my investigation will take."


    "Only tell me that I may begin when you are certain that nobody is left in the underground."


    Herman''s heart rate had increased quite a bit by now.


    This was a lot of pressure and responsibility.


    "I will do as you''ve said!"


    Then, Herman left.

 Chapter 711 : Excuses

    Nick went towards the wall of the megastructure.


    As he walked through the streets, many people looked at him, but he ignored them.


    Nick was lost in nostalgia.


    He remembered these streets and most of these houses.


    Crimson City had been his home for the majority of his life.


    It was strange to look at it after so long.


    He felt a deep connection to Crimson City, but he also felt disconnected from it in a certain way.


    This was no longer his home.


    He was only a visitor.Nick entered the wall and walked over to a big hole in the ground.


    Nick had been in this hole before, but it had looked very differently back then.


    Back then, there had been crimson lighting out of the hole.


    This was the ce where Nick had roached for his first and only time.


    That had probably been one of the darkest days of his life.


    Back then, he had just caused an incredible tragedy, and he had been helpless in trying to rectify it.


    But now, he had the power.


    He had the power to influence the world.


    As Nick waited for Herman, he thought about the past.


    He thought about his struggles.


    He had told himself again and again that he would not stand by in the future.


    When he had the power, he would help people.


    The image of the outer ring popped into Nick''s mind.


    ''I want to help, but I can''t,'' Nick thought. ''Helping the outer ring might make things more difficult in the future. Crimson City is just one city. My goal is to help all of humanity.''


    ''Helping Crimson City will put me at an unnecessary risk.''


    ''Why should I risk everything just to help 2,000 people or so?''


    Nick continued waiting for Herman.


    ''There''s more to consider than just one part of one city. I have to focus on Aegis.''


    Nick waited.


    ''Also, what am I even supposed to do?''


    Nick waited.


    ''If something major happens while I am in the city, all eyes will fall on me. Eyes from Aegis will also fall onto me, and they will start to question my identity. I can''t just help any city without thinking about the potential costs and risks.''


    Nick started to pace back and forth.


    He was reminded of his past self.


    He had always sworn to himself that he would not just stand by and watch as others suffered if he had the power to change things.


    ''It''s not that easy,'' Nick thought. ''I have things to consider. I have risks to evaluate.''


    ''I can''t just throw everything away and help people.''


    When Nick thought about that sentence, Albert, the old Governor, and Vernon shot through his mind.


    Hadn''t they said the same thing?


    It wasn''t that easy?


    They couldn''t just do it?


    And what had Nick thought of that?


    ''Excuses,'' Nick thought. ''These are just excuses.''


    Nick stopped pacing.


    ''They are just finding reasons not to do the right thing.''


    Nick remained motionless and silent.


    ''Just like me right now.''


    ''Risking everything?''


    ''Jeopardizing everything?''


    ''What bullshit.''


    ''By that logic, a normal person is risking their life by crossing the street because an Extractor might identally run them over.''


    ''The risk is there, but the risk is almost nonexistent.''


    ''I''ve managed to get past many problems in my life. Why shouldn''t I be able to get past this one as well?''


    Nick''s eye became determined again.


    ''It''s actually not that difficult to help the people of the outer ring.''


    Nick thought of Herman and his team of scientists.


    Nick had been in contact with them back when he was a Liaison.


    ''Sacrifices have to be made for the good of mankind.''


    Nick was reminded of his old philosophy.


    ''A Specialist''s life is not worth more than an ordinary person''s life.''


    ''Sacrifice 100 people to save 1,000.''


    Within seconds of deciding to help the people of the outer ring, Nick had alreadye up with a n.


    It wasn''t actually difficult.


    He just had to stop making the current status quo profitable.


    "Everything is prepared," Herman said as he arrived near the hole.


    Nick was taken out of his thoughts as he heard Herman.


    "Everyone has been evacuated from the underground?" Nick asked.


    Herman nodded.


    "Then, I will start," Nick said.


    "Good luck," Herman said with a nod before turning around and leaving the room.


    Naturally, he didn''t want to identally be viewed as trying to sneak a peek.


    After Herman left, Nick jumped into the hole and floated into the city''s underground.


    As soon as Nick entered the underground, he noticed that something substantial had changed.


    ''There''s no more water,'' Nick realized.


    When Nick was young, the underground had been filled with disgusting dirt and excrement.


    After that, it had been filled by the Crimson Sea, and when the Crimson Sea had been captured, only clear water remained.


    But now, even the water was gone.


    ''Wonder what they did with all that water. There must''ve been millions if not billions of liters of water in here.''


    Nick also noted that the underground wasn''tpletely dark anymore.


    There were a couple of cables with lights, creating a couple of paths through the underground.


    One of them led from one of the holes to a spiral staircase, which seemed to go through all theyers of the ruins.


    Nick decided to follow that staircase for now.


    He traveled down for over a kilometer before he reached the bottom.


    The lowestyer had barely changed.


    Nick saw the cable leading towards the north to a new opening.


    The surroundings of the ruins were reinforced by powerful metal.


    It was like Crimson City was on top of a huge cauldron of metal.


    Back when Nick had still been living here, he hadn''t known enough about humanity''s past to realize the exact origin of these reinforcements.


    But now, Nick could tell that these walls were made by the Enlightened Ones.


    ''Most likely, the buildings of the Enlightened Ones in this city used to be far taller. If the Nightmare truly hadn''t existed during the era of the Enlightened Ones, it wouldn''t be too far-fetched for the Enlightened Ones to create a huge undergroundplex below the actual city.''


    ''Most likely, the Enlightened Ones did some research in this ce.''


    But before Nick looked at the ruins of the Enlightened Ones, he focused on the ruins of the Ancient Ones.


    Nick knew a lot more about the past, and he could tell a couple of interesting things.


    ''This is what the Ancient Ones used to call steel-reinforced concrete,'' Nick thought as he touched one of the buildings.


    ''It''s not as hard as Zephyx materials, but its resilience is amazing. The Ancient Ones used to build buildings that were over three kilometers tall without any Zephyx materials by using concrete in tandem with different metals.''


    ''Building a megastructure just with concrete and steel must have taken an unreasonable amount of math and nning.''


    ''Compared to them, we can just stack materials on top of each other since the tenacity of our materials is nowhere near the point of breaking under their own weight.''


    ''With the materials that were used to create Crimson City''s megastructure, we could probably build a megastructure twice as big without needing to fear its copse.''


    For over half an hour, Nick looked through the bottomyer of the ruins.


    ''Just as expected,'' Nick thought as the shape of the buildings and the cement of them popped into his mind.


    ''This used to be just a regr city.''


    ''In fact, for the Ancient Ones, this might not have even counted as a city.''


    ''This might only have counted as a local town.''


    Nick could tell that this used to be a normal town due to theck of strongly reinforced areas.


    The concrete was also not super thick everywhere, which meant that the buildings hadn''t been very big.


    ''The biggest building used to be less than a hundred meters tall in this ce.''


    ''The density of the walls also shows that there were many individual buildings ced side by side along a wide street and a couple of smaller streets.''


    ''There''s no reinforced wall for some kind ofb or high-security area, and there are not many empty spots that could have been used as fields for testing.''


    Then, Nick was reminded of the ruins to the north.


    ''The entrance to the ruins of the north is at the level of the ruins of the Ancient Ones. Yet, Herman said that the ruins were from the Enlightened Ones.''


    ''Something doesn''t make sense. Why would the Ancient Ones build a normal settlement within such a big hole?''


    Nick looked at the walls of the hole.


    ''These are not natural walls. Why would you dig such a big hole just to create a couple of houses for people to live in?''


    ''There also hadn''t been enough time for so much ground to rise. This would take millions upon millions of years and significant tectonic activity. Also, the town would rise together with the surroundings.''


    Nick continued looking at the walls.


    ''Even more, if the Ancient Ones had built this settlement in this hole, wouldn''t the walls also have been made by them? Instead, the walls were made by the Enlightened Ones.''


    At that moment, an interesting thought appeared in Nick''s mind.


    ''Did the Enlightened Ones sink this town?''


    ''Were they the ones that created this big hole?''

 Chapter 712 : Suppression Factor

    ''It''s a bit farfetched, but it''s the only exnation I can think of,'' Nick thought. ''They might have lowered the ground just to create a new city above the ruins.''


    ''The hole is not perfectly angr. The ground near the middle of the ruins is almost 50 meters lower than the ground near the edge. Of course, I''m only talking about the lowest levels of ruins.''


    ''The ruins of the Enlightened Ones are level.''


    ''I assume they made it like this to avoid the Sun''s perception.''


    ''Maybe, back then, the Sun wasn''t as peculiar about its identity. Maybe it was normal to avoid the Sun''s light. After all, without the Nightmare, darkness doesn''t sound like a bad thing.''


    ''If I am right, theyer of the Ancient Ones is basically useless since it''s mostly made of residential andmercial buildings.''


    ''Theyer of the Recovering Ones is useless anyway since their technological achievements are unremarkable.''


    ''Theyer of the Suffering Ones is just as bad.''


    ''That only leaves theyer of the Enlightened Ones, but most likely, the actual value should be in the secret ruin to the north.''''However, I should still take a look at theyer of the Enlightened Ones,'' Nick thought as he floated towards the nextyer.


    Nick went past the ruins of the Recovering Ones, which didn''t even support any otheryer since the Enlightened Ones had built all the support themselves.


    Theyer of the Enlightened Ones was made of high-quality Zephyx materials.


    The entireyer was made of materials that were even harder than the materials of the megastructure.


    ''Only Heroes can break through this material, and it''s also not that easy.''


    Back when the Crimson Sea had broken free, the old Governor had attacked the ruins below Crimson City.


    His attacks had decimated almost the entireyer of the Suffering Ones, but he had only created individual holes in theyer of the Enlightened Ones.


    For the next 30 minutes, Nick looked at theyer of the Enlightened Ones.


    ''At first nce, this also looks like a standard city with residences and shops.''


    ''However, there are a couple of things that are different.''


    ''First of all, why is everything made of such powerful materials? Even the houses and the sheds are made of materials that could resist the attack of Fanatics. I know that the Enlightened Ones had amazing achievements in Zephology and technology, but this couldn''t have possibly been cheap.''


    ''Second of all, despite there being a big cluster of ruins and a presumed underground city, the bottom waspletely isted until the Crimson Sea incident.''


    This was not something that everyone would notice.


    Sure, there were several holes in the ground now, but those had been created by the former Governor.


    Nick remembered that the Governor had attacked the ruins to create holes in them so that the Crimson Sea would stop rising.


    And, sure enough, the Crimson Sea had sunk quite a bit, which meant that millions of cubic meters of free space had be avable to the Crimson Sea. ?


    Naturally, the Crimson Sea had been a liquid, and it had acted like a liquid.


    If there had been any kind of hole in theyer of the Enlightened Ones, it would have been below thatyer from the get-go.


    But it hadn''t.


    It had only started lowering after the Governor''s attacks.


    ''Why would youpletely iste your big underground city to such an insane degree that not even a single drop of millions of liters of water would get through?''


    ''If this were just a random residential area, why would you go to such lengths?''


    ''Well, I can only think of one thing.''


    By now, it had be obvious to Nick that the Enlightened Ones wanted to desperately keep everything secret from the Sun.


    After all, light also wouldn''t be able to reach the underground city.


    ''Things make much more sense now.''


    ''This ce used to be a standard town for the Ancient Ones. The Recovering Ones also used this as a normal town. But then, the Enlightened Ones turned this into a secret research facility.''


    ''Sadly, after their demise, the Suffering Ones couldn''t make use of the ruins and simply built another town above this one.''


    ''The Suffering Ones probably didn''t have any way to create light that kept the Nightmare at bay.''


    ''Among other things¡­''


    The more Nick learned, the clearer the image became.


    ''If I view all of human history as a form of experiment, I can see the clear changing of parameters and ratios of the experiment.''


    ''The Ancient Ones used to be free and unbothered. Then, something happened. They died, and this entire experiment, machine, factory, or whatever has been created.''


    ''The Recovering Ones lived for a long time, but they barely got anywhere. There isn''t even evidence of anyone that reached the seventh or eighthyer.''


    ''That means they stagnated for a very long time and never truly managed to advance.''


    ''This means that the suppression factor of the experiment was too high.''


    ''So, the Recovering Ones were scrapped, and the suppression factor was lowered.''


    ''Everything seemed fine for a long time until suddenly powerful humans with incredible technology burst out of the ground and attacked the bottle.''


    ''The bottle almost got destroyed, but the experiment was controlled again, and the Enlightened Ones were eradicated.''


    ''After that, the suppression factor was cranked to the maximum again, but with different levels of suppression.''


    ''The Corruptors were introduced. The Trio of Destruction and Death appeared. The Nightmare was introduced. The Maw was introduced.''


    ''And even worse, this probably wouldn''t even have been everything.''


    ''Most likely, the Suffering Ones had to contend with even more powerful Specters than us.''


    ''It might be possible that there used to be another Eternal during thest era. Maybe even two more.''


    ''Otherwise, I couldn''t exin why thest era would remain this weak for such a long time. It''s not like the current era has some kind of gic superiority or whatever. All of us are and have been human.''


    ''But in the end, the Suffering Ones also stagnated, just like the Recovering Ones.''


    ''So, the Suffering Ones were eradicated, and the suppression factor was lowered.''


    ''And now, we are in the current era.''


    ''The suppression factor is almost certainly not as low as in the era of the Enlightened Ones, but it is also not as bad as in the eras of the Recovering Ones and the Suffering Ones.''


    ''From the viewpoint of the Sun, we are approaching a sweet spot.''


    ''We are strong enough to produce Shields and have over a hundred Protectors, but we are not strong enough to deal with a random Eternal.''


    ''This era might be humanity''sst chance to escape the Sun''s grip.''


    ''In fact, humanity might not even be able to escape anymore without outside help.''


    ''The Maw also acts as a sort of power meter and locator. With the Maw present, there can''t be any hidden level nine Extractors.''


    ''Even if Aegis catches Death and uses it to create a level nine Extractor, the Sun will still know what was going on, and if it bes too dangerous, it will reset the era again.''


    ''The old Champion hoped that I would be able to stay hidden due to the Null''s power, but that sounds na?ve and farfetched.''


    ''Luckily, I just so happened to be a Specter, giving me the perfect disguise.''


    ''While Death and its servants care about a Specter that works for humanity, the Sun most likely doesn''t.''


    ''In the end, I am just another Specter. I''m just another one of its servants.''


    ''As long as I don''t act like I truly want to destroy the Sun or know about its deepest secrets, it will ignore me.''


    ''I just have to keep my head down and be more powerful.''


    Nick stopped looking at the ruins of the Enlightened Ones.


    He was sure that he had basically solved the mystery of these ruins.


    The only truly interesting part was the secret ruins to the north, which was where all of the research should have happened.


    But something still didn''t seem to make sense.


    Sadly, Nick wasn''t sure what it was.


    There was just this general feeling of something not fitting together.


    ''I should go to the loweryers,'' Nick thought.


    Just as Nick approached one of the holes, he realized what hadn''t made sense.


    ''Right!'' Nick thought. ''If there were no holes, how would I get to the loweryers?''


    ''The Enlightened Ones created a secretboratory in a loweryer, but everything was so isted that not even a drop of water could get through.''


    ''So, how did they get there?''


    ''I have not found any entrances in any of the buildings.''


    ''But there had to be an entrance somewhere.''


    Nick looked around again.


    ''I''ve basically been everywhere, and I''m also confident in my perception. If there truly is an entrance here, I would have seen it.''


    ''Sure, there''s a chance that one of the holes just so happens to ovep with the location of the sole entrance, but the chances are pretty low.''


    Then, Nick looked at something.


    The gigantic pir in the center.


    The pir that supported the megastructure.


    There was no entrance leading into the pir.


    ''But what if there actually is one?''


    ''There might be something here that Crimson City hasn''t found yet.''


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 713 : Pillar

    Nick approached the big pir in the center of the underground ruins.


    The pir was about as wide as the megastructure, which meant that it was massive.


    It was like a solid wall of metal.


    Although not entirely.


    Would the original town of the Ancient Ones have a kilometer-wide pir of concrete and steel just randomly standing in the middle of the town?


    Of course not.


    Nick could see many thick walls of concrete on the bottomyer of the pir, but they were definitely not uniform, and they were not supposed to be a single building.


    Instead, they were only parts of the pir.


    The remainder was filled with metal made by the Enlightened Ones.Neither the Ancient Ones nor the Recovering Ones had created a big pir in the middle of this ce.


    The entire pir thing was made by the Enlightened Ones.


    ''Speaking of,'' Nick thought, ''why would they even do that? There''s no point in creating a huge pir if there''s nothing to support.''


    ''Could this just be a gigantic building?'' Nick thought. ''Possible, but I''m sure that the pir has been investigated thoroughly already. If there were an entrance, the researchers would have already found it.''


    ''Also, I think Ghosty would have told me if there was something interesting inside the pir of Crimson City. He has been the lead researcher of Crimson City for decades, if not over a century. If anyone would have known about an entrance, it would have been him.''


    Nick blinked once as he thought of something.


    The next moment, Nick looked for an isted space in the underground.


    Nobody was supposed to show up here anyway, but Nick wanted to make sure.


    Then, he conjured a Greater Ry and contacted the Technician again.


    "That was a quick callback," the Technician said as soon as the connection was established.


    "Hey, do you know anything about the big pir in the middle of Crimson City?" Nick asked.


    The Technician scratched the back of his head as he shrugged. "No. Isn''t that why you''re there?"


    "Can you put Ghosty on the line?" Nick asked.


    The Technician scratched his head.


    Could he add someone to the call?


    Was that even possible?


    He could connect to Nick via the Greater Ry, but that worked over an equal two-waymunication.


    This was different from how the Corruptors talked to their servants.


    In their cases, they were the ones keeping the connection going, which meant that they had all of the control over how themunication between parties worked. ?


    It was different here since the two devices worked on an equal basis and couldn''t just change how they worked.


    However, the Technician was the best researcher in the world, and he very quickly found a solution.


    He simply hooked his Barrier to his senses and used it as another ry to forward the Greater Ry''s messages to Ghosty''s Barrier.


    "Hey Nick, what do you need?" Ghosty''s voice said through the Greater Ry.


    "Hey, I''m currently below Crimson City. That big pir was made by the Enlightened Ones, right?" Nick asked.


    "Most likely," Ghosty answered.


    "What''s its purpose?" Nick asked.


    "It''s been a while since we looked into the pir," Ghosty answered. "I was rtively young when we went to the ruins to make a city, and I remember that Markus looked at it."


    "I didn''t really get a good opportunity to look at the pir. Plumbing was the least of our worries back then, and we had a big hole below us. So, you know," Ghosty said, trailing off.


    "But to get back to the topic, I think Markus said that it was a big storage facility."


    Nick furrowed his brows. "Do you know how he managed to get inside?"


    Ghosty thought about that question for a bit.


    "No, he never said how. He just gave an offhanded remark when we talked about the topic. Looking at it with the benefit of hindsight, he might have lied. I just never questioned it since there were tens of more relevant problems to worry about."


    "Okay, thanks," Nick said.


    "I''m going to enter the pir, no matter if there is an entrance or not."


    "Tell me what you find, okay? You piqued my interest," Ghosty answered.


    "Wait a second," Nick said. "I got a question."


    "Yes?" Ghosty asked.


    "Do you know about a technology that creates vibrations to scare Specters?" Nick asked.


    "No, you can do that?" Ghosty asked with interest. "How?"


    "Better you don''t ask and don''t try to find out. At least, not yet."


    Ghosty got a dark feeling in his stomach.


    "Nick," the Technician said, entering the call again. "What are you doing?"


    "Not standing by as about 2,000 people are working themselves to death and simultaneously supporting Envy," Nick answered.


    Ghosty and the Technician looked at each other.


    Naturally, this sounded very extreme and risky.


    If anyone else said something like that, they would protest.


    However, hadn''t Nick fixed several cities by now?


    When they heard about Nick''s methods and means, they thought of them as outrageous and too simple to work.


    Yet, the results Nick delivered were always great.


    Ghosty just shrugged as he looked at the Technician. "If it looks stupid but works, it''s not stupid."


    The Technician sighed.


    He had considered that something like this might happen.


    This part of Nick''s character that didn''t allow him to ignore some suffering in favor of the greater good was his biggest weakness and strength at the same time.


    Sometimes, the Technician hated it, but other times, he was d that Nick was like this.


    It was an unnecessary risk, but it also showed that Nick truly cared about humanity.


    "I just don''t want the city to be destroyed. The tribute should also not be affected by too much. Okay?" the Technician asked.


    "Understood," Nick answered.


    "Alright, let me just confirm with the Left Arm¡­ she says it''s my responsibility to keep you in line. So, yeah, as I''ve just said," the Technician added.


    "Thanks," Nick said.


    "Good. Keep me posted on the progress," the Technician said.


    "I will," Nick answered.


    Then, Nick cut the connection.


    Finally, Nick turned to the central pir.


    ''Let''s see if we can find an entrance.''


    For the next several minutes, Nick inspected the pir.


    The pir was notpletely uniform.


    Nick saw walls and edges on the pir, which were filled with materials from the Suffering Ones.


    There used to be a big building in the ce where the pir was, but it wasn''t designed to be an actual pir.


    It was more like someone put the big building in the middle of a big and round form and then poured liquid metal into the form until it was round.


    ''The Suffering Ones probably used the top of the big building as a big za. They just filled out the gaps.''


    Nick looked at the pir starting from the upper level of the ruins.


    The part of the pir above the ruins of the Enlightened Ones was made by the current era as a foundation for the megastructure.


    ''I don''t think the Enlightened Ones would make an entrance to that building on the roof. They were a bit too careful of the Sun to do that.''


    Nick had already circled the entire pir, but he hadn''t found an entrance.


    ''Either there is an extremely secret entrance or the actual entrance is behind the metal added by the Suffering Ones.''


    Nick''s ability hadn''t deactivated even once while being down here, which meant he didn''t need to be extremely careful.


    He transformed into his mist form and approached the metal added by the Suffering Ones.


    It wasn''t easy, but Nick could seep into the metal.


    One had to remember that Nick was essentially a Force Specter, and those were notoriously difficult to contain.


    While he couldn''t get through the metal made by the Enlightened Ones, the metal made by the Suffering Ones wasn''t very resilient against Force Specters.


    Nick''s mist body clung to the stronger metal and expanded like smoke over it.


    The more Nick expanded, the more Zephyx it cost, but since Nick wasn''t in a hurry, he could take his time.


    After expanding to a width of about 50 meters, Nick had reached an equilibrium.


    He was using and regenerating about the same amount of Zephyx while traveling through the weaker metal with this size.


    Nick was essentially acting as a searchlight.


    For many minutes, he circled around the pir.


    And then, finally, he found something that looked like a door.


    The door was partially open, and the weaker metal had spilled in, covering about the first meter of the hallway behind it.


    Nick could see electronics and Zephyx conductors in the door.


    ''This door used to have a Barrier that kept everything isted, but the power source has vanished, leaving tiny gaps.''


    ''The liquid metal pushed through, opened the doors a bit, and solidified, isting everything.''


    As Nick looked at the entrance, he could tell one thing.


    Nobody had been through this door after the Enlightened Ones had vanished.


    ''Unless there''s a second entrance on the roof, Markus was never in here.''


    ''He probably just said that so that Aegis would allow him to build on top of it.''


    ''He wasn''t interested in looking through some dusty ruins to find some documents that Aegis would just take away. He just wanted his city and his money.''


    ''He never found an entrance, and he didn''t want topromise the integrity of the ruins so that he could build his megastructure.''


    ''Well, at least I''m here now.''


    Nick seeped through the entrance and materialized inside the dark hallway.


    ''Let''s see what''s in here.''

 Chapter 714 : What Is This Building ?

    The first thing Nick noticed was that the hallway was dark, which was to be expected.


    ''The inner walls are made of the same material as the outer walls, which also isn''t very surprising,'' Nick thought as he looked around.


    The walls around him seemed to be made of a single piece of metal, which had been formed into a hallway.


    This was the typical architecture of the Enlightened Ones.


    ''There''s a good amount of oxygen in here despite the fact that this ce ispletely isted. Either there hasn''t been anything alive in here ever since this ce was closed up, or it isn''t actually as isted as I''ve thought.''


    Nick touched the walls.


    No dust.


    Then, Nick punched the wall.


    BANG!Nick didn''t use all of his power, and he also didn''t use his weapon, which was why the wall didn''t break.


    However, the vibration of his attack traveled throughout the entire building.


    ''My ability didn''t fluctuate, which means the vibration wasn''t sensed by anyone,'' Nick thought.


    ''There''s no living thing in here.''


    The next moment, Nick turned into mist again and traveled through the corridor.


    The area immediately after the entrance was a big hall with several chairs on one side and a separate office on the other.


    ''Looks like a standard reception hall. People can wait over there while the receptionist sits here.''


    ''Judging by the number of chairs, this was a ce that got quite a lot of visitors. The chairs are made of a material simr to the walls, and there are 15 of them.''


    Nick looked a bit closer at one of the chairs.


    ''While the material it is made of is rather strong, it is not nearly as strong as the walls.''


    Nick grabbed one of the chairs and squeezed.


    Naturally, the chair exploded into pieces as soon as Nick squeezed.


    ''About as hard as a level two material, but also quite light. Even a normal person could move the chair. Although, it wouldn''t be easy.''


    ''The chair is also very simple and doesn''t have any fancy arches, design, or decorations.''


    ''The chairs are cheap and don''t even try to impress the visitors.''


    ''This is almost certainly not a building that belonged to a Manufacturer.''


    The reception halls of Manufacturers were always imposing to impress thepetition and new employees.


    A beautifully decorated workce increased employee morale.


    ''This is obviously not some kind of cutting-edgepany that owned this building.''


    ''Either this belonged to a privatepany that deals with a big number of normal people as customers, or it belonged to the government.''


    Nick saw a couple of small tables and stands near the chairs.


    Everything was perfectly clean.


    Sadly, Nick couldn''t look at any records.


    The records of the Enlightened Ones were extremely difficult to get ahold of due to their insane security measures.


    Aegis had found many devices of the Enlightened Ones, but while they had been able to find ways to infuse them with energy and to make them work, they hadn''t found a way to send orders to them. ???


    It was simr to finding a console from the current era while having no body and being blind. One wouldn''t be able to interact with the console, and even if the console disyed something, one wouldn''t be able to see it.


    It was like the devices used by the Enlightened Ones needed some kind of interface to work.


    When infused with energy, they basically just activated and started to use up energy, but they didn''t do anything.


    The Technician had tried many times to ess these devices, but he just couldn''t find out how.


    Even when he destroyed the devices to look at their insides, he could only scratch his head.


    The stuff in there seemingly made no sense.


    Something was put in, and something else magically came out.


    It truly looked like magic to the Technician.


    However, the Technician knew that any technology sufficiently advanced would look like magic.


    It was just that the Enlightened Ones had been so far ahead that the Technician couldn''t even understand what was going on while looking at it.


    Their technology was more advanced, and their Zephyx Maniption was even more advanced.


    By putting these two things together, the Enlightened Ones created machines that rivaled theplexity of the Ancient Ones.


    Maybe the Enlightened Ones were actually even more advanced since they also had ess to Zephyx.


    Nick looked at a tiny metallic sphere behind the counter.


    He knew what that was.


    ''One of the personal spheres of the Enlightened Ones,'' Nick thought.


    Just like with the Ancient Ones, the only things left of the Enlightened Ones'' physical bodies were piles of ash and these personal spheres.


    Apparently, every human from that era had one of these spheres.


    The running theory was that these were imnts.


    Most likely, these imnts could connect one to the machines of the Enlightened Ones.


    Sadly, there was no way to activate them or interact with them.


    The imnts were probably attuned to someone''s DNA or something simr, and in order to reprogram these imnts, one needed a device that reprogrammed them.


    However, how could one use such a device without having an imnt that allowed them to interact with any device made by the Enlightened Ones?


    It was impossible to do one thing without having ess to the other.


    Meanwhile, interacting with the technology of the Ancient Ones was rtively easy.


    They just used fancyputers and disys.


    Sure, their encryption was very good, but with Zephyx, one could crack these quite easily.


    Also, all of the devices just worked with electricity.


    Nick left the reception and looked through a couple of rooms.


    Luckily, most furniture was made of metal that didn''t rust, which meant that most of it still existed, even after thousands of years.


    Nick saw a couple of standard offices.


    Despite the Enlightened Ones'' crazy advances, they still seemed to work in office spaces.


    After the offices, Nick found some rooms with advanced machinery.


    It was difficult for Nick to decipher what the machines were doing, but there was one thing that was always identical.


    There was a ss pane on the floor in the middle of every room with machinery in them unless the room was an obvious storage room.


    ''Not sure what this is all about, but I can tell that these rooms are probably all for customers.''


    ''There''s a big waiting hall for a good number of people and many essible rooms with the same device in the middle. This means that this weird ss pane on the ground is essential to treating every customer.''


    ''The machines on the side are often the same ones, but some rooms have different ones.''


    ''Is this something optional?''


    ''Why would so many people want to interact with so many different machines?''


    Nick kept looking at the machines.


    ''Difficult to say. They can all be used by a single person, but they don''t seem to have any obvious usage.''


    ''It doesn''t look like entertainment. If this were an entertainment ce, these machines wouldn''t look so boring and simple.''


    After a while, Nick went a floor higher.


    The rooms there were bigger, and sometimes, there were several panes of ss on the ground.


    Additionally, there were also lines on the ground that connected the panes of ss.


    Nick decided to approach one of the panes and grabbed it.


    The pane was around twenty centimeters wide and circr. It was poking out of the ground for about five centimeters.


    Then, Nick pushed it to the side.


    It slid along the lines of the ground with rtive ease.


    Nick raised an eyebrow and pushed it along the ground.


    Then, Nick lifted it.


    ''Heavier than it looks,'' Nick thought.


    It weighed about 50 kilos.


    When Nick looked at its underside, he saw a couple more but smaller panes of ss.


    Some of them aligned perfectly with the lines on the ground.


    Nick put the thing back on the lines and kicked it a bit.


    It moved along the lines very easily.


    It didn''t even make any sound despite weighing 50 kilos and sliding across a metal floor.


    ''I don''t think the Enlightened Ones made these things so heavy without any reason.''


    Nick looked into several more rooms.


    Some of them had huge machines, while some of them just had a group of panes.


    Slowly, Nick was realizing what this was.


    ''If that''s true, I should find something.''


    Nick started to go through all the furniture in every room.


    He was especially looking through any cupboards and shelves.


    After a couple of minutes, Nick searched through the entire building.


    The building was about ten stories tall, and Nick saw meeting rooms and big offices near the top, which meant that was the ce where the leaders had been.


    Naturally, Nick had also found several imnts in different rooms, apanied by piles of dust.


    ''I''m sure that I''m right,'' Nick thought with furrowed brows.


    Then, he went to the different machines and looked for openings in them.


    After almost a full hour, Nick actually found something.


    There was a small thing that looked like a gun on one of the tables on the second floor.


    When he opened the small hatch on the gun, he was greeted with what he had been searching for.


    ''An imnt!'' Nick thought as he looked at the tiny imnt in the gun-like machine.


    ''I knew it!''


    Nick looked at the movable panes of ss.


    ''These are machines that make beds, and the beds can easily be moved around!''


    ''The reason why they are so heavy is to make it harder for them to fall over if there''s a curve or if the person on the bed struggles.''


    ''If someone struggles on the bed, the bed only moves back and forth but won''t fall over.''


    ''This is a hospital!''

 Chapter 715: Opening a Door

    Chapter 715: Opening a Door


    Shadow Novelist


    Volume 23: The Game Changes


    ¡û Previous chapter: 714 : What Is This Building ?


    Nick made a mental note of the location of the building and what it was for.


    Naturally, as a hospital, it was quite big, but it wasn''t big enough to fill out more than a square kilometer of area.


    It was maybe just a hundred or two hundred meters across, which was already pretty big.


    After finding out what this ce was for, Nick went to the basement of the building.


    ''Most likely, the underground city was kept secret from the normal popce. Otherwise, there would be more entrances to the underground.''


    ''Probably only one or two buildings in the center have an entrance that would lead to the underground city.''


    ''The chances that it is the hospital are quite high. A good volume of people enter and exit from here, making it easy to keep the passage of people to and from the underground secret.''


    Nick looked through the basement of the building and saw more rooms with more machines.


    Most likely, this was where they kept the spare machines in case one of them broke.


    ''Surprisingly, the machines down here are not the biggest of the building. From what I have read, hospitals from the older eras all kept their big and expensive machinery in the basement. It''s safer there, and the machines tend to cost a lot of energy to run while also being very loud.''


    ''Yet, the biggest machines are on the higher floors here.''


    ''This probably means that the leaders of this ce know of the underground city.''


    Nick looked through every room in the basement, but he couldn''t find any entrance.


    At least, not while looking at it from a human perspective.


    As a cloud of mist, Nick could squeeze between crevices and crawl behind machines.


    Eventually, he found something.


    ''There is a secret entrance,'' Nick thought. ''I didn''t expect one to be here, but it actually makes sense.''


    There was a big lunch hall that extended from the basement to the ground floor. People could either enter from the basement or enter from the second level of the lunch hall.


    On the lower floor of the basement were a couple of rooms that very clearly indicated that they were bathrooms.


    Surprisingly, every single stall within the bathrooms was connected to a secret corridor beneath them.


    Nick couldn''t find any kind of switch, which meant that the opening of said corridor probably worked via the imnts.


    Most likely, the authorized people could see some kind of virtual button that allowed them to open the door.


    Based on the mechanism Nick found, he could see that the toilet would move to the side to open a small hole with adder inside.


    Thedder went down for about five meters, and all of thedders converged in a new corridor below the hospital.


    Nick entered the corridor and traveled through it.


    A couple of stairs led further downward before Nick saw a big gate.


    The gate was closed shut, and Nick couldn''t find any holes.


    Even without any power, the gate was able to keep a Force Specter out.


    ''Impressive,'' Nick thought.


    Nick summoned his des and moved them across the gate.


    CRRRRRRRR!


    An ear-grating sound was produced, and Nick saw his des bing white hot under the stress.


    Meanwhile, the gate hadn''t reacted yet.


    ''The gate is harder than my weapons,'' Nick thought. ''Cutting through it won''t work.''


    ''Luckily, there are other ways to get through a hard barrier.''


    Nick took a couple of steps back.


    BANG!


    Then, he exploded forward with his full strength and punched forward with his de, perfectly hitting the space between the two doors.


    CRRK!


    Nick''s de bent, and his arm broke into pieces.


    The gate shook violently, but it had only received a small dent.


    Nick would probably need thousands of such attacks to make a small hole in the gate.


    ''This is definitely rank 6 material. No Demon or Hero can break this with just a couple of attacks.''


    ''Even if Julius found this, he wouldn''t be able to get through it.Aegis would need to send a Protector or a Peak Hero specializing in cracking powerful materials.''


    While Nick was thinking that, his arm recovered, and he took something out that he hadn''t used in quite a while.


    One of his throwing spears.


    Nick''s move set synergizes much more with his des. As long as he was close to an enemy, he couldunch many individual strikes, while his spear could onlynd one fully powered one.


    Because of that, his throwing spears had grown obsolete.


    However, there was just one thing that they could do better.


    While Nick could probablyunch five to ten attacks in the time it required to perform one single full-throw, that single full-throw was probably a good 50% stronger than one of his strikes.


    Nick pulled the spear back, took several steps forward, and threw it forward with all of his power.


    CRRNK!


    The spear hit the door andpressed like a spring before falling to the ground.


    These spears were very flexible, and they didn''t break easily.


    When Nick looked at the door, he could see a small hole, barely a couple of millimeters deep.


    ''Better than my strike, but not by much.''


    Nick was trying toe up with a solution.


    He felt like there was a way for him to destroy the door.


    ''How can I increase the power?''


    Eventually, Nick came up with an idea.


    ''Physics,'' Nick thought.


    ''I''ll just do what all of humanity has done when they wanted to aplish something.''


    ''I just create something that will do it for me.''


    Nick gathered his Zephyx and started to conjure something.


    It took several hours of conjuring since Nick was conjuring something extremely dense and heavy.


    After over ten hours of conjuring, Nick was done.


    In front of Nick was a thick, massive, and long spear.


    It was over two meters long, almost ten centimeters in diameter, and there were a couple of ridges near its back.


    In a way, it looked like a massive arrow.


    Nick grabbed it and lifted it.


    His arms almost shook as he lifted it.


    This thing weighed tens of tons, and Nick wouldn''t even be able to lift it without using his ability.


    Naturally, using this in an attack wouldn''t aplish much.


    Sure, it was much heavier than Nick''s normal spears, but Nick wouldn''t be able to put more kic energy into it.


    In fact, it would be even worse.


    Additionally, while it was much denser, it wasn''t any harder than the other spear.


    It would bend like the previous spear.


    ''However...''


    Nick moved the spear so that its tip looked down.


    Then, a maw opened up beneath it, while a second one opened up perfectly above it.


    Finally, Nick dropped it.


    The spear dropped into the bottom maw and came out of the top maw.


    It fell back into the bottom, came back out at the top, fell into the bottom, came out at the top¡­


    As it kept falling, it became faster and faster.


    Its aerodynamic shape would keep its wind resistance to a minimum, while the ridges would keep it straight.


    With its insane density, it would reach an abnormally high terminal velocity.


    It took a long while for the spear to reach terminal velocity.


    By the end, it had essentially turned into a blur, and the wind in the room had reached speeds of several hundred kph due to the force exhibited.


    Space seemed to warp around the spear, and Nick felt nervous.


    He felt like a mortal standing beside a rapidly moving, gigantic machine.


    If he just touched this spear, he felt like his arm would vanish.


    By now, the room had also be insanely hot due to the friction.


    The stored energy of this thing was terrifying.


    However, Nick also lost a lot of Zephyx.


    Every time the spear traveled through the maws, a chunk of Nick''s Zephyx was used up.


    ''I should hurry,'' Nick thought as he moved far away from the spear and the door.


    Then, Nick took out a metallic te and pointed it toward the distant gate.


    An instantter, the top maw vanished and appeared on the te.


    WHOOOOOM!


    The spear shot out of the te and hit the door.


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!


    It was bright!


    It was like there was an actual explosion!


    The gate broke off its hinges, and a bunch of mist shot into the space behind the door.


    The spear had quite literally been vaporized!


    The doorway behind the former gate became blurry as everything heated up by hundreds of degrees.


    An instantter, the shockwave hit Nick, and he was sted back.


    The shockwave pushed him against the wall at the back,pressing his body.


    Luckily, his body was hard enough to resist the force.


    Nick would have thought a bit about the power he had managed to unleash just now if he hadn''t been distracted by something else.


    Moments after the gate had exploded, Nick''s ability had deactivated.


    Someone had sensed him.


    The pir of Crimson City was so massive and thick that the citizens would have, at most, felt a tiny quake, and that wouldn''t be enough to pinpoint Nick''s location to a degree that would deactivate his ability.


    This could only mean that someone was rtively close to him.


    Most likely, they were inside the pir.


    ''Something living is here,'' Nick thought.

 Chapter 716: True Secret

    Shadow Novelist


    Volume 23: The Game Changes


    ¡û Previous chapter: 715 Opening a Door


    Several thoughts shot through Nick''s mind.


    ''It''s impossible that any human would still be alive down there,'' Nick thought as he looked at the cooling hallway.


    ''Which means that it can only mean that there are Specters in here.''


    ''The fact that my ability hadn''t deactivated after striking the gate the first couple of times also means that it''s not easy for the Specters to perceive their surroundings.''


    Nick raised an eyebrow.


    ''Is this some kind of secret location where they keep Specters?'' Nick thought.''If there is truly a Specter in here, it must have been in here for over ten thousand years.''


    ''A Specter that has actually interacted with the Enlightened Ones.''


    ''This might be our ticket to learning more about the Enlightened Ones.''


    ''This Specter must have seen how the Enlightened Ones have used their technology, and it can probably give us important insight.''


    Nick slowly stepped forward.


    The hallway was still very hot, but Nick''s body could resist the heat.


    By now, his ability had also reactivated, which proved again that the other party only knew where he was based on the destruction he had unleashed.


    The other party couldn''t be sure anymore where Nick was, which meant that it was no longer perceiving him.


    After Nick stepped through the broken gate, he noted that the walls had be even harder.


    The walls of the hospital were made of rank five materials, which meant that Heroes could break them, while the gate was made of rank six materials.


    The walls of this underground area were also made of rank six materials.


    Making an entire building out of rank six materials was quite extreme.


    Sure, Aegis'' headquarters was made of rank seven materials, but that was literally the headquarters of the entirety of humanity.


    The strongholds were made of rank six materials, but there were only a couple of them.


    Meanwhile, this random basement of a random hospital in a random town was also made of rank six materials.


    Either the Enlightened Ones had a crazy surplus of Zephyx, or there was something quite important down here that required this level of security.


    At that moment, Nick got a thought.


    ''Is it energy generation? The secret ruins to the north probably need energy, and that energy was probably generated here.''


    ''If you want to keep an entire facility secret, you can''t move tons of Zephyx through the toilets of a hospital. It would make more sense to generate the energy locally.'' ??


    ''Although, I can''t be sure.''


    After a bit, Nick stopped.


    BANG!


    Then, Nick stomped on the ground with one of his feet.


    Some vibrations went through the hallway.


    ''Ability''s still active,'' Nick thought.


    Nick continued walking and descended some stairs.


    He ended up in a pretty big hallway, which connected to two more sets of stairs.


    One of them was going down, while the other one was going up.


    Nick walked up the other set of stairs, and sure enough, he found an identical gate blocking his way.


    ''Seems like the hospital wasn''t the only building that leads into the underground.''


    For now, Nick wouldn''t look at the other building.


    He wanted to focus on the underground.


    He descended the stairs again and also descended the next set of stairs.


    The hallway was made ofpletely grey material, and it was quite obvious that nobody had cared about appearances here.


    Eventually, Nick came across a split in the hallway, but before going down one of the hallways, he stomped the ground again.


    BANG!


    ''Nothing,'' Nick thought as he went down one of the hallways.


    This hallway ended in a single door, which couldn''t look simpler.


    Yet, its simple appearance was deceiving.


    As Nick touched the door, he narrowed his eyes.


    He knocked on it lightly.


    ''Hard,'' Nick thought. ''Really hard. Way harder than the gate.''


    ''I''m not breaking this one.''


    ''This has to be rank seven material. Only a Shield can break through this.''


    Nick looked at the edges of the door.


    The door was still intact, and it was obvious that it was extremely advanced.


    Nick could see the signs of countless little fail safes and devices in the cracks of the door.


    It had probably been surrounded by several Barriers.


    ''Luckily, this door is so advanced that everyone relied on its technical capabilities so much that they didn''t use primitive measures to iste it.''


    In short, there were small gaps around the door, which would have obviously been blocked by several electrical mechanisms.


    But without any power, none of these mechanisms worked.


    Most likely, there was a backup storage of Zephyx somewhere buried in the wall, which would keep the door running for months, if not years, in case something happened to the power.


    But would there be enough Zephyx to let this door keep running for literally thousands of years?


    No.


    Time had destroyed all but the most primitive defenses¡­


    Hard walls.


    Nick turned into mist and squeezed through one of the gaps.


    He easily materialized behind the door and looked around.


    Nick was in a small room with almost no furniture.


    However, based on the small piles of dust, there probably used to be a bit of furniture here.


    The most interesting part was the big pile of dust in the middle of the room.


    There was an imnt in the pile of dust, which meant that this used to be a human.


    However, this was not the only thing that was left.


    Nick saw a gleaming sword half-buried in the ashes.


    When he saw it, he felt some terror appearing inside of him.


    This thing felt very simr to that strange force in the biological machine.


    He readied himself and became extremely careful.


    Then, Nick stepped forward and grabbed the sword.


    ''Oof!'' Nick thought as he tried to lift the sword.


    This thing was heavy!


    Like, really heavy!


    Nick squatted down and used his entire body to lift the sword.


    It wasn''t easy, but Nick managed to lift one end of the sword.


    ''Shit!'' Nick thought in panic as the sword slid forward.


    BANG!


    The sword slid into the pile of dust before stopping, its hilt sticking out of the ground.


    Nick took a while topose himself.


    ''Did this sword just cut through the ground just because I changed its angle?!''


    The sword was fully submerged in the floor, and only its guard was keeping it from falling through it.


    This entire room was made of rank seven material!


    Only a Shield could break into this room!


    And yet, this sword cut through the ground just by touching it!


    It was clear that the owner of this sword had not been just a random Extractor!


    With his ability active, Nick had about as much physical power as a Peak Hero.


    He couldn''t even properly lift this sword, and since this was a weapon, this meant that its old user felt that this weight wasfortable for swinging around!


    On top of that, based on its size and the shape of its hilt, it was a one-handed sword!


    ''Even if this thing weighed a tenth of its current weight, I wouldn''t be able tofortably swing it with one hand. I could slowly swing it around with two, but not enough to properly use it as a weapon,'' Nick thought.


    ''That means, even as a Peak Protector, I wouldn''t be able to use this properly in a fight.''


    ''The owner of this sword must have been a Shield and not just an Initial Shield.''


    ''I estimate that it only bes usable as a weapon when the wielder has the physical power of a Mid Shield.''


    ''However, that is just the lower edge.''


    ''Most likely, the wielder was stronger.''


    ''Was this a Late Shield or even Peak Shield?''


    ''Or was it¡­?''


    Nick shook his head.


    ''No, this couldn''t have belonged to a level nine Extractor. There must have been some kind of huge battle before the Enlightened Ones were killed. A level nine Extractor would be able to join the final battle, but since this person died in this isted room, it probably meant that this person wasn''t strong enough to fight in the final battle.''


    ''It was probably someone who was trying to be a level nine Extractor to join thest battle, but the era of the Enlightened Ones ended before they could reach that level.''


    Nick became nervous.


    If this was truly what this person was here for, then¡­


    Nick remembered how his ability had deactivated.


    ''Was this a double fake-out?!''


    ''People would believe that the faculty to the north was the secret of this ce when the true secret was in a random office along the way.''


    ''Then, the Specter contained here¡­''


    Nick turned into mist and covered the edges of the room.


    There was no second exit.


    However, if Nick was right, there had to be another exit!


    As Nick kept searching, he noticed something.


    ''There''s something on the ground beneath the pile of dust.''


    Nick moved the pile of dust to the side, revealing the spot where the sword was stuck in the ground.


    ''Writing!''


    There were a couple of words cut into the floor!


    Luckily, Nick knew thenguage of the Enlightened Ones.


    The words tranted to:


    "We failed"


    "X"


    "8 to 9"


    "Key"


    Nick knew what this meant.


    Without hesitation, Nick grabbed the hilt of the sword and lifted as much as he could.


    He managed to lift the sword a bit, revealing the space beneath to his advanced senses.


    Nick dropped the sword again.


    What he had just seen below him was very familiar to him.


    ''A locker room,'' Nick thought.


    Even the Enlightened Ones had locker rooms before Containment Units.


    In the short moment in which Nick had been able to look through the gap, he had also seen apletely ck gate.


    The material of this gate was even more powerful than the material of this office.


    ''It''s impossible that there''s a hidden Eternal in this world,'' Nick thought.


    ''However, Peak Adversaries can also be used to be a level nine Extractor.''


    ''This material has to be rank eight material, and inside there¡­''


    ''Has to be a Peak Adversary.''


    ''Something as powerful as Death!''


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!